TWFLLYM Ch 67

The Sound of a Cat Eating Vegetables

Roserikta placed her hand over Kalart's hand as it cradled her cheek. He let out a soft sigh and slowly rubbed her skin with his thumb.

[Kalart] "Anything."

[Roserikta] "Your Highness, are you not afraid?"

[Kalart] "Of what?"

[Roserikta] "That your feelings might be fake. You cherished Clobell, but the moment you took the antidote, you forgot her. Just like that, everything could vanish as if it were nothing……."

[Kalart] "Don’t be afraid."

She had asked if he was afraid, yet he told her not to fear. It seemed as though he believed she was the terrified one.

[Kalart] "I was scared too. When my feelings for Clobell vanished. It terrified me to think that what disappeared might have been my feelings for you. So, I thought of a way to stop being afraid. The answer was simple."

His hand stopped moving against her cheek. Kalart studied Roserikta intently, his eyes still bearing the trace of the unlifted curse. He didn't look at her with even a hint of repulsion. Instead, he looked like a man trying to etch every detail of her face into his mind.

[Kalart] "I just have to keep loving you."

[Roserikta] "That…… that makes no sense."

She blinked. For some reason, her eyes began to sting.

[Roserikta] "If the affection vanishes, that's the end…… there would be no reason to love me anymore……."

[Kalart] "Because you are the best thing I have ever experienced."

[Roserikta] "That's…… that can’t be……."

He is the Crown Prince. It makes no sense for me to be the "best thing".

[Kalart] "If you can't believe my words, that is my fault. It is fine if you don’t believe me now. I will show you more, and eventually, you will."

It was a promise to love her again and again, forever.

[Kalart] "So, give me time."

She realized why her eyes stung. She had been straining them to keep the tears from falling.

[Roserikta] "The black witch…… she escaped."

She spoke, her fingertips trembling.

As if he could read her mind, Kalart opened his fingers. Their two hands were intertwined firmly. Heat rushed to her cheeks.

[Roserikta] "We don't know when she will try to harm you again. And I am the witch who must destroy her within the Moon's Causality, so if I stay by your side……."

Her words cut off. Kalart had released her hand and suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace.

[Kalart] "You still won’t tell me that you like me."

He lifted her off her feet. Clobellina seemed to be muttering something, but the sound didn't register.

[Kalart] "That must be my fault too. It's alright. One day, you’ll say those words."

Roserikta thought about how he held her with such strength. She liked this so much that she wished time would simply stop. If only her face didn't look so tired from the long night, she would want to kiss him.

[Kalart] "I know I look worse than usual right now, but may I kiss you?"

It was wondrous that he shared her exact thought.

[Roserikta] "I look even messier."

[Kalart] "I’ll take that as a 'yes'."

It was impossible to tell whether the smile or the kiss came first.

The moment their lips touched, laughter kept bubbling up, so they stayed like that for a moment, laughing together.

[Knight] "Your Highness! Your Highness! The Captain has just woken up—oh, I, uh, excuse me!"

A Royal Guard, coming to report that Eaton had finally awakened, caught sight of the kiss and hurriedly turned around.

[Kalart] "Of all times."

While Kalart might not have cared, Roserikta was not the type to keep kissing after being caught. Her face turned bright red as she pushed him away.

Clicking his tongue in disappointment, Kalart set her back down.

[Kalart] "We’ll finish this once we return."

Before her feet hit the ground, he quickly pressed a kiss to the bridge of her nose.

[Kalart] "Don't forget. I already have your permission."

He told her to wait a moment, then turned and left with the guards.

A noble family had vanished; the aftermath clearly required a great deal of work.

[Clobell] "You two are having a grand old time. It would have been a disaster if the witch hadn't escaped."

Clobellina, who had been scratching her ear with a hind leg, spoke up.

Feeling embarrassed, Roserikta picked the cat up.

[Clobell] "Put me down. Why the sudden acting friendly?"

[Roserikta] "Hide my face, Clobell. I'm very embarrassed right now."

[Clobell] "A witch who knows shame? Look, the moon is still high in the dawn sky. You should worry about the black witch."

[Roserikta] "I am."

[Clobell] "That sounds like a cat eating vegetables. Hmph."

[Roserikta] "It's true, really. Once we return to the palace, I’ll start researching black magic. I have to prepare properly."

[Clobell] "Excuses. Stop using the witch to satisfy your own desires."

[Roserikta] "Clobell."

[Clobell] "What?"

[Roserikta] "I think you’ve become too smart."

[Clobell] "Praise won't work on me. Do you think I'll just let this go?"

[Roserikta] "You really are smart."

[Clobell] "Hmph."

While they bickered, the fire spread rapidly. It was the signal that it was time to go back.

---

[Roserikta] "It almost ended in disaster."

The carriage for the return trip held three people and one cat. It was a four-person carriage, so there was enough room, yet everyone felt uncomfortable for different reasons.

The most uncomfortable, without a doubt, was Eaton.

[Eaton] "It, uh, it will be fine. I heal quickly by nature……."

[Roserikta] "No. You left a broken bone neglected like this; it can't be fine."

Her expression had changed the moment she saw his condition. His thinness was an issue, but his broken arm had not been set properly. He could have ended up with a permanent disability. His life as a knight could have ended.

After helping Eaton into the carriage, Roserikta began treatment with what she had. She regretted having no emergency medicine. She tore her apron into strips and pulled a decorative rod from the carriage ceiling to create a makeshift splint.

After she gave him a sip of the Water of Life, some color returned to his pale face. Only then did she sigh in relief.

Treating Eaton took time. This meant Roserikta spent a long time sitting close to him, carefully handling his arm and holding medicine bottles to his lips.

Throughout it all, Kalart watched them in silence. Clobellina, sitting nearby, wished she had some crunchy snacks to eat while watching the drama.

[Roserikta] "The pain must be severe. I don't have any proper medicine right now. Please bear with it until we return."

[Eaton] "No, I, uh, I am very, very much fine."

[Roserikta] "That's impossible."

[Eaton] "No, really, I'm truly—I mean, I'm really fine……."

Despite his better color, Eaton broke out in a cold sweat. She touched his forehead.

[Roserikta] "Sir Eaton. Do you have a fever? Or do you feel cold?"

[Eaton] "Huh? No, not really……."

[Roserikta] "You keep sweating. These signs aren't good."

That's not it…… It's just that His Highness looks extremely displeased.

I feel like he might kick me right out of the carriage any second.

Unfortunately, Roserikta misinterpreted Kalart's dark expression. She thought he was deeply worried about the injury of his most trusted subordinate. This made her want to treat him even more diligently.

[Roserikta] "Since I don't have painkillers, as a temporary fix, I'll, um……."

She gave a small cough, the way she did when she was about to say something embarrassing.

[Roserikta] "I will sing a song for you. Oh, don't laugh. It's a song with healing effects."

Eaton's face, which had improved thanks to the Water of Life, suddenly turned as gray as lead.

[Eaton] "No! The song is unnecessary!"

The rejection was firm. Roserikta felt a bit hurt by the blunt refusal.

[Roserikta] "Um…… I understand if you don't trust me, but just listen for a moment. You will feel much better."

[Eaton] "I would rather stay in pain!"

She wrinkled her nose.

This is too much.

She had offered because she thought singing outside the forest was embarrassing, yet she wanted to help. Did he really hate her singing that much?

[Roserikta] "Don't take pain lightly. You can't think of your body as it normally is. As I said, you are very weak right now."

[Eaton] "No, the pain isn't the problem right now……."

At this point, Kalart realized his patience had reached its limit. The treatment was one thing—though even that felt excessively kind and bothered him—but a song? That was intolerable.

[Kalart] "He said he doesn't want it."

It's not like he's dying of pain. Stop there and leave him be.

[Kalart] "There is no need to be so kind to him."

His words shot out like arrows. Roserikta and Eaton stopped their bickering and turned to him. Eaton struggled to straighten his posture despite his weakened state.

[Kalart] "You seem to have forgotten that Eaton is the one who injured your neck. I don't think such an event is easily forgotten. You shouldn't take mental pain so lightly."

His tone was smooth, but his words were blatant sabotage. Since they now knew everything happened because of black magic, Roserikta didn't see the need to dwell on ill feelings.

[Roserikta] "I know it wasn't his will, so it is fine, Your Highness."

[Kalart] "I am the one who is uneasy."

He subtly pulled her toward him, creating distance between her and Eaton.

[Kalart] "The black witch is still alive. This man was the first to become her puppet in the Royal Guard. We don't know what might happen next. Stay as far away as possible."

At those words, Eaton's already pale face turned white as paper.

[Eaton] "I…… I have no excuse, Your Highness. Please, punish me……."

For Eaton, this felt like a bolt from the blue. He only remembered bits and pieces of losing his mind. It felt like waking from a long nightmare. Hearing it was all because of the witch, he felt so much guilt as the Captain of the Guard that he wanted to break his other arm himself.

[Kalart] "I already said there will be no punishment. Don't make me regret my decision."

[Eaton] "If such a thing ever happens again, I will stab myself with my own hands."

[Kalart] "I will hold you to those words."

[Eaton] "I am deeply sorry, Your Highness."

Strictly speaking, Eaton was a victim of black magic, but at this moment, he felt like a sinner for whom even treatment was a luxury. This was because the person he had tried to harm was none other than Roserikta.

[Roserikta] "I am fine."

Of course, she was not comfortable with this. She understood the terror of black magic better than anyone and knew Eaton had been powerless against it.

[Roserikta] "The black witch is the one who committed the wrong. My neck healed quickly. I don't resent you for what happened."

Before Kalart could say that he wouldn't forgive the man for another year, Eaton clutched his head in overwhelming guilt.

[Eaton] "That is not all. My memories…… they are faint, but they are there. I locked you in a room, I choked you with my own hands…… Ha, it's driving me mad. How could I do such things……?"

[Roserikta] "The magic was so intense that no one could have resisted."

Unfortunately, her comfort never reached Eaton.

[Kalart] "What?"

Kalart's black eyes flashed as sharp as shattered glass.

[Eaton] "……Yes, Your Highness?"

[Kalart] "The pharmacy incident wasn't everything?"

[Eaton] "That……."

His pupils shook like a small boat in a storm.

[Eaton] "I don't remember well, but yes……."

BANG!

Without a word, Kalart kicked the carriage door with his long leg.

[Roserikta] "Your Highness?"

[Clobell] "Whoa. What is he doing now?"

Clobellina and Roserikta stared at Kalart with their mouths open. Kalart gestured toward the outside with his chin.

[Kalart] "Get out."

[Roserikta] "Your Highness."

To be clear, this wasn't just because Roserikta had offered to sing for Eaton. It was a "preventative measure" since no one knew when Eaton might fall under the witch's spell again. And if he had to add one more reason, he didn't want to beat up a patient in front of Roserikta.

[Kalart] "From now on, don't stay in the same space as this person without my permission. This order is effective immediately. Get out."

Eaton pointed toward the rattling carriage door with trembling eyes. It was a desperate look that said, I will gladly leave since you ordered it, but please consider that the carriage is still moving.

[Kalart] "Figure it out yourself. Get out."

[Eaton] "I obey your command."

Still, Eaton didn't actually have to jump from a speeding carriage. Kalart was forced to accept Roserikta's advice that it would be better to stop the carriage, given the patient's condition. Because of this, Eaton ended up with a mountain of debt to repay her.