TWFLLYM Ch 42

The Great Adventure of a Bold & Clever Cat (1)

Accessing the secrets of the Gibero family proved difficult.

Creak.

The moment she carefully opened her door, a figure loomed over her.

[Eaton] "Where are you going?"

[Roserikta] "Oh! You startled me."

She stumbled back.

Eaton, the Captain of the Royal Guard, stood before her. His massive frame, nearly as tall as Kalart's, blocked her path like a stone wall.

[Roserikta] "I... I have something to tell His Highness."

She hadn't expected a guard, so her excuse sounded weak. Still, she hoped he would listen.

Eaton was Kalart's closest confidant and had always treated her with kindness. When Kalart had a cold, Eaton had dismissed the royal physicians just to bring Roserikta to him.

She knew what that meant. Eaton remained loyal to the Crown Prince above all else.

[Eaton] "You can't."

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

His blunt refusal caught her off guard.

[Eaton] "The Prince is receiving the Countess' welcome. No one may interrupt them."

[Roserikta] "A welcome......?"

What kind of greeting lasted so long that it required total isolation?

[Eaton] "Stay in your room."

He ignored her and stepped forward. His sheer presence forced her back into the chamber.

[Eaton] "I am locking this door."

Slam!

The door shut violently. A heavy clank followed. Eaton had bolted the door from the outside.

Clobellina's fur stood on end as she hissed in outrage.

[Clobell] "Meow! Is he crazy? How dare he do this to me! Did the Prince order this?"

[Roserikta] "No, I doubt it."

She pressed her shoulder against the wood. It didn't budge. She bit her lip.

[Clobell] "Then why is he acting like this? He only follows the Prince's orders!"

[Roserikta] "I just remembered something."

Clobellina looked up, her eyes wide.

[Clobell] "What now? What did you remember?"

[Roserikta] "What happens to a witch who uses black magic?"

[Clobell] "Huh?"

[Roserikta] "The moment they touch black magic, the moon abandons them forever."

Clobellina snorted.

[Clobell] "Are you joking with me?"

[Roserikta] "Not at all."

[Clobell] "Then why are you talking about fairy tales?"

Her annoyance stemmed from the fact that Roserikta's serious tone matched a story from a children's book.

Clobellina knew the story well. When she was six months old, Roserikta had used that very book to teach her how to read. Roserikta had learned from it, too.

[Clobell] "That is from The Black Wizard's Riddle and the Beanstalk! Do you think I am a stupid cat?"

Despite the cat's anger, Roserikta remained grave.

[Roserikta] "That doesn't mean it is a lie."

[Clobell] "What? You think the fairy tale is real?"

[Roserikta] "It could be. Black magic vanished over three hundred years ago. Now, it only exists in stories."

The old, dusty records her grandmother kept might hold the truth. She hoped to find them one day, but since she couldn't visit the pharmacy now, research had to wait.

[Roserikta] "Grandmother said fairy tales are the easiest way for young witches to learn about our world."

The stories weren't exactly fun. They rarely featured simple lessons of good and evil, and the endings often felt hollow.

Human fairy tales were much more entertaining. However, her grandmother insisted these stories were actually hidden accounts of real events from the Witch Kingdom. She told Roserikta to look for the truth hidden beneath the fiction.

That brought her back to the curse. A witch who uses black magic is abandoned by the moon.

Perhaps that means they lose their lunar energy—their source of power—and suffer exile from the kingdom.

[Clobell] "Wow......"

Clobellina sat with her mouth open, speechless.

[Roserikta] "If that is true, a black witch would have no lunar energy. Right?"

[Clobell] "I...... suppose so?"

[Roserikta] "Exactly."

She clenched her fists.

[Roserikta] "I should have studied Grandmother's books more. I kept putting it off because the pharmacy was so busy."

The books covered medicine and magic. Roserikta had only read the medical texts, assuming the rest didn't apply to her. She was a witch who couldn't live in the Witch Kingdom, after all. She never dreamed she would find traces of black magic in the human world.

[Roserikta] "But this is all just a guess. I have no proof. Oh... I should have brought my broom. I could fly to the pharmacy and check right now."

She tugged at her hair in frustration.

[Roserikta] "I need facts to find a solution. If she really is a black witch......"

What would happen to Kalart, who was alone with her? A chill ran down her spine.

[Clobell] "There is a way to identify a black witch."

Clobellina interrupted her thoughts with a grim tone.

[Roserikta] "Really? How?"

[Clobell] "You pull out a cat's eyeball and look through it."

[Roserikta] "What?"

She winced at the gruesome image.

[Roserikta] "What are you talking about?"

[Clobell] "You said the stories are real! Did you not read The Great Adventure of Aduli, the Grey Cat Who Dropped a Black Witch Down the Toilet?"

She had not. Clobellina clicked her tongue.

[Clobell] "You always tell me to read more! Anyway, the brave and clever Aduli meets a black witch. The witch pretends to be kind, but she secretly wants to eat Aduli. Aduli figures it out and......"

[Roserikta] "Yes, Clobell, tell me the plot later. How does the eyeball help?"

[Clobell] "Since humans can't see the witch's true form, Aduli pulls out his own eye and holds it up for other witches to look through. Then they believe him."

[Roserikta] "Wait...... what happens to the eye?"

[Clobell] "He puts it back in."

[Roserikta] "......"

She swallowed hard.

Clobellina surely knew that putting a pulled-out eye back in was impossible. Did she intend to sacrifice an eye?

No way. Not Clobell. Not with her personality.

[Roserikta] "There are two problems with that plan."

[Clobell] "What?"

[Roserikta] "First, stories aren't always literal. Second, even if you pull your eye out, you can't put it back. Not even Axaca powder can fix that."

[Clobell] "Oh. That is a shame. But is there any other way?"

Roserikta shook her head firmly.

[Roserikta] "No. I will not let you sacrifice yourself."

[Clobell] "What are you talking about? Am I the only cat here?"

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

[Clobell] "We have another cat."

She ran over and kicked the basket containing the white cat.

[Clobell] "Hey! Get out. We have a job for you. Don't hide, come out...... wait?"

Thump, roll!

The basket rolled across the floor, feeling light. It was empty. The white cat was gone.

[Roserikta] "What? How did this happen?"

[Clobell] "Did you let her out?"

[Roserikta] "No. You know I haven't opened the lid since we got here."

[Clobell] "Then where did she go? She is usually too lazy to move!"

This was serious. The white cat belonged to the Prince. Roserikta had lost his property—a serious crime.

[Roserikta] "Oh no. What do I do?"

[Clobell] "Typical. When you actually need someone, they disappear. How do we check the witch now?"

Clobellina clearly never intended to use her own eye. Roserikta sighed.

[Roserikta] "We can't pull out the white cat's eye either."

[Clobell] "Why not?"

[Roserikta] "Aside from the permanent damage, it would hurt!"

[Clobell] "But this is for a great cause! She should be ready to sacrifice for the fight against a black witch."

[Roserikta] "......"

Maybe I spoiled her too much.

Roserikta needed to reflect on her parenting.

[Roserikta] "Anyway, we must find the white cat first. That is more urgent."

[Clobell] "If she left on his own, searching is pointless."

[Roserikta] "She is the Prince's cat. I am responsible for her."

[Clobell] "That is so unfair."

Despite her grumbling, Clobellina began to sniff the air. Her sense of smell and hearing remained sharp.

[Clobell] "Fine, let's go. We have to catch her so we can pull her eye out."

[Roserikta] "Clobell, no eyes!"

[Clobell] "We might have to!"

[Roserikta] "There must be another way. Sir Knight?"

Bang, bang.

She knocked on the locked door.

[Roserikta] "Captain Eaton? Please open the door. Captain?"

No answer.

Bang, bang!

She knocked harder and raised her voice.

[Roserikta] "If you don't open up, I will scream! Open the door!"

The door swung open. His face appeared in the gap.

[Eaton] "I can't open the door."

[Roserikta] "You must. The Prince's cat is missing. The white one."

[Eaton] "There is no need to find it."

[Roserikta] "......Excuse me?"

She blinked in disbelief.

[Roserikta] "The Prince's cat is gone. How can you say there is no need to find it? What if His Highness asks for him?"

[Eaton] "That cat came from the Gibero family originally, so it is fine. Goodbye."

Slam!

He shut the door again.

[Roserikta] "This...... is very suspicious, isn't it?"

She whispered to the closed door.

[Roserikta] "The Prince's most trusted knight doesn't care that his cat is missing? That makes no sense."

Clobellina huffed in agreement.

[Clobell] "Why is he so lazy now? 'It's a local cat, so it's fine.'? Is he just making excuses to avoid work?"

[Roserikta] "Yes. It's wrong. Knowing the Captain, this behavior is impossible."

Suspicion took root. Once it started, it grew rapidly. Scattered pieces of a puzzle began to form a picture.

The carriage accident. The Gibero estate is so close. The Countess' witch-like beauty. The missing cat from the Gibero house. Eaton's sudden change in personality.

Everything linked back to the Giberos.

[Clobell] "See! I told you that cat was strange. It wasn't a normal cat. It just looked like one!"

[Roserikta] "We can't just sit here, can we?"

[Clobell] "Exactly!"

Roserikta turned to the terrace. She tore back the fixed curtains and stepped outside. The third floor had no terrace, but it had large windows with ornate, carved ledges.

She nodded firmly.

[Roserikta] "That will work. I am escaping this room."