TWFLLYM Ch 127

Side Story: A Sleepless Night

[Clobell] "Wow, this is getting a bit ridiculous."

[Roserikta] "Hmm? What is?"

Clobellina stopped gently rocking the cradle where Polani slept and murmured. Roserikta sat in the rocking chair placed at the head of the cradle, staring deeply at her child.

[Clobell] "I am talking about Polly. How can a baby look this beautiful already? It is almost terrifying."

[Roserikta] "Ah, that is likely because she takes after His Highness."

[Clobell] "What? He looks like this?"

[Roserikta] "Yes. They are identical. Anyone can tell they are father and daughter with a single glance."

She felt slightly disappointed by that fact.

[Roserikta] "The only thing she inherited from me is her eye color."

[Clobell] "I thought it was because she is a witch with outstanding talent! You know, a very thick bloodline…… or something like that."

[Roserikta] "I doubt that."

[Clobell] "Why not? She is incredibly gorgeous. Anyone looking at her would think she looks exactly like a witch."

[Roserikta] "I am half-human myself. Since Polly's father is human too, her witch bloodline can't be that thick."

[Clobell] "Wow, that makes no sense. She is more beautiful than the Black Witch was back then."

Roserikta simply let out a chuckle. A baby born only a few days ago couldn't possibly look that beautiful yet; it merely showed how deeply captivated Clobellina was by the infant.

The lazy cat had even volunteered to push the cradle. She refused to listen, even when told to get some rest.

Ah, I suppose I am the same.

Everyone told her she should remain resting in bed for now, yet she kept standing up to peer into the cradle.

In her eyes, the baby didn't look like the Black Witch at all; she looked exactly like Kalart.

He must be watching her right now, too. Our baby. How does it feel to look at a face that matches his own perfectly?

[Roserikta] "……It leaves me a bit envious."

She examined the baby's face closely from different angles, searching for any feature that resembled her own.

[Roserikta] "Clobell."

[Clobell] "Why are you calling me? Keep your voice down. You will wake Polly."

[Roserikta] "Look at her. Doesn't the shape of her eyebrows resemble mine?"

Clobellina clicked her tongue.

[Clobell] "Her eyebrows barely even exist yet, and you are already fussing over whether they look like yours or not? Wait until she grows up a bit."

Wait, didn't you just compare a baby whose eyebrows haven't even fully grown to the Black Witch?

[Roserikta] "They do look like mine, though."

[Clobell] "By that logic, she looks like me too. Her eye shape is identical to mine. Her eyes are large and round, and the corners tilt upward."

That was pushing it far too much.

[Roserikta] "Clobell. Polly is human."

[Clobell] "Can't a human look like a cat?"

[Roserikta] "It's not that she can't, but rather that it's impossible, don't you think?"

[Clobell] "No way. It's entirely possible. Look. See how much we look alike?"

[Mazi] "Rosie. Where are you? Are you in the nursery again?"

Right on cue, Mazi arrived at the house.

[Roserikta] "Yes, Grandma! We are in here!"

[Clobell] "We are here!"

A moment later, Mazi walked softly into the nursery.

[Mazi] "Is Polly sleeping?"

[Roserikta] "Yes. She sleeps incredibly well. It seems she wants to grow up quickly."

[Mazi] "She must. She needs to grow up fast so she can succeed me."

Roserikta's eyes widened.

[Roserikta] "Pardon? Polly?"

[Clobell] "Is that true?"

[Mazi] "My goodness, of course it is."

Two witches and one cat huddled their heads close together around the tiny cradle.

[Roserikta] "Succession depends on the strength of the bloodline. Even though Polly received her baptism, she is still half-human."

[Mazi] "You know nothing. Look at her face. She looks exactly like me, the third witch of Versaryl."

Mazi leaned over the cradle, staring at the baby with an expression of sheer joy.

[Mazi] "Then there is nothing more to discuss. Polly will become the fourth witch of Versaryl in the future."

[Roserikta] "Uh, well……."

Roserikta found several flaws in Mazi's statement.

I highly doubt he will sit back quietly and watch his child inherit the Witches' Kingdom. I expect he will insist on passing down his empire instead. And before that.

I am sorry, Grandmother, but she looks like her father…… except for her eye color and eyebrows.

[Clobell] "She inherits a bit of my eyes too."

Clobellina joined the argument.

[Mazi] "Oh, definitely not. Look closely, Clobell. Doesn't our baby have exceptionally large, round eyes?"

[Clobell] "That is exactly what cat eyes look like."

[Roserikta] "No, while they are large for a baby, they aren't completely round. Her eye shape matches her father's."

Mazi and Clobellina snapped their heads up simultaneously.

[Mazi] "No, it doesn't."

[Clobell] "Wrong!"

[Roserikta] "……."

Roserikta shook her head.

What do you mean, exactly, by your point?

---

[Eaton] "Did she perhaps mention when she might return?"

[Kalart] "Not yet."

[Eaton] "Ah, I see. We still don't know……."

Eaton's shoulders slumped, and he stepped closer, standing right behind Kalart. This marked the first time Eaton had ever failed to maintain his proper distance. Kalart found it too exhausting to reprimand him, so he simply let it go. At the very least, someone else understood his desperate longing to see the child.

Though I wish that person were you instead.

Kalart swallowed a sigh, shifting the telescope slightly to look at Roserikta. She held the baby in her arms, gently singing a lullaby.

[Kalart] "I want to, as well……."

A deep longing and an absolute thirst washed over him simultaneously. The days when he fell asleep in their bed while Roserikta whispered a lullaby directly into his ear felt like a distant memory. The sheer yearning threatened to wither his entire body.

[Kalart] "Ah……."

Along with a sigh that felt as deep as a river, the dawn crept forward inch by inch. Now, the imperial palace contained two people who couldn't find sleep at night.