[Chapter 143] — The Things That Changed While I Was Gone (2)
About a week had passed since I began living in the royal palace in my younger body.
It was a somewhat different life from the one I had led in the palace long ago, but I was still able to adapt and live comfortably enough. If you asked what was different from before, perhaps it was that I had to stay by Titania’s side every day?
When eating, when working, and when sleeping. I spent most of the twenty-four hours of each day with Titania. Although I told her she could leave me waiting in my room, Titania carried me around in her arms wherever she went.
At first, everyone was horrified whenever they saw me held in Titania’s arms, but now it had reached the point where, if I wasn’t there, they would ask, “Where has Miss Lily gone?” as though they had grown accustomed to the sight.
Honestly, I didn’t mind if it ended there. The only things I could do in the palace in my younger body were read books and eat cake in my room. Besides, being by Titania’s side was more fun.
However, the biggest problem was...
After learning that kissing me was useless for breaking my curse, Titania had started asking me for kisses constantly. Whenever she found the slightest opportunity, without regard for time or place.
“Here.”
“......”
In the middle of a meeting.
Titania tapped her cheek with a finger and looked at me, seated on her lap. The meeting was still in progress, yet Titania demanded a kiss from me without the slightest concern for the eyes of the others.
When I glanced around at the nobles, they turned their gazes away as if they had arranged it beforehand, either looking down at their documents or pretending to sleep with their faces on the table. They seemed to have grown used to this situation by now.
With no other choice, I sighed and gave the cheek Titania had pointed to a smacking kiss. Only after my lips touched her cheek did Titania curl her lips into a satisfied smile and continue the meeting.
“This time, here.”
“......”
A little more time passed, and this time it was while we were walking down a hallway. Titania, carrying me in her arms, looked at me and lightly tapped her lips with a finger.
At Titania’s voice, the maids walking down the hallway stopped as if time itself had frozen and stared intently at the two of us. I let out a groan and glared at Titania, but...
Titania merely gave me a mischievous smile, tapping her lips and demanding a kiss. With no choice left to me, I lowered my head and kissed her lips as she wished.
Our lips briefly met, and the loud smack echoed through the hallway. The maids covered their eyes with both hands, crying, “Oh my,” though it was obvious they were watching everything through the gaps between their fingers.
“...That’s enough now, right?”
“For now.”
These days, every day was like this.
Before eating, before bathing, before going to sleep, and even after waking up. Rather than Titania kissing me of her own accord, she had begun demanding that I kiss her.
I wanted to tell her that since kissing couldn’t break my curse, there was no need for us to kiss anymore. But whenever Titania looked at me with such an affectionate expression and said she wanted a kiss, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.
‘I really... raised her to be too spoiled...’
When I groaned in Titania’s arms, she chuckled and headed toward the room where we lived. I had to do something about her growing obsession with kissing, somehow...
But it was difficult to tell her bluntly...
What should I do...?
*
“What do you really think I should do? Is there any way?”
“...Why are you asking me that?”
When I whined with a sigh, Veronica frowned as though dumbfounded and glared at me. But there was no one else I could talk to about this besides Veronica.
I had come to the cottage to have my curse examined, and since I was there anyway, I asked Veronica about Titania’s behavior as well. I thought that perhaps Veronica might know a way to change the situation.
“...It must be everything she’s been suppressing finally bursting out. Titania held back a lot while you were gone, too.”
“......”
“Just think of it as your daughter being spoiled and indulge her. It means she likes you that much, doesn’t it?”
“But...”
The problem was that the feelings the girl sent my way when she said she liked me were not the feelings of a daughter toward her mother. Whenever Titania stayed by my side with a loving expression and sent me those ‘other feelings,’ I...
“You know by now, don’t you? That the feelings she has for me aren’t merely those of a daughter...”
“...I know very well.”
Veronica rested her chin on the desk and sighed. Then she tapped her fingers against the desk before lowering her gaze and looking at me, my shoulders drooping.
“...In any case, it’s difficult for me to answer something like that. I don’t look at you with those eyes the way Titania does. What I want from you is...”
“...?”
Veronica’s lips moved slightly, but she soon said nothing and merely let out a sigh. Then she raised a finger and began poking me in the back.
“...It’s nothing. The examination is over, so go back now. I’m busy, too. There’s something I need to check.”
“W-Wait...!”
Veronica poked me in the back, urging me to leave quickly. Practically driven out of the cottage, I puffed out my cheeks in annoyance as I returned to Titania’s room.
Seriously, why were all my daughters acting like this?
-Knock knock.
I was sitting on the bed, sighing, when I heard someone knocking on the door. Was it a guest who had come to see Titania? I hopped down from the bed and ran to the door, then stretched up on tiptoe and reached as far as I could to twist the doorknob open.
“Who is it?”
“Miss Lily, it is Vansho.”
“Ah, Van... His Excellency the Chancellor.”
With the creak of the door, Vansho looked down at me from outside, wearing a kindly smile. Had he come to see Titania? I tilted my head and answered him.
“Sister Titania... isn’t in her room right now.”
“Hohoho. I have not come to see Her Majesty this time. I came to meet Miss Lily.”
“...? Me?”
“Yes. I would like to have a brief conversation with you, Miss Lily... Would you join me for a cup of tea? I have also brought some delicious pastries.”
“...All right.”
I had no particular reason to refuse, so I nodded and followed Vansho out the door. I was also curious about why he had suddenly called me aside.
When I followed Vansho into the garden, tea and pastries had already been set on the table. The pastries and cakes were piled up like a mountain, and I swallowed involuntarily at the sight.
With Vansho’s assistance, I sat in a chair, but the table was higher than I had expected. Even seated, I was hidden behind it and couldn’t see Vansho sitting across from me.
A maid, startled by the sight, brought three thick cushions from the room and placed them on my chair. Only then could I properly look at Vansho over the table.
“What would you like first? A chou? A dacquoise? An éclair?”
“Um... an éclair first, I suppose...”
When I pointed to the éclair, Vansho personally picked up the tongs and placed a slice of cake and an éclair on my plate. What was going on? Why was Vansho acting like this today? It was making me uncomfortable...
“...Are you doing well in the royal palace?”
“Yes... Sister Titania... has been helping me, so I’m living comfortably.”
“That is... a relief to hear.”
I began dumping sugar cubes from the sugar bowl into my black tea and stirring it thoroughly. Perhaps it was because my body had become younger, but I found bitterness difficult to tolerate and had developed a taste for sweetness. I could barely drink tea unless I added sugar or milk.
As I sipped the drink that was difficult to distinguish from sugar water and glanced at Vansho, he finally smiled gently and dismissed the maids around us. So this was when he would get to the point. I swallowed unconsciously.
“Former Queen Consort Vivian Liriensol... has she been doing well since leaving the royal palace?”
“...? Yes? Ah, yes. She’s been doing well...”
“I see... She was never one to write even a single letter, so I was worried about how she had been living since leaving the palace.”
Vansho sipped his tea with a bitter expression. Perhaps I should have at least sent a letter saying that I was doing well. For some reason, I felt as though I had become a completely heartless person.
A brief silence passed. Vansho continued sipping his tea, then let out a quiet sigh and stared intently at me. His eyes shifted as though he were debating what to say, and eventually he sighed and asked me:
“...And are you all right, Miss Lily?”
“......? Yes? What do you mean...?”
“I’m asking whether you are truly all right, living together with Her Majesty the Queen.”
“...I don’t understand what you mean by that question. Do I not look all right to you?”
I couldn’t begin to understand what he meant by asking that. I knew better than anyone that Vansho wasn’t the sort of person to ask such a question without reason. He did joke around, but not about things like this.
Vansho studied my expression, then gave a bitter smile and took another sip of tea to moisten his throat.
“...No. It seems this old man was simply worrying needlessly.”
“What?”
“I shall take my leave now. Thank you for giving me your time, Miss Lily.”
After saying that, Vansho rose from his seat. It seemed as though he truly had nothing more to say. Why was he trying to disappear after saying only what he wanted to say? I hopped down from my chair and chased after Vansho as he walked away.
“W-Wait a moment...! Why did you ask me something like that? You have to tell me that much...”
“...I have nothing more to say.”
“What...? What do you mean? You were the one who asked to have a conversation with me! I can’t understand if you suddenly act like this...!”
Vansho knelt on one knee where he stood and met my eyes. Then he gently raised a hand and stroked my head with his wrinkled fingers.
“Truly... Miss Lily, you resemble the former Queen Consort Vivian. Not only in your face, but even in your mannerisms.”
“.......”
Vansho let out a short sigh and continued speaking as he caressed my cheek.
“...This is merely an old man talking to himself. The ramblings of an old man who may die soon. So listen with one ear and let it go out the other, Miss Lily.”
When I nodded, Vansho smiled gently. Then he poured out his thoughts to me—the things he had found difficult to tell anyone.
“The truth is... when Miss Lily first arrived, I got goosebumps. My entire body prickled at the thought that Her Majesty the Queen had finally done something terrible.”
“Pardon...?”
“My first thought was that Her Majesty, unable to forget the former Queen Consort, had abducted a young child who resembled Her Majesty the Queen Consort.”
...Why on earth would he think that? When I stared at Vansho with an incredulous expression, he chuckled softly.
“It was a suspicion that naturally arose because Her Majesty the Queen had been unable to forget Queen Consort Vivian all this time. If you think about it, it was only natural.”
“.......”
“...So I worried that Her Majesty might do something bad to you, that she might be keeping you by her side against your will... Those were the thoughts that came to me.”
...He was more accurate than I expected.
The previous incident of abduction and confinement came to mind, but I shook my head and cast away the unpleasant thoughts. That was already over, and I had promised that I would stay by her side now. I smiled gently and looked at Vansho.
“It really isn’t like that. If anything... I’m here because I want to stay by Sister Titania’s side.”
“...I am relieved to hear you say that.”
Vansho patted my shoulder and struggled to rise from his seat, then pounded his lower back. I thought our conversation was over, but a thought suddenly occurred to me. I grabbed Vansho’s sleeve and tugged on it as I asked him:
“Um... if you don’t mind, could you tell me how Sister Titania lived after the Queen Consort left...?”
“...Why do you ask?”
“Th-That’s because... since it was enough to make the Chancellor think that way... I was a little curious...”
I meant it literally. I knew nothing about how Titania had lived in the royal palace after I was gone. Veronica and Einsel, everyone, only said that it had been ‘terrible.’ I didn’t know what had actually happened.
So perhaps Vansho would tell me. How sad Titania had been because of me. How much she had suffered because of me. I felt I ought to know at least a little.
Vansho looked down at me, then let out a long sigh and answered while stroking my head.
“I’m sorry, but I cannot tell you. It would be the same even if you asked everyone in the royal palace. It is not a story that should be told to you... I hope you will understand.”
With those words, Vansho turned around and disappeared into the royal palace. Almost as though they were taking over his shift, the maids came rushing over as soon as he was gone and began attending to me.
What on earth could have happened for Vansho to speak like that...?
What in the world happened...?