TWFLLYM Ch 117

To Stay by Your Side (1)

[Roserikta] "Don't tie my wrists tonight, Your Highness."

Kalart had returned to the bedroom much later than usual. He had been handling the matter regarding Princess Aika before it could spiral into a diplomatic problem, though he chose not to say this aloud.

[Kalart] "……."

He froze, staring at Roserikta just as he prepared to tie her hands.

[Roserikta] "I want to use both of my hands freely tonight."

[Kalart] "Does that mean……."

He remained silent for a long moment before he finally spoke.

[Kalart] "Have you reached a decision tonight?"

This time, she fell silent. Every raw emotion Kalart had hidden up until now rushed to the surface of his face. She could swear by the moon that she had never seen him look so utterly broken.

[Kalart] "Are you…… leaving m—"

[Roserikta] "No!"

She threw her arms around him, pulling him close.

[Roserikta] "No, it is not because of that. I literally just meant we should not tie them tonight."

[Kalart] "……Why?"

He asked in a low whisper, burying his forehead against her shoulder. She stroked his cheek with the back of her hand. The texture felt different.

Yes…… he has lost weight. During those few short days.

[Roserikta] "Because I realized just how deeply you love me."

She heard him draw a sharp breath against her chest.

[Roserikta] "I didn't mean I was completely unaware before…… I had simply forgotten. Your love felt so natural to me. But I should never take it for granted."

As far as she knew, affection resembled a snowball. If left to sit out in the open alone, it melted away, but rolling it diligently through each other's snowfields made it grow larger and firmer.

His affection had stayed in one place for too long. It was so massive and solid that it didn't melt easily.

Why did I act that way? I love him too. I love him so much.

[Roserikta] "So tonight……."

I intend to roll my own affection back to you.

[Roserikta] "……I want to hold you."

He wrapped both arms around her waist, letting out a soft sigh.

[Kalart] "……You startled me."

[Roserikta] "You have no reason to worry."

She cupped his hollow cheeks with both hands. Her fingers brushed against his rough skin, and her lips moved on their own.

If this thinness was the trace of affection that had melted away, then pushing love back into him would fill his cheeks once more. With that thought, she kissed every corner of his face.

[Kalart] "I only need you by my side."

He murmured as he accepted her kisses.

[Roserikta] "I know."

She kissed his cheekbones repeatedly until Kalart guided her head, bringing their lips together. The heat inside his mouth rushed in, like a sudden wave of long-suppressed longing.

By the time the frantic kissing slowed, her head rested against the pillow. Kalart filled her entire view. His fingers undid the first button below her neck.

[Kalart] "The baby is perfectly fine, right?"

Such a question felt somewhat bashful.

[Roserikta] "Yes."

[Kalart] "I told you this before……."

He leaned down, his warm breath dampening the skin exposed beneath the undone button.

[Kalart] "If I look like I am losing my mind, don't hesitate to strike me."

She ran her fingers through his silver hair and replied.

[Roserikta] "That didn't work last time."

[Kalart] "Because you didn't strike me with your full strength."

……Did I not?

The second and third buttons fell open. His lips descended deeper with each one. Roserikta let out a short sigh and wrapped her arms around his neck.

The feeling of his entire body enveloping hers was so wonderful that tears threatened to fall, just like always.

---

She stood watching a fountain spraying pink butterflies.

[Roserikta] "Wow, what on earth is all this?"

The sight, entirely new to her, left her spellbound. She swung her hand to catch a butterfly.

[Roserikta] "……Oh?"

Her feet floated gently into the air. She caught a butterfly with ease. The butterfly sat on her palm and folded its wings with a soft rustle, transforming into a flower petal.

[Roserikta] "Wow."

Excited, she turned her head. A river flowed right behind her. She ran to the edge and looked down; the water reflected her face clearly like a mirror.

[Roserikta] "Ah, I look quite pretty today."

Perhaps because the river was so exceptionally clear and beautiful, her own face looked much lovelier in return.

Humming a tune, she dipped her hand into the water.

[Roserikta] "Mmm?"

Small stones lined the riverbed. When she scooped up a handful, she saw they were all transparent gems.

[Roserikta] "Ah, that's why the river looked empty."

The clear gems lacked any practical use, but they were gorgeous. She picked the clearest, roundest stone and dropped it into her apron pocket.

[Roserikta] "It's pretty, so I should keep it as a memory. I can give it to someone as a gift."

She hopped across the river, finding a massive tree standing on the opposite bank.

[Roserikta] "Wow, this looks so cool."

She dropped onto the grass beneath the tree's shade. A breeze blew from nowhere, shaking the branches, and tiny, downy flakes drifted down from the leaves.

[Roserikta] "Ah, that tickles!"

She burst into giggles, brushing the flakes away. They were actually spores from a laughing mushroom, not downy feathers.

[Roserikta] "Oh no! These are supposed to be incredibly itchy!"

Yet, the spores were quite large, and they didn't cause any itching at all.

[Roserikta] "Huh? Why is that?"

She peered up through the thick branches.

[Roserikta] "Ah…… it's because the mushrooms are huge."

This massive tree was a colony of laughing mushrooms. Clear mushrooms peeked out from every branch, measuring about twenty times larger than the ones she usually harvested.

[Roserikta] "Wow. Making laughing mushroom syrup here wouldn't be a chore at all. I would only need to pick a few and boil them down."

The moment the words left her mouth, the scent of simmering mushroom syrup drifted through the air. Scrambling to her feet, she followed the aroma.

Behind the tree stood a house with a peculiar shape. It looked like a chaotic blend of a cabin, a tower, and a castle. Five chimneys rose from the roof, each puffing out smoke with a completely different scent.

[Roserikta] "Oh my, this scent!"

She sniffed the air and suddenly cheered.

[Roserikta] "This is the scent of boiling Hegamo tree roots!"

Hegamo trees grew only in exceptionally rare places. One or two trees could barely survive in impossible spots that received almost no sunlight, yet remained dark, dry, and flooded with abundant moonlight.

However, the medicinal power of the Hegamo tree root was extraordinary. Boiling it for a hundred days created a medicine that revived dead tissue.

Roserikta had encountered this scent only once in her life, when her grandmother used the medicine to help a child with severe facial burns grow fresh skin.

Though she had helped many people with the medicines from Versaryl Pharmacy, that particular memory remained vivid. A year after her grandmother gave the medicine, the child visited the pharmacy holding her mother's hand. The child giggled happily, while the mother wept loudly. The bread the child had baked with her mother tasted delicious.

[Roserikta] "My goodness!"

She flung open the door to the room where the scent originated.

[Roserikta] "Ah……."

She stopped dead in her tracks, completely stunned.

The room was the laboratory of Versaryl Pharmacy. There she stood, wearing a large apron, boiling Hegamo tree roots. Clobellina wore a headscarf, sorting mushrooms with her front paws.

Beside Clobellina sat a beautiful baby cradle painted blue. A baby with brilliant silver hair lay quietly in the cradle, looking up at a mobile hanging from the ceiling. The mobile consisted of various mushrooms used by witches. The baby's serious face made it look as though it was already memorizing the types of mushrooms.

[Roserikta] "Clobell! We need to cool the furnace. Can you bring me a stone?"

[Clobell] "Is it already time? Wait a moment."

Clobellina scrambled up, holding a white stone in her mouth. She dropped the stone into the blazing furnace without needing an explanation.

Frizzle.

The flames died down instantly.

[Clobell] "I finished sorting the mushrooms. If you don't have chores for me, I will study my magic book."

Clobellina remained delightfully chubby, but her belly no longer dragged across the floor.

[Roserikta] "Yes, Clobell. Thank you for your hard work."

[Clobell] "It's nothing. I must master magic quickly to become a proper witch's cat."

Clobellina trotted out of the laboratory.

The version of herself in the room stared intently into the furnace, boiling the Hegamo tree roots.

[Roserikta] "Ah…… I see what this is."

She smiled brightly, looking out into the distance.

[Roserikta] "This is a letter, isn't it, Grandmother?"

Life in the Witch's Kingdom would flow exactly like this. Entirely fitting for a witch.

[Roserikta] "I understand perfectly what you are trying to tell me. Thank you, Grandmother."

Now she could make her choice. She knew exactly how she would live her life.

[Kalart] "Are you awake now?"

When she opened her eyes, she found it was strangely night again. Roserikta saw Kalart sitting up, leaning against the bed with the shirt he wore last night loosely draped over his body.

He reached out, brushing her messy hair behind her ear. She smiled softly at him.

[Roserikta] "I slept for far too long, didn't I?"

[Kalart] "Mmm. I heard that it can happen during pregnancy. Thanks to you, I spent the entire day being lazy in bed as well."

He spoke, matching her soft smile.

[Kalart] "I am glad to see you awake, though watching you sleep was quite entertaining."

[Roserikta] "Haha……."

She pictured him staying completely still in that exact position, watching over her.

[Roserikta] "Still, it must have been a very long time for you."

[Kalart] "Of course, I didn't just stare at you."

He slid back down from his sitting position, lying beside her once more. They lay together again. He traced a circle around the tip of her nose with his finger.

[Kalart] "I kissed you, and I touched you."

[Roserikta] "Oh dear. And I didn't wake up even then?"

[Kalart] "No. If you hadn't been breathing, I would have worried."

He left soft kisses on her eyes and cheeks, wrapping his arms around her waist and neck. Instead of merely lying on the bed, he felt like the bed itself, existing solely for her.

[Roserikta] "Your Highness."

[Kalart] "……Mmm."

His response came slightly late as he finished his kiss.

[Roserikta] "I feel the same way."

[Kalart] "……About what?"

The soft sound of his lips pressing against hers between his words made her incredibly happy. It felt like listening to a hidden forest song entirely on her own.

[Roserikta] "I only need you by my side as well, Your Highness."

[Kalart] "……."

He pulled his lips away and met her eyes.

[Kalart] "That means……."

[Roserikta] "I've reached my conclusion too."

She reached out, caressing the skin around his eyes. His black eyes, clearer and darker today, looked exactly like the river from her dream.

[Roserikta] "I want to stay here, right by your side."

[Kalart] "……."

He said nothing, yet Roserikta felt she had received an answer. The sudden, heavy thud of his heart pounding against his chest provided all the response she needed.

[Roserikta] "But before that, I want to experience the life of a witch, which I've always dreamed of."

[Kalart] "That……."

The hand that had been caressing his eyes moved to trace his lips, as if she wanted to memorize his touch perfectly during their time apart.

[Roserikta] "I will visit the Witch's Kingdom. I will give birth to our child there, receive the blessing, and return with them."

[Kalart] "I can't…… no."

He pulled her into a fierce embrace.

[Kalart] "That is far too long. Besides, you would have to give birth alone. That is too cruel to me."

[Roserikta] "Grandmother Mazi and Clobellina will be with me. There will be plenty of other witches too. I won't be alone."

[Kalart] "I won't be there. Don't forget that half of this child belongs to me. I've the right to care for and raise my child."

She laughed softly.

[Roserikta] "That sounds exactly like a human man. A witch's baby belongs to all witches."

[Kalart] "You are wrong. It is my child. Yours and mine."

[Roserikta] "Yes. But the mother is a witch."

She tried to explain her position as calmly as possible.

[Roserikta] "I was able to make this decision because I trust the strength of your affection. I want to nurture my own affection until it is just as solid before giving it to you. But if I live with constant regret about the witch's life I never got to experience…… I lack the confidence to do that."

[Kalart] "Do you mean that life would make you happier?"

[Roserikta] "I know that life would bring happiness. Grandmother showed it to me."

She held him tightly. His body, lying beside her since last night, felt more than familiar; it felt like a part of her own.

[Roserikta] "And that is how I realized. No matter how happy that life might be, it is a life without you."

[Kalart] "……."

He gasped, tightening his arms around her.