I Raised Snow White!

Even with her eyes closed, the strong sunlight was so intense that the princess frowned deeply. The sunlight that poured down made her face feel hot, and beads of sweat began to form on her white forehead.

Groaning.

The sleepy princess didn’t want to move, but as she thought she might end up red as a ripe apple if she didn’t move to the shade soon, she began to stir.

Swish, swish—

The sound of footsteps on the grass tickled the princess’s ears. Drowsy, the princess had no interest in who was approaching her.

She was only uncomfortable because the sunlight was so blinding that it was hard to bear. Just as she was groaning and attempting to rise to escape to the shade,

Tap.

She heard something drop onto the grass, and the harsh sunlight was suddenly blocked.

As the light that had been bothering her was covered, a cool summer breeze pleasantly dried the beads of sweat on her forehead.

It felt so nice that the deeply furrowed frown on the princess’s face gradually relaxed.

Though she wanted to surrender to the sleep that was pulling her in with that pleasant breeze, she sensed a large presence right next to her.

And somehow, it felt like they were staring intensely at her.

Who could it be?

Half-asleep, the princess squinted her eyes and glanced toward whoever was watching her. Her eyes were barely open, and with her vision blurred, she couldn’t see clearly.

The princess could only vaguely tell that the person in front of her was a woman. Long hair, slender fingers, a woman crouching as she looked at her with a smile.

‘Mother…?’

How was her mother here, when she should be with her father?

Had she finally left that dark room to come here?

The princess smiled at the thought of finally seeing her mother after so long. Just as she was about to open her eyes fully, eager to see her mother’s face—

“Ellie? The Princess’s maid—”

That wasn’t her mother’s voice.

Startled, the princess’s eyes opened wide.

She turned her head toward the direction the voice came from, and her heart sank. Her body went cold, and her heart started to pound loudly.

‘W-What…?’

The princess’s pupils trembled as if in an earthquake. She was so shocked that she couldn’t even scream.

At that moment, all she could see were golden-blonde hair that looked yellow in the sunlight and deep green eyes shaded by the sun.

It was so frightening that she felt like she could burst into tears any second.

*

Looking at Vivian’s face, the princess was reminded of the memory from the funeral.

When she had been told that her father wouldn’t be attending the funeral of that frightening woman, so she should attend in his place, the princess had been horrified and strongly opposed.

‘Why do I have to…?’

Pouting, the princess kicked her feet in frustration from where she sat, her feet not touching the ground. The maid who dressed her in mourning clothes gave her a bitter smile and comforted her.

In the first place, the number of times she had met the Second Queen, who had supposedly drowned in the lake, could be counted on less than ten fingers. For some reason, the Second Queen had disliked her.

So, the princess had never really wanted to meet the Second Queen either. When they did meet, all she remembered were insults like, “I hate brats,” or “Don’t show up in front of me, you ugly kid.”

So, even when she heard that the Second Queen had died, the princess had been only slightly surprised, not sad. It was the sort of feeling of pity, or regret, for someone who had only insulted her.

With that indifferent feeling, the princess had entered the funeral hall and slowly headed toward the Second Queen’s coffin. The maid who handed her a white lily had explained that all she needed to do was place the flower on the coffin.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the princess slowly walked toward the coffin. She moved slightly faster than usual, planning to drop off the flower and leave quickly, as the maid had suggested.

When she reached the coffin, she glanced down at the Second Queen. Her paper-pale skin and bloodless, white lips looked terrifying.

‘Let’s just put down the flower and go…’

She was just about to place the lily down.

“Grrk-! Cough-!”

The moment she reached out to place the flower on the coffin, the Second Queen, who should have been motionless, suddenly opened her bloodshot eyes and looked straight at her. Water started pouring from her bloodless lips.

“Ugh, Ugh! Cough! Cough!”

The Second Queen, as if in agony, clawed at her chest and neck with her nails, then suddenly sat up in the coffin and began vomiting water in front of her. Watery red fluid dripped to the floor.

“Hic, hic…”

Trembling.

The princess’s legs shook.

It was exactly like the scary ghosts the maids had told her about. Ghosts and monsters that clawed their way up from graves to torment the living.

‘Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.’

Up to this point, the princess’s rationality was somewhat intact. Even when all the grown-ups screamed and ran for their lives, yelling, “Save me,” the princess alone stood trembling but firmly by the coffin.

She was trying her best to calm her shaking legs and heart, but at that moment, the Second Queen’s hand brushed against the princess’s wrist.

“Eek—”

The icy feel of the corpse’s skin crawled up the princess’s spine, and her fragile grip on sanity was consumed by terror.

That was the princess’s last memory of that day.

*

“Aah-!! Aaaah-!!”

“It’s okay…! Her Majesty the Queen has no intention of harming you…!”

“Aaaah!!”

Hiding behind a tree, the princess sobbed uncontrollably, while I could do nothing but watch from afar. Every step closer made her cry louder, no longer a simple “waah” but a full scream of “Aaaah!!”

The only thing I could do was keep my distance so the princess wouldn’t cry too much. I never expected her to be so terrified of Vivian…

Ellie was trying her best to soothe the princess…

But each time Ellie tried moving around the left side of the tree to get closer, the princess would move around to avoid her, circling the tree and making it impossible for them to meet.

They were circling so much that it made me dizzy.

“I didn’t expect the princess to dislike Vivian this much…”

—It’s not just dislike; it’s fear. It must be because of what she saw at the funeral.

“…Is that it?”

Listening to Ainsel reminded me of the funeral. Now that I think about it, when I woke up, the princess was right in front of me…?

If she saw that, her fear would be understandable.

I had intended to keep my distance from the princess from the beginning, but not like this. Although it wouldn’t bother me if we stayed apart because she feared me, at this rate, I was worried this might become a lasting trauma. Childhood traumas can be hard to overcome even into adulthood, and I didn’t want to see an adult princess still terrified of me.

“…At least I should try to stop her crying.”

—Sorry, but how? She screams even if you get a little closer…

“I have my ways.”

I lowered my head and picked a small wildflower, slipping it between my fingers. It was a trick I’d learned as a hobby long ago, and I wondered if I could still do it. I approached close enough that the princess wouldn’t scream and made eye contact with her.

Realizing I was nearby, the princess tensed up, hiding behind the tree. Peeking out slightly, she glared as if warning that she’d burst into tears if I came closer.

Ignoring her threat, I pulled out the flower I had just picked from my sleeve. The princess watched silently, so I thought I could proceed, and I allowed myself a small smile.

“Look closely here.”

I held the flower in my right hand, clenched it, and showed her the back of my hand, pretending to hit it against my left hand.

“Princess? Where do you think the flower is?”

“……”

The princess didn’t respond, so I awkwardly glanced over at Ellie, who looked at me with curiosity.

“…Ellie? Where do you think the flower is?”

“Uh… left hand?”

Tilting her head, Ellie pointed to my left hand.

Probably because she saw me pretending to hit it against my left hand earlier. With a chuckle, I brought my left hand in front of Elli, blew on it, and opened it.

But, as expected, there was nothing in my hand.

“Huh? So, it’s still in the right hand…”

I did the same with my right hand, blew on it, and opened it in front of Ellie. But, there was no flower there either.

“Wow!”

Ellie looked amazed, staring at my palm in wonder.

Watching her reaction, I glanced at the princess. She had peeked her head out from behind the tree, her eyes sparkling in fascination as she watched me.

“Where did the flower go?”

“Keep looking; you’ll find out.”

Finally, I reached toward Ellie’s ear, where I’d hidden the flower between my fingers, and pulled it out. As I tucked the flower behind her ear, Ellie’s cheeks turned slightly red with surprise.

“How is it? Neat, right?”

“It is… really neat…”

The simple trick, which was more of a sleight of hand I’d practiced out of boredom back in school, seemed to be a hit. Since the reaction was so good, I felt unexpectedly pleased, too.

Then, I plucked another wildflower from the ground and slowly approached the princess.

This time, she didn’t scream but instead peeked up at me from below.

Half-curiosity, half-apprehension.

Sensing her mixed feelings, I smiled and repeated the same trick, carefully concealing the flower between my fingers.

The only difference this time was…

Just as I moved to pull the flower out from behind her ear, the princess lifted her hand first and patted her ear, checking for it.

She must have expected the flower to be there.

“Huh..? It should be here…”

As if it would be there!

The princess looked up at me with wide, puzzled eyes. Finding her expression adorable, I smiled and reached behind her ear.

“See? It’s right here.”

As I placed the flower behind her ear, the princess looked at me in awe. Forgetting about her earlier tears, she whined, asking me to do it again.

“One more time! Just one more!”

At some point, the princess had let go of the tree and was clutching my dress hem. Instinctively, I patted her head and grinned at her.

“How about now? Not so scary anymore, right?”