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

68 – Snow White (9)

Snow White’s pure white skin had an ethereal beauty, but the Queen’s skin felt cold, like a shard of ice, making me uneasy. I swallowed hard. An overwhelming presence. An oppressive presence that felt like the air was crushing down on my whole body. I’d felt this before.

Rapunzel.

A similar yet different aura radiated from her. The noble queen, adorned with flamboyant accessories, was so imposing, no one could move. This was dangerous. My instincts screamed it. That being was absolutely dangerous.

The translucent queen’s red shoes moved slowly. With each step, a small pool of blood appeared. *Thump*, *thump*, *thump*, *thump*. The queen approached us slowly, her gaze both leisurely and intimidating. No one could move for the duration. A path of bloody puddles followed in her wake, like a red carpet.

“N-no way. H-how…”

Snow White gasped, her breath catching in her throat. Her condition wasn’t good. Her pale skin started to twitch, turning blotchy and red. The subtle tremor in her face soon spread through her entire body, and a drop of blood trickled down from her clenched fist, where her nails had dug into her skin.

“I won’t forgive her, I will *never* forgive her!!”

She looked ready to draw her sword and charge, so I quickly grabbed her shoulder.

“Let go! I’m going to kill that damned witch!”

Snow White thrashed wildly. Ugh, she was thrashing so hard, my arm was starting to hurt.

“It’s, it’s the queen. It’s the queen!”

Adele cried out, her face turning as white as a sheet.

“Good heavens! The, the queen herself has come!”

“This is totally unexpected!”

The dwarves whispered amongst themselves. They were genuinely terrified, but quickly regained their senses and stepped in front of Snow White.

“You will absolutely not lay a finger on the princess!”

“That’s right! We’ll end your miserable life here today!”

“Disgusting witch!”

The dwarves’ legs were trembling. Their loyalty, however, was sincere.

“Hmm.”

The queen’s lips, stained red like blood, moved. A chilling voice that made their hearts sink. I was certain she was the strongest enemy we had faced yet, aside from Rapunzel. With an elegant gesture, she pointed at Snow White and spoke.

“Oh, my lovely daughter. To be running around so openly in a place like this, you really are as foolish as your father.”

“Shut up!!! Don’t you dare call me your daughter, you vile creature!”

Snow White was about to lash out in fury, and the dwarves and I hurriedly grabbed her to stop her. Years of bottled-up rage, upon meeting its target of revenge, was exploding with such force that it felt like we might lose her.

“Don’t get so worked up, my little star who will fulfill my wish. Now, the story is finally starting to unfold. You have no idea how bored I’ve been, searching for you all this time.”

“Shut that mouth of yours! You die here today! I, we! We will take your head and offer it to my father in heaven!”

“Really? By the likes of you?”

The air suddenly froze. You could see your breath escaping your lips. It was like mid-winter. The queen glared at Snow White with her cat-like, vertical pupils.

“You think you’ve changed anything by killing one of my paltry minions? Why do you think I came alone? You are as ignorant as the lowliest of commoners.”

“Don’t make me laugh! I am…”

“Ugh~ Enough already. I get it, it’s a kill-or-be-killed kinda convo, but it’s just repeating itself so obviously.”

Then, a familiar silhouette stepped in front of us. It was Alice. She was slouched, a blood-stained iron mace slung over her shoulder, and she yawned widely.

[Yeah, how long are you gonna keep arguing? I wanna get this over with quick and chill]

Ariel said, linking arms with me. The Queen glanced at them both, then smiled gently. Like someone who’d discovered a precious jewel.

“Oh, so it’s you two. You even have different auras. Especially you.”

She pointed a long, sharp finger at Alice.

“I especially like you. You possess power stronger than any minion I’ve ever had.”

“Puh-hah! Hear that? Little princess, guess that means I’m a step ahead of you now, huh?”

Alice immediately burst out laughing, teasing Ariel. Ariel’s face scrunched up into a scowl.

[That’s bullshit! You’re pathetic for believing some villain’s words and acting all giddy!]

“But…my focus isn’t on the two of you. You’re just perfect for my minions, nothing more, nothing less.”

“Then who are you interested in? Did you maybe find your love at first sight here?”

At Alice’s words, the corners of the Queen’s mouth twitched, her cheeks flushed, and a horrifying smile spread ear to ear.

“That’s right! Why is the story even progressing? I who could not find Snow White through painstaking effort, was able to easily find her and arrive here to finish this off. All of it is because the unseen force blocking my path has disappeared!”

Wait, hold up. If we follow the flow of this dialogue…

The Queen’s eyes blazed, and she stretched both arms out toward me.

“I finally found it! My poison apple! My beautiful apple, that can conclude my great tale! If I have you and Snow White, then I can reign as the true god of this world! Come, show me your beautiful flesh!”

“Heh~ So you’re into the older type?”

“That old hag is definitely not my style!”

Huh? Did the Queen’s eyebrow twitch just now? Maybe I imagined it. The Queen calmly closed her eyes and calmed her excitement. She opened them again and spoke in her original, cold voice.

“Black Reaper and Snow White, you two become mine today. And I’m a man of my word. Snow White, whose usefulness is exhausted, I’ll give to you.”

Huh? What is she saying? Give? To whom? I looked around, and that’s when a strange feeling hit. The number of dwarves gathered before me was one short. Seven dwarves were now six.

The hairy dwarf was gone. I turned around in a hurry and there he was, a dwarf, panting excitedly, even drooling, his shoulders shaking. A grin that showed all his dirty, yellow teeth.

“Kihyaha, hyahyahya! Thank you, thank you!”

“Delphord?”

Snow White blankly watched the hairy dwarf, Delphord, shoot past her. What is going on? Why is that guy running to the Queen?

Caught off guard, no one reacted as Delphord bowed his head before the Queen.

“Haa, haa! I am grateful for the Queen’s grace!”

“Heh heh, no. This is all your merit, isn’t it? I am simply giving you the reward you deserve.”

“Hihihi! Thank you, thank you!”

Delphord kowtowed, his forehead hitting the ground as he expressed his thanks. Snow White asked, looking bewildered.

“De, Delphord, what on earth are you doing there? Ah, I see! You’re being mind-controlled by the Queen, aren’t you!”

“Kihihik! Mind-controlled? Me!? Puahahah! I like this side of my honey.”

Delphord chuckled, making a chilling sound. The remaining six dwarves, feeling uneasy at Delphord’s strange behavior, spoke up.

“Delphord, what are you saying!”

“Snap out of it, Delphord!”

“Why are you doing that!”

I thought quietly for a moment, then gritted my teeth. I glared at Delphord and said,

“I think that guy really did betray us. Think about it. We weren’t exactly followed, but the moment we met Snow White, the soldiers came crashing in. This would be impossible unless someone leaked the information. Up until then, security had been airtight, yet we were exposed in an instant. That too, right at the entrance to the hideout.”

“N-no, no! Delphord isn’t that kind of servant!”

Snow White, denying the situation, shrieked,

“Delphord! Tell me! Ah, no, right? Please?”

Her face was one of desperate pleading, as if begging Delphord hadn’t betrayed her. But the response that came was cold.

“Hahaha! You stupid fools! Princess, what that guy said is right! I leaked the information directly to the Queen! Of course, there was a price! Do you know what it was? Hehehehe!! Kekekekeke!!!”

Enraged by Delphord’s leaping and joyous manner, like a child experiencing an amusement park for the first time, she fumed.

“It’s you, you foolish daughter. Or more accurately, your body.”

“Wha-what?”

“Don’t you understand? I need your living blood. But not enough to kill you. Once my fangs bite your neck and extract a certain amount of blood, you’ll be useless. And this little dwarf is going to take such a useless thing as his bride.”

Snow White, shocked, could only gape, unable to speak.

“You crazy b*stard!!! Delphord!!! What the hell have you been thinking this whole time, serving the Princess! Aren’t you ashamed!!!?”

“You piece of trash! Do you even know what you’ve done!?”

“How could you do this!!!”

As the other dwarves hurled insults, Delphord shrugged.

“Ha! What’s the problem? Honestly, do you think that wench can beat the Queen? And don’t you guys feel it too? Look at that captivating body! Every time I saw it from behind, it was so hard to suppress the urge to ravage her! Seeing those slender, smooth legs and those proudly swelling breasts, haaah! It’s maddening! I wanted to lick her whole body and pound her with my precious…” *cough!*

Delphord’s body collapses backward. A stone flies through the air. And a white object, presumably Delphord’s front tooth.

In an instant, everyone’s gaze is on me.

“What right do you have to spew such disgusting garbage! I’ll make sure you never meet with your ‘precious’ again!”