Chapter 1: The Honeymoon Trip that Triggers Turmoil

“...Kiss her.”

That day, in the royal office of Claudio, the Crown Prince of Baltzar, Archmagus Edeltraud stormed in without so much as knocking and said those two simple words. For a moment, time stood still.

The room was gently illuminated by the supple autumn sunlight rather than its harsh summer counterpart, but it felt like the room had frozen over, nevertheless.

Claudio was in the midst of a midday break from work when Rosemarie had come to visit him. Upon hearing those words, Rosemarie almost dropped the cup she held in her hand before her fingers realized the issue and regained their grip. She was only allowed a moment’s respite as she heard Claudio hacking loudly as he sat beside her. She put down her cup and started patting his back.

“A-Are you all right, Prince Claudio?”

“...Koff, mm-hgh! Yes, peachy.” Serving them was Rosemarie’s personal maid, Heidi, who handed her a napkin with a rather curious expression. Rosemarie then presented the napkin to Claudio.

“I was expecting something out of the blue, but this takes the cake...” As Claudio wiped his mouth with the napkin, he glared at Edeltraud with a scowl set on his brow. The sorcerer, however, in the face of Claudio’s anger, leaned forward to the table that held the refreshments and teaware.

“At inquiry, mana returned with Volland Princess’s kiss. But, only temporarily. Need to investigate the reason behind it. So, kiss.” Edeltraud was the Archmagus of Baltzar and also Claudio’s personal sorcerer, whose various duties included using magic and spells in Claudio’s stead since he was currently incapable of doing so. But that never stopped them from saying and doing the most crackpot things imaginable.

As always, a gloomy-looking hooded cloak hid their face from view, but Rosemarie could feel their eyes positively sparkling through the cowl.

Because she saw the heads of humans with negative emotions as beasts, Rosemarie spent all of her time shut in the villa in her native country of Volland. But, by an unexpected turn of events, she ended up marrying the one person whose head never appeared beastly to her—Claudio, the Crown Prince of Baltzar. That was when she was also informed that the problem with her eyes was a result of her pilfering Claudio’s mana.

With his mana stolen, Claudio’s head appeared to everyone as the Silver Lion, the sacred beast which lent its power to the founding of the nation of Baltzar. Everyone, that is, except Rosemarie, which landed her in a precarious situation with him. And while she overcame the troubles associated with it and Claudio softened up to her, it wasn’t long before Rosemarie found herself suspected of attempting to assassinate him. Claudio, meanwhile, found himself suspected by the archbishop of being mana-less, leading to an official inquiry being held.

Per Edeltraud’s instructions, Rosemarie kissed Claudio and his mana returned to him. This led to the archbishop being in the hot seat instead and the assassination plot being wrapped up without a hitch. However, following those events, Claudio’s seemingly restored mana disappeared clean out of his body. Rosemarie’s eyes still saw his face as a gallant, black-haired young man. But to everyone else around him, he was apparently the prince with the lion head—silver pelt, black goat horns, and all.

Needless to say, she was quite discouraged at the fact that the desperate gambit she pulled off in the hall went to waste. At the same time, she found herself sickened by the small semblance of relief she gained from having a reason to stay by Claudio’s side.

(But, they want us to do... that? Again? But, after the first time...) Her face flushed with heat.

“After the first time, we tried it again and it didn’t return,” Claudio said, sighing with his arms folded and flashing a troubled look Rosemarie’s way. She tensed her shoulders, her face beet red.

Edeltraud had told them to test it out one more time, so she’d put away her shame and kissed him again. However, it didn’t bring back a scrap of mana to Claudio and his face remained beast-like.

“But, returned to normal once, which is something. Must be some sort of stipulation behind it. Want to investigate what it is.”

“Be that as it may, what became of your research on the Seed of Mana-Sealing—on the Kaola?” Claudio tossed the question suspiciously to Edeltraud, who was showing no signs of backing down.

What was known as “Kaola” tea in Rosemarie’s native country of Volland was known in Baltzar as the “Seed of Mana-Sealing,” said to be used long ago as a punishment for criminal sorcerers. Claudio was forced to drink it to keep his tremendous mana in check, since it was likely to hurt him. And since his mana was stolen by Rosemarie, the Seed of Mana-Sealing within him now thirsted for it—effectively putting his life in jeopardy.

(I think it would be a great help if I could just remember more about when I stole his mana... But this isn’t the time or place to worry about my eyes, anyway...)

She saw the heads of anyone who held negative emotions as beast heads, but Claudio’s situation, by comparison, was much more serious.

Rosemarie squeezed her hands in her lap as if trying to contain the heaviness taking stay in her chest.

Turning attention away from Rosemarie, Edeltraud drew closer to Claudio.

“Coming along at its own pace. Still, not particularly good, so been waiting for report of thing I asked you for, Claudio. Done that yet?”

“I’m having Fritz investigate into it at the moment. You know that it takes time to do that.”

“Even worse because do know. Wasting time. That’s why need to investigate different avenues, too.” Dodging Claudio’s initial question, Edeltraud didn’t let up on their pressure for a second. Possibly getting annoyed at all these rebuttals, Claudio waved a hand haphazardly.

“I’ll take it into consideration.”

“...Um, I wouldn’t necessarily mind cooperating,” Rosemarie timidly came forward, causing Claudio to swing his head back at her in shock. Heidi’s eyes also fell upon her as she stood against the wall.

“Princess?!”

“Do you know what you’re even say—”

“Really? Okay. Here. Log the time, place and the circumstances. Try for three times a day at the least. But, overdose if you want.” Interrupting Heidi and Claudio right in the middle of the shocked exclamations, Edeltraud pulled a stack of papers from their front pocket. The sorcerer pushed the papers at Rosemarie, who took them from the sorcerer, her eyes darting around in confusion.

(Um, is that a prescription? Or maybe medication records?)

Actually, to Edeltraud, these might have been experimentation records instead.

“Okay, first dose. Try it while I’m here.”

“Over my dead body!” Claudio shouted with twitching brows, clearly fed up with all this. He snatched away the stack of papers and chucked them across the desk.

“You’re insane if you think we’re going to log our kissing in gross detail. As for you, Rosemarie, don’t just go willfully agreeing to this insanity. Treat yourself with a little more respect, for God’s sake.”

“Yes, but respecting you and your condition takes top priority, Prince Claudio. If it is something within my power, I implore you to allow me to cooperate in any way that I can.” She looked Claudio straight in his wide-opened eyes and smiled.

While she was thankful that he was being considerate of her feelings, she wanted to give anything within her capabilities a try—if for no other reason than to make amends with Claudio. She was putting her own sense of shame and embarrassment aside in this case.

“Rosemarie... you’re...” A tender smile filled with admiration graced Claudio’s face as he came over to touch Rosemarie’s cheek.

“So, I assure you, you have nothing to worry about. Why, it’s no different from mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, so it will be fine. In fact, if you think of it as a pet dog fawning for affection, then—! Ow, that hurts.” Claudio randomly pinched Rosemarie’s cheek. She shot him a resentful glare as she rubbed the afflicted area.

“You shut up. Pet dog, my foot. If anyone is being kept as a pet here, it is clearly you. If you’re so insistent about it, then let’s just get this over with.” Apparently Rosemarie had made him angry somehow.

With his intense eyes pointed right her, Rosemarie felt a little chicken-hearted. She made an unconscious attempt to gain distance from Claudio, who sat by her side, but he reeled her in by the shoulders.

“Both of you, out. I’m not interested in making a spectacle out of this,” he uttered in a deep and monotone voice. Not soon after, Heidi and Edeltraud’s footsteps could both be heard as their presences grew farther away from the room. Rosemarie suddenly found herself faint of heart at that fact and tried to lower her head. But Claudio put his well-defined, manly finger on the girl’s chin and pointed it upward. The blue of his eyes was made even more intense by his anger at they stared directly down at her. That very pair of eyes glimmering with ferocity was causing a tinge of fear to well up from inside Rosemarie.

(He looks like he’s going to bite me...)

Her heart was beating so loudly, it was almost as though it was right next to her ear. Her hand landed on Claudio’s chest in the chaos of being pulled toward him. Through her palm, she felt his heart beating just as fast and just as hard as hers. It felt like all the heat in her body had collected in her face.

Right next to her, Claudio’s finely-crafted lips curled into a slight smile.

“—It’s all your fault, you know.”

“It’s... my fault? But, I—!”

Her sentence barely made it past her vocal cords as it was cut short by her abrupt gasp of air.

***

With Claudio’s official work finished and the royal office under a shroud of darkness, a rather bright laugh rang throughout the room.

“So? I take it your mana didn’t make it back after all, then?” His aide’s eyes were alight with curiosity and fixed on Claudio, who simply pressed on his forehead and squinted his eyes at him with annoyance while still at his desk.

“Yeah.”

“My, oh, my... Then, it ended up just being a side perk, eh? Looks like I missed quite the show while I was away taking care of business.”

“Will you stop getting your jollies out of this already, Fritz?” Claudio glared at the clergyman with the mole under his eye, but Fritz shrugged his shoulders, not intimidated in the least.

This was the man who’d freely inquired if Claudio wanted a spy in the same church he was constantly butting heads with. He was a man of the cloth, but also an invaluable resource as Claudio’s aide, preferring to utilize his personal connections and information network on the prince’s behalf rather than wasting away in a corrupt church. He certainly wasn’t without his faults, though, as he could grind a man’s nerves a tad—like he was now.

“Yes, please do not poke fun, Father Fritz. Take into consideration how dispirited His Highness must be, seeing how Her Highness fainted right after!”

“Alto! I explicitly told you not to tell him that!”

“Sir, apologies for the slip of tongue...”

Standing at attention by the door was the honest face of the Imperial Guard’s Vice Captain, Alto. Upon Claudio reprimanding him for blowing his cover, he slumped his large shoulders dejectedly. The man was too serious for his own good and often lacked the ability to adapt to situations, but Claudio never once doubted his sense of loyalty in spite of that.

“Now, now. You shouldn’t give our boy Alto here a hard time just because you’re embarrassed about you losing hold of yourself in the grips of passion.”

“Trust me, the grips of passion were nowhere near me. The girl simply lacks tolerance.” He was eventually goaded into locking lips with her. But his lips had barely touched hers when—whether from the sudden rush of blood to her head or just plain nerves—she abruptly fell unconscious. Even though she’d said it would be all right, it made him wonder whether she might secretly hate him after all.

“No tolerance? You have been such a close and happy couple, so it seems a little too late to be saying... wait... Your Highness, don’t tell me that you haven’t properly confessed your feelings to Her Royal Wifeness yet? ‘I love you,’ ‘You’re the apple of my eye,’ things of that nature?” Fritz’s sudden serious expression made Claudio feel awkward—so much so that he turned his eyes away.

“My word, that’s... Ah, so, that’s why. You don’t understand Her Royal Wifeness’s feelings and you’re down in the dumps, huh? If that’s the case here, then why not just tell her how you feel and get it out of your system?”

“If I were to convey my affection to her outright, then I assume she would feel compelled to accept it, given her circumstances. So, no, that simply won’t do,” Claudio said with a sigh as he balled up the record sheet that Edeltraud had forced onto him.

No matter what, Rosemarie felt indebted for stealing Claudio’s mana and causing the deformity to Claudio’s head. He was reminded, as he was earlier, that Rosemarie seemed especially enthusiastic over these last few days about returning his mana to him. Thus she’d likely end up doing anything she possibly could.

And he was sure feelings of love or hate were getting thrown into the mix.

He had specifically asked her to stay by his side; but ever since he noticed her recent behavior, he’d become hesitant to be forthright and voice his feelings.

“Plus, I can only assume she resents me for keeping her detained here when she so clearly wishes to go back to Volland.” Fritz smiled at Claudio, the slight traces of a mother’s kindness upon his face.

“Y’know, Your Highness... You’re being a little difficult. Come on, you should just man up and get on out there. Isn’t that right, Alto?”

“Yes, well... His Highness has rarely had affections for the ladies and vice-versa, so him being difficul... I mean, making the difficult decision to tread cautiously isn’t something he can necessarily help.”

Being deemed a difficult and picky man by both of his aides, Claudio gave an annoyed ahem.

“Enough of this tripe. I don’t need to hear you tell me that. That subject aside, you did bring a report on what I asked of you, right?”

He held out his palm to Fritz, prompting the man—who, incidentally, seemed completely disinterested in the now-vacant archbishop’s seat and preferred instead to remain Claudio’s personal clergyman—to pull out several sealed letters with a triumphant air.

“I asked several of my acquaintances. But, just as Master Edel mentioned that they wander the lands, the person you asked me to find really does bounce around from place to place, it seems. They won’t stay in one place for very long. However, I’ve finally come to an estimation of their movement. That place would be the closest candidate if you were trying to run into them soon.”

Claudio pulled the letter out of the open envelope, scanned it, and raised an eyebrow in surprise. “They’ll appear at the Sacred Relic Worship in the Holy Land? But why there, of all places? Churches already shun sorcerers away, but the churches in the Holy Land must be far worse.”

“Well, my guess is that we’re dealing with a living bundle of curiosity, wanting to see even though he knows they’ll alienate him. Though I know from the bit of time I spent over there before that it’s actually a pretty big deal.” Baltzar would historically send envoys out, but it seemed the royalty of other nations would make the trip themselves.

“So, what’s the plan? I don’t mind going out to the Holy Land and explaining the situation.”

“Just give me the order and I shall accompany Father Fritz in his journey, sir. If they are reluctant to talk, I can get a Seed of Mana-Sealing from Mage Edeltraud and bring them back here, kicking and screaming if need be.”

“Right...”

Fritz was trying for a diplomatic approach through words, while Alto’s suggested approach was much more violent despite his casual tone. Glancing at both men, Claudio put the letter down on his desk and opened his mouth to say...

***

“Um, Sacred Relic Worship?” Rosemarie blinked, dumbfounded, at the familiar words that Claudio told her.

It was morning, a few days after the whole incident with Edeltraud demanding their kiss. As they commenced their scheduled hand-holding in the lounge of Rosemarie’s quarters to maintain Claudio’s health, that was how he started off the conversation.

The day after that incident, she had given an earnest apology for fainting despite offering her services in the first place, but Claudio comprehended the situation from the start and forgave her, telling her that he didn’t mind. She was relieved in one respect, but spent every day in a self-deprecating rut.

“You’re familiar with it?”

“Yes, if I recall, it is the day the Sacred Relic enshrined in the Holy Land is put on public display, right? Some time ago, my elder sister in Volland attended. She said that the chapel that housed the saint was absolutely stupendous... Oh, um, are you planning to attend, by any chance...” A bad feeling dawned on the girl and she looked with doe eyes at Claudio, sitting across from the table, who grinned deviously back at her.

“Right, I was thinking of attending. And you’re coming along.”

“...M-May I be allowed to wear my bucket?”

“You may. But only during the carriage ride or behind closed doors.”

She was convinced she’d receive the usual scolding about what a bad idea it was, but Claudio good-naturedly allowed it—which was actually causing distrust to bud within her.

“Is there something going on?” she questioned as she sat up straight in her seat. Claudio simply gave a light squeeze to her hand in his.

“You’re aware that Master Edel has come to a dead end in their Kaola research, right? So, Master Edel wants to pick the brain of the former guard of the Forbidden Forest, hence why they asked me to search for them.”

Rosemarie drew in her lips upon hearing mention of the Forbidden Forest. She remembered when Archbishop Kastner dumped her into that forest—the resting place of the sacred beast, the Silver Lion, and the forest said to make missing persons out of anyone without mana who treads into it.

—Those who come near eaten by sacred beast’s dreams. I’m guard of sacred beast’s dreams.

She’d tried to ask Edeltraud about those mysterious words they’d spoken to her. But the archmagus just smiled suggestively, refusing to divulge the true meaning behind the statement.

(Maybe it’s something that I shouldn’t be asking...)

That thought also prevented her from asking the same question of Claudio.

“Rosemarie? Are you still not awake yet?” Claudio was suddenly looking into Rosemarie’s face with an air of suspicion. She had shut her brain off for a second and, upon noticing Claudio’s face next to hers, she started to blush. It could have been because of what happened the other day to blame, but having him get so close was doing a number on her heart.

“I-I am awake. I’m sorry. You were talking about the guard prior to Mage Edel, yes? Were they even more skilled than Mage Edel?”

Claudio’s suspicion hadn’t faltered. Regardless, he nodded, re-seated himself, and continued speaking.

“I have never personally met them, but they apparently have less mana and magical prowess than Master Edel. However, I’ve heard that they’re a wellspring of knowledge. Word says that they retired when His Majesty the King took the throne, and they now bounce around from place to place.”

That sounded like one sprightly senior citizen. While she didn’t know how old Edeltraud was, if it was their predecessor they were talking about, they had to be up there in age.

“The old guard—their name is apparently Rene, and Fritz was finally able to ascertain that they show up to the Sacred Relic Worship every time. While I could send someone to bring them to Baltzar, since we’re trying to borrow their knowledge, I plan on going out to the Holy Land to see them. After all, Master Edel isn’t the best at looking at soul conditions. We should have them them look at our soul conditions while we’re at it, as well.”

“Soul... conditions?” The sudden talk about “souls” had her confused. Anything to do with magic was completely lost on her.

“Oh, right. Skilled sorcerers can see the shape of the soul. And by doing so, they can know of any physical problems you may possess. Mage Rene was present when I was forced to drink the Seed of Mana-Sealing, so that much I am sure about.”

Rosemarie stared intently at Claudio in shock. “—All right, then. In that case, I shall gladly accompany you.”

Claudio, perhaps shocked by Rosemarie’s unusually straightforward reply, widened his eyes a tad before grimacing as if he caught on to something.

“Did I say something to hurt your feelings?”

“Huh?”

“Any other time, you would be asking me to wear your bucket, wouldn’t you? So, it makes me worry if I’ve made yet another insensitive remark when I tell you we’ll be going out in public, and you’re suddenly motivated out of nowhere.”

Claudio awkwardly averted his eyes.

—I wouldn’t find the fact that you can instantly identify people who harbor animosity cumbersome at all; in fact, I’m envious.

Claudio’s rather thoughtless and hurtful remark was still fresh in her memory. However, now that she knew Claudio’s personality better, she didn’t think much about what he had said—but it seemed that the feeling wasn’t mutual.

He squeezed his hand in hers, and Rosemarie returned the favor by squeezing back.

“I never said that, so you needn’t worry, please. The reason I am so suddenly motivated is because I think we might find a clue to help return your mana... And it is far better than leaving the matter be and ignorantly inconveniencing you once again.”

Whether it were stealing away Claudio’s mana unwittingly or exposing Claudio’s life to mortal danger by having him drink Kaola tea while not knowing it was the Seed of Mana-Sealing—she had been doing a host of things that she couldn’t live with herself being ignorant about forever. If she let this matter be, she felt like she would just screw up even more.

“—Plus, if I’m with you, Prince Claudio, no place will ever scare me.”

Claudio was a strong individual. She knew that he was the type never to give up and do his best no matter what dilemma he was faced with. Instead of hiding his deformed head, ashamed of people’s fear of it, he would search for a way to make everyone come to accept it.

(I don’t want to sit around doing nothing and lamenting how pathetic I am forever.)

If she was staying by Claudio’s side until she returned his mana, then she wanted to be stronger.

She stared at Claudio and smiled bashfully. Claudio covered his face with his other hand and turned his head to the side. The space under his eyes was red.

“I get it. I’m in the same league as Kaola and the bucket. I just have to not take it too seriously.” Rosemarie could hear him muttering under his breath, making her tilt her head, confused.

“Um, I can’t imagine holding hands with Kaola or my bucket and enjoying conversation like this, so I don’t think that you’re the same as either of those things, Prince Claudio...”

Claudio looked at her, questioningly.

“You enjoy it?”

“Yes, I learn so much whenever I speak with you, so I love it. Are you not a fan, Prince Claudio?” If memory served her right, she remembered Claudio telling her that he enjoyed spending time with her, but maybe she was just remembering things wrong?

His face took a hit like someone lied straight to it. He then blinked as if coming out of a dream and opened his mouth hesitantly.

“Rosemarie...”

“Yes?”

“Give me your neck.”

“Pardon?! Sorry, but no!” She jerked back in surprise. Her blood curdled. Had she said something offensive enough to warrant a beheading?

“No, wait, bad choice of words. Sorry, just stick out your neck a little.”

Per Claudio’s instructions, uncomfortable-looking scowl on his face and all, Rosemarie leaned over the table timidly and closed her eyes. Once she did, she felt something fall over her neck. When she opened her eyes and looked down, she saw something silver and glimmering dangling over her chest. Hanging from her neck was a silver-chained pendant. Locked behind the finger-sized, birdcage-like item at the end of the chain was something elliptical and brown. As she held the silver cage, which seemed likely to break under even the slightest pressure, a sweet smell drifted through the air.

“This is... Is there, by some chance, Kaola stored in here?”

“We can’t bring Kaola tea where we’re going. So, this is in lieu of that.”

“Yes, that is true, but... You have already given me so much, I couldn’t possibly take any more from you.”

Claudio smiled mischievously as Rosemarie let her brows drop uncomfortably.

He had even given her a whole greenhouse. Seeing as how she hadn’t been able to give him a single thing in return, any more would make her feel sorrier than she already felt.

She went to remove the pendant, but Claudio stopped her hands.

“That’s your ‘Tranquilizer #2,’ isn’t it? Consider it medicine and accept it. It would be helpful to me, too.”

“It would help you? Um, well, in that case... I thank you very much. I will take good care of it.” She figured that keeping a level head about things would serve to help Claudio, which allowed her to accept the gift. Once she said her thanks, Claudio smiled, obviously relieved.

“I will make sure not to be an inconvenience to you in the Holy Land!”

“Don’t get so worked up. After all, we might actually see the old guard—Mage Rene, just like we planned. Besides, the Holy Land are seaside. You should loosen up enough to enjoy the scenery, at least. Oh, right. You might be able to see that flower that was in that book the other day, you know.”

“Flower...? Um, let’s see...” Rosemarie thought, rising from her seat. She brought a book from the corner of the room and opened it up on the table for Claudio. Illustrated on the page was a flower with five bluish-white petals arranged in a way that resembled a human face.

“Do you mean this one?”

“Yeah, that’s the one. This flower only blooms near the sea, doesn’t it?”

“It does! It’s a type of violet, and its petals are clear like glass. It’s said that when the wind blows, it scrapes against the petals and makes a beautiful sound...”

Seeing Claudio peer in interest at the illustration of the rare violet snapped her back to her senses, and the book she’d so giddily opened was suddenly snapped shut.

“What’s wrong?”

“Um, this is official business for the most part, so I will keep my personal interests to a minimum. Oh... isn’t it about time you start work...?” Rosemarie urged in a somewhat rushed tone. Claudio stood up, looking at her suspiciously. She followed in suit and stood up as well.

(This isn’t a sightseeing expedition and I shouldn’t be getting excited over it. I need to focus myself...)

Rosemarie followed after him to see him off, but Claudio turned around at the door so suddenly that she almost bumped into him and tottered on her feet. In the momentum, a sharp pain ran across the back of her neck.

“...Yow.”

“By the way, the greenhouse’s—What? Did something happen to the back of your neck?”

“It seems the chain got snagged in my hair... Oh, please, go on ahead. Don’t worry about me.” She put her hand on the back of her neck and felt around, but she couldn’t quite get the chain loose.

“Don’t just pull at it randomly. You’ll damage your pretty hair.”

“P-Pretty? But it isn’t...”

“Come, now, turn around. I’ll untangle it.”

Still shook up over the rare compliment, she turned herself around. She lowered her head and threw her hair to the front. Claudio’s cold fingers touched the nape of her neck, making her heart jump in her chest.

(I don’t know why, but this is a little embarrassing...)

It was a spot that not even she could see. Plus, she would only ever put up her hair when making a formal appearance. She was embarrassed at the fact that she was having someone see a spot that no one would normally see.

“Well, I got my hair stuck in the yew tree that one time and had to trouble you to help me out, so I’ll keep it tied up from now on.” She tried to start up conversation to distract herself from her heart going aflutter, and there was a slight pause before Claudio answered, probably from being lost in concentration.

“...No, you can keep it as-is. Just keep it hidden. It’s poison to the eyes.” His fingers parted from her body. At the same time, Claudio walked past her and exited the room.

(Poison to the eyes? What does that mean? Does he mean it’s literally an eyesore? Or, is it actually...)

She racked her confused brain. She shifted a bit, and the aroma of Kaola wrapped around her body. The back of her neck heated up ever so slightly. Instantly, she grasped the back of her neck with both hands.

The door that was supposed to be closed then swung open.

“Princess, are you going on a honeymoon trip?!”

“—! Heidi, bring me my bucket!”

Her trusted maid flew into her room positively elated and Rosemarie clung on to her, half in tears.

***

(What am I remembering this for...?)

Rosemarie sat in the carriage bound to the Holy Land, recalling her decision and details behind her attending the Sacred Relic Worship—in fact, she remembered too many of the details and got red in the face.

“Rosemarie,” Claudio called out, “we’re taking a break.”

“—! Y-Yes, okay!” Rosemarie jumped out of her seat.

It seemed the carriage had stopped at some point while she was lost in thought. Claudio descended from the carriage and held out his hand to Rosemarie, who took it to make her own exit. As she did, she caught sight of Alto and Fritz standing at attention near the carriages, along with the attending magistrate and guard knights. Edeltraud was also supposed to be there, but she couldn’t spot them. She also tried looking around for Heidi, but the maid came silently walking up to her from the side. Then, Heidi threw the warm-looking shawl in her hands over Rosemarie’s shoulders. Her eyes were brimming with curiosity.

“Thank you, Heidi.”

“Not a problem. The wind is quite cold. But the scenery here is exquisite!” Heidi commented in an enthusiastic tone as Rosemarie left her behind to follow Claudio’s lead.

They both ended up atop a slightly raised hill. Serving as their backdrop was a dense forest—not quite to the degree of the Forbidden Forest, but still quite dense. Below the hill, she could see a townscape with white stucco walls. Beyond that, shimmering in the sunlight, was a vast plain in a shade of blue different from the sky—a more azure blue...

“Is that... the ocean? This is my first time seeing it.” It was an endlessly expanding body of water. Occasionally, a white spot became visible—possibly bubbles from the ruffled waves? The way it shone in the light of the midday sun was more awe-inspiring than the glimmer of lapis. A truly beautiful sight to behold.

The curtains were drawn on the windows of the carriage, so she didn’t get to take in the outside view. On one hand, she marveled at the beauty; on the other, her body started shivering at the realization that she had finally made it here.

“Seems to be. This is my first time seeing it as well. It’s incredible,” Claudio said in admiration as he stood beside Rosemarie, who looked up at him in surprise.

(Oh, right. This is Prince Claudio’s first time out of the country, isn’t it?)

Not only did he develop a beast head due to his mana being stolen, but the robbery triggered health problems as well. He couldn’t very well carry out diplomatic duties like that.

“Um, are you holding up all right?”

“I am. No problems to speak of. All thanks to you being around for me.”

“No, um, seeing as how this is all my fault to begin with, well...”

Either it was the overall exhilaration or the rare carefree smile that Claudio was pointing her way, but Rosemarie turned her eyes away, on edge.

“Don’t worry about that. At any rate, from what I’m told, the town below is the Holy Land. The cathedral is at the edge of that cape.”

Rosemarie looked in the direction he was pointing and spotted the spire at the edge of the cape. However, for being the cathedral of the Holy Land, the actual building itself wasn’t all that big, and it was much more simplistic than the church in Baltzar where their wedding was held.

“It’s quite the... well... cute little building, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. From what I can make out from here, at least.”

Seeing Claudio’s suggestive smile, Rosemarie pursed her lips and once again turned her attention toward the church.

They were going over there soon—over there, to the place established by the saint who took upon him the revelations of God.

In Baltzar, Claudio’s deformed head was taken in relative stride, but over here, he would probably be a target for scorn. She had no idea how they would come to treat him.

“The people of the Holy Land, will they...” she started to say, trying to look up at Claudio by her side, but she found herself having a dizzy spell.

Suddenly, her mind evoked images of that forest—the one that was even richer in green than the forest at their backs, the Forbidden Forest. Opposite it, the sacred beast stood, its silver pelt shining even within the dimly-illuminated forest.

It shook its pair of light wings and approached Rosemarie slowly, causing a mix of awe, exhilaration, and other emotions to well within her.

On the opposite side, a young Claudio came running up to her with a panicked face.

The sacred beast’s positively gigantic body was right beside her, and it opened its mighty jaw to—

“What about the people of the Holy Land?” Claudio’s question snapped Rosemarie back to her senses. The girl stood there, flabbergasted, at what she had just seen.

Claudio looked at her with suspicion. His eyes were blue in color, but were beast-like, lacking whites. His skin was covered in a short silver fur, and growing out of a bountiful mane were a pair of curly goat-like horns that were black like obsidian. Claudio was the spitting image of the Silver Lion, the sacred beast of Baltzar.

(Was that an incident from my childhood just now? Also, why does his head look like the sacred beast to my eyes, too?)

Rosemarie quickly rubbed her eyes. However, rub as she might, Claudio’s face remained that of the Silver Lion.

“Prince Claudio, would you mind lowering your head a little?”

“My head? Like this?” Claudio stooped his head down and she timidly reached for his face. Her fingers made contact with the silver hair, which was softer than appearance led to believe. She ran her hand across the fine-quality hair in a trance until she bumped against one of the icy cold goat horns, and that was when it finally sunk in.

“I’m... not dreaming. My eyes...” This was the beastly form of the prince that everyone else saw. His head of a beast and his body of a youthful gentleman—his appearance was definitely enough to strike fear into anybody.

She knew that she wasn’t seeing this Silver Lion head because Claudio was harboring negative emotions toward her. If that were the case here, then it should had been obvious when she touched his head.

“What in the world is going on? Suddenly groping my head like... that...?” Claudo grabbed Rosemarie’s hand, annoyed, started to say something and then looked down with a gasp. Claudio was ever-perceptive. He most likely noticed.

“Don’t tell me... I look like a Silver Lion to your eyes, too... right?” His voice was tense.

Rosemarie slightly rocked her shoulders upon feeling Claudio’s eyes stare right into her. That tiny gesture was enough to make Claudio drop his head, release her hand and turn his face away.

“—Don’t look at me,” he warned her in an unpleasant tone, stepping away to escape Rosemarie’s gaze. His magnificent mane swayed in the autumn breeze.

“Prince Claudio.”

“Please, don’t look at me.”

Reacting fast, Rosemarie latched onto a piece of Claudio’s clothing as he tried to get away and circled around to his front, but he was hiding his face with his arm. His lion ears kept to the back as if frightened.

Seeing Claudio—the same Claudio that wouldn’t bat an eye even if given looks of disdain or badmouthed by someone—act in such an unexpected manner was heartrending for Rosemarie.

(Is he telling me not to look because I’d be afraid of his beast head? Or is he afraid of me looking at him like others do?)

She wondered what frame of mind Claudio meant by telling her not to look at him. If it were a case of not wanting eyes of animosity to befall you because you trust a person, then Rosemarie could relate herself. And even though she did trust him, seeing his head suddenly as a beast was extremely frightening.

Rosemarie gathered all her nerve to reach out to Claudio and softly touch his mane.

“I’m sorry. I’m messing up your... hair? Or, your mane? Well, nomenclature aside, I find myself in a bind.”

“A bind?” It seemed her words caught him off-guard because Claudio removed the arm from his face and looked with eyes wide. She couldn’t quite tell from his animal features, but he was probably emoting surprise.

“Yes, a bind. Because I cannot tell you that you look pale in the face and give you a reason to rest...” Claudio would always use the fact that he couldn’t make out if he was pale in the face or not as an excuse to overwork himself.

“But now that I know that your pelt is so nice and fluffy, I find myself wanting to pet it, which is also putting me in a bind.” She reached out and tenderly stroked the same mane that she’d rustled, until Claudio grabbed her hand and brought his face to her shoulder. His whiskers pricked at her cheek a bit.

“Prince Claudio? Are you not feeling well? Oh, are you carriage-sick?”

“You’re not... afraid? My face is beastly.” His deep voice rang next to her ear, prompting her to freeze her hand that was going over to rub his back.

“No, I’m not. What I am afraid of is seeing animosity and lies turning into beastly form. I am afraid of knowing that one’s words and true feelings are mismatched. If your face remained this way, then I wouldn’t mind it, either. Because it doesn’t mean that you yourself have changed, Prince Claudio.” She didn’t know every single facet about Claudio, but she thought that she knew a decent amount. He was tough on himself and never let up the slack. Even if people were to look at him in shock and awe, he would ignore it. In fact, he would even use that to his advantage. Also, he may have a crass tongue, but he was kind at his core. His face simply changing wasn’t grounds for fear.

“—Yes, being around you makes it easier to breathe, indeed,” he uttered in relief as he leaned in and took her tight into his embrace. As she started to worry that he really might not be feeling well, she finally realized that everyone else’s eyes were concentrated on them. They were a short distance away, so they probably couldn’t overhear their conversation, but since they weren’t under shelter, everyone could get a good look at what they were doing.

The magistrate and knights scrambled to avert their eyes. It was incredibly obvious that Heidi and Fritz were trying desperately to hide the smirks on their faces. Seeing that, Rosemarie felt the embarrassment swell up from inside.

“U-Um, we should go someplace else. If you are not feeling well, then going back to the carriage would...”

“Do you dislike this?”

“I do not dislike this, no. It is just that... I think it is becoming one of those spectacles that you said yourself you are none too fond of.”

“Just for now, I don’t care even if it is a spectacle. If you don’t dislike it, then let me replenish for a little while longer.”

“If you’re replenishing mana, then we can hold hands and...”

She tried to argue against this, but the wild galloping of hooves beat on her ears, cutting Rosemarie off mid-sentence. Alto, who had been at attention next to the carriage, formed his earnest-looking features into a sharp expression and poised himself in front of Claudio. Following in his example, the other knights drew caution to the forest where the sound was resonating from.

(Something is coming!) The thicket shook violently, and storming out from the brush came a giant wild boar with a great pair of tusks. Something white was clinging to its head.

“Alto.”

“Sir!” Alto replied to Claudio’s calm call in a short and sweet manner, standing in the boar’s path as it charged toward them.

“Be careful...! Huh?!”

She was convinced that Alto was going to get sent flying; but, in the next instant, he firmly nabbed the boar’s tusks and chucked it over his shoulder. The boar slammed to the ground with a crash, and it stayed there, twitching all the while.

(Huh? What? Excuse me? You’re kidding, right?!) As Rosemarie stood there dumbfounded, her mouth agape, a jovial voice rang through the area and broke the silence.

“My, my! Nicely done!” There, giving an amused round of applause, was the moled clergyman in gaudy priest garb, Fritz. That act started a chain, which helped the others relieve their tension.

“Plucky Alto, the ever-courageous.”

“Please, it’s nothing to praise me for...”

Rosemarie still stared in a daze at Alto, who responded bashfully to Fritz’s compliments, but a small shake on the shoulders from Claudio finally snapped her back to her senses.

“S-Squire Clausen, he just... the boar...”

“Oh, you didn’t know? His full-contact combat skills far outshine his swordplay. That is why he didn’t participate in the Imperial Bout.”

“Be that as it may, I have never heard of a knight standing up to a boar and tossing it away with their bare hands...”

He himself mentioned that “he had a habit of getting riled easily in heat of battle, which makes him all thumbs, so he wouldn’t stand much of a chance.”

“I remember that one field exercise where he ran into a bear and came out relatively unscathed. He did so bare-handed then, as well.”

“Did Squire Clausen... grow up in the wild, or something of the sort?” Given Alto’s very regal and knightly appearance, it was all hard to imagine. Rosemarie pursed her lips, concerned, and Alto turned to where they stood, looking a bit happy.

“Your Highness! What shall we do with this? Feast upon it?”

“...It’s only unconscious. Return it to the forest,” Claudio ordered, almost sighing, and Alto slumped his shoulders in a somewhat disappointed fashion as his head began to transform before Rosemarie’s eyes into a deer’s head with fine horns.

(Prince Claudio cannot eat anything other than soup, so I would suppose that Squire Clausen was asking because he wanted to eat it himself... Huh? Does that mean... he ate the bear?)

Her mind started to dream up images of wild animals spread across a dinner table—which she immediately dispersed by shaking her head.

She watched as the guard knights went to grab the unconscious boar in order to return it to the forest. As they did, something white flew out of the boar’s body. Instinctively, Claudio stuck out his arms in an attempt to shield her. However, an abrupt breeze caused it to fly high into sky, as light as a tree leaf.

“Flies well,” said a monotone voice. Appearing suddenly beside Claudio was the gloomy sorcerer, Edeltraud, with a hand pointed toward the sky. That was when Rosemarie finally realized that the archmagus had used a spell to stir up a wind.

Rosemarie let loose a sigh of relief while Claudio let loose a sigh of frustration.

“What was that? More importantly, where did you go off to, Master Edel? Rosemarie’s eyes, they’ve—”

“Reconnaissance on the town. Oh.” Edeltraud answered, cutting Claudio short, but they gasped in surprise not soon after. Something plopped right onto the top of Rosemarie’s head from above.

“Huh? W-What is this?!” She shook it off in a knee-jerk reaction, and it fell limply to the ground. What had fallen had fluffy white fur and a mop-like tail that covered its back. It stretched out as if trying to unify with the ground, showing the thin membrane that stretched from its front paws to its hind legs as a silver, flower-like emblem showed itself on its tiny forehead.

“A flying squirrel...?”

“Fur is a tad on the white side, but it’s a flying squirrel, indeed. So, this is the thing that came flying out, huh? I’m guessing this was the thing that was stuck on the boar’s face? False alarm, I see... Ah, right, Master Edel, mind giving them a hand carrying that boar?”

Blanked-out, Rosemarie overlooked the annoyed-looking Claudio and the nodding Edeltraud as the pair walked over to Alto and the other knights. Instead, she picked up the unmoving squirrel.

“Don’t just go picking it up. It’ll bite you and you’ll get hurt.”

“Yes, but... I knocked it over when I shook it off me. It also got blown away by Master Edel...” As she consoled the creature by stroking its fine pelt, its belly gave a tiny growl and it slowly opened its eyes.

Before she could process that they were open, it jumped for her chest—or, to be more accurate, it jumped for the Kaola seed pendant that was sticking out under her dress. The little creature was apparently hungry.

“You can’t have this. Heidi, do we have anything for it?”

“You don’t need to give it anything. Hurry up and return it to the forest so we can be off.” A knot formed near Claudio’s muzzle in frustration as he yanked the squirrel off Rosemarie by the scruff of its neck. He walked off toward the forest carrying the squirrel as it squeaked in an attempt to threaten him. But in the midst of his steps, the squirrel thrashed violently enough to escape Claudio’s hand, run up his arm, and clamped itself tightly over his muzzle.

“—!”

“Oh, Prince Claudio!”

“Princess, I’ve got a cookie!”

In a panicked attempt to free him of the creature, Rosemarie took the cookie Heidi had run up with and held it up to the squirrel. The squirrel twitched its little nose as if wary, but it soon gave in and jumped over to Rosemarie’s arm. Freed of the tiny animal’s clutches, Claudio had a grand coughing fit, possibly because of the sudden rush of air back into his lungs.

“A-Are you okay?”

“...I thought I was going to meet my maker there for a second.” That was a fair assumption. After all, that squirrel was positively glued to his face. Despite Claudio’s beast head, it managed to get a really good grip on it.

“Let’s hurry along. Nothing good can come from keeping ourselves here.”

Rosemarie indiscreetly pondered over the doubts coming up in her mind. Claudio, frustrated, grabbed the squirrel as it focused on nibbling its cookie on Rosemarie’s arm, walked over to a tree, and set it upon a branch. After which, he immediately boarded the carriage. As Rosemarie followed Claudio into the carriage, she turned back to the tree to look for the squirrel. As she did, she caught sight of Edeltraud, who was standing motionless, facing the tree.

(Mage Edel? What are they looking at?)

They had most likely finished transporting the boar, since Rosemarie couldn’t see it anywhere. But now she saw Edeltraud just standing there, staring at the spot where Claudio had placed the squirrel.

“Rosemarie, hurry on. Master Edel, I need to speak with you, so join us.”

Rosemarie took Claudio’s hand per his instructions and boarded the carriage, albeit still concerned.

***

The carriage rocked slightly as Edeltraud sat across from Rosemarie, listening to her story. The mage then pointed their eyes toward the floor, contemplating. Claudio sat next to Rosemarie, his face still in beast form, tensing his forehead and spinning his gears in similar fashion.

It seemed that she could tell he was tensing his forehead in spite of his beast face.

Once she’d informed Edeltraud that Claudio’s face appeared as a Silver Lion even to her eyes, the sorcerer prompted her to go into detail.

“When we were inside the carriage, Prince Claudio’s face looked human. Although, I did have a bit of a bad dream...”

“Oh, right. You said something about a ‘human-faced lion’ and jumped up, now that you mention it.”

“Please don’t make fun of me.”

Claudio’s mocking tone invited a sightly dissatisfied glare from Rosemarie. Edeltraud took this opportunity to lift their head.

“Having a dream... Volland Princess, could be because of your mental condition.”

Her heart thumped.

(Don’t tell me that I’m actually thinking that Prince Claudio’s head is better off not returning to normal, right?)

After all, she was able to stay by Claudio’s side so long as it wasn’t back to normal.

However, that also meant that Claudio’s mana wouldn’t return to him and the Seed of Mana-Sealing would end up killing him. It was extremely selfish of her.

She squeezed her hand in her lap and Claudio lightly tapped it.

“Quit brooding over it. I’m not dead yet and panicking won’t help.”

She couldn’t tell his mood from his expression, but his kind and consoling voice was contributing even more to her guilt.

Claudio might well believe that Rosemarie had fallen into a rut, feeling rushed and obligated to return his mana as soon as possible.

(I said I would stop all this worrying.)

She pursed her lips and smiled at Claudio.

“Yes, I will settle myself down. I am sure this is only temporary.” That was what she decided to believe. Since the mystic arts were strange and mysterious, nothing was out of the realm of possibility. Edeltraud nodded in agreement.

“Might be the case. Either that or problem lies in this ‘Holy Land’ place. Might be other problems as well. Not enough here to base decision. Something happen right before started to see him like that?” Edeltraud conjectured. Rosemarie didn’t know if what she was about to say was somehow related, but she opened her mouth and said it anyway.

“I remembered a bit of when I was lost in the Forbidden Forest as a child. I was about to be attacked by the Silver Lion, but just as I was, Claudio came dashing up to... me... Huh?” The contradiction came to her as she said that—what she was recalling was different from what Claudio told her.

In Claudio’s account, he said that he went looking for her after she was lost in the Forbidden Forest only to find her crying at the top of a tree. Not once did he ever mention the Silver Lion.

“Was that really a memory of yours? That wasn’t... a dream?” Claudio asked with a tinge of skepticism.

“I have no idea. Maybe that is the case...” Whatever confidence Rosemarie had had in the subject drained right away. Edeltraud let out a hearty sigh.

“What they call ‘memories’ are vague things. Could be that Claudio’s memories are different, too. Might know the truth if we get memories into alignment.” The unexpected statement made Rosemarie meet eyes with Claudio.

“The truth, eh? You have a point. I was shaken up over having my mana stolen at the time, after all... It wouldn’t surprise me if I had forgotten something myself, I suppose.”

“—Um, speaking of which, Mage Edel, how is your recollection of what happened then?” Rosemarie questioned, prompting Edeltraud to cock their head slightly in thought. Despite not knowing their age, their gesture seemed rather young and immature; it didn’t give off the impression of an archmagus at all.

“Wasn’t in the Forbidden Forest at time. In a meeting with King’s aides in preparation for National Foundation Day. But, did tell Claudio that he could come in and out of guard post. By time I realized Silver Lion was astir and ran back, Claudio was collapsed outside the forest and you weren’t anywhere. Hence, don’t really know if you and Claudio met acquaintance or what happened in forest.”

“The Silver Lion astir...? Um, the Silver Lion is dead, is it not?” Their phrasing made it seem as if it were alive and well. Edeltraud paused for a second before nodding firmly.

“—It is dead. Corpse remains, turned to bones. But soul still wanders. Making sure doesn’t exit Forbidden Forest is guard’s duty.”

“Guard...” She suddenly recalled those mysterious words that Edeltraud had refused to clarify. Perhaps now that Claudio was present, they would give a proper answer.

“Um, Mage Edel, before you said, ‘Those who come near all eaten by sacred beast’s dreams. I’m the guard of the sacred beast’s dreams.’ But what does that mean?”

Edeltraud chuckled and the nearby Claudio just sighed.

“That’s just Master Edel speaking cryptically. The rumors say that the ghost of the sacred beast wanders the Forbidden Forest and that it will attack you if you approach it. Since those without mana who enter the forest actually do not come back, it cannot be cast aside as simple superstition. That is all they’re saying, minus the tomfoolery.”

“Certain people cower when ‘ghost’ is said. Just changed phrasing to soften blow,” Edeltraud nonchalantly answered, making Rosemarie go limp.

(I guess I shouldn’t take Mage Edel’s words very seriously...)

She figured that if she had the time to worry over something, she was better off coming to someone else about it.

Rosemarie took a breath to regain her composure, then nervously looked at Claudio.

“Only a guess, but could it be that the reason I have memories of being attacked by the Silver Lion is because I heard the rumor somewhere when I first came to Baltzar?”

Claudio’s whiskers twitched. His broad nose wrinkled. “Well, that is a possibility as well... But, as for me, something doesn’t feel right about the entire matter of a lone child venturing off into a forest that grim and uninviting.”

“You certainly have a point there... Though, I conjecture we’ll have a little more insight once I remember the reason.” Also, talking to the old guard in the Holy Land might give them even more of a clue toward solving this mystery.

With renewed determination, Rosemarie took a deep breath and pursed her lips.