[Episode 61] - The First Friend She Made (2)
After the tour of the mansion ended, and with the news that the adults had stepped away for a while, Titania had no choice but to stay with Viola. Viola, too, seemed to have never expected such a situation. She stared at the now-empty dining room, let out a “Huh?” and tilted her head.
“Where did everyone go?!”
“Ah... the Count, the Countess, and Her Majesty the Queen have gone into a room for a short while to have a conversation among the adults. Your Highness, why not spend a little time with Lady Viola?”
Even if she went back to her room, her mother would not be there, and for some reason, Ainsel was not in her necklace either. Having fully woken up while looking around the mansion, Titania was bored, and at the maid’s words, she began to think it over. Watching her, Viola fidgeted with an extremely nervous expression and asked Titania.
“P-Princess... then, would you like to come play in my room for a little while...? I have tasty snacks... and a few fun things too. And I want to become a little closer to you, Princess...”
Tasty snacks, and fun things. To the bored Titania, there could be no better bait. And... since Titania already knew that her mother would prefer her going in this situation rather than not going, she had no reason to refuse either.
“Do you have... egg tarts?”
*
“Princess, what are your hobbies? I don’t have that many things, but I think I have just about everything there is to have in my room! There are toys... and parlor games...”
“Hm? Hobbies...?”
Right after entering the room, Titania’s mind went blank for a moment at Viola’s sudden question. Come to think of it, she had never really had anything like a hobby until now. To begin with, she had never had the time to have one.
She had lessons every single day, and when she did not have lessons, she spent that time with her mother. She had no memory at all of ever doing something that could be called a hobby. She pondered deeply, wondering, “Surely there must be at least one thing,” but there was nothing after all.
“Hmm... I don’t think I have any.”
“What?! Really?!”
At Viola’s momentum as she lunged forward, Titania took a small step back. Viola, startled by her own forcefulness, hesitated, thought for a moment, then headed toward a bookshelf packed full of books.
“Um... then how about taking up a hobby one by one starting now? To begin with, reading books, perhaps...?”
“I read books every day, though...?”
“Not those boring books you only use for lessons. I haven’t been reading for very long either, so I can’t recommend much, but...! Hup!”
Viola hopped in place, then barely managed to start pulling out one book after another from a spot that was just within her reach. Then, she took out yet another book hidden behind them and held it out to Titania. What kind of book was it, for her to hide it so carefully...?
“It’s a book a young lady I met at my first children’s tea party last year told me about. Now, this book is the sweetness of my life and the driving force behind it!!”
“I don’t believe in religion...”
“I-I’m not trying to convert you!!”
Startled, Viola quickly held out the book to Titania. Titania examined the book she had been given, but there was no title written on the cover, so she could not gauge what sort of contents were inside at all.
“I guarantee that once you read it, Princess, you’ll fall completely for it just like I did! It really is a fun book! I even joined the social club that young lady belongs to because of this book!!”
“...It isn’t some doctrine from a strange religion, is it?”
“I said it isn’t!!”
Titania asked her to at least explain what kind of book it was, but Viola firmly refused, saying that would lessen the emotion of reading it for the first time. Because of this, Titania could not erase the suspicion from her eyes.
Under Viola’s sparkling gaze, which urged her to hurry and read it, Titania let out a small sigh and opened the book from the middle. Thinking that she would at least read it to see what it was about, she opened the book—
[The moment she felt his touch beneath her chin, their lips overlapped. His large hand, which had been holding her shoulder, slowly moved down and stroked her back. Those soft, pliant lips that gently drew her in—]
“...?!?! Wh-What is this?!”
With her face flushed red, Titania stared at Viola with wide eyes. Titania had absolutely no knowledge regarding matters of sex, but even so, she could tell. This was not a book that children like her should be reading.
Titania quickly shut the book and threw it onto the bed, then glared at Viola while huffing. Viola, as if she found that reaction nothing but amusing, was busy giggling and looking at Titania.
“Hehe, how is it? Isn’t it fun? When I first read it, I reacted just like you, Princess. I was so surprised that I threw the book at the face of the young lady who introduced it to me.”
“It’s not fun!! You’re not supposed to read things like that!!”
Viola went over to the bed and picked up the book Titania had thrown, then returned to her spot and looked at the book in her hands. Then, in front of Titania, she began chattering away as she explained the book.
“Please calm down, Princess. This is simply a romance novel. Have you perhaps never read a book like this before?”
“N-No...! And books like that don’t come into the royal palace! Hurry up and get it away from me!!”
“No, I can confidently say that this book is certainly in the royal palace library as well. After all, this is a novel worthy of being called required reading for young ladies!”
“Required reading for young ladies...?”
Viola lifted the book high above her head. The sight was somehow like a painting of a person from myth raising a stone tablet and parting the sea, so Titania stared blankly at her with her mouth open.
“Yes! It is required reading passed down secretly among young ladies! It would not be an exaggeration to think that my mother, and even Her Majesty the Queen, grew up reading books like this from childhood!”
“M-Mother too...?”
At the words that her mother had read them too, Titania’s ears pricked straight up. Had her mother really ever read books like this...? Thinking that she would ask her mother later, Titania lifted her head and looked at Viola.
“Really...? You mean Mother read bad books like that too...?”
“I can’t say for certain that it was this book... but they say young ladies all read romance novels and let love bloom. I even heard that the author of this novel is a noble young lady not much older than us.”
Titania felt as though she had been struck hard on the head with a hammer. Thinking that the person who had written such strange words was someone around her own age made her head hurt. Just what was so fun about a book filled with such vulgar writing...!
As Titania frowned, Viola brought the book she had raised above her head back down and placed it in front of Titania once more. Then, with a gentle smile, she continued speaking calmly.
“The young lady who told me about this book said this to me... that young ladies need to learn about love by reading books like this.”
“Love...?”
“Yes, love. She said that because our love is always decided for us, we must at least read books like this and learn of other kinds of love. Since we were born as young ladies, shouldn’t we at least dream of love within books? She said it very proudly.”
“I-I don’t understand what you mean...”
Titania genuinely could not grasp what Viola was talking about right now. Until now, she had never thought deeply about love, nor had she ever discussed such things with anyone else.
“If you wish to understand what I said... I recommend reading this book. And if this book is not to your taste, I will no longer recommend such things to you, Princess. But please know this. Most young ladies enjoy novels like this as a hobby.”
“U-Um....”
Titania nodded in confusion. Since Viola was speaking with such a serious expression, if she refused any further, it felt as though she would be the bad person instead, so she could not refuse. And it was just one book, even a thin book less than half the size of a textbook.
“All right... then I’ll read it just once. But if it really isn’t fun, don’t ever recommend books like this to me again. Got it?”
“Of course! Hehe! But after you read it once, we’ll talk together about what parts you didn’t like, all right?!”
Well... if it was only that much...
Titania pouted and opened the book Viola had handed her once more. This time, not from the middle, but from the first page. She was curious why novels like this were popular among young ladies, and on top of that, Viola’s claim that even her mother must have read books like this made Titania begin to grow curious about this thing called a romance novel.
And so, she opened the first page and began to read the first paragraph of the novel. The story was quite fascinating. It was her first time reading a novel like this, and the fact that she could learn about the life of another noble, not a princess, stimulated Titania’s curiosity.
Page by page. As Titania continued reading, her expression slowly began to change.
[A young lady of a family on the verge of ruin. The head of the household was a scoundrel, and the only ones she could call family were useless people who did nothing but increase their debts.]
“Hmm—”
[A young lady striving to pay off her family’s debts. And then, by chance, she met the young lord of a flourishing family.]
“Mm...”
[At first, they had no interest in one another, but as time went on, coincidence after coincidence intertwined them, giving them more and more moments when they faced each other. And the more incidents they experienced together, the more their understanding of one another deepened.]
“Heeh—”
More than half the pages of the book had already turned, but there were still many parts she did not understand. However, the scenes that were stimulating for a ten-year-old to read, and the emotional descriptions that came as each of their hardships was resolved, were enough to pique Titania’s interest.
In the end, she finished reading it without understanding even half of its contents, but for some reason, she felt a ticklish sensation in her chest. And this book did not seem to end with this one volume; there appeared to be a sequel.
Titania fidgeted and looked at Viola, who was reading diligently beside her. For some reason, she felt embarrassed asking for the next volume. Growing restless while wondering what to do, Titania eventually—
“V-Viola... do you happen to have the next volume...?”
“...Of course. Did you like the book?”
Viola had merely answered with a smile, but for some reason, Titania thought that smile seemed wicked. Feeling somehow embarrassed to be looked at with that expression, Titania blushed and carefully nodded.
“C-Can you give me the next volume...?”