[Chapter 40] - My Child's Birthday Party (2)
Finally, the day of the princess's birthday party had dawned.
Though the princess's birthday party was held in the evening, the kingdom had been in an uproar since morning. From broad daylight, fireworks were set off as everyone celebrated and blessed the princess's birthday.
The capital's nobles opened their storehouses in celebration of the princess's birthday, bestowing free alcohol and food upon the people, and the royal palace also poured out money to bestow alcohol and food upon the citizens.
Bards composed and performed poems celebrating the royal child's seventh birthday, and to the rhythm of those poems, people sang and danced, blessing the princess's existence.
Fireworks went off throughout the streets, children ran about playing like crazy, and young people were busy drinking from broad daylight and shouting three cheers of "Long live the Princess!"
Early in the morning, the palace gates opened, and the carriages of nobles and merchants who had lined up before them entered the palace one by one. All contained expensive items, and each was a gift being presented to the princess.
A day to give thanks that she had grown up healthy after surviving an infancy with high mortality rates, to sincerely celebrate and bless the future of the royal who would become a future leader, and to rejoice and be happy together.
The seventh birthday of a royal was such a day.
*
Dresses and accessories sparkling blindingly filled the room with no space to step. I wanted to go see the princess's adornments, but I too had to get dressed up as one attending the party hall.
One of the maids attending to me swallowed dryly and looked at me. She coaxed me as if soothing a fierce puppy, saying she would lay hands on me now, that she would dress me up so please behave quietly.
Before I entered this body, there had been a party where Vivian had wreaked havoc and made a complete mess simultaneously. I quietly nodded and looked at the maid.
"Your Majesty must know as well, but there is much Your Majesty must prepare for from now on."
"Do not worry. This time I will not do anything. The princess is waiting, so let us hurry."
At those kind words that Vivian would never have uttered, the maid looking at me shed slight tears. And then, she began explaining one after another the things I had to do from now on.
"...First, bathe for 30 minutes in warm water, then bathe for 30 minutes in heated milk, after which apply rose-scented oil to the skin. And repeat this three times. And after a massage and a nap—"
"...?"
The moment I heard the schedule divided almost by the minute, the Vivian who had died in this body nearly possessed me again. I could understand, if only a little, why Vivian had wreaked such havoc and chaos last time.
Bathing alone took three hours, then massage and calisthenics, and hair styling. And if you added dressing up and doing her hair, it became exactly the time to attend the princess's evening birthday party, apparently.
As I smoothed out my brows which had furrowed unconsciously while hearing the schedule, the maid continuing her explanation looked at me with a worried expression.
I had done quite a bit of image management until now, but it seems it was still insufficient...
I chewed over the already exhausting schedule once more, let out a deep sigh, and forced a smile.
Because at my ear, Ainsel had remarked, "Smile! Smile! That's why you really look like Vivian!"
"...Yes, let us begin."
And so, the hellish minute-by-minute dressing up began.
*
I was really, truly exhausted.
They wouldn't let me eat lest my stomach stick out, and thanks to the corset tightened almost like torture, I couldn't move, let alone breathe. When they tightened the corset, I had really screamed, "Just kill me!"
Having finally finished my adornments and escaped the room, I led my exhausted body and slowly began walking toward the princess's room. Before entering the party hall, I had wanted so much to see the princess in her dress.
Wearing unfamiliar high heels and trembling like a newborn deer, I barely arrived at the princess's room, and the moment I saw the princess, I experienced the feeling of today's accumulated stress melting away in an instant.
"Your Majesty!"
"Princess!"
As the door opened, the princess leaped into my arms. The princess was wearing a blue dress with red accents—a dress like "Snow White's."
It was an extremely cute child's dress with more frills than the ones she usually wore, and with a wide skirt that looked excellent for mobility.
The princess, seeming to like the dress too, spun round and round before me showing it off. I slid my hands under her armpits and lifted her high, then rubbed her cheek against mine.
Because she was truly so cute.
"As expected, I have an eye for choosing clothes. Today you are truly the prettiest in the world. Ainsel was so impressed she can't say anything."
"Ehehe. Thank you! Your Majesty's dress is very beautiful too!"
I rolled only my eyes slightly to look at the full-length mirror in the princess's room. The dress I wore was one with relatively few decorations, a deep blue dress.
A dress that followed the body's line without puffing out. The front was modest, but the back was boldly opened to the point of slight embarrassment. Borrowing the maids' words, it was daring yet elegant.
The small gems embedded in the hem reflected the light, giving the illusion of walking on the Milky Way... The maids poured out admiration and praise until their mouths ran dry. Honestly, to me it was merely an embarrassing outfit.
But since the princess said it was beautiful, somehow it might actually look beautiful.
"Fufu, thank you. Since the princess says it is beautiful, it looks that way to my eyes too."
"R-really. L-like, um, I mean, it's pretty like the sea!"
The princess flailed her arms widely, supplementing her lacking vocabulary with action. Looking at the princess like that, a chuckle burst out of me unconsciously.
When I turned my head slightly, Fran—perhaps having helped with the princess's adornments—stood beside me, gazing steadily at the princess nestled in my arms.
Was it thanks to the lessons she had taken during this time? Fran seemed to have grown quite close to the princess. I smiled brightly and expressed my gratitude to Fran.
"Thank you for helping with the princess's dressing. Will you go to the party hall first? We shall arrive soon too."
"Understood. I shall wait at the party hall."
Fran bowed her head expressionlessly and slowly headed for the door. When the princess saw Fran heading for the door and waved her hand lightly at her, Fran waved her hand lightly back.
And she did so while smiling.
Fran, who had never once smiled before me, showed a smile to the princess. At first, I had thought the princess's words that Fran sometimes smiled were merely a joke, but...
I set the princess down on the floor again and gently stroked her head. Since the carefully arranged hair mustn't get disheveled. After gently petting her, I extended my hand to the princess.
"Now then, shall we go to the party hall too, Princess?"
"Yes! I'd like that!"
The princess grabbed the hand I offered tightly and shouted in a bright voice with a wide smile. The princess and I walked slowly toward the party hall, holding hands firmly just like that.
Maids and nobles encountered in the hallway greeted the princess each time, saying she was beautiful and congratulating her, and each time she received such greetings, the princess never stopped her giggling, perhaps in a good mood.
To the point where I wondered if this was the same princess who had trembled so anxiously in my arms last night, she straightened her shoulders and began walking proudly. Was this the effect of praise?
Walking with the princess as she headed toward the party hall with proud steps, before we knew it, we had arrived at the door through which the "royals" enter the party hall. It was structured so that when the doors opened, everyone's gaze concentrated on one spot.
I asked the attendant guarding the door.
"Has Her Majesty the Queen Dowager already entered?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Her Majesty the Queen Dowager entered at the time the party began."
She arrived earlier than I thought.
It seemed the Queen Dowager had entered the party hall before us to see the princess's party debut faster than anyone else.
When I imagined opening those huge doors and going in, the figure of the Queen Dowager trying to watch her granddaughter's first party debut from the front row came to mind, and a laugh escaped me unconsciously.
I stopped the attendant who was about to announce our entrance for a moment, crouched down, and met eyes with the princess. The princess tilted her head and stared blankly at me.
"Princess."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Looking at the princess's bright smile, I recalled for a moment the name I had given the princess.
At first, I had wondered whether to give her a different name. There were many names suitable for the princess.
But I thought that this name suited the princess more than any other.
Black hair sparkling as if stars were embroidered in the night sky.
Later, commanding many fairies, "a girl who will be with the fairies."
And a princess who would one day become the "Queen" of this nation.
The name that suits this child.
I thought that indeed, there was no other name but this one.
"I have a birthday gift for the princess."
"A gift...?"
The princess's eyes sparkled at the word "gift."
I smiled brightly, rose from my spot, and went to the attendant. I told the attendant to announce my entrance first, and then to announce the princess's entrance.
The attendant nodded in understanding and then shouted loudly to announce my entrance.
"The Second Queen! Lady 'Vivian Liliensol' is entering!"
The doors to the party hall opened, and I turned around to look at the princess. The princess, perhaps not yet realizing what was happening, stared blankly at me.
I called out to the princess once more.
"Princess."
At my call, the princess lifted her head and looked at me. As if slowly beginning to understand something, moisture began to gather in the princess's eyes.
"Your Majesty...?"
"This is the birthday gift I give to you."
Turning my head as I entered the party hall, I looked at the attendant and nodded.
"Cry out the princess's 'name' and let everyone know."
*
At the Queen's words, the attendant shouted in an even more resonant voice so that everyone in the party hall could hear, so that all would hear this name clearly.
"The protagonist of today's party, who marks her seventh birthday today!"
Hearing the loud cry that seemed to ring in her ears, the princess clutched her chest unconsciously.
Each time the attendant shouted, the princess's heart trembled greatly and the rims of her eyes reddened.
Biting her teeth to hold back the tears that threatened to burst forth, she raised her head and looked forward.
The lights of the party hall were blinding.
She saw the figure of Her Majesty the Queen waiting before the door, extending her hand to her. Slowly, the princess moved trembling footsteps toward that place.
To hide the emotions that seemed ready to burst into tears at any moment, the princess smiled with the corners of her eyes curved and began approaching "her" who was waiting for her.
As she listened to her very own "name," which she would hear for the rest of her life.
To grasp the hand she extended, the princess took one more step forward.
Toward the one who truly loved her.
"The Princess of the Kingdom! Princess 'Titania Snow White' is entering!"