TWFLLYM Ch 92

What a Witch Covets

[Clobell] "Does this mean your baby won't die anymore?"

She shouted suddenly.

[Clobell] "Since she knows the stork came, she’ll perform the baptism! The baby won’t die!"

It was typical of Clobellina to assume the baby, rather than Roserikta, faced death.

Meanwhile, Elona couldn't hide her shock.

[Elona] "Wait, wait. Is the baby dying? What does that mean?"

Roserikta turned to Elona with a troubled face.

[Roserikta] "Well, that is......"

She explained the situation—how things almost went wrong, but Grandmother Mazi's arrival ensured no one would die. Hearing this, Elona sank to the floor and sobbed.

[Elona] "Why are you only telling me this now! So that time you vanished...... Oh, I can't believe this! I was just happy about the baby, knowing nothing!"

She sat beside Elona and patted her back.

[Roserikta] "I didn't tell you on purpose. Knowing earlier wouldn't have changed anything."

[Elona] "How can you say that...... waah, you’re so mean."

Surprisingly, Clobellina took Elona's side.

[Clobell] "She's right. You went too far, Rosie. Hiding everything isn't always better. When people find out later, the shock is much worse."

[Elona] "Exactly! You’re right! Come here, Clobell. I must kiss you to show my gratitude for understanding my heart."

[Clobell] "I decline."

[Elona] "How could you...... what's wrong with my kisses?"

[Clobell] "Do you think humans who can kiss cats are common?"

[Elona] "Oh, really. Then what kind of human can?"

[Clobell] "That's for the cat to decide."

The two suddenly bickered about something else, allowing Roserikta to catch her breath.

Fortunately, Elona stopped crying quickly. She beamed with joy once she understood there was nothing more to worry about.

However, one small problem remained. Grandmother Mazi hadn't come to the palace for the baptism. The ceremony was still ten months away.

[Elona] "Argh...... I can't stand it."

Upon learning that Grandmother Mazi had come to see Kalart, she clutched her chest as if she struggled to breathe.

[Elona] "Can’t I go sneak a peek? There's a passage for servants connected to the room next to the audience chamber. If I hide there, no one will catch me."

[Clobell] "I want to go too! I need to see Grandmother! The third witch of Versaryl. Doesn't that mean she's the boss of the Witch Kingdom right now?"

She shouted, caught up in the excitement.

[Clobell] "Then I’m the boss of the witch cats! I’m like the king of cats!"

[Roserikta] "That's not it, Clobell."

Roserikta clicked her tongue.

Why is she so obsessed with power? She's just a lazy, greedy cat.

Ah, that's why. She thinks she can live even more lazily in the future.

I’m sorry, Clobell, but that's a mistake. Just look at His Highness; he's incredibly busy every day.

[Roserikta] "It's true, Grandmother Mazi is a leader, but you are my contractor, not hers. Did you forget?"

[Clobell] "It doesn't matter! We share the same bloodline!"

[Roserikta] "Technically, I am an adopted daughter of Versaryl. I don't share their blood."

[Clobell] "Che...... then I can't inherit the boss position?"

[Roserikta] "I don't have the right either. I can't even go to the Witch Kingdom."

[Clobell] "What kind of nonsense is that? This is why you should be born with a silver spoon in your mouth."

Clobellina turned sulky instantly.

[Elona] "Poor Clobell. Come here. I’ll hold you."

Elona patted her back.

[Clobell] "Stop it. I’m very sensitive right now. My life is a mess."

Roserikta signaled Elona to leave her alone. Clobellina needed to learn that life wasn't so easy.

[Elona] "So, if Grandmother Mazi doesn't give her permission, the two of you can't get married? No, that can't happen."

Elona stomped her feet.

[Elona] "I hope His Highness makes a good impression. But of course he will, right? With a face like that, he stands out anywhere...... Ah, she came from the Witch Kingdom. Everyone there must be stunningly beautiful."

[Roserikta] "Um...... His Highness’ looks are rare, so we don't have to worry about that. But I don't think Grandmother values human looks."

[Elona] "Right. She's the Queen of the Witch Kingdom! She’ll examine him with her wise and philosophical inner eye!"

I can't say for sure. A witch's standards are very different from a human's.

[Roserikta] "Don't be so anxious. Just wait. His Highness will handle it well."

She didn't worry.

He's the man who made me fall for him. He can make Grandmother fall for him, too.

[Elona] "Gosh, how much longer must we wait? Can’t I really go listen secretly? If I don't, I think I’ll get sick, Lady Roserikta."

Elona looked ready to cry. Eventually, Roserikta couldn't refuse the tearful plea of her first human friend.

[Roserikta] "Fine...... but just for a moment."

Elona cheered.

---

Kalart frowned as he stepped into the audience chamber.

A refreshment table, looking like an Imperial banquet, sat in the room. The Lord of Merve sat comfortably on a wide three-person sofa, sipping tea.

It made no sense.

The audience chamber was not a place for tea parties. It certainly didn't have three-person sofas. It was simply a place to confirm the faces of those requesting an audience with the Imperial family, featuring only a few chairs.

Furthermore, a crowd of unnecessary people had gathered. The head maid, the chamberlain, the Royal Guard, and even Klein stood there.

[Lafitte] "Your Highness. You’ve arrived."

And for some reason, they all looked incredibly happy. Kalart felt a strange sense of unease as he saw the chamberlain's flushed face. He had never seen the man look so excited.

[Lafitte] "The Lord of Merve from the land of Idarion has made a long and precious journey to Trifolium. Worried she might be tired, we were serving her a simple tea."

It wasn't simple tea; it was a feast. The chamberlain and the head maid had committed an act that defied Imperial etiquette. It was very strange.

[Lafitte] "Your Highness. This is the Lord of Merve."

The chamberlain pointed to the Lord of Merve with a deeply polite posture.

Kalart looked at the woman whose face was half-hidden as she sipped her tea. Her hidden face would be very beautiful.

He didn't need to see it to know. The reactions of the others were enough. Not just the people in the room, but Arad and Eaton behind him stared at her as if they were overjoyed.

Only one thing explained this welcome.

A witch.

If his guess was right, he had to welcome her too. Right now, he was practically on a witch hunt of a different kind to find the three witches.

When a witch appeared on her own, she had a purpose, but the fact that a witch had appeared at all mattered more.

And she didn't seem like an evil being like the Black Witch. If she were, Roserikta wouldn't have told him to cross the mountain.

[Kalart] "I see. The rest of you may leave. Only those who are necessary should stay."

The chamberlain and head maid opened their mouths in disappointment.

[Lafitte] "That is...... Your Highness, we must serve the tea......"

[Aldwin] "Yes, that's right. It would be a disaster if the tea cooled down."

It wouldn't be a disaster at all. It was more of a disaster that the head maid and chamberlain were so desperate to serve a minor noble from the border who had just entered the palace. It meant the Lord of Merve was that suspicious.

[Kalart] "I wish to save time."

When he spoke sharply while keeping his eyes on the Lord of Merve, the two could no longer insist.

[Lafitte] "We understand, Your Highness."

[Aldwin] "We hope you have a useful and pleasant time."

As the crowd that had filled the room left, the previous picnic-like atmosphere calmed down. He finally faced the Lord of Merve.

[Kalart] "Welcome to Trifolium. I heard the Idarion territory is far away. I praise your hard work in coming here."

Instead of returning the greeting, the Lord of Merve met his gaze. Her eyes were as clear and green as gems.

Strangely, an overwhelming sense of goodwill and favor rushed over him. It was similar to when he first heard Roserikta's song of the forest. It felt like his hungriest and most lacking parts were being filled and warmed.

He knew, though he didn't know why. This was dangerous.

He bit his lip hard to snap out of it.

[Kalart] "Now, I will hear your business. Why have you come to see me?"

[Mazi] "Hoo."

The green gaze followed him. Interest deepened in her eyes, flashing with light.

[Mazi] "A human rejecting this. Impressive."

No one pointed out the way the Lord of Merve spoke. It was an absurd way to address the Crown Prince of the Empire, but no one seemed to realize it.

[Mazi] "What I give is the most final thing a human desires. Rejecting it means one of two things."

What the witch gave was the emotion of love.

The gaze beyond the teacup scanned Kalart, tracing his silhouette.

[Mazi] "Either you are an impossibly twisted human, or you already possess it in its perfect form."

Kalart thought both might be true. Since he had been cursed to be unable to love others since a childhood he couldn't even remember, he was the most twisted human in that sense. Yet, he had fallen in love. He desired no love unless Roserikta returned it herself.

[Kalart] "I assume you didn't travel this far just to judge me."

He got straight to the point without waiting any longer.

[Kalart] "Let's exchange what we both want. I need a witch's baptism. What do you want from me?"

[Arad] "Pardon? A witch?"

[Eaton] "A—a witch? Who is?"

A brief commotion broke out when the word 'witch' left his mouth. However, the moment the Lord of Merve spoke again, the atmosphere turned gentle again, like magic.

[Mazi] "You have it, but you are anxious. Afraid you’ll lose it. Afraid it will vanish on its own."

He couldn't deny those words. And he didn't need to. From a certain moment, it had become his clearest truth.

[Kalart] "Yes. That is why I plan to do whatever I can. If we can't trade, I will use pressure. If pressure fails, I will use force."

[Mazi] "What can a human do?"

[Kalart] "If the human is the Crown Prince of the Empire, he can do quite a lot. Remember why witches stopped staying in the lands of humans."

The Lord of Merve let out a small sound of grinding teeth behind her teacup.

[Mazi] "How bold. How can you say such things so easily? Human, aren't you the one who should be asking for a favor?"

[Kalart] "If what you want is for me to ask, I will do so as many times as you like. I only want results. As you said, there is only one thing that matters to me. Don't try to test with words how desperate a human can become. A witch should know that better than a human."

[Mazi] "In the end, you wrap your greed in noble words. That doesn't change its nature. Aren't you just throwing a fit to have something you can't possess?"

[Kalart] "Do you think I don't know that?"

His voice grew rough, as if thorns had suddenly sprouted.

[Kalart] "What do you think I felt the moment I heard the result of my tantrum to have her?"

Everyone fell silent as if they had been scratched. Results. This was a story they didn't know.

[Kalart] "In that moment, the most terrible thing was me. Not a cursed baptism or a crazy stork. If I hadn't been greedy in the first place......"

He bit his lip instead of finishing the sentence.

[Kalart] "If I...... from the start......"

No one could fully understand the pain he breathed out.

The one thing he craved in the world had appeared, but the price was more cursed than the curse itself. He might have to choose between their lives. The reason such a thing happened was one thing: his greed.

Yet, that greed remained the same as in the beginning.

Even if someone offered to turn back time to the moment he caught Roserikta as she tried to leave the Black Witch's castle, Kalart knew he would make the same choice.

That was the most terrible part. That he couldn't let go of anything.

He finally regained his breath before his skin could tear.

[Kalart] "I know what I’ve done, and I know what I will do. All you have to do is take what you can get through a deal with me. Stop testing my patience. What will you take?"

The Lord of Merve spoke.

[Mazi] "Listening to you, it sounds like you’d give anything."

[Kalart] "Correct. I will give whatever is possible."

[Mazi] "That is proof of human arrogance. What a human can give is obvious. Titles or jewels are entirely useless to a witch. If I were to find something useful...... hmm, yes. I covet just one thing."

She reached out an elegant, long finger and pointed at his eyes.

[Mazi] "Those eyes. I’ll take them."