I Raised Snow White!

After the princess’s “I hate Fran” remark, a few hours had passed.

Fran, insisting that posture was crucial, began with correcting her stance rather than dancing, teaching her how to stand on her toes and adjust her center of balance, among other methods.

As time went by and it grew late, a maid knocked on the door to announce that it was dinnertime.

Just as I wondered where I could hide Fran, she unexpectedly didn’t hide at all; instead, she opened the door herself to greet the maid. The maid, startled to see Fran, shivered and recoiled.

“Oh my, who are…?”

“I am Her Majesty the Queen’s personal maid.”

“Huh…? Have we had someone like you around?”

“We have.”

At Fran’s confident insistence that she was a maid, I ran a hand over my face, feeling dizzy, when suddenly, the maid seemed to recognize Fran and let out an “Ah~,” as if recalling something, then greeted her.

“Ah~ That’s right~ I must have forgotten. Oh dear, this is no time to chat. Your Majesty the Queen, it’s time for dinner. Would it be all right to escort you to the dining hall?”

“Oh, uh? Ah, yes. I thought I’d have dinner with the princess here in the room today. She doesn’t look strong enough to make it to the dining hall.”

The maid, looking over at the princess lying limply on the bed, covered her mouth in surprise and nodded, agreeing to bring dinner to the room. After the maid left, I looked wide-eyed at Fran.

“It’s a simple spell witches use to blend into human society. It’s quite useful once you learn it, so I recommend you try it out sometime.”

“Alright…”

Was magic really that versatile? I’d learned that witches used the power of fairies to cast spells, but Fran seemed to be using magic effortlessly without their help.

‘Well… I guess it’s because she’s homunculus. No need to overthink it.’
Feeling like delving deeper into it would only make my head spin, I patted the princess on the back as she lay sprawled beside me. She seemed utterly exhausted, showing no intention of moving even as I gently rubbed her back.

Thinking she deserved some rest, I was about to let her be. However, Fran had a completely different approach, showing no mercy as she pushed the princess further. Before I realized it, Fran had grabbed the princess under both arms and forcibly lifted her upright.

“Princess, you must push yourself a bit more. How can you be sleepy with your current skill level?”

At that, the princess finally hit her limit.

Held by Fran, the princess raised her hands high and shoved Fran’s face away with her palm, then shrieked in a voice I’d never heard before.

“I can’t live like this!!!!”

Breaking free from Fran’s arms, the princess bolted out of the room as if fleeing.

Well… after watching Fran’s teaching methods from the side, I’d figured she might run away eventually.

But I hadn’t thought “someday” would be now.

I got up from the bed to go after the princess, but Fran reached out and held me back. When I looked up at Fran, her usually expressionless face somehow looked shadowed and dark.

“…I will go find her.”

“…Alright, she’s probably in her room… Do you know your way there?”

Fran simply nodded and dashed out of the room to search for the princess. It was then I began to understand why she’d introduced herself as a “third-rate human.”

“So, as a homunculus, she doesn’t fully understand human emotions.”

Fran arrived at the princess’s room and quietly opened the door to peek inside. Spotting the princess, she seemed momentarily surprised and froze.

The princess was hiding under her desk. She’d draped a blanket over it to reach down to the floor like a curtain and stacked books and other items on top to secure her little hideout.

Inside, she’d made it cozy with pillows and cushions, barricading the entrance with more books. From within her secret base, the princess watched Fran with wary eyes.

“Princess.”

When Fran called her, the princess growled and held up a pillow, ready to throw it at her if she came any closer.

Fran hesitated, then crouched down and lowered her head, looking at the princess in apology. She didn’t say anything, just kept watching her warily.

“…I apologize. If I did something wrong, would you please tell me?”

“……”

“…As I mentioned, being a ‘homunculus,’ I find it difficult to understand human emotions. I tried my best in my own way, but it seems I have upset Your Highness.”

Did Fran’s sincerity reach her? The princess slowly lowered her pillow and gazed at Fran. Though her face remained impassive, even the princess could tell.

Fran was genuinely downcast.

Seeing that expression softened her heart, and she recalled shoving Fran’s face earlier. Although she’d hit her out of anger, now she felt she’d been too harsh.

The princess removed the barricade under her desk and patted the cushion beside her, inviting Fran to sit. Fran slowly joined her in the small, cozy space.

Though cramped for the two of them, there was something warm and comforting about it. The princess hesitated, then looked at Fran’s face.

Seeing her handprint glowing red on her pale cheek, she lowered her head in guilt and apologized to Fran.

“…Sorry for hitting you…”

“It’s alright. I was the one who upset you, Princess. You did nothing wrong.”

The princess thought the same.

No matter how she looked at it, she didn’t believe she’d done anything wrong.

Still, hitting her was hitting her…

After hitting Fran, the princess felt a bit awkward. Although she had been angry, she hadn’t meant to go that far.

“…But still, I’m sorry…”

“……”

A brief silence fell under the desk. Fran glanced down at the princess beside her, then gently placed a hand on her head, stroking it softly.

“As I mentioned, I am a ‘homunculus’ created by someone. A little smack from your hand doesn’t bother me at all.”

“But… your face has turned red…”

“It’s really nothing.”

Seeing Fran’s calm assurance, the princess decided not to worry about it anymore. She just thought, “Fran is simply that kind of person,” and let it go.

Once again, the conversation between Fran and the princess fell silent.

The princess sat idly for a while, then suddenly wondered what Fran meant by calling herself a “homunculus.” Although Fran said she was made, she seemed just like an ordinary person.

Besides spitting out strange metal objects, having detachable wrists, and speaking in an unusual way, Fran didn’t look all that different from other people. Glancing up at her, the princess asked,

“You said you were a homunculus… but what exactly is a homunculus?”

“It means an artificially created human. In my case, my father, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, made me.”

The princess tilted her head, as if finding it hard to understand. Fran pondered for a moment, then suddenly detached her wrist and handed it to the princess.

With a pop! A bouquet of flowers sprung from the wrist, surprising the princess so much that she shot up, bumping her head under the desk.

Fran watched as the princess rubbed her sore head, then began explaining more about herself—why she was created and some details of her past.

“In fact, I was once an ordinary fairy.”

“A fairy? Like Sylph?”

Fran nodded.

“As a fairy, I admired humans. I envied their way of living and watched them daily. During that time, I met my father, Victor Frankenstein.”

Fran reattached her wrist, reminiscing as she shared her story. The princess, holding the bouquet Fran had given her, alternated between looking at it and Fran.

“My father dreamed of a world where humans and fairies could live in harmony. He believed that fear came from ignorance, and that if humans came to know fairies, they would lose their fear of us.”

“Humans and fairies… together? But I’ve always gotten along well with Ainsel, so is that different?”

“It’s the same, but ordinary people can’t see fairies. So my father began researching how to create me.”

Fran tapped her chest, indicating herself—half human, half fairy.

“A fairy with a human body would let both sides understand each other and start coexisting.”

“Hmm…”

Despite Fran’s simple explanation, the princess seemed to struggle, holding her head as if still confused. Fran patted her head, reassuring her that it was okay to find it difficult.

“The first successful creation of a fairy turned human—that is me, Frankenstein. I thought that after my success, I’d soon have plenty of siblings, but—”

Fran paused, lowering her head. Seeing her expression darken, the princess patted her shoulder in comfort.

“Unfortunately, shortly after my creation, my father passed away in an accident. A fire broke out in the laboratory, and the research that created me was completely ‘lost.’”

Hearing that she’d lost her father, the princess’s expression grew somber, too. It reminded her of her father’s recent funeral, so she hugged her knees close and continued listening to Fran’s story.

“…I carry on my father’s dream, hoping for harmony between humans and fairies. It’s difficult now, but I live with the hope that it will someday come true.”

“…I hope it comes true.”

“To some extent, I think it already has.”

“Huh?”

The princess, hugging her knees, rested her chin on them and looked up at Fran. Looking back at her, Fran smiled faintly for the first time.

“I was once a fairy, and you’re human. Just the fact that we’re sitting here and talking together makes me feel that my dream has already started to come true.”

“Huh? Is that so?”

Fran’s words were hard for the princess to fully understand, and she tilted her head in puzzlement.

Fran watched her for a moment, then, as if to mark the end of their conversation, crawled out of the makeshift hideout and extended a hand to the princess.

“From now on, I’ll try to incorporate your preferences into our lessons. So, will you continue with my lessons?”

The princess frowned and pouted at the mention of “lessons,” casting Fran a sharp glare.

To be honest, she didn’t want to take any more of Fran’s harsh lessons. The grueling, nonstop lessons were exhausting, much like those under the Marchioness.

As she wrestled with her thoughts, leaning towards, “I don’t want to do it…”

“If you continue with my lessons, I’ll make sure that, at the very least, when you dance with Vivian—no, Her Majesty the Queen—you won’t embarrass yourself.”

The princess’s ears perked up at this.

Just as Sylph had suggested, the princess intended to ask Her Majesty the Queen for a dance at her birthday ball.

So she wanted to avoid making mistakes and show the queen the results of all her efforts.

“…Really? You’ll help me with that?”

“…I’ll do my best.”

The princess, hesitating at her vague answer, reluctantly took Fran’s outstretched hand, feeling she had no choice.

Though Fran’s mannerisms and actions were odd, her dancing was undeniably beautiful.

The princess wanted to learn to follow her movements, if only a little. Just as Fran said…

She didn’t want to make mistakes or embarrass herself while dancing in front of Her Majesty the Queen.

*

Time passed, and the ball was now less than a week away.

I sighed softly as I looked at Ainsel, who still hadn’t woken up despite all the nightly visits. According to Fran, she’d wake up soon, but…

Two weeks had already passed since Fran diagnosed Ainsel, yet she remained unconscious. At first, I was content just seeing Ainsel’s image in the mirror…

But to say I wasn’t worried would be a lie.

One night, as I sighed while gazing at Ainsel just before sleep—

–Vivian…?

At last, Ainsel regained consciousness.