I Raised Snow White!

Marchioness of Lorenzo.

In the game’s storyline, she was the ‘godmother’ of the First Queen, serving as her ‘guardian’ and educator since the First Queen was merely a young noblewoman before ascending to queenship.

Currently, she was one of the NPCs responsible for educating the princess.

If the Marchioness of Lorenzo was assigned as the princess’s educator during the princess’s upbringing, her ‘knowledge’ stat could be increased significantly in the early stages.

Her abilities granted 1.5 times the ‘knowledge’ stat boost compared to other educators, which was enticing; I too initially fell for her charm and assigned her to educate the princess.

The only downside was that the princess experienced a lot of stress from the lessons, but even factoring in her stress, Marchioness of Lorenzo’s skills seemed highly appealing.

At the time, I was quite pleased.

Seeing the princess, who repeatedly died due to the Witch, dominating the storyline thanks to the stats raised by the Marchioness’s training was exhilarating.

So, I entrusted the princess’s ‘knowledge’ ability entirely to Marchioness of Lorenzo. I was certain that this time, I’d see a happy ending…

I had no way of knowing then.

No way of knowing that Marchioness of Lorenzo was, in fact, a trap NPC.

That if the princess stayed connected with her for too long, it would lead directly to a ‘bad ending.’

At that time, I couldn’t have known.

*

“What brings the First Queen’s dog here?”

I tilted my head to the side slightly, casting only a sidelong glance down at the Marchioness. Not bowing my head at all was key to this stance. Crossing my arms would make it perfect.

Looking down on the other person with just a slight roll of the eyes.

This was Vivian’s typical stance when dealing with others.

The Marchioness narrowed her eyes at me in displeasure. I smirked as if to say, “So what if you don’t like it?” and taunted her further.

My reason for antagonizing Marchioness of Lorenzo was simple.

Because she was educating the princess.

Because I knew exactly what would happen if the princess stayed by her side too long. Therefore, to separate her from the princess, I had no choice but to antagonize her.

Perhaps tired of our silent standoff, the Marchioness sighed, turned, and looked down at the princess. At her gaze, the princess trembled slightly in surprise.

“As Her Majesty the Queen is aware, I am responsible for Her Highness the Princess’s ‘education’ by royal command. It is nearly time for class, so I have come to escort her.”

Although the Marchioness addressed me with formal language, her tone and demeanor suggested she no longer deemed it worth speaking further. I turned my head slightly and looked at the princess.

The princess had said earlier…

“The princess says it’s not time for her lesson yet?”

“Is there a set time for studying? Her Highness should become a distinguished person in the future; the more time dedicated to learning, the better, don’t you think?”

“Isn’t it you who set the lesson schedule? Then shouldn’t you at least keep to that?”

“Adjusting the schedule according to the lesson is only natural. Didn’t Her Majesty the Queen experience this in her youth?”

… Not one word back left unsaid, huh?

For some reason, I felt like I could read between the lines of the Marchioness’s words. So, she was essentially saying, “Weren’t you educated properly as a child?”

Was this what nobles called an elegant verbal sparring match?

I folded my arms and tapped my forearm with my fingers, pondering how to handle her. Though I was the Second Queen, I couldn’t defy a royal order.

In other words, I had no way of handling the Marchioness, who was appointed the princess’s educator by His Majesty’s command. Even if I told her to stop, His Majesty’s orders would take precedence.

‘… Should I just go all-out Vivian and turn the place upside down?’

… Even if I caused a scene here, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Everyone would just think, “Oh, Vivian being Vivian again,” and dismiss it.

But…

I glanced down at the princess and Ellie. The princess, stuck between the Marchioness and me, darted her head back and forth, not knowing what to do.

‘I’m only just starting to shed Vivian’s infamous reputation, and I don’t want to ruin it again by pulling a Vivian stunt.’

Sigh.

The frustrating situation made me let out a sigh. If only the King weren’t holed up, I might’ve been able to meet him and request that the Marchioness be removed as the educator.

But with the King in self-imposed exile…

The only thing I could do now was retreat for the moment and strategize later. But backing down so easily was irritating.

So—

“Princess.”

“Y-Yes..?”

I smiled brightly at the princess as I addressed her.

“Why don’t you decide? Will you play with Ellie and me until lesson time, or will you go to class now? Surely the Marchioness would respect the princess’s choice.”

“Pardon?”

“What’s the matter, Marchioness of Lorenzo? Were you perhaps planning to force the princess to class without asking her opinion?”

“I am the princess’s educator..! So—”

“So, as her educator, you’ll disregard her opinion?”

The Marchioness looked up at me in disbelief.

And what are you going to do about it?

Even though she was the princess’s ‘educator,’ this was a strict hierarchy. Here, even the elderly Marchioness couldn’t simply dismiss the opinion of a young princess.

As things didn’t go her way, the Marchioness’s pale face flushed in frustration before she sighed and put on a pleasant expression, turning to the princess.

“Of course, I always respect Her Highness’s opinions.”

“That’s only right as a servant.”

The Marchioness’s gaze burned into me the moment I said that, but I ignored it, looking down at the princess. The princess blinked, as if unable to believe the situation.

“Princess.”

“Your Highness.”

The Marchioness and I called to the princess simultaneously, and her eyes wavered, clearly confused about what to do.

But we couldn’t afford to wait for her to decide. Standing on either side of the princess, the Marchioness and I crouched down with open arms, like people calling for a puppy.

“Come this way, Princess!”

“No! Over here, Your Highness!”

*

In the end, I was the loser.

Maybe it was because we hadn’t spent much time together. The princess hesitated, swaying back and forth, before finally taking the Marchioness’s hand. It was disappointing, but inevitable.

Back in my room, I flopped on the bed, rolling around to soothe my unsettled mood. I’d gone for a walk seeking fresh air but returned feeling sour.

“Sigh…”

– Oh, come on. Cheer up. It couldn’t be helped, right? Besides, Vivian’s relationship with the princess wasn’t great from the start. Every time she met the princess, she hurled insults at her…

“… Right. It couldn’t be helped. After all, it’s as if I’m meeting the princess for the first time today.”

Lying still and reflecting, I still couldn’t shake my frustration. All I could do was kick at the blankets to vent.

“Huff, huff—”

– Temper, temper…

It was infuriating, but I had learned something from today’s incident. When Marchioness of Lorenzo mentioned she was ‘appointed as the princess’s educator by royal command,’ I realized something.

‘Ah, the ‘King’ isn’t like me—a ‘possessor.’

To be honest, I’d worried that the King might be a possessor like me since I entered Vivian’s body. His reclusiveness could’ve been a way to escape reality after possession.

However, any player familiar with the game would never have appointed the trap NPC Marchioness of Lorenzo as the princess’s educator.

No player would appoint the Marchioness, knowing the ending she brings; only a non-player would make that mistake. So, the King was definitely not a possessor.

If he had been a possessor like me, he would have taken decisive action, like expelling or killing ‘Vivian’ right away. Although I hadn’t been sure, the Marchioness’s statement confirmed it.

But why is the King secluded? Bainshaw and Ainsel said they don’t know the reason either. Could it have something to do with the First Queen?

For some reason, the First Queen doesn’t seem active either. Is she even still alive? Though Ainsel mentioned that Vivian conducted a ritual to switch bodies with the First Queen…

No matter how much I pondered, I couldn’t figure it out. Neither Bainshaw, Ainsel, nor even the maid Ellie told me anything about the First Queen. They always avoided the topic.

“… Ainsel.”

– Yes?

Well, whatever that mystery may be, the most pressing issue now was the ‘princess.’ How to drive away the ‘Marchioness of Lorenzo’ from the princess was the real problem.

Right now, what I could do for the princess was—

“Tell me everything you know about the princess.”

– Huh? All of a sudden?

“Even small details are fine. What does she like, what does she dislike, how old is she? I don’t even know her name.”

Getting closer to the princess seemed the only way to block the Marchioness’s toxic influence. My best option was to block the Marchioness’s vile ambitions myself.

– Uh… Do you really have to ask me about the princess? I… I don’t really know…

“..? You’ve been in the palace a long time, haven’t you? You’d know the princess’s age and name, at least?”

– W-Well… Oh! Why not ask Ellie?

“..? Ainsel, stop avoiding my gaze.”

Ainsel’s behavior was suspicious; she avoided my eyes every time the princess was mentioned.

Now that I thought about it, Ainsel used a slightly more formal way of addressing the princess. She added the respectful ‘-nim’ only when referring to the princess, unlike how she addressed the King or Queen.

As I moved closer to the mirror, meeting her gaze, Ainsel’s eyes began to dart around wildly. It was the reaction of someone clearly hiding something.

“You’re hiding something about the princess, aren’t you?”

– W-Well, that is…

“Hurry up and tell me, before I smudge fingerprints all over the mirror without cleaning them off.”

– Ugh, don’t do that! That’s disgusting!

As I pretended to reach for the mirror with my fingers, Ainsel flinched and shouted. Then, after a brief moment of thought, she lowered her head, sighed, and looked back at me.

– I can’t tell you everything, but I’ll at least tell you her basic information.

“… Want a taste of my fingerprints?”

– Ugh!! No—!! There’s nothing I can do about what I can’t tell you! Even if you ask other fairies, it’d be the same! It’s like a ‘species’ trait!!

“..? Really?”

If she was that insistent, I had no choice but to let it go. I had some knowledge from the game, so I didn’t press further. Perhaps it had something to do with the princess’s ability to see ‘fairies’?

After all, the seven dwarves were also ‘fairies.’

If I thought about it, it made sense for the princess to be able to see fairies.

– Anyway, don’t get upset like you did with the Marchioness earlier. The princess is six years old. She’ll be seven on her upcoming birthday.

“? Wait, why would I get upset?”

– And the princess’s name is…

*

A secluded room used for the princess’s lessons.

As soon as Marchioness of Lorenzo entered, her expression darkened to a pitch black. Like removing a mask she had worn until now, the Marchioness’s face transformed suddenly, causing the princess to gulp nervously.

The door closed, and the Marchioness turned, gripping the princess’s shoulders tightly.

“Why were you with Her Majesty the Second Queen?”

“W-Well… I was sleeping under the tree…”

The Marchioness squeezed the princess’s arm as though wringing out a rag. The princess bit her lip to stifle a scream of pain.

“Why do you keep doing such vulgar things? Last time, you went to get candy from the maids without permission, and now you’ve slept under a tree? Why don’t you realize your worth?”

“Uh, uh…!”

“Her Majesty the Queen, your mother, has never done anything so crude in her life! And yet, you!!”

The physical pain was something the princess could endure.

However, the next words from the Marchioness’s mouth tore through her like a dagger to the heart, making it unbearable.

“This must be why His Majesty hasn’t given you a name.”

Tears welled up in her large eyes, silently spilling down her cheeks.

Drip. Drip.