I Raised Snow White! - I Raised Snow White chapter 77
77. When women get together, they always talk about love (1)
[Episode 77]- When women get together, they always talk about love. (One)
The day before the masquerade.
As usual, Titania and I arrived at Count Serena’s mansion the day before the ball and decided to stay overnight. The distance between the palace and the ballroom was also far, and since Titania liked to play with Viola all night long, she always arrived the day before and spent time there.
“Viola~!”
“Princess~!”
Wow!
As soon as Titania got out of her carriage, she ran straight to Viola.
The two of them hugged each other, interlocked their hands, and started jumping in place. When I saw Titania and Viola like that, I burst out laughing. Is it that good?
As I was staring at Viola and Titania as if I was really dumbfounded, Mrs. Serena approached with a shy smile beside her, bowed her head, and greeted me.
“It’s been a while. Her Highness Queen Vivian. How have you been?”
“Well… I’m in trouble these days because my daughter is so upset with me. It seems like the more you grow up, the more you become a tomboy. Anyway, Yvette, Haley. How are you guys too?”
“Whoops, we are always the same.”
As I accepted my greetings, ‘Hayley’, Countess Serena, and ‘Yvette’, Countess Serena, who were like her sister, bowed their heads to me. It’s been a while, so I’m glad…
As I sighed and looked at Viola and Titania chattering next to me, Haley shook her head and let out a deep sigh as well. You must feel the same way as me.
Three years ago, since we had known each other since that hunting tournament, it was more comfortable to call them by names like Yvette and Haley rather than Serena Count or Countess.
Among the nobles I knew, these two were the only ones with whom I could speak comfortably. Since these two act as a bridge between me and the social world, it is only natural that we become close.
In addition, calling Hailey Countess made it more comfortable to call Countess Yvette and former Countess Hayley as if they were married.
Haley sneaked up next to me and whispered in my ear.
“I have prepared the ‘mask’ and costumes requested by Her Highness… but are you really going to the ball in that? First of all, I prepared a spare mask just in case.”
When I replied that Titania was attending the masquerade ball, I also sent a letter asking Hailey to prepare my mask and costume. I had a mask that I used to use, but…
It was a bad design that stood out so much that it was worn once and stored in a warehouse. Well, at the masquerade ball I went to last time, there were a lot of people wearing bigger and shiny masks than me.
I replied with a grin as I looked at Hailey who had come to my side.
“The mask and outfit I asked for are enough. And are you sure? Didn’t invite really weird people to this prom? In case something strange happens…”
I frowned slightly, and Haley shook her hands and head hurriedly. She was just trying to scare me a little, but she was completely terrified and responded so quickly that it felt strange.
“Of course! I didn’t send invitations to anyone the Queen might be concerned about! This masquerade is really like a ‘experience’ ball organized ‘for kids’! Most of the adults participating are parents like me! So I’m sure Her Highness the Queen will like it too!”
“Really? Good luck then.”
When I returned her frown and smiled, Hailey let out a sigh of relief. I didn’t want to go this far because she was a friend who helped me a lot, but she couldn’t help it because she was worried about Titania.
Well… Because of my coercion, some seemed unable to come after receiving the invitation, but what does it matter? It was more important to prevent a person who could be a danger to Titania from approaching than their hearts that were hurt because they could not come even after being invited.
Anyway, I was right about my insistence, so I felt sorry for Hayley and Yvette, who listened to my insistence. Feeling apologetic, I brought a very small gift, pointed my thumb at the carriage behind me and smiled broadly.
“Anyways… Do you want to drink ‘in the room’ tonight?”
As I pointed my finger, the escort driver standing next to me took a bottle from the wagon and showed it to Haley and Yvette. I don’t know much about alcohol, but anyway, expensive and great alcohol? It was stolen from the office of the Minister of Education, who is a lover of education… No, it was donated.
‘Because there were only three bottles in the collection of the Minister of Education, who is a big drinker. How much did you cry when I told you to take this. It must have been a good drink to the point of holding onto my ankles and crying profusely.’
Anyway, the alcohol I brought seemed to be something that drinkers are really crazy about. In the words of the Minister of Education, did he say that he had to take eight degrees of soul to drink a sip of that drink? Every word he said was a fuss, befitting the Minister of Education.
“Really? Can I drink that…? Anyway, that’s…”
“Then, what is a good friend? It must have been hard for you to listen to my insistence, then I have to do this as well.”
“Your Highness the Queen…!”
Maybe moved by my words, Yvette and Haley covered their mouths with both hands and swallowed their tears. I was also happy that it seemed like a really good gift for two people who like alcohol. Yes, there should be something like this between friends.
“It’s not until you cry over something like this… Stop crying and go inside. I’m tired from riding the carriage all day.”
*
After finishing a decent dinner, adults are adults.
The time has come for children to gather together.
The adults entered the room carrying bottles full of wine and smiling brightly like children, and the remaining Viola and Titania also looked at each other and laughed sinisterly before entering the room together.
Titania entered the room as if urging her to ask Viola.
“Viola, do you have ‘that’?”
“Yes, there is. Titania. This time, I asked the maid to go to the village and buy it for me.”
With only the two of them left in the room, Viola called Titania by her ‘her name’. It was very natural for Titania and Viola to call each other by their names as they got to know each other.
As if Viola already knew what Titania wanted, she rummaged under her bed and took out a box. It was such a plain wooden box that anyone could see just contained junk.
“Now, here.”
Thump, pound. Listening to her trembling heartbeat, Titania carefully opened the box her violin had given her, then lifted what was inside and smiled brightly.
“Finally, ‘The Witch Wants to Be the Marquis’s Wife.’ A new book is out!”
“Yes! I haven’t read it yet to read with you!”
What Titania lifted up was an ordinary ‘novel book’ that is popular among young ladies these days. An ordinary, ordinary romance novel called ‘The Witch Wants to Be Her Marquis’ Wife.’
Since the ‘incident’ when she was 10 years old, it was because of Vivian that she was not allowed to bring ‘such a book’ to the royal castle, so Titania had no choice but to borrow it from Viola to read it.
When I was 10 years old, ‘that incident’…
Titania felt a rush of heat in her face just by thinking about that time. She didn’t know exactly what ‘purity’ meant until then, because she thought her virginity had been taken away by her mother.
Of course, her ‘first kiss’ was stolen by her mother.
Chastity was more important, but a first kiss was one of the really important things, if any. So, after Titania learned the meaning of ‘purity’, she gave Vivian a ban on kissing.
The reason was simply because I was ashamed to receive a kiss now. All of the young girls I met in the social world had graduated from her mother and slept alone in a room and didn’t get kisses or anything like that.
Since she found out that by this age she was the only one who would do anything like that, Titania tried very little to distance herself from Vivian. That was the reason why she asked to use each room.
“Titania! Hurry! Hurry!”
The viola she had endured so far to read with Titania was on the verge of exploding. She quickly changed into her nightgown and set the bed perfectly with snacks and juices she had requested from her maids.
At Viola’s urging to lie down next to her, Titania hurriedly climbed onto the bed and settled down. After confirming that Titania had taken her seat next to her, Viola slowly began turning the pages.
The content of the book was a common love story that made me want to read a lot of stories like this. A witch who lives alone in the forest and a marquis who fell in love with such a witch at first sight. A witch who is drawn to such a marquise.
However, the world did not allow the two to love. The world was afraid of her witch, and her marquis had to lead her own family, so it seemed that their love could never come true.
Usually in this situation, one of the two would have given up on himself, but the marquis and the witch were different. The Marquis said she would definitely bring her to the witch, and the witch replied that she would wait forever.
But here comes a witch’s old familiar, a man who loved the witch. Then whisper to the witch: ‘The Marquis’ life is in danger, and the only thing that can save him is yourself’.
If you want to save him, forget him and fall into your arms.
At the appearance of a common villain, Titania and Viola frowned and began to curse at their familiar. Saying that this kind of villain should be eliminated quickly, that they should be scolded, the two nervously turned the pages and began to read the story behind them.
The witch shook her head and rejected her familiar.
‘I will not be fooled by your serpentine tongue. No matter how true your words are, the only one who can have me is the Marquis.” She drove her familiar. At that scene, Titania and Viola were at a loss and smiled with satisfaction.
After that, it was an obvious development. Her familiar constantly harassed and seduced her witch, but her witch resisted her temptation with her own knowledge and belief, and waited for her marquis, befitting her name, ‘witch’. Neither her sweet seduction nor her bitter despair could stop her sorcery.
After waiting and waiting, the witch eventually meets her marquis again, and the book ends with the words ‘Continue to the next book’. She said this couldn’t be true and she turned to the next page, but that was the end of the page.
“”What?!””
The story was interrupted at such perfect timing that Viola and Titania threw the book on the bed in rage. He lay down, twisted his body, and rolled around to express his anger.
“Would you like to release one book a year or not, quit here?!”
“Such a devil…!”
The two girls, running around saying that they should scold the author, started talking about the contents of the book in a furious voice. What happened to the familiar in the end, how pitiful the witch was, why the marquis came so late, and many stories bloomed with speculation and sentiment, continuing the story of books and love.
Without realizing that time was passing, Viola and Titania talked about many things. The story of tomorrow’s masquerade ball and the story of another book. And about the new ‘red book’ I found on my mother’s bookshelf that I couldn’t write in a letter.
As much as the two of them could not meet, they talked a lot about this and that.
Of the numerous stories, the main story was, of course, a story about love.
Thirteen-year-old girls have never experienced love, but a love story is an indispensable story for girls. There were a lot of girls around me who had already been engaged.
Even Viola was even more distraught because she decided to watch ‘Face to Face’ this year. Viola, in her distraught mind, asked Titania as she chewed on her sweets.
“Titania, what do you think love is?”
“Oh, love? Umm… In the book, it’s clear…”
“Don’t talk about books. What do you think?”
“What do you think? Hmm…”
Even when Viola asked such a question, she found it difficult to answer. Let alone Titania, she had never even been in a relationship. She hadn’t even met ‘the man Young-sik’ before she got engaged.
In other words, the experience was all about the stories in the books, so it was really difficult for Titania to answer. When Titania turned her head to look at her viola, her eyes twinkled as if asking for a quick answer.
“I think…”