I Thought It Was a Fairy Tale but the Genre Is Strange

Episode 62 – Snow White (3)

One of the dwarves, face flushed at Alice’s words, shouted.

“How dare you spout such nonsense! We worked hard too! What do you know, you outsider, to speak like that!”

Alice scoffed as if dumbfounded, flipping her hair back. The dwarf, seemingly pressed down by Alice’s composed demeanor, hesitantly retreated.

“Where are the results of your hard work?”

“What?”

“You say you worked hard, but why is it still like this? Look around you. Look at the present.”

She pressed a finger hard against the dwarf’s chest and said,

“What have you accomplished? No, more accurately, nothing is prepared.”

“What isn’t prepared! We have thought of everything…!”

“Weapons?”

“Huh?”

“Where are the weapons? Are the pathetic daggers at your waists all you have? You gather comrades but there are no weapons to be seen for them? Huh? Did you use them to make soup or something?”

“Th, they were all used during the operation….”

“Pfft!”

Alice let out a snort, her expression one of genuine disgust at how incredibly stupid they could be.

“That brilliant plan to assassinate the Earl? That’s laughable. You have absolutely nothing, so what do you think would happen if you killed that fancy Earl? Do you think the Queen won’t hear about it? She’ll be here right away to suck the blood out of that weak little princess. What will you do then? Rally the people? Oh, but I guess you can’t even do that. You already failed! Hehehe!”

Alice’s fingers darted out like daggers, jabbing into the dwarf’s chest.

“Pathetic. Incompetent. Useless bunch. You just sit around, hoping someone will come and save you. What do you think you can actually do?”

“N-no…”

The dwarves’ faces, every single one of them, were swollen like balloons on the verge of bursting, turning as red as apples, but they couldn’t manage a proper response. Ugh, wasn’t this too much?

“Wait, this is too…”

Just as I was about to speak, Ariel grabbed my arm and shook her head.

[Your Highness, just watch for now. This is them sizing us up.]

“…”

Sizing us up, huh? I actually understood their feelings to some extent. Even though they were on the run, they had set up a base here, and they surely needed to find a chance to counterattack. And after dealing with the Earl, they would need a plan for how to take over the castle. Just eliminating the Earl wouldn’t get rid of all his supporters, and like Alice said, they would need a way to face the Queen.

But these guys were so inept that they hadn’t even come up with a plan. Did they even have weapons? Nope. All around them were just sacks filled with sprouting potatoes. They were just holding on. In this wretched environment.

They were just idly thinking that some opportunity for a counterattack would come along.

I turned my gaze away from the dwarves, who were being criticized so pitifully, and looked at Snow White. Ultimately, she was the one in charge.

Snow White was trembling, her head bowed low. Was she angry at Alice’s accusations or shivering with shame?

“I… I can’t take it anymore!”

*Shick*. The sound of a sharp blade sliding out of its sheath. We all jumped, startled, and looked at the dwarf standing at the front, glaring at Alice. In his hand was a dagger, its edge gleaming blue.

“Adel, where did you find such mindless fools! We didn’t need the likes of…!”

The dwarf had crossed a line. Alice’s expression, seemingly unchanged, was betraying her, her eyebrows trembling subtly. A murderous intent was blooming in her eyes. Reading Alice’s face, Ariel and I simultaneously realized what she was about to do and lunged forward.

But the dwarf’s pupils, wide and bulging, reflected her hand already raised above his head. The dwarf, as if catching a whiff of death, shuddered violently, dropping his knife to the floor.

*THWACK-*!

*CRASH!!!*

He went flying, kicking up a cloud of dust against the wall. Huh? That’s weird. I clearly heard a hit, even saw something slam into the wall, but for some reason, the dwarf who drew the dagger at Alice is perfectly fine. So, who took the hit instead?

A figure struggled to rise from the dust. It was definitely not the dwarf’s height. Snow White appeared, her cheek swollen hugely, leading with trembling legs.

“Y-Your Highness!”

“Are you alright, Your Highness!”

The dwarves quickly rushed to support Snow White.

[Did she seriously take the hit instead?]

“Good heavens.”

Snow White shook off the dwarves clinging to her, and cried out in a fragile yet strong voice.

“I-I’m fine!”

“Y-Your Highness…”

The dwarf, the culprit of everything, stared blankly at Snow White, who smiled faintly at him, as if nothing had happened. As if she was okay.

Red blood trickled from her mouth.

She stood before Alice, who snorted with a look that said, ‘Well, look at this?’

“I-I sincerely a-apologize for my subject’s rudeness. S-Sorry. I-I showed a poor sight. As you s-said, Lady Alice, w-we are inept and powerless.”

Alice tilted her head as if urging her to say more. The dwarves could only grit their teeth at the sight of their princess facing off against Alice in such a miserable state. And, as if furious with their own powerlessness, they clenched their fists until they bled.

“M-My judgment led to this terrible, huff, result. I w-was so careless. E-Everything was inadequate. We did not properly gather forces to help us, and not only did we set up a l-lame plan, but it also failed. I-It is all my fault.”

She seemed to struggle even to breathe.

“Hah, but we, we don’t want to, just, only receive help. At least, with my, my own hands, I want to, boldly deal with the, the Count and rise up here again, for the sake of the kingdom. That determination, at least, is, firm. So…”

“Princess!!!”

Snow White rolled her eyes back and collapsed sideways. I quickly reached out and caught her. My heart plummeted, wondering if she was dead, but thankfully she was breathing, albeit raggedly, and I was relieved.

“I-is, is the Princess okay?”

Adel asked me anxiously. I forced a smile and replied,

“She just fainted.”

“O-oh, thank goodness! I, I really thought something had happened to the Princess…”

Still, her injuries are severe. It seems Alice at least controlled her strength to avoid killing her, but her mouth was filled with a mixture of saliva and blood, and her cheek was swollen like she was carrying an apple. Looking at her, I felt pity and admiration at the same time.

She is weak. But she was a leader who acknowledged her weakness and apologized even for the faults of her subordinates.

“Ariel, can you heal Snow White?”

[If it’s your request, Prince, I will gladly do so.]

Ariel generated water with a warm aura and covered Snow White’s bloodied face. The blood in her mouth flowed out, and her swollen cheek began to subside.

“Hmm~ Still got some potential, huh?”

Alice poked Snow White’s swollen cheek.

[Don’t interfere!]

Ariel frowned and brushed her hand away.

“We offer our formal apologies!”

Then, Adel slammed his head into the ground, shouting. But the other dwarves only hesitated, and a furious Adel, his neck veins bulging, yelled at them,

“You stupid idiots! Can’t you bow your heads right now?! The Princess has apologized, so what are you standing around for with your useless pride?!”

Then the other dwarves also immediately bowed their heads and cried out.

“I’m so sorry!”

“We’ve committed an unforgivable offense against such esteemed guests!”

The dwarf who had drawn his dagger was trembling. He mumbled something almost inaudibly. *Tsk,* so prideful. If it were me, I’d be bowing my head and apologizing like Adel.

I glanced at Alice, and she just shrugged.

“It’s alright, get up. Your princess… has paid the price, after all.”

“No, we are trash! We’ll never commit such disrespect again. So please, we beg you, do not leave us.”

Adel pleaded earnestly, even shedding tears.

“We won’t leave, so don’t do that.”

At my words, Adel banged his head on the floor repeatedly in gratitude.

“Thank you for your great generosity! We will never let such a thing happen again! And whatever you may desire, we will fulfill it to the best of our abilities.”

“Ugh… ugh…”

Then, Snow White, who had fainted, woke up.

“Y-yes, that’s right. Anything we can do, we will…”

The princess was struggling, trying to force herself to get up. Alice, as if struck by an amusing idea, her eyes widened.

“Well then~ Our princess has definitely promised? Then let’s make a plan. Right now, go right outside and be our bait.”