TWFLLYM Ch 74

The Price of Friendship

[Elona] "Lady Roserikta"

[Roserikta] "......"

A voice called her name through the fog of sleep.

[Elona] "My Lady, will you sleep longer? Shouldn't you wake up now?"

[Roserikta] "Mmm.....I'm sorry, but I'm so sleepy. I'm exhausted......"

[Elona] "Oh, come on. Wake up. Please? Yes?"

Roserikta had gone to bed very late. She had visited the forest, picked a mountain of mushrooms, and her arms ached from gripping the broom so tightly.

On the way back, she nearly lost the invisibility cloak. A crow found it, and then they talked for a long time. She learned the Black Witch had headed south.

Regardless, she had returned at dawn and dropped that man off at his room before returning to her own chambers...... wait. Did she?

She should have, but no memory of leaving Kalart in his room existed.

Then where did he go? Why was she......?

[Elona] "Lady Roserikta Ah! Your eyes twitched! You're awake, right? Open your eyes!"

She finally surrendered. She suppressed a yawn and forced her heavy eyelids open. Elona's face loomed close, beaming with delight.

[Roserikta] "Lady Elona?"

[Elona] "Yes, it's me. Did you sleep well?"

[Roserikta] "Oh, yes. I did sleep well...... but?"

Confusion clouded her mind as she scanned the room.

[Roserikta] "Where am I?"

[Elona] "Ah. You are in His Highness' bedroom."

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

Her exhaustion vanished instantly as she bolted upright.

[Roserikta] "Why am I here?"

[Elona] "His Highness said he let you sleep in this room. He slept in a different one."

[Roserikta] "Ugh......"

Panic seized her. She scrambled to find her shoes. Her clothes remained the same as yesterday; she must have collapsed into sleep the moment she stepped off the broom.

[Roserikta] "How did I...... Hah, the Head Maid won't let this go."

Elona clapped her palms together.

[Elona] "No. She is furious, but she won't dare say anything mean to you. His Highness ordered everyone to let you sleep peacefully."

[Roserikta] "Ah...... he did?"

[Elona] "Yes."

Elona nodded, her eyes sparkling. Only then did Roserikta realize Elona had a specific reason for visiting.

[Roserikta] "But, um...... your way of speaking has changed, Lady Elona."

[Elona] "Oh. Look at me."

Elona suddenly grabbed her skirt with both hands and bowed politely.

[Elona] "I am Elona, and I will serve you from now on. I look forward to working with you."

[Roserikta] "What? No! Serve me?"

[Elona] "That is how it is. You aren't a cat-maid anymore. They will assign a new maid for Clobellina soon."

[Roserikta] "But why so suddenly?"

[Elona] "Why else? It's because of His Highness. Since you became the Crown Prince's lover, you must receive treatment that matches your status, regardless of your title. Even the commoner mistresses in the past received...... oh, that was a mistake. Forgive me, Lady Roserikta."

Imperial family members occasionally kept mistresses. In such cases, the palace provided suitable rooms so they could live near the royals.

Elona didn't mean Roserikta was merely a mistress; she meant that if even mistresses received such care, Roserikta deserved it even more.

[Roserikta] "The Head Maid must hate this."

Elona giggled.

[Elona] "Hate it? She loathes it. But she can't say a word. This isn't a matter of titles. Anyway, you shouldn't call her the Head Maid anymore. Call her Countess Aldwin. Or just Countess. That is the proper etiquette."

Because of this, sleeping in the Crown Prince's bedroom presented no issue. They were now an official couple.

[Roserikta] "I feel like this shouldn't be happening."

She muttered with a lack of confidence.

So this is what it means to be his lover.

Was I too careless? I didn't realize everyone would have to know.

[Elona] "Well, it's too late now. His Highness surely has a plan. But My Lady, I am so curious I can't stand it. I had to meet you alone before the Head Maid came to serve breakfast."

Could you please stop calling me "My Lady"?

Roserikta wondered. Regardless, what was so urgent?

[Roserikta] "You wanted to see me?"

[Elona] "I thought of you as my friend. Even though we haven't known each other long, I felt we could be best friends who understand everything about each other. Don't you feel the same?"

Roserikta blinked. What is she talking about?

[Roserikta] "Well...... I don't know how long I'll be here......"

[Elona] "No, what does that matter? Please say yes. If I'm the only one who feels this way, I might cry."

Elona's eyes welled with tears. Panicked, she patted Elona's shoulder.

[Roserikta] "Don't cry, Lady Elona. It's not that I don't want to be friends. I just thought it might be difficult. There's a status difference, and if I leave the palace, it will be hard to stay in touch."

Indeed, she didn't dislike the idea of friendship. To be precise, she felt she couldn't be one. Her situation differed from when she planned to stay briefly, make the potion, and leave. She was a witch; she would have to lie often to hide her identity. She couldn't do that to a friend.

However, Elona poured cold water on those thoughts.

[Elona] "Hard to stay in touch? You can just use the crows again! Besides, why would you leave the palace when you've become the Prince's lover?"

[Roserikta] "Cough! What...... Did you just say? Crows?"

Shock triggered a coughing fit. What was happening? Any normal person would know that sending letters via crows was impossible.

[Elona] "Yes. You sent me a letter. Sir Arad told me the crow was the messenger."

[Roserikta] "Wait. That means you are also......"

[Elona] "Yes. I am on your side."

Elona's eyes shone with excitement. She looked desperate to share secrets that only the two of them knew.

[Roserikta] "You knew? Unbelievable......"

Roserikta slumped onto the bed. Despite the circumstances, the Prince's bed felt wonderful. It remained soft and steady even as she sank into it.

[Roserikta] "Aren't you...... worried?"

[Elona] "What? Why would I be worried? Ah, the Black Witch? Of course, I'm worried. But there is only one of her and many of us, right? Besides, you said the entire forest tribe would help you. So we'll manage somehow."

[Roserikta] "No, I mean...... the fact that I'm a witch."

[Elona] "Hmm? The Black Witch is the evil one. You are on our side, so why should I be scared?"

Roserikta didn't know how to respond. Elona seemed to exist somewhere between pure kindness and complete innocence.

[Roserikta] "Usually, humans fear witches."

[Elona] "Oh, please. Yes, I probably would have, too—if I didn't know you were on our side. But you are, aren't you?"

She repeated the same sentiment. Her expression showed no doubt as she spoke about being on the same side. Convincing such a person that a witch and a human shouldn't be friends seemed impossible. At this point, even the reasons for that distance felt blurry.

[Roserikta] "Won't being close to me make things difficult for you? With the Head Maid, for example."

[Elona] "Hah, she might be scary, but she isn't scarier than the Black Witch! I heard she even killed Count Gibero! She treats human lives like flies. That's why I need to stick close to you, precisely because I'm scared of the Black Witch. Right?"

Watching her eyes shine—like someone who had never seen the dark side of the world—made Roserikta chuckle.

[Roserikta] "Isn't it the opposite? You should run away."

[Elona] "What are you saying? You are the only one who can face the Black Witch. Naturally, I should help you. That's why I volunteered to be your personal maid. So please, tell me you think of me as a friend. Yes?"

Roserikta couldn't stop her when she acted like this. Arad was already involved, and Kalart and the Royal Guard knew as well. It was only a matter of time before Elona joined them.

[Roserikta] "Give me your hand."

[Elona] "Yes, Lady Roserikta."

She offered both hands immediately. Roserikta stacked her hands on top of Elona's, forming a small tower.

[Roserikta] "To the first human to ask a witch for friendship, a witch's blessing. May the moonlight watch over your nights."

[Elona] "Oh, um... I don't know how a human should answer. Anyway, thank you for the blessing."

[Roserikta] "You're welcome."

Before letting go, Elona squeezed Roserikta's hand firmly.

[Elona] "So we are friends now? I mean, real friends?"

[Roserikta] "Yes, that's right."

[Elona] "They say friends have no secrets. That is the same for witches and humans, right?"

[Roserikta] "I believe so."

[Elona] "Then I have something I'm so curious about, Lady Roserikta."

[Roserikta] "Ask me."

[Elona] "Did His Highness really not sleep in this room with you last night?"

[Roserikta] "Cough!"

A second coughing fit began. She wondered if this was the small price a witch paid for a human's friendship.

[Elona] "Oh, I see."

Only after Roserikta repeatedly explained that she remembered nothing—and that her clothes were the same as yesterday, proving nothing had happened—did Elona stop her questions.

[Elona] "That is so strange. They say late-blooming love is the most intense. His Highness is very late to romance, isn't he?"

[Roserikta] "It isn't strange at all. We just...... well, we just started dating. Anything more would be too soon."

[Elona] "Too soon? It's very late! Think about his age. He should have married and had three imperial grandchildren by now."

It's not late. It's my first time, too.

She changed the subject.

[Roserikta] "Lady Elona. Do you know how long it will take to get the Moonstone I requested?"

[Elona] "Oh, look at my memory. I should have said so earlier. I already wrote to a relative who is a jeweler and asked for the largest Moonstone available. Sir Arad delivered the letter himself. We should hear something by today at the latest."

[Roserikta] "Ah, what a relief. Thank you, Lady Elona. I will pay for the stone......"

[Elona] "Oh, no payment is necessary. Taking money for a friend's request is unthinkable. Besides, it's just a Moonstone, not a diamond."

Just a Moonstone? She must be very wealthy.

She marveled inwardly.

[Roserikta] "Is that really okay?"

A witch's concept of money differed from a human's. The heart determined the value of an object. If Elona set the price of the Moonstone as a friend's request, then that was its proper value.

[Elona] "Of course. More importantly, I'm curious about how you will use it. Will you use it against the Black Witch?"

[Roserikta] "I think I can see the Black Witch's true form with the Moonstone. I can't guarantee it, but I'll try."

[Elona] "My goodness. That sounds so...... witch-like."

Elona clapped her hands in wonder.

[Elona] "Oh, I mean that in a good way! It sounds mysterious, like a fairy tale."

Roserikta felt Elona needed to fear the Black Witch a bit more.

[Roserikta] "If I can see her reality, it will be quite horrifying. The Black Witch is over three hundred years old. She might be even older."

[Elona] "Eek, really? Then she must be all wrinkled and old?"

[Roserikta] "I've never seen her real self, so I don't know, but I expect so. She probably uses black magic to maintain her youth."

They finished washing up as they talked. Elona repeatedly admired Roserikta's skin.

While being a witch accounted for much of her skin and hair quality, Roserikta promised to make Elona a toner using Lumar tree dew. This led to a brief argument because Elona insisted on buying every Moonstone from her relative's shop.

Tap, tap.

As they bickered over whether she needed that many Moonstones, the Head Maid arrived and knocked on the door.

[Aldwin] "Are you awake? If you are ready, I wish to deliver the attire you will wear today."

Elona grinned and stood up.

[Elona] "My Lady! It looks like His Highness sent new clothes! Let's go see. I wonder what he sent."