[Episode 28] - What Remains in the Box (1)
“Frankenstein...”
Truly, absolutely, completely a name I never wanted to encounter.
For some reason, I got the feeling he’d be a man with green skin and scars all over his face, so I shook my head. I mean, what was Frankenstein doing in *Snow White*? This leaped far, far beyond genre boundaries.
But if this person was the only “doctor” who could fix Einsel, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to meet them at least once. Though if he really was the screw-in-the-head man from my imagination, I’d have to run for my life.
Come to think of it, back when this had been a game, a “witch from another fairy tale” had appeared in *Snow White* too. A witch who helped the grown-up princess once. I had simply thought it was an homage...
Were witches usually like this? Were these beings from other novels and fairy tales also serving as “witches”? The thought that there were thirteen of them was dizzying, not merely staggering.
Slowly, I opened the invitation from the Coven that the white owl had sent me. I somehow felt afraid, so I squinted and carefully opened it. When I checked the contents—
“Hmm...?”
The invitation’s contents were roughly as follows.
It said to gather in some unknown region on the night of the full moon. It had been written in a single line, plain and simple. The moment I read it, an empty laugh escaped me.
*I can’t even leave the royal palace. Where am I supposed to go in the middle of the night?*
I could leave the palace, but my position was such that I couldn’t go out “alone,” at the very least. Had I expected too much from the witches? I had thought they’d borrow fairy magic to teleport me or something...
*It can’t be helped. If I can’t go, I’ll just have to call them here.*
I took out stationery from the desk drawer and began to write. Einsel had said the witches knew I wasn’t “Vivian,” so it seemed I didn’t particularly need to hide anything.
I wrote briefly of everything that had happened so far, but before I knew it, the letter had exceeded three pages. I read over what I had written once more, carefully, and smiled bitterly at the contents.
To summarize the letter:
*Something insane is happening here in the royal palace. Please help me.*
[The first queen of this nation, Aurora, wore the corpse of the fairy “Ryanansi,” and with it, drank the blood of her husband, the king. As if that weren’t enough, she had the king possess her own corpse.
The reason is truly absurd. Because they “wanted to become one.” It seems Aurora was deceived by someone. The king is already dead, and if Silpi’s words are true, Aurora will soon die as well.
In the midst of this, my friend Einsel lost consciousness due to a “rebound from the contract.” I need a “fairy doctor” called “Frankenstein” who can heal Einsel. Could you please help us?]
I folded the letter containing these words neatly and slipped it into an envelope. Then I pressed the royal sealing stamp firmly—the one with the family seal—and fanned the wax several times so it would dry.
After confirming the royal emblem was stamped properly on the red wax, I turned my head and glanced at Silpi, who was lying in my bed, fast asleep.
Silpi was sleeping contentedly on the blanket, hugging a round mana candy to her chest. I wondered when she had finished all the mana candies I’d made; only one remained in her arms.
I scraped together the last dregs of my mana, made three final mana candies, and placed them in front of Silpi. Perhaps having caught the sweet scent of mana, Silpi blinked her eyes open and looked at me.
“Can I ask one last favor?”
Silpi nodded, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
“Please send this letter to the witch who sent me the invitation. Or to that witch called ‘Frankenstein.’”
—That is a simple matter. It may take some time, but I shall return shortly.
Silpi stretched her wings high, gave a great yawn, and lifted the letter I offered her. It was about three times Silpi’s size, but when she folded it neatly, it shrank in an instant to the size of a fingernail.
Silpi held the letter in both hands, fluttered her wings lightly, and then flew toward the window. I had told her she could sleep the night and leave in the morning, but Silpi shook her head and urged me to open the window.
—Keep the candies safe, little one. I shall return for them soon.
“Be careful.”
—Hoho, very well. You too, little one, take care while I am away.
When I opened the window, Silpi soared into the sky like the wind itself. The moment she vanished from sight, I felt certain the letter would be delivered swiftly.
Gazing at the spot where Silpi had disappeared among the star-strewn night sky, I let out a worried sigh and closed the window. Now, the only thing I could do was wait.
Wait for the king’s corpse to be discovered. Wait for a reply to the letter I had sent the witch. Certain it wouldn’t be long, I turned my head to look at Einsel’s main body.
Seeing Einsel still show no reaction whatsoever, I sighed again and flopped down onto the bed. It was late; I needed to sleep soon.
I had much to do tomorrow.
*
After that, four days passed.
During those four days, there had been no word from Silpi, and Einsel still hadn’t regained consciousness. And still, no one had realized the king was dead.
Baengsyo, who had left food and paints outside my door every day, seemed to be catching on by now; their expression grew increasingly dark each time they saw the piles of rotting food accumulating there.
Watching that, I somehow felt as though I were holding a time bomb that could go off at any moment. A time bomb certain to explode soon.
Forcibly ignoring the guilt that crept up on me, I continued the princess’s lessons today as well. But Einsel’s absence, which had been in charge of the princess’s party etiquette and other education, was greater than I had expected.
On the first day of lessons without Einsel, I recalled a conversation I’d had with the princess. The princess, having realized that Einsel—who usually hung from my ear—was gone, had looked up at me with slightly worried eyes.
“Your Majesty the Queen... where is Einsel...?”
“...Einsel is resting because she’s feeling ill. She’ll recover soon, so don’t worry.”
“Th-then... may I visit her...?”
Upon hearing that Einsel was sick, the princess had asked me, flustered. I gently stroked the anxious princess’s head and lied with effort.
“Einsel went to see a doctor for a while. That’s why she isn’t here... truly, don’t worry. She’s with a doctor who treats fairies.”
“Hmm...”
I put my hands under the princess’s armpits and lifted her high into a hug, bringing her sulky, pouting face into clearer view. It was different from the expression of someone about to cry—more like she was pouting.
To the princess, Einsel was her first friend, so of course she was worried. But it couldn’t be helped. Einsel was still unconscious.
I let out a small sigh and headed to the room where we had lessons, still holding the princess. Though I was worried about Einsel, the princess had to worry more about her approaching birthday party.
My job right now was to make this clumsy princess dance the waltz perfectly. I looked at the princess in my arms and chuckled.
“Worry about your lessons before worrying about Einsel. Have you memorized all the movements I taught you?”
“Y-yes...! I practiced with Ellie! Ellie said she’s perfect at them now too!”
The princess showed me one of the dance movements—stretching both arms straight above her head—while in my arms. According to Ellie, the princess practiced these movements in her room every day.
At this rate, wouldn’t she really grow taller than me someday? Thinking that such a day might eventually come, I found myself smiling.
“Then let’s learn a different movement today. I promised I’d teach you a new one, after all.”
“Yes!”
Perhaps excited for the new movement, the princess smiled brightly and began humming the tune.
And so, having taught the princess the new movement, today was the fourth day.
Clap, clap, clap!
“One, two, three! One, two, three!”
The princess began stepping the waltz to the beat of my clapping. Her timing was still off and her body flopped like a squid, but she had definitely improved from before.
If she was an earthworm before, should I say she was a squid now?
The princess’s dance, continued with clumsy steps, was still precarious. She still stepped on her skirt and stumbled about roughly every other spin.
“Ah, ugh...!”
Once again, the princess spun around and stepped on her skirt, teetering. Seeing that, I instinctively reached out to steady her shoulder, but she stood upright again and continued her steps.
*Is it because she has no one to lead her?*
The princess still struggled with spins in place. I was curious who her dance partner would be, but unless something happened, it would surely be another noble child her age.
By tradition, the royal family’s first dance partner was the parent, the king. From the second dance onward, it was customary for children the princess’s age to take the role. But there was no king now...
The princess would have to enter high society after this birthday party, so it didn’t seem bad for her to partner with a noble child her age and make an impression.
They say high society is a jungle, so much so that children’s high society is separate from that of the adults. I worried whether such a fragile princess could survive in that harsh social world.
While watching the princess dance, lost in such thoughts—
Tap!
“Hah... hah...!”
The princess, having completed the final pose of the waltz, let out a tired sigh and wiped the beads of sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand. It was still awkward and lacking, but there was no doubt that simply finishing the routine was tremendous growth.
As if moved by the fact that she had finished the dance, she looked at me with bright, doe-like eyes. I applauded at the sight and hugged her, lifting her up with all my strength.
“You’re almost there now. Shall we stop here for today?”
“Yees... my legs hurt so much...”
The princess, held in my arms, tapped her knees and rested her head on my shoulder as if exhausted. Feeling her still-light weight, the moment I tried to set her down on the bed—
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the classroom door. Wondering what the matter was, I told them to enter, and Ellie came in, her face pale as a sheet, her hands trembling as she looked at me.
Seeing that expression, I knew.
“Y-Your Majesty... His Excellency the Prime Minister...”
“...Yes. I’ll go shortly.”
That Baengsyo had caught on to the king’s death.