I Raised Snow White!

To somehow avoid the death sentence passed on to me by the Queen Dowager’s lady-in-waiting, and to make sure there would be no reason to take issue with me, I dressed up as best I could, gathered a gift, and headed to the separate palace where the Queen Dowager resided.

As I approached the place the lady-in-waiting directed me to, even though it wasn’t winter yet, I felt a chill seep into my entire body. When I knocked on the firmly closed door amidst my dizzying apprehension, a voice cold as winter came from inside.

“Click, come in.”

As if fully aware of who was outside, the Queen Dowager clicked her tongue and permitted entry. As I slowly turned the doorknob and stepped inside, the Queen Dowager scowled at me.

“You’re quite late. Was your appointment with me truly so laughable?”

“I-I’m sorry… That’s not the case, Your Majesty.”

“Ha… Are you planning to offer excuses here? Let’s hear what pitiful excuses you’ve got.”

Clearly enraged, the Queen Dowager’s voice was filled with anger. I racked my brain as much as possible to come up with some excuse that might at least slightly soften her frozen heart.

“Choosing a name that the Princess will bear for a lifetime was no easy task. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t settle on one. I sincerely apologize for being late.”

“Fine. So, did you come up with a good name?”

“Yes, I have a few in mind.”

I slowly approached the Queen Dowager and began to write down the Princess’s potential names I had come up with. There were three names in total that I had thought of for the Princess.

I had already made my choice in my heart long ago, but to provide proof that “the reason I was late was because I was thinking so hard,” I quietly handed them over to the Queen Dowager.

The Queen Dowager examined the three candidate names for the Princess placed before her and frowned as she looked up at me. Was she displeased? She was the one who told me to decide…!

The Queen Dowager looked at the name I had chosen from the three candidates and asked.

“Do you know what this name means, and yet you still plan to use it as the Princess’s name?”

“Yes, I do. And I believe it suits the Princess perfectly. Isn’t it a fitting name for the ‘future Princess’?”

“Certainly, if we consider only its meaning…”

The Queen Dowager looked at the name with a thoughtful expression. I was well aware of the reason behind her concerns. Still, I had judged that no name other than this one suited the Princess.

Perhaps thinking along the same lines as me, the Queen Dowager repeatedly compared it with the other names. But ultimately, even in her heart, the name settled firmly.

The Queen Dowager let out a heavy sigh, furrowing her brows as she looked at me.

“The name and its meaning are fine. However, there’s no precedent in the royal family’s history for using such a name. Do you know why that is?”

“Yes, I do.”

“And yet, you still intend to give this name to the Princess?”

The Queen Dowager asked me once more, seemingly seeking confirmation. I smiled back at her and asked in return if she didn’t like it.

“Didn’t Your Majesty the Queen Dowager also find it to her liking?”

“Yes… I do like it…”

Clicking her tongue, the Queen Dowager looked up at me as if annoyed. Muttering that she regretted telling me to choose a name, she stared intently at the paper where I had written the name.

“Tsk, there will certainly be those who will complain. Like in the previous meeting, there will be people who’ll prattle on about royal history and such. Are you sure you’re fine with that?”

“Yes, I’m fine. And…”

…I am no longer someone whose pride has hit rock bottom.

The moment I decided to name the Princess, I resolved to think of myself as the Princess’s “parent.”

Whether we shared blood or not, no matter what anyone said, I intended to raise the Princess as my “child” from now on.

“No matter what anyone says, I am a member of this country’s royal family and the Princess’s parent, am I not? It’s those who complain about a parent giving their child a name who are the strange ones.”

“Hahaha!”

At my declaration of parenthood, the Queen Dowager burst into laughter. Perhaps she liked this contrasting stance from before, as she chuckled, looking at me.

“Yes, that’s true. It would indeed be strange for anyone to object to a parent naming their child. Go ahead and do as you wish, as the Princess’s parent.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Queen Dowager, who still hadn’t stopped laughing, covered her mouth and waved her hand, signaling me to leave. Bowing my head, I turned toward the door.

Just as I was about to turn the doorknob, the Queen Dowager spoke to me.

“The name you’ve chosen for the Princess will resonate throughout the entire kingdom on that day. The people of the kingdom will come to know the name you have given her.”

“…That day will surely be one of the happiest of my life.”

“Yes, I’m sure it will be.”

With those words marking the end of our conversation, I turned the doorknob and stepped out of the room. The Queen Dowager’s lady-in-waiting, waiting outside, looked at me with wide eyes, seemingly surprised by the Queen Dowager’s loud laughter.

The Princess’s name was approved, and there was now less than a week until the Princess’s birthday party. Although it hadn’t garnered much attention as the main spring event in the game, things were different this time.

As the Princess’s birthday approached, my heart beat wildly, and my nerves were on edge.

As if that day would be the most important day of my life.

Once again, time flew by—

The day before the Princess’s birthday party arrived. For a week leading up to the Princess’s party, the palace was bustling with preparations. Everyone marveled at how long it had been since a day like this had come.

Bainshaw, holding the Princess’s hand, cried, saying he never imagined he would attend a royal’s seventh birthday party again in his lifetime, feeling deeply moved.

The maids, the butlers, the nobles who worked in the palace—everyone was preparing for the Princess’s birthday party with excitement. Not just the palace, but the entire kingdom was filled with anticipation.

From a week ago, the capital was already celebrating with festival-like days, and fireworks lit up the sky every night. To honor the seventh birthday of a royal, the Queen Dowager even issued a general pardon.

Excluding those with particularly severe offenses, she released many people through this pardon, sharing the joy with the citizens. That’s how exceptionally special a royal’s seventh birthday was.

However, the protagonist of this joyous day, for some reason, wore an even gloomier expression today. She looked both tense and anxious.

The Princess, who had decided to go to bed early to prepare for tomorrow, entered her room with a troubled expression, and somehow, that look weighed on my mind like a fishbone stuck in my throat.

Should I go to the Princess? But the Princess had to wake up early at dawn to prepare. If I caused her to stay up late and made her tired tomorrow…

No, still, seeing her anxious and worried expression tugged at my heart. I should at least comfort her by her side, or she might not be able to sleep at all.

I couldn’t stay still with all sorts of thoughts swirling in my head, so I kept pacing around the room, until Ainsel, hanging on the wall, sighed deeply and whispered to me to calm down.

-Calm down. I know you’re worried about the Princess… but it’s already late at night, isn’t it? You should get some sleep too. After all, it’s not just the Princess who has to prepare.

“That’s true, but… I still feel worried.”

-I’m concerned about the Princess, but I’m worried about you too… so lie down and get some sleep.

Groaning, unsure of what to do, I heard a soft knock on the door. Everyone must think I’m already asleep. When I called out for them to come in, wondering who it could be—

“W-Wait, Your Majesty… You’re still awake?”

“The Princess? Why are you up at this hour…”

Peeking her head through the slightly open door, the Princess looked at me with those wide, bright eyes like a little deer. Clutching her pillow, she walked toward me, her steps small and quick.

“Can’t you sleep?”

The Princess, hugging her pillow tightly, nodded.

I wondered if she must be feeling quite anxious. I should have gone to her first before she came to me. With that thought, I smiled faintly and scooped her up into my arms, laying her down on the bed.

“Then we can sleep together. I wasn’t feeling sleepy either.”

“Even you, Your Majesty…?”

The Princess looked at me in wonder. I pulled the blanket up to her shoulders and lay beside her, gently patting her stomach.

“Yes, when I think about tomorrow, I just can’t seem to fall asleep.”

“Hehe, I feel the same way…”

Despite her words, as I began patting her stomach, the Princess seemed to grow drowsy, and her voice gradually grew faint. I watched her as she began to drift off, but…

With sleepy eyes, the Princess blinked and asked me.

“Your Majesty… what should I do tomorrow?”

“What do you mean by that?”

The Princess, with a worried expression, held out her hands for a hug. The sudden increase in her sweetness probably came from feeling very anxious.

I slipped between her outstretched arms, gently stroking her dark hair, and hugged her tightly. The Princess hugged me back, burying her face into my chest.

“Are you very nervous?”

The Princess nodded.

“You practiced your dance a lot and prepared your greetings perfectly, didn’t you? You even chose the prettiest dress. Tomorrow, you’ll certainly be the most beautiful person in the world. What are you so worried about?”

I stroked her head slowly, comforting her as she nestled into my arms. The Princess shook her head in my arms and murmured in a voice only I could hear.

“But… everyone said my birthday is such a special day… so I have to prepare perfectly… but what if I’m not really perfectly prepared? What if I’m lacking?”

As she said that, the Princess burrowed even deeper into my embrace. The pressure of perfectly preparing for the enormous event of a royal seventh birthday seemed to weigh down on her.

I patted the Princess’s back, trying to reassure her as much as possible. I knew the pressure she was feeling wasn’t solely from the event itself.

Though she hadn’t said it aloud, I was certain part of her worry stemmed from concerns about her ‘name.’

I considered telling the Princess about the name I’d chosen for her, but I decided to wait.

Tomorrow, in a grander setting, in front of everyone, I’d reveal the Princess’s name. It was part of the event schedule, one that even the Queen Dowager had approved. Until then, it would remain a secret from her.

“There’s absolutely nothing lacking, so don’t worry. I know you prepared perfectly. Even when your feet were sore, even when you fell while dancing and skinned your knee, you never gave up, did you?”

“……”

“A Princess who prepared like that cannot be anything less than perfect. So don’t worry and get some sleep. And tomorrow, show me everything you worked so hard on.”

I held the Princess close, gently rubbing her back. She sniffled slightly, and nestled in my arms, she softly breathed as she drifted into sleep. I, too, closed my eyes, ready to sleep as I watched over her.

Finally, tomorrow.

The Princess’s birthday party would take place.

The day had come to announce it to everyone.

My child’s name and her existence.