“Mother—”
“No calling her Mother!”
Seeing her beautiful stepmother rarely reveal a smile, Snow White wanted to ask Ye Tang why she was in such a good mood today, but Osborne I scolded her.
Snow White was terrified. She opened her obsidian-like eyes wide innocently, her cherry-small mouth agape, her face pale.
Only after realizing he had scared his precious daughter did Osborne I slightly relax the muscles on his face. He comforted Snow White, “…Snow White, this woman has never fulfilled her duties as your mother. If you call her ‘Mother,’ don’t you feel like you’re letting down your real mother, Freya?”
Snow White actually had few memories of her birth mother. After all, her mother had passed away soon after giving birth to her. She not only didn’t remember her mother’s features or smile but even felt stranger looking at her mother’s portrait… Despite everyone around her emphasizing: You were carved from the same mold as your birth mother. Your hair is as black as hers, your eyes as bright as hers, your skin as white as hers, your lips as red as hers…
But things without a sense of reality were just that—no sense of reality.
Compared to a birth mother without any real sense, the seven-year-old Snow White was more drawn to the living. She had wanted more than once to get close to her nominal mother, but every time, everyone—including her father—stopped her. They were just like her father earlier, always asking if she wouldn’t feel like she was letting down her birth mother. The strict royal tutors would even sternly tell her that doing so was a betrayal of her mother.
…She wanted a mother who would love her—was that a betrayal of her birth mother? She wanted a mother—did that mean letting down her birth mother?
The seven-year-old Snow White couldn’t yet think clearly about these profound and difficult questions.
“I haven’t fulfilled my duties as a mother—isn’t that because of you, Your Majesty?”
Ye Tang was not Marinfield; she had no interest in Osborne I’s methods for dealing with Marinfield. Or rather, if Osborne I tried to deal with her the same way he dealt with Marinfield, she guaranteed his head would quickly part from his neck.
“Think about it carefully, Your Majesty. Why did you marry me? And what are you doing now?”
As Ye Tang spoke, she pointed her silver fork at the servants frantically cleaning the floor in front of her.
Osborne I’s brows furrowed tightly.
Why had he married Marinfield? Of course, because Snow White needed a mother. What he was doing now—
Following the direction of Ye Tang’s silver fork, Osborne I saw the maid who had stopped Ye Tang from swapping the meat cutlets.
That maid’s face wasn’t just unsightly anymore. Her whole body shook violently like chaff in a sieve. If that wasn’t guilt, what was it?
—Today’s Marinfield was indeed more detestable. Because this woman dared to show off her petty cleverness in front of him.
What did she want to say? Was she reminding him: He had married her back to be Snow White’s mother, yet he wouldn’t let Snow White see her as a mother?
Or was she saying: Because of his neglect and disdain toward her, even the servants dared to bully the queen. Even if she, as queen, had no real power or say, allowing the servants to insult the queen like this showed the king’s incompetence?
“Snow White, come here.”
“Father?”
Snow White, summoned by Osborne I, had her ears covered by him.
Thus, Snow White didn’t hear her father command, “Hang everyone who prepared tonight’s dinner for the queen, delivered the dinner, and knew what was up with this dinner. All of them, not a single one spared—hang them all.”
After Osborne I finished speaking, he released Snow White.
“…?? ”
Not understanding why her father had called her over, Snow White was picked up by Osborne I and placed on his lap.
“Snow White, Father wants to hear you recount what happened during today’s dance lesson again.”
Osborne I successfully drew his daughter’s attention. Snow White didn’t know that behind her, a maid was being dragged out with her mouth covered.
Ye Tang elegantly ate her dinner. She had no interest in this father-daughter affection.
But one thing she understood—Osborne I’s overprotection and indulgence toward Snow White made him look truly like a pervert with a twisted fetish. Yet from the way Osborne I held Snow White, this man had no perverse thoughts toward his daughter. His hands, feet, and body always maintained a proper distance from Snow White, and his tone when speaking to her was completely that of a doting father.
Combined with what Osborne I had said before, this was truly a man who was “deeply devoted” to his late queen.
When he looked at Snow White, he wasn’t looking at Snow White herself; he was looking at the late Freya. His thousand indulgences and ten thousand pamperings toward Snow White weren’t because he loved Snow White, but because he tried to show his love for Snow White to demonstrate his love by extension—he still loved the deceased Freya the most.
To play the role of the “devoted” man well, Osborne I even abused his stepqueen. As if treating Marinfield even a little better would make Freya turn into a ghost and snap his neck.
Portraits of Freya hung everywhere in the castle. Even in this grand dining hall, Freya stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Osborne I in the portrait, watching the people at the long table dine with a subtle smile, silently.
It was only natural that Marinfield felt so uncomfortable she couldn’t eat and pretended to be ill to skip dinner.
“I’m finished. Your Majesty, Princess, I’ll take my leave first.”
After finishing dinner, Ye Tang set down her napkin. Without waiting for Osborne I to speak, she lifted her skirt and left.
—As Marinfield, she actually had no need to be so humble toward Osborne I.
One should pick the soft persimmon to squeeze; the more humble a woman was, the easier it was for others to ride roughshod over her.
Moreover, Marinfield had one thing wrong.
Osborne I didn’t love her not because she wasn’t beautiful enough; the portraits of Freya hanging throughout the castle didn’t mean Osborne I truly loved Freya.
Why did Freya die? Obviously because she gave birth to Snow White.
Freya in the portrait looked no older than fifteen or sixteen; eight years ago, Osborne I was at least thirty-seven.
A thirty-seven-year-old man, if he had any sense, wouldn’t touch a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl. Moreover, this girl’s body looked slender and frail—hardly suited for pregnancy.
After twenty-five, the older a man got, the worse his sperm quality became, leading to miscarriages, premature births, and fetal deformities.
Seven-year-old Snow White could be called innocent and pure, naive and romantic at best; at worst, she was a bit slow on the uptake, far behind a normal seven-year-old. This might be because she grew up in a sterile environment, but it could also be due to congenital deficiencies.
Osborne I had never considered things from the perspective of the fifteen- or sixteen-year-old Freya. If he truly loved her, wouldn’t he know how great a burden pregnancy was for Freya? Wouldn’t he know that childbirth required staking her life for Freya?
Freya’s rapid death after giving birth, leaving Snow White motherless, was all thanks to Osborne I.
Seeing Osborne I’s “deeply affectionate” appearance, Ye Tang felt only disgust.
Marinfield was aware of her own beauty. So Osborne I’s words “like a pig” had tremendous destructive power on her.
Perhaps, probably, possibly… as long as she was no longer “like a pig,” His Majesty Leonardo would fall in love with her…
Harboring such fantasies, Marinfield worked hard to refine her beauty. Beauty was her only—and final—weapon. Becoming more beautiful was also the only thing Marinfield was allowed to do.
Her obsession with asking the Magic Mirror “Who is the most beautiful woman in the world?” stemmed largely from fear that her greatest weapon had been destroyed.
Another reason…
Ye Tang entered the queen’s bedchamber and locked the door behind her.
She walked to the oval mirror and pulled off the cloth covering it.
‘Magic Mirror, Magic Mirror, tell me—’
The Magic Mirror activated from the fixed incantation. The circle of ancient script on the mirror frame began to glow, and then the image of a youth appeared in the mirror.
‘Who is the most…’
As Ye Tang finished asking the question, the purple-haired youth also opened his eyes.
His eyes were the same dark purple as his hair, but deep in those near-black dark purple pupils, a speck of red burned.
Ye Tang looked at the youth with interest and completed her question: “shameless Magic Mirror elf?”
“My dear queen, the most beautiful woman in the world—…”
Like a duck with its windpipe blocked by a bean, the youth lost his voice on the spot. His stunned expression made Ye Tang curve her red lips.
“—”
Suddenly realizing something was wrong, the youth’s eyes widened, and that speck of red rapidly spread.
Outside the bedchamber, a maid discovered that a decorative mirror on the castle staircase wall had been pried away. The maid looked puzzled at the spot where the copper mirror had once been embedded. She thought: If you’re going to steal, at least take something valuable. Who would steal a copper mirror from a pile of valuable paintings?
If Ye Tang had heard this maid’s question, she would have answered: This humble one.
—After all, she had lived with magical creatures for centuries. How could she confront the Magic Mirror elf without any preparation?
Just as the Magic Mirror elf tried to hypnotize her with his gaze, Ye Tang raised her hand and held that copper mirror in front of her eyes.