[Episode 148] - The Curse-Breaking Experiment (2)
Around the time Veronica and Vivian were talking.
Titania walked around the cottage for a while, waiting for their conversation to end. She had wanted to join them, but...
'How could I join in on a conversation like this?!'
Because her mother had been embarrassed, Titania had no choice but to wait outside until her mother and Veronica finished talking.
As she wandered about the cottage, the murmuring voices of dwarves could be heard here and there.
The sound of a Brownie humming as she cooked in the kitchen, and the sound of a Dullahan sobbing as if in tears. And the energetic sounds of dwarves running about, searching for its head.
Just as she was considering going to greet the little ones who were like younger siblings, a cat-shaped 'Cait Sith' wagging its tail at the end of the corridor caught Titania's eye.
The Cait Sith, wagging its tail and looking at her as if to say, 'Follow me.' When Titania met its gaze and tilted her head, the Cait Sith began walking somewhere with a haughty gait.
After a few steps, it turned to check whether Titania was following properly. Titania giggled and followed behind the Cait Sith with slightly quickened steps.
Walking down the hallway and down the stairs, the Cait Sith stood in front of a room near the entrance and stared intently at the doorknob. As if asking her to open this door.
The Cait Sith was a fairy; it should know how to transform into a human and could have done it itself. Was this a cat's whim? With a resigned expression, Titania carefully opened the door to the room the Cait Sith was staring at and checked inside.
"This is..."
Titania's brow furrowed on its own as she surveyed the state of the room. It looked like a room where someone lived, but it was indistinguishable from a garbage dump.
Laundry scattered across the floor and half-read books. The room looked as though it reeked of mold, and Titania could tell who the owner was.
Turning her head, she saw someone in thecorner of the messy bed, fast asleep with a blanket pulled over their head. A shut-in witch in the corner of the room who showed no signs of emerging from under the covers even though the sun was already high in the sky.
"Katarina..."
Katarina, who had no intention of leaving her blankets despite the late hour, was in a deep sleep, drooling on her pillow.
Why did it feel like something was boiling up inside her every time she saw Katarina?
Titania had even been reluctant to visit the cottage because she hated meeting Katarina. Even though it was all in the past now, she could not bring herself to like Katarina, who had lived with her mother behind her back for two years.
As Titania let out a small sigh, the Cait Sith began rummaging through the laundry in search of something. It found something resembling a toy, put it in its mouth, and leisurely slipped out of the room as if it had finished its business.
'So it asked me to open the door because it was looking for that?'
Staring blankly after the Cait Sith that had gone outside, Titania let out a sigh. Just as she was about to follow it out of the room, her gaze suddenly shifted toward the desk.
The desk was cluttered with various research logs and books related to magic. Could these be the documents regarding the 'Fairy's Egg' that Sister Veronica, Katarina, and Ainsel were researching?
Titania began to read a few of the papers scattered on the desk. Simply out of curiosity about their contents. Most of the papers would be difficult for anyone but a witch to understand, but-
"This is..."
Just one.
One of the documents on the desk captured Titania's gaze. The moment she read that paper, Titania unconsciously furrowed her brow.
...Is what is written here really true?
My sister was researching something like this?
No matter what, this is...
Titania gathered the papers and quickly went to find Veronica. To ask if what was written there was true. If the research results written in this document were indeed true...
*
"Come up here, Vivian. I want to try the experiment too."
At the sight of Veronica calling to me while tapping her own thigh with her legs crossed, I unconsciously swallowed hard. No matter how I looked at it, wouldn't kissing Veronica be dangerous?
Honestly, Veronica's question was an interesting one.
If I kissed Veronica—a 'Titania' from another world—would the curse be lifted just like when I kissed Titania? Even if their personalities and upbringings were different, they were the 'same' person.
Even if the curse was lifted, would the duration be the same? A kiss with Titania lifted it for about two hours; if I kissed Veronica, how many hours would it be lifted?
I was definitely curious.
I was really curious, but...
'If I'm caught kissing Veronica, I feel like I'll get locked up again...'
I was terrified of Titania finding out.
I was afraid that if she found out I had kissed someone else, that terrifying side of Titania would come out. Titania was more jealous than one might think.
Even though it was all in the past, she was a child who continued to hate Katarina simply because Katarina had lived with me for two years. I didn't want to unnecessarily provoke Titania's jealousy.
But wouldn't Veronica be fine? Since Veronica was like an older sister, maybe she wouldn't get that angry? No, no matter what...
'More importantly, why is Veronica suddenly saying this to me? C-could it be...? Does Veronica also...? Does she like me as a lover, like Titania? So that's why...?'
As I was groaning and agonizing over it, Veronica—who had been watching me with her legs crossed and her chin resting in her hand—burst out laughing with a puff.
My mind went blank at the sudden laughter. I stared blankly at the unexpected reaction, and Veronica tapped my forehead as if flicking it.
"Ahaha! Why so serious? I was just making a joke."
"...A joke?"
"You really thought I wanted to kiss you? Don't tell me you think I like you like Titania does? That's an overactive imagination~"
Veronica made a teasing smile and tapped my forehead with her finger. For a moment, I felt anger bubbling up inside me. If someone suddenly asks you to kiss them, anyone would misunderstand!
With the corners of her mouth curled up, Veronica tapped her own lips and continued to make that teasing smile.
"What? Why that angry expression? Don't tell me you wanted to do it? You were sucking and nibbling all over with my daughter, and now you want to do it with me too? What should I do~? My lips aren't that cheap, you know."
"You...!"
"If you want to do it that badly, you can come right up on top of me and do it yourself. It'd be a bit much for me to do it for you, right? Even if her age is one thing, directly kissing someone who looks like a ten-year-old kid is a bit... you know? Well, if I'm the one receiving it, that's a different story."
At the continuous teasing, I heard something snap inside my head.
I got up straight from the chair, grabbed Veronica's knees, and hopped onto her thighs like vaulting over a pommel horse.
Having mounted Veronica's thighs, I immediately cupped her cheeks with both hands and held her face in place. Veronica, her face caught in my hands, widened her eyes and met my gaze.
...Up to this point, it was truly an act of indignation that I couldn't bear.
But with Veronica's face right before my eyes, I wondered if I should really go further. The moment I thought about getting down right now-
The corner of Veronica's lips slowly rose, and a coquettish laugh flowed out. As if she were provoking me...
"Really, you must have wanted to kiss me that badly? And you're not even a pervert."
No, it wasn't just as if she were provoking me—she was definitely provoking me.
Veronica tilted her head to look up at me and laughed with a 'pfft,' as if my actions were ridiculous. Yes, since she had thrown down the gauntlet, I had to answer.
"This isn't that kind of romantic kiss, is it?"
I slowly tilted my head and drew closer to Veronica.
"It's just a simple experiment, like you said."
With those final words, I kissed Veronica. Her soft lips fit perfectly against the small crevice.
Stealing a glance, I opened my eyes and looked at Veronica. Without even closing her eyes, Veronica stared down at me as we kissed.
Both Titania and Veronica. Why do they keep their eyes open and look at me while kissing? Can't they just close their eyes romantically?
Under Veronica's uncomfortably direct gaze, I unconsciously averted my eyes. Closing my eyes and focusing on the kiss, I slowly began counting in my mind.
Ten seconds.
I felt moisture seeping into my parched lips. I couldn't tell if it was Veronica's saliva or her hot breath collecting upon them.
Twenty seconds.
I tried to pull my lips away, but Veronica grabbed my nape and wouldn't let go. Lips that had briefly touched and separated meshed together again, long and deep.
Thirty seconds.
As our thickly joined lips moved softly, the moment Veronica released my nape, they separated with a wet smack. With my eyes still tightly shut, I asked Veronica.
"...Why did you grab my nape?"
"The report said thirty seconds. You tried to pull away before thirty seconds were up. Surely you didn't want to go beyond that with me? Hmm? That's not it, right?"
"No!"
That damn report!
Slowly opening my gently closed eyes, I looked at Veronica before me. With a bitter expression, as if she had expected this result, Veronica looked at me and stroked my cheek as she continued.
"As expected, the curse isn't lifted."
"...No kidding."
With a snicker, Veronica pinched my cheek hard and began to sulk. With an expression of utter absurdity, she pinched both my cheeks and drawled.
"To think I used my first kiss on such a stupid experiment. How do you plan to take responsibility for this?"
"...It was your first?"
"Isn't that obvious? What do you take me for, to ask something like that?"
"Ow, ow, ow, ow."
The moment I asked if it was her first, Veronica pinched my cheek hard, as if truly angry. At the pain that felt like my cheek might tear off, tears welled up slightly in both my eyes.
As if my face were a toy, Veronica now crushed both my cheeks with her hands and made me into fish lips. The moment I was about to get angry and tell her to let go-
Click.
"Sister? I wanted to talk for a moment..."
"Peep!"
At the sound of the door opening behind me and Titania's voice heard simultaneously, I involuntarily hopped off Veronica's lap. At that moment, I felt as if my heart had dropped to the tips of my toes.
As if caught cheating on the spot, I was bewildered. Slowly, with stiff, creaking movements, I turned my head and looked at Titania, who was watching Veronica and me from behind.
"......"
"......"
...I couldn't tell what kind of expression was on Titania's face at all.
She seemed angry, yet also gentle. She also seemed expressionless, devoid of any emotion. With her eyes narrowed slightly, Titania simply stared intently at the two of us.
"Titania...?"
"...The two of you are 'closer than I thought,' aren't you?"
Titania tilted her head slightly and smiled sweetly. Though the expression she made was incomparably docile, the voice that calmly spilled from her lips was not. I wasn't sure how Titania was feeling, but...
There was one thing I felt I knew for certain. The moment I was about to open my mouth, Veronica cleared her throat and answered in my stead. As if embarrassed, avoiding Titania's gaze.
"...She's angry."