TWFLLYM Ch 16
- Feb 3
- 10 min read
What He Desires
[Arad] "It seems remarkably effective. It felt cool the instant I applied it, and the pain is already fading. It has a scent, but it isn't that unpleasant herbal smell. I think it’s quite, sniff, quite nice, actually."
If he had a sin, it was his inability to read the Prince’s current state of mind.
[Arad] "Yes. As she applied the ointment, she said the scent makes one's heart feel warm, and it feels that way. But Your Highness......"
Fortunately, he eventually noticed Kalart’s expression, which was growing colder by the second.
[Arad] "D-Do you not... do you not like it?"
[Kalart] "I don't."
The answer was as swift and sharp as a blade.
[Arad] "Oh...... M-My apologies. If you permit it, I will go and wash the scent off immediately."
[Kalart] "She applied the ointment for you?"
As Arad hurriedly tried to withdraw, a question fell that was even sharper than a sword.
[Arad] "Yes, she did......"
At that moment, a preposterous image was forming in Kalart’s mind. When he had asked for the cat, the cat maid had simply sent the animal alone. While he had been left to embrace the cat in his loneliness, she had been busy applying ointment to Arad. The ointment had an unnecessarily pleasant scent, and Arad’s body was unnecessarily muscular......
Snap!
[Kalart] "Unpleasant."
With those words, the pen in the Prince’s hand snapped in half.
[Arad] "Ack! Your Highness!"
[Eaton] "Y-Your hand! Your Highness!"
The jagged edge of the broken pen had pierced his palm. Drops of blood began to splatter across the desk.
[Kalart] "Ah..."
While he stared at his wounded hand with a frozen expression, Eaton and Arad rushed forward, frantically clearing away the broken pen and examining the injury.
[Clobell] "Did you take something other than a love potion? No, that can't be right. I definitely fed him a love potion."
Clobellina, who had leaped away at the loud noise, strolled back and offered a comment. Of course, no human understood her, so no one paid any attention.
[Clobell] "Good grief, they said forbidden drugs were dangerous for a reason. This must be a side effect."
Eaton, clutching the Prince's injured hand and using his own sleeve to stanch the bleeding, spoke urgently to Arad.
[Eaton] "Go and fetch the Court Physician."
[Arad] "Yes, Captain!"
However, Kalart stopped him with a sharp tilt of his chin.
[Kalart] "Forget it. It’s nothing."
It was far from "nothing." It was a very serious matter.
[Eaton] "We cannot do that, Your Highness. It is the duty of the Royal Guard to treat even the smallest wound on your body with the utmost gravity......"
[Kalart] "I wish it were a burn."
The duties of the Royal Guard seemed to mean nothing to Kalart.
He pulled his hand from Eaton’s grasp and stared at the sharp puncture wound, saying something utterly nonsensical.
[Eaton] "Your Highness. Why would you say such a thing......? No, more importantly, you must receive treatment first."
Eaton spoke, struggling to keep his jaw from dropping. Arad nodded beside him.
[Kalart] "Can’t we just say it’s a burn?"
Eaton’s jaw threatened to drop again.
[Eaton] "......Pardon?"
[Kalart] "Yes, that will do. Tell her to bring the ointment."
[Eaton] "To... to the Court Physician?"
[Kalart] "No."
His cold black eyes turned toward Arad.
[Kalart] "The same one he has."
[Arad] "Me? No, wait, do you mean me?"
While Arad pointed at himself in confusion, Eaton—who had begun to piece the situation together—let his face crumple slightly.
It seemed that His Highness was... jealous.
[Roserikta] "What? His Highness suffered a burn?"
Naturally, she was shocked. Her eyes widened as she heard the news from the Royal Guard knight, who was once again hiding his face behind a mask.
Since he was human, the Prince could certainly get hurt, but the thought made her mind go blank.
[Guard] "Yes. I heard it is a very, very serious burn. His Highness has commanded you to bring the ointment."
[Roserikta] "Ah..."
She swallowed hard. Of all the luck. She had given all the ointment she made to Elona. She hadn't imagined that any more would be needed.
[Roserikta] "R-Right now."
[Guard] "Pardon?"
[Roserikta] "I’ll make it right now. I have some ingredients left, so it won't take long. As soon as it’s...... as soon as it’s finished, I will let you know."
[Guard] "Ah, so you don't have any at the moment?"
[Roserikta] "What? Oh, yes."
[Guard] "Understood. I will convey that message."
Once the knight disappeared and the door was closed, she leaned against it and took a deep breath.
He was hurt. But why?
Well, anyone could get hurt. Yes. But they said it was serious.
She didn't know why she was feeling so flustered. Noting that her hands were trembling, she quickly gripped her apron.
[Roserikta] "I have to make it...... quickly."
Would she have enough ingredients? She even regretted giving so much ointment to Elona. Half of that would have been plenty.
[Roserikta] "......No. What am I even thinking?"
Focus, focus.
She slapped her cheeks—not hard enough to bruise, but enough to sting—and opened the trunk she had stashed under the bed. All of her witch’s tools were inside.
Hurriedly measuring the remaining ingredients, she prepared to simmer the ointment just as she had done yesterday.
Finally, as she held the Axaca powder, a conflict appeared on her face.
[Roserikta] "If I just add a little bit of this..."
The wound would heal very quickly, before it even had a chance to hurt anymore.
But then, everyone would become suspicious. If the burn was serious, it needed time to heal. If it vanished in a single day without a scar, she wouldn't be recognized for her skills as a pharmacist; she would be more easily suspected of being a witch.
[Roserikta] "But...... it will hurt for a long time."
She bit her lip hard.
Why am I even debating this?
Obviously, not getting caught as a witch is the most important issue, so why am I more worried about him being in pain?
Why am I like this? Why does my heart feel so uncomfortable?
Blood began to seep from the lip she was biting so forcefully, but she didn't even notice. Her heart ached so much that she couldn't feel the pain in her lip.
Just a little.
She mixed a tiny amount of Axaca powder—just one or two grains—into the ointment. This much would barely pass as an exceptionally effective medicine. She wouldn't be able to hide the fact that the recovery speed would be unnervingly fast, but still.
Grandmother. Something has gone wrong with me.
Her eyes grew red.
I can't stand it. I know it’s dangerous, I know I shouldn't, but I hate the thought of him being in pain. I can't bear it. It feels as though I am the one hurting.
[Roserikta] "......"
Throughout the entire process of stirring the ingredients to create the ointment, she looked as though she was on the verge of tears.
[Guard] "Your Highness. I have brought the one you summoned."
As soon as she announced the ointment was ready, Roserikta was guided to the Crown Prince. Absurdly, however, the place where he waited was not a bedroom surrounded by court physicians, but the Royal Guard training grounds.
Every day at this hour, the Royal Guard trained, and she learned for the first time today that watching them was part of the Prince's daily routine.
[Kalart] "Over here."
He beckoned to Roserikta.
Having rushed to make the ointment, her hair was slightly disheveled, and her appearance was somewhat untidy as she approached him.
[Roserikta] "Why...?"
She parted her lips, her voice faltering.
It’s strange. Why does he look perfectly fine?
They said he was burned. They said he was badly injured. So why......?
Kalart, out on the training grounds, was dressed more lightly than usual. He wore a loose-fitting shirt, and instead of a decorative belt, he had wrapped a smooth cloth around his waist. He wore practical-looking leather boots rather than formal shoes, and his collarbones were partially visible through his unbuttoned shirt.
Other than that, he looked the same as always. There wasn't a single sign that he was in pain.
[Kalart] "I am injured."
He spoke as he watched her approach with a piercing gaze.
[Roserikta] "......Yes, Your Highness. I heard. Where are you injured?"
[Kalart] "My hand."
He used his left hand to pull the glove off his right. Two small marks—scratches and punctures where the blood had already stopped—were visible.
[Kalart] "Apply the medicine for me as well."
[Roserikta] "......"
She was speechless. This was neither a serious injury nor a burn.
She had risked exposing her identity, worrying about his potential suffering, and had driven herself so hard that her lip bled—all to create an ointment that was now entirely unnecessary.
[Roserikta] "I...... I must have misheard something. I have brought a burn ointment, Your Highness."
[Kalart] "It is a burn. Apply it."
[Roserikta] "Pardon...?"
The medicine would work, of course. Since she had added Axaca powder, a wound like this would vanish the moment one looked away. And that was exactly why she couldn't apply it.
Her hands trembled slightly.
[Roserikta] "......Your Highness. If you permit it, I will return and prepare a medicine suitable for a puncture wound."
[Kalart] "There is no need. It doesn't matter what it is, just apply it."
[Roserikta] "No."
She took a sharp breath. Strangely, she felt angry.
She felt like a fool for worrying about his injury and going as far as adding Axaca powder to the ointment.
If she had thought about it for even a moment, she would have realized how strange it was for him to demand she make the medicine. Even if it had been a minor injury, if the Crown Prince had been hurt, the court physicians would have stepped in long ago.
This meant he had done this intentionally. At the very least, he hadn't asked for the medicine for the purpose of treating a wound.
She couldn't understand the reason or the goal, but it was clear. One look at him, who remained completely unfazed by the mention of "burn ointment," told her everything.
[Roserikta] "It doesn't matter. A medicine that doesn't match the wound has no effect, no matter how much you apply it."
It was strange. Why did her voice sound like it was shaking? With every word, facing him became more difficult.
It’s because I’m so angry. I almost got my identity exposed.
If she hadn't come herself and had handed over the ointment, and if the Prince had applied it in front of others, her mind went dark just thinking about the consequences.
Why had this man done such a thing? Why?
[Roserikta] "I will make it again. Although the wound might be completely healed by then."
She forced herself to squeeze out the strength to lift her skirt and bow.
Keeping her head lowered according to imperial etiquette, she was about to take two steps back when he suddenly placed a hand on her shoulder.
[Roserikta] "Your Highness."
Flustered, she tried to twist her shoulder away. But then, he abruptly gripped her chin.
[Kalart] "Now I see it. Your lip."
[Roserikta] "Your Highness. Please let go—"
[Kalart] "Why is it injured?"
[Roserikta] "What?"
The hand gripping her chin extended a thumb to press against her lower lip. A sharp sting of pain flared where his fingertip touched, making her realize that her lip was indeed wounded.
[Roserikta] "I don't know, Your Highness."
[Kalart] "Did someone hurt you?"
[Roserikta] "......No."
[Kalart] "If you don't know, how can you be sure of that?"
[Roserikta] "Because if someone had hurt me, I would remember it."
[Kalart] "......"
Instead of a reply, his head suddenly moved closer. As he leaned down, his lips were so close they almost touched hers.
[Kalart] "Did you bite it, then?"
......Don't come any closer.
She tried to shake her chin free from his grasp.
[Roserikta] "Perhaps."
[Kalart] "Why?"
[Roserikta] "I'm not quite sure—"
No, she knew. She remembered. She had bitten her lip for a long time while debating whether or not to use the Axaca powder.
To her, it had been such a significant ordeal. Because to her, unlike him—who claimed it didn't matter whether it was a burn or a puncture—that wound had mattered. Because at that moment, she had felt like she was going to cry. She had wanted to cry.
[Roserikta] "Please let go, Your Highness. I do not think this is something that should concern you."
[Kalart] "It shouldn't?"
[Roserikta] "Yes."
As she struggled with a cold expression, Kalart reluctantly released his grip on her chin.
It felt as though his handprints remained on her skin. She suppressed the urge to rub her chin, instead gripping her skirt tightly.
[Roserikta] "I ask for your permission to withdraw, Your Highness. If you wish for me to bring the correct medicine, I shall do so."
[Kalart] "......What I want is the burn ointment."
The words that finally spilled out after a long pause were these. The word "want" sounded a bit strange, but it was clear that he didn't actually need the medicine.
[Roserikta] "It is something you do not need, Your Highness."
She pressed down on her apron pocket, where the burn ointment was kept.
[Kalart] "I do need it. I am also injured."
[Roserikta] "You need something else."
[Kalart] "No. I have to apply that......"
He cut himself off and let out a heavy breath.
When a man as imposing as he acted like that, it made the observer hold their breath. The members of the Royal Guard, who had stopped their training and were stealing glances at them, were no different.
[Kalart] "......Dammit, I think it’s going to burst."
The curse words he spat out would make even an innocent person feel guilty.
Her voice grew smaller as she replied.
[Roserikta] "No, Your Highness. Applying burn ointment to a puncture wound will have little effect."
[Kalart] "I’m not talking about the wound."
His dark eyes turned toward her, filled with a whirlwind of emotions.
She suddenly felt the pain in her lip, which she hadn't even known was injured. It was a wound she had caused by biting herself, but it felt as if someone else were biting it.
Someone else—like the Prince standing before her, as beautiful as a witch.
[Kalart] "This filthy mood. I’m injured, so why can’t I have your medicine?"
[Roserikta] "Your Highness, that is......"
[Kalart] "Tell me. Do you really not care that I’m hurt? Looking at your lip makes me feel like my head is going to explode."
[Roserikta] "That......"
What does that even mean? Why you?
[Kalart] "It’s the same with you saying you won't give me the medicine. I feel like filth, as if my head or something else is about to burst."
Thud!
He threw the glove he had been holding in his hand. The crumpled glove happened to roll to a stop at her feet. He stared at her and spoke.
[Kalart] "So I will ask one more time. Apply the medicine for me as well."
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