TWFLLYM Ch 18

The Forest of Mists

A completely different landscape unfolded behind her.

As if appearing out of nowhere, a lush forest materialized in the middle of the open fields. It was less a typical forest and more a sprawling colony of Lumarr trees.

The Lumarr tree was a species familiar even to witches. Unlike other trees, its trunk was bone-white down to the very roots—a mark left behind by the spirits that once dwelled within them. Consequently, the Lumarr trees emitted a uniquely pure energy and harmonized perfectly with the moonlight.

Their pale leaves, far lighter than standard green, blended with the white trunks to create a mystical atmosphere. It was a prized resource among witches, as the dew that gathered on the leaves overnight was rumored to rejuvenate the skin.

[Roserikta] "I didn't know a place like this existed."

[Knight] "It is imperial private property, so most people have never seen it."

[Roserikta] "I see. Then His Highness is......"

[Knight] "He is further inside. Please, go in."

[Roserikta] "Oh, yes."

It was only now that she realized the knight’s tone had grown increasingly respectful.

No, that can't be it. There’s no reason for that.

She gathered the hem of her skirt to keep it from dragging and stepped between the trees.

[Roserikta] "Ah......"

It didn't take long to find him.

A large pond sat at the center of the forest. The water was so clear it acted as a mirror, flawlessly reflecting its surroundings. Within the cluster of towering Lumarr trees, the sky seemed to descend and settle only upon the pond’s surface.

Kalart stood by the water’s edge. Alone.

She found the sight strangely jarring. People always surrounded him. Even on the rare occasions he was alone, it was within the palace, where someone was always within ten steps. He was never actually solitary—until now.

Perhaps that was why.

He was the only thing she could see. It was natural since he was the only one there, but the feeling was different. It felt as though he were the only soul left in existence.

[Kalart] "Closer."

He beckoned. Her feet moved on their own, as if she were under a spell.

[Kalart] "More."

She hadn't intended to stop, but he seemed to want her standing right beside him.

Finally, she came to a halt, leaving only a precarious sliver of space between them.

[Roserikta] "I have brought the medicine, ahem, Your Highness."

The proximity made her nervous, forcing a dry cough from her throat.

[Kalart] "Apply it for me."

He held out his hand. Looking at it again, the wound was quite deep. The flesh was gouged; he must have bled significantly.

[Roserikta] ".......It will likely take several days to heal completely."

Applying medicine shouldn't have been this difficult. As she rubbed the ointment into the cut on his index finger, she felt flustered by the intimacy of the act. His long, straight fingers were firm and powerful, but the skin between them was soft and sensitive.

What do I do? I think my face is turning red.

She kept talking, desperate to distract herself from the fact that she was touching a private part of the Crown Prince.

[Roserikta] "It must have been painful."

[Kalart] "No...... no. It was painful."

He had started to deny it, but changed his mind for some reason.

[Kalart] "Yes. It hurt."

Is he the type to become a baby once medicine is involved?

She watched him. He had been stoic when the wound first happened, yet now he admitted to the pain twice. Assuming he was just exaggerating for sympathy, she let out a small laugh.

He stared intensely at her lips as they curled into a faint smile.

[Roserikta] "Then please don't get hurt again. The medicine I make is effective, but it doesn't erase the pain itself."

[Kalart] "......I don't like the sound of that."

[Roserikta] "Pardon?"

[Kalart] "I don't think getting hurt is such a bad thing."

Under normal circumstances, she would have chided him for saying such a thing.

However, as she finished applying the ointment and tried to pull her hand away, he gripped her hand tightly, leaving her speechless.

Oh no. I must have made the ointment wrong.

Instead of a puncture wound remedy, she must have brewed something that made one’s mind go hazy. A thick fog seemed to settle inside her head.

After holding her hand for a long moment, he spoke.

[Kalart] "Sit down. We have to wait."

[Roserikta] "Wait...... for what?"

[Kalart] "Until the mist settles in."

[Roserikta] "......?"

Her mouth fell open. For a terrifying second, she wondered if he had heard her internal thoughts about the fog in her mind.

No, that’s impossible. It’s not like I was muttering to myself like a mad witch.

[Kalart] "This is a reward for the medicine."

[Roserikta] "Ah......?"

[Kalart] "It’s a beautiful sight when the mist rolls in here."

That was the reason she had been brought all this way.

In truth, getting to this point had been a long process.

Arad, who had played a major role in Kalart’s foul mood, had offered advice while still being completely ignorant of the cause. During that conversation, it slipped out that Lady Elona had been the one to apply the ointment to him, not the cat maid.

Completely relieved, Kalart had readily accepted his counsel. Arad had cautiously suggested that, since emotions are a mutual exchange, and since the Prince had received a gift of medicine, he should offer a gift in return.

And so, his dilemma began. Giving a gift was easy; giving a meaningful one was the problem. It had to be something that would make her feel good, just as she had done for him.

After half a day of agonizing over it, he had finally found the perfect gift.

[Kalart] "I am the only one who knows about this. As far as I am aware."

At his nonchalant addition, her face flushed hot.

[Roserikta] "Ah......"

It feels like I’m receiving something immense. What am I supposed to say?

[Kalart] "Sit."

[Roserikta] "......Yes."

Following his gesture to a suitable spot facing the lake, she sat on the grass. Her skirt would likely be stained green, but the anticipation of the "gift" made her not care.

[Kalart] "It’s even better when the mist settles at sunset."

He sat down right beside her. This was a problem. She felt herself becoming far too accustomed to his proximity—a proximity she shouldn't get used to.

A wonderful scent drifted from him. It was crisp and clean, like a sun-drenched meadow in the height of summer. It was a warm, intense, yet cozy scent that made her want to bury her nose in it forever.

[Kalart] "This was the first time I ever thought something was beautiful."

As if drawn by the scent, her head tilted slightly toward him. He did the same. Neither realized how close they were becoming.

[Roserikta] "You seem to cherish those kinds of memories, Your Highness. You said the same thing to Clobell."

[Kalart] "Because it is the truth."

He nodded slightly. But the weight of his words was anything but light.

[Kalart] "Clobell was the first cat I ever found beautiful. She still is."

There were very few things he considered beautiful.

[Kalart] "A deserted street at dawn after it rains is clean and pleasant to look at. On those days, the moon is usually clear as well...... Other than that, I’m not sure."

[Roserikta] "That’s strange."

Her voice was just as strange, growing smaller and smaller.

[Roserikta] "The imperial family is surrounded by beauty. Even just the Crown Prince’s palace......"

It was overflowing with beautiful people and exquisite objects. It was no exaggeration to say the imperial castle was a collection of every luxury and splendor the human eye could appreciate.

She stole a glance at his profile.

Even this man himself. He’s enough to bewitch a witch.

[Kalart] "It doesn't look that way to my eyes."

Feeling her gaze, he turned his head, and she hurriedly looked away.

[Roserikta] "Why......?"

[Kalart] "I don't know. I’ve only been told it’s a deformity of the eyes."

[Roserikta] "Pardon?"

Her fleeing gaze returned. Roserikta searched his eyes with a stiff expression. They were still hauntingly beautiful. The boundary between black and white was as sharp as a full moon, and the pupils were deep and clear, like a lake she had never seen before. There was no trace of any deformity.

[Kalart] "In my eyes, living things appear distorted. No, that isn't quite accurate. Even people in paintings look that way. Most forms I see are grotesque. I feel nothing but revulsion."

[Roserikta] "H-How could that be......?"

She was stunned. She had never dreamed he harbored such a secret.

[Kalart] "I was told I was born this way. No one seems to know more than that. Besides, I don't know how to clearly explain how what I see differs from what others see. At first, I thought the world was just like that."

It was a staggering, sorrowful story. To a man who saw everything as distorted, beauty could not exist. The only beauty he could perceive was the mist on a lake or the moon after a cleansing rain.

A world without beauty. A world where everything visible was ugly and disgusting.

She couldn't even imagine what it felt like to live alone in such a world. The only thought that crossed her mind was that he must have been unable to love anything.

[Roserikta] "But Clobell is......"

[Kalart] "She isn't repulsive at all. Her eyes, nose, and mouth are all perfectly aligned. I can tell just by looking at her—I know she is soft and warm."

His eyes crinkled slightly as he smiled. The sight was so beautiful it made the observer's heart ache.

[Kalart] "To me, it felt as though the world had been turned upside down."

[Roserikta] "......"

She pressed her lips together and clenched her fists. If she didn't do something, she might reflexively pull him into an embrace.

She remembered him falling asleep to the song of the forest. That expression—as if he had finally come home after a long, lonely journey—hadn't just been an expression. It was the truth. He had lived in loneliness all this time, without even realizing he was lonely.

What do I do? I keep wanting to hold him. I want to make sure he isn't lonely anymore.

[Kalart] "And one more thing...... ah, it’s starting."

Suddenly, he reached out and turned her head, which had been facing him, toward the lake.

Mist was beginning to bloom over the water. It was exactly at sunset, just as he had said.

[Roserikta] "Ah......"

His eyes widened. The mist erased the boundary between the lake and the sky, making them appear as one. It felt as though they were sitting inside the water itself, neither on the surface nor outside of it. The setting sun began to tint that ambiguous, dreamlike space. The vast lake and sky were washed in shades of pink.

[Roserikta] "It’s beautiful."

If a land of fairies existed, it would surely look like this.

[Kalart] "Do you like it?"

[Roserikta] "Yes. Genuinely."

She reached out toward the mist. Though she couldn't grasp it, it felt as if a fluffy pink cloud had brushed against her palm.

As she let out a small laugh and pulled her shoulders in, he abruptly continued what he had been saying.

[Kalart] "And there is one more."

[Roserikta] "What is it?"

She withdrew her hand and turned her head.

He took her hand as it descended to her lap and pressed it against his ear. Confused by the gesture, she could only stare at him with wide eyes.

[Kalart] "The thing that is beautiful to me."

[Roserikta] "What is it?"

[Kalart] "You."

[Roserikta] "Pardon......?"

For a moment, she couldn't link the word "beautiful" with "you," and her face went blank with bewilderment.

[Kalart] "It is your voice."

He moved his hand slowly. Following his lead, her hand slid from his ear to his cheek, then from his cheek to his lips.

The sound of a soft kiss followed. Mwah.

[Kalart] "Listening to you speak makes me feel endlessly good. It feels as though my ears are feasting on something sweet. It’s so good it’s almost terrifying."

Mwah. The sound echoed again.

This time, she felt a vivid sensation on the palm where his lips touched.

Finally, she fully realized that he had kissed her palm—and was doing it again.

[Roserikta] "Oh......"

Her entire body froze in shock.

He stared intently at her, as if unwilling to miss even the smallest reaction, while his lips moved again.

Mwah.

The small sound made by his lips against her skin thundered in her ears like a clap of thunder.

[Kalart] "At first, just listening was enough. But not anymore. Listening isn't enough."

Mwaaaah.

The sound grew longer. His lips moved past her palm and touched the inside of her wrist, sucking gently against her skin.

[Kalart] "I want to possess you. If I could, I would hold you in my hands. I’d even lock you in a box. So I could carry you anywhere. So only I could see you. So no one would ever know you exist."

......He must mean he wants to do that with my voice.

It was the only thought she could manage as her mind, like her body, ground to a halt.

He definitely doesn't mean me. No, of course not. That’s impossible.

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