[Chapter 121] - News That Came Too Late
Snow fell endlessly, day after day.
Katarina and I, who lived in a forest not far from the village, had been practically confined indoors for several days due to the snow that piled up day after day. Of course, the shop had also been closed for the past few weeks while the snow fell.
White snow covered the forest, blocking the path to the shop, and the flow of goods to the village was also cut off by snow, so we had reached a point where opening the shop was out of the question—we had even run short of firewood for fuel.
“Katarina. Katarina!”
“Nn, nngh... c-cold...”
“The cold aside, let's go to the village. We've run out of firewood, and our stockpiled ingredients are starting to run low.”
I forcibly snatched the blanket off Katarina, who was wriggling on the bed like a caterpillar, and let out a sigh. This unemployed witch who holed up in the corner of the room hadn't stepped outside for days and was, quite literally, in a filthy state.
When making sweets, Katarina was like a completely different person, but in all other matters, she was exactly like this. Washing was too bothersome, eating was too bothersome, moving was too bothersome. A witch who tacked on “what a bother” to the end of every sentence.
Katarina was a witch afflicted with such lethargy.
“Sigh... Then, you don't have to come with me, but at least clear a path outside the house. We need to go to the village and buy something. Are you planning to starve to death like this?”
“Nngh... J-just a moment...”
In the end, Katarina, unable to overcome my nagging, slowly began to move and hurriedly put on the clothes scattered across the floor. I really wished she would at least wear clothes that had been washed.
Perhaps she disliked the cold even more than the bother; Katarina, bundled in so many layers she waddled, followed behind me like a baby penguin. I let out a small sigh and slowly headed for the door.
Outside, snow was still falling, and everything was tinged with gray. I walked along the path I had managed to clear with a shovel, and then Katarina opened the way with magic. The fairies surrounding her slowly moved the snow aside.
With each step Katarina took, the snow piled up to her knees moved aside on its own. I found the sight so fascinating that I stepped back from her side to watch.
As we walked like that, I heard people chattering in the distance. Katarina, who had been pricking up her ears, quickly scurried behind me and began using me as a shield to block people's gazes.
At the sight that made me sigh helplessly, I kicked away the snow to clear the rest of the path and headed toward the voices. Upon entering the village, the first thing I felt was a “somber atmosphere.”
Whether because of the gray sky or the exhaustion from the snow that fell day after day, the villagers seemed somehow gloomy. I approached two ladies who were conversing nearby and spoke to them.
“Hello, ma'am. Have you been well?”
“Oh, if it isn't Vivian? You came all the way here from home?”
“Yes, I came out to buy some firewood and ingredients.”
Perhaps because it had been almost a year since I came here, or perhaps because the village was small—it was only a matter of time before I became acquainted with the villagers. From the start, Katarina's shop had been prone to rumors.
It was a confectionery that had opened in the countryside, set up in a place slightly apart from the village—because of these characteristics of Katarina's shop, it was an easy target for the concentrated gossip of rural villagers.
As such, the villagers had flocked to verify the rumors, and since we greeted each other whenever we met and shared sweets, before I knew it, I had grown close enough to exchange pleasantries with them.
“You came out with your daughter? It's been a while since I've seen her too. Hello?”
“Ah, ah, h-hello, hello...”
The lady greeted Katarina, who was hiding behind me. I hadn't told the villagers anything about Katarina, yet somehow, they had come to know us as mother and daughter.
I had tried to explain the situation somewhat, but I just explained that I had her when I was very young. It was too bothersome to correct them, and besides, the villagers thought of me as a young widow who had lost her husband and looked after me.
It wasn't that I didn't correct them because I found the villagers' attention comfortable. It was because they wouldn't listen even if I tried to explain. At first, I had really tried to explain that Katarina and I weren't related...
'They won't believe me anyway. Might as well make use of it.'
I let out a short sigh and naturally joined the village ladies' conversation. I ignored Katarina, who was tugging at my hem from behind, urging me to turn around and go home quickly.
“Is something the matter? Everyone seems to be in low spirits...”
“Ah, the weather is bad, and with the bad news going around, everyone is worried.”
“Excuse me? Is there bad news in the village?”
When I tilted my head in confusion, one of the ladies let out a deep sigh, placed a hand on her cheek, and continued with a truly worried, sorrowful expression.
“It's nothing to do with country folk like us, but there's a rumor that a member of the royal family has passed away in the capital. With the weather being so dreary and the news so grim, it's no wonder everyone looks dark.”
“...? Pardon? What do you mean...?”
In that moment, I felt my heart drop with a thud. When my eyes widened, the lady began to speak of the rumor. It seemed Her Majesty the Queen Dowager had passed away about a month ago.
The reason the news of Her Majesty's death had been delayed was that the heavy snow had cut off communication with the neighboring village. Because the snow kept piling up even after being cleared, the roads would be blocked again after just a day.
Such weather had continued for about a month now. When the weather finally cleared somewhat and the roads opened, a merchant from the neighboring village had brought the news of Her Majesty's passing to the villagers.
About, roughly a month ago, Her Majesty the Queen Dowager had passed away.
“Vivian? Are you alright? You look pale...”
“Ah, it's nothing. I suppose I'm dizzy from being outside after so long...”
“I see. Ah, if you need firewood, don't buy it—take some from our house. We still have plenty.”
“Th-thank you.”
Her Majesty the Queen Dowager had passed away.
And it had been a month.
The guilt of learning of Her Majesty's death so late weighed heavily on my heart. Royal funerals lasted about a month, so could the funeral still be ongoing? What if it had already ended?
There was no time to linger in thought. Forgetting the reason I had left the house, I began to hurry back home. I had to go to the royal palace even now, and if I had missed the funeral, I had to at least pay my respects at the grave.
I had thought that even in the countryside, word would arrive within a week. The problem was this weather, with snow pouring down. The problem was the pouring snow that cut off logistics so thoroughly that one couldn't even reach the neighboring village.
“...You said you would live a long time.”
I muttered blankly, gazing up at the snow-filled sky. I didn't resent Her Majesty for passing away early. I resented myself for not even hearing the news of her death properly.
Upon returning home, I took out the funeral invitation I had received from Her Majesty. The letter bore a single line—“Vivian Liliensol is granted permission to enter and exit the royal palace”—along with Her Majesty's seal.
If writing only what was necessary was typical of Her Majesty, then it was truly just like her. Wondering if the content of a funeral invitation should be so brief, I found a short laugh escaping me.
'...Will Titania be alright?'
Would Titania be alright after Her Majesty's passing? Would Veronica and Einzel be comforting her well? I wanted to go and comfort her right away, but I didn't have the right to do so.
'...I left the royal palace so Titania could stand on her own. I left behind only a single letter for Titania so she wouldn't rely on me. Someone like me has no right to comfort Titania.'
Still, wouldn't it be alright to watch from afar? Wouldn't it be alright to just check that she was doing well without meeting her? If I simply watched from a distance without being discovered by Titania...
“Hoo...”
I took out a black dress from the wardrobe and changed into it, then stared at my reflection in the mirror. I tied up my noticeable blond hair to hide it, dressed in a modest black dress befitting a funeral.
Having finished preparing to pay my respects to Her Majesty, I went out of the room and called for Katarina. One of the reasons I had negotiated to work here with Katarina was precisely for a day like today.
That she would use magic for me if I wished.
In exchange, I would work for Katarina.
That was the “contract” between Katarina and me.
“Katarina. Are you ready?”
“Y-yes. I'm ready. We can leave right now.”
“...Yes, let's go.”
Katarina, who had opened the fairy's side path, extended her hand to me. Seeing something like heat haze rising beyond the door, I let out a deep sigh, took Katarina's hand, and followed behind her.
“I-It'll be dizzying. Please close your eyes.”
“...Alright.”
*
“...Your Highness. Are you alright?”
“......Yes. I'm fine.”
It had already been four days since Grandmother's funeral ended.
Despite having concluded the month-long funeral, none of this felt real to Titania. The entire world visible to her eyes was dyed in shades of gray, as if she were dreaming.
How wonderful would it be if all of this were just a dream? To return to those happy times when nothing had happened upon waking. To those days when her mother was always by her side, and Grandmother was still alive.
But each time she woke from sleep, she was assaulted by a terrible sense of reality. The moment of awakening from a happy dream to confront reality was so agonizing that she rose from bed in tears every day.
Titania, who had been blankly gazing out the window, looked at Grandmother's grave at the edge of her vision. Wishing to see Grandmother's grave for the time being, she had been staying in a room with a good view of it.
Titania turned her head and looked at Baengsyo with gaunt eyes.
“...What do the other ministers say?”
“First, they say that Your Highness's coronation must be moved up...”
“...I see.”
She had no interest in a coronation. Even if she became queen like this, could she truly be a proper queen? Titania let out a hollow laugh at the question she posed herself. As if that could ever happen.
Titania turned her head again to look out the window at the pouring snow. It was frustrating that she couldn't see Grandmother's grave properly due to the blizzard. It felt as though everything she wanted was being obstructed.
As she stared blankly out the window like that—
A streak of golden light pierced through the gray hues.
A golden woman dressed in black mourning clothes, walking toward Grandmother's grave.
The moment Titania saw that woman, goosebumps rose across her entire body.
“...Baengsyo, one moment.”
“Your Highness?!”
In that instant, feeling her heart drop with a thud, Titania dashed out of the room. She couldn't see properly because of the blizzard, and the woman's hair was covered, but Titania was certain.
It's Mother!
It has to be Mother!
Titania began running down the hallway barefoot, running like a madwoman.
Even when her feet tangled and she fell in the hallway, she got up and ran toward her mother. Even when the soles of her feet tore open and her knees shattered from falling, Titania got up and ran again.
She endured the sensation of blood flowing from her knees and the pain in her soles that felt as if they would freeze. If she could just see her mother, this sort of pain was nothing.
“Mother...! Mom! Mom!!”
Please, don't leave me behind!
Please, stay by my side!
I'll forgive you for leaving me without a word, right now! I'll forgive you, just like that, without saying a word! I won't be greedy anymore! I won't ask you to love me! I won't beg anymore!
Instead, I have just one request.
You are all I have now.
So please, stay by my side.
So please, don't abandon me.
Titania, biting down hard, burst out of the castle. As she stepped outside, the blizzard began to scrape her skin as thinly as a razor blade. But Titania didn't care.
Treading barefoot on the snow, Titania ran toward her mother with all her might. Whether because of tears or the blizzard, she couldn't see properly ahead. Even when she tripped on stones and tumbled to the ground, even when the blizzard obscured her vision, she ran straight toward her mother.
Running and running.
Beyond the blizzard, someone's figure came into view.
A blond woman in mourning clothes.
“Mom... Mom...”
Weeping like a small child, Titania slowly approached the woman.