[Episode 36] – Frankenstein (2)
“Waaaaah!! Waaaaaaaaah!!!”
Once the tears started, they showed no sign of stopping easily. When Fran took a step closer, the Princess—who had been waving her hands to shoo Fran away—screamed and sobbed as if she were about to faint.
“Ack-!! Don't come near meee!!!”
“How strange. The children back in my hometown were always overjoyed when I showed them a Fran joke.”
Fran tilted her head, looking truly perplexed, and gazed at the Princess nestled in my arms. She was indeed an artificial human, but who could have imagined screws and gears tumbling out of her mouth?
The Princess insisted she had seen something she shouldn't have, burying her face in my chest and not even thinking of lifting her head. Fran paced left and right beside us, as if finding the Princess's reaction strange, but—
“Get awaaaay!!!”
“This is a shock. How could there be such a reaction...”
Fran trailed off for the first time, saying it was truly shocking. Though her expression remained as impassive as ever, whether she was genuinely sulking or not, she turned her back on the Princess and plopped down into a chair.
The Princess, whether Fran was sulking or not, was too busy sobbing in my arms. She had already been frightened by the mere mention of swallowing needles; seeing something similar firsthand must have been a terrible shock.
I patted the Princess's back and began trying to soothe her.
“Princess, shall I tell her to leave right away?”
“Hic! Hic!!”
The Princess nodded vigorously, sobbing. Hearing that she was being told to leave, Fran turned her head and approached just to the point where the Princess wouldn't burst into tears again, staring intently at her.
“Princess, look at this.”
Fran showed the Princess her thumb, performing a thumb-cutting trick where she pointed to the severed surface with her finger. Upon seeing it, the Princess—who had been stealing glances—snorted.
“I've already seen that! And Her Majesty the Queen does it better!”
She was right. Even if she showed the Princess the finger-cutting trick now, after having performed it so many times that the Princess was sick of it, the Princess wouldn't bat an eye.
Then, as if her pride had been wounded—
“I see. So merely cutting off a finger is insufficient.”
*Pop!* With that sound, Fran yanked her own wrist right out. The detached wrist, as if it possessed a will of its own, began to dance a finger dance on Fran's other palm.
And the Princess's reaction upon seeing that was, as expected—
“Creepyyyy!!”
“Incomprehensible. My finest Fran joke has failed.”
Fran reattached the wrist she had removed and clasped both her heads in her hands as if she couldn't understand. It was certainly the kind of prank young boys would enjoy, but—
Such pranks didn't work on the Princess at all. Fran murmured that the pride of an artificial human seemed to have been crushed, then let her shoulders sag.
I let out a helpless sigh and asked Fran a favor.
“I'm grateful that you healed Ainsel... but the Princess is a bit... How much compensation would you need? I'll prepare as much as I can.”
Though she was the benefactor who had cured Ainsel, the Princess had fits at the mere sight of her face, so there was nothing to be done. I thought I should quickly give her compensation and send her away from the royal palace.
“In that case, I would request some high-quality oil.”
“O-oil...?”
“That was a joke. A Fran joke.”
Fran held up two fingers in a V-sign toward me. With this expressionless artificial human, it was hard to tell where the jokes ended and the sincerity began.
“No compensation is necessary. And I cannot leave right away.”
“Noooo!!!”
Hearing that Fran wasn't leaving, the Princess convulsed in terror. It was the first time I'd seen the Princess hate someone this much; it was almost refreshing, yet a little worrying.
Despite the Princess's furious scream, Fran paid her no mind and glanced at Ainsel, who was groaning on the desk.
“The patient's treatment is not yet complete. Until Ainsel returns to perfect condition, I have a duty as a doctor to care for the patient.”
“O-oh... if that's the case...”
At Fran's words that she had to care for Ainsel, the Princess could say nothing. The Princess was already deeply worried about the groaning Ainsel, so she glared at Fran with a look that said she really hated this but had no choice.
“You're going to heal Ainsel...? Really...? You're not lying this time?”
The Princess eyed Fran with a suspicious gaze. Looking at her, Fran still regarded the Princess with an emotionless expression, yet her actions betrayed her face as she gently stroked the Princess's head.
“Yes, this time it is not a lie. I, Frankenstein, do not lie when it comes to treating fairies.”
*
Fran, having said she must stay by Ainsel's side until she recovered, decided to remain here for the time being. It was already incredible that she had sneaked into the heavily guarded royal palace, and when I asked how she planned to hide—
“You needn't worry. As you can see, I am the perfect maid. If you will simply play along, I shall serve as your maid for the time being.”
“...I think you'll be found out.”
“As long as you speak well of me, I will not be found out. I am excellent, after all.”
Fran lifted the hem of her maid uniform's skirt and spun around once to show me. Come to think of it, I had been wondering all along. Why on earth was she wearing a maid uniform?
As I examined Fran's attire closely, she spun around gracefully once more, showed off her maid uniform, and stopped in a poised stance to ask me,
“Are you curious about my outfit?”
“A little...?”
“There is no special reason. It is simply a hobby. I enjoy having hobbies. Ballet, ballroom dancing, and cleaning and laundry are my hobbies. I simply enjoy wearing outfits suitable for cleaning and laundry.”
“It's unusual for cleaning and laundry to be hobbies.”
Having assumed the 'arabesque' pose—standing on one toe while lifting the opposite leg behind her—Fran lowered her head slightly to look at me and the Princess.
Enchanted by Fran's beautiful posture, the Princess clapped her hands and watched Fran's ballet. Each time the Princess clapped, Fran gradually began to dance, as if performing various feats.
Then, suddenly, a thought occurred to me.
Lately, the Princess hadn't shown noticeable growth in her dancing. She still couldn't escape her clumsiness, wobbling through the waltz like a squid. Perhaps Fran could help her?
I watched Fran dancing with such grace and asked,
“Fran, if you have time while you're here, could you teach the Princess how to dance, even for a little while? She's learning the waltz right now, but...”
“Are you asking me to teach Her Highness the Princess to dance?”
Hearing this from beside me, the Princess's eyes widened in shock, and she shook her head furiously, clearly unwilling to learn dancing from Fran.
Fran pondered for a moment, looking at the Princess, then gently extended her hand as if offering a dance. The Princess frowned deeply at the hand held out before her.
“First, I must see for myself the extent of Her Highness's skill.”
“...No. I will learn from Her Majesty the Queen.”
I stroked the head of the Princess, who was pouting her lips and scrunching up her face. The Princess's dancing skills were certainly lacking, but she could now waltz.
Having practiced so hard that her feet bled, the Princess had finally become able to waltz as of yesterday. However, she could merely perform the waltz; it was far from perfect.
She was still riddled with mistakes, and without the sound of my clapping, she couldn't keep the beat on her own and couldn't dance. There was still time, so she could gradually fix it, but...
Was it a parent's heart that wanted to seize any opportunity for her to do a little better? I wanted to see the Princess dance the waltz perfectly, without a single mistake in front of everyone.
It might be my own greed, but it was undoubtedly for the Princess's sake. I slipped my hands under the Princess's armpits and lifted her up onto my lap.
Perhaps unhappy that I had asked her to learn from Fran, the Princess pouted her lips heavily. I gently hugged her and slowly coaxed her.
“Won't you try learning from Fran just once? Who knows? She might teach better than I do.”
“No.”
“...It's because I want to see you dance beautifully at the ball.”
“I can do better even now.”
The Princess was adamant.
Any further persuasion would likely irritate her, so I couldn't bring myself to ask again. Just when I was about to give up, Sylph flew over from nearby and perched on the Princess's shoulder, whispering something.
“Really...?”
-Well, if the Princess asks, he won't refuse either.
“...?”
Whatever Sylph had said, the Princess lifted her head and stared blankly at me. Then, with a deadpan expression, she hopped down from my lap and seized Fran's hand.
“Sylph? What did you say to the Princess?”
-Hehe, just a little motivation. The Princess might ask you for a dance at the ball, so you should practice your dancing hard too.
So the Princess grabbed the hand of Fran—whom she hated so much—because she wanted to dance with me?
What an admirable and adorable child. The urge to wrap my arms tightly around her surged within me right then.
Watching the two of them dance with a pleased expression, I saw cold sweat begin to trickle down Fran's impassive face as they danced, and her complexion turn pale.
Her already pale face gradually turned blue, and as the dance with the Princess was nearing its end, Fran let out a sigh for the first time.
From what I could see, the Princess had danced quite well; why was Fran acting like that...?
“...This is not dancing.”
“?!”
The Princess glared at Fran as if she could kill her, her expression screaming, 'I danced my heart out! How could you say something so cruel?' Fran shook her head and looked at me.
“How much time remains until the ball?”
“Hmm... about three weeks?”
“There is not much time. We shall begin at once, starting today.”
Fran said so and looked down at the Princess, who was still holding her hand.
As an inexplicable, fiery heat flickered in Fran's expressionless eyes, the Princess scrunched up her face and shook off the hand Fran held.
“I hate you...”