Chapter 4: How to Crack a Difficult Heart

Chapter 4: How to Crack a Difficult Heart

Rosemarie loved gardening.

She was the type of child who, whenever she discovered a plant she’d never seen before, would wander off, sending everyone else into a panic.

She always found it mysterious how the seeds sown by her own hands turned into such beautiful flowers. Also mysterious was the fact that these fruitful things would always return to the seeds from whence they came.

Ever since she started seeing human heads as beast heads, her interest grew stronger.

Even when she inevitably went out in public and was scared out of her wits, she would come back to the imperial villa where her ever-silent flower friends would greet and console her.

That was why she paid such respect to the tools she would use to raise said flowers. When she was done using them, she would polish them clean; if they were to break, she would have them repaired. Multi-functional and capable, her tools were extremely reliable.

And, among them, it was her bucket that would help protect her.

She wouldn’t see anything once she put it over her head. Even if someone were watching her, she couldn’t see them, meaning she could go out without fear. The bucket also blocked sound, so she could go out without hearing anything she didn’t want to hear.

The darkness, coupled with the feeling of enclosure where she could only see people by their feet, gave her a sense of relief unlike anything else.

At least, that’s how it was until a few days ago.

“Princess, perhaps it’s about time to do away with the bucket? At this rate it will fuse to your hand,” Heidi said to soothe Rosemarie. But she held down the edges of her bucket headdress with both hands and shook her head in response.

In the corner of her bedroom, and huddled underneath her vanity, Rosemarie had been keeping up her defense since this morning.

Five days had passed since the congratulatory banquet. She had been scared so badly, she’d collapsed pathetically at the banquet. But when she came to and thought things over rationally, she began to feel she may have been too harsh on Claudio.

(Saying that I would have preferred the beast head, saying he didn’t understand my feelings... He isn’t the only one who doesn’t understand... I don’t want to see him...)

He was most certainly furious at her, without a shadow of a doubt. Filled with self-loathing, Rosemarie cooped herself up in her room and put her bucket over her head. But it didn’t put her at ease.

“You have an apology present from His Highness here. Admittedly, I’m rather disappointed and curious as to why His Highness himself hasn’t graced us with his presence,” Heidi said from beside Rosemarie, her tone highly displeased. Of course, her head had turned into a black cat per usual.

Rosemarie would receive gifts of dresses and jewels—things that would make a normal girl jump for joy—along with a message card with an apology written on it almost every day from Claudio, but none of that was enough to move her heart.

(I don’t want to leave, but I have to leave... I have to apologize to the prince.)

She thought to herself, but no matter what she tried, her body wouldn’t listen to her. Rosemarie clutched her knees and squeezed them tight.

“Today’s gift is Kaola. I was told it arrived from Volland just this morning. It came with letters from your family.”

“Kaola and letters...?” The word “letters” made Rosemarie perk her head up. Upon hearing that she received letters from her family, all of whom had hurried home after the wedding for fear of leaving the country’s borders open for too long, she felt her emotions resurface.

“Yes, letters. They were, well... brought early this morning by Imperial Guard Vice Captain, Squire Clausen. I was told that His Highness used a spell to send away for it, and it was written last night—freshly written and hot off the oven!”

“Hot off the oven...?” She had the feeling that wasn’t the right expression to use when dealing with a letter, but as she tried to reach out and take the letter, her hand was caught in Heidi’s grasp.

“Ah-ha, so, you’d like to read them, wouldn’t you? You’d reeeally like to read them, wouldn’t you? Well, you can’t do much reading if you keep that bucket on your head, you know. So, come now, out of there and off with the bucket!” Heidi pulled on Rosemarie’s hand, dragging her out from underneath the vanity. Rosemarie slowly pulled off the bucket to find Heidi standing there holding out the handful of letters with a broad smile across her face.

“And while you read those, I will brew you up some Kaola tea.” Pressing the mail Heidi handed to her against her chest with great care, Rosemarie could make out the aroma of brewing Kaola wafting through the air.

While a part of her felt that she should hold off and save the letters for later, Rosemarie sat on her bed and carefully proceeded to read through them.

They started off with well-wishes, but the majority written was about Volland. Written down were her parents’ and her sisters’ everyday occurrences and the status of the garden of the villa where Rosemarie used to reside.

She felt so homesick by the end of reading them that she wanted to cry. That was when, as if calculated, Heidi presented her with the sweet and piping hot cup of Kaola tea.

“Has that calmed you down any?”

“...Yes, but, now I have the desire to go back to Volland... I want to run off to the villa...”

“Shall we see our way back home? Both parties are sure to be surprised.” As Rosemarie saw Heidi come closer, clenching her fists playfully, she wiped her tear-stained eyes as a small smile started to form on her lips. With the cup in hand, Rosemarie gazed at the tea’s brown surface and asked, “...The prince sent away for this letter via a spell?”

“It would seem like it. Since you almost never go outside, princess, he must have been at his wits’ end and fell back on your parents.” It seemed that her anger had decreased, but the pair of black cat ears that popped onto Heidi’s head spooked Rosemarie and caused her shoulders to jump.

“Oh, dear. My apologies. I will be back after I calm myself down a tad.” Assuming from Rosemarie’s reaction that she must look like a beast, Heidi smiled wryly and exited the bedroom.

Rosemarie grasped the cup as she sat all alone in the room.

(But the prince can’t even use magic.)

Her guess was that Claudio went to the trouble of asking that melancholy hooded sorcerer, Edeltraud, and sent away for the letters. Which meant he’d asked for Rosemarie’s family’s cooperation for the sake of her and her shut-in ways. Or, perhaps Claudio himself didn’t commission it, but one of his aides had the sense and made the call.

“I think his condition should be worsening again around now, but...” The thought of Edeltraud reminded her: if that sorcerer’s statements were correct, then each day Claudio spent without Rosemarie by his side saw his condition worsening. He probably hadn’t been getting any sleep, either. However, he hadn’t come to forcefully drag her out at all.

She wasn’t sure what to think of this—was he being angry and holding his ground? Had he abandoned her? He’d sent away for letters in the midst of all this, which only added to her confusion.

Nevertheless, Rosemarie had finally parted with her bucket and stepped out of her bedroom on the next day—and on that day, and even the day after that, she continued to receive letters from her family.

***

“With all due respect, Your Highness. I have suggested this several times, but perhaps it is about time that you deliver the letters to Her Highness personally?” Alto asked from behind Claudio. He took the new letter from Volland from the white hawk perched in the open window of the royal office. The question made Claudio tighten his brows.

‘He is right. You can use me, but if this things keep up like this, the Volland princess will never come out. You won’t be able to test many ways to return your mana to normal. Claudio, you’re being spineless.’

“...Master Edel, I’m going to have the chef fricassee your familiar.” Claudio glared at the talking white hawk, Edeltraud’s familiar. The hawk jumped hurriedly from the windowsill and crumbled out of existence like melting snow.

“This is Mage Edeltraud’s suggestion as well. I have been told that Her Highness has come out from being cooped up in her bedroom to receive the letters. So I believe that you meeting her face-to-face is in order...”

“I’m busy. You deliver it for me.” Flat out denying the suggestion, Claudio pushed the letter over to Alto. On any other day, Alto would have left the room on that. Today, though, he did not take his leave.

“Each time I go to deliver these, I end up receiving some rather biting questions from Her Highness’s maid. Such as, ‘Does His Highness really intend on apologizing?’”

“I do, which is why I’m having letters from her family in Volland being delivered every day. —If that is how this is being perceived, then delivering these is a waste of time. You have training scheduled now, don’t you? I’m sorry for the constant source of trouble.”

Alto threw the letter on the desk in frustration. While he still had it in him to argue his point, he simply lowered his eyebrows, saluted, and left the office.

The room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Claudio sat in his chair and breathed a sigh in grand fashion.

How many days had it been since Rosemarie stopped coming out of her room? He hadn’t been able to sleep, and it was hard to breathe. His health was going downhill. Things had been going well for a while, which made the strain on his body feel especially bad.

(Yeah, I sure am busy, all right. I just don’t want to meet her face-to-face. I’m the pathetic one here.)

He was the one who had abandoned her on the day of the Imperial Bout, shaking her hand away in rage as she held on for support. Now that he was thinking with a level head, it didn’t matter how much of a grudge he had. What he did, he realized now, was inexcusable.

The image of Rosemarie’s face frozen in despair flickered in his mind; meeting her eyes was awkward.

He leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling with a hand over one eye, propping his feet on his desk in a flagrant display of poor manners. His throbbing headache was beating against the back of his eyes. Under his hand, he felt a detestable pelt of soft, smooth fur.

—I can see your face as human. You also have the proper texture of human skin. Prince, you are no beast.

Her straightforward and concerned gaze and words caused him to feel a small iota of joy, and it was giving him very mixed feelings. In an outburst of anger, he ended up replying to her by saying that he wasn’t asking for an apology and whatnot.

And when he thought back, he realized Rosemarie asked about his condition at every single opportunity.

(She did the same at the evening gala for selecting my bride.)

Even though she didn’t have the best complexion in the world herself, she had only been concerned about Claudio. The only girl who had ever shown concern for him, and did so while neither averting her eyes nor being afraid, was Rosemarie.

(Speaking of not averting her eyes... She acted odd after I talked to her about her role in the Imperial Bout...)

She was afraid to participate in the Imperial Bout at first, but she suddenly found the motivation to take up the role for whatever reason. However, in a rare occasion, she did so without looking at Claudio, which is why he remembered. Perhaps he had said something that stimulated a change in her mindset. He had been so fed up with Rosemarie and her scaredy-cat ways that he couldn’t even remember what he’d said, but the moment stuck in the corner of his mind.

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

He lifted himself up with a gasp. The momentum caused the chair he had been leaning in to slide, and he toppled over to the floor.

“...Blast it all.” Claudio clasped a hand over the spot on his head where it had hit the floor. As if cued by the sound of the chair toppling over, the knight on duty outside the door rushed in.

“Did something happen, sir?!”

“It was nothing. Just tried to pick up a document off the floor and ended up tripping.” Claudio stood up, picking up the documents that just so happened to be on the floor in front of him, playing things off as if nothing transpired. As soon as the relieved knight disappeared past the door, Claudio sat back down in his repositioned chair, ignored the throbbing spot on the back of his head, and leaned his entire arm against the desk to prop up his forehead with his hand.

“I’m a real idiot...” He had snapped when she told him that she would have preferred having a beast head instead. There was no way that she would have understood the hardships that came from that. There was no way he could find joy in hearing someone say they envied that. The same presumably went for Rosemarie. No matter how fainthearted she was, it was natural that she would have been angry.

He dropped his gaze down to the letter he sent for from Volland.

Stroking his face to iron out the tense wrinkles in his forehead, he picked up the letter.

“—Suppose I’ll deliver it later,” Claudio murmured to himself, as if he had made up his mind. He carefully put the white envelope away in his breast pocket and resumed his work.

***

“Is that true?” From within the small, isolated confessional in the palace’s chapel, Archbishop Kastner responded to the court lady sitting across from him, a joyful expression on his face.

“Yes, His Highness has been flying a bird toward Volland every day as of late, but it is a familiar spirit of the Archmagus.”

“And you’re certain of that?”

“Yes, it is seldom used, but I have seen them bring it along in the past. That white hawk belongs to Archmagus Edeltraud,” the court lady declared, and Kastner couldn’t contain the smile on his face.

A sorcerer’s familiar spirit would never take form with someone else. That was why, unless what the court lady was saying was incorrect, the white hawk was not being tamed by Claudio.

It was understandable if the familiar was going back and forth between Claudio and Edeltraud, but the destination in question was Volland. Not only that, but with it being a daily event, it made him wonder why Claudio didn’t just use his own familiar.

It would have been impossible that Prince Claudio, the greatest sorcerer in all of Baltzar, didn’t have a familiar spirit of his own. One could easily create a familiar if they had the mana to do so. However, Kastner had realized all too late that he had not seen Claudio do that even once.

“There might be some sort of issue with Prince Claudio’s mana.” The ever-fastidious Claudio had finally shown a chink in his proverbial armor after all this time. A little investigation into this matter could produce some intriguing results.

As a condition to accede the throne of this country, one is required to have mana of the highest caliber. While it apparently had relevance to the Forbidden Forest, he was convinced that it was nothing to really pay any mind.

Word had it that, unlike his son’s, King Baltzar’s mana was quite insignificant.

In this country that was teeming with sorcerers, the state church held little clout. While they didn’t undermine the church, it had made for some bitter experiences on countless occasions. Men of the mystic robe and men of the holy cloth don’t see eye to eye. Their conflicting ideologies were a common topic, not just in Baltzar, but everywhere.

That was the very reason Kastner was trying to kick that threatening upstart Claudio out of his princely position and develop a candidate for crown price that was backed by the church.

“After all, being under the rule of a disfigured king is quite unbearable.” Claudio may have been called the second coming of the sacred beast and regarded in awe, but there was no shortage of people who despised him. Just like the court lady nodding deeply right before Kastner’s eyes.

Kastner had a feeling that delving into this new intelligence would prove to be in his favor, and his lips slowly curled into a smile.

***

The envelope that Claudio shoved at Rosemarie made her blink in shock and disbelief.

“Hurry up and take it. If you don’t want it, I’ll dispose of it,” Claudio asserted with a blunt yet peevish expression, upon which she rushed to take the letter from his hand.

Claudio’s sudden visit to Rosemarie’s lounge had happened just as the sun was setting, and just as she was starting to fear she hadn’t received a letter from Volland that day.

“Thank you very much!” Rosemarie smiled broadly, giddy and overjoyed that Claudio had hand-delivered the letter she was convinced she wouldn’t be getting. At that, Claudio frowned and quickly averted his eyes. His complexion was a little worse than she had thought.

“Well, look who’s full of cheer. I went through all the trouble of sending for letters out of concern for you, but it seems that wasn’t necessary. Do you find hassling me that enjoyable?”

“That isn’t what I...” Her shoulders slumped at Claudio’s sharp remarks and, upon seeing his expression in profile, she held her tongue.

(He isn’t angry, is he? He sort of looks troubled, actually...)

It might have been apt to say his expression looked uncomfortable.

She stared at Claudio intently, unable to gauge his emotions. As she did, Claudio finally turned her way, furrowing his brow in a manner that seemed just on the edge of sullen. Her eyes darted around the room.

“... So, err, yes...” Claudio opened and closed his mouth over and over, as though giving up on something mid-thought. In the end, he said nothing and turned his back on her. Realizing that he was about to leave, Rosemarie instinctively grabbed his sleeve.

“Um, Prince, I...” She needed to apologize. That genuine desire drove her to open her mouth, but the words wouldn’t come out. She wanted to apologize but, rather frustratingly, found she couldn’t. Maybe Claudio was feeling the same way a moment ago?

“If you have the energy to rejoice over this letter, then maybe it’s time for you to come out of here. —It’s your fault I’m doing so poorly,” Claudio asserted in a monotone, shaking off Rosemarie’s hand and exiting the room. Once he exited, Rosemarie was robbed of her energy in one fell swoop and sank limply into the cushion of the sofa.

“Are you all right, princess?”

“...Yes, I was just a little nervous.” Heidi came to Rosemarie’s side from her post in the corner of the room and began stroking her shoulders to console her. This gave her the incentive to reply.

“Nevertheless, it seems he didn’t apologize after all. Admittedly, he seemed like he was going to, at least.” Heidi sighed in disappointment, a hand on her cheek, as Rosemarie’s gaze fell on the letter Claudio had brought her.

Between him personally delivering the letter he’d sent for from Volland, his high-handed threat to “dispose of it,” and his apparent desire to apologize, Claudio was hard to figure out.

(Do I want him to apologize?)

She didn’t feel like that was the case. After all, she had said plenty of rude things to Claudio herself.

She should have been happy that he came to deliver the letter, but the fact that he brought it killed her motivation to read it right away. Instead, she stared at it closely. Then there was a knock at the door. Heidi answered it in trained fashion.

“Oh, my, Squire Clausen. If you’re looking for His Highness, he has already made his return.”

On the other side of the open door stood Alto, Claudio’s ever-trustworthy aide.

“Oh, His Highness was here?”

“Yes, he came to deliver the letter,” Heidi replied dubiously to Alto, who seemed to be shocked. He lowered his eyes in contemplation, then gave his thanks and departed. However, Rosemarie sensed something out of place with the knight and hailed him down.

“Wait a moment, please, Squire Clausen. You didn’t know that the prince was making a visit here?” She had assumed that Claudio had told him that he was bringing the letter himself today.

“... That is correct, milady. I was unaware.”

“If so, why did you make your way here, Squire Clausen?”

“Well...” Alto was being oddly inarticulate, but Rosemarie waited for what he had to say without rushing him, which led to him confessing in resignation.

“I have been suggesting to His Highness that he deliver the letters to you personally for the past few days now, but he would refuse the suggestion every single time. I have been delivering them in his stead. However, today I was more persistent in holding my ground, which ended up making His Highness quite upset. I couldn’t make His Highness entrust the letter to me. And I would have felt awful if you never received the letter you had been so eagerly awaiting because of me. So, I’d actually come to check on the situation and apologize.” Rosemarie saw Alto lower his shoulders, crestfallen, leaving her to simply stare at the floor wordlessly.

(So, the prince didn’t come and deliver this letter of his own accord... And here I was so happy, too.)

However, the only one in the room who wasn’t remaining silent was Heidi.

“Then, are you saying that his attempts at apologizing were because he was told by someone else?! I’m sorry if this comes across as rude, but His Highness is a little pathe—”

Interrupting Heidi, whose revealed anger manifested as turning her head into a black cat, Rosemarie looked at Alto. Despite her harsh words about Claudio, though, he didn’t seem displeased. The knight’s face remained human and he simply smiled bitterly.

“The good maid’s anger is not unreasonable. However, I am sure that he realizes that he has done a horrible thing to you, Your Highness. It may just be that His Highness is so overwrought about the fact that you stole his mana that he cannot find it in himself to apologize easily. I believe I have made mention before as well, but His Highness does not normally act in such a way.”

“—Yes... I believe you. All of his retainers worship him, after all...” Rosemarie slowly lowered her gaze, not convinced.

“Your Highness, may I have a small word with you?” Alto asked, sounding hopeful for a response in the positive, so Rosemarie nodded silently.

“Because of His Highness’s appearance, he must be stronger than and far superior to anyone else. Otherwise, he might have the rug pulled from under him and even lose his life if he makes the wrong decision. He must work more than the average man.” Alto mournfully knitted his brow. Rosemarie hung her head, feeling cornered. While Alto may not have intended to criticize her, there was a subservient side of her that took his words that way. She hated it.

“His Highness is normally extremely on guard. His rash remarks may have been a case of him being comfortable with you, considering you’re aware of the breadth of the situation. However, he is a kind individual at heart.” As Rosemarie listened to what Alto said, her final delirious vision of Claudio in his youth crossed her mind.

(I wonder if that was a memory from when he saved me while I was lost in the Forbidden Forest...)

Assuming that it really happened, that would have meant that he came searching for a child he didn’t even know, but she couldn’t really trust her own memory.

He was so cruel when she was taken to his office, and he was usually so curt and scowled at her when they weren’t in public.

Rosemarie clenched her hands into tight fists, determined.

“Um, Squire Clausen, I have a request. —Would you mind telling me the prince’s schedule for tomorrow?”

“No, I would not mind, but... might you be planning to pay him a visit?”

“Oh, no... Um, not exactly. It’s more like observation from afar.”

Alto’s eyes widened in shock. Heidi stood with her mouth agape in bewilderment. The two of them fixed their eyes upon Rosemarie. Their gazes being too much to handle, she held her face down.

“I would like to see the prince as he normally is. He is always so ill-tempered when he is around me, you see...” If she watched from afar, there was a chance she would get a good glimpse into what kind of individual Claudio really was. Even if his decision today was at the advice of another, the one who decided to bring the letter to her personally was Claudio. Which meant that, this time, it was her turn to take action.

“If that is the case, I shall gladly make arrangements for you!” Alto shouted in complete shock, a broad smile on his face. Rosemarie pulled back from his overly enthusiastic display, but nearby Heidi gave her a little pat on the shoulders.

“Princess, I am very pleased that you have your mind set on going outside, of course, but... What does he mean by ‘you stole his mana’?”

“Oh...” Rosemarie looked at Heidi with her sweet smile as she slowly transformed into a black cat, noticing that her trusted maid had absolutely no idea about the matters surrounding Claudio. She then tried to piece together an explanation while going pale in the face.

***

The sky seemed ready to burst into a downpour at any minute as Rosemarie looked up at it, clenching her hands as they shivered with nervousness.

“Claudio on the move. Let’s go.” Edeltraud, who had been watching the main street hidden in the shadows of a building, gave a wave of their hand as a signal to come over.

As Rosemarie followed the gloomy mage in the familiar hood, her feet unsteady as she went, she held her chest and let out a sigh. She was dressed in a white blouse and a blue skirt that she borrowed from Heidi—the same Heidi that she explained everything to with some help from Alto yesterday. And, as expected, through her black cat’s mouth, she asked, “May I go and wring His Highness’s royal neck?”

(Why am I here in the city...? If I go by what we discussed yesterday, I should have been watching the prince conducting his Imperial Guard training from afar, shouldn’t I?)

Since she wasn’t able to observe Claudio from afar while he was in his office, the plan was to watch him in secret while he did his Imperial Guard training, but that ended up shifting gears to patrolling the city behind the castle walls.

That being the case, Edeltraud took her down there, also acting as her bodyguard, per Alto’s request. But, to be frank, Rosemarie didn’t have the best impression of the sorcerer after the whole fiasco with them trapping and carting her around in that glass orb.

(He really doesn’t seem to notice us, but... Ironic I have a spell cast over me despite having a trait that absorbs mana.)

When they left the castle, Edeltraud had cast a camouflage spell over her. It was apparently something where people would know she was around, but they wouldn’t pay her any mind.

Walking through the streets was something she had never done before—not even in Volland. She figured that she would be too afraid to even walk around, but knowing that she wasn’t being noticed put her mind at ease.

She followed Edeltraud as they walked through the considerably populated street, making sure not to lose sight of them. Considering that she was a sponge for mana, she would have to ask them to hold her hand so that she wouldn’t get lost—something which she couldn’t find it in herself to do. Instead, she followed close behind like her life depended on it.

“See over there?” The sorcerer suddenly stopped in their tracks and pointed. Looking over to where their finger guided, she saw several tents pitched in the square on the other side of the main street. The Imperial Guards, all clad in black uniforms, were walking there as a unit.

“What are those tents about?”

“You don’t know about the marketplace?”

She shook her head at Edeltraud, who was genuinely perplexed. While she had heard stories of a place that sold various foodstuffs and everyday accessories, she had naturally never seen one in person.

“Feel up to going?” Edeltraud asked Rosemarie in a tone that was considerate, yet still emotionless. Even looking at the crowded marketplace from a distance, she caught glimpses of people with beast heads.

“—I will go,” she replied raspily, forcing the words out from a throat bone-dry with fear. Edeltraud gave her a simple nod of their head.

“Okay, got it. Hold the ends of my clothes, then.” Maybe this was Edeltraud’s way of showing good intentions. Still feeling guilty for considering them an eerie individual, she held tightly to the ends of the sorcerer’s robe.

“You, sir, over there! Got some quality goods here, quality goods! If y’don’t buy now, yer missin’ out!”

“If you buy three, I’ll knock down the price for ya, ma’am.”

“Why not take this home to the spouse? The fabric’s from across the border in Rivera.”

Rosemarie set her resolve and rushed into the marketplace crowd. Voices passed by her ears one after the other, and although it was dizzying, her eyes widened over the wide array of unique items for sale.

There were black fruits and beautiful rainbow-colored fabrics that she had never seen before. There were even shops that sold birds in a plethora of colors. However, out of all the people and shop owners gathered there, there were mysteriously not that many of them that had beast heads, despite it being far more crowded than the evening gala at the royal palace.

“Why don’t they have beast heads...?”

“Animosity, when you come someplace this fun, gets forgotten. Anyway, look.” After receiving a reply to her whispered question, Rosemarie looked where Edeltraud directed. There, in a slightly open area of the square, the Imperial Guards were all amassed with Claudio at the front.

“Claudio sometimes come out to the masses. So he doesn’t scare them. Necessary action.”

“So, that is the reason why they are going on patrol even though they are the Imperial Guard...” Upon closer inspection, she saw some people who didn’t hesitate to approach Claudio, while others looked at him timidly en masse from afar. The latter group contained mostly beast heads.

“My stars, he really does have a lion’s head.”

“Is that the crown prince? How fearsome.”

“That is the curse of the sacred beast, isn’t it?”

She overheard a woman talking with a few other people, mostly about Claudio’s appearance. Since Claudio’s head didn’t register as a lion’s to Rosemarie’s eyes, she had almost forgotten that fact. But the clamor around her quickly reminded her.

It was one of the few times she felt hate, not fear, for the people with beast heads.

(If I hadn’t stolen his mana, people wouldn’t even have to hate him, nor would he have to do so much extra work for no reason.)

In the midst of Rosemarie’s fit of self-deprecation, a group of kids came running up to Claudio as he engaged in smiling conversation with those who approached him.

“Prince Claudio, your whiskers look so amazing!”

“Amazing? I am happy to hear that.”

“So pretty! Soft and fluffy, too. Can I touch?”

“Yes, go ahead. Can you reach?”

Upon seeing Claudio bending down to entertain the unknown child’s wishes, the heads of several of the people watching from afar reverted back to human form by ones and twos.

“Their heads are reverting back...”

“Are they? Then, no doubt about it. Claudio been constantly on patrol ever since head turned into lion. Been making people well aware of his appearance.”

Rosemarie tightened her fist as she heard Edeltraud’s soft, affectionate voice by her side.

Just as Alto had said, Claudio was strong, both mentally and physically. Anyone else would have lost the desire to see others if their head was disfigured, knowing they would be feared or shunned as strange. However, he didn’t settle for that. He accepted the way he looked and considered his options on how to remove that sense of disgust.

(And for me?)

Rosemarie had rejected everything in fear, keeping herself cooped up in the villa so she could neither see nor hear anything. All without once considering how she could improve the situation.

It was no small wonder why Claudio was so upset at her.

She felt something cold hit her forehead out of nowhere. Without even needing to come back to reality and look up, she saw rain come trickling down from the lead-gray sky. The shoppers that had been enjoying their experience in the marketplace all started running in panic.

“Let’s go back.” Edeltraud lightly tugged at the robe that Rosemarie had gripped in her hands.

“Right, back to the—” Rosemarie said and nodded, but cut off her sentence partway. Sure enough, she had caught sight of Claudio and his men in the midst of making their way through the now pouring rain. The people that had gathered around started to part ways in search of shelter from the rain. One person, however, with a gray dog head, went against the crowd and made a fierce dash toward Claudio. In his hands, with a cold, sharp glint—was a sword.

“Prince!” Rosemarie shouted, and Claudio turned around at about the same time. The gray dog-headed person charged forward with intent to stab. —That was when a strong wind gusted from next to Rosemarie.

“...?!” Rosemarie had closed her eyes in reaction to the wind, but when it finally died down and she opened them, she saw the dog-headed man being held and subdued by Claudio.

“Mm-hmm, have to stay on guard, after all.” Hearing the emotionless voice by her side, Rosemarie looked at the sorcerer, puzzled.

“That wind, was... that, by any chance, a spell you cast?”

“Just a little. Oh, got found out.” While Edeltraud’s voice didn’t have a trace of panic, Rosemarie coiled herself up in fear. She looked toward Claudio timidly and the color faded from her face. Claudio left the assailant to Alto and the other Imperial Guards, and strode over to Rosemarie and Edeltraud with long steps.

“Master Edel, I see that you followed me today.”

“Yes. Had a bad feeling.”

Rosemarie poked her head out from behind Edeltraud, whom she’d chosen as a hiding place at the last second. Since she still had the camouflage spell cast upon her, she knew that he didn’t know that she was there, but it still stressed her out regardless.

She locked eyes with Claudio, who looked surprised. Her heart skipped a beat, but Edeltraud stepped in quickly.

“Something wrong? See someone you know?”

“—No, seems that it was just my imagination.” He slightly paused before his response.

(Did we meet eyes? I don’t think that should be possible, but...)

Trying to contain the area around her palpitating heart, Rosemarie was left wondering on the inside.

“Looks like heavy rain is in store. You should get back home,” was all that Claudio said before quickly turning his back to the two and returning to the group of Imperial Guards.

“Let’s go.” Edeltraud started to walk and Rosemarie followed in suit. She clapped a hand over her chest, attempting to calm her heart after slipping past Claudio’s notice.

By the time they made it off the streets, the rainfall had gotten into full swing. Once they loaded themselves into the carriage that Alto had arranged for them, it quickly took off. In the driver’s seat was perched Edeltraud’s white hawk familiar. Rosemarie hadn’t believed it when she heard the familiar would be driving the carriage, so she was in for a perplexing surprise when the vehicle actually started moving.

The sounds of upturned soil and rainwater hitting the carriage reverberated within the cramped enclosure. Edeltraud sat across from Rosemarie with their head leaning on the window, not budging an inch.

“Um, that ruffian from before, was he...”

“That always happens. Claudio has many allies, many enemies. Not a big deal, I assure you.” The specifics were sort of muddled via Edeltraud’s explanation, but the point was probably that he couldn’t keep his guard down.

“Anyway, Claudio, how was he?”

“—He seemed in bad shape.” She couldn’t have been sure without a closer look, but he would give an occasional grimace of pain. Even from a distance, she could tell his complexion was poor, which meant he was likely in bad health.

She knew that wasn’t what Edeltraud was asking, but it was all she was able to give by way of a response. There were too many things for her to think about, and she wasn’t doing a good job at organizing them.

“Just as figured. Claudio hates showing vulnerable side. Doesn’t really like showing his retainers, either.” A sigh spilled out of the sorcerer’s mouth.

(Ah-ha, so that just might be why he has been extra hard on me...)

After all, having someone worry or show care for you meant showing your vulnerabilities.

If she hadn’t traveled outside and checked in on Claudio’s condition, she wouldn’t have known that—she wouldn’t have even known that he was going through all this effort in the first place.

At the same time, trying to get Claudio to understand her, the reclusive scaredy-cat who didn’t speak her mind, seemed like a lost cause. Of course she couldn’t get him to understand her. Claudio hadn’t been around her since childhood like Heidi or her family, after all.

(Once I get back, I need to offer a proper apology. Even if he doesn’t accept it.)

She squeezed her hands tightly in her lap.

“But you are Claudio’s lover. Sure you can make it—”

Suddenly, the carriage shook violently. Edeltraud promptly took Rosemarie into their arms as she almost rolled out of her seat.

The frame of the carriage leaned and went on a slant with a clunk, leading to a noisy crash and eventual silence.

“What just...” Rosemarie got up to find Edeltraud, who had helped shield her from the impact, and saw their arm lying limp on the floor. Maybe they took a blow to the head, but they were completely unconscious.

“Mage Edeltraud!” She knew that she probably shouldn’t be shaking them, but she gave them a light shake anyway and she was met with a low groan. Upon hearing that, she breathed a sigh of relief. As she tried to get up and survey the situation outside through the cracked window, the sorcerer grabbed her by the arm.

“No. Don’t leave.”

“Huh?” The moment she questioned the instruction, the sounds of footsteps on the muddy road could be heard outside the carriage. She gasped audibly, proceeding to slide the still-downed Edeltraud across the floor to hide them.

A person’s face poked through the cracked window. They were backlit, so she couldn’t make out any features, but she could tell it was a large person.

“Ain’t nobody inside. Guess we were off-target. Figured that we’d get a nice haul with a carriage goin’ to the castle, but guess not.”

“If the driver ain’t there, issit a sorcerer’s carriage? Man oh man, whatta waste.”

There was a group of men chatting among each other. Judging from what they were talking about, it was safe to assume they were bandits.

(It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m under that camouflage spell, so they won’t notice me.)

She clasped her shivering hands together and prayed that they wouldn’t find the two of them. It begged the question—why was it that her very first excursion outside ended up being such a huge disaster? It was just as she suspected. If Edeltraud was involved, no good was to follow.

Eventually, it seemed her prayers were answered. After the men wandered around the perimeter of the carriage for a bit, they left the area, taking only the horse.

“—They’re gone. We’re safe now.”

The presences of the men receded. Rosemarie went to give Edeltraud some help as they got back to their feet, but quickly jerked their hand back.

“Oh, um, will your mana be okay? I didn’t steal any when you shielded me from the fall, did I...?”

“It’s fine. Mm-hmm, now I see. —Congratulations.”

“Excuse me?”

After opening and closing their own hand, Edeltraud extended a congratulatory word for some odd reason. Edeltraud’s gloved hand grabbed Rosemarie’s hand, making the girl go instantly pale. Had the sorcerer hit their head that hard?

“Unless skin makes direct contact, mana remains unstolen. Coincidental discovery, but incredible one.” Their face went hidden as usual in spite of them moving around so much, but it was clear that they were in high spirits. She knew what this meant. They were probably the type that couldn’t care less about anything else when spells and magic were the subjects at hand.

“If we knew what circumstances were when you stole from Claudio... Yeah, could work. Then again, that...” Edeltraud murmured to themself as Rosemarie slumped her shoulders. Continuing to wallow in her own crippling fear wasn’t going to get her anywhere.

“Um, Mage Edeltraud?”

“Edel will do. Name too long, too tiring.”

“Okay, Mage... Edel? Are you sure you aren’t injured? Will you be able to make it to the castle on foot?” She wasn’t sure where they actually were, but they passed by the woods on their way from the castle to the town near the castle. If those bandits were hiding anywhere, those woods were the most likely spot. Still, though, it was perplexing as to why bandits would crop up near the castle.

“Back on foot? Why? Claudio will pass here soon. Sure of that. Make any unwise moves and run into lot from earlier, bound for trouble.”

“Yes, but if the prince doesn’t notice us like those people from earlier...” Edeltraud cocked their head in confusion, filling Rosemarie with uneasiness as she started to trail off.

“Don’t worry. Claudio been able to see you. Probably because of you having Claudio’s mana. Reason why no need to worry. He will notice you.”

“...Huh?” Earlier, she had thought they met eyes. Was Edeltraud basically saying that she had been right all along? If that were the case, why didn’t Claudio question her right there on the spot? Nevertheless, that feeling of impatience that those doubts were stirring up made Rosemarie draw closer to Edeltraud.

“That is even more reason for us to get back. He will surely scold me!” If Claudio found out that she took initiative to go out and trail him just to end up getting raided by bandits, it would unquestionably fuel his anger that much more.

But there was no convincing Edeltraud; the sorcerer brushed the whole thing off, saying it would be “okay.” So Rosemarie could do nothing save feel at a loss as she sat inside the slanted, rain-pelted carriage.

***

Footsteps filled with anger echoed throughout the polished corridor of the royal castle. Claudio wasn’t running, but his steps were by no means slow. He was heading toward a certain room at that particular pace.

“Your Highness, please wait! This is not Her Highness’s fault. All of us instigated her to do so.” A nervous-looking Alto caught up to Claudio from behind, but the prince maintained his pace nonetheless.

(Instigated? Agreeing is agreeing, nonetheless.)

He was flabbergasted upon spotting Rosemarie behind Edeltraud in the middle of the streets. And welling up at the same time was another emotion: anger. He gave himself credit for quickly discerning that condemning her in the middle of the street would have caused a scene, however.

After sending Rosemarie and Edeltraud back to the castle and leaving the assailant in the custody of the knights on patrol, he talked to Alto on the way back to the castle. Alto finally confessed to conspiring with Rosemarie, bringing her out into the city so she could observe Claudio.

Needless to say, that got under his skin.

When he arrived at Rosemarie’s room, he spotted her maid pacing to and fro in front of the door in an uncomposed manner. Heidi noticed Claudio and ran up to him with a frantic expression.

“Your Highness! Squire Clausen! Is the princess not with you?!”

“What do you mean?” he asked back to Heidi in a low tone, the look on his face changing.

“The Princess hasn’t come back. It is raining outside and already getting dark...”

Claudio’s eyes widened in shock.

If he’d encountered Rosemarie, he intended to tell her to ask him anything she might want to know directly, rather than being underhanded and watching stealthily from the shadows.

However, Rosemarie was not here. Her usual gaze of concern over him was nowhere to be seen.

An uneasy sweat dotted his brow. His throat immediately went dry and, despite not having exerted himself, his heart was beating like crazy.

(What is this? Am I feeling a sense of uneasiness? This is the girl who stole my mana we’re talking about here.)

He tried to squeeze his fists to calm himself down, but it did just the opposite, heightening his impatience instead.

(Wait a second. I haven’t apologized yet.)

If he’d known this was going to happen, he would have just apologized right away when he came by to deliver that letter.

Had he just done that, he wouldn’t have to cope with all this guilt, or loss, or whatever it was he was experiencing.

“Your Highness?” Alto asked curiously. Claudio realized that he had stopped talking and snapped back to his senses.

“She should be with Master Edel. No need to worry like that. Just in case, I will go and search the area. Wait here in her room in the meantime and stay calm.” He watched as Heidi nodded her head over and over, on the verge of tears. Then he turned away from her.

He returned the way he came, the thought of a crash slowing their return down running through his mind.

(This is odd. It’s a straight path from the city back to here. Timewise, it’d be unlikely that we’d miss running into one another. Did something happen?)

He assured Heidi that she had no reason to worry so long as Rosemarie was with Edeltraud. But if anything, her being with Edeltraud and this happening anyway made him feel the gravity of the situation.

“Your Highness, we shall go in search. You need your rest...”

“I don’t want to make matters worse. You alone accompanying me should suffice.”

“But sir, you have a military assembly dinner scheduled after this.”

“It’s mostly going to be a bunch of trite bragging about their military exploits, anyway. Tell them I’ll be late.” He hadn’t noticed that he was losing his cool. No, it was more like he noticed and was ignoring it.

Just thinking about the potential danger Rosemarie might’ve been facing would have made it extremely hard to sit through something so annoying.

(If it is gone, then I can’t get back my mana.)

That is what Claudio told himself, at least, as they headed toward the stable. He felt bad for the horses, who had barely been put away without a chance to rest, but they brought them out anyway and rode off. He gave detailed instructions to the soldiers guarding the castle gates to keep their lips sealed.

The rain that started in the evening was still falling, and things were getting dark now that the sun had almost completely set. Claudio and Alto rode their horses while being careful not to get their feet caught in the mud.

“Shall we search the way we came?”

“Yes, let’s do that for the time being.” Claudio met Alto’s question from beside him with a nod. The two proceeded on their way, being careful to leave no stone unturned.

The woods filling the space from the Forbidden Forest in the back of the castle covered a side of the path leading up to the castle. It was like a black wave encroaching on the area.

Claudio clicked his tongue in annoyance at how bad the visibility was. That was when something white slid past the corner of his eyes. Claudio locked on to whatever it was with his eyes. What he found was a plain carriage unnaturally stopped on the side of the road.

(I don’t remember this being here the first time we passed through... It’s really hard to believe that we’d find them so easily.)

Claudio thought that, suspicious, but he started slowing down his horse, nevertheless.

***

The neighing of horses could be heard, and Rosemarie, who had been sitting on the slanted passenger seat clutching her knees, lifted her downcast head.

“They’re here,” Edeltraud, curled up as Rosemarie was, announced.

Edeltraud had insisted that Claudio would come find them. But the time they’d waited, combined with the encroaching dark, only heightened Rosemarie’s worry that they’d be stuck there all night.

She went to approach the cracked window, but hesitated. What if it wasn’t Claudio or one of the knights out there? That thought crossed her mind, and her courage to peek outside diminished. As she sat there conflicted, she heard the sound of feet treading the wet ground. She thought she saw the silhouette of someone in the cracked window, but before she could process it, there was a violent knocking at the door.

“We’re looking for someone. Would you mind if we search the inside?” Rosemarie was met with an all-too-familiar deep and annoyed voice. Every drop of blood in her body was pumping in joy. Before she could even crawl on the toppled over seat toward the window, the door opened up.

In the next instant, her vision started to warp and distort. The toppled seat that she had been crawling on went upright, as well as the doorway that she had been looking up at this entire time. The pieces of broken window scattered across the floor faded away in the blink of an eye, and the window returned to pristine condition. Even though the carriage was supposed to be flipped on its side with its horses stolen, it went back to looking as good as new—almost as if nothing had happened.

“Huh...?”

“—Rosemarie!”

Rosemarie blinked in surprise as the rain-soaked Claudio entered her sight. His appearance overlapped with the frantic expression of Claudio in his youth that crossed her mind when she last passed out.

“...?!” Her brain wasn’t able to catch up with her—not because of the mysterious phenomenon that had occurred before her eyes, but because of the arms that reached out and hugged her tightly.

“I swear, do you have any idea what you’ve done? I thought you showed up in town because you dragged Alto and Master Edel into your plan, but then you didn’t even come back to the castle? Your maid was practically on the verge of a breakdown.” Despite his scolding, Claudio’s hands around Rosemarie’s shoulders didn’t loosen up one bit. Eventually, Rosemarie tapped hesitantly on Claudio’s back, short of breath.

“I’m sorry, Prince, but it’s a little hard to breathe.”

“Silence. —Consider it your punishment for putting me through so much trouble.”

“—I-I’m very sorry about that...”

Despite him saying it was a punishment, his voice was tinged in relief. As she thought that her insides were going to actually pop out from the constricting force around her body, she heard a rather carefree yawn from behind them.

“Claudio, you’re late. Had stage all set up, but Volland princess was getting all the more suspicious.”

“Stage all set up...?” There was a set of words in that sentence that she couldn’t help but fixate on. Now that Claudio had loosened his grip on Rosemarie, she turned her head around. There, she saw the sorcerer rotating their shoulders to limber up their stiffened body.

“Volland princess doesn’t return to castle, Claudio stops procrastinating and takes action.”

“Huh? Um, what do you mean by that? Those bandits...”

“Bandits? What do you mean? Explain yourselves.” The incomprehensible and hesitant words coming from Rosemarie’s mouth sparked Claudio to react in turn. He squeezed her shoulders tightly.

“We were assaulted by bandits. The carriage was destroyed and the horse was stolen away...”

“Uh, come again? Nothing here is destroyed. The horse is there, too, hitched to the carriage as it should be.” The two of them looked at one another, bewildered. Edeltraud, solidifying the fact that they were undeniably strange and unusual, started to chuckle to themselves.

“Hee hee, prince comes to rescue princess in distress and falls in love. Tale old as time. Once person they care about not being around, come to find out their importance. Also old as time. Bandits and carriage being destroyed an illusion. Everything a lie. Well? Have fun?”

Rosemarie stood with her mouth agape and it stayed that way.

Edeltraud had their face covered by the hood of their robe, so even if they were telling a lie and they had a beast head, she wouldn’t have been able to see it. She had been completely blindsided.

Edeltraud had been pulling the strings on her the entire time. She felt more languid than upset over the whole thing.

However, it seemed that Claudio begged to differ. As soon as Claudio took his hands off of Rosemarie’s shoulders, he drew his sword, its blade meant for Edeltraud.

“No, Prince! Mage Edel, please get yourself out of here!”

Claudio’s expression was akin to the devil himself. Clinging to his arm, she tried desperately to stop him from bringing the blade down. Regardless, Edeltraud was not scared in the least, and seemed to actually be enjoying all of this as they jumped out the door opposite the one Claudio opened.

“Mend things up. Will you? Next time might not end up lie. Got it?” Without forgetting to drive the point home with a warning, Edeltraud vanished into the darkness. The horse neighed in surprise.

The moment the target of his aggression had vanished, Claudio sheathed his sword with the same force he used to draw it out. He then put his hand over his face and plopped himself down on the carriage seat.

“Alto, will this carriage move?” Claudio called.

“Yes, I cannot seem to spot any issues with it. And, well... Mage Edeltraud left their familiar in the driver’s seat. Also, they rode off with your horse as well, Your Highness...” Alto, who had apparently followed along, replied in a hesitant manner.

“God, my teacher can never mind their business...” Claudio grumbled under his breath, but he closed the door to the carriage and tapped on the wall to the driver’s seat twice with the handle of his sword, signaling them to drive.

When she felt the carriage start to move, Rosemarie hurried to take her seat again. An exhausted Claudio slouched in the seat across from her, a single hand on his forehead. Seeing him like this was stimulating a sense of guilt and panic that told her she needed to do something, so she impulsively opened her mouth.

“Um, Prince?”

“—What?”

“Would you like to rest your head on my lap?”

“...” He silently scowled at her.

“I mean, um, if you dislike resting your head on my lap, then shall we hold hands? From what I understand, it’s my fault that you’re as tired as you are...” she said, her speech escalated by her tension. Claudio furrowed his brow, baffled.

“Weren’t you being angry at me?”

“I thought that you were being angry at me, Prince. Weren’t you?”

Silence descended. As she stared intently at him, Claudio sighed deeply and moved himself over to Rosemarie’s side. Then, not a word traveled from his mouth.

“Um...”

“—Give me your hand.”

“Right away!” Just as she was ordered in a low tone by Claudio, who was feeling the fatigue run through him, she put both of her hands onto the palm he held out in front of her. Claudio then gave her a side-eyed glare.

“Why did you give me both hands? What are you, a dog? What am I thinking? If you were a dog, you waltzing away from your owner would be—”

Rosemarie quickly jerked one of her hands away as she meekly accepted Claudio’s scolding. The sudden pause in his sentence was enough to make her suspicious, and she stared at his side profile intently. She could see it wrenching in distress.

“...I swear, I’m starting to hate this. Every time I see your face, the harsh language spills from my mouth. And I was in such a panic over you just a second ago, too.” Claudio gently clasped Rosemarie’s remaining hand in his own. His felt cold to the touch, probably because of the rain, which startled her. She once again held his hand with both of hers, but, this time, he didn’t try to brush them aside.

“—I will admit that I was angry. But what I felt in the moment I heard that you hadn’t returned to the castle wasn’t anger—it was panic.” Claudio’s expression took a sad turn as he faced away from Rosemarie. Maybe that was why he was sitting next to her right now: he didn’t want her to see his face from the front.

“I tried to convince myself that I was in such a panic because I wouldn’t be able to get my mana back if you were gone, but as soon as I saw your face a moment ago, I knew that I was wrong. —In that moment, I didn’t give a damn about my mana. You were safe. That alone was enough to sincerely put my mind at ease.” Claudio gripped his hand tighter around Rosemarie’s. It almost felt like he was condensing his feelings into the hand he had a painful hold upon. Rosemarie hung her head, feeling bewilderment in her mind and a warmth in her chest at the same time.

“So, yes... If I’m wrong, then tell me that I am. Were you angry because I said that I was envious of your ability to see animosity?”

Rosemarie gasped and lifted her head to find Claudio with an expression that showed how difficult this was for him to ask. She then clutched at her chest with her free hand.

“May I ask you, Prince... are you happy when someone tells you that they are envious of your head being a lion?”

“There’s no way that I would be. There are more shortcomings than advantages. It puts me through unnecessary hell.”

“Yes, I would assume. ...Your lion head is the same as my eyes. Which is why you telling me you envied them made me sad,” she said, coming to a new realization herself. As to why it made her so mad, as to why it made her so sad. It was because she felt selfishly betrayed by Claudio, whom she had believed was going through a similar kind of hell.

“So, I was right. I see... Well, I’m... well, sorry.” In the window on the opposite side of Claudio, Rosemarie could see his lion head reflected in the glass. His fine pelt was wet with rainwater, and just like the human face that only she saw, it looked somewhat dispirited.

“Please, don’t apologize. You really don’t have to. I don’t believe I have the right to be angry at you, seeing as how you have been working so hard to make up for my faults despite me not doing anything in return.” Drops of water fell from the tips of Claudio’s soaking hair.

“Plus, I apparently ran into you when I was a child. But since I cannot remember what happened back then, it should be me who apologizes to you.”

Claudio’s eyes widened in surprise as she took a handkerchief out of her breast pocket and pressed it against his wet cheeks. While he would have made her stop any other day in the past, this time around, he clasped her hand around hers.

“...I hope you know that you are far too softhearted. No, maybe I have it flipped around? You’re not even allowing me to apologize to you, after all.” Claudio smiled in a rather self-deprecating manner, but Rosemarie shook her head.

“You would call me by name on occasion before the wedding, but you haven’t called me by name once ever since.”

However, most likely because he couldn’t stand for this outcome, Claudio looked at Rosemarie with a sulky look in his eyes, leaving her at a loss for words.

(What should I do now...? Oh, I’ve got it.)

A brilliant idea popped into her mind.

“If you are not going to take no for an answer, then please call me by my name. Don’t call me ‘this one’ or ‘that one,’ but by my actual name.”

He would call her by name occasionally in the days leading up to the wedding, but not a single time after the proceedings were over. Just referring to her as “you” would be one thing, but using “this one” and “that one” and treating her like she was just some thing was, frankly, sad.

“Name?”

“Yes, I was quite happy when you said it earlier, so...” She smiled at Claudio, who looked as if she had caught him off-guard.

Earlier, when Claudio opened the carriage door, he had called her by name for the first time in ages. It not only came as a surprise, but it also made her feel warm on the inside.

“Your name, huh? I mean, what happened before, that was, yes... I was in the moment, you see, so...” Rosemarie felt the grip tighten in the hand Claudio had on hers, and he suddenly turned his face away.

She cocked her head in confusion as Claudio’s cheeks turned red and he put his hand over his mouth for some reason. It would appear to anyone with working eyes that he was embarrassed, but maybe it was a delayed feeling of shame, considering he hadn’t been calling her by name up until now.

Claudio glared at the floor as if he were in inner turmoil, but his eyes eventually came to stare straight at Rosemarie. His pair of blue eyes exuded a warmth as they stared at her, which caused her heart to skip a beat.

“—Rosemarie.”

Upon hearing his low voice call out her name cautiously, Rosemarie felt wrapped in a warm, fuzzy feeling. She had no idea that having someone say her name face-to-face in this manner would have been so embarrassing. A bashful smile adorned her face, to which Claudio tugged at her hand.

“Okay, I did it. Now, it’s your turn to say my name.”

“Huh? Me calling you by name would make you happy, Prince?”

“It’s not a matter of being happy or not; it’s more a matter of personally disliking being the only one forced into this torment.” He spat out the words like a sore loser. Even the dissatisfied expression on his face looked childlike, and made Rosemarie want to laugh.

“Very well, then. In that case...” She cleared her throat and gave saying his name a try, but it wouldn’t come out. She didn’t know what was going on, but her face stared to heat up in a matter of no time.

“What’s wrong? Can’t say it?”

“No, I can! Please, just give me a moment. I swear, I can say it.” She glared at Claudio as he smirked at her, then took a breath. Thinking back, she realized she hadn’t called Claudio just by his name even once. She let her eyes fall, shut them tight, and opened her mouth.

“Prince C...laudio.”

“Yeah, try again.” Claudio wasted zero time in critiquing her performance with dissatisfaction. Rosemarie lifted her head, miffed.

“But, why? I said it just fine.”

“You sure didn’t. You paused before saying the whole thing.”

“...You’re being far too picky, Prince.” Rosemarie slumped her shoulders in the rattling carriage, but seeing as how Claudio was smiling in such enjoyment at her, she tried again, staring him right in the eyes and saying his name properly.