TWFLLYM Ch 87

Marriage Vow (1)

[Roserikta] "Ah, is that so?"

She scrambled to her feet.

I cried so much yesterday. My face must look terrible.

Fortunately, Elona missed her swollen eyes. She likely assumed Roserikta had just slept too much.

[Roserikta] "Then I should at least wash my face."

[Elona] "Yes, I already prepared everything. I will rush over and inform the Royal Guard, so please wait a moment."

Elona hurried out of the bedroom.

A black shadow crawled out from under the bed. It was Clobellina.

[Clobell] "Where did you go?"

[Roserikta] "Ah, Clobell. I am sorry. Were you worried? I was just......"

[Clobell] "I know the stork visited too."

[Roserikta] "Uh......"

She climbed onto the bed. The cat looked just like her. Her eyes were swollen. She must have hidden under the bed to cry.

[Roserikta] "I am sorry, Clobell."

[Clobell] "I swear......"

Teardrops as large as a human's rolled down her tiny cheeks.

[Clobell] "I knew this would happen. I didn't hate the Crown Prince for no reason. I knew this would happen...... Waaaaah."

[Roserikta] "I am sorry."

[Clobell] "Is 'sorry' all you can say! Don't be sorry!"

[Roserikta] "I am sorry."

[Clobell] "How can you do this to me! You and I share one destiny, so how can you do this? Waaaaah!"

[Roserikta] "I didn't know...... the stork would come so fast. I never thought about having a child...... But it came, and I was so shocked...... too. I honestly didn't know."

Clobellina covered her eyes with her paws and sobbed. Roserikta gently stroked her back.

How many times do I have to apologize to you?

I could say it a million times, and it wouldn't be enough. Right?

I am sorry, Clobell. I am sorry.

If you end up all alone......'

[Roserikta] "......"

She stopped the thought. She still had ten months left. Clinging to the thought of parting so soon offered absolutely no benefit.

[Roserikta] "So...... we can't afford to be lazy, Clobell."

[Clobell] "Hic...... Hmph. What are you trying to say?"

Because I have ten months. Because that is all I have.

[Roserikta] "I won't wait for the Black Witch to be discovered. I will find her."

[Clobell] "You will find her yourself?"

[Roserikta] "Yes."

What if the Black Witch appears before him and you when I am gone? I have to destroy her before that.

Roserikta threw off the blanket and stood up bravely.

I can't cry. I have no time for that.

[Roserikta] "We shouldn't rely too much on the rumor that the Black Witch went south. If she hides using black magic, no one can find her."

[Clobell] "Then what do we do?"

Clobellina rubbed her tearful eyes with her paws. That action proved she was a true witch's cat. She surely knew what they had to do.

[Roserikta] "We don't search for where she might go. We search for what she might do."

[Clobell] "You mean the moonstones? Someone buying up all the moonstones?"

[Roserikta] "Yes. It's too suspicious to write off as a coincidence. I need to visit the jewelry shop owned by Lady Elona's relative."

[Clobell] "Let's do that. I am going too."

[Roserikta] "Of course."

Finding a large jewelry shop on the busiest street in the capital was not difficult at all. But it was about to become difficult. Because of Kalart.

---

[Kalart] "Going out is out of the question."

He acted exactly as Elona predicted. He treated Roserikta as if she had not yet learned to walk.

[Roserikta] "Why?"

[Kalart] "The carriage is not ready."

[Roserikta] "Pardon......?"

Roserikta, Elona, and Clobellina tilted their heads simultaneously. They wondered what carriage they had been riding all this time.

[Kalart] "I ordered a carriage safe enough for you. It will take some time."

[Roserikta] "I rode carriages safely before this......"

[Kalart] "You were merely lucky back then."

He spoke with absolutely zero logic.

[Kalart] "Accidents can happen anywhere, at any time."

[Roserikta] "Then I will go on my broom. Brooms are safe."

[Kalart] "No."

He gripped her shoulder.

Roserikta sat in a plush armchair, and Kalart stood opposite her. He forced her to stay seated every time she tried to stand.

[Kalart] "I can't agree that brooms are safe. They are too fast and too high. They are a thousand times more dangerous than a carriage."

You were the one asking if we could ride it upside down, Your Highness......

[Roserikta] "No witch falls from a broom. Brooms are quite smart, even if they aren't as smart as cats."

[Kalart] "I can't trust a mute broom. I will not entrust your safety to such a thing."

I rode it every day. Why would it suddenly become dangerous now?

[Roserikta] "I can't wait until the carriage is finished, Your Highness."

[Kalart] "Then I will summon the jeweler to the palace."

[Roserikta] "No. That won't work. If the Black Witch is involved, I must go myself to find her traces."

[Kalart] "This is maddening."

He turned his head while gripping both her shoulders. A soft sigh escaped his lips.

[Kalart] "Why are you so oblivious? Everything outside the palace is dangerous."

She lived perfectly well outside the palace just months ago.

[Roserikta] "You worry too much, Your Highness. I am merely visiting a jewelry shop."

She touched his cheek to reassure him. He caught her hand and pressed it firmly against his skin.

She didn't realize it, but touching him always made her requests much more effective.

[Kalart] "Then give me a little time. I won't keep you waiting long."

Please tell me he isn't going to order them to build the carriage faster.

[Roserikta] "How long?"

[Kalart] "About two hours. ......No, an hour and a half."

She had braced herself for a month; hearing an hour and a half brought her immense relief.

[Roserikta] "Understood, Your Highness."

She still wanted to know the reason.

[Roserikta] "But why do you need an hour and a half?"

[Kalart] "Klein needs it, not me."

[Roserikta] "Pardon?"

It was time needed for the Royal Guard as well.

---

An hour and a half later.

Roserikta left Trifolium Palace in a carriage lined with iron plates on the floor and walls, its interior stuffed ridiculously full of cushions. Two platoons of Royal Guards escorted her from the front and rear.

[Clobell] "This is driving me crazy."

Clobellina glared at Roserikta as she boarded the carriage.

More precisely, Roserikta boarded the carriage in Kalart's arms. He carried her from the bedroom to the front of the carriage.

While she gaped at the ridiculous vehicle, he set her down on a freshly laid, plush cushion.

Her protests fell on deaf ears. To Kalart, she was a person utterly incapable of walking.

[Roserikta] "Please, Clobell, don't say a word. If you complain too, I might lose my temper."

She shook her head as she looked out the window.

[Roserikta] "Look at that. Forty Royal Guards are escorting us."

[Clobell] "Of course, I see them. Everyone will stare at us. It's like advertising that a witch is looking for a moonstone."

[Roserikta] "Exactly. A quiet trip would be much better. Won't the Black Witch notice if we travel this loudly? She might be watching us right now."

[Clobell] "Go back and get your broom right now."

[Roserikta] "I agree. I should have brought the cloak."

Roserikta stared at Kalart's back as he discussed the Royal Guard formation with Eaton.

The Crown Prince had never micromanaged trivial details like guard formations before, leaving Eaton completely bewildered.

[Roserikta] "Clobell. Will you keep watch? It looks like he'll take a while. I will go grab the broom and cloak."

[Clobell] "Forget it. I was just grumbling."

Clobellina, who had happily insulted Kalart until now, suddenly grew apathetic and stopped her.

[Roserikta] "What is wrong? Don't you prefer the broom too?"

[Clobell] "Of course I do. But just ride the carriage. It's better this way."

[Roserikta] "No. We stand out too much."

[Clobell] "Ugh, you are a witch, so why are you so short-sighted? If you leave on a broom, how do you think he will act? He will smash the carriage instead of the window frame this time."

[Roserikta] "Hah......"

Right, that was the problem. Remembering Kalart's state at the lake made her heart clench. It hurt so much that she felt she had committed a massive crime against him.

That is why I can't refuse.

She couldn't be firm, even when he treated a twenty-four-year-old woman like a toddler.

Am I really this soft?

She felt she should be the one claiming to be the weaker party, not Kalart.

I am the weak one. I can't do a thing when he acts like this.

[Clobell] "Anyway, now that you know, don't be too harsh to him. Well, I doubt you will be anymore. Still, you might act normally, but he might find it harsh."

Her expression was sullen, but her words held a core of sincerity.

Roserikta gently poked the tip of Clobellina's ear.

[Roserikta] "This is strange."

[Clobell] "What is strange?"

Clobellina scratched her ear with her hind leg and replied bluntly.

[Roserikta] "You hated him. You said you would never speak to him for the rest of your life, and he was heartbroken. You said giving you snacks wouldn't work."

[Clobell] "Do you think I'm saying this because I like him? Just...... Ugh."

[Roserikta] "Just?"

[Clobell] "Just...... seeing how he acts."

[Roserikta] "And how does he act?"

Clobellina ground her teeth. It meant she found it genuinely repulsive.

[Clobell] "He can't live without you."

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

[Clobell] "He threw a massive fit when you disappeared. Seeing that, I thought everyone would be better off if you two just stayed together. That's why I tried to talk to him and be nice......"

Clobellina sniffled mid-sentence. She looked ready to cry again.

[Roserikta] "You know, Clobell."

[Clobell] "......Why are you calling me?"

[Roserikta] "When I told him the stork visited, he told me not to jump to conclusions so quickly."

[Clobell] "......"

[Roserikta] "Of course, he said that because he doesn't understand witches...... but he might actually be right. Taking a step back and looking at it from a human's perspective, the conclusion might not be final yet."

Clobellina twitched her whiskers instead of answering.

[Roserikta] "Think about it, Clobell. So many impossible things happened after I met him. Did you ever imagine I would meet a human man, suddenly become a noble, gain endless wealth, and travel with forty guards?"

[Clobell] "Well......"

[Roserikta] "An ordinary witch would never experience this. But I am not an ordinary witch. So...... we don't know for sure."

She wasn't certain. She wasn't entirely hopeful, either. However, even if she couldn't hope, she wanted Clobellina to.

She couldn't bear watching the cat cry every day for ten months. She didn't want this shameless, lazy, gluttonous cat hiding under the bed in tears.

[Roserikta] "Let's believe another unknown miracle might happen. I think that is my destiny."

She stroked Clobellina affectionately.

[Roserikta] "And my destiny is your destiny. You know that, Clobell."

[Clobell] "Hiiiing."

Clobellina let out a weak sound and rubbed her forehead against Roserikta's palm. The cat's warm body temperature was a comfort to the witch.

[Kalart] "We can depart now."

He boarded the carriage, finally satisfied with the formation.

[Roserikta] "I didn't think you were coming, Your Highness...... I heard you were very busy."

She welcomed his presence, but it also worried her.

He isn't planning to carry me into the jewelry shop, is he?

No. Not that. I have my pride, Your Highness.

[Kalart] "I have a lot of work. But that is no reason to leave you alone."

You can leave me alone. I want to handle my errands by myself......

[Roserikta] "I worry I am wasting your precious time, Your Highness."

He turned and stared at her.

[Roserikta] "......What is it?"

[Kalart] "There is no need for polite evasion between us. Speak honestly. Do you hate my company?"

He is entirely too perceptive.

[Roserikta] "I don't hate it, I just find it a bit uncomfortable?"

His eyes narrowed. It looked as if he wanted to show her what true discomfort felt like.

[Kalart] "What is uncomfortable?"

You are, Your Highness.

She forced herself to speak.

[Roserikta] "We are investigating the Black Witch's movements. I worry people won't open their mouths if we arrive with such an extravagant display of status."

He should understand what I mean now.