[Episode 15] - Great Teacher Vivian (2)
The day before my lesson with the princess.
It was around the time I was trying to console Ainsel, whose self-esteem had hit rock bottom. As Ainsel rolled around on the floor, hugging her knees tightly to her chest, I clasped my hands together as if pleading and spoke.
“Y-you’ll have to help me with the lessons starting tomorrow... No, I need you, Ainsel!”
-Me..? Me..? How..? I’m only a mirror...
“Obviously, because I’m planning to teach the princess about ‘fairies’ from now on.”
When I said I would teach the princess about fairies, Ainsel lifted her head from where she lay on the floor and looked at me. Her eyes seemed to be saying, “Is this human in her right mind?”
-Are you serious?
“Of course. Honestly, do you think there’s anything I can teach the princess? I told you my memories are hazy, didn’t I?”
-...Then why on earth did you volunteer to become the princess’s ‘educator’? What exactly were you relying on..?
Ahem! I cleared my throat, pressed my palms together, and held them out toward Ainsel. Ainsel stared blankly at me, as if drawing a question mark over her head in sheer disbelief.
“Obviously, I was relying on Ainsel, the person I trust most in the entire world!”
When I put both hands together and gave her a big thumbs-up, I felt murderous intent in Ainsel’s eyes. If Ainsel had been a person and not a mirror, it wouldn’t have been strange for a fist to come flying at me right then.
“Don’t look at me like that. You call other people ‘queen’ and ‘king,’ but when it comes to the princess, you’re all ‘Princess~ Princess~’ So that means you’re interested in her, doesn’t it?”
-Th-that’s not it..! I just..!
“I have some knowledge about ‘fairies’ through Vivian’s memories too. But it’s not exact, so I’d like you to help me.”
I did know a certain amount about the fairies that appeared in the game. But even though I had possessed Vivian’s body, I wasn’t a ‘witch.’ I didn’t know how to ask fairies for help the way a witch did.
“During tomorrow’s lesson, when I introduce ‘fairies’ to the princess, I’m planning to introduce you to her. What do you think? It’s a good idea, right?”
Ainsel raised herself from the floor and looked at me in disbelief before letting out a sigh. A short silence followed, and then Ainsel shook her head.
-Are you planning to raise the princess as a witch? It’s true that the princess has the qualities of a ‘witch,’ but I’m against the idea of raising her as one.
“I don’t plan to raise the princess as a witch either.”
-...? Then why are you saying you’ll teach the princess about ‘fairies’?
Since I couldn’t say, “Because she’ll have to meet the Seven Dwarfs later,” I propped my chin on my hand and fell into thought for a moment. Whether she liked it or not, the princess would one day become entangled with ‘fairies.’
‘If the princess learns even a little about how to deal with fairies before that, she’ll be less likely to get hurt by them or be deceived.’
I lifted only my eyes and glanced at Ainsel sitting in front of me. Ainsel had clearly said, “Fairies cannot lie,” but I knew what those words meant.
‘Fairies simply cannot lie. They can still hide the truth with clever words.’
That was why I wanted to teach the young ‘Snow White’ before she was fooled by a fairy’s cunning words. I wanted her to know that not every fairy with a cute appearance was someone she could trust.
With a kindly smile, I answered Ainsel.
“Well, there’s no one around the princess who can teach her about ‘fairies,’ is there? How frightening must it be? To see something that no one else can see, something only visible to your own eyes.”
-I see... I never thought of it that way at all...
“So I just wanted to teach her before she grows up a little more.”
After hearing me out, Ainsel seemed to fall into thought for a moment, placing a finger against her chin. After thinking it through, she appeared to make up her mind and nodded faintly.
-All right. If that’s the reason, I’ll help you too.
“Really?”
-Of course. However...
Ainsel opened her eyes wide and stared fixedly at me. Her intense gaze seemed to say she had a bone to pick with me, so I had no choice but to turn my head slightly and avoid her eyes.
-I cannot allow someone who says she will teach about ‘fairies’ to pretend to be the princess’s ‘teacher’ with only shallow knowledge. If you’re going to do it, I think you must prepare properly and thoroughly.
“Uh, hm? Y-yeah, I guess so..?”
-So, shall we reduce your sleeping time a little starting today?
Ainsel smiled with cheerful crescent eyes, but through the narrow slits of them, I felt a passion no different from madness. The smile on her face, as though she had been waiting for this very moment, gave me chills.
-Haa... You may not be the real Vivian, but I never imagined the day would come when I’d teach Vivian...
“Ainsel..?”
-Hehehe, prepare yourself. Within a month from today, I’ll make you at least an ‘apprentice witch.’ For the next month, your daily sleep time is fixed at three hours!
...And so, I had no choice but to spend almost the entire night taking lessons from Ainsel on ‘fairies’ and ‘witches.’ An excited Ainsel showed not a shred of mercy while teaching me.
I trembled under that hellish education, and what I learned by staying up all night on the first day was how to use the ‘mana’ inside Vivian’s body and how to call ‘fairies.’
-No! I told you, you have to feel it circulating through your body! Like this! With a bam! from your chest, then whoosh! No, why can’t you do this?!
“You should seriously never teach anyone other than me. If it hadn’t been me, I would’ve smashed that mirror long ago.”
*
The sunlight pouring down on the lake stung my eyes.
Was it because I had stayed up almost all night? The sunlight reflected on the water was so dazzling that my eyes hurt. Even as I rowed, I was sleepy, exhausted, and could clearly feel my stamina scraping the bottom.
Even so, the reason I could endure was probably because of the princess below me, happily watching the Undines. Seeing her enjoy herself so much made the stress I’d accumulated from learning under Ainsel feel as if it were melting away.
“Ahaha! Stop! That tickles!”
An Undine began squirting a stream of water at the princess’s face like a water gun. The shallow stream must have tickled when it touched her skin, because the princess was busy wiping the water from her face with her hands.
Now that the Undines’ antics had lifted the princess’s mood, I wiped her face with a handkerchief, then removed the mirror earring containing Ainsel and placed it in the princess’s hand.
The princess tilted her head as she looked at the mirror in her hand.
“What is this?”
“My friend.”
“Your Majesty, your friend is a mirror?”
...What an innocent answer, like a child’s.
It felt awkward to deny it, but also strange to say she was right, so I simply tapped the mirror with my finger. Then ripples spread across the mirror’s surface, and afterimages slowly began to bloom.
“Your Majesty, this mirror is strange. It keeps reflecting Your Majesty’s face instead of mine.”
Finding it curious that the mirror did not reflect her at all and showed only Vivian’s face, the princess lifted it up, lowered it down, and shook it this way and that as she looked at it.
And just as the innocent princess was shaking the mirror around in curiosity...
Ainsel pleaded as if she couldn’t endure the dizziness anymore.
-P-Princess..! Please don’t shake me so much..!
“Hueek!”
“Uh, oh! Ainsel?!”
When a voice came from the mirror, the princess screamed in fright and nearly threw the mirror into the lake. Fortunately, the mirror did not fall into the water but struck the side of the boat and rolled across the floor.
As Ainsel rolled around on the floor, the Undines climbed on top of her and giggled. Seeing that, the princess’s face turned deathly pale, as if she had done something terribly wrong by carelessly throwing my belongings.
“I-I’m sorry..! B-but... A voice suddenly came from the mirror...”
“It’s all right. It’s not your fault. If anyone is at fault... it’s the mirror’s fault for greeting you improperly.”
I chuckled and picked up Ainsel from the floor. When I wiped the dirty mirror surface with my handkerchief, I saw Ainsel drooping gloomily.
“Ainsel, you should introduce yourself properly.”
-B-but... I needed time to prepare myself...
Prepare herself, my foot.
I placed Ainsel back in the princess’s hand. Seeing Ainsel all drooped over, the princess fidgeted, then unexpectedly spoke before Ainsel did.
“H-hello, mirror? I-I’m sorry for throwing you earlier. Did it hurt..?”
A radiant smile bloomed on Ainsel’s face after receiving the princess’s first greeting. With a smile far brighter than any she had ever shown me, Ainsel answered the princess in an excited voice.
-It’s all right! Princess! It didn’t hurt at all!
“Really? Th-then I’m glad.”
Phew—
The princess let out a sigh, patting her chest in relief.
Ahem. Ainsel cleared her throat, bowed her head, and introduced herself to the princess. Seeing her behave even more politely and kindly than when she’d met me stirred a slightly complicated feeling in me.
-Then allow me to greet you again... Ahem! It’s a pleasure to meet you! Princess! I am Ainsel, the fairy of the mirror!
“Fairy of the mirror?”
-Yes! Princess! I’m Vivian’s friend... you see! From now on, I plan to stay by Vivian’s side and teach you all sorts of things about ‘fairies’ together!
“I-I see... Then Ainsel, you are my teacher too... right? I-I look forward to your guidance.”
Bow—
As the princess bowed politely to the small mirror in her hand, Ainsel’s face shone like the sun. The moment I saw that smile, it felt like I might go blind, so I had no choice but to squint.
-Ehehe! You can just call me Ainsel! You don’t need to speak politely to me either! I’d be happy if you simply thought of me as your f-friend, Princess..!
You... weren’t this kind of person.
Why on earth are you only like this in front of the princess?
Perhaps happy at Ainsel’s word ‘friend,’ the princess smiled bashfully and looked at Ainsel. Then, clutching the mirror in her hand tightly, she answered Ainsel.
“Ehehe... Then I’ll be in your care from now on, Ainsel.”
-Y-yes..!
...Fine, as long as you’re happy.
I slowly rowed the oars and began moving back toward the place we had set out from. Then, from far away, Ellie started shouting and waving her hand. As if something had happened.
When we reached land, Ellie hurried over in search of me.
“Ellie? What is it that has you shouting like that?”
“W-well... Her Majesty the Queen Dowager said she would invite Your Majesty to dinner tonight...”
“? Tonight?”
“Y-yes... And so suddenly too...”
Suddenly? At the abrupt news, my eyes couldn’t help but widen. Feeling an inexplicable gaze, I glanced to the side and saw that the ladies-in-waiting and maids serving the queen dowager had gathered a short distance away before I knew it.
As if telling me not to run away.
‘...I needed to go meet the queen dowager in the first place. But for her side to call for me is completely unexpected..?’
When I glanced back at the princess and Ellie, Ellie was asking the princess, “Wasn’t the boating frightening?” The princess answered Ellie’s question with a bright smile and said, “Not at all!”
After stroking my chin and thinking for a moment, I approached the princess.
“Princess, do you have any fixed plans this evening?”
“No! I don’t! Originally, I had lessons after dinner, but...”
With the marchioness gone now, it was only natural that the princess’s evening lesson time was empty. I smiled, slipped my hands under the princess’s armpits, and lifted her up into my arms.
“Then let’s go see Her Majesty the Queen Dowager after all this time.”
“Th-the Queen Dowager...?”
The moment I said that, the queen dowager’s lady-in-waiting, who had been waiting behind us, approached me. With a cold expression, the lady-in-waiting spoke to me in a voice as cold as her face.
“The one invited to dinner was Your Majesty the Queen alone. Even if it is the princess—”
“Her Majesty the Queen Dowager must also wish to see her granddaughter, the princess, after so long.”
When I cut off the lady-in-waiting’s words and answered, her eyebrow twitched. Regardless, I held the princess in my arms and walked toward where the lady-in-waiting stood.
The lady-in-waiting looked at me in bewilderment, but the queen dowager was one of the people I had to meet soon anyway. So there was no reason to avoid her now, nor any need.
“Guide us. I will go with the princess.”