Every child who has read fairy tales has imagined themselves as the protagonist.
A prince, a princess, or even an elf—children always imagine that they too can have their own happy ending, just like in the stories.
"My own fairy tale actually began the moment I first met you."
Hoshino Ai, pulling her lips away, reached out and caressed Chihaya Tetsuya's cheek.
"Compared to a prince who only shows up at the end, a gentle, intelligent, kind, and strong person like you, Tetsu, is much more like the princess."
"Eh..."
Tetsuya looked at her in a daze, asking with what little consciousness he had left:
"Are you saying... you're the prince?"
"Not at all."
But Ai simply shook her head gently.
"I wish I could have been the 'prince,' but in reality, not only did I fail to be the one to bring you happiness, but I almost became the 'poison apple' that killed you."
A poison apple, created from the very beginning to meet him, but one that nearly sent him to a ruinous end.
Ai reached out and gently wiped his lips.
"I'm sorry, Tetsu. Both that time at [RiNG] and today... I almost made a decision that would have taken everything from you. The person who should be apologizing was never you; it was always me. Our separation seven years ago was not something two children could control. In fact, just hearing that you still tried so hard to find me after that was enough to make me happy."
"I understood long ago that you would never just abandon me, and that you were truly working hard to find that perfect ending where everyone could be happy. It was me who, one-sidedly, didn't trust you. It was me who forgot the trust I had in you seven years ago. It was me who was holding you back."
As she spoke, she continued to wipe his lips repeatedly with her finger, as if trying to completely erase the trace of her kiss.
If only I could have explained all this to him seven years ago. If only he could have eaten me before I was tainted with poison.
Why couldn't she have realized Tetsu's feelings for her sooner? Why couldn't she have trusted him sooner? Why did she push him to the point where he would willingly give up everything? This wasn't right. What she had hoped for was to live happily ever after with him like in a fairy tale, yet what had she been doing?
Using a physical relationship to force him to never leave her, trying to bind him to her side forever by having his child.
Someone like her... what right did she have to become his happiness?
"I'm sorry, Tetsu. I've tainted your first kiss. But don't worry, I won't do anything more. My anxiety has been dispelled by your gentleness, and my final obsession has been released by your love..."
The poison apple slipped from the princess's hand and was left unheeded.
Just like when she was abandoned by her mother, perhaps someone with a wicked nature like her was always meant for such an end.
"Don't feel guilty towards me. I don't have that right."
Ai reluctantly moved her finger away from his soft lips.
"On the contrary, I should be the one asking for your forgiveness..."
From now on, whether she was discarded or punished, she would accept it willingly.
With this slightly wistful sigh, Ai sat up straight, preparing to climb off of him.
But in the next second, Tetsuya suddenly sat up from the bed, putting them directly into an intimate, face-to-face embrace—
"..."
Under Ai's utterly stunned gaze, Tetsuya hesitated, carefully studying her face for a long moment. He then finally took a deep breath and, as if having made up his mind, pressed his lips to her cheek—
Chu.
A kiss as light as a dragonfly's touch, which left Ai frozen in place as if petrified.
Perhaps this overly gentle person wouldn't get angry with her over this, but she had never expected him to suddenly sit up and hold her, much less take the initiative to kiss her himself!
"Tetsu..."
Ai's eyes widened as she murmured in a dazed tone:
"Do... do you know what you just did?"
"...Mhm."
Tetsuya, the one who had initiated the kiss, was now blushing far more deeply than the "poison apple" in his arms.
But even so, he managed to overcome all his mental barriers and spoke decisively.
"This... kiss. It's my repayment for seven years ago. I was too slow back then, and I failed to realize our feelings for each other sooner."
If the him of seven years ago had realized what he sought from Hoshino Ai sooner, perhaps the story that followed would have gone down a completely different path.
However, reality has no "what ifs."
In the end, they had parted with regret, each walking a different road.
Now, having found a real family and his own dream, Tetsuya was destined to no longer be able to pour all his thoughts and feelings into Ai alone, as he might have seven years ago.
But even so... that didn't mean he intended to give up on her.
In fact, it was just the opposite. Having finally been reunited with her, Tetsuya would not, under any circumstances, lose this person who had once been his savior and his "first love" ever again.
"The me of today might not be able to easily reciprocate your feelings, and I can't make any promises to be with you for the rest of your life. But even so, I still want you to stay by my side..."
"I still have so many clothes I want you to wear, and so many wishes we haven't fulfilled together. I can't just let things go until we've made every one of our fantasies for the future a reality."
"And... I have to emphasize one thing. I'm just an ordinary man, not some princess who needs a 'prince' to define my happiness. And you're not some poison apple. You're an indispensable part of my life!"
Gazing at Ai's eyes, which were already shimmering with tears, Tetsuya said:
"From now on, let's not have any thoughts of guilt or repayment. Those words are too distant for us... I can promise you this: from this day forward, as long as you need me, I will never leave you again!"
It was just one promise, and it was the only one that mattered.
It was far more dreamlike than a fairy tale, yet it felt more real and brought more happiness than one.
This story had no wicked witch, nor did it have a poison apple fated to be discarded from birth.
All that was here were two children who relied on each other, striving together in search of happiness.
But, it was a good thing this story was not a fairy tale.
So even with this joyous grand reunion, it would not come to a logical, abrupt end.
And with that, Hoshino Ai's new interpretation of Snow White could finally turn the page on its long prologue.