TWFLLYM Ch 126

Side Story: Nap Time

The danger of a looming argument passed safely. Roserikta likely didn't realize it, but Kalart felt a wave of relief wash over him. He refused to spend their precious time together bickering.

[Kalart] "Since you finished making the medicine, is it time to clean up? Shall I help you?"

[Roserikta] "Yes, we can clean up now. However, you don't need to help, Your Highness."

She moved her hand through the air. Sparkling light drifted along with her gestures, and the messy magical tools instantly returned to their original forms and flew back to their proper places. He watched the sight with admiration before shaking his head.

[Kalart] "Wait. I remember you saying before that casting a large amount of magic exhausts you. Are you fine? If you are overexerting yourself, I will handle it."

Though the view was magnificent, it worried him just as much.

[Roserikta] "It is exhausting. That is why you must hold me, Your Highness. So that I don't lose my energy."

He could easily fulfill such a request.

At that moment, Kalart finally understood his role as the human remaining by the witch's side. He didn't need to fear the distance between their worlds, nor did he need to hate the unchangeable differences between them. He only needed to stay right here, remaining exactly where she wished him to be.

Kalart wrapped his arms around her from behind, supporting her weight.

Leaning comfortably against him, Roserikta finished her cleaning with ease. Every trace of magic vanished, leaving only the medicine reshaped into pieces of candy.

Looking at the sapphire-colored candies piled high on a saucer, he spoke.

[Kalart] "Perhaps because of the beautiful color, they look quite delicious."

[Roserikta] "Would you like to try one, Your Highness?"

[Kalart] "Is it a medicine that I require as well?"

[Roserikta] "Mmm……."

Her expression turned serious. In the past, he might have needed it. It would have helped him immensely back then.

[Roserikta] "No."

But it was different now.

[Roserikta] "You are perfectly fine, Your Highness."

Because I am here. I know that I am your medicine. I also know this is our destiny, guided by the moon.

She turned around and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder.

[Roserikta] "Using so much energy suddenly made me sleepy. I want to take a nap. Will you carry me to the bed?"

[Kalart] "With pleasure."

He lifted her into his arms with practiced ease, noting a distinct heaviness compared to before, and walked toward the adjoining bedroom.

In truth, her worries about his shoulders made little sense. Compared to carrying a pregnant Roserikta, a cat like Clobellina felt completely weightless. Wisely, he kept this thought to himself.

[Kalart] "I want to take a nap as well. May I?"

He asked the question after setting Roserikta down on the bed and resting a pillow beneath her neck.

[Roserikta] "You mean you want to sleep together, right?"

[Kalart] "Exactly."

She lifted one side of the blanket.

[Roserikta] "Take off your outerwear before coming in."

Many officials in the administrative office and the audience chamber would surely panic if they knew the Crown Prince intended to take a nap right now. However, Kalart decided to ignore them completely.

Klein was likely locked in snack negotiations with Clobellina, and the other nobles would simply believe the Crown Prince remained exceptionally busy handling diplomatic friction with the Iveton Grand Duchy.

[Kalart] "Just a moment."

He quickly removed his outerwear. He checked carefully for any remaining accessories, fearing he might scratch her skin.

His formal attire featured a ridiculous amount of tiny, unnecessary decorations. Once, a jeweled shirt button had scratched Roserikta's face when she rubbed her cheek against his chest. Though the scratch was minor and she luckily possessed an excellent healing salve, his heart had dropped into his stomach. Since that day, he had ordered all his shirt buttons made entirely of cloth.

Returning to the bed without his outerwear, Kalart pulled Roserikta into his arms in their usual position. She snuggled deep into his chest as if she had waited for this exact moment, murmuring through heavy, sleepy eyes.

[Roserikta] "Oh, right. I forgot that I need to put the candies in a bottle and send them to Lord Rayden."

[Kalart] "Don't worry about it. I will order a servant to deliver them."

[Roserikta] "Ah, that works. They just look like ordinary candies right now anyway, though Lord Rayden will know it is medicine."

[Kalart] "Yes."

[Roserikta] "Then I leave it to you."

Letting out a small yawn, she closed her eyes and drifted off.

[Kalart] "Sleep well. You worked hard."

He spent the rest of the afternoon watching her closed eyes and the tiny shadows her eyelashes cast over her cheeks.

---

That night, before going to sleep, Rayden ate a single piece of the jewel-colored candy. Then, he dreamed. In his dream, his father and mother never committed adultery, he was not an illegitimate child, and Aika was his full sibling. Something that had remained missing from his life was filled within the dream.

When he opened his eyes, the lingering remnants of satisfaction remained in the dim morning light. It was a day when everyone, without exception, found happiness.

---

The time to depart finally arrived. Roserikta carefully packed the baby supplies that Kalart and Elona had spent weeks buying in fierce competition. Because the sheer volume couldn't fit into regular wrapping cloths, Kalart brought out a sled from the storage room—one he had ridden during his childhood. They loaded the heavy supplies onto the sled and tied it securely to the back of the broomstick.

[Roserikta] "Clobell. You can ride on the sled, right? Keep watch and ensure nothing falls off."

[Clobell] "Leave it to me. I can handle it perfectly fine now."

[Roserikta] "Good."

Kalart turned his gaze away from the window, where he had stared for a long time.

The final shadows of the sunset painted the window frame in deep red. Once that red color cooled, the moon would rise, bringing the hour of their separation.

[Kalart] "I suppose it is useless to ask when you will return."

He asked with a heavy expression.

Roserikta raised both hands and gently pinched his face, moving his cheeks as if she wanted to force his expression to change.

[Roserikta] "I promise. It will be much faster than you think."

[Kalart] "How can you be sure of that?"

He believed no amount of time apart could ever feel fast. He never wished for her to leave, even for a single second, despite knowing it was necessary.

From the exact moment Roserikta vanished from his sight, he would spend every second waiting for her return. To him, her return could never happen fast enough.

[Roserikta] "It was the same last time. I intended to return only after giving birth and completing the baptism, but I missed you too much to wait and came back early."

[Kalart] "Sigh……."

Don't take credit for something like that. You didn't come early; you arrived terribly late.

He hid those words behind a quiet sigh.

[Kalart] "You must come back quickly."

[Roserikta] "Of course. I will give birth, complete the baptism, and the moment my body recovers enough to ride a broomstick, I will fly straight back to you."

He accepted her words, but his heart remained heavy.

[Kalart] "The child is half mine. Yet I can't even be present at the moment of birth."

[Roserikta] "It can't be helped because of the baptism."

Roserikta understood his deep regret. Even with a valid reason, it felt unfair that he had to keep missing these massive milestones in their child's life.

She wrapped her arms around him affectionately.

[Roserikta] "I know exactly how you feel, Your Highness. That is why I will return quickly."

[Kalart] "You promised."

[Roserikta] "Yes."

Meanwhile, the sunset faded completely. The true night began.

She had already said her goodbyes to Elona, the Head Maid, and the others during the day. Those who didn't know Roserikta's true identity simply believed the Crown Princess left the palace during a quiet hour when no one was watching.

[Roserikta] "The path will open any moment now."

Stars began to blink into existence one by one. Though his human eyes couldn't see it,

Kalart felt as though an entirely new world opened up through Roserikta's words. He simply couldn't follow her there.

So I will miss you every single day. Whether you are by my side or not.

He hid the emotion threatening to break across his face and opened the window for her. Within that brief moment, the number of stars multiplied across the sky.

[Roserikta] "The path is open. Ah, wait……?"

She tilted her head.

[Roserikta] "Clobell. Do you see it too? It feels like something is coming this way."

[Clobell] "It does."

A moment later, an unfamiliar object drifted down along the starlight path.

[Clobell] "That is a carriage!"

[Roserikta] "Huh? A carriage?"

It was the first time anything other than a broomstick traveled the path to the Witches' Kingdom. Roserikta and Clobellina pressed closer to the window.

[Mazi] "Rosie!"

[Roserikta] "Oh? It's Grandmother Mazi. Grandma!"

The round, wide carriage—looking exactly like a pumpkin—rushed forward and halted right outside the Crown Princess's bedroom window.

[Clobell] "But why is it moving so slowly? Isn't the distance actually quite close? This is taking an absolute age."

[Roserikta] "Well…… isn't it because it's a carriage instead of a broomstick?"

[Clobell] "Is it slow because it has a massive body?"

That was exactly right.

[Mazi] "Rosie!"

The round, horseless carriage settled by the window, and Grandmother Mazi opened the door from the inside.

[Roserikta] "Grandma! What is the meaning of this? You never mentioned you were coming."

[Mazi] "I worried it would be far too difficult for you to ride a broomstick with your heavy belly. So, I built this pumpkin carriage. It looks quite sturdy, doesn't it? The speed is a bit slow, though. I will need to make some adjustments later."

[Roserikta] "Ah. So you built it yourself, Grandma."

Mazi glanced briefly over Roserikta's shoulder toward Kalart.

[Mazi] "Get in quickly. We should leave since we are already moving. What is the point of wasting time on the road?"

[Roserikta] "Yes, Grandma."

With Kalart's support, Roserikta stepped up onto the windowsill. Instantly, the steps of the carriage extended outward like growing vines, reaching beneath her feet.

[Roserikta] "Wow, it is really a pumpkin. These are vines, right?"

[Mazi] "Indeed."

The spacious interior of the carriage easily swallowed all the cargo, including the childhood sled.

Stepping into the carriage over the pumpkin vines, Roserikta turned and waved her hand to Kalart, who stood leaning against the window.

[Roserikta] "I will be back, Your Highness."

[Kalart] "Please."

Return quickly.

His eyes spoke the words his mouth withheld.

As Roserikta nodded, Kalart looked toward Mazi.

[Kalart] "I leave her in your care."

[Mazi] "This concerns my own grandchild, so of course I will handle it perfectly. Keep your useless words to yourself. Ah, and another thing."

As usual, Mazi showed nothing but absolute displeasure when dealing with Kalart.

[Mazi] "Take this."

Even so, she performed her duty, just as she did now. Kalart looked with confusion at the blue tube she handed him.

[Roserikta] "Oh? That is my telescope. Are you giving it to him, Grandma?"

Roserikta recognized the item immediately. Mazi nodded with a sullen, reluctant expression.

[Mazi] "I modified it a bit. So that it functions even in the human world."

[Roserikta] "Pardon? Oh, then……."

[Mazi] "I locked the distance in place, so it will only allow him to view Rosie. It would cause a massive disaster if a human could peer into the Witches' Kingdom whenever he pleased."

[Roserikta] "Grandma!"

Shouting with joy, she threw her arms around Grandmother Mazi, hugging her tightly.

[Roserikta] "How did you think of such a thing? Thank you so very much. I am deeply moved."

[Mazi] "I only did it because I feared you would rush back onto the road before recovering your health, all because you couldn't bear to see that thing wasting away from misery again. I am giving it entirely for the sake of my grandchild. Not for that thing."

Kalart had gone from being a human to being called "that thing." Even so, he could endure it.

Having guessed the purpose of the diamond-studded tube from their conversation, he bowed his head.

[Kalart] "Thank you."

Mazi let out a sharp snort.

[Mazi] "Hmph, of course you should be grateful! Let me repeat this clearly: a human spying on the Witches' Kingdom is strictly forbidden under any circumstances! No matter what happens, you must guard that telescope with your life. Never allow another human to lay a hand on it."

[Kalart] "I understand."

[Mazi] "Don't even think about adjusting the distance! Use it exactly as I gave it to you."

[Kalart] "I will keep that in mind."

[Mazi] "Hmph. That is enough then."

Having delivered her warnings, Mazi turned away sharply. Because Roserikta had cut her stay in the Witches' Kingdom short last time to return to him, Kalart had earned even more of the grandmother's hatred.

But it was perfectly fine. Even if he had to face far worse than Mazi's anger, he would never regret or give up the time he spent beside Roserikta.

Seeing that everything was settled, Clobellina sniffed the air and spoke.

[Clobell] "I smell pumpkin inside the carriage. Grandmother, did you bake a pumpkin pie with the leftovers after scooping out the inside?"

[Mazi] "No. I will bake one for you once we arrive. Shall we depart now?"

Mazi tapped the wall of the carriage lightly, just as Kalart often did.

[Roserikta] "I will be back!"

[Clobell] "We will be back! Guard the house well!"

[Kalart] "Please, quickly……!"

Before the farewell could even finish, the pumpkin carriage slid smoothly along the starlight path and flew into the sky.

[Kalart] "As expected, I can't see it."

The pumpkin carriage, which had remained briefly visible while stopped at the window, vanished from his sight like a lie the moment it began to move. Even so, Kalart remained standing by the window until the dawn arrived, just as he had done the very first day Roserikta left him.

---

The child entered the world three days later.

The baby possessed silver hair that shone like starlight and warm brown eyes resembling freshly baked bread. They named the child Polani. It was a name chosen after the second witch of Versaryl.

Receiving the unconditional blessings of the three oldest living witches in the Witches' Kingdom, the child carried the high expectations of everyone, destined to become an exceptionally magnificent witch in the future.