40 – 40th Episode – Snowball in Another World
The strip of light in the corridor seemed tantalizing.
As if beckoning for Joodeok to follow. The light shivered gently.
Where could it be leading?
The lone invitation… could it… be from the queen?
Would it be okay to hold a hint of anticipation?
But it was an extraordinarily suspicious occurrence.
Joodeok, gripping his pistol, followed the light.
The end of the light led to a certain room.
This place… felt suspicious.
There were no signs attached, and the simple atmosphere was incongruent with the ostentatious palace.
As he gently opened the door, there…
“…Joodeok? What brings you here?”
“Huh.”
Queen Beatrice was seated, working on some paperwork.
She showed a surprised reaction.
Innocently clueless. From her expression of knowing nothing, Joodeok felt suspicious.
‘It doesn’t feel like a letter from the queen.’
Something. This isn’t right.
While having a hunch of falling into a trap, he simultaneously recognized his current situation.
The queen working in her office.
A man who suddenly opened the door and walked in.
The situation was too suspicious for him to simply say, ‘There’s nothing going on.’
‘… The restaurant was strange too. What is this now?’
Who on earth set such a wicked trap?
Joodeok racked his brain to squeeze out the most plausible excuse.
A reasonable and plausible excuse….
“I can’t sleep.”
From this moment on, Judak decided to become an insomniac.
“So, I took a walk, then somehow… I got curious about this room. Yes. So, here I am.”
No, he might even have schizophrenia.
Despite his strange excuses, Beatrice nodded, getting up from her seat.
“Well then,… would you like some hot tea?”
“Absolutely.”
“Please sit and wait a moment.”
Are these strange excuses okay…?
Anyway, she chose to overlook it since he was a guest.
Judak followed her guidance and sat down on a cozy chair.
Having never been in a woman’s room before, he was slightly nervous.
It was a woman’s room, a paradise for curiosity.
He looked around like a child visiting an adult’s workplace.
The room was filled with books, and peculiarly enough, there were an abundance of flasks and reagents.
Is this actually a mad scientist’s room?
Moreover, there were reports and thin waffle snacks set on the table.
What a bizarre combination.
As Judak curiously looked around, she noticed his gaze.
“I’m interested in magic. Hence… the current state of my room.”
“I see.”
Are all magic enthusiasts’ rooms like this?
He wouldn’t know unless he’d been in a magician’s room.
Of course, he didn’t know what a magician’s room would look like.
Not regarding magic, not regarding magicians. Beatrice was his first encounter.
The reason why the room was a bit messy. He just took the reason behind it lightly, thinking that it must be a characteristic of magicians.
Beatrice placed the ready-made tea in front of Judak.
“Here you go. If you get sleepy, do you want to leave? Feel free to stay put.”
“Then… I think I’ll hang out a little before leaving.”
“Sure, take your time.”
In sync with Beatrice’s nod, Judak also bobbed his head.
Comfortably… He settled into the chair and tipped his teacup.
‘Ah. It’s hot.’
There was a brief mistake, but he slowly savored the tea.
A bitter yet savory scent teased his nostrils.
Taking a sip, he could feel the warmth spread deep into his chest, indicating that this was no ordinary tea.
“Wow. This is delicious.”
“This is black tea that I personally manage. I’m glad it suits your taste.”
“Of all the black teas I’ve ever had, this is the most delicious.”
“That’s a bit much.”
“No. It’s that good.”
In fact, this was his first time trying black tea, but that wasn’t a misleading statement.
Because among all the black teas, it was the tastiest, being the first he tried.
It’s suitably bitter, but edible. The taste is not unpleasant.
Throughout Judak’s introduction to black tea, Beatrice sat beside him.
“I have to get back to work….”
She started to handle the piled-up work.
And Judak clicked on a post in the floating gallery.
Processing the hate comments with sophisticated black tea, he felt like a noble.
As he managed the gallery, Judak felt a gaze on him.
Beatrice from next to him was staring at him.
Why is she doing that?
“Uh. Is my presence bothering you?”
“Oh… I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was staring because it’s so intriguing….”
After all, when did they last see a madman managing the gallery divided into 16 windows?
It isn’t common to witness firsthand someone tackling cyberbullying.
But in time, you get used to seeing even this.
Beatrice watched for a moment, then returned to her own tasks.
“….”
This time, Judak’s gaze turned towards her.
What was she looking at? Sneaking a peek, something familiar caught my eye.
‘It’s a gallery post.’
A manually transcribed gallery post. It seemed to be copied as a report.
Did the kingdom of Occen have the analog spirit of Japan?
“There must be a reason for this, right?”, I almost asked, but instead, swallowed my words.
‘What’s the matter with the unique culture of the Occen kingdom?’
Perhaps there was a tradition of reporting the content of a gallery by handwriting.
Or maybe… it was something done both to report in writing and to leave a record.
I gave up asking outright.
It would be a lose-lose situation if it caused discomfort, or occurred as challenging her.
So instead, I decided to switch my focus on the snacks set next to the report.
“Excuse me… Your Highness?”
“Yes. Oh, it’s fine to have some. They pair well with black tea.”
Sipping black tea made me crave something sweet.
I fell into the universal temptation algorithm that every human cannot help but succumb to.
The snack she offered was a thin waffle.
Picking up one, I took a bite.
“Oh…”
I muttered in quiet admiration.
Crisp.
The briefing was filled with sweetness, nuttiness, and the crisp texture.
Here was a snack where nothing was missed.
“Wow, this─ I mean, this is really tasty.”
“Does it suit your palate?”
“Yes. I would even give a peck on the cheek to the person who made this.”
“Oh… Is that so? That’s nice to hear. Feel free to eat as much as you like.”
As they were thin waffles with a layer of butter and honey, they were addictive.
I couldn’t help but think that these would win if there was a bakery contest.
Before I knew it, I kept reaching out for more.
‘I wonder who made these.’
As Judak sincerely wondered about the person who made the waffle snacks.
“…”
Beatrice rubbed her lips with her finger, slyly. She turned her head to the opposite side of Judak.
***
Despite Judak’s sudden entrance into her office, Beatrice was not flustered.
Rather, she understood when she saw the flustered Judak.
‘What has he done again?’
Even though Judak made long-winded excuses, all Beatrice did was understand.
Since the dinner time was weird to get flustered about something like this.
Unbeknownst to herself, the arrangement of the dining room had changed.
Suspiciously enough, the lighting exuded a romantic atmosphere.
Suspiciously enough, the sticky arrangement of the chairs seemed full of ulterior motives no matter how one looked at it.
Not noticing the weird vibes would be even stranger.
The person who would do this was obvious.
‘I have to call all the palace maids and knights… and scold them.’
When the palace’s dining room changes on its own, or a strange incident occurs, who might be the culprit?
It’s the very people who manage the palace.
The palace maids and knights.
They are the ones doing these strange things.
Could they be trying to meddle in male-female relations?
She grimaced as she poured her tea.
‘This is… not good.’
A queen must above all cherish her dignity and formality.
But at dinner time, she found herself alone at a table of such structure with a strange man.
And they were eating snacks alone in the room!
If someone found out about this, they might talk about maintaining dignity as a queen.
So, this situation is not good.
She thought as much….
Unlike what she thought, her heart was at ease.
The dissonance between logic and instinct caused a great upheaval.
‘…Why am I like this?’
She felt something. An emotion. For a fleeting moment. It was nothing more than a slight tremor.
So she couldn’t understand it herself.
Why her ears were getting hot.
Why would it feel good to be with Jujak?
She noticed the subtle rise of emotion.
At that moment, the Monkey Hand’s words came to mind.
– I will fulfill your desires.
Desire…?
Could this be the desire that was fulfilled?
Could being with Jujak be the realization of desire?
Thinking that way, the puzzle fit together.
From Noble mtl dot com
The Monkey Hand said to speak her wish.
Beatrice spoke her wish.
Because she was worried about Jujak. Because she didn’t want anything to happen to him.
Because she wanted to protect him. Because she had feelings for him.
She expressed all these desires.
She said she wanted to know his status.
‘So that was it.’
Her desire was fulfilled as she said.
She was curious about what kind of person Jujak is. Her desire to know was fulfilled.
She could see Jujak up close.
She got the chance to share the same time with him.
Beatrice calmed down and steadied her heart.
‘I have to be patient….’
The opportunity to know and get close to Jujak had arrived.
Still, she didn’t want to rush into it too hastily.
Because when you rush, you tend to mess things up.
Just like when a toddler who just started to walk tries to run and falls.
She would probably trip over in vain if she tried to do something.
Slowly… avoid any mistakes.
She took a deep breath to regain her composure—she wanted to cherish this moment.
The moment where they were sharing a space, each doing their own thing, while enjoying light snacks.
She wished this could last longer.
Even just being in the space made her heart flutter in an indistinct way.
Seeing him enjoy the cookies she baked as a hobby gave her a strange feeling.
“Do you like them?”
She asked innocently.
Because, if they weren’t enough, she was thinking of baking more.
However.
“Yes. So much so that I want to kiss the person who made these.”
She wasn’t expecting such a response.
A kiss…?
Does it mean he liked them that much?
With such praise… Had anyone else said it, she would have thought it was flattery.
But, when he said it, she reacted in a way she found strange.
She turned her head slightly and covered her lips with her hand.
It felt like her pounding heart could be heard by him.
She gently pressed her lips together to hide their trembling.
She couldn’t hide her reddened ears, but she managed to pull herself together.
“Should I… prepare some for next time as well?”
“Yes! Most certainly.”
“…”
But she couldn’t control the fluttering feeling in her chest.
***
Teatime lasted longer than she expected.
It continued till the vague hour between night and dawn when he left because he was sleepy.
Beatrice was sorry to see him go but she let him.
The next morning,
Unlike usual, Beatrice woke up feeling refreshed.
Despite having gotten little sleep, she felt less tired.
She usually found getting dressed up to be a nuisance, but today it wasn’t the case.
Perhaps knowing she has someone to show up for could change her mood like this after all.
“Your Majesty, the meal is ready.”
She immediately went to the dining hall once she was done preparing.
Evidently, Judak was up earlier and was waiting.
Beatrix gave a slight nod.
“I’m sorry I’m late.”
“No, it’s fine. Time flew while I was grooming.”
How considerate of him to respond in such a manner.
While striving to maintain composure, Beatrix took her seat.
The ambience was similar to yesterday’s mealtime.
Moderately awkward. Moderately comfortable.
As she ate, she broached a subject.
“By the time we finish lunch today, the hero should be arriving.”
“That’s quick.”
As Judak responded fearfully, a guard approached Beatrix.
“The hero has arrived.”
It was much earlier than expected.
The hero, Kaira Luz, who had arrived early in the morning, was waiting at the reception room.
She was inwardly feeling a bit irritated.
Even though the queen was pretty nice, bringing her here for protection.
Doesn’t even reveal who she is protecting for security reasons.
That’s why she hurried over, prepared to leave early if she didn’t like what was being discussed.
After all, she had the noble task of protecting the gallery.
With her usual bland expression, she was waiting when the door to the reception room opened.
A familiar face. The queen. Beatrix.
“Have you been waiting long, Hero?”
“…Not too long. I’m fine.”
They exchanged cursory greetings.
She looked at the man who came in with Beatrice.
Judging by the atmosphere, this man must be her escort.
The two stared at each other, lost in thought.
‘Wow. The hero has a grand pose. My acquaintance, Padeck the Hero, should take after this man at least somewhat.’
‘His face is casually drawn… I suppose he’s been asked to escort some wealthy noble.’
When their brief eye contact ended, Beatrice began to speak.
“This gentleman is the landlord of the Gallery. The Hero. We’d like you to escort him.”
“Yes, the landlord of the Gallery…you say…?”
Kyra Rouge’s eyes flickered.