I Raised Snow White!

Late dawn when even the maids had fallen asleep.

It was too awkward a time to wake a maid and command her to bring snacks, so the Princess and I quietly tiptoed down the hallway, heading for the palace kitchen. Originally, we’d planned to eat the snacks piled outside the door like a mountain…

But as soon as we stepped outside, we found that the mountain of snacks had long since been cleared away. It was quite late, and I thought we could just eat something after we woke up, but—

The loud growl from the Princess’s stomach made up our minds, and we decided to attempt an invasion of the kitchen. Surely, there’d be something to eat in the palace kitchen, even at this hour? And so began our little mission—

“Princess, sneaking into the kitchen at this hour is something we mustn’t get caught doing. Now, how should we go without getting caught?”

“Tiptoe…!”

And so, our ‘Midnight Kitchen Raid’ began.

The Princess and I raised ourselves up on our toes, carefully avoiding any sound as we crept toward the palace kitchen.

Along the way, we encountered knights standing guard, but when I placed a finger over my lips in a shushing gesture, the perceptive knights of the palace closed their eyes as if they hadn’t seen a thing, letting us pass on our way to the kitchen.

Some even acted a little, adding to the Princess’s sense of tension. If we hid behind a wall, a knight would stride past and stop right in front of us.

To avoid being noticed, the Princess held her breath, covering her nose and mouth with both hands until her face turned red. Only when the knight’s footsteps faded did she finally exhale with a gasp.

Enjoying this thrilling game, we eventually arrived at the darkened palace kitchen. As we entered quietly, we finally spotted our goal.

Apparently, the cake and snacks placed earlier in front of the Princess’s room had been brought here. Seeing the mountain of cakes and egg tarts, the Princess’s eyes sparkled as she swallowed, her mouth watering.

I put my finger to my lips and whispered, “Shh, it’s not good to eat too much at night… So between the cake and the egg tart, which would you like?”

The Princess placed both hands over her mouth, whispering her answer.

“Would it be okay… if I had both?”

“No, just one. If you eat two snacks at night, you’ll end up as chubby as the cat we drew last time.”

Pouting slightly, the Princess contemplated, looking between the cake and the egg tart. In the end, she picked up both snacks, offering the egg tart to herself and the cake to me.

“If Her Majesty and I share a bite each, then I could have both…!”

I chuckled.

Was it cleverness, or just a cute trick? The Princess, with her shining eyes, urged me to take the cake.

When I didn’t take the cake right away and just gave her a gentle look that hinted ‘no,’ the Princess, looking dejected, glanced back and forth between the cake and egg tart in her hands. Then—

“T-then, I’ll eat the cake, and… would Her Majesty like the egg tart? Then you could eat more of it… and if we share, it tastes better…”

She offered me the egg tart she’d initially wanted, holding the cake plate with a downcast expression. Did she think I refused because I wanted the egg tart all for myself?

I couldn’t help laughing at the sight of her sadly holding out the egg tart to me. When I accepted the egg tart she offered, she sighed heavily, looking truly disappointed.

Patting the Princess’s head, I agreed to her proposal.

“Alright, as you said, we can each take a bite so that we can enjoy both the cake and the egg tart. Let’s go back to the room and share them there.”

The Princess beamed at the idea of sharing the snacks.

“Yes!”

And so, tiptoeing back to the room, we sat together on the bed and began sharing our snacks. Normally, eating snacks on the bed would be considered poor manners…

But it was late at night, and the palace was silent.

Besides, in the room, it was just the Princess and me. At a time like this, a little rule-breaking seemed justifiable. I placed a forkful of egg tart in front of the Princess’s open mouth with a gentle “ahh.”

The Princess, nestled between my legs, took a bite, and then I took a bite. Sharing a single fork to feed each other, as I’d forgotten to grab any utensils in our rush to gather the snacks.

“Is it that tasty?”

“Yes!”

Not long ago, she’d been crying so hard, yet now she was smiling brightly, happily devouring the snacks I offered.

When we’d nearly finished the egg tart, the Princess snatched the fork from my hand, scooped up a piece of cake from the plate on her lap, and held it out to me.

“Her Majesty should try this too.”

Pushing the fork toward my mouth as if telling me to open wide, I had no choice but to accept the cake she offered, opening my mouth to take a big bite.

It felt as if I were a baby bird being fed by its mother. I told her it was fine if she wanted to finish it herself, feeling oddly embarrassed, but the Princess insisted on sharing it one bite at a time.

After quickly polishing off the cake and egg tart, the Princess, full and drowsy, rested her hand on her round belly and blinked sleepily.

It was already very late, and with all the crying earlier, she must have been tired.

“To wake up early, you should go to bed now.”

“Mmm… I don’t want to…”

I tried to lay her down on the bed to sleep, but the Princess clutched my hand tightly, whining that she didn’t want to sleep yet.

Unable to resist, I lay beside her, patting her stomach, and she turned to look at me with tired eyes. Still feeling uneasy, she mumbled sleepily.

“Don’t go… stay here and sleep… okay?”

Holding my hand tightly, the child pleaded for me to stay. Even though I’d promised to always be by her side, the Princess held on tightly, anxiously asking me to sleep here.

“Don’t worry.”

I smoothed her disheveled bangs, smiling gently. I had promised her, but I knew she still felt uncertain. She must have worried that if she woke up, I might be gone.

Though the wounds from the love she hadn’t received from her parents would be hard to heal, I wanted to be there to help them heal at least until she grew up, or until she graduated from the academy.

“I’ll always be here by your side.”

And so, looking at the Princess, I made yet another ‘lie’ I hoped would ease her heart.

So the princess could feel at ease, and sleep a little more peacefully.

Perhaps she was comforted by my “lie,” for she gave a soft smile and burrowed into my arms. I gently stroked her head as she nestled into my embrace, slowly closing my eyes as I drifted into sleep.

…And that night, I had a dream.

A dream where the Princess, now grown, looked at me with hateful eyes.

In the dream, I couldn’t move for some reason. It was as if my hands and feet were bound by guilt, trapping me from running away. The Princess seemed to shout at me, but I couldn’t hear her words.

She only looked at me with a range of expressions.

Smiling, angry, shouting.

And then, a look that seemed like she might cry.

It was just a dream, yet for some reason, my heart pounded heavily. It felt both terrifying and sorrowful, this intense heartbeat that made me wake up suddenly, as if from a nightmare.

“A dream…?”

When I opened my eyes, I saw the Princess fast asleep, nestled in my arms. Unlike the grown-up Princess from the dream, this one had a peaceful, joyful smile as she slept soundly.

I reassured myself it was just a nightmare driven by guilt—yes, that must be it.

With that thought, I gently shook the Princess’s shoulder to wake her.

“Princess, wake up. It’s already morning.”

That afternoon.

After the Princess’s dance practice ended, we were on our way to my room. Since making our promise last night, the Princess hadn’t wanted to leave my side, clinging to me like a shadow.

She kept reaching out to hold my hand at every opportunity, so much so that it felt like we’d spent more than half the day hand-in-hand. Naturally, this drew some stares from those around us.

Passing maids, nobles who worked in the palace, and even Bainshaw, who came to check on the Princess’s lessons, all looked on in surprise, smiling fondly at our sight.

Bainshaw, who’d been genuinely worried over the Princess’s seclusion, was so relieved he nearly shed tears. Honestly, even I had felt my heart sink at the news of her shutting herself away.

“She’s picking up bad habits somewhere…”

When I glanced down at the Princess holding my hand, she looked up, sensing my gaze, and met my eyes with a bright smile. She seemed so different from yesterday.

I doubted she’d seclude herself again anytime soon…

But I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d have a rebellious phase in her teens and say, “I’m locking myself away!” Should the King consider a law against royal seclusion? Then again… what’s the point of a law when the royal family is above it?

While lost in these small musings, the Princess and I arrived at my room. As I subconsciously turned the doorknob and stepped inside—

“—Child!”

“Sylph?!”

Sylph flew at me like the wind, colliding into my chest and burying herself there. Having been gone for nearly a month, Sylph now flitted around me, eyes teary with joy.

“Why were you gone so long…? Was something wrong?”

In response to my worried question, Sylph shook her head. She then flitted gracefully toward the wide-open window, which I was certain I’d closed.

Though the light and curtain made it hard to see, someone stood where Sylph flew. She was a small girl, not dressed in the palace maid’s uniform, but something similar.

My first impression of the girl was “doll.”

With silver hair fine as crafted threads of silver, and eyes as clear and transparent as an autumn sky, the girl looked at me.

Her skin was as pale as snow, and her eyebrows, as well as her hair, were white, with only her lips showing a faint red tint, making her appear almost like a perfectly made “doll.”

Sylph, perched lightly on the girl’s shoulder, tapped her cheek, starting an introduction.

“I was a bit delayed, but upon reading the child’s letter, this ‘witch’ came here to help. This ‘witch’ is—”

Sylph began introducing the “witch,” but the girl lifted a hand, covering Sylph’s mouth. As if wanting to introduce herself, she took a step forward and bowed her head.

“Pleased to meet you. I am Vivian.”

When she bowed, her neatly cut bangs swung slightly. She raised her head again, gazing at me with an expressionless face, and began to speak in a soft, steady tone.

“I read your letter. As written in the letter, I came here to assist your friend, Ainsel. Also, I’d like to hear more details about the ‘incident’ you went through.”

“Then… are you…”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

The doll-like girl straightened her back and placed her hands on her hips. Then, with a voice full of pride, she introduced herself, though her expression remained stoic.

“My name is Frankenstein. I am one of the ‘Witches of the Coven,’ the daughter of the legendary scientist ‘Victor Frankenstein,’ and the world’s only ‘doctor who can heal fairies.’”

This… was the “witch” Frankenstein?

Surprised by how different Frankenstein was from what I had imagined, I watched as she suddenly continued in a somber tone, a trace of sadness in her voice.

“However, as a human, I am merely a ‘third-rate artificial human’…”