Chapter 65
“……”
The face of Sylvie, who had been playfully smiling just moments ago, had hardened.
Just like when we first met, her intimidating gaze pierced right through me.
As I stood there speechless, Sylvie flicked her red hair back.
“Well, I knew it would turn out like this.”
“Hey, bartender! She’s a witch. A wicked, evil woman!”
The dwarves rushed over to me, shouting. Some encircled Sylvie as if to restrain her.
Sylvie didn’t even spare a glance at the dwarves glaring at her, casually sipping her drink.
“Our Sena. Are you going to avoid me too?”
A witch, huh.
This wonderful unnie was no ordinary unnie.
Ding!
<Notice> A choice has appeared!
Trust Sylvie VS Trust the Dwarves
‣ If you believe Sylvie, rumors will spread that a witch has taken over ‘Milky Way Lounge’. (Reputation -1,000, 30% decrease in fairy tale dimension customers)
‣ If you believe the dwarves, rumors will spread that ‘Milky Way Lounge’ is safe. (Reputation +1,000, 30% increase in fairy tale dimension customers)
To anyone, believing the dwarves seemed more beneficial. But…..
‘So what? What does it matter?’
Reputation isn’t some kind of currency. If customers decrease, I’ll just have more free time.
It may be harder to earn coins, but I can take a break from running the cocktail bar and explore dimensions for quests.
Although I hadn’t yet gathered enough for next month’s subscription fee, I wasn’t in a tight spot.
Even so, I couldn’t side with the dwarves without hearing Sylvie out. Isn’t the rule to hear both sides first?
“I should hear both sides first. I’ve heard your story, so let me hear Sylvie Unnie’s side…..”
“So you’re not going to believe us now!”
The dwarf shouted with a stunned look.
“It’s not that I don’t believe you.”
This is turning into a fight. I frantically waved my hands, but the dwarves seemed to have made up their minds.
“You’re choosing to believe that witch over us, we get it!”
“Let’s go.”
“You’ll regret this.”
“Siding with the witch! I’m so disappointed.”
The dwarves stormed out in a huff.
An eerie silence fell over the once noisy Milky Way Lounge.
<Notice> Rumors spread that a witch has taken over ‘Milky Way Lounge’.
(Reputation -1,000, 30% decrease in fairy tale dimension customers)
What a mess.
As bewildered as I was, I needed to grasp the facts first.
Carefully, I addressed Sylvie.
“Um, Sylvie Unnie. The dwarves say you’re a witch……”
“Yes. I’m that witch.”
Sylvie didn’t deny it.
I knew she was a villain, but I never expected the kind Sylvie to be that witch.
Recalling the wicked deeds of the witch from ‘Snow White’, a chill ran down my spine.
“So you were the one who gave Snow White the poisoned apple?”
“Yup.”
“Why would you do that…..”
Did I inwardly hope for her denial? Her frank admission left me speechless.
Had I blindly believed in the excuses of villains with tragic backstories? My heart sank.
“That girl said she wanted a true love’s kiss while gazing out the window.”
“…Huh?”
Her unexpected response made my eyes go wide.
Sylvie muttered gruffly,
“So I put her into an eternal slumber that could only be broken by a prince’s kiss.”
“So you’re saying you did it for Snow White’s sake?”
“Yes. She’s probably having sweet dreams now, but those dwarves only badmouth me.”
“But you tried to have Snow White killed by the huntsman!”
I may not have met Snow White, but I did meet the huntsman. Unable to harm her, he defied the order and became a fugitive.
Was that really necessary?
How many lives were ruined because of that…?
At my accusation, Sylvie burst into laughter and folded her arms across her chest.
“Why are you pinning that on me? I didn’t do that. The queen of that kingdom did. The rumors really spread wild.”
“Wait, so you’re not the queen?”
“Of course not. I’m still single. Oh! If Cedric ascends and we marry, then I’d be the queen. How about that?”
“I object to that marriage!”
The moment a smile crept onto Sylvie’s face, I instinctively shouted out in protest.
But weren’t the witch and the queen originally different people?
‘Come to think of it, the dwarves mentioned the queen and witch separately.’
To begin with, fairy tales have so many varied versions that I couldn’t claim the one I knew was the true version.
However, there was one common element across all versions.
The scene where the queen asks her ‘magic mirror’ who is the fairest of them all.
I narrowed my eyes and asked sharply.
“The queen became jealous when the ‘magic mirror’ said Snow White was fairer than her.”
“So?”
“Are you saying an ordinary queen who isn’t a witch had a ‘magic mirror’?”
“You really don’t know anything, do you? Those were the biggest trends last year. Aristocratic households widely exchanged them as housewarming gifts.”
“Housewarming…gifts?”
“I have one of those talking mirrors too.”
Sylvie continued haughtily, crossing her legs.
“I even leaked information about Snow White to a handsome prince from a neighboring kingdom. He’s already set out to rescue the princess, so he should arrive soon.”
“Then……”
“Yes, I didn’t torment the girl, I just played matchmaker. Isn’t that an extraordinary love?”
I had no counter-argument.
It was an excessive meddling, but… her intentions weren’t entirely malicious, were they?
However, there was one more nagging point.
‘When I checked her information, Sylvie Unnie wasn’t affiliated with the Snow White dimension.’
Moreover, Captain Hook had Ariel’s necklace, and the dwarves mentioned Alice from Wonderland.
I had overlooked it before, but wasn’t this odd?
Thinking about it led me to one conclusion.
“Do fairy tale worlds partially share dimensions, by any chance?”
“Fairy tales?”
When Sylvie questioned back, I calmly explained.
“The dwarves seemed to know dimensions other than just Snow White’s.”
“Then those must belong to my domain as well. I’ve been collecting dimensions that catch my fancy.”
Collecting dimensions? I was dumbstruck at the unanticipated remark.
As I expected, the witch was no ordinary being.
“Then, what about Hansel and Gretel? Did you imprison them too?”
I recalled the pitiful children abandoned by their parents, only to be captured by a witch.
They even told me about their adventure of defeating the witch and returning home, so it must be true!
“Imprison? Ha, I made them a gingerbread house because they were hungry. Children love sweets, you know.”
“But they said they escaped from you.”
“They just kept eating sweets and got too fat and lazy. Hansel especially doubled in size. So I made them exercise…”
Sylvie shook her head with an exasperated look.
Wait, come to think of it, the kids did seem a bit plumper when I met them again?
“Seriously. They claimed I tried to eat them and took off with my treasure! Kids these days are so ungrateful even when you try to help.”
“Uhh…?”
If that’s true, then isn’t Sylvie Unnie the victim here? Having her treasure stolen?
“There may come a day when you have to stand up and fight against someone. When that time comes, trust each other and combine your strengths. You will definitely win. Understand?”
I recalled the advice I gave Hansel and Gretel when I first met them.
Could it be that I inadvertently made them see the witch as an obvious enemy?
‘Oh no. Then the kids misunderstood Sylvie Unnie because of me…?’
Engulfed in shock for a moment, I shook my head vigorously to regain my senses and cried out urgently.
“Th-Then what about Rapunzel!”
“She kept getting into accidents, so I confined her in the tower for a while.”
“That’s imprisonment…”
“We agreed I’d just keep her for one year. I kept my promise. It was her who declared she didn’t want to leave.”
“Oh…”
“She said she preferred the tower over home and refused to budge. What was I supposed to do? Sena, you wouldn’t know, but the door was unlocked.”
I recalled Rapunzel, who had visited Milky Way Lounge. Right, she didn’t seem like someone under imprisonment at all.
I chuckled dryly while rubbing my forehead. Just where does the misunderstanding begin and end with this Unnie?
“But to an outsider, it would simply look like imprisonment.”
🥂
Thank you for reading! ♡
