[Episode 38] - The Time You Were Gone
-Vivian...?
“Ainsel?”
Ainsel’s expression, as she looked at me in that sunken voice, began to brighten little by little. The moment I realized Ainsel had finally regained consciousness, emotion welled up in me before I knew it.
To be honest, until now, the anxiety of not knowing what would happen to Ainsel had occupied a corner of my heart. She’d said she trusted me, but what if I couldn’t help her and, in the end, something went wrong?
Now that anxiety had just disappeared, my eyes gradually began to redden without me realizing it. To keep her from noticing I was about to cry, I let out a long sigh and looked at Ainsel.
Perhaps she still wasn’t fully aware, because Ainsel looked at me and smiled bashfully. You’re smiling right now? I thought I was going to burn up inside all this time.
Out of sheer spite, I dragged my finger down across Ainsel’s main body, leaving a long fingerprint. Ainsel went, “Hwek,” and let out a small scream.
-Wh-why are you doing this...!
“You’re smiling?! Do you have any idea how worried I was?! You talked like you trusted me, and then after that your consciousness suddenly wouldn’t come back, and do you know how anxious I was...!”
Only after rubbing the mirror all over and covering it with fingerprints did I feel a little better. Ainsel flailed her hands as if she couldn’t see properly and urged me to hurry up and wipe the mirror clean.
“Seriously... You told me to meet you in the room and then suddenly lost consciousness, and after that, when I looked into it, they said they didn’t know when you’d wake up because of the contract...”
-I-I’m sorry... I really didn’t know it would turn out like that back then...
“Eek! Don’t make excuses!”
When I irritably smeared more fingerprints over Ainsel as she made excuses, Ainsel’s eyes began to well up as if she was about to cry. I’m the one who wants to cry, so what’s she crying for?
After bickering with Ainsel for a few more minutes like that, I finally wiped away the fingerprints on the mirror. Ainsel blinked as if she could finally see properly and looked at me, fidgeting.
“...Still, I’m glad. It was worth having Fran treat you.”
-...? Fran? Don’t tell me you mean Coven’s Frankenstein?
“Yeah, that’s right. That Frankenstein. First, I suppose I should tell you what happened while you were gone.”
I began to explain, step by step, everything I had gone through since Ainsel lost consciousness. Thinking back on it, a lot really had happened.
“First, after I entered the room you opened for me, I realized that the king was dead and that Aurora had become a Leanan Sidhe. And with Sylphy’s help, I was able to get out of there.”
How, with Sylphy’s help, I had driven Aurora away.
“And in the end, whether the king had died or not, his corpse was found by Bangsho. Aurora’s corpse too. Sylphy said Aurora was probably dead as well. And she really hasn’t been seen since.”
How, after that, the king and Aurora had been found as corpses.
“After that... we held the king’s funeral.”
How the king’s death had been revealed and the funeral held.
“After the king died, the council of elders held a meeting about what to do with me, since I hadn’t received the royal family name. In the end, I was allowed to remain here until the Princess’s academy graduation ceremony.”
How I had fought with the council of elders over my treatment.
“And... in order to wake you, I realized there was a doctor in Coven named Fran who treats fairies, and I sent a letter. Fran came here because of that, and she was the one who treated you.”
How Sylphy had brought Fran through the letter I sent to Coven.
“And before Fran came here...”
And even the story about “The Little Mermaid” caused by “someone.”
Once I had told her everything I had gone through, Ainsel said nothing and avoided my gaze with an expression like she was about to cry.
“...It’s not your fault. Why do you look like you’re about to cry?”
-But... because I made the wrong judgment... you had to suffer all alone...
“...It was hard. I don’t know how many times I thought, ‘What if you had been there? Could I have made a slightly different choice?’”
At my words, Ainsel’s shoulders flinched.
Did Ainsel think I was blaming her? I slowly brought my forehead to the surface of Ainsel, the mirror. I felt the cold, inorganic texture, but the place where we touched grew warm.
“So... if it’s going to be like this, don’t do anything strange next time, saying you’ll take responsibility or whatever. Got it? It’s really hard for me. If you don’t help me, I really get exhausted.”
-I-I’m sorry...
“I didn’t say that so you’d apologize. Just say you understand.”
-...I understand. I won’t ever do it again.
When I pulled my forehead away from the mirror, I saw Ainsel on the verge of tears.
The sniffling Ainsel met my eyes and, in the end, burst into loud sobs. I made a motion as if stroking Ainsel’s head and smiled bitterly.
*
After Ainsel had calmed down somewhat, we talked about many things.
Among them, the most intense conversation was the moment Aurora’s death was confirmed. Ainsel, who had been unable to say anything about Aurora because of the contract—
-Aurora, XXX! XXXX! Ah! That feels so good! She’s finally dead!
—proved Aurora’s death by cursing her.
They said contracts were nullified by the other party’s death. Ainsel, who had been bound by a “contract that prevented her from harming Aurora,” jumped for joy at the fact that Aurora was dead and that the contract was over.
I didn’t know when exactly she had died, but I too was able to feel somewhat relieved at Aurora’s death, which had been ambiguous until now. It was as good as there being nothing left to threaten the Princess.
Looking at Ainsel as she hopped up and down in delight, I asked.
“If you hated her this much, how on earth did you end up bound by a contract?”
-I told you back then. That “someone” stole my main body. It was truly only for a moment, while my attention was briefly on my avatar. When I came to my senses, I was imprisoned in that room, and in the end, I was forced into a contract.
The “someone” Ainsel mentioned as she bounced around in anger.
Most likely, the “someone” who turned Aurora into a Leanan Sidhe, manipulated the Little Mermaid, and stole Ainsel’s main body were all the same person.
Who on earth could it be?
Why were they turning people obsessed with love into other “fairies” and creating such horrific endings?
They said even the Little Mermaid, in the form she was discovered in at the end, was not a “mermaid” but another “fairy.”
Whether that “someone” was a fairy, a human, or some other being, there was no doubt they were turning others into “fairies.”
I didn’t know the reason, but it seemed they only approached and harmed people who were obsessed with “love.”
“...Well, Coven said they’d handle it, so won’t they catch them soon? Fran also said she didn’t need my help. I’m sure they’ll take care of it.”
-...Come to think of it, why are you calling that person Fran so familiarly?
“Because Fran told me to call her that. And rather than being close to me, she seems close to the Princess. Maybe because they practice dancing together every day? At first, the Princess really hated Fran...”
Every time I spoke about Fran and the Princess, Ainsel’s complexion grew paler and paler. Ainsel, boiling over at the thought that her position as the Princess’s friend had been stolen, insisted we go to the Princess immediately, but—
“Calm down... It’s already time for the Princess to be asleep. So let’s wake up tomorrow morning and go to her right away. I’m sure the Princess will be happy too.”
-Will she...? What if it’s too late...? What if she likes that witch more than me now...
“I’m telling you, that won’t happen. Don’t worry so much... Oh, right. Come to think of it, what should we do about the earring?”
It wasn’t as if I could carry her main body around, and while it was definitely heavy, it was far more convenient to wear Ainsel on my ear.
Originally, at first, I had planned to make her into a necklace, but if I made her into a necklace, Ainsel’s line of sight would be uncomfortable because of my chest, so I had no choice but to wear her on my ear.
Ainsel told me not to worry and said there was a small box under the bed, and that I should open it. When I bent down and looked under the bed, there really was a small box, so I pulled it out and opened it.
Inside the box were countless mirror earrings. The decorations differed slightly, but when I picked up one small earring that Ainsel could enter, Ainsel smiled brightly and called out to me.
-I always kept replacements for the earring here. You just need to bring that close to me.
“Like this?”
When I held the earring and approached Ainsel’s main body, Ainsel’s tiny figure began to appear in the mirror attached to the earring. Was this how she made avatars? I familiarly put the earring on my ear to check.
-Hah... This reassuring eye level. It feels like it’s been such a long time.
“It’s been a long time since I wore an earring too, so my ear hurts.”
When I grumbled in a giggling tone, Ainsel also giggled and smiled. As I walked around the room once with Ainsel hanging from my ear, sure enough, the earring was the most familiar and comfortable.
Feeling that long-missed familiarity, I stroked Ainsel where she hung from my ear and whispered in a small voice, rejoicing in her recovery.
“Welcome back, Ainsel.”
-I’m back, Vivian.
*
-Princess!!!!!
“Ainsel!!!!!”
Whump!
As soon as I told her the news that Ainsel had regained consciousness, the Princess threw her arms around the earring containing Ainsel. The Princess even rubbed the mirror against her cheek, trying to tell whether this was truly a dream or reality.
When she realized it was real, she looked at Ainsel with teary eyes and smiled bashfully. Saying that she was truly relieved, and that she had missed her so much while she was gone.
At that, Ainsel also burst into tears and cried together with the Princess. Saying she had felt the same, that she had wanted to see the Princess. That she was sorry. Sob, sob.
‘This is nice to see...’
It was nice to see the Princess hopping around with the mirror in her hands, delighted by Ainsel’s return. As I watched that sight, Fran, who had somehow come to stand beside me, was staring at me intently.
She still wore her usual expressionless face, but perhaps because we had spent a certain amount of time together, I had learned, if only a little, how to read Fran’s expressions. Right now, Fran’s expression was regret.
“Are you sad about parting with the Princess?”
At my question, Fran shook her head.
“No. What I had to do here is now finished. I will swiftly return to my family home as I am.”
“Already? Can’t you at least watch the Princess’s ball before you go? I’m sure the Princess would want that too.”
“That is—”
The moment Fran was about to say something, the Princess grabbed Fran’s sleeve and lifted her head to look up at her. As if asking where she was going, telling her not to go, she looked up at Fran with sorrowful, deer-like eyes.
“You’re leaving already?”
“...No. I will watch the Princess’s ball before returning.”
“Ehehe.”
Holding Fran with one hand and Ainsel with the other, the Princess smiled brightly. Was she happy to have gained two friends? The Princess began introducing Fran and Ainsel to each other.
“This is Ainsel! She’s my friend, the mirror fairy!”
“...It is a pleasure to meet you, Ainsel.”
“This is my friend Fran! She says she’s an artificial human!”
-...Nice to meet you, Franken Stein.
...Did the Princess know that, among those three, she was the only one genuinely smiling?
In contrast to the Princess, who was smiling brightly, Fran was still expressionless, and Ainsel wore a rather uneasy look.
As I was watching those three exchange their beautiful greetings—
The Queen Dowager’s maid knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
“Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Queen Dowager says, ‘Just when exactly do you intend to come find me? If you do not come today either, you will see at the ball.’”
“Ah.”
“And... this is my personal opinion, but I believe that even if Your Majesty visits Her Majesty the Queen Dowager today, you will not be able to avoid her anger...”
When the Queen Dowager’s maid looked at me with truly worried eyes, I finally remembered.
That I had promised the Queen Dowager I would decide the Princess’s name and tell her within two weeks.
And that, as of yesterday, the promised date had passed.
‘...I’m in trouble.’