TWFLLYM Ch 110

Prepare for the Next Ten Years

The Chamberlain bellowed this time.

[Lafitte] "The Black Witch! What on earth is that!"

[Elona] "Oh, that's......"

This explanation threatened to drag on forever.

[Roserikta] "We don't have time for this. Saving people from the curse comes first. Sir Kiden, do you have any Kitang?"

The Royal Physician immediately shook his head. He had suffered under the Head Maid's sharp tongue for far too long.

[Physician] "No, I have never even seen such a thing, let alone hidden it away to drink......"

Elona shouted at the top of her lungs.

[Elona] "Sir Kiden! I won't tell the Head Maid, so hand it over! Every second counts! Do you want to get hit with another portrait frame?"

The physician scrambled to his feet instantly.

[Physician] "I will bring it at once, Your Grace. How much do you need?"

[Roserikta] "One bottle is enough."

[Physician] "Understood."

The physician sprinted toward his room.

[Roserikta] "Wait! I'm coming too!"

Unable to endure the wait, she chased after him.

[Clobell] "I'm coming too!"

[Elona] "Wait for me! Lady Roserikta!"

The Chamberlain tried to follow them in a panic, but Elona barked at him to stay and warn the people about the curse instead.

---

[Physician] "How do you plan to use Kitang?"

He handed over a large bottle of liquor. Roserikta took it and immediately poured it over the biological encyclopedia.

[Physician] "Gah! Why would you ruin a perfectly good book!"

As the Kitang soaked the pages, Roserikta sprinkled Axaca powder over it. She chanted a spell much longer than usual. Black dust drifted from the pages.

[Physician] "Whoa, what is this?"

[Roserikta] "I am cleansing the book. I must ensure no outside elements remain except the original materials used to create it."

[Physician] "What is so special about that book that you must do this?"

[Roserikta] "I have to trap the Servel Tiger inside it."

[Physician] "What? What on earth does that mean......"

Elona cut off his barrage of questions.

[Elona] "We're in a hurry, so ask later. Sir Kiden, please take care of the people who have lost their minds. We have to catch the tiger."

[Physician] "Wait, where is the Servel Tiger......"

[Elona] "Ugh! I said ask later!"

Roserikta already sprinted away, clutching the encyclopedia to her chest.

[Elona] "Lady Roserikta! Wait for me! Oh, Sir Kiden! People regain their senses if they receive a strong shock, as the Chamberlain did. So handle it well. And whatever you do, don't smell pepper!"

Elona chased after Roserikta.

---

[Kalart] "Damn it."

He spat out a curse. He reached his physical limit. No strength remained to swing his sword. He dropped one knee to the ground and stared into the yellow eyes of the Servel Tiger.

Eaton lay unconscious beside him. Kalart had struck him with his shield moments ago to stop his mindless attack.

Even with a broken arm, Eaton remained the finest swordsman in the empire. Most troublesome of all, he knew Kalart's techniques inside out. Defeating Eaton required sheer luck.

But luck ran out. The illusory Servel Tiger never tired. Despite all the stabs and slashes, not a single scratch marked its hide.

[Kalart] "How do I......"

At that moment, the tiger lunged with its massive jaws wide open.

Thud!

Kalart raised his shield to block the beast's mouth.

Creeeak!

The terrifying fangs scraped against the shield, denting the metal. He crumbled under the tiger's weight and tumbled backward.

Roar!

The tiger seized the opening and swung its front paw. With no strength left to resist, Kalart rolled to the side instead of moving his shield.

Clang!

The tiger's claws knocked the helmet off his head. By rolling across the floor, he narrowly dodged death.

[Neira] "Now you look like something I can enjoy."

Kalart lifted his face, now a mess of sweat and dirt.

[Kalart] "......I knew it."

It was the Baroness. Her appearance, behavior, and voice differed, but he felt certain she was the Black Witch.

[Neira] "You finally recognize me. How cold of you."

She curled one corner of her lip upward. Kalart squeezed out his remaining strength and lifted his sword.

[Kalart] "Is that pathetic greeting all you have? I'll pass."

Suddenly, his body stiffened. In the next moment, she stepped on his wrist.

Crack!

The sound of snapping bone echoed painfully.

[Neira] "......"

She watched Kalart grit his teeth to swallow the pain. She gestured to the Servel Tiger.

Grrrr......

The tiger approached and lowered its head toward the fallen Prince.

Thud!

Hard fangs pressed against his armor.

[Neira] "Do you feel it? If I flick my finger just once, those teeth will sink into your ribs."

[Kalart] "Are you talking so much just to stall for time?"

Her eyes turned a deep, chilling blue.

[Neira] "You remain arrogant even in this state. Why not beg instead? Shed some tears and plead for your life."

[Kalart] "This fake lacks the strength to crush armor. That is why you are just babbling and pretending to scare me."

Creeak!

She increased the pressure on the foot pinning Kalart's wrist. Pain from the splintering bone flared.

Clatter!

The sword he struggled to hold slipped from his hand.

[Neira] "Perhaps. But perhaps not."

She smirked and flicked her index finger.

Crunch!

A horrific impact struck his back. The tiger's fangs pierced through the armor and tore into his flesh.

[Neira] "Well, it went in a little. But this is enough. The second bite will pierce your internal organs."

[Kalart] "......"

She leaned toward him.

[Neira] "I will kill you, then I will kill the Emperor. The Witch of Versaryl will watch it all. Then she will probably fly here on a broom to kill me, won't she? Scattering sparkling dust everywhere? The humans here will see that. What do you think will happen then?"

Her words sounded like a cold curse. Yet, they were terrifyingly realistic.

[Neira] "They will tie the Witch of Versaryl to a stake and burn her. They won't care if she carries the royal bloodline in her womb. That is the fate of a witch who tangles with a human man."

[Kalart] "What are you......!"

[Neira] "You know it's the truth. Why do you think I gifted these humans with such rage? I have replayed today's events a hundred times in my mind. Humans who explode in anger at a mere breeze will find it easy to burn a single witch. They will even cut open her charred corpse to insult her."

She laughed out loud at Kalart's twisting expression. Her purple eyes darkened until they appeared entirely black.

[Neira] "Now, since I want to enjoy this a bit more, I will give you a chance."

[Kalart] "......"

He bit his lip instead of speaking.

[Neira] "Abandon that little witch. Turn the child in her womb into a bastard and marry another woman. Do that, and I will let you go."

[Kalart] "And what do you gain from that?"

[Neira] "Pain."

She smiled as if she were eating a delicious cake.

[Neira] "The pain of you both. Choose. Death or agony."

Kalart closed his eyes and opened them. Nothing changed. None of the Royal Guard who should have rescued him appeared. They were likely tangled in the senseless rage the Black Witch spread, just like everyone else. Eaton lay unconscious, and the Emperor had fled, losing even the capacity to care for his own son.

And here Kalart was, his right wrist broken, his body pierced by the fangs of the Servel Tiger.

The Black Witch won. He saw no way to overturn the situation.

Where are you right now?

Will you appear as you did before and rush in recklessly to save me?

The situation was laughably similar to that time. He was bound by the Black Witch, unable to move, waiting for the end.

The only difference was that now, unlike in the Gibero Estate, he remained fully conscious. Therefore, he could make a choice. He would choose the lesser of two evils.

[Kalart] "Fine. I will do it. I will marry you."

[Neira] "What?"

She giggled.

[Neira] "I didn't say marry me. Why are you suddenly being so generous?"

[Kalart] "It has no meaning if it isn't you."

[Neira] "You know I was your father's lover, don't you?"

[Kalart] "I can't be the only miserable one. The Emperor, who brought someone like you into the palace, must take responsibility too."

[Neira] "Ha, really? You're quite cute when you act like this. Can I believe you?"

Right then.

[Roserikta] "Your Highness! No!"

Kalart spotted a very familiar silhouette running from a distance. It was Roserikta. She was coming to save him, just like that other time. He feared that Roserikta would reveal her identity as a witch in front of more people than ever before.

[Kalart] "Get me up! Quickly, before it's too late."

[Neira] "How touching."

With a wave of her hand, the Servel Tiger shook its head. With a sickening squelch, its fangs pulled out of him.

Kalart stood up with every ounce of his strength and pulled the Baroness toward him roughly.

[Neira] "......Ah!"

Their lips met. Kalart's lips covered the Baroness' lips. Roserikta saw it.

---

What?

Roserikta froze in her tracks.

What is happening? What is he doing right now?

Ah, I see. The Black Witch is controlling him.

How is she doing what she couldn't do before?

No. This isn't the time to think about that. I have to save His Highness. I have to destroy the Servel Tiger.

Despite her frozen feet, her hands moved first. She opened the book sprinkled with Axaca powder and whispered a spell.

[Roserikta] "......E, re, sa, wiz, ril. Return what I desire to its original place."

Whoosh!

The Servel Tiger turned into smoke and vanished. The spell worked.

[Roserikta] "Your Highness!"

She tried to run toward Kalart.

[Elona] "Lady Roserikta! Don't go!"

[Clobell] "You mustn't go!"

But Elona and Clobellina blocked her path. She couldn't understand.

[Roserikta] "What are you doing? His Highness is held by the Black Witch! I have to go and save him!"

[Elona] "Yes! That's true, but...... His Highness right now."

[Clobell] "Cover Rosy's eyes. She shouldn't see that."

[Roserikta] "What do you mean, 'that'?"

She pushed past Elona with all her might and ran forward.

[Roserikta] "Your Highness!"

As she drew closer, Kalart's form became clear. Unlike his usual self, he was a mess. He was exhausted and bleeding.

He's hurt. I have to save him.

Then she saw the Black Witch beside him. The witch wore a smile so sweet it left a bitter taste in Roserikta's mouth.

[Neira] "Welcome, little one. You managed to send back the Servel Tiger. Well, I am in an excellent mood right now, so I will forgive you. Come here and bless our marriage. I am about to become the Crown Princess."

What kind of nonsense is that?

Roserikta tilted her head.

[Roserikta] "You mean the Empress, not the Crown Princess. But it's time to wake up from your dream. The Emperor will soon find out who you are."

Unfortunately, she had nothing in her hands but a disinfected book. Roserikta racked her brain for a way to deal with the Black Witch. But strangely, her thoughts hit a wall. She couldn't think clearly. An unsettling feeling of wrongness gripped her.

What is it? Why does something feel wrong?

[Neira] "Wouldn't it be better to run away on your own feet? It's better than being captured and dying a horrific death."

[Neira] "Oh dear. You've lost your mind, you poor thing. Well, anyone would. That is what betrayal does."

The Baroness reached out her hand to Kalart. He glanced back at Roserikta and took the Baroness' hand. Then he pressed his lips to the back of her hand.

[Roserikta] "Your Highness! What are you doing?"

Roserikta screamed in fury. Even though she believed he was being controlled, she couldn't help but feel upset.

I thought I saw something wrong earlier, but no, I saw it correctly.

He was kissing the Black Witch.

Insane. He did what? I won't let this go. Even if he wasn't in his right mind, I won't forgive him.

Just wait. I will remember this for the next ten years.

[Roserikta] "Let go of her hand this instant!"

Kalart didn't answer. Instead, the Baroness spoke.

[Neira] "My, you should be the one to wake up. Shall I tell you again? I am going to be the new Crown Princess. Your Highness just proposed to me. It was quite thrilling."

The Baroness brought her finger to her lips and pulled it away. No one could fail to see that the gesture implied a kiss.