[Episode 141] - Doll Play
With a start, I woke early in the morning, stretched my arms high over my head, and sat on the edge of the bed, blankly looking around the room. As I sat there, my feet didn’t reach the floor and dangled in the air.
As expected, becoming small hadn’t been a dream. And besides, I hadn’t simply become small. A body that had grown young again to the age of ten was on a completely different level from a thirty-three-year-old body. How should I put it? This is youth...? I felt that every single moment.
It was the same now. I had just woken up, and yet unlike when I was thirty-three, my mind became clear in an instant. Normally, after waking up, my head would be stiff for a few minutes and I wouldn’t be able to think about anything.
“This is youth...!”
After savoring youth, I hopped down from the bed and went over to the vanity, sitting on the chair and looking into the mirror. The chair was too low, so only half my face was reflected in the vanity mirror.
With no other choice, I sprang up from the chair and picked up “Ainsel’s fragment,” the item Veronica had given me yesterday, from the vanity.
Since I didn’t know what would happen to my body from now on, Veronica had told me to take Ainsel’s fragment with me. I tried to put it on my ear as I usually did, out of habit, but...
“As expected, it isn’t pierced...”
As I fiddled with my plump earlobe and saw that the hole in my ear had closed up, I let out a small sigh. Giving up on wearing it on my ear, I opened the vanity drawer and took out a necklace chain.
Then I connected the necklace chain to Ainsel’s fragment, turning it into a mirror necklace, and hung it around my neck. When I lowered my head, the round mirror near my flat chest was reflecting the sunlight.
“Ainsel, I know you’re watching.”
I tapped the mirror hanging at my chest with my finger and called Ainsel. But no matter how much I tapped, Ainsel didn’t respond. I let out a faint chuckle and tapped the mirror again.
“I’m not angry. Hurry up and come out.”
Only then did Ainsel peek out from the edge of the mirror. Fidgeting, Ainsel came to the center of the mirror and seemed about to say something, but as if she couldn’t bring herself to open her mouth, she only mouthed soundlessly before lowering her head.
‘I’m really not angry, though... I was a little disappointed.’
Seeing Ainsel fidgeting in silence, looking terribly nervous, I let out a small sigh and continued while tapping the mirror with my finger.
“Looks like you made up with Veronica while I was gone? You’re even living together now.”
-Ah... yes... A, a little...
“That’s a relief. Until I left here, I was worried about how the two of you would get along.”
I sat back down on the vanity chair, swinging my legs back and forth without them touching the floor, and continued talking. I asked whether she had been doing well while I was gone, how she had been living, whether anything had happened.
I continued the conversation mostly by myself in order to help Ainsel relax. Considering Ainsel’s timid personality that I had seen all this time, it was clear she still found it hard to treat me the way she used to.
That was why she hadn’t appeared by my side until now. Ainsel had definitely had plenty of chances to come find me. Aside from when I had been confined in this room, she could have come to see me after that too.
But Ainsel hadn’t come to find me. I was a little disappointed by that, but I wasn’t angry. In the end, when I thought about it, the biggest fault lay with me for stubbornly insisting that I had to leave Titania’s side.
Now it was easier to think of it as getting what I deserved. If only I hadn’t arbitrarily left Titania’s side, if only I had spoken to Titania even a little, if only I had at least tried to make Titania understand.
I decided to think of it as my fault, that my relationship with everyone wouldn’t have become like this otherwise. Because that was the easiest way not to hate everyone and to return to how things had been before.
‘Put badly, it’s giving up; put nicely, it’s acceptance.’
With a bitter smile, I looked at Ainsel and tapped the mirror.
“I know it’s still awkward. I know what you’re feeling, and why you haven’t approached me. Let’s go back slowly, little by little. I have no intention of leaving your side anymore.”
-Vivian... I...
“Got it?”
I cut off Ainsel’s words and asked. Ainsel moved her lips for a moment as if trying to continue, but in the end, she only nodded. There was no need for apologies or excuses now.
“More importantly, the problem is right now... What do I do now that I’ve gotten this young...?”
-D, don’t worry...! We’ll definitely undo the curse for you...!
“No... To be honest, I do like being young... I wake up and my joints don’t hurt, and I’m not tired either. If I can just grow old again from this state, wouldn’t it be perfect...?”
-Pardon?
As I sat in the chair, swinging my feet that didn’t reach the floor while talking to Ainsel, there came a knock at the door. Then, with a voice saying she was coming in, Titania poked her head in and greeted me.
“Mother, good morning.”
“Mm, good morning.”
I greeted Titania, who was approaching me, with a bright smile. Titania came up behind me, picked up the comb on the vanity, and without saying anything, began combing my hair.
The sound of hair brushing against the comb, swish, swish, brushed past my ears. The teeth of the comb slipped between the strands of my hair and glided smoothly down along its texture without catching on anything.
“You don’t have to do this...”
“I’m doing it because I want to.”
When she was little, I had washed Titania’s hair, braided it, and tied it up for her, but now it felt like the opposite, so the feeling was strange. I glanced up and looked at Titania reflected in the mirror.
After watching her comb my hair with a rather serious expression, I also smiled gently and focused on Titania’s touch. Before I knew it, she seemed to have finished combing my hair, and Titania put the comb down.
I thought it was about time she was done, but Titania said she wasn’t finished yet, took a handful of my hair, and began braiding it carefully. In the blink of an eye, she had braided my hair into twin tails and even decorated the ends with ribbons.
Looking at me reflected in the mirror, Titania smiled in satisfaction and asked me.
“What do you think? Isn’t it cute?”
“It is cute, but...”
I touched the neatly braided twin tails and smiled bitterly. Wondering if she was treating me too much like a child, I lifted my head and looked at Titania, but Titania only smiled.
“You know, first impressions are important. This is a chance to appeal to the people of the main castle with your cuteness, Mother. It’s important to make you look even prettier, even if only a little.”
“I, is that so?”
“Of course. You can think of it as holding your debutante again. So...”
Titania came close enough that I could feel her breath, looked at me reflected in the mirror, and as she touched the beautifully braided twin tails, she whispered into my ear.
“Let’s dress you up just a little more. All right?”
*
At first, it was a pink dress covered in frills. If she meant to kill me by making me die of shame, then she had definitely thought it through well. I shook my head and confidently shouted that this wasn’t it.
The second was a somewhat cute navy dress. I still hated the sight of all the frills, but compared to the pink dress, it looked far better, so I put it on hold for now.
The third was a toddler’s dress that Titania had worn in the past, with red and blue nicely blended together. Thinking it would be better to wear this instead, I nodded, but...
“Can’t we stop now...?”
“There are still plenty of dresses. We’ll choose slowly, one by one. Sister, what do you think of this one?”
“It’s not bad, but... how about this? I think dark colors would suit Vivian as she is now.”
-That’s right, dark colors do suit Vivian.
At some point, Veronica had come as well and begun choosing dresses for me to wear. Veronica, who had brought several dresses worn by the dwarves at the cabin, spread the dresses out on the bed and began thinking them over.
“I tried to choose the darkest colors possible, like Sister said, but there aren’t many. When I was little, I mostly wore bright colors. Ah, Mother, how about this one? Please try it on just once.”
“This is already the third one for me...?”
“You never know with dresses unless you try them on. Just one more time. Please?”
Was it just my imagination? Why did I have a feeling that phrase, “just one more time,” would keep being repeated? Feeling as if I had become a dress-up doll, I could only sigh as I continued changing into dresses.
After the fashion show that went on for quite a long time finally ended, it was nearly afternoon by the time I, almost ruined from having my stamina drained away, was able to hold Titania’s hand and go to the main palace.
It had taken so long just to dress me up, and even though I kept saying that they didn’t need to go this far, Titania and Veronica only shook their heads. In the end, even Ainsel betrayed me.
Wearing a navy dress so heavily adorned with frills that it was hard to walk, I couldn’t even take more than a few steps before I was busy panting. No, at the very least, shouldn’t you make a person wear clothes that are easy to move in?
In the end, while we were on our way to the main castle, I came to a sudden stop, lifted my head, and glared fiercely at Titania. No matter how I thought about it, this wasn’t right. I felt like tearing the dress apart right away.
“Haa... hoo... Titania, this outfit really is...”
“...It can’t be helped.”
Titania looked down at me with a bitter smile. Had my desperate feelings gotten through to her? I thought we would go back and change my dress, but as expected, Titania’s thoughts were different from mine.
Titania slipped her hands under both my armpits and lifted me up, then held me tightly in her arms. Now sitting on Titania’s arm as if it were a chair, I had no choice but to widen my eyes in surprise.
“I’ll carry you, so don’t worry.”
“No, I...! Fine... Just do whatever you want.”
I considered kicking my feet, but I didn’t think Titania would put me down even if I did that, so I relaxed my body and leaned my head against Titania’s shoulder. Maybe because I was tired, I felt like whatever happened could happen.
As I rested my head against Titania’s neck and closed my eyes, I soon heard murmuring around us. It was already strange that the queen had suddenly brought a child with her, but she also wouldn’t let that child out of her arms.
I could hear maids and servants quietly whispering, wondering what the relationship was between the two of us, who seemed so close. As I kept my eyes closed and avoided other people’s gazes, I heard a familiar voice.
“Your Majesty...? That child in your arms is...?”
“Ah, Baengsho.”
Baengsho? At the voice I hadn’t heard in a long time, I opened my eyes a sliver and looked at Baengsho, who had approached me. Baengsho had aged a lot too. There were more wrinkles on his face, and now he really was on the verge of retirement.
“Your Majesty... What in the world is this child who resembles Her Highness the former queen...”
“Ah, this child is...”
Baengsho came close to me, looked me over from here and there, widened his eyes, and let out a low groan. As if he found it difficult to understand, he stroked his chin and came right up in front of my nose.
Was it because I had gotten smaller? Baengsho’s head, now right in front of my nose, looked enormous. Was it my youthful illusion that his shiny bald head looked even shinier?
Before Titania could introduce me, Baengsho clapped his hands as if he understood and answered. A truly stupid, utterly absurd answer.
“She must be Her Highness the former queen’s hidden daughter...! Related to Your Majesty by blood...!? As expected, there was no way Her Highness the queen wouldn’t have spent the first night with Your Majesty— Guek!”
“As if that would be true, you bald idiot!”
Smack!
At the ridiculous nonsense, I finally raised my palm high and struck Baengsho’s bald head as he came close to me. My handprint was clearly imprinted on Baengsho’s gleaming scalp.