Chapter 1 - Snow White's Son

Translator's Note:

Hello, I hope you've all been doing well. I'm sorry for the delay, but you'll soon understand why it took me so long to digest this. :')

Here you go, and I wish you a good read.

And, as I said before, if you wish to read ahead, you can head over to my Patreon to get early access to all the translated chapters.

Shortly after Crown Prince Kyle turned ten, the long-awaited second child was born to the King and Queen.

 

The firstborn, Kyle, with his luxurious golden hair and sapphire-blue eyes, resembled his father, and so the Queen fervently wished her second child would be a beautiful daughter who looked like her.

 

Half of her wish was granted, for the child born was a prince of unparalleled beauty, with skin as white as snow, hair as black as a raven's feathers, and lips as red as blood.

 

This second prince, born after a grueling labor, was given the Queen's own name. None dared to call the Queen by her name, so there was no trouble in bestowing it upon the child, whom everyone lovingly referred to as "Prince Snow White."

 

Among all those who cherished Snow White, it was Crown Prince Kyle who adored him the most. He placed the cradle in his own room and, more than any nursemaid, tended to him with care. In Kyle's presence, Snow White would often laugh, drink his milk heartily, and fall into peaceful slumber to the lullabies his elder brother sang.

 

For a while, the kingdom was filled with joy, but — as all fair happiness seems fleeting — this blissful time came to an abrupt end.

 

The Queen, weakened by the difficult birth, was unable to rise from her bed even three months after Snow White's birth. Then, one fateful morning, she passed away, as if falling into a peaceful sleep.

 

"Father, I beg you… Please reconsider! What fault could Snow White possibly have for Mother's death? Please, I implore you, come to your senses!"

 

"Brother, Kyle is right! Deepening your sorrow will only make things worse!"

 

The King, driven mad by grief, raised a dagger, intent on slaying Snow White as a traitor who had caused his beloved Queen's death. Kyle, along with his uncle Phillip, struggled to stop him.

 

The King, blinded by his love for the Queen, could not bear her death. In his madness, he believed that by killing Snow White, the child who had been the cause of the Queen's demise, he could somehow bring her back.

 

"Kyle! Leave this to me! Take Snow White to safety!"

 

"Uncle, please! I leave him in your hands!"

 

At just ten years old, Kyle's strength was limited, so he entrusted the task of restraining the King to his uncle. Grasping his baby brother, Snow White in his arms, he hurried toward the door.

 

"That child is a demon's spawn! The thief who stole the Queen's life! If I kill him, she may yet return!"

 

"Brother, enough of this madness!"

 

Despite Phillip's efforts to wrest the dagger from him, the King broke free and pursued Kyle.

 

Just as Kyle was about to escape, the King caught him by the shoulder. Holding the sobbing infant close to his chest, Kyle turned around, resolute and desperate to sacrifice even his life.

 

"Father… Snow White is the precious brother that Mother gave her life to bring into this world. One day, he will grow to resemble her, and his very presence will bring you comfort as her living memory. I beg of you—spare his life! Please, save my brother!"

 

Kyle, determined to protect Snow White, fell to his knees, cradling the infant in his arms, his small body shielding the baby as he bowed his head in submission.

 

Though Snow White was usually cheerful when Kyle held him, now the child cried in terror, sensing the murderous intent in the air.

 

In truth, Kyle longed to cry as well. The loss of his mother, the rising hatred within his family—everything felt like a terrible nightmare.

 

"The thief who stole everything from the Queen, living with that beauty, right before my eyes… I cannot bear it!"

 

Though Phillip managed to snatch the dagger away, the King's rage still seethed. He threw open the doors and shouted, "Summon the elves!"

 

The nobles in the corridor, once loyal to the calm and just King, now trembled at his sudden change, yet obeyed his command.

 

Nearby stood the six newly appointed pallbearers, who had been tasked with carrying the glass coffin where the Queen's body lay.

 

The King had refused to bury her, choosing instead to keep her by his side always. In the coffin, Queen Snow White looked as if she were merely a girl of sixteen, her youth so preserved that rumors whispered she might have been a witch, like her stepmother. Dressed in crimson velvet, even in death, she wore a serene, hauntingly beautiful smile.

 

—Dear… Even in death, do you torment me still?

 

When the King retired to his chambers, the pallbearers lifted the coffin from its golden stand and followed, bearing the heavy burden of both the coffin and the stand behind the King.

 

Kyle, unable to bear the sight of this disturbing scene, held the crying infant tightly to his chest, swallowing his own tears.

 

Though both he and his brother were born into a world of royal splendor, at that moment, they seemed utterly wretched.

 

The truth weighed heavily on Kyle—his father had fallen in love with his mother when she was in a state of suspended death, and in his obsession, had pleaded with the seven elves to purchase her lifeless body as a bride.

 

It was only on their wedding night, with the shock of her deflowering, that she had miraculously drawn breath once more.

 

Kyle had always felt a hesitation in his heart, wishing desperately to honor and love both his parents. Yet how could he, with a father inclined toward necromancy and a mother who, despite her delicate appearance, had cruelly executed her stepmother with such barbarity?

 

Though outwardly they were a family filled with smiles and love, Kyle, even at his young age, understood that the fragile balance could shatter in an instant.

 

"To carry a corpse with him wherever he goes—Brother has truly lost his mind. And now, to seek the death of his own child… If word of this reaches the people, the kingdom will fall into chaos."

 

"Uncle…"

 

"Ah, Kyle… You must grow up quickly. The people will find peace if you, with your wisdom and excellence, would succeed to the throne. But I fear my brother's mind is already lost, his eyes now only betraying his madness."

 

Still seated on the floor, cradling his brother, Kyle gave a brief, "Yes," in response to his uncle, Grand Duke Philip Ragnacris.

 

But in his heart, he could not say it with certainty.

 

Would the day ever truly come when he became king?

 

For within him, the witch's curse flowed in his blood, a spell so vile and unbreakable that no one could undo it.

 

***

 

The King summoned the seven elves from the black forest and commanded them to imprison the second prince in a tall tower deep within the woods.

 

Moreover, the King stripped the prince of the name "Snow White," which had once been his mother's, and gave him a new name—Crow, the name of the raven.

 

These elves, long acquaintances of the late Queen, were said to have lived nearly two hundred years in the forest, yet appeared much younger than ten-year-old Kyle.

 

Aside from their pointed ears, they looked much like human children, with bronzed skin, silver hair, and golden eyes, each one a mirror of the other.

 

The only difference between them was the color of the stones hanging from the pendants around their necks. Each stone gleamed in one of the seven hues—black, white, red, blue, yellow, green, and purple—each glowing faintly like jewels.

 

"Please, I entrust my brother to you. When I become king, I will come for him, so until then, protect him from every danger, and care for him with all your might."

 

Kyle whispered this to the elves before the handover, making sure his father did not overhear.

 

The elves, with their mystical powers, were perhaps safer guardians than any human could be. But in truth, Kyle did not want to hand his brother over to anyone.

 

The infant, now sleeping peacefully in his arms, had grown heavier by the day in the three months since his birth.

 

Kyle longed to witness his brother's growth firsthand, to see him take his first steps, to be there for every moment.

 

"Kyle! Hand over Crow at once!"

 

The King's frustrated roar echoed through the chamber, and Kyle responded, "Yes, Father."

 

Yet, in his heart, he whispered to his poor brother, given such an ill-fitting name, "You will always be my Snow White."

 

—I will come for you, I promise. You are the one I love most.

 

For Kyle, who could neither fully trust nor love his father or mother, his innocent brother was his one hope, his symbol of pure love.

 

But for now, he had to stifle his tears and entrust his brother to the elves.

 

His father's decision to imprison Snow White in the tower was, in a sense, a mercy—a reduction in his punishment.

 

To defy his father any further would risk his brother's life entirely.

Translator's Note:

This novel first seized me by the KOKORO, but then shattered all of my YUME. YAMETEE!! Now let me SHINE in peace!

Uh-hum, now, on a more serious note...

This writing is just pure genius, a genius dark comedy. I already thought the same when I first read The Bracelet of Gold from "The Little Mermaid's Younger Brother", but this is on a whole nother level.

Mama! Please spare me, I'm hooked! Now I'll have to finish all the series.

PS: I'm low-key tempted to add the comedy tag, what do you think?

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