[Episode 43] - Now It’s Time to Part (1)
I snatched the Coven’s invitation from the princess’s hand, practically tearing it away. At that, the princess pouted, glaring at me as if I had stolen the present Fran had given her.
“S-sorry. Wait just a moment. Fran, why on earth would you give Titania something like this?”
“There is no particular reason I gave her the invitation. It’s simply that the princess appears to have quite sufficient talent as a ‘witch,’ and so I gave her what I considered the most valuable item I could offer at present.”
At the words that the princess had “talent” as a witch, I couldn’t help but frown.
Since, in the game, there was a “witch ending” involving the dwarf fairies, I had already known the princess possessed “talent” as a witch, but...
I looked down at the “Coven’s Invitation” in my hand with a bitter expression.
“...No, definitely not. If you’re going to give her a present, give her something else. Something not related to ‘witches.’”
“Why not? It is not as though I am telling the princess to become a witch. And simply becoming acquainted with the witches of the Coven may prove to be a great help to the princess later on.”
“That’s... That may be true, but...”
Fran calmly began explaining what kind of place the “Coven” was.
A gathering of witches, a place where various talented “witches” came together to share their knowledge.
And she said that, just as Fran was a doctor, each of them was an “expert” in her own field.
I already knew most of this to some extent, but the princess, hearing about the Coven for the first time, pricked up her ears and focused on Fran’s words.
For a princess who had lived her entire life in the royal palace, stories of the outside world could not help but stir her curiosity.
Fran said that such women would surely help the princess when she was in trouble, then took another new “Coven’s Invitation” from her pocket and held it out to the princess.
Once again, I snatched the letter as it passed from Fran’s hand to the princess’s, then looked at the princess and shook my head.
At that, the princess, who had now had her present taken away twice, puffed out her cheeks and held out her hand to me, demanding I return it at once.
“No.”
“Why...? Fran gave it to me... It’s my birthday present...”
“...In any case, no.”
Because I don’t want you to become a “witch.”
Fran, who had already gotten entangled with us, couldn’t be helped, but I didn’t want the princess to get involved with any other “witches” from now on.
Because I knew very well how everyone looked at Vivian, who was rumored to be a “witch.”
She could be careful not to get caught, but because I knew what would happen if she were caught, I couldn’t help but worry. Looking at the teary-eyed princess, I firmly shook my head.
“No means no! Not all witches are good people like Fran! Among them, there are witches who even catch and eat people, you know. Do you still want to go?!”
“There are no witches in the Coven who eat people, though.”
I deliberately ignored Fran’s interruption and looked at the princess with a serious expression. As if she wasn’t the least bit afraid of man-eating witches, the princess widened her eyes and glared at me, holding out her hand.
“Give it back!”
“No! Nothing good comes from getting involved with witches!”
“Her Majesty the Queen is a witch too! You told me she was a good witch!”
“Th-that’s...!”
With my own past words now tripping me up, I looked at the princess with an involuntarily bitter expression.
As if she had no intention of backing down any further, the princess came closer and tried to snatch the letter from me instead.
When I raised the letter high above my head, she began hopping up and down in front of me, demanding that I give it back at once.
Just as I was wondering what on earth I should do, Fran pulled a whole cascade of invitations from her pocket and showed them to the princess.
“I still have plenty left.”
“Wait...!”
The princess’s eyes flashed at the sight of Fran’s hands full of invitations, and she hurried over, took one, and hid it in her pocket. At that sight, my head throbbed, and I had no choice but to press a hand to my forehead.
‘I really don’t want her getting involved with witches...’
When I let out a deep sigh, the princess busied herself stealing glances at me. Did she think I was angry? After glancing at me again and again, the princess eventually hid behind Fran.
I let out another deep sigh, then flopped down into a chair and looked at the princess hiding behind Fran. The princess met my eyes, then hid behind Fran’s back and stared quietly at me.
Then Ainsel, hanging from the princess’s neck, made a suggestion.
—W-when the princess goes to the Coven later, she can just go with Vivian, can’t she? I know you’re worried about the princess, but... you really don’t need to worry. It’s not such a bad place.
“...Fine. If you go that far, then I understand.”
When I nodded and said I understood, the princess’s face lit up brightly. Perhaps she was that happy I had given my permission, because the princess even held up Ainsel hanging around her neck and bounced up and down in place.
“...Are you that happy?”
“Yes!”
Seeing the princess giggle, I felt guilt prickling at my heart.
Because... although I had, for the time being, given her permission to go to the Coven, I had no particular intention of actually taking her there.
To begin with, even if one received a Coven’s invitation, it wasn’t easy to go. Just like the reason I hadn’t been able to go to the Coven, the princess also had her position as the kingdom’s “princess,” so she couldn’t easily leave the royal castle.
So, for now, I had only given permission in words, thinking that later, as the princess gradually grew up, she would realize her circumstances and naturally come to understand.
As I was nodding to myself like that, Fran nodded as well and stroked the princess’s hair. Then, with words I had not expected at all, she soothed the princess.
“It is fortunate Vivian gave you permission. If you wish to go to the Coven, you may tear open the letter at any time. I will personally come to fetch both the princess and Vivian.”
“Huh?”
When I stared at Fran with wide eyes, Fran showed me the invitation as if asking whether I hadn’t known. And when she opened the invitation, the necklace around Fran’s neck began to let out a beep-beep sound, an alarm ringing from it.
“As you can see, it has been set so that an alarm comes to me when the letter is opened. And since I am an excellent witch, I can arrive here in an instant. I can also escort you to the Coven’s gathering place in an instant. To say it once again, that is because I am an excellent witch.”
Fran put both hands on her hips and proudly puffed out her chest, showing off her competence.
‘So... that means if the invitation is opened, an alarm goes straight to Fran, and Fran can come here like she’s teleporting and take us away too...? I thought it was just an ordinary invitation...’
At the invitation, which had so many functions that I wondered whether I had given permission for nothing, I unconsciously swallowed dryly. For some reason, all sorts of uses came to mind, but I shook my head hard and drove the thoughts away.
Whether she knew what I was feeling or not, the princess simply found it fascinating and bounced up and down in front of Fran in delight. Thinking I should confiscate the invitation for now, I held out my hand to the princess.
“Titania, for now, I’ll hold onto the invitation for you. Later, if you want to go, be sure to tell me—”
“No! I’m going to keep it!”
The princess instantly dodged my hand and fled to the corner of the room, curling up to protect the invitation. She even growled at me, telling me not to come any closer.
She looked just like a child desperately trying not to have her New Year’s money taken away by her parents. As if she no longer believed the promise that it would be returned when she was older, the princess huddled up tightly and struggled with all her might to protect the invitation.
—They say giving something and then taking it back is the worst thing you can do...
“That is correct. Vivian does not understand the human heart.”
And on top of that, there were Ainsel and Fran, whispering while shaking their heads.
For some reason, I felt as though I had become the bad person, so I had no choice but to draw back the hand I had extended toward the princess.
In order to meet the eyes of the crouching princess, I also crouched down on the floor.
Then the princess, who had hugged her knees, buried her head, and curled herself into a ball, slightly lifted her head and met my eyes.
“...Fine. I won’t try to take it from you anymore. Instead, when you open the invitation, you must really, really, really tell me first. All right?”
“Hehe! Yes! Okay!”
The princess, who had been curled up in a ball, spread herself out wide, then jumped straight into my arms. Yes... When you ask me like this, how could I possibly refuse?
I held the princess who had thrown herself into my arms and sat down in the chair. Looking at the princess on my lap, staring at the invitation as if she were truly happy, I began to feel that perhaps it didn’t matter anymore.
‘Right... It isn’t particularly dangerous, and I can just think of it as a tool that sends an alarm to Fran if the invitation is opened, can’t I?’
I thought that later, if something truly dangerous happened to the princess, with this invitation, we would be able to get help from Fran. Not only Fran, but perhaps other witches as well.
‘Yes, let’s just think of it as simple “insurance.”’
To soothe the anxiety that had somehow bloomed in my chest, I rubbed my cheek against the princess’s face.
The princess giggled and curled up, saying it tickled, but I went so far as to hold her head in place and rubbed my cheek against hers.
And so our brief party ended, and the next morning came. Fran said that it was now time to leave and gave her farewell to the princess.
*
“Are you really going back...?”
“Yes. Since Ainsel, my patient, has recovered as well, it is time for me to return. There are many patients waiting for me where I was, so it cannot be helped.”
Before leaving, Fran, having gathered her few belongings, crouched down to meet the princess’s eyes and looked at her. The princess, however, refused to meet Fran’s gaze and turned her head away, avoiding her eyes.
Then, in the end, the princess trotted over to me and hid behind my skirt. Looking at the princess shaking her head as if she didn’t even want to look at her, Fran held out her hand to her.
“Princess, one final farewell.”
“......”
The princess, lips jutting out in a pout, looked at Fran and then, as if she had no choice, held out her hand and took Fran’s. And just as she was about to shake it up and down—
Pop!
Fran’s wrist came off as her hand was being shaken. At the sudden Fran joke, the princess’s eyes went wide, but now, as if she had gotten used to it, she did not look surprised. Instead, she got angry and threw the detached hand back at Fran.
“Hoho, that was my final Fran joke.”
“I really hate thaaat!!!”