TWFLLYM Ch 31
- Feb 23
- 9 min read
Time to Return
[Kalart] "Did you say a scandal?"
It felt as though the temperature in his voice dropped by a degree.
Lafitte instinctively shuddered and bit the tip of his tongue.
[Kalart] "Why?"
[Lafitte] "Your Highness. Surely you are not asking because you do not know......"
[Kalart] "I do not know. I remember only one thing. You were one of the people who prostrated themselves and wept, begging me to date anyone at all. Does this mean your loyalty toward me has changed in the meantime?"
[Lafitte] "No, Your Highness. Of course not! Your Highness must marry soon so that the Empire may be even......"
[Kalart] "Then what is the problem?"
[Lafitte] "The problem is that this is not dating!"
[Kalart] "Who says it isn't?"
[Lafitte] "Pardon?"
Lafitte blinked his eyes as if he had heard a completely unintelligible foreign language. Kalart expressed his irritation at the reaction.
[Kalart] "I asked, who says it isn't dating?"
[Lafitte] "Your Highness, well......"
A Crown Prince and a maid could not be in a dating relationship.
That was common knowledge among common knowledge, something anyone would know even without memorizing the imperial etiquette book. If such a thing were possible, the class system wouldn't have existed in the first place.
However, very unfortunately for the Chamberlain, the Crown Prince of the Empire was not a particularly common-sense human being.
[Kalart] "Well, she might say so. Just because she accepted me for a day doesn't necessarily mean she intends to date me."
That statement was equally nonsensical.
His Highness was speaking about a matter that could determine the Empire's future marriage as if it were something the partner—not the Crown Prince—had the power to decide.
[Kalart] "However, I desire a relationship with her, and I intend to make it happen."
He took off his indoor robe as if he had finished everything he had to say.
[Kalart] "So, until then, keep your mouth shut. I have no intention of tolerating rumors that might ruin the relationship."
Thud, rustle.
The robe fell to the floor, and he gestured toward the Chamberlain.
[Kalart] "I will wash myself, so bring me clothes to change into."
[Lafitte] "Y-Your Highness......"
Lafitte was so shocked that he couldn't move immediately, even after the order fell.
Unless it was Roserikta, Kalart was consistently indifferent to the reactions of others; he began to wash his face as if nothing had happened.
No, it wasn't that nothing had happened.
Due to the events of last night, he was in a terrifyingly good mood, and he was currently busy racking his brain on how he could spend today just like yesterday.
However, Kalart's sweet dream was quickly shattered.
Roserikta was scheduled to be busy all day long. This was all because of that damned investiture staff.
[Lafitte] "Your Highness. I beg you to reconsider just once more. Please......"
He pleaded while clutching the key to the Jewelry Room, which was called the largest jewelry box in the Empire.
The Jewelry Room of Kyrien Castle was where the gems of past imperial families were stored; the word "vault" suited it better than "room."
It was a place locked up on all sides, so a key was required to enter. The one who managed it was the Chamberlain. And he had already been advised by Trifolium Palace to think twice, even three times, before handing over the investiture staff to His Highness.
[Kalart] "Why do you keep making me repeat the same words?"
He spat out his annoyance.
[Kalart] "Do you not know the reason I traveled all this way?"
[Lafitte] "However, Your Highness......"
Between the Crown Prince, who insisted on bestowing the investiture staff upon a cat maid, and the Chamberlain, who insisted that his throat be cut first if he intended to do so, a compromise emerged amidst the tense standoff.
The one who proposed the compromise was Roserikta.
[Roserikta] "I didn't mean that I wanted to have the investiture staff. I meant that I wanted permission to borrow the sapphire decorating it for just a moment, Your Highness."
Was that it?
Kalart felt a slight sense of shame.
It meant he hadn't properly listened to what she had said, which was indeed something to be embarrassed about.
[Kalart] "If that is the case, then we can just detach the sapphire and gift it......"
At his words, Lafitte and Roserikta simultaneously showed disapproval.
[Roserikta] "There is no need for that, Your Highness."
[Lafitte] "That absolutely cannot be done, Your Highness!"
He acted as if he would offer his neck again this time.
[Lafitte] "The investiture staff is a symbol and heirloom of the Imperial family, composed of five gems that have been with the Empire's long history since its beginning. If even one of them is missing, its meaning......"
She stopped the Chamberlain, who looked ready to recite the Empire's founding myth if necessary.
[Roserikta] "Then wouldn't I have to wait again? I would be more grateful if you let me use it when I need it, rather than forcibly giving me a gem I don't need."
Her calm voice was persuasive, as always. And it was a bit more severe for Kalart. Even she would be surprised if she knew exactly how much influence her voice had on him.
[Kalart] "......If that is the case."
He reluctantly nodded as well.
Only then could the Chamberlain hand over the key.
In fact, he had originally intended to oppose it to the end, claiming that a commoner's hand dared not touch the noble and valuable treasure of the Empire, but seeing the Crown Prince's expression, he felt his throat would really be cut if he went that far.
Either his real throat would be cut, or he would be cut from his position as Chamberlain.
[Roserikta] "Thank you for your permission, Your Highness."
The investiture staff was handed to her through various procedures. During that time, the Chamberlain kept his eyes sharp. His attitude suggested he would charge her with treason if there was even a small scratch.
Because of that atmosphere, her heart also became urgent. She wanted to make the antidote as quickly as possible and return the staff.
[Clobell] "Are you ignoring what I'm saying right meow?"
Roserikta, having shut herself in the bedroom, had even engaged the lock.
It wouldn't do if someone saw her making the antidote and thought it suspicious. Indeed, the sight of a witch making medicine was not very ordinary.
She had prepared everything thoroughly, lowering all the curtains on the windows and locking them all just in case, but an unexpected obstacle appeared.
It was Clobellina. She had been lingering around Roserikta's feet for a while now, claiming she had something very important to say.
[Roserikta] "I'm not ignoring you. I said I'm listening."
[Clobell] "No, what are you listening to? I said that the cat's necklace is weird. Take a look at it."
[Roserikta] "I heard you. That's why I looked. There wasn't anything particularly strange."
[Clobell] "No, no. It definitely went flash! It shone like this."
Just to be clear, she didn't think Clobellina was making a fuss without reason. Given her personality, she was a cat who wouldn't do such things simply because it was bothersome.
So she examined the white cat's necklace as told.
Clobellina had earnestly warned that the cat hissed with the intent to kill when she touched it, but it was docile when Roserikta touched it.
She examined the flashy jeweled necklace thoroughly—front, back, and side—but there seemed to be nothing peculiar.
[Roserikta] "Think carefully. Couldn't it have shone because it's a jewel?"
[Clobell] "Eek! Are you treating me like an idiot?"
Clobellina huffed and puffed. Seeing her feel so wronged, perhaps there really was something.
Roserikta nodded.
[Roserikta] "That's not it. I need to use this quickly and return it, so I'll make the antidote first and then check it one more time."
[Clobell] "What if that thing causes trouble in the meantime? That isn't a normal cat!"
[Roserikta] "Then you watch her closely while I make the antidote."
[Clobell] "Hmph! I was going to do that without you telling me! Anyway, don't take my words lightly and be careful of her!"
[Roserikta] "I understand, Clobell."
The white cat was sitting quietly on its cushion, dozing as usual. It was an appearance that didn't suit the word "trouble" at all.
Tilting her head, Roserikta took a seat in front of the fireplace.
It was time to make the antidote. She calmly controlled her breathing and reviewed the recipe for the antidote she had completed in her head countless times.
With this, I turn everything back.
He returns to being himself. I return to being me.
The feelings of liking him were separate from reality.
The Crown Prince of the Empire didn't need a pharmacist from outside the castle, and a witch didn't need a Crown Prince.
People who had no need to meet simply met by a small accident and were tangled for a brief moment, like a dream. Now it was time to untie the wrongly tangled knot.
She took a deep breath and bade farewell to their first love.
Goodbye. May it all disappear without a trace now, like a dream of a single night.
Still, it was a very good dream.
Enough that I could not wish for it twice.
She lined up the ingredients she had brought from Trifolium in front of the fireplace. Finally, she took out the Axaca powder and sprinkled it toward the flames of the fireplace.
[Roserikta] "La ehora owie eres ha...... Open to me. The things that belong to me."
Whoosh!
As if answering, the flames in the fireplace shifted from red to a pale violet and danced.
Every time she poured an ingredient into the empty bowl in order, the materials boiled up or turned into a handful of smoke.
[Roserikta] "Then now."
Roserikta, having watched the ingredients mix until the end, gripped the investiture staff.
Srrrk.
The moment the Axaca powder was sprinkled over it, the sapphire decorating the head of the staff emitted a brilliant light.
It wasn't the blue of a sapphire, but a white light that looked as if it had fallen from an icy lake in the northern mountains.
The Chamberlain anxiously squeezed and released a dry towel.
His job for tonight was to polish the investiture staff all night long. Since a commoner maid had dared to hold a precious object that no one but the Crown Prince could touch for hours, it surely must have gotten dirty.
He had to scrub it until there wasn't a speck of dust to restore the dignity of the Imperial family.
[Lafitte] "Why on earth did such an insolent thing......"
A groaning sound flowed out. He made a face as if he wanted to chew up the thirty dry towels he had prepared.
Thinking about it ten times or a hundred times, it was wrong. It was fundamentally wrong from the moment the Crown Prince brought up the word "dating" regarding a commoner maid.
The problem was that the Chamberlain had neither the method nor the ability to correct this. At best, he had the sorrowful consolation that he had prevented the bestowal of the investiture staff.
He was so upset and worried that tears welled up slightly in his eyes.
[Lafitte] "What should be done about this. Should I urgently send a letter to His Majesty at Shana Castle and beg him to please govern the Crown Prince's rash heart? Haa......"
It was then.
Knock, knock.
Someone visited the room next to the Jewelry Room, where silver tableware and the like were stored. Secretly.
[Visitor] "I have come to see Lord Mion of Kyrien Castle. Can we talk for a moment?"
Lafitte immediately recognized who the visitor was.
It wasn't because the appearance or voice was familiar. It was because he recognized the crest on the pendant used as a clasp for the cloak he wore.
It was a person from the Count Gibero household.
[Roserikta] "......It's done."
She licked her lips as she looked at the liquid sloshing in the glass bottle.
[Clobell] "What? Really? Is it really done?"
Clobellina, who had been dozing on the bed, ran over tap tap tap and rubbed her body against Roserikta. She stroked her head with a slightly tired face.
[Roserikta] "If my thinking is correct. But I probably won't be wrong."
She checked it several times. There was not a bit of toxicity left. The ingredients that went into the love potion recipe would be safely neutralized.
[Clobell] "But why is the color like this? It looks like poison just by looking at it."
Unlike the love potion, which was a pretty pink, the antidote was a deep violet. Since the light was completely blocked right now, it looked close to black.
[Roserikta] "It's because it kills and eliminates the heart of love. Such an ingredient can't possibly look beautiful."
[Clobell] "And you said the love potion was a dangerous poison before."
[Roserikta] "True."
The human heart was a complex thing. I feel it anew.
She hid her expression, which was becoming complicated as she thought about it.
Her heart was the same. Alongside the responsibility that she had to feed him this medicine to set things right, there also existed a lingering attachment that wanted to find an excuse not to feed it to him somehow.
[Roserikta] "Anyway, how do I feed this to him? I can't just tell him to eat it when it looks so suspicious."
[Clobell] "Just tell him to eat it. Isn't he ready to listen to anything you say? It's still mating season."
She glared slightly at Clobellina over the medicine bottle.
[Roserikta] "I told you not to say it like that."
[Clobell] "What does it matter? It's all ending now anyway."
[Roserikta] "I still don't want to hear it."
[Clobell] "Geez, making a fuss over nothing. Fine. I won't use it. Though there won't be a reason to use it anymore anyway."
True. It's the end, now.
[Roserikta] "Anyway, let's think. What would be good?"
Unlike the love potion, it was better to feed the antidote quickly. The ingredients she used basically contained toxicity. She used the sapphire to neutralize the toxicity, but she didn't know what would happen as time passed.
Roserikta and Clobellina put their heads together and fell into thought.
The white cat, sitting still on the cushion like a doll, was watching the two of them with narrowed eyes before they knew it.
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