TWFLLYM Ch 76

Another Parting (2)

Instead of saying those words, Roserikta gently tugged one of his fingers. Kalart understood and nodded once.

[Roserikta] "Eaton's illness is……."

It happened then.

[Mung] "Kiiiing."

Something wriggled through the hair of Eaton, who lay still with a face pale as a corpse.

[Clobell] "Oh! It is Mung!"

[Elona] "Oh my! That is Mung?"

Elona reacted to Clobellina's words. The Imperial Physician rolled his eyes in confusion.

[Physician] "What is Mung?"

Roserikta cut off his curiosity.

[Roserikta] "It is just a bug. Though it is quite large."

[Physician] "Do bugs like that exist?"

Elona quickly chimed in.

[Elona] "Of course. You have never seen one, Imperial Physician. Servants and maids see them once or twice when cleaning every corner."

[Physician] "Such a large bug is that common?"

[Elona] "Tsk tsk. You don't clean often, do you? You should try it sometime. All kinds of bugs exist. Especially in a large, old building like the Imperial Palace."

[Physician] "I suppose so, but……."

He closed his mouth with a doubtful expression.

[Mung] "Hiiiing."

Mung poked its head out and crawled slowly toward Roserikta.

[Clobell] "Mung is crying."

[Roserikta] "Yes…… It looks that way to me, too."

She whispered and lifted Mung.

[Mung] "Kiiing. Kyuu"

Mung repeatedly pointed at Eaton with its eyes. It wanted to say he was dying.

[Roserikta] "Yes…… What should we do?"

[Mung] "Kiiing, king. Kyuu."

[Roserikta] "Huh?"

[Mung] "Kiiing. Iiiing. Kyu"

[Roserikta] "Ah……?"

[Mung] "Kyu. Kyuu".

Mung meant more than just sadness over Eaton's death. It could not speak human language like Clobellina, but Mung tried its absolute best to convey its intention.

[Roserikta] "Then you will……."

Roserikta looked back and forth between Mung and Eaton. She stopped speaking and stared at Kalart.

[Kalart] "It is fine."

Kalart possessed equally quick wits. He figured out that the small bug, sharing Eaton's exact hair color, told Roserikta something. He understood she hesitated to share it because of the Imperial Physician's presence.

[Kalart] "Do what you must do. Don't worry about the rest."

[Roserikta] "The Imperial Physician……."

[Kalart] "It is fine. I will make it fine."

She still hesitated.

[Roserikta] "But I still……."

I can't shake this worry.

Everyone accepted my secret so far, perhaps through pure luck. But what if someone refuses to accept it?

What will happen then? What will His Highness and I have to endure?

That still terrifies me.

He gripped her shoulders and made her look straight at him.

[Kalart] "I know what you are thinking. But that is not your burden to bear."

[Roserikta] "Your Highness."

[Kalart] "We all owe you a debt. We keep piling this unpayable debt onto your frail shoulders. More than anything, I desire to be the one who protects you. It sickens me that I can't do so. I know we have no choice but to rely on you right now."

The hands gripping her shoulders trembled. Kalart made no effort to hide his agitation. He regretted his inability to reveal more. He wanted to show her every emotion he held for her at this moment.

No part of you is a problem for me. I need you more desperately than anything else.

Others must know this, too. I will make them know.

[Kalart] "So just focus on that. I will handle the rest. Don't worry about anything else. I will absolutely make things right."

[Roserikta] "……If you say so."

She smiled brightly. She placed her hand over his trembling ones. She understood all his feelings.

[Roserikta] "A way exists to heal Sir Eaton. According to what Mung said."

The Water of Life didn't return stolen life force. Strictly speaking, the Black Witch vomited the life force because she could not absorb it when mixed with the Water of Life.

The other knights, who lost only a small amount of life force, could recover slowly. However, victims like Eaton and Count Gibero, whose stolen life force was already consumed, had no way back.

But Eaton had Mung. An existence outside of causality, born from a piece of him. If Mung returned as a part of Eaton, it would fill his missing life force.

[Clobell] "Then doesn't Mung disappear? Does it agree to that?"

Clobellina, who understood Roserikta's words the fastest, asked the question.

[Roserikta] "Yes…… Mung will disappear. Mung wants to do this."

[Clobell] "Whoa. What does that young thing know? Isn't it just acting out of blind sadness?"

[Roserikta] "No, Clobell. Mung knows exactly what it can do."

[Clobell] "Hing…… It is still a pity."

[Roserikta] "Yes."

She stroked Mung.

[Roserikta] "Mung. Do you really want to do this?"

[Mung] "Kyu."

[Roserikta] "You don't have to do this. I will look for a way. A solution must exist somewhere."

[Mung] "Kiiing. Kyuu."

Mung shook its head. It meant they lacked time. Because it came from a piece of Eaton, it knew his condition more accurately than anyone else.

[Roserikta] "……Alright."

She hid her sorrow and nodded. Mung felt soft and warm as it wrapped around her finger. Although born by accident, it possessed a living soul.

The heavy weight of death hit her once again. The Black Witch absolutely needed to vanish from this earth.

[Roserikta] "I will not forget. I will remember what you did for us."

[Mung] "Kyuu."

Mung pressed its body against her like a kiss, then pulled away. That was its farewell.

Clobellina also said her goodbyes to it.

[Clobell] "Hing…… Goodbye. You were very cute. I will not forget you."

Elona wiped her eyes with the end of her sleeve.

[Elona] "Ah…… I feel sad. I have to say goodbye the moment I meet you. Farewell, Mung."

[Mung] "Kyu!"

It shouted bravely after finishing its goodbyes. It signaled its readiness.

A moment later, Mung vanished with a spell commanding all things to return to causality.

Eaton opened his eyes as the sparkling Axaca powder settled down alongside Mung's disappearance.

---

[Clobell] "Hing. I am so depressed."

[Roserikta] "Me too, Clobell."

[Clobell] "Does Mung go to the dark side of the moon?"

[Roserikta] "I don't know."

[Clobell] "Hing…… I need to be alone. Don't look for me for a while."

Clobellina trudged away with weak steps.

Night fell on the day Mung disappeared. They managed to get through the day, but the rising moon made their hearts ache even more.

[Roserikta] "Okay, Clobell."

She suppressed her urge to cry and turned her focus to a book. It was a witch's book detailing black magic. Like the book on the Water of Life, it contained hidden information scattered throughout.

Roserikta read every record carefully, alternating between using Axaca powder and the Water of Life. She needed to learn every possible detail.

The more she learned about black magic, the more she realized her own insignificance as a young witch. A sigh escaped her lips.

[Roserikta] "I am scared."

She snapped the book shut and stared out the window.

[Roserikta] "I feel like everything is my fault. Mung ended up like that because I don't know how to do anything."

Clobellina suffered from the same gloomy reasoning. The thought of facing inevitable death while fighting the Black Witch overwhelmed her completely.

[Roserikta] "The Black Witch has not even appeared again. Yet I am sitting here terrified. Pathetic."

She swallowed her sigh and opened the book once more.

[Roserikta] "I must find strength. The problem is I don't know how."

Knock, knock.

A low knock echoed through the room.

[Roserikta] "Yes. Come in."

She assumed it was Elona at first.

[Kalart] "You are still awake. That is a relief."

[Roserikta] "Your Highness?"

Kalart, not Elona, stepped into the bedroom. A refreshing scent of water drifted from him, indicating he had just washed late at night.

[Kalart] "May I sit beside you?"

She sat in front of the fireplace, a large book spread open on the floor, just like before.

[Roserikta] "Yes. ……No, wait, it is the floor. I will move up to a chair."

[Kalart] "It doesn't matter. If you are comfortable here, you don't need to move."

He closed the distance with his long legs and sat beside her.

[Kalart] "And to add to that, I like the floor too. For some reason, this spot feels the most comfortable in this room."

The floor in this room offered no extra softness; it was merely his mood.

She chuckled, remembering the times she had fallen asleep on the floor in front of the fireplace with him.

[Roserikta] "Perhaps it became a habit."

[Kalart] "Perhaps."

He smiled back and pulled her shoulder into an embrace.

Crackle, crackle.

The sound of burning firewood felt familiarly cozy. Kalart left a light kiss on the side of her head, right where his lips touched.

[Kalart] "I saw Clobell heading somewhere on my way here."

[Roserikta] "Ah, did you meet her? She told me not to look for her for a while. She adored Mung."

[Kalart] "She lacked energy even to my eyes. So I told her about a closet where Klein hides his snacks. Her pace quickened after that."

[Roserikta] "What?"

Her expression changed instantly.

[Roserikta] "Did Clobell speak to you, too?"

Amused by her raised brows, Kalart gently rubbed her eyebrows with his finger.

[Kalart] "I don't understand what you mean by that. But I know Clobell understands me when I speak."

[Roserikta] "Ah, then she has not done it yet."

[Kalart] "Can Clobell speak with me?"

[Roserikta] "She can. She is a witch's cat. However, she only speaks to people she likes. Like Elona."

[Kalart] "What?"

He furrowed his brows.

[Kalart] "I don't understand the reason. Clobell dislikes me? Why?"

[Roserikta] "Well……."

Clobellina's initial dislike stemmed naturally from hiding her identity, but now it purely resulted from her feelings toward Kalart. She criticized him as an untrustworthy human because his affection for her vanished like sea foam. She needed more time to forgive him.

[Kalart] "That is too harsh. I only adored her."

He muttered in a deflated voice. Roserikta patted the back of his hand.

[Roserikta] "Don't feel too heartbroken. Clobell doesn't hold grudges. You definitely earned a lot of points with her today. ……Wait, you must not give her too many snacks. She needs to lose weight."

He cast a sideways glance at her.

[Kalart] "I understand if you say snacks harm a cat's health. But Clobell doesn't need to lose weight at all."

[Roserikta] "What? What are you saying right now?"

She dropped her jaw in disbelief.

[Roserikta] "Clobell is visibly obese. Of course, she looks cute in my eyes. But her joints will hurt when she gets older."

[Kalart] "She is not obese. Do all cats not look like that normally?"

[Roserikta] "Absolutely not. Clobell possesses intense greed for food……."

[Kalart] "I suspect you feed her too little normally. Eating a lot of blanched broccoli offers no real nutrition anyway."

[Roserikta] "I have no choice if she wants to lose weight. And I don't feed her too little; Clobell simply ate too much."

[Kalart] "That is why I say Clobell didn't gain weight."

[Roserikta] "She gained weight."

[Kalart] "Is that not just a pleasant plumpness? A skinny cat offers no particular benefit."

What is this man saying? What does he know about cats?

He has never even raised a cat. Unbelievable.

[Roserikta] "I told you. Her joints will hurt when she ages. Do you know how many whiskers Clobell burned trying to steal bread before I took it out of the oven? What about the window frames that collapsed under her weight?"

[Kalart] "We can repair the window frames, and you can feed her before she gets hungry enough to steal bread."

[Roserikta] "She didn't try to steal it out of hunger; she did it because the bread sat right there."

[Kalart] "Usually, they don't do that when their stomachs are full. Whether human or beast."

[Roserikta] "That is why I say Clobell doesn't fit that standard of 'usually'."

[Kalart] "We should test it. Let us see what happens when we feed her until she is constantly full."

[Roserikta] "No. She barely lost a little weight, so don't ruin all the hard work. And I told you, did I not? Her joints will hurt."

[Kalart] "She is not hurting yet. We can treat her when that time comes."

[Roserikta] "No."

She replied firmly, cutting off his ignorant remarks.

[Roserikta] "Even if we can treat her later, I hate it. I hate seeing Clobell in pain."

[Kalart] "I agree with that. But I oppose starving Clobell over something that has not even happened."

[Roserikta] "I am not starving her, you know?"

[Kalart] "Let me correct myself. Feeding her tasteless food on purpose is unjust."

Wow, unbelievable. I explained exactly why she needs a diet.

Looking closely, this man has the temperament of a foolishly doting parent.