TWFLLYM Ch 50

How to Become Allies

Arad's face turned even paler than Roserikta's. He had come to the stables alone to follow the Crown Prince's order to return to the capital. However, a suspicious sound from the carriage house stopped him.

The soft, whispering voice belonged to the cat maid.

He approached, wondering why she was there so late. The words grew clearer. They were words he couldn't ignore.

Crown Prince. Curse. Black Witch.

Love potion. Eye disease. Obsession.

Every word sounded impossible. Not a single part of it felt real. Yet, he couldn't deny it. It explained countless mysteries that had baffled him.

[Arad] "A curse...... A witch! What does this mean?"

His voice, thick with confusion, tore through the darkness.

[Arad] "Answer me! Are you a witch? Why are you by the Prince's side? What are you after!"

[Clobell] "Hiss!"

She bared her teeth. The bat spread its wings, ready to dive, and the crow sharpened its beak.

Field rats and mice surrounded Arad, ready to bite any exposed skin. His shoulders jerked in response to the threat.

If Roserikta wished it, Arad would die here. His death would keep the secret eternal.

The creatures held no hatred for humans, but they couldn't let their identity slip. They knew exactly how cruel humans became when faced with a world they didn't understand.

[Clobell] "Rosie. What should we do? Just say the word. We can shut one human up."

But that was not the way of a witch.

The forest was a place for everyone to live together, and its inhabitants hated no one. Hatred was a prison. Those who hated couldn't live with others.

Even when humans feared the dark and hated the night, the moon stayed in its place, caring for the darkened souls and blessing the night.

As children of the moon, witches followed this path. This was why witches lived in the same world as humans.

[Roserikta] "No. I will speak with the knight first. Everyone, wait until we finish."

[Clobell] "Are you sure? He's a human. You can't let a human know the truth. You know that better than anyone."

[Roserikta] "I know. We can't let it out. No one knows how terrible the consequences might be."

Still, she had to speak.

[Roserikta] "But I am a witch. I can't do what a witch must not do."

Leaving the animals behind, she stepped forward.

[Roserikta] "As you heard, I am a witch. However, I am not the evil creature humans imagine, and I have no desire to harm people. If you believe me, no harm will come to you."

Arad looked around. Dozens of glowing eyes flashed in the dark, a terrifying sight for any human.

[Arad] "And if...... I don't believe you. Will I die?"

[Roserikta] "No. In that case, I must wipe your memory. I don't want to do that, though. It's a dangerous method that could erase all your memories. I don't want such a tragedy to befall you."

[Arad] "Why?"

[Roserikta] "Because I need every ally I can get right now."

[Arad] "An ally? You want a Royal Guard to side with a witch?"

[Roserikta] "Exactly. If danger threatens the Prince, you will protect him at all costs. Just like me."

[Arad] "......"

Conflict and confusion filled his eyes as he looked between Roserikta and the animals.

He was a loyal servant. Nothing mattered more to him than the threats facing the Prince. Every Royal Guard felt the same.

[Arad] "Fine. I will try to believe you. But first."

He rested his hand on the sword at his waist. He was ready to draw it at any moment.

[Arad] "Tell me the truth. No lies. Only the truth."

The knight's loyalty was straight and pure. Roserikta had to respond with equal sincerity.

[Roserikta] "In the name of the Versaryl Pharmacy, with the moonlight as my witness, I swear. You will leave here with nothing but the truth."

As if proving her words, pale moonlight spread through the thick darkness.

---

[Arad] "......What? No, wait...... Is that true?"

He punched his own head repeatedly, as if trying to wake up.

[Arad] "So the Prince is cursed, and it's black magic. He can't love anyone, but then that cat gave him a love potion, and the curse vanished for a moment. Ah, not completely, just for the cat."

[Arad] "Fine. Anyway, you made an antidote and secretly gave it to him, which worked. And you found out about the curse in the process. Argh, it's too complex! My head is going to explode!"

He stood and paced in circles.

This was his habit when organizing thoughts. The mice had to scurry away to avoid his heavy boots.

[Clobell] "He's a mess. He's just listening, so why is it so hard for him?"

[Mice] "Stupid, stupid. Dummy, dummy."

Clobellina clicked her tongue. The mice squeaked in agreement.

Roserikta didn't translate the animals' words. They weren't things a human needed to hear.

[Arad] "Phew...... let me organize this. Okay. So, the Countess is a black witch, and you are a good witch. That's the gist of it, right?"

Roserikta shook her head firmly.

[Roserikta] "A witch is just a witch. There is no such thing as a 'good' witch. A witch simply lives the life she was born with. The black witch is the exception."

[Arad] "I don't quite get it, but fine. Anyway, the black witch is evil and terrifying?"

[Roserikta] "Yes. That is why she was banished from the witch kingdom long ago. We call her a black witch for convenience, but she is no longer a witch. She is evil in physical form."

[Arad] "I see. But why did she curse the Prince?"

[Roserikta] "I'm only guessing, but black witches seem to gain wealth and power through marriage in the human world. Just like she became the Countess by marrying Count Gibero. The Crown Prince is the peak of power, so it's no surprise she wants him."

[Arad] "No, you don't understand the human world well enough. The Imperial Family is very strict about tradition and law. Imperial law has no clause for divorce. Since royalty can't divorce, nobles can't either. The Countess is already married...... Oh, dammit."

He swore suddenly.

[Arad] "No, I am sorry. Not to you, Lady. I just remembered something...... Curse it. No, no, I'm doing it again."

Seeing his rambling, she realized he knew something.

[Roserikta] "Tell me, Sir Knight. What is it?"

[Arad] "Well...... sigh."

He let out a heavy sigh that seemed to sink into the ground.

[Arad] "I remembered what the Prince said......"

He had asked the Prince:

Forgive me, Your Highness, but you know the Countess is married, don't you?

Kalart had replied:

It doesn't matter.

That conversation happened because the Prince called the Countess beautiful. To the point where he wanted to stay here longer to watch her.

Arad looked at Roserikta with a face full of heavy worry.

[Arad] "Tell me again. About the Prince's curse and the eye symptoms. You said the fact that she looks beautiful means the curse is working?"

[Roserikta] "Yes. It's a guess, but it fits."

She continued her explanation.

[Roserikta] "The curse prevents him from loving any living thing. This shows up as an eye problem. The Prince said every living creature looks hideously distorted. That's why he feels disgusted first. It must have made him terribly lonely."

[Arad] "I never knew he had such symptoms. I only knew he disliked people getting close and that he recognized people by their voices or footsteps from afar."

[Roserikta] "His hearing likely sharpened because he couldn't see properly. The Prince said the same thing."

[Arad] "I can understand that. Like how touch or hearing improves when someone loses their sight."

[Roserikta] "Exactly."

It was a logical explanation. Arad nodded and asked another question.

[Arad] "That makes sense, but what is the goal of making him lonely? Okay, I get that the black witch isn't affected by the curse. So she looks beautiful to him. But looking beautiful doesn't mean he will automatically love her! Isn't the witch's plan too weak if she's banking on that?"

[Roserikta] "No. It isn't weak. She will be the only one for him."

[Arad] "What?"

He looked like he had been struck.

[Roserikta] "Think about it. What if only one thing in the whole world looks beautiful? What if you can't compare it to anything else because you don't need to? She will become his absolute everything. You saw how obsessed he was with Clobell."

[Arad] "That......"

[Roserikta] "He found us the very morning Clobell vanished."

[Arad] "......"

Arad was speechless. Looking back, Kalart did seem out of his mind that day.

He had summoned the entire Royal Guard after midnight to tear through the capital. He found a leather craftsman to make a cat collar just to find the Versaryl Pharmacy.

Then, without a wink of sleep, he turned his horse and headed straight for the shop.

Arad muttered to himself.

[Arad] "And he threatened you. He said he would burn you alive if you didn't hand over the cat."

At that time, he thought Kalart had gone mad. He was relieved Roserikta had come to the palace with Clobellina peacefully.

If she had used magic to run away back then......

[Arad] "Good heavens."

Arad shook his head, refusing to think about it. A mad Kalart would have scoured the world for the cat, and that meant endless overtime for the Royal Guard.

Right, she is a good witch.

A good one, whatever she is.

She came to the palace to take responsibility and fix the potion.

[Roserikta] "He was obsessed with a cat just because it was pretty. If it's a person, those emotions can grow much larger and deeper."

He had taken someone else's cat and put it in the Crown Princess' bedroom. Taking someone else's wife wouldn't be much different.

Moreover, Arad remembered that the Prince was already showing excessive interest in the Countess.

If the curse drove the Prince to want the black witch—if he tried to keep her by his side as a mistress or a princess, regardless of anything else......

What will happen to the Empire?

He squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't want to imagine it.

He could reach only one conclusion. Whether he believed the cat maid or not, he had to be wary of Countess Gibero.

He couldn't ignore any threat to the Imperial Family. Even if the witch's curse sounded like an old fairy tale, he couldn't dismiss it as a lie.

And it didn't even sound like a lie. That was the biggest problem.

[Arad] "The Prince...... said he would stay here longer. To watch the Countess. He told me to go to the capital and find out whatever I can about her. He said it didn't matter if she was married. I fear the curse is already working."

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

A deep shadow fell over her face. She had expected this. But it pained her to know it was happening so fast that others noticed.

I prepared for this when I gave him the antidote, but it isn't easy.

Now he will look at someone else with that tender face. The worry he felt for me will go to someone else.

This is going to be hard to watch.

[Roserikta] "Then there was no need to fix the carriage. If the Prince has no intention of leaving."

[Arad] "You fixed the carriage? How?"

[Roserikta] "The mice fixed it. They are very skilled."

[Arad] "What? Mice? Those mice?"

[Roserikta] "As you see."

The mice lined up and wiggled their backsides proudly.

He let out a dry laugh, finding it both amazing and ridiculous.

[Arad] "Ha, so this is what a witch does. It's very...... no, completely different from the witches I knew."

[Roserikta] "Humans don't know much about witches. Most of what they know is just wrong ideas."

[Arad] "It seems so. Ha...... I never thought the day would come when I'd be impressed by mice."

He gave a bitter smile and continued.

[Arad] "It's a relief the carriage is working. Staying because you want to is very different from staying because you have to. I will follow orders and head to the capital."

His face fell as he calculated the travel time.

[Arad] "Ugh, the palace will be in chaos if he stays away longer. How much longer does he plan to stay? Does the black witch intend to keep him here forever?"

[Roserikta] "She will try until she gets what she wants. That's likely why the carriage was left broken. But staying here is too dangerous. We must find a way to keep the Prince away from her."

[Arad] "Well...... I suppose so. Who knows what other curse she might cast?"

[Roserikta] "No. If I'm right, she won't cast another curse. I don't know the details, but I heard black magic has levels. Powerful magic requires so much energy that it absorbs other spells. The curse on the Prince has lasted a lifetime, so it must be very powerful. She can't use more than one of those on the same person."

[Arad] "Oh? Then the Prince is safe for now? If the curse has been there his whole life, it's not like it can get any worse......"

[Roserikta] "No."

She cut him off firmly.

[Roserikta] "The situation is different now."