I Raised Snow White!

It was customary at a party or ball hosted directly by the royal family for royalty to perform the first dance.

Usually, in these kinds of balls, the royal would dance with their “betrothed,” someone they’ve been acquainted with since childhood…

Or, they would dance with an unmarried relative, which was the custom, but today’s ‘Seventh Birthday of the Royal Child’ was different.

The custom for the ‘Seventh Birthday of a Royal’ was for the ‘parent’ of the Princess or prince to dance with the child who turned seven.

So, by stepping up with the Princess to the center of the dance floor at today’s celebration, I was all but announcing to all the nobles here:

That I am the Princess’s parent.

Of course, the gaze directed at me and the Princess on the dance floor was not entirely pleasant.

In particular, the stares aimed at me were as sharp and prickly as if they were stabbing with needles.

I couldn’t hear the murmurs of the nobles clearly, but I could roughly guess the kinds of things they were saying as they looked at me. Probably…

That the Second Queen, who had no royal blood connection with the Princess nor the family name, claiming to be the Princess’s parent was crossing a huge line—

And that I was doing something that should never happen by ignoring the royal customs on such an important day, dancing with another woman in a social dance, in front of everyone—

It was undoubtedly the kind of tiresome, outdated grumbling from old folks.

Ignoring those pointless mutterings, which would waste my time if I bothered to listen, I held the Princess’s hand and headed to the center of the dance floor.

The Princess seemed uncomfortable with the stares from others, and her movements were stiff and awkward.

Like a marionette moving stiffly, arms and legs moving simultaneously, the nervous Princess made clunky steps with me until we reached the center of the dance floor.

Seeing her nervously clench and release her hands to warm her cold fingers, I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

“Titania, don’t be so nervous.”

“Y-Yes…!”

Her voice was bold and cute, but her actions were anything but.

Although we were now at the center of the dance floor, the Princess, perhaps overwhelmed, hesitated, unsure of what to do as her mind went blank.

‘She doesn’t need to be so tense…’

Maybe it was because she had made a mistake during her earlier greeting, or maybe it was the fear of making another mistake, but she seemed so tense that she looked ready to collapse.

“Titania, your hand.”

As I reached out my hand to begin the dance, the tense Princess grabbed it tightly. She even forced a smile, awkward to the point of being comical, as if she was too nervous to manage anything else.

I took her cold hand and whispered softly.

“You don’t need to be so tense. Let’s just do it the way we practiced with Fran.”

“P-Practice…”

As I held her hand, slow music began to fill the ballroom. It was the waltz piece we had practiced together dozens, no, hundreds of times, drifting out to signal the beginning of the dance for everyone.

But even as the music played, the Princess, like a frightened little rabbit, trembled and showed no sign of moving.

Holding her hand firmly, I gently began to lead her into the dance.

And, softly enough that only the Princess could hear over the music, I whispered to reassure her, telling her not to worry so much.

“Titania, today is your birthday. Your seventh birthday, not anyone else’s. No matter what others say, today is the day for you to be happy and enjoy yourself.”

With my soft whisper, I felt the trembling in the Princess’s hand start to ease. Matching my lead, she began to take small steps, looking up at me in a daze.

I smiled at her, meeting her gaze.

“So let’s enjoy this together; a dance is meant to be enjoyed.”

The Princess gave a small nod in response.

The trembling in her hand was no longer noticeable. Though her face still held traces of tension, she was no longer shaking as she danced.

As we continued to dance…

The Princess, led by my hand, began to smile gradually. As if she truly was enjoying the dance, her nervous expression softened into a smile, and she started dancing in time with the music.

One, two, one, two.

Following my lead, the Princess no longer seemed tense. Smiling as brightly as a blooming flower, she soon danced perfectly in the way Fran had taught her.

Watching her dance so happily reminded me of when Fran had come to me recently. She had boasted, in her usual deadpan expression but with both hands making a ‘V,’ about how the Princess had finally managed to dance properly.

Seeing the Princess, who had learned from Fran despite her initial reluctance, dancing confidently before me, filled me with pride.

As the music reached its climax, I placed my hands under her arms, lifting her high into the air and spinning her in a circle.

“Kyah!”

The Princess, flying high in the air, let out a delighted laugh. Once more, I lifted her up by the waist, spinning her in the air again.

Once again, the Princess laughed joyfully, saying, “Kyaa!”

There was no longer any sign of the Princess’s tense, awkward movements. Now, she was simply dancing cheerfully to the music, thoroughly enjoying herself. The Princess was truly happy to dance with me.

Of course, I felt the same way.

As we continued to dance happily, the final note of the waltz echoed across the hall. Though it wasn’t a refined waltz performance, it was a joyful dance shared together, and the reaction around us was quite positive.

As if they had been waiting for the music to end, applause erupted around us as soon as the dance concluded. Hearing the loud clapping, the Princess smiled and looked around at the nobles.

She gave them a polite bow—

Then, holding my hand, the Princess gracefully descended from the dance floor with me. Still buzzing with the excitement of the dance, the Princess walked along with a lively spring in her step, letting out little hums.

When she spotted Fran standing nearby, she dashed over, placed her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, and looked up at Fran.

With an expression that seemed to say, “So? I did well this time, didn’t I?” the Princess confidently looked at Fran, hoping for her approval on her dance performance…

“Today, at least, you were not as awkward as a squid, Your Highness.”

Fran spoke bluntly, with no room for doubt. The Princess’s face scrunched up at Fran’s rather salty compliment, and she shouted at her in frustration.

“Why can’t you compliment me properly?! I did well!”

“This is the highest praise I can offer to Your Highness at this time.”

Fran maintained her calm, expressionless face and simply evaluated the Princess dispassionately. Well, typical of Fran… But I couldn’t help but laugh quietly, noticing a slight smile on her lips.

Watching this slightly more human-like artificial being.

Following that, the Princess’s seventh birthday party ended successfully.

The birthday party with the nobles was over, but there was still the after-party left.

It was to be a small, private gathering with just the Princess, me, Ainsel, and Fran.

Since the Princess had been hungry all day without a chance to eat, we decided to gather a few remaining foods from the party hall and hold a simple after-party in my room.

Though the food had gone cold, the Princess, clearly famished, wasted no time savoring it and quickly stuffed her mouth. Only after swallowing a large mouthful did she sigh deeply in relief, as if finally feeling alive again.

Watching her, I chuckled softly.

“Were you that hungry?”

“Yes… I didn’t eat anything since morning… I was so, so hungry…”

Embarrassed by her hasty eating, the Princess shyly covered her mouth with her hands and smiled.

I wiped away the sauce from her mouth with a handkerchief, then brought out Ainsel, who was hanging on my ear, and handed her to the Princess. The Princess tilted her head curiously as she took Ainsel from me.

“Ainsel says she’d like to give you a birthday gift.”

“Really?”

The Princess’s eyes sparkled with excitement at the mention of a birthday gift.

“The gift I’m giving you is a piece of myself. Since you’re a bit too young to wear this mirror earring, you can attach a chain to it and wear it like a necklace.”

Following Ainsel’s instructions, I attached a gold chain to the earring, transforming it into a necklace. As I placed the necklace around the Princess’s neck, the mirror pendant sparkled, reflecting Ainsel.

“If you tap the mirror twice, you’ll be able to talk to me whenever you like. This is all I can offer, so… I’m sorry. If you don’t like it…”

The Princess lifted Ainsel, who was hanging from her neck, and shook her head, looking at her fondly. Then, beaming with joy, she hugged Ainsel tightly.

“No! I love it! It’s a gift from my very first friend, after all. And… with this, we’ll be able to talk even at night, won’t we? Right? I always wished we could talk outside of class time, too…”

Hearing the Princess’s words, Ainsel choked up and began to cry, reaching out from inside the mirror as if to hug her. Watching this, the Princess hugged the small Ainsel close to her chest.

Seeing the Princess embrace the small mirror so tightly, it was touching but somehow made me smile. With Ainsel now around her neck, the Princess looked over at Fran.

As if expecting Fran to have something to give her as well, she glanced at her with a hopeful gaze. However, Fran just shook her head, looking back at the Princess.

“My apologies. I came here in haste and didn’t bring anything suitable to offer you as a gift, Your Highness.”

“Oh…”

Looking disappointed, the Princess drooped her shoulders slightly, nodding in understanding. She seemed ready to accept that there was nothing to be done. Just then, Fran took something out of his pocket and held it out to the Princess.

The Princess tilted her head curiously as she accepted the small paper envelope, shaped like a letter, that Fran handed her. She looked at Fran with a puzzled expression, as if asking what it was.

“It’s an invitation to the witches’ gathering, the Coven.”

At the mention of a Coven invitation, I frowned slightly, looking at Fran. Even if she didn’t have a proper gift, an invitation to the ‘Coven’ for the Princess?

“A Coven invitation? Why would you give that to Titania?”