TWFLLYM Ch 24
- Feb 9
- 8 min read
The Meaning of Once
[Roserikta] "......Nothing else, Your Highness."
He leaned his head against the back of the sofa, his brow furrowed. His eyelids hung heavy with exhaustion.
[Kalart] "That is an order. Think of something else."
[Roserikta] "Allowing me to use the sapphire is more than enough."
[Kalart] "I know you want for nothing; that is precisely why I want you to think. Take your time. To put it plainly, I have no desire to leave yet."
[Roserikta] "But......"
[Kalart] "I wish to stay by your side longer."
[Roserikta] "......"
She never imagined that a simple desire for company could sound so agonizing.
She finally forced herself to look at him. He looked no better than he had yesterday, while gripped by fever. Shadows clung to his eyes, and his lips appeared parched and cracked.
She shouldn't have found relief in his recovery from the cold. The sickness induced by the love potion continued its relentless march, deepening with every passing hour.
[Roserikta] "Then...... one more thing."
[Kalart] "Speak."
[Roserikta] "Do not fall ill again, Your Highness."
At least until I finish the antidote.
[Kalart] "......"
To his ears, her desperate plea carried a different meaning. He heard it as a request to stop using his illness as an excuse to summon her.
[Kalart] "I cannot grant that."
Creeak.
He rose from the sofa. He stood before her, the weight of his fatigue palpable. He remained close—so close that he could have kissed her with the slightest tilt of his head.
[Kalart] "The only time you do not reject me is when I am suffering."
[Roserikta] "......"
[Kalart] "Therefore, I have no choice but to welcome the pain."
He reached out toward her eyes but stopped his hand just before making contact.
[Kalart] "Strange. Why do you look as though you are about to weep?"
Because I want to. Because you are still in pain.
[Kalart] "It only makes me thirstier. Just like that time."
[Roserikta] "......"
[Kalart] "Did you say I would forget easily after one time? Nonsense. 'Once' means the beginning."
[Roserikta] "I......"
[Kalart] "Claiming you is only just starting. I have no intention of surrendering because you’ve rejected me a few times."
He licked his dry lips, turned on his heel, and vanished. As he stepped out, the Royal Guards waiting in the hall pulled the doors shut.
Thud.
The heavy sound left her ears ringing.
[Clobell] "That potion must be terrifying. Why has he become so strange? I thought my heart was going to stop."
Her tail quivered. A cat could hardly miss the sharp, jagged tension radiating from the Prince.
[Roserikta] "......At least we secured the sapphire."
She stroked Clobellina’s head.
[Roserikta] "Everything will be fine now."
[Clobell] "I hope so."
Yes, it will be.
She clung to that belief. Everything would return to its proper place. But the Imperial Palace was a place where leaving proved just as difficult as entering.
[Aldwin] "Wh-what?"
Her jaw remained locked open, her muscles aching from the shock. She barely noticed the physical discomfort; her ears suffered more.
The news the Chamberlain had just delivered felt like a physical blow.
[Aldwin] "The investiture staff...... he did what?"
[Lafitte] "He ordered it bestowed upon the Cat Maid."
[Aldwin] "Good heavens......"
She wished she had actually been struck deaf. Then she could at least pretend she hadn't heard this absurdity.
[Aldwin] "How...... how could such a thing happen in this palace?"
It was the investiture staff. An artifact intended only for the hands of the Crown Prince.
To grant such a thing to a commoner—not even a noble—was unthinkable. And why? Simply because he wished to.
[Aldwin] "This cannot stand."
She wrestled her scattered wits back into order.
[Aldwin] "Absolutely not. First, it was the late Empress' gown. How dare a commoner covet such a treasure? But now, an item reserved solely for the Prince? A priceless Imperial heirloom!"
They had to stop him. The palace was the apex of the hierarchy, and everyone within its walls breathed pride in bloodline and status. The tea a royal drank differed from that of a noble, just as a titled noble drank differently from a commoner. That was the order of the world.
A single girl—this "Cat Maid"—was unraveling a five-hundred-year-old order. She could not endure it, and neither could the Chamberlain.
[Lafitte] "Precisely. That is why I am consulting you. Fortunately, the staff is not currently at Trifolium; it is stored at Kiriyen Castle. The protocols for its transport will take time. I will use that to our advantage. In the meantime, Countess......"
He lowered his voice.
[Lafitte] "Place the cat Count Gibero brought into the Prince’s path. For his own safety."
To them, the Prince was blinded by a feline infatuation, his judgment clouded. They had to protect him—and the dignity of the Imperial family—from himself.
[Aldwin] "I shall send word immediately to bring it."
[Lafitte] "Excellent."
Aldwin nodded, her teeth clenched.
That afternoon, Count Gibero’s ornate carriage arrived at the palace.
The Head Maid proceeded with caution. Simply introducing a new cat wouldn't fix the problem overnight. The Prince had a history of ignoring high-born felines until they—and their owners—wept with frustration. She needed to build a bridge that wouldn't collapse.
[Aldwin] "You will care for this cat as well."
After much deliberation, she decided to entrust the new cat to the Cat Maid herself. Since the Prince frequented the Crown Princess' chambers daily, he would encounter the new arrival naturally.
Furthermore, the cat Count Gibero provided was an undeniable beauty. Its long, snow-white fur paired with emerald eyes that glowed brighter than jewels. Its movements possessed such grace that if felines had a nobility, this creature was surely a duchess.
[Aldwin] "Take this cushion first."
She shoved a velvet cushion rimmed with gold and jewels into Roserikta’s arms.
Roserikta suspected an ulterior motive the moment the woman appeared with a new animal. It wasn't hard to guess. The Head Maid, who viewed her as a thorn in her side, wanted the Prince to compare this pedigreed beauty to Clobellina.
She felt a pang of pity. Not for herself, but for the Head Maid’s wasted effort. The Prince wouldn't look at this cat with the same affection he held for Clobellina.
[Roserikta] "Poor thing."
She looked at the beautiful cat with sympathy.
[Roserikta] "You’re going to suffer, trying to adjust to a strange place. Cats hate leaving their territory."
The cat, wearing a jewel-encrusted collar, turned its head away with an air of bored indifference.
[Aldwin] "This is a precious gift from the House of Gibero. Tend to it with all your heart. Do you understand?"
[Roserikta] "I understand, Head Maid."
With a final sharp glare, the woman scurried out of the room.
[Clobell] "What in the world is this?"
Clobellina jumped down from the curtains to face the newcomer. She hissed, her claws sliding out.
[Clobell] "Don't these people know that putting two cats together is an invitation for a brawl? Idiots."
[Roserikta] "Don't be like that, Clobell. You're scaring her."
She pulled Clobellina into her arms.
Clobellina flailed her paws at the white cat sitting primly on the velvet cushion.
[Clobell] "Let me go! Technically, that thing is an invader. I need to establish dominance on day one!"
[Roserikta] "She's just an ordinary cat, Clobell. She'll go back once the Prince loses interest."
[Clobell] "I don't care! I need to show her whose territory this is. The rookie always gets a lashing!"
She struggled to calm the snarling, wriggling cat.
[Roserikta] "Stop acting like a thug. If she gets a single scratch, the Head Maid will have my head."
[Clobell] "Hmph! I'm bursting with rage!"
She puffed out her tail and let out a few threatening growls before stomping off in exhaustion.
[Roserikta] "Sigh."
She turned an apologetic glance toward the new cat.
[Roserikta] "I'm sorry. She’s stubborn, but she has a soft heart. She’ll come around. I’ll talk to her."
[Cat] "Meow......"
The white cat let out a thin, delicate cry.
She tilted her head.
[Roserikta] "Hmm? That’s strange. Can’t you understand me?"
Witches could communicate with almost any animal. While she couldn't hold a direct conversation like she did with Clobellina, she could usually grasp their body language and emotions.
But this white cat simply stared at her with vacant, jewel-like eyes—the way a normal cat looks at a normal human.
[Roserikta] "Look into my eyes. Do you know what I'm saying?"
She crouched down. The white cat didn't look away, but it offered no sign of recognition.
[Roserikta] "Strange...... is my magic weakening?"
She straightened up, a look of dejection on her face.
[Roserikta] "Perhaps it's because I've been away from the pharmacy for too long."
Regardless, the white cat didn't seem frightened. It simply lay on the velvet cushion with elegant lethargy.
Even to a witch’s eyes, the new cat was breathtaking. The jeweled collar and velvet cushion looked as if they had always belonged in this room.
She could easily imagine Kalart smiling as he held this beautiful creature, telling it he had never seen anything so lovely. The thought caused a dull ache in her chest.
[Roserikta] "......It feels like everything is telling me to hurry back to my place."
The deepening potion, Kalart’s suffering, the Head Maid’s scrutiny, Clobellina’s stress—it would all be resolved once she finished the antidote.
Her own heart, which felt slightly singed every day, was a minor concern in comparison.
[Roserikta] "I must finish it. Now that he’s promised the sapphire, I need to prepare the rest of the ingredients."
She flipped open her recipe book. On the wide page, the title Love Potion Recipe appeared in clear, bold letters.
[Cat] "......"
At that moment, the white cat’s eyes flashed with a sudden, sharp light—as if it were reading the human script.
The room was opulent. What made it interesting was how much it resembled the Crown Princess' bedchamber where Roserikta stayed.
From the mint-velvet curtains embroidered with lilies to the celestial ceiling mural and the gilded window frames, the decor matched perfectly.
The only difference was the large, circular mirror standing on the vanity.
[Countess] "A love potion, is it?"
The woman looking into the mirror possessed a captivating allure.
Her black hair spilled over her shoulders without ornament, contrasting with her pale skin and blood-red lips. Her eyes—a rare, haunting shade of violet—held a predatory depth. She looked like a rose blooming in a pristine, white snowfield.
Her flawless fingers tapped the edge of the mirror rhythmically.
[Countess] "Ha...... so that is what happened."
She bit her lip. Her mouth looked so ripe that even a slight pressure seemed likely to draw crimson juice.
[Countess] "Nearly thirty years of work, almost ruined by one ugly cat."
Smash!
The woman shoved the mirror in a fit of rage. It shattered against the floor, the shards scattering everywhere.
The reflection of the Crown Princess' room vanished instantly.
A keen observer might have noticed that the mirror hadn't been reflecting the room she was in, but rather its twin in the palace.
Someone knocked frantically on the door.
[Count] "W-wife! I heard a crash! Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
The woman’s violet eyes fixed on the closed door. Her rose-like lips parted to release a beautiful, melodic voice.
[Countess] "Incompetent pig. All those years spent in the palace, and you couldn't even secure a place for me."
Her eyes flashed with a cold, venomous beauty. Anyone witnessing her would have questioned the very definition of "beauty."
[Countess] "I will slit your throat the moment you lose your utility, human."
She patted her cheeks with an elegant motion, and a smile returned to her face as if by magic.
[Countess] "Come in, darling."
Bang!
The door flew open. Count Gibero, the man who had delivered the white cat to the palace exactly as his beloved wife commanded, rushed in.
[Countess] "I accidentally broke the mirror. Would you mind clearing this up for me?"
She gestured toward the shards with a lazy flick of her eyes. The Count nodded vigorously.
[Count] "O-of course! Are you sure you aren't hurt?"
[Countess] "You have eyes. You can see I am fine."
Crinch.
The Countess stepped on a shard of glass with the tip of her shoe, grinding it into smaller pieces.
[Countess] "What are you doing? Clean it up."
[Count] "Ah, yes. Immediately. Stay right where you are, my love. I wouldn't want you to get a scratch."
The Count didn't even think of calling a servant. He knelt at his wife’s feet and began picking up the glass with his bare hands.
His face, which looked almost empty of thought, wore an expression of absolute bliss.
His wife—the woman he valued more than his own life—needed him again today.
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