TWFLLYM Ch 32

False Love, Fake Poison

In principle, secretly feeding something to the Crown Prince was impossible.

There was always someone attending his meals, and no one could touch the food before it reached the table. The Royal Guard invariably shadowed the servants who carried the dishes.

And that was only if one were invited to dine. Eating with the Crown Prince was as difficult as plucking a star from the sky. Therefore, she had to create an opportunity when he came to her room.

[Roserikta] "I will have to say it is a tea that helps with sleep."

No matter how much she racked her brain, no better solution appeared. She muttered in a sullen voice.

[Roserikta] "He usually stops by to see you before bed, Clobell. So that seems like the best option."

[Clobell] "That should work. But why the long face?"

[Roserikta] "Because it feels strange. It's not like he suffers from insomnia, so pretending to suddenly think of his sleep feels funny."

[Clobell] "Even if it's funny, he will drink it. Don't worry."

[Roserikta] "......"

Even Roserikta thought Kalart would accept it without asking questions.

It is strange. As the Crown Prince, it would be natural for him not to consume anything untrustworthy. Yet, somehow, it felt as though he really would just drink it.

[Roserikta] "Right. I can't think of anything else. I'll go to the kitchen and ask them to brew some tea."

[Clobell] "Go ahead."

Roserikta left the room to prepare the tea.

Left alone with the white cat, Clobellina stood firmly beside the medicine bottle to guard it.

[Clobell] "I'm not the type of cat to just suspect anyone, but you are suspicious. Don't even think about touching this bottle."

She deliberately unsheathed her claws and waved her front paw threateningly. The white cat merely blinked its eyes languidly, as if it saw nothing at all.

Not long after Roserikta returned from the kitchen, Kalart arrived as if he had timed it perfectly.

---

[Roserikta] "Please, sit down, Your Highness."

He stood silently, looking at the tea table set up in the bedroom.

Roserikta, who had bowed and waited for him to move, eventually had to offer him a seat first.

[Roserikta] "Your Highness?"

[Kalart] "It is the first time you have done something like this."

Finally, he strode over and sat in front of the table laden with refreshments.

A subtle atmosphere flowed between them.

He wore a nonchalant expression, but she could now sense even the smallest shift in his emotions.

[Roserikta] "We are returning to the capital tomorrow. I wanted to do something for you before then."

Trickle.

She poured warm water over the tea leaves. The scent of expensive tea, used only in the Imperial Palace, spread pleasantly through the air.

Through the rising steam, his eyes seemed to harden for a brief moment.

[Roserikta] "By the way...... Has something happened, Your Highness? Your expression seems different than usual."

She placed the teacup in front of him. He set the cup down and caught her hand as she tried to pull away.

[Kalart] "If there is, there is."

Gently, yet firmly enough that she could not pull away with her own strength, her captured hand touched his cheek.

Kalart rubbed his face against her hand as if stroking himself with it, then made a low, raspy sound.

[Kalart] "And if there isn't, there isn't."

[Roserikta] "What do you mean by that?"

[Kalart] "I wonder."

She didn't know, but Kalart was on his way back from hearing something from the Chamberlain.

[Lafitte] "Your Highness. I have something urgent to tell you."

To be honest, it was extremely annoying.

Kalart had just heard that Roserikta had finished her work and returned the investiture staff. That meant her busy task was over, and she once again had time to spare for him.

Naturally, he intended to go see her. But the Chamberlain grabbed his ankle.

[Kalart] "Tell me later."

He replied insincerely as he loosened the cravat around his neck.

It was already evening, so comfortable clothes seemed appropriate. They had to return tomorrow morning, yet the time had already flown by like this.

Will I be able to sleep in the same room again tonight?

That was the only thought in his head right now.

Would it be alright to ask her to sing?

It seemed she would allow that, too.

Although he didn't know the reason, Roserikta seemed to have decided not to speak a word of refusal anymore.

Not knowing the reason became a small thorn that pricked at his mind, consciously or unconsciously. But he squeezed his eyes shut and ignored the vague discomfort.

I don't want to know. Reasons or whatever.

A corner of his heart whispered that this wasn't a signal that she had decided to accept his feelings. Rather, it was likely the opposite. That she had merely resigned herself because refusal didn't work.

Didn't he use his power to steal the cat in the first place? It was a relationship skewed from the start.

That person does not like you. She cannot.

Riiip.

When he came to his senses, the cravat was torn and rolling on the floor. The Chamberlain, his face pale, stammered as he opened his mouth.

[Lafitte] "Look at that. Your Highness is not normal right now."

The urgent matter Lafitte had to speak of was the Cat Maid likely had a hidden identity.

[Lafitte] "What on earth could make a person abnormal like this, Your Highness? Please, use your usual brilliance and think carefully. Since ancient times, black cats have been known as the minions of witches."

He claimed Kalart was being swayed by a witch's trick. If not for that, Lafitte argued, he wouldn't have even entertained the thought of dating a commoner maid.

Of course, it was nonsense. A hundred years had passed since witches vanished from the continent.

Countless witches died during the witch hunts, and the survivors were said to have left for their own country. Since then, witches had not set foot on this land. That was a fact known to everyone living on the continent.

To Kalart, who dismissed it as nonsense, the Chamberlain said this:

[Lafitte] "If the Cat Maid is a witch, she surely has a separate objective. Asking to use the investiture staff must have been part of that purpose, Your Highness. She will soon try to ask Your Highness for something."

He did not listen to the Chamberlain's words. He tried not to listen. But his words sprouted a seed of suspicion that he had buried.

[Roserikta] "You, just wait until we get home. You think I'll let this slide!"

That voice, chillingly beautiful, had come from thin air. No matter how wide he opened his eyes to look, there was only the empty night sky.

[Clobell] "Meow!"

Clobellina had also vanished into thin air. If not for the collar, he wouldn't have even been able to believe it was real.

If Roserikta were a witch, everything was explained. The events at midnight during the Grand Ball, and that boiling affection and possessiveness he felt uniquely toward Clobellina.

[Lafitte] "Your Highness. When that witch requests something, you must reconsider."

Kalart ordered the Chamberlain never to call Roserikta a witch again, then left his seat.

He had to verify it. No, he didn't want to verify it.

In Roserikta's room, which he visited with such thoughts, tea was prepared.

As if testing him.

He buried his face in her palm.

Could all of this be false?

Even now, he wanted this woman. Not just her hand, not just her lips, but he wanted to cover her entire body with kisses and leave proof that she was his.

It was this vivid and desperate; could someone really manufacture all of this forcibly?

If so, should this lie disappear? If it disappeared, what would be left for him?

Just like before, the solitude where he turned his head away because every living thing was ugly would remain. If that was the normal state for the human being named Kalart, he would rather remain in this strange state.

There was nothing wrong in what Roserikta had said.

He was lonely, and he hadn't known it.

The warm body temperature of the only body he wanted to hold comforted him. More sweetly and addictively than anything else in the world.

He pressed a firm kiss into her palm and then let go of her hand.

[Kalart] "Don't ask anymore. Because I want to pretend it doesn't exist. And you sit down, too."

He pointed to the chair opposite him.

This, too, was an exceptional event; if the Chamberlain had been watching, he would have spent an hour trying to dissuade him.

[Roserikta] "I don't think it is a place where I am allowed to sit, Your Highness."

[Kalart] "Sit anyway. I don't want to drink tea while keeping someone standing. Especially if that someone is you."

[Roserikta] "If that is the case."

She grasped her skirt, bowed to show her gratitude, and sat in the seat he pointed to.

[Kalart] "I just have to drink this now?"

He pointed to the freshly poured teacup and asked.

[Roserikta] "Yes, Your Highness. It will...... make your heart feel at ease."

[Kalart] "This tea?"

[Roserikta] "Yes."

She had already mixed the antidote into the tea. The love potion Clobellina had fed Kalart was three drops. The antidote required double that amount. Because of the antidote's color, the tea would look darker than usual.

The words that this tea would make his heart comfortable were true. Kalart would no longer have to suffer, swayed by heat that boiled up without warning or uncontrollable possessiveness.

Roserikta looked at him and smiled faintly.

So, if your eyes looking at me or Clobell become indifferent and peaceful.

Then I will leave without being sad at all.

[Kalart] "I will believe your words."

He drank the tea. Perhaps it was hotter than he expected, as he frowned briefly, but he drank it all without leaving a drop.

Clack.

The instantly emptied teacup was placed on the saucer.

[Roserikta] "How...... do you feel, Your Highness?"

She asked.

He looked at her with eyes as dark and obsessive as usual—no, even more than usual—and answered.

[Kalart] "I don't really know."

Did it...... fail?

Dark despair flashed across her face for an instant.

Do I have to make the antidote again? Where, and how?

[Kalart] "Why are you making that face?"

[Roserikta] "Ah...... It is nothing."

She lowered her head to avoid his gaze and answered.

[Roserikta] "I thought...... you would like the tea."

[Kalart] "It might have been a bit bitter."

He tapped the teacup with his fingertip, making a sound.

[Kalart] "Don't lower your head; look at me. I know it wasn't the answer you wanted, whatever it was. Should I drink more?"

[Roserikta] "No. There is no need for that......"

Just as the usage amount was set for the love potion, the same applied to the antidote. It was dangerous to make him drink more just because there was no effect.

Clobellina, who had been secretly watching Kalart from under the tea table, popped out.

[Clobell] "Why is he the same? Is the antidote not working? Then what do we do now?"

It was at that moment.

Thud! Crash!

The empty teacup placed in front of Kalart shattered. It was because his hand, which had been tapping the teacup, suddenly lost control and struck it.

[Clobell] "Huh......? Is he surprised to see me right now?"

As Clobellina tilted her head and tried to approach, he sprang up from his seat.

His face was pale. It even looked like cold sweat was beading on his forehead.

[Kalart] "What is that?"

At those words, both Clobellina and Roserikta were startled.

[Roserikta] "Your Highness? It's Clobell."

[Clobell] "Meow. Is something wrong with you? Why don't you recognize me?"

[Kalart] "No, Clobell does not look like that......"

Kalart, who stopped speaking as if flushed with panic, looked at Roserikta once, then spun around and left the room.

The problem was what happened next.

[Eaton] "Your Highness. You are returning...... Ugh!"

Thud!

Eaton, who was approaching Kalart, was shoved back violently and slammed his back against the wall. Kalart had reflexively pushed him away.

[Eaton] "Your Highness?"

Eaton called out to him in confusion. Kalart shouted, grinding his teeth as if his jaw would shatter.

[Kalart] "Move!"

[Eaton] "Your Highness? No, Your Highness! What is wrong? Why all of a sudden......"

Eaton moved his body in bewilderment.

Perhaps looking like a threat, Kalart lunged first and pressed his elbow against Eaton's throat. His eyes were full of chaos. He didn't seem to recognize Eaton.

[Eaton] "Khhk...... Y-Your Highness! It's me, Eaton...... Why...... Why on earth......"

[Kalart] "Ah...... Eaton, you say?"

He barely managed to return focus to his eyes. But it was only for a moment. Having confirmed Eaton's face, He let out a groan and backed away.

[Eaton] "Your Highness!"

Eaton tried to run and grab him. But he shuddered and avoided Eaton.

Thump!

Kalart tripped over his own feet and fell backward.

[Eaton] "Your Highness! Are you alright?"

[Kalart] "Don't touch me!"

[Eaton] "Your Highness! What on earth......!"

As the commotion broke out, the surrounding Royal Guards rushed in. They were all senior knights who had assisted Kalart for years.

[Kalart] "Ugh......!"

However, after being surrounded by familiar faces, Kalart lost his mind even further. He clenched his teeth until they nearly broke and desperately averted his gaze.

Without realizing it, his ten fingers scratched the floor. He didn't even know his fingernails had broken and were bleeding.

[Kalart] "Haa......"

Perhaps unable to endure it any longer, he brought his bloodied fingers to his eyes. The movement looked exactly like a person trying to harm his own eyes.

Eaton was on the verge of losing his mind at this unbelievable event.

[Eaton] "Stop His Highness! Hurry!"

Only then did the Royal Guards rush in and grab his arms. He resisted even more desperately to avoid being held. It was reaching the point of a physical brawl.

[Eaton] "Your Highness! Please snap out of it! Your Highness!"

He shouted for Kalart as if screaming. Kalart shook his head violently and continued to bring his hand, held by the guards, toward his eyes.

It looked as though his eyes would be gouged out at any moment.

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