[Episode 49] - A Small Tea Party for Princesses Only (2)
If Titania were to be honest about what she felt when she looked at Princess Fiona, it was “discomfort.” They had met only four days ago, yet Princess Fiona stuck by her side all day, chattering away like a lark, and Titania found it uncomfortable.
It was the second time she had felt such discomfort toward someone, the first being the mischievous Fran. Not only that, but for some reason, whenever she was with Princess Fiona, her mood soured.
Even ten-year-old Titania knew she must not let that show, so she simply said nothing. If she were being honest, she wanted to get away from Princess Fiona’s side at once.
“Her Majesty Queen Vivian prepared truly wonderful tea for us. I should go thank her later.”
“I’m sure Mother will be pleased...”
After taking a sip of black tea, Princess Fiona cupped her cheeks as if it were delicious and smiled brightly. Watching her, Titania gave an awkward smile as well and sipped the milk tea mixed with milk and sugar.
A modest tea party held in a corner of the spacious garden. Though rather than a tea party, it was simply two princesses sharing snacks and tea while chatting, Princess Fiona insisted on calling it a tea party.
She said that whenever young ladies drank tea together, it was always a tea party, and proudly displayed the sweets she had brought from her own country. From apple pie freshly made by the chef included in the delegation, to chocolate sold in the Kingdom of Silverword.
Thanks to Princess Fiona, who had laid out enough snacks to fill the small table, Titania’s eyes sparkled. Was it because she had been restraining herself from eating snacks lately? The treats looked even more delicious in Titania’s eyes.
“Please feel free to eat as much as you like. What I recommend is this chocolate that has been popular among the young ladies in our kingdom’s capital lately. To buy it even once, you have to stand in line—”
It would be nicer if she could just let me eat a little quietly... Thinking such an unkind thought, Titania shook her head and took a bite of the rose-shaped chocolate Princess Fiona had handed her.
It was the most delicious chocolate she had ever eaten, and Titania’s eyes went round. The sweetness that spread across her tongue was not entirely the chocolate’s own. It was sweetness mingled with the tartness of cranberries.
A flavor that was bitter, sweet, and even tart filled Titania’s mouth. Then, with the scent of roses brushing the tip of her nose on top of it all, she ended up popping the half-bitten chocolate into her mouth in one bite.
“I’m glad you seem to like it.”
“...It’s really delicious.”
As Princess Fiona watched Titania slowly melt the chocolate in her mouth with a blissful expression, the corners of her lips rose on their own. She even took out a handkerchief and wiped the chocolate from the corner of Titania’s mouth.
Would this be what it felt like to have an “older sister”? At Princess Fiona’s caring manner, Titania bashfully covered her mouth with both hands.
That was why she found it even harder to understand. Why did she feel “discomfort” toward someone who treated her so kindly? Titania tilted her head slightly and sipped her milk tea.
As she sipped her tea and ate the snacks Princess Fiona had prepared, Princess Fiona rested her chin on the table and looked at Titania with a gentle smile.
The moment Titania thought, Resting one’s chin on the table is supposed to be bad manners..., Princess Fiona smiled brightly as if she had read Titania’s mind and answered.
“It’s just the two of us anyway, isn’t it? I sent the maids away too, so why would we need to worry about anyone watching? We keep etiquette for others to see, so if there’s no one to see it, there’s no need to keep it.”
“I-Is that so?”
“If I didn’t do at least this, I couldn’t stand life as a princess. Even princesses sometimes need time to put everything down and rest. Look, I’ve already kicked off my shoes.”
Startled, Titania looked beneath the table, where she saw Princess Fiona’s feet wriggling their toes as if greeting her. Her shoes really had been taken off and were lying scattered on the ground.
“Don’t you ever feel like putting everything down too, Princess Titania? A life where you worry about other people’s gazes every single day isn’t a normal life.”
As Titania stared blankly at the toes wriggling below after Princess Fiona’s sudden behavior, Princess Fiona giggled and tapped Titania on the forehead.
“Wasn’t it exhausting, having to keep proper etiquette even in front of Her Majesty the Queen?”
“In front of Mother...?”
Titania immediately shook her head. Absolutely not, she denied fiercely, shaking her head hard, for she had never once been scolded for her manners in front of Mother.
“Hmm... Is that so? Come to think of it, you call Her Majesty the Queen ‘Mother,’ don’t you? It’s a little different from the rumors I heard, so I’m surprised.”
“Rumors...?”
With her chin propped on the table, Princess Fiona swallowed a chocolate in one bite and narrowed her eyes as she looked at Titania. She licked the chocolate from her finger with her tongue, then continued with a soft smile.
“She’s quite famous in our kingdom too. Stories about Her Majesty Queen Vivian. There are rumors that she’s a ‘witch,’ and her beautiful appearance is also rather well known. And the most common rumor is... as expected, her ‘personality,’ perhaps?”
“......”
“That her personality is eccentric... that despite her beautiful appearance, she torments her maids... things like those nasty rumors, I suppose? Ah, they are only rumors, so please don’t glare at me like that. After meeting Her Majesty the Queen in person this time, I realized they were all baseless rumors.”
Noticing that Titania had been glaring at her in the middle of her story, Princess Fiona waved her hand and added that they were baseless rumors, but Titania puffed out her cheeks even more and glared at Princess Fiona.
“Please don’t be too angry and listen. Rumors don’t arise for no reason, do they? Since I was coming to another country, I had no choice but to pay close attention to such rumors.”
“Those are completely baseless rumors! Mother is kind, unlike those rumors... and nice... and she plays with me too...”
“Is that so? For all that, earlier you told Her Majesty the Queen that you hated her...”
“T-That was...!”
Titania sprang up from her chair, about to say that she had not meant it, but when she saw Princess Fiona sitting across from her, giggling, the words caught in her throat.
“Ah, I’m not teasing you. I also grew up in a situation ‘similar’ to yours. My mother, the First Queen, died, and I was raised by my stepmother, the Second Queen. That’s why I can’t help seeing my old self in you. So what I mean to say is...”
Tap, tap. As if recalling her past, Princess Fiona tapped the table with her fingers and frowned. Then she lifted only her eyes and glanced at Titania, who was fuming with anger.
“Do you truly think the Second Queen, your stepmother, can sincerely love you, a daughter who doesn’t share her blood? When you’re not even a child she carried in her own belly?”
“Yes...? What are you suddenly saying...?”
“I’m saying that though she’s treated you well on the outside until now, wouldn’t she hate you on the inside? The ‘Second Queen’ who raised me was like that. She hated me. Loathed me. She hated me so much she even attempted to have me assassinated.”
Titania clenched her fists tightly and glared at Princess Fiona. The mere fact that she did not throw the milk tea on the table at her made Titania feel she was enduring it well.
“Unlike the person who raised you, my Mother is not like that. She truly cherishes and loves me.”
“Is that so? Are you sure that isn’t just your delusion?”
“Eek...!”
As if she might throw them at any moment, Titania grabbed several chocolates from the table and made a gesture of hurling them. She managed to restrain herself somehow, but she was full of intent to throw them if Fiona said one more strange thing.
Yet even in the face of Titania’s threat, Princess Fiona smiled softly and looked at her. Titania simply could not understand why that woman was suddenly acting this way.
“Please don’t be too angry. Looking at you makes me feel strange, as if I’m seeing myself when I was young. No, you’re exactly like I was as a child. Just a child starved for affection, unable even to distinguish whether that affection is sincere or false.”
The chocolate clenched tightly in her hand melted stickily, making her feel unpleasant. As she continued listening to that voice, she even began to feel vaguely nauseous for some reason.
“I’m giving you ‘advice’ because I don’t want you to end up like me. Princess Titania Snow White. If you remain with her, nothing good will come of it.”
“What do you know...! Mother truly...!”
Ah.
Titania felt as though she finally understood why Princess Fiona made her uncomfortable. Whether she was dealing with Titania or the other maids, she never stopped smiling, but it was different when she spoke about Mother.
‘This person... When she talks about Mother, her eyes aren’t smiling.’
A neat attitude, a kind tone, a gentle smile, polite gestures, considerate reactions toward others. Nothing was lacking, and yet Princess Fiona’s eyes were different.
She merely tried to hide it with exaggerated movements and gestures. Whenever Princess Fiona talked about Mother, she tried to conceal the “hatred” that seeped out.
“...Please think carefully about what I said. The love and affection you are receiving—whether all of it is truly not just your own delusion.”
“......”
“It may have sounded as if I was simply speaking ill of Her Majesty Queen Vivian... but I truly am giving advice for your sake. Princess Snow White.”
Princess Fiona smiled bitterly and looked up at Titania. Her expression looked genuinely worried, so Titania could say nothing and merely stared quietly at Princess Fiona’s face.
“Because I hope you won’t end up like me.”