TWFLLYM Ch 60

No Taking It Back

He dismissed the knight’s theory with a cold wave of his hand.

[Kalart] "If that were the case, someone would have spoken up. I met with both men after they fell ill. Why would they stay silent until the moment of their deaths?"

[Knight] "Oh......?"

The knight’s eyes darted back and forth. He searched for an answer, but the Prince’s logic stood firm. If someone had cursed them to keep them quiet, they would have screamed the truth out of sheer spite before the end.

[Knight] "I suppose...... they wouldn't, Your Highness."

The knight didn't feel bitter, but he wondered if the Prince possessed a mind that was too sharp.

He took a deep breath to cool his rising frustration, but one suspicion remained.

[Knight] "Forgive me, but I can't stop worrying. You are always far too generous with the cat-maid. I fear a witch's spell influences your kindness."

[Kalart] "Am I generous?"

Kalart fixed Eaton’s clothes with a blank expression. While the act of dressing his own subordinate was a high honor, his face showed no emotion. The Royal Guard knew this version of Kalart well. The Prince’s face only came alive for the cat-maid.

[Knight] "Yes, Your Highness."

[Kalart] "I disagree."

The corners of his mouth twitched. A mocking smile formed on his calm face.

[Kalart] "If I were generous, I wouldn't act entirely on my own whims."

Kalart gripped his saddle with sudden force.

[Knight] "Your Highness...... what do you mean by that?"

[Kalart] "I know she is the type of person who worries about others."

[Knight] "Pardon?"

[Kalart] "But she shouldn't do that while she is injured."

[Knight] "Um...... excuse me?"

[Kalart] "I don't care how many other humans die."

The knight stiffened. These words didn't sound like those of a Crown Prince. Something about his tone felt twisted. The knight remembered how the Prince acted when they left. It felt strange even then.

[Knight] "Your Highness...... is that why you left the cat-maid behind?"

[Kalart] "I couldn't stand watching her push herself. I knew I would lose my temper with her if I stayed."

[Knight] "Ah......"

The realization hit the knight. The Prince had intentionally separated himself from the cat maid. He didn't want her to exhaust herself tending to patients when her own throat was still healing. It wasn't generosity; it was a fierce, protective obsession.

[Kalart] "That's why I'm annoyed. I hate the fact that I have to be away from her."

The knight pretended not to hear Kalart’s quiet mumble about how "Count Gibero isn't worth this trouble." A knight had a duty to preserve the dignity of the Royal Family, after all.

[Knight] "What should we do now? If the Captain has the same illness as the Count, does it mean an unknown plague is spreading through the estate?"

[Kalart] "We are going back. I have something to confirm."

[Knight] "Your Highness! Please reconsider. It is too dangerous."

[Kalart] "It is dangerous, which is why I must go get the rest of my men."

[Knight] "I can do that......"

Kalart climbed back onto his horse, ignoring any further protest.

[Kalart] "Your Highness!"

[Kalart] "It's a hunch, but I doubt it's a plague."

[Knight] "How do you know that?"

[Kalart] "Too many things don't add up for it to be a simple disease. I must see for myself. ......Hyah!"

Kalart kicked his horse into a gallop. The knight had no choice but to follow.

[Knight] "Your Highness! Wait! I will lead the way!"

However, the knight had to balance the injured Eaton. Despite his urgency, the distance between him and Kalart continued to grow.

---

The Countess inhaled sharply. Thick black smoke spiraled into her nose.

[Countess] "Haah......"

She opened her eyes. She had just swallowed the life force she scrambled to collect. Because she had sent Eaton to the Prince in a hurry, the power she drained from the dying Count was already gone. Fortunately, the Prince had left his guards behind.

They were young, strong knights. Even after she drained a large amount of their energy, they remained full of life. They were nothing like the middle-aged Count.

Since she had power to spare, she ordered a hunt for the black cat the pharmacist had left behind. By tonight, that cat would be skinned and tossed into a stew pot.

[Countess] "The Crown Prince will return soon."

Her purple eyes rolled lazily. They looked clouded and strange. Yet, her beauty remained so intense it felt like a cruel joke.

[Countess] "How should I welcome him? He acted so arrogantly before he left. I must give him a greeting that fits his rank."

She grit her teeth.

[Countess] "Yes, there is no reason to hold back anymore. I will teach him to obey me, whether I break him or not."

Dark magic offered absolute power as long as there was life force to steal, but it had clear limits. Dark power could only create dark results. She could cast curses, but she could never grant a blessing.

She could plant hatred, but love was impossible. The feelings she forced into her dead husband or Eaton were not love. She broke their minds to create a delusion. This process inevitably destroyed the victim. Death was the natural end, but the mind shattered first.

To control someone with dark magic, one had to remove all their friends and family. A broken puppet drew too much suspicion. This was why she got rid of the Count’s family and all the servants. She couldn't use the same method on the Crown Prince yet. She couldn't empty the entire Imperial Palace. That was why she had cursed him since childhood to isolate him.

She wanted him to feel love for her on his own. She spent over twenty years living like a parasite off men like Count Gibero for this single goal.

[Countess] "After all the effort I put in."

She squeezed her fists in rage, her nails digging into her palms. The small stings felt like marks of defeat. Even when she tried to block the thoughts, she kept seeing how the Prince looked at that brat from Versaryl.

You care so much for those useless people.

She knew exactly what those words meant. She felt the same way. She wanted to crush Kalart for caring about anything other than her.

They were the same at their core. The Prince had grown exactly as she wished: dark, hungry, and lonely. He was a twisted man who didn't even realize his own solitude. It was infuriating that such a man had lost his heart to a common pharmacist.

Snap!

One of her fingernails finally broke under the pressure. Blood flowed down her fingertip. She pressed the finger to her lips.

[Countess] "Haah...... I can't let this continue. The situation has changed, so I must change my plan."

Sending Eaton to kill the girl was just a vent for her anger.

She didn't think the Prince would change his mind so easily. If she couldn't have his heart, she would break his mind and keep his shell.

[Countess] "I'll just kill him with a convenient 'illness' before anyone notices."

But first, she needed a son. That was the only way to secure her place in the Imperial Family. Finding a random child to pass off as his would be easy enough. She calmed her lingering rage.

[Countess] "Actually, this might be better. I won't have to be stuck with him until I'm old. A son is a hundred times easier to handle than a husband."

Yes, it wasn't a bad plan. She closed her eyes and waited. Tonight, when the Prince returned, she would take him using dark magic.

---

[Roserikta] "Whoa, calm down. We're here. I said we're here!"

As the sun set, a frantic voice echoed in the air. The sound of howling wind and a scuffling struggle followed.

[Roserikta] "I told you to stay still!"

Thwack!

The scuffling stopped.

[Roserikta] "Whew...... Taming a wild horse would be easier than this."

Weight landed softly on the windowsill of the highest tower in the Gibero estate. A human face suddenly appeared in mid-air. It was Roserikta, poking her head out from under an invisibility cloak.

[Roserikta] "Is anyone there?"

She searched the area with wide eyes. After confirming no one was watching, she pulled the cloak off her shoulders.

[Roserikta] "Ugh, I can finally breathe."

The broomstick had been acting like a wild animal. She had to struggle to keep the invisibility cloak from falling off while the wind slapped her face. It felt like she had just finished a brutal workout.

Roserikta tapped the tower window with the end of her broom. The wooden window, held by a simple bolt, opened easily. The broomstick still quivered as if it wanted to fly more. She struggled to calm it down.

[Roserikta] "I know, I know. You were bored because I only used Grandma’s old broom. I’ll use you more often from now on, so please behave. I promise."

The broomstick finally went still. She placed the broom inside the tower first, then hopped down.

[Roserikta] "At least we arrived before His Highness because you’re so fast. Good job."

She leaned the broom against a corner and opened the pouch hanging from her shoulder.

[Hairball] "Kyoo."

A ball of hair jumped out of the pouch and perched on Roserikta’s shoulder.

[Roserikta] "You were scared too, weren't you? It’s okay. We made it safely."

[Hairball] "Kyee, kung."

[Roserikta] "Huh? That’s not why? Ah, you mean this place is scary."

This was the home of the Black Witch. The hairball shook its body up and down vigorously. Roserikta gently stroked the creature with her finger.

Though it was a being born of chance outside the laws of cause and effect, the hairball seemed kind. It was clearly terrified of the Black Witch’s aura.

[Roserikta] "Let’s go find Clobell now. I’ll introduce you. I hope Clobell isn't too mean. Oh, you need a name first, right?"

[Hairball] "Kyoo!"

[Roserikta] "I'll call you Mung."

[Mung] "Kyoooo......"

Mung twitched as if the short name wasn't quite right, but Roserikta was walking too fast to notice.

[Roserikta] "Great. Now that you have a name, let’s find Clobell. I need to hear what happened while I was gone."

She hurried down the stairs, blowing Axaca powder into the air to track Clobellina’s location.

---

[Clobell] "I don't know what I'm doing anymore."

She let out a weary sigh. After the Prince and Roserikta left, the guards had suddenly gone mad and started hunting her. She heard stories of how people killed black cats during witch hunts a hundred years ago. It felt exactly like that.

The castle was vast. Escaping the guards felt like a fun game of hide-and-seek at first, but after half a day, she was out of breath.

[Clobell] "My joints are going to wear out at such a young age. Why is everyone acting crazy? What are they trying to do to me?"

There was only one reason. The Black Witch must have ordered it.

Clobellina was terrified. She feared she would die while Roserikta and the Prince were away. She didn't want to become a pile of bones in a wooden box like that white cat. That would mean becoming the Black Witch’s slave forever. There was no worse death for a cat.

[Clobell] "Rosie. When are you coming back? I feel so miserable all alone."

Hiding in a dusty corner room, she began to sob.

[Clobell] "I should have gone with them even if I hate riding horses. I didn't know these guys would suddenly lose their minds. Rosie, if you come back quickly, I’ll be good."

She covered her eyes with her front paws and cried so piteously that even a witch might feel sorry for her.

[Clobell] "I will...... huff...... eat my vegetables from now on...... hic...... I won't steal snacks or beg for cheese anymore...... waaaah...... so please just come back......"

Just then, the window of the corner room creaked open. Roserikta’s head popped inside.

[Roserikta] "Do you really mean that, Clobell?"

She jumped in shock and snapped her head up. She saw Roserikta’s smiling face looking down at her.

[Roserikta] "I heard everything. No taking it back now."