Chapter 6: Tale of the Sacred Beast in the Forbidden Forest
Chapter 6: Tale of the Sacred Beast in the Forbidden Forest
“Prince Claudio, could you please repeat what you just said?” Rosemarie stared at Claudio with a dead serious expression.
It was the night after Claudio had collapsed due to the Kaola tea. Feeling obligated not to rest too much, Claudio headed to perform his official duties, then dropped by Rosemarie’s room when he was done for the day. When he got there, he broke the news to her as if it were nothing at all.
“You’re forbidden from drinking Kaola. Don’t drink any until Master Edel is done with their analysis.”
“Kaola... forbidden...” She had exposed Claudio to mortal danger. There were no two ways about it. However, although she had felt herself succumbing to feelings of self-reproach, wouldn’t it suffice if she just didn’t drink it in front of him?
“I’ve already taken the liberty of ordering the maid to collect Baltzar’s entire supply. I’ve given her explicit instructions to hand over any to Master Edel by way of Alto right away, even if you send out for it from Volland.” Claudio informed her with a smile on his face, almost as if saying he has already predicted any bright idea Rosemarie might have. Rosemarie hung her head in disappointment.
(There goes Tranquilizer #2...)
Her steadfast #1 was her bucket.
Rosemarie slumped her shoulders with the wind knocked sorely out of her sails while Claudio added more insult to injury.
“Ah, yes. And in ten days’ time, the crown price of the neighboring nation, Rivera, will be making a visit with the crown princess, so it will be your duty to entertain said crown princess. Rivera as a nation has been close allies with Baltzar forever. I’d like you to be on your best behavior. Which means absolutely no bucket wearing during their stay.”
Rosemarie was left in shock upon learning that her #1 Tranquilizer had been sealed off from her. Rosemarie’s spirits may had dropped, but Claudio had a wry smile on his face for whatever reason.
“You don’t need to look that grim. Sure, I’ve banned your Kaola and your bucket, but I’m going to give you something nice in return.”
“Something nice?” Was there even anything better than those two things?
She cocked her head, positively perplexed. The somewhat amused-looking Claudio led her out of the room.
It was late at night. They went through the hallway, which was vacant aside from the knights on patrol they would occasionally pass by on the way, and they were approaching the rose garden that was visible from Rosemarie’s quarters. The same rose garden that she wanted to visit had already passed its peak bloom, but seeing the vibrant green leaves was a refreshing sight for her heart.
“Um, where might we be going?” Rosemarie asked Claudio from behind as he walked with her in tow, passing the rose garden as well. All he did was smile suggestively without giving her a proper response.
Soon, they arrived at garden considerably off to the side among the many gardens of the royal palace. A slight glance revealed that the dense Forbidden Forest, which resided at the back of the castle, was right nearby. What Rosemarie then saw there made her eyes widen in surprise.
“...A greenhouse?”
A greenhouse stood beside a giant yew tree as if it were long since forgotten. The moonlight’s reflection kept her from making out what was on the inside, but the glass building was most definitely a greenhouse.
Claudio led her inside by the hand. Perhaps thanks to some sort of spell, a faint light suddenly illuminated the room. What that light shone upon was a variety of multicolored roses. However, perhaps due to a lack of maintenance, the branches were growing as they pleased, looking a bit unruly.
“This place...”
“It’s a greenhouse that the royal gardener used to use in the past. Something about seeing some sort of shadow stalking around the Forbidden Forest scared them so bad that they abandoned it. Due to the spread of those rumors, not many people come near it. So, I’m giving the place to you.”
“You’re giving it to me? Really?” Her eyes lit up and she scanned the room. There had been a greenhouse at her villa in Volland as well, but it was far smaller than this.
She looked up at Claudio with a big smile on her face, which prompted him to smile in return.
“Yes, really. I heard from your maid. You’re a fan of gardening, right? In exchange for banning your Kaola and your bucket, feel free to use this place. However, you also have to worry about Master Edel using this place for an afternoon nap on occasion, or even me dropping by while on a walk. This is all assuming you’re not afraid of the Forbidden Forest.”
“As long as I don’t go into the forest, there should be no problem, correct? In that case, I have nothing to fear. I’m also already used to both you and Master Edel, so I will be fine. Thank you so much for this!”
Since she wasn’t raised in Baltzar, the concept of the Forbidden Forest being a place to fear wasn’t really instilled into her. It had been out of the question for a good while, but now that things had settled down, she wanted to utilize her green thumb and garden—even a potted plant would have sufficed.
When she turned around to face Claudio and extend her thanks, the glass of the greenhouse acted as a makeshift mirror, and the reflection of his Silver Lion head entered her view. It had been quite a while since she last saw him look like that, so it startled her for a split second.
“Are you afraid?” Claudio quickly detected what was going on and asked her that question in an impassive tone.
“No, just a little startled. It’s just that my eyes always show your head as being human, so whenever I see you as the sacred beast, I brace myself because I’m able to see the results of stealing your mana with my own eyes.” They had to get Claudio’s mana back to him so that he could have the same human face that she saw through her eyes, and quickly. Otherwise, Claudio would be driven out of his position of crown prince.
That moment of deep thought made her come to a realization.
“Um, that reminds me. I’ve been putting off asking this for a while, but why is having mana a prerequisite to accede to the throne?”
“Oh, that? I suppose it’s natural you wouldn’t know. I never told you, after all. It would be inconvenient in many regards if this information were to spread too far. In fact, only a certain handful of people know about...” Claudio unnaturally cut off his own sentence. Rosemarie looked at his face with suspicion to see that his expression had turned contemplative and grim.
“—It couldn’t be... Might there be a definite chance that Kastner doesn’t know...?”
“What about the Archbishop?” Claudio mentioned before that Archbishop Kastner was always challenging him. She started to worry that there might be some sort of issue afoot. She found herself tugging at Claudio’s cuff, and he looked back down at her, slightly startled.
“O-Okay, okay. I’ll fill you in, so wipe all that worry off your face.” Claudio lightly cleared his throat and smiled wryly.
“Baltzar’s royal palace was constructed in order to contain the spread of the Forbidden Forest. The king’s mana is pivotal. If the king has no mana, then the forest would continue to spread, and the capital would be overrun with trees and eventually fall to ruin.”
“Fall to ruin...” she repeated, her face suddenly turning pale. That was something that wasn’t going to end simply by removing Claudio as crown prince.
“Does this mean that I just so happened to do something that might destroy the nation?”
“In conclusion, you did. Even so, I didn’t give that point the consideration it needed, either. In spite of me being in a position of responsibility, I conducted myself carelessly in search of you instead of leaving it to those around me.” Claudio admitting that he shared in the blame prompted Rosemarie to let go of his sleeve. That still made her the number one cause of all this, nevertheless.
“At this point in time, His Majesty has stated that he will not remove me as crown prince, but he probably has much to consider. Then again, I’m left to struggle until it’s proven that my mana can’t be retrieved no matter what.” Claudio smiled audaciously and Rosemarie dropped her gaze.
“How... How are you able to stay so strong, Prince Claudio?”
“Because lives hang in the balance. It’s only right. If I were to be removed as crown prince, I would meet a miserable end. And all of those who followed me might go down with me. It can turn a man desperate.”
The chill running down her spine made Rosemarie rub her arm. Volland was a nation free of political struggles. It was only now that she had the realization that she had come to a terrifying place.
“Aah, come on, let’s end this talk of doom and gloom. Since we took the time to get here, why don’t you look around the greenhouse?” Claudio spoke in an almost forced cheery tone as he gave her a push on the back. Rosemarie finally lifted her head because of it.
Just as she was urged, she scanned the greenhouse in disarray and started walking. Once she did, her mind was entranced by the bits of scenery that passed her by one after another.
“Oh, dear. These stems have to be taken out. I wonder if they will liven up once I give them some nutrients.”
“—”
“These potted plants need to be put into different pots... Ah! There are bugs!”
“—marie!”
She walked around the greenhouse positively giddy and separated from Claudio. That was when she suddenly had her shoulder grabbed.
“Rosemarie!”
“Yes? Is something the matter?”
“I’ve been calling you a million times.” Claudio looked sulky, most likely upset that she hadn’t answered his calls. She blinked vacantly before sagging her eyebrows.
“I apologize. I was distracted. I haven’t forgotten about you, Prince Claudio, so please do not sulk.”
“I am not sulking. I’m just peeved.” Claudio lightly pinched at her cheeks with his finger. It felt as though Claudio was behaving rather childishly toward her. Once she softly pulled off the hand pinching her cheeks, Claudio twisted his mouth in dissatisfaction.
“You seem likely to get carried away and spend all your time here. Was giving this place to you a mistake?”
“If it was a mistake, then are you going to take it away? Please don’t say that now after all you’ve already promised. With my Kaola and bucket banned, if I can’t even garden, then I doubt I can go on living.” The despondency of possibly being denied what she thought she would be receiving made tears form in her eyes as she looked up at Claudio. He instantly found himself at a loss for words.
“...You know, in your case, you’re likely to actually waste away.” Claudio let out a disappointed sigh and quickly made his way toward the greenhouse exit. Rosemarie attempted to follow him out, but as soon as she stepped out, her hair got caught on the overgrown branches of the yew tree.
“...Ow!”
“Aah, hold on. Just stay still.” Claudio helped untangle her hair from the branch. His face approached hers. Claudio was so close that she could see his long eyelashes casting a shadow over his eyes, which made her pulse race. She averted her gaze bashfully.
“W-Would it be okay if I trimmed the branches of this yew tree a tad?” She opened her mouth and spoke to divert attention away from her noisy heartbeat. Claudio looked slightly indecisive, but nodded his head in reply.
“This thing’s job is to ward away evil. Since it’s close to the Forbidden Forest, it would be preferable not to clip at it...” Claudio combed his fingers through Rosemarie’s hair now that it was free from the branch, then grinned as if an idea had sprung to mind.
“As I was saying earlier, let’s settle on the time. You are allowed here for up to two hours a day. If you want to be here any longer, you will have to wait until I’ve finished my duties.”
“Seeing as how I am not a child, deciding the time for me seems...”
“If you are not a child, then you can make the switch, right?”
That statement clammed her right up, making Claudio smile in amusement. She looked back at him with a bitter stare.
“Yes, but I feel awkward having you keep me company after finishing up your work, Prince Claudio.”
“Don’t concern yourself with that. Late-night jaunts have always been a pastime of mine,” Claudio said. He smiled cynically as if it were nothing, but she remembered Heidi saying something similar some time back. She also remembered that it wasn’t supposed to have good connotations. After a little thought, it sprung back into her mind.
“‘Late-night jaunt’ means cheating, if I remember correctly...”
“And who was it that taught you that meaning? I mean walking at night. Evening strolls? I do it because I can’t sleep anyway.” He pinched her cheeks ill-temperedly once more, and then let go right before she told him that it was starting to smart. She wondered why Claudio was pinching her so much today. And she wanted to put on her bucket before her run-of-the-mill face swelled up and got even more homely. As she rubbed her cheeks, she could feel Claudio’s eyes upon her.
“If you’re so concerned about me cheating, I have to wonder how it is you think of me.”
“Huh...?” He stared right at her, and Rosemarie could feel her face crawling to a boil.
It wasn’t like he was accusing her. At the same time, while she felt like she shouldn’t answer that question, she didn’t know if she could give him a concise answer, regardless. She quivered her lips in indecision.
However, she was certain that seeing another girl by Claudio’s side would, more or less, put her in an unpleasant mood.
“A-Anyway, we’ll just put that off to the side,” Claudio said to break the ice, awkwardly clearing his throat and beginning to walk yet again.
“Point is, you don’t have to worry about me like that. With you with me, I don’t tire as much, you see. The only thing I ask of you is that since I take short trips away from the palace, you need to have an Imperial Guard to bodyguard you while I’m not around.”
“Okay, I understand,” she said, nodding firmly and repeatedly. Her head was filled with ideas on what to get started on tomorrow. She was so elated she wanted to start humming a little tune.
“Thank you so much for this, Prince Claudio,” she thanked Claudio aloud with a small tug at his jacket as he walked in front of her. Claudio’s shoulders bounced, and he looked past them to Rosemarie. It almost looked like he was trying to contain a chuckle, which was a relief.
“You thanked me just a second ago.”
“Yes, but I feel like saying it over and over. This present has made me the happiest so far.” Out of all the gifts that Claudio has given her, this was truly the best. After all, it was one that he prepared with proper consideration for her.
She chuckled bashfully, and Claudio’s face turned red instantly. For whatever reason, Claudio was going red from his chin to his ears. But when she reached out to him out of concern that he might be coming down with a fever, he took a few steps back. He then turned himself away.
“This present making you the happiest so far means that the other ones I sent you didn’t make you happy, I’m guessing.”
“Huh? Oh, I’m sorry...”
“—! Aah, wait, it’s not like that. I’m not mad at you, uh, of course...! I guess I’m just getting myself down, that’s all.”
“Is that so? Um, well, I’m very sorry for mistaking that for anger!” Claudio tried to smooth things over in a rare display of panic. Perhaps that impatience transferred over, because Rosemarie, now also thrown into a panic, bowed her head and locked eyes with Claudio. The two of them then both ended up smiling at the same time.
***
The tepid air of summer grazed her skin.
The high midday temperature didn’t drop much in the transition to night and was still hot enough to draw a sweat. Perhaps it was the heat from the massive amount of people adding to the overall sultriness in the grand hall.
Rosemarie looked at the brightly illuminated hall from her spot next to the royals’ private entrance. She was here to attend the evening gala. Her hands were placed on her chest and shaking in tension and fear.
“Heidi, don’t you think the neckline of this is a little too open...? It’s lower than my collarbone. This is so embarrassing that I just want to go back to my room... Oh, but the waiting room will do, too. Let’s try that,” Rosemarie complained impatiently to Heidi beside her. She hadn’t worn a dress with a neckline this open since the wedding. Since she didn’t approve of showing too much skin during a midday event when she was attending to the masses at the Imperial Bout, her usual closed-neck dress had sufficed.
But now she was clad in a pink dress, made from the special fabric of the neighboring nation, Rivera. The smooth texture of the thin cloth was filling her with a sense of anxiety.
“No can do. You promised His Highness that you would be on your best behavior, did you not? Plus, that dress is what is in style nowadays. There is nothing odd about it.”
“But I’m fearful that it might be impolite toward the Crown Prince and Princess of Rivera...”
The crown prince and princess of Rivera that Claudio mentioned had arrived this afternoon. Rosemarie had accompanied Claudio to greet them. The crown prince of Rivera was probably already acquainted with Claudio and showed no surprise over his Silver Lion head; the crown princess, on the other hand, went deathly pale as if she had seen a monster. That pale face instantly transformed into a cow, filling Rosemarie with a bitter sense of anxiety.
(I mean, honestly, Prince Claudio isn’t even anything to fear.)
He may have had a lion head, but he himself was a charming and affable person. She certainly wasn’t one to talk, but she took offense to being judged based on appearances alone.
“Lady Rosemarie,” a dignified female voice called her suddenly from behind. She turned around, slightly wary, to find a girl standing behind her, clad in a light blue dress made from the same material as Rosemarie’s own pink dress. This girl, with all the poise of a prim and beautiful lady, was the Crown Princess of Rivera.
“Your dress is made from Rivera material, I see. It pleases me ever so to see you wearing it. Quite the immaculate fit on you.”
“O-Oh, thank you very much.”
The Crown Princess of Rivera had an amicable attitude and her head, this time around, was human. She didn’t seem to have any feelings of animosity toward Rosemarie, which was a real relief. She thought she saw the Crown Princess of Rivera looking around the area before smiling at her.
“It would seem Their Highnesses are not done speaking yet.”
“Yes, it would. Are you tired at all?” Her body was tense from anxiety, but she managed to eke out a reply without her voice trembling. Claudio and the Crown Prince of Rivera hadn’t arrived yet, which meant their diplomatic talks were likely running long.
“Oh, no. Not very much so. Since this is my first time in a foreign country, everything I see and hear is so new and exciting that I’ve forgotten about any fatigue I may have had. For example, I’ve heard that you, Lady Rosemarie, were wed having hailed from Volland.”
“Are you familiar with my mother country?”
“Indeed, I have heard that it is a religiously devout country with beautiful scenery. You must have been more shocked than I when you came to Baltzar,” the Crown Princess said, brimming with interest, her head not turning into a beast head the entire time they conversed. In which case, that meant she was being genuine with Rosemarie.
Albeit with some slight awkwardness, the two then proceeded to chit-chat for a stint. Soon, the tension freed itself from Rosemarie’s shoulders and they relaxed. However, that was when she was asked the question:
“Um, please do not take this the wrong way, but, Lady Rosemarie... does Crown Prince Claudio not frighten you at all?” The crown princess’s face had been all smiles before she said that, but it started to warp. In a similar vein to when Rosemarie had gone to greet her, her head turned bovine, covered in a velvety pelt of short brown hair. Her gentle sclera-less eyes stared at Rosemarie and her long tongue formed words.
“Honestly speaking, he is quite disturbing to me. I know they say that he is the avatar of a sacred beast, but that person as a husband would be...”
“He does not frighten me.” Rosemarie smiled. Perplexingly enough, even faced with someone now sporting a beast head, she didn’t have an ounce of fear.
For better or worse, the crown princess here was most likely being forthright. Although, one could have argued that it was a tad inconsiderate that she deemed it appropriate to voice something like this to Rosemarie, seeing as how she was Claudio’s wife.
“Prince Claudio is an extremely good person. He is a strong, kind, and wonderful individual whom someone as abject and mediocre as myself doesn’t deserve. Even if the people around him are frightened of him, so long as Claudio needs me, I would like to be right there by his side.” Claudio has had a human head this entire time and he had done things that hurt her feelings. Even if she were to see his head as the Silver Lion now, it would be too late; she wouldn’t be frightened of him.
“Also—”
“You can stop right there, Rosemarie.” Claudio’s voice abruptly cut into the conversation, and she looked to the direction it came from. There stood Claudio, holding his forehead with one hand, with the pleasant-looking Crown Prince of Rivera by his side. Rosemarie snapped to her senses upon seeing the part of Claudio’s face not concealed by his hand with brows knit in distress. She ruminated on the words she’d just said and froze up. The Crown Prince of Rivera started to chuckle.
“Your harmonious display of friendship is enough to make me blush. It would seem that my wife has made some rude remarks. I beg that you forgive her.” The simple yet honest Crown Prince of Rivera bowed his head as he spoke, and the Crown Princess followed suit apologetically. The two of them then took the liberty of entering the hall first.
“How long were you listening?” Once the two of them disappeared into the hall, Rosemarie finally came out of her loss for words and addressed Claudio, who looked to be in a somewhat awkward mood.
“Since ‘He does not frighten me.’”
“...I want to wear my bucket and hole up in my room.” Which meant that he listened to pretty much everything. Overwhelmed by embarrassment, she covered her face with her hands.
“I’ve put you in a bad mood, haven’t I? I’m sorry, please forgive me. I’ve been speaking so presumptuously. But... all of what I said is true.” She didn’t want him to think that she was just saying things off-the-cuff to suit the Crown Princess of Rivera.
Claudio wasn’t giving her a verbal response, so she slowly removed her hands and looked up at him. He put his hand on the back of his neck and averted her gaze. Both his face and ears were turning light red.
“Are you angry? Um...” Wanting to confirm whether or not Claudio was angry, she tried stepping into his line of sight, but he backed away as though surprised. Even though it was only slightly, she was disappointed.
“—I’m, um, sorry for ruining your mood and...”
“No, you’ve got it wrong. I’m not angry.” Although he said that he wasn’t angry, his blunt tone made Rosemarie scratch her figurative head. Claudio let out a huge sigh and then finally turned to her.
“It’s just because you’re dressed the way you are.”
“Huh...? Oh, I’m sorry. I had a feeling this would be improper.” It seemed that they weren’t making much headway in conversation, but once she slumped her shoulders, Claudio cleared his throat irritably.
“I swear, I hate myself sometimes. —Okay, I’m being unclear. I’m not trying to berate you. It looks so good on you, I don’t like the idea of you going in there and showing yourself off to all those people.” Claudio said, sulky, as Rosemarie blushed her face off.
She ended up wanting to read deeper into the subject, and it had thrown her mind into confusion. She glanced up at Claudio, and he turned away a bit bashfully.
“—Um, hello, pardon me, but I would appreciate it if you two would remember I’m still here. Also, I would appreciate it if you two would make your way into the hall now,” Heidi interrupted, her tone reserved. Rosemarie gasped, her shoulders jolting in realization. Her cheeks flushed; she felt as though a relative just saw her getting confessed to.
“Let’s head in.” After clearing his throat to collect himself, Claudio offered his hand. Grabbing hold of it nervously, Rosemarie took a deep breath and faced front. Suddenly, Claudio leaned over ever so slightly.
“About what you said to the Crown Princess of Rivera a moment ago... Hearing you say that you think about me in that way... it made me, um, well... happy. Happy, yes.”
Rosemarie’s eyes lit up at the word “happy,” the joy welling up from inside her and erupting onto her face as a big smile.
Once she stood at the entrance to the hall at Claudio’s side, the eyes of the people in attendance all drew toward her at once.
Several packs of beast eyes fixed on her, and several groups of human eyes also did the same. Her legs were quivering.
(It’s okay, it’s okay, Claudio is right here. There is nothing to fear. He won’t abandon me or anything like that anymore.)
As she said that to herself over and over again to convince herself, the hand she’d entrusted to Claudio was tugged suddenly, yet gently.
When she turned her attention over to him, her gaze met his powerful and reassuring pair of blue eyes.
The two of them both smiled with a slight nod at one another and slowly carried themselves forward.
***
As Rosemarie moved from the clamorous hall to the balcony, the chilly air filled her with a sense of relief.
“Are you okay? We’re almost through here, so hang in there.” Claudio stood behind Rosemarie as if supporting her back. She looked up at him and flashed a pitiful smile.
“Just a little tired. But what about you, Prince Claudio? How are you holding up?”
“Yes, I’m doing just fine.” Claudio said that, and his complexion hadn’t been too bad when Rosemarie had checked on it in the bright hall, so he probably really was fine.
“We’ve made our rounds for hellos, and the Crown Prince and Princess of Rivera are likely ready to take their leave. Once they do, I see no issue with us also taking our leave. —On an unrelated note, you’re not the best dancer, are you? I never would have guessed that you would be tripping over your own feet.” As a cue for the start of the evening festivities, Rosemarie ended up dancing with Claudio, but he kept flubbing it up by stepping on the fringe of her dress and almost taking a spill several times.
“I would always hole myself up in the villa, so I would never attend evening galas. That also means that I hardly ever had any practice. I believe it would actually be peculiar if I danced well.” She shot Claudio a bitter look as he chuckled. He brushed aside the hair falling over her cheek with his fingers and presented the same hand to her.
“Shall we practice now, then? Not only can you hear the music from here, but people would have to go out of their way to watch us.”
“Huh? No, I think I’ll pass,” she said, turning down the offer immediately and backing up. Claudio laughed, his shoulders bouncing.
“Come on. I’m asking you nicely, aren’t I?”
“Just because you have to go out of your way to watch doesn’t mean that no one will be around...” She had just finished tripping over herself in grand fashion before a whole hall of people. If someone were to witness them practicing out here, it would had fueled the rumor mill immensely.
“If they were to find out that the crown princess cannot even dance, they might talk ill of you for marrying such an uncultured wife, Prince Claudio.”
“It’s too late for something so trivial to lower my reputation, but if you don’t wish to do so, then we won’t.” Rosemarie’s eyes dropped as Claudio smiled softly.
Claudio already made himself easy to be an object of fear to people. An inexperienced wife such as herself would make it all too easy for his reputation to plummet. Even if it were a slight matter, he still needed to be mindful of it.
(If only he didn’t have a lion head...)
In order for that to happen, however, she needed to return his mana to him. After lifting her head, Rosemarie noticed that Claudio was looking over at the garden with a grim look on his face.
“Is there something wrong...?”
“Get down!” With that tense declaration, he yanked on her arm and thrust her toward the entrance of the hall. At almost the same time, three silhouetted figures descended from above. Each figure held a silver knife that glinted in the light of the room.
“—?!” Rosemarie stifled her scream and backed away. While she did, Claudio retaliated by kicking one of the assailant’s knives to the ground. Rosemarie turned herself toward the hall in order to call for help from inside.
“Eeeek!!”
“Who are you people?!”
Screams of panic and anger that didn’t belong to her came from the hall. Guests came running their way, attempting to escape the assailants who had infiltrated from the other balcony. They saw Claudio in the midst of battle and started to run away in a panic.
The evening gala was being raided by a group of people—that was the only thing that she knew. As for who they were targeting, that was a different story.
“Rosemarie!” Claudio called, grabbing for her in the confusion.
“Did they hurt you?! The assailants, are they...”
“I defeated them. The castle patrol knights have come as reinforcements.”
Things began to shift back to reality. The assailants who had raided the hall weren’t very great in number, and were currently being apprehended one by one by the castle’s knights.
King Baltzar and the Crown Prince and Princess of Rivera had likely been evacuated immediately because Rosemarie couldn’t spot them anywhere.
“Um, did they hurt you?”
“No, not a bit.” As she stared at Claudio, using his hand to mop his brow of sweat, she noticed a person approaching them.
“Eek...” Rosemarie gasped and ran behind Claudio. It was the Archbishop, with his half-human, half-melted-lizard face. The melted portion of his face was even worse than usual today. She could practically smell a foul odor coming from it, which almost made her want to vomit.
“Are you safe, Prince Claudio?”
“Yes. I’m glad to see you are unscathed, as well, Archbishop Kastner.” Claudio held out his hand to Rosemarie, standing behind him, for consolation. She squeezed onto it tight. The large, slightly cool hand calmed her nerves.
“Goodness gracious, what a fiasco. And, of all times, when you’re entertaining the Crown Prince and Princess of Rivera... Could this be an attack against Rivera or toward our country?”
“Watch your tone. I won’t stand for disrespect.”
“A thousand apologies for speaking without due consideration. It would seem that this ordeal has me quite shaken up.” His tone of voice didn’t give the impression of being shaken up in the slightest. Hearing it made Rosemarie bite her lips.
The fact that he observed the disaster unfold and was not unsettled in the least meant that either he had guts to spare or he was absolutely confident that he would remain unharmed.
(If he were actually relieved, then he shouldn’t have that disfigured head.)
In spite of this fact, his face was still half-monster, so what did it all mean?
As she came to her conclusion, she squeezed Claudio’s hand and he shielded her shoulders with his arm.
“Apologies, Your Grace, but since my wife is frightened stiff, we will be retiring.”
“Ah, yes, I cannot say I can blame her for being frightened, to say the least. Just one last thing before you leave, Prince Claudio. There is something that I would like to inquire, so would you be so kind as to spare a moment?”
Just as he was about to leave, Claudio stopped in his tracks, clearly annoyed. Rosemarie felt the irritating thumping of her heart and pressed a hand to her chest.
“Why is it that you didn’t use your magic? Knowing you, Prince Claudio, boasting the strongest mana in the land, I would think you could have taken care of these ruffians in a matter of no time. Oh, which reminds me. I did not happen to see your familiar around, either. It has me quite concerned that perhaps you are not in the best of health. Or, maybe...” His half-human face curled its lips into an ugly smile.
“Maybe you have some sort of issue with your mana, Prince Claudio?”
Claudio stood there, silent, as he held Rosemarie close to his body. Rosemarie whimpered through her throat, bone-dry from anxiety.
If he had no mana, he couldn’t ascend to the throne.
This was the very reason Claudio had been keeping the theft of his mana a secret from everybody.
Despite that, he was being suspected by his most hated opposition, Archbishop Kastner, which made it that much worse.
“Would you mind answering my question and eliminating these concerns of mine?”
“—If that concerns you so much, you should arrange an inquiry. I’ll gladly take the stand.” There was no indication of anger in Claudio’s voice. He declared that as if it were nothing at all. Then, partially tucking Rosemarie under his arm, he headed out of the hall.
As they walked down the corridor, where people rushed passed them along the way, Rosemarie looked up at Claudio with concern.
“What if he actually takes you at your word and arranges an inquiry?”
“He can go ahead and do it. He wouldn’t say anything to fan the flames without preparation.” Rosemarie’s worries only compounded as she saw Claudio lift the corner of his mouth in a sardonic smirk, and she gripped onto his jacket tightly.
This most likely meant Claudio had something in store.
“Please don’t do anything too dangerous.”
“I’ll act accordingly.” Claudio looked slightly surprised, but soon squinted in a smile.
As she put her hand across her worried-filled chest, Rosemarie anxiously frowned, unable to smile in return.
***
“Why is it that it is so cool in this hothouse even though it’s so very hot outside? That is extremely perplexing to me.”
Rosemarie, who was replanting roses into fresh pots, heard Heidi’s genuinely befuddled sigh and turned around with a smile. She took the watering can that Heidi was holding out for her and said her thanks.
“Thank you. I’ve heard the reason it’s cool in here is because magic is regulating the temperature. Otherwise, the plants would wither away.”
Apparently, building these sort of greenhouses was commonplace.
Thanks to her daily maintenance of the greenhouse Claudio had gifted her, it had improved considerably from the wild mess it had been on her first day.
Three days had passed since the evening gala attended by the Crown Prince and Princess of Rivera. The assailants had been identified as a group of assassins who specialized in hits on aristocrats and affluent individuals, and were known to take any job they were offered provided they were paid for it. Claudio had told Rosemarie that they were in the middle of tracking down the assassins’ employer.
After the Crown Prince and Princess of Rivera made their premature return back to their country, guard detail was bumped up. Even today, she passed by several knights in order to walk to the greenhouse. Incidentally, there were two bodyguards posted in front of the greenhouse door as they spoke.
(Still, I wonder if now is the time to be doing this, as though I don’t have a care in the world...)
She had thought of stopping her trips to the greenhouse. Claudio, amused by the idea, would have none of it, noting that she would likely pass out if she gave up her visits. So, despite feeling uneasy about it, Rosemarie took him up on his offer.
Heidi glanced at the knights and once again sighed.
“Even so, aren’t those knights outside feeling the heat?”
“Well, the entrance has the yew tree’s shade to shield them from the heat, so I would like to assume they’re okay.”
“They refuse to come inside even if you offer, too. Quite the stuffy individuals, I’d say...”
“I also feel overwhelmed with all these people around. For whatever reason, I feel like everyone is watching me like mad until I come here.” Whether because of there being so many knights on edge or the general tension in the air, Rosemarie didn’t fancy how high her odds of seeing a beast head had become.
“Princess, what you are wearing is to blame. Your appearance is unbecoming of a crown princess.”
“You may very well be right, but...”
Heidi smiled wryly at her, and Rosemarie looked down at what she was wearing. It was a plain olive-green dress with a full collar. There was hardly any trim on it, so it was safe for her to get dirty in. In fact, it was already covered with soil around the cuffs and front of the skirt.
“Even so, you have made it all the way here, so I would say you have made considerable progress.”
“Is it... progress? This greenhouse in disarray has just been calling me, that’s all. Isn’t that right, friend?” She addressed the rose she was in the middle of repotting. After being shown the greenhouse in such a deplorable state, she felt obligated to help it out in any way she could.
“You haven’t talked to flowers in such a long time, I’d almost forgotten you had that bad habit.” Heidi squinted in distaste, but Rosemarie continued to water the repotted plant in spite of that. Just then, she noticed a commotion from the entrance.
“What could that be...?”
The Imperial Guards that were standing on guard duty were having some sort of verbal dispute. Just as she stood up and locked eyes with Heidi, the greenhouse door swung open violently.
The people loudly marching in en masse weren’t the black-uniformed Imperial Guards, but another set of knights clad in white uniforms. They bumped into the potted plants on the shelves, knocking several to the ground and breaking them.
“Knights from The Second Order...?” These knights primarily stood guard outside the castle and upheld general order. For some reason, all of them had different beast heads and were glaring straight at Rosemarie.
She looked back at them, speechless, trying to contain her wildly-beating heart. A wolf-headed knight who seemed to be their captain then suddenly came to the forefront.
“Your Royal Highness Rosemarie. We are taking you into custody for the suspected assassination plot on His Royal Highness Claudio.”
“...Huh?” For a second, she didn’t comprehend what she was just told. The gears in Rosemarie’s mind stopped turning, and she stood there, still and silent. Heidi lashed out in outrage.
“What in blazes is the meaning of this?! The princess wouldn’t kill a fly, much less His Highness!”
“Be that as it may, we have received a tip that Her Royal Highness Rosemarie may have tried to poison His Royal Highness Claudio. After investigating, we have witnesses who say they were on the scene when His Highness collapsed, and we have come here for questioning. Would you mind coming with us now?”
Rosemarie went pale in the face immediately. She put her shivering hand over her mouth.
(Do they mean... when Claudio drank the Kaola and passed out...?)
Yes, it was true that Kaola was poisonous to Claudio. However, no one, including herself, had any idea that would happen.
Nevertheless, that was an incident that no one outside of Alto, Edeltraud and Heidi should even know about, so how did this come to light?
“By witness, who do you...”
“An on-duty doctor and maid. They have recounted that they saw His Highness collapsed on the floor of your room when they were summoned by Imperial Guard Vice Captain Clausen after being informed that His Highness had fallen. They also recounted a half-drunk cup of tea on a nearby table.” Basically, the doctor Alto brought and the caddy maid told what happened from that point.
Rosemarie took a step back, furiously shaking her head.
“You have it wrong. I wasn’t trying to poison him!”
“We will listen to your account later.” On the signal to take her away, a pair of knights—one with the head of a bear, the other with a light brown dog’s head—grabbed Rosemarie by both arms. She saw the sharp teeth and long tongues from their partially-opened mouths. Even though her mind was going blank, terror still remained.
“...Eek. N-No. Let me go. Please. Don’t touch me!”
“What are you doing?!” Claudio’s enraged voice rang from behind the knights. The knights encircling Rosemarie all instantly parted. Rosemarie fell to her knees as the hands seizing her loosened their grip. Without a moment’s delay, Heidi, who was being kept at bay, rushed over to her side and hugged the girl’s shoulders.
“What is the meaning of this?” Claudio stormed up with anger in each step, standing in front of Rosemarie as she knelt on the ground in order to shield her. She looked up at that broad and reliable back with tears in her eyes.
“Her Highness the Crown Princess has been suspected of an assassination plot against you, Prince Claudio.”
Claudio scoffed at the wolf-headed knight standing at attention in front of him.
“Where did this information come from?”
“We are not certain where it came from, but witnesses have said—”
“Not certain? And you’re still trying to make an arrest? I will have you know that if these charges are false, then it doesn’t matter how small of a nation compared to ours she hails from, it will mean an international incident. Are you prepared to take responsibility for that?”
“Sir, I...” The knight was lost for words. His men weren’t budging an inch, either, perhaps too flustered to do so.
“I have no recollection of being poisoned. However, you lot would probably believe your witness over the victim himself. Is that what you call working in my best interests?”
“Well, then...” The knight dropped his shoulders, relieved. Claudio’s men started to approach Rosemarie, but he stared them down, stopping them.
“Is simply keeping lookout on my wife’s room not good enough for you?”
“Charges are charges, sir, so...”
As he looked the distressed knight in the face, Claudio hesitated for a bit, but finally let out a huge sigh.
“—Fine. Go ahead and arrest the princess. However, you will treat her with care. Under no circumstances do you exert violence. When she comes back to me, if I see one bruise on her body—one scratch on her skin—consider yourself gristle between my teeth.” Claudio’s lips curled into a ferocious and savage smile. She could see a few of the robust knights backing up a few steps. They were undoubtedly seeing the prince with his lion head glaring right at them.
“Yes, we will make sure to abide by that.” The humbled captain saluted, and the pair of knights who had grabbed Rosemarie before reached out for her once again. Claudio stood in their way and obstructed them.
“You don’t touch her. I’ll take her in. You just show me where.”
The girl rose to her feet with Claudio’s help, and they followed the captain out of the greenhouse. The knight who had grabbed her before brought up the rear. Her eyes were blinded by the strong light tanning the top of her head. Claudio helped prop her up by the arms because of her staggering. As he did, he stuffed something into her hand. (Huh? What is this...? A piece of paper?)
She tried to confirm what it was, but Claudio closed her hand around it. She looked at him doubtfully, and he smiled faintly back at her.
“Listen, whatever happens, don’t admit to the crime. I’ll have you free in no time. So, just believe in me and be patient.”
Upon hearing Claudio’s whispered yet reassuring voice, Rosemarie silently nodded in reply.
***
Rosemarie sat upon the bed and vacantly stared at the moonlight flooding in through the barred window.
It was her second day in the high-class prison in the nook of the castle grounds. The piece of paper Claudio had handed to her, wrinkled from the many times she had read it over, lay on her lap.
(It gives me a little relief, but...)
Essentially, it said she didn’t need to worry, and to sit tight since he had calculated that something to this effect would happen.
After the assault at the evening gala with the Crown Prince and Princess of Rivera, she had been anxious with the knowledge that Claudio had been hatching a plan. She’d never expected it would end up getting her wrapped up in things as well, though.
(The next time I see Prince Claudio, maybe I should give him a piece of my mind.)
If he knew thing would come to this, he should have given her a chance to prepare herself for it mentally. She figured this was a situation that was safe to get angry at. As always, Claudio failed to give her an adequate explanation.
Seeing as how Claudio couldn’t come here, Fritz would come every morning to check up on her, but that still didn’t ease the burden in her mind.
With a small sigh, she turned her eyes toward the door.
The thick wooden door was secured not only with a heavy-duty lock from the outside, but also with a Spell of Locking cast by a sorcerer. Thus, she was told never to touch it. The window was apparently the same, meaning touching it would result in a nasty burn on one’s hand.
(But what if it dispels at my touch?)
Her trait was stealing mana, after all. So perhaps she could absorb the mana powering the Spell of Locking, like when she’d siphoned off the mana from that broom. However, even if that were possible, it wouldn’t do much to change anything, given the current predicament she was it.
As she sat staring at the door, relieved at how surprisingly calm she was keeping, it gave a click and popped ajar.
“Huh...?” How had the door moved without her laying a finger on it? All she’d done was look at it. Disturbed, she started to get up for a closer look. However, before she even could, the prison door opened without a sound.
“...?!”
“And how might we be doing, Crown Princess?” Appearing in the doorway was the Archbishop with the half-melting lizard face—Kastner. He may have had a gentle smile across the human side of his face, but his appearance was monstrous and more frightening than anyone else.
(It’s okay, it’s okay, Prince Claudio told me to have faith and wait for him.)
Rosemarie glared resolutely at Kastner, holding back the urge to vomit due to the pungent smell drifting through the air.
“Goodness gracious, I would have never expected you to poison Prince Claudio. Women can be ferocious under those docile faces.”
“I did not poison him.”
“Oh, my, you do not seem to know when to give up. The witness was a doctor who has been a presence in this castle far longer than you. Whose statement do you think will be more believable?”
Rosemarie frowned in frustration. What Kastner said wasn’t incorrect. As far as credibility went, the doctor had her beat.
“If you truly were trying to poison him, you were quite close to doing so. Then again, at the moment it doesn’t matter whether you poisoned him or not. —Take her away.” Kastner turned back around and gave a signal with a jerk of his chin. The knights who had been waiting behind him, wearing rather unfamiliar uniforms with gold embroidery, entered the room. Before the shock could even settle in, both of Rosemarie’s arms were wrenched behind her back.
“What are you doing?!” Try as she might to squirm her way into an escape, she wasn’t budging. Another knight then forced a gag in her mouth. With a guilty expression paired with a slight frown, the knight tied her hands behind her back. Suffocating and confused, Rosemarie pointed her tear-stained eyes toward Kastner. The Archbishop’s lips curled into a grin.
“Prince Claudio has been devoting quite a lot of attention to you. It would be quite cumbersome if you were, by some off chance, already bearing his child.”
(Bear... a child...?)
Claudio had wed her to retrieve his mana, not because he wanted an heir. However, obtaining an heir would have been the usual reason. She knew the situation she was in, but she could feel her cheeks flushing in shame. The girl furiously shook her head, to which Kastner raised an eyebrow, surprised.
“I can’t say I would expect you to deny that. Well, even so, you shall be seeing your way out of Prince Claudio’s life. You see, I want to make sure there is next to zero chance of anything going awry. In order for our candidate to become crown prince, that is.”
She turned her attention to a loud thud coming from the entrance and saw an uncaring knight carry in a wine barrel.
(Are they going to kill me...?!)
Were they going to kill her, stuff her inside of that barrel, and bury it out in the middle of nowhere? Had Claudio managed to account for this, too?
Her breathing started getting erratic as her blood curdled. She spurred her shivering body in order to shake off the knight’s hands, but their powerful arms lifted her up.
“...?!”
They crammed her into the wine barrel, causing her to slam her rear inside. She bore the pain, and looked up to find that the lid was being placed back on the barrel. The knight held the lid, not saying a single word and biting his lip. Seeing that made her believe that this probably wasn’t something he wanted to do.
“If I were to have you killed here, dealing with the aftermath would be quite the arduous affair. Hence why you will be running away from here in fear of your crime being investigated, wander into the Forbidden Forest, and go into hiding. At least, that is how the narrative shall be set. But, come now. If you have an appropriate amount of mana, you won’t go missing. Even if you just end up returning to Volland, that will suffice.”
Her eyes widened upon hearing the words “Forbidden Forest.” She had been told that she got lost there once as a child and Claudio helped rescue her, so navigating out of the forest would have been nigh impossible.
“Aah, that reminds me. Prince Claudio’s inquiry will be tomorrow. I know this no longer concerns you, but why don’t you say a little prayer for your husband’s safety?”
Before she could even attempt to struggle her way to her feet, the lid was closed on her. Darkness and the mellow aroma of wine encircled her, and the feeling of entrapment overcame her and took her breath away.
The barrel rattled and shook during transport, only stopping after an unspecific amount of time had passed with her locked in the cask.
Unable to keep track of time in the darkness, Rosemarie focused intently on any sounds from outside the barrel.
Her cries for help went unquestioned by anybody, possibly because of the gag in her mouth restricting her from being heard from the outside, resulting in nothing more than a sore throat.
(That prison was on the outskirts of the castle, so it should be close to the Forbidden Forest...)
That was most likely how he was easily able to transport a wine barrel unnoticed.
“Hitch the horse to the carriage and let it loose.”
Rosemarie pricked her ears and listened closely. The sentence she heard sent shivers down her spine.
(Huh? Let it loose? Carriage?)
Clueless as to what they were trying to do, she pressed her ears closer to the wood in hopes of hearing something more. Then, suddenly, the barrel flipped around. Her body slammed against the sides. A feeling like vertigo made her feel almost physically ill.
Despite that, there was no stop to the oscillations; rather, they started to get more intense. It was almost as if she were riding on a runaway carriage.
(Have they really hitched the horse to the carriage and let it loose into the Forbidden Forest?)
If that were indeed the case, then this would continue until either the horse itself stopped or the barrel fell from the carriage.
The clacking of the horse’s hooves echoed steadily as the wheels rolled over the uneven ground, occasionally springing up when they ran over divots or stones in their path.
She curled herself up in the fetal position in order to protect her head. As she did, the barrel tilted on a remarkably huge angle.
Ka-thunk. The barrel apparently fell to the ground.
Around and around the barrel spun, eventually hitting something and coming to a stop.
(Am I saved...? Oh, it’s open!)
When she slowly opened her tightly shut eyes, a thin ray of light shone into her once completely dark field of view.
With her hands still tied behind her back, she squirmed around like a caterpillar to pry open the lid. At the same time she rid herself of the gag, which had loosened with the movements of her jaw.
(I’m glad I was able to get that off easily, but I feel that might’ve been tied rather loosely... It could be that the knight was taking pity on me.)
The reluctant expression on the knight’s face she saw just before the cask’s lid closed popped into her mind. The ropes binding her hands weren’t tied very tightly either, and felt removable with a little effort.
Rosemarie looked around her with a sigh of relief, then gulped, dumbfounded.
She was in a forest cast in the sullen shroud of night. Now she realized the light that shone through the barrel lid was the moonlight peering through the cracks of the evergreen branches.
Maybe it was a result of being locked up in the pitch darkness up until a few seconds ago, but she was able to survey the area well enough even with the shaky moonlight. Just as she had expected, the transport carriage and the damaged barrel were lying on the ground nearby. There were marks from where the horse had been hitched, but it was nowhere to be seen, possibly having run off.
Looking at it, she shuddered at the thought of how if the collision was any stronger, she might have hit somewhere vital and died.
“I have to get back.”
It was unlikely that Claudio had calculated her being dumped off somewhere like this.
Unless she got herself back to the castle, she would be convicted of poisoning Claudio for certain, and she didn’t want the blame to befall her homeland—or, more importantly, her family.
The vestiges of Claudio in his youth ran across her mind.
Claudio may have rescued her back then, but he wasn’t coming this time. Reason being that, tomorrow, he was to attend an inquiry accusing him of the presence or absence of his mana. Even if he wasn’t, right now, Claudio didn’t have any mana to begin with, so he couldn’t come into the forest.
Help wasn’t coming, which meant...
“I’ll get back on my own. I’ll get back and shock everyone,” Rosemarie said as if trying to convince herself. She then started to slowly press her way forward, following the wheel tracks that she managed to make out in the grass.
***
When Claudio heard the news from the mole-bearing clergyman, he abandoned any hope of comprehending the implications.
“Wait, Your Highness. Where are you going? You can’t very well go into the Forbidden Forest,” Fritz said reproachfully, which allowed Claudio to realize that he was leaving his quarters without even thinking. That was when rage seethed from deep within his core. A growl rumbled from his throat.
It was early morning on the day of the inquiry when Fritz came running into Claudio’s room with a look of dread on his face. He dived into the room as he was finishing up yet another sleepless night.
“...Damn that repugnant Archbishop!” Those same words that he’d spat out were coming right back to bite him. He had calculated that he might have abducted Rosemarie off somewhere, but...
“And he abandoned her in the Forbidden Forest of all places? The cretin!” That was no better than a gradual death sentence.
Without mana, one was bound to go missing in the Forbidden Forest. Some said it was because you would go out of your mind. Others said the Sacred Beast was still very much alive in the forest, and those who got lost there became a sacrifice to it. And since no normal human has ever tried going in and coming back, it wasn’t clear what would happen in the forest.
“I wasn’t careful myself. Doesn’t matter how busy I was running around with preparations with the inquiry, I should’ve done a better job sticking around her. At the morning service, one of the paladins that keep to the Archbishop was looking strange, so I pressed him for info and that’s when I heard the shocking news that they dumped her off in the Forbidden Forest...” Fritz said, his face looking downcast in a rare display. Claudio moved his eyes away from him and swiftly sat down on the sofa.
“...Rosemarie has my mana. I don’t know how the forest will discern that, but if it recognizes her as having mana, then I think she’ll be able to navigate her way out of the forest, but...” He put a hand on his forehead and racked his brain. Fritz knitted his brow and looked toward the forest.
“With my piddling mana, all I’d do is get lost... Is Master Edel still cooping themselves up?”
“Yes, caught up in analysis of the Kaola. For the inquiry, we’ve prepared it so Master Edel will endow their mana using that branch as a medium, but...” He pointed to a small yew branch atop the desk. The yew tree was not only a ward against evil, but also carried mana, albeit in miniscule amounts. Claudio had been concealing it in his pocket and using it has a medium, giving the illusion that he had been using magic and casting spells.
This was altogether different from the time that Edeltraud tricked him into thinking that Rosemarie was missing. Back then, it was clear that guilt was the emotion that won out in the end. This time, though, emotions like panic and loss were coming and going through his heart, culminating in rage. That rage made his hands tremble and clench tightly into fists.
“In any case, Your Highness, don’t you move. If you don’t make it to today’s inquiry on time, then they’ll think that you’re absent because you don’t have any mana. Got that? I won’t approve of you relinquishing the throne in disgrace on top of being accused of faking that you have mana when you don’t.” Fritz warned Claudio in a deep tone. His normally laid-back attitude had taken a back seat, and bits of his prestige as a clergyman reared their head.
“—You’re an idiot, you know that?” Serving under someone that was as much of a handful as Claudio of his own volition—he had thought this since the very beginning, but that in itself was idiotic.
“I think of a lot of things, being the idiot that I am, sir. And I don’t want to see Her Highness in tears, either,” Fritz said, shrugging his shoulders. It was a sight that calmed Claudio’s nerves a tad.
“Rosemarie ended up safe even though she wandered into the Forbidden Forest as a child. However, the same can’t be guaranteed this time around.” Claudio didn’t want to be so irresponsible as to stop caring about the loss of his position as crown prince. If that were to happen, Rosemarie herself would undoubtedly be sadder about it than anyone.
In attempts to quell the vortex of panic and rage in his heart, he shut his eyes. Then he took a deep breath.
“—Let’s prepare for the inquiry. Once we’ve squared that away, we will do whatever it takes to search for Rosemarie.”
***
Greeted by the bright morning sun, Rosemarie opened her eyes.
Grating pain coursed through various spots on her body as she tried to move, but she managed to crawl away from the base of the yew tree she had slept against.
“I wonder if it ended up warding off evil...?”
She had done nothing but walk in hopes of getting out of the forest since last night, but it didn’t take long before her body, lacking in regular exercise, was bellowing in agony.
Remembering the yew tree planted at the entrance of the greenhouse she received from Claudio, she huddled up to a yew tree that she spotted and rested. It ended up relieving a lot of her fatigue.
Apparently, so long as no people were around, she was bold enough to sleep outdoors.
A few hours’ rest was enough to take a considerable load off her shoulders. She hadn’t put much consideration into her own stamina due to the panic of it all, but she should have been a little bit more careful.
(All that aside, this looks nasty...)
Red blood oozed from both of her wrists as they were exposed to the bright sun overhead. Thanks to her continuously moving her hands as she walked in order to remove the ropes binding her arms together, the ropes loosened and she freed herself. And while she knew there was nothing she could do about the pain in her wrists, it wasn’t until she was able to see in the daylight that she realized just how bad it looked.
After removing her hair ribbon and bandaging up her right hand, she had a look around. From what she could immediately see, there was nothing but evergreen trees and tall weeds. The wheel tracks that she had followed last night were nowhere to even be seen.
Hopelessness seeped into her heart for a second before she fixed her attitude and rose to her feet. She broke off a twig from the evil-warding yew tree and tucked it into the lace adorning the front of her dress in place of a good-luck charm.
“I wonder if the inquiry has started...” Claudio had said he was prepared so that even if there was an inquiry, he would be fine. Although her concerns remained, she believed that he would come out on top.
The real issue here was herself.
It would have been great if she could bust out of the forest based solely on drive alone, but there was no way things would go so smoothly.
“Well, I was told that the last time I was lost here, I climbed the tallest tree in the Forbidden Forest...”
She tried looking up and, sure enough, she was able to spot a tree considerably taller than the trees in the area from where she stood. The thought process of her childhood was starting to fall into place. She most likely thought that if she climbed that tree, she would be able to see the castle. The fact that she’d hatched up the same idea even now was, at least to her, a testament to how dumb she was.
“It’s pretty incredible how little progress I’ve made,” she said with a wry smile, walking forward.
She wasn’t very far from where she wanted to go. But, more importantly, the hem of her dress was getting caught and making it hard for her to walk. The idea popped into her head to rip it and make it shorter, but whether she herself was too weak or the cloth of the dress was stronger than it looked, she wasn’t able to make a tear in it.
(It would be great if I could use Prince Claudio’s mana as well... That way, I could get straight home even if I were dumped off somewhere.)
Upon finally reaching the side of the massive tree, a thought struck her that hadn’t crossed her mind this entire time, partly due to exhaustion. Rosemarie perked her head up, as if taken aback herself.
“It’s not like I can’t use it... right?” There was nothing saying she couldn’t use it even though she didn’t know how to use it. She stared at both her palms, squeezed into them tight, and—succumbed to embarrassment before giving up.
Rosemarie shook her head and tried to switch over to planning how she would scale the tree that stood before her, but that was when she saw something white poking out from behind the giant tree.
“What...? Is that... an animal tail?”
This entire time, she hadn’t even heard a bird chirping, much less caught sight of a wild animal. The forest was draped in such bizarre silence that it was almost as if all life had died off, giving it a slightly unsettling vibe.
That was the sole reason why her heart pounded upon glimpsing at the beast-like something-or-other she had never seen before. However, at the same time, fear reared its ugly head.
(Is it really just a normal animal?)
This was the Forbidden Forest, inviolable grounds. The very place where the remains of the sacred beast were buried. There was a reason why those without mana would end up getting lost inside.
Her heart thumped and thumped. Rosemarie didn’t know if she was being afflicted by fear or anxiety, but the bit of curiosity mixed in was prodding her on, so she tiptoed over and slowly peeked behind the tree.
“Huh...?”
There was nothing there. She had seen the white tail there up until a second ago, but the moment she looked on the other side of the tree, there was nothing. Even after scanning the area, she couldn’t find anything—just shadows cast by the leaves swaying in the breeze.
“Maybe I was just seeing things, then?” She wasn’t willing to accept that, regardless, so she touched the part of the tree trunk where the animal would have been.
—It only took an instant.
Her body became buried in the trunk.
All light had faded and her vision was covered in darkness, just like the time she was stuffed into the barrel. Almost as though she was stuck in a quagmire, she was unable to keep her body from slowly sinking in, and soon it became hard to breathe.
Was this the reason why all those people went missing?
(If I keep sinking, I’m going to die!)
She flailed her hand around like a woman possessed, hoping there was something to grab a hold of—until she found herself spat out somewhere different with a plop.
“—Yow.”
“—Huh? Volland princess.” A familiar yet deadpan voice rushed into her ears. That form of address could had only belonged to one person. Rosemarie lifted her head, stunned. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
“Mage Edel...?!”
The gloomy hooded sorcerer cocked their head in confusion as they sat in their chair.
“Why are you here, Mage Edel?”
“Should be asking you that. Volland princess, how did you get in here?”
As Rosemarie sat on the ground, dumbfounded, a sweet aroma grazed her nose out of nowhere, making her check around. She was in a circular room that was about Rosemarie’s armspan doubled in width. The roundabout wall was filled with bookshelves packed full with books. It wasn’t clear how one was meant to get in or out, as there were neither windows nor doors. Atop the desk in the middle of the room were several bottles and ceramic containers of all shapes and sizes with vapors billowing out of them.
“The smell of Kaola...?”
“Yes, Kaola.”
“So, this is where you’ve been analyzing the Kaola, then...?” Still not understanding any of what was happening, Rosemarie stood up and approached Edeltraud. The sorcerer put their gloves back on.
“Do you know where this is?”
“...Huh? Uh, well...”
Seeing that she was stammering and unable to answer the question, Edeltraud drew a circle with their finger.
“Center of Forbidden Forest. Directly under where sacred beast rests. All those who come near eaten by sacred beast’s dreams. I’m guard of sacred beast’s dreams. This is the guard post.”
“Sacred beast’s dream...?” Those words sparked images of the animal tail she saw near the big tree in her mind for whatever reason.
(I thought it was white... but maybe it was silver...?)
By “eaten,” did they mean by that mythical silver-haired beast?
“You have Claudio’s mana. Probably why you’re safe.”
Rosemarie had been taken in by Edeltraud’s bizarre explanation, but her memory clicked upon hearing Claudio’s name.
“The inquiry! Do you know what happened with Prince Claudio’s inquiry?!” she asked, pressing Edeltraud for answers. The sorcerer tilted their head, perplexed.
“Want to go to Claudio?”
“Yes, I do! But, first, what were the results of the inquiry?!” Considering how carefree Edeltraud was acting, she assumed that Claudio was in the clear and deemed to possess mana, but she was uneasy, nonetheless.
“Haven’t been produced yet. Should be starting about now. Mm-hmm, I probably don’t need to go.” As Rosemarie stood there, wide-eyed, Edeltraud took the opportunity to slide up to her.
“I will take you there, but can you help me with little something I wanted you to test?”
“Well, if it’s something that I can do, then...” Slightly fearful and on-guard, she awkwardly nodded. Edeltraud’s ideas were always polarized between good and bad.
“Right now, Seed of Mana-Sealing in Claudio is in accelerated state. Going berserk in craving nutrients by way of mana. Therefore, giving mana should pacify it. Actually, been getting better by physical contact with you. When people take in nutrients, usually by mouth. So, streaming mana from mouth probably best. Most effective. Same when he drank Kaola tea. So, consider you are bundle of mana.”
“Yes, okay?”
“In other words, if you——Claudio, then mana might return to normal.”
“...Pardon?”
She felt like she just heard a word that was hard to comprehend. Edeltraud looked at her, confused.
“Didn’t hear? Give Claudio a——”
“I cannot!” Her face flushed red in shame. No, her whole body was hot, so she might’ve been getting red right down to the tip of her toes.
“I could never do such a thing with Prince Claudio. I simply cannot!” If she were to do that, he would surely come to dislike her. Even if it were a compromise, she was still, at her core, the detestable person who stole his mana. She thought she would do anything to help, but she also didn’t want Claudio to hate her.
“Don’t miss Claudio?”
“That isn’t what I said!” she replied, half out of reflex, which caused her to come to her senses. Apparently, she wanted to get back to Claudio’s side so badly that she would think about how bad she missed him when questioned if she missed him.
“U-Um, will just a quick one do...?” Her face was still so red that even she herself noticed, but she braced herself, figuring that the alternative was better than being stranded here and not knowing what became of Claudio.
She caught a glimpse of a smile across Edeltraud’s face.
“That’s fine. Alright, let’s go.” Edeltraud plucked off the yew branch Rosemarie stuck in the front of her dress earlier.
In the blink of an eye, the thin and scattered leaves in the sorcerer’s hand were picked up by a wind seemingly out of nowhere, then rained down from overhead.
Her wide-open eyes were quickly covered in darkness and her body started to quake. It was a sensation almost like falling from somewhere high up, where your gut felt like it was being pulled down. She found herself closing her eyes as a result.
“If mana doesn’t return, I’ll handle things. Don’t get too worked up.” Edeltraud’s voice started to gradually fade off into the distance, eventually getting erased by the wooshing sounds of the wind.
Everything abruptly lit up, and, at the same time, she felt herself cast off elsewhere.
“...!!” Rosemarie banged her shoulder, letting out a small groan.
(Three times just today... I’m going to bruise up at this rate... And will Heidi ever have a fit...)
She scanned the area while getting over the pain to find that she was under the yew tree growing next to the greenhouse Claudio gave her.
“I’ve... made it back to the castle?” Rather than being happy over making it back, she was more preoccupied with the huge leap she made from being inside the forest to being right near the castle. Although still in a perplexed state of mind, Rosemarie quickly rose to her feet.
(Where are they holding the inquiry?)
Spurring her shaking legs into action, she ran across the courtyard. She entered the building, almost tripping over herself, and bumped into the knights standing guard outside.
“Oh, Her Royal Highness?!”
“Do you know where they are holding the inquiry?!” She questioned, pulling at the knight frozen in surprise. Rosemarie was worried what kind of situation she was in at the castle at the moment, but it was more efficient to ask right here instead of running all over creation looking. The desperate ferocity on Rosemarie’s face made the knight hesitantly open his mouth.
“In the grand hall... but—”
“I thank you.” She didn’t wait for him to finish his sentence, and instead started running toward the grand hall. While she thanked her lucky stars that it was somewhere she familiar with, her heart jumped at the sound of footsteps following her from behind.
“Your Royal Highness, wait right there!”
“Her Highness has escaped from prison!”
Apparently, she hadn’t been portrayed as having run away last night. Although she was relieved to know that, she couldn’t afford to let herself get caught now.
She lifted up the fringe of her dress so that her legs wouldn’t get tangled and made her way toward the hall, albeit on a path that was bound to get her lost. However, as she did, more and more knights started chasing her down.
(No good! I’m going to be caught!)
It was when she turned the corner, half-crying, that it happened. She collided with someone. The person quickly held her up as she bounced off and flew backwards.
“I’ve caught you, Your Highness!” The deer-headed knight squeezed her arm tight.
***
There were so many people in attendance in the grand hall that there was barely room to fit everyone.
“Questioning the Status of Crown Prince Claudio’s Mana.”
Three days ago, the announcement of the inquiry’s purpose throughout the castle surprised and astonished people, while a handful of people trembled in delight.
One of the people trembling in delight was Archbishop Kastner, the person trying to claim a spot by the throne and the person beside whom Fritz was currently standing. As he stood there, he unintentionally overheard what the people around had to say.
“Wasn’t he supposed to be the second coming of the sacred beast?”
“If you think about it, His Highness doesn’t actively use magic. Have they been pulling the wool over our eyes?”
“I mean, most other sorcerers are the same way, aren’t they? It’s just that Archmagus Edeltraud uses it way too frivolously.”
“If he doesn’t have mana, who’s going to take the throne as crown prince? The right to the next successor will surely—”
The unfiltered chatter being exchanged around him made Fritz sigh on the inside while keeping his face neutral.
(Boy, I wish they’d shut up. Though, the person on the throne as crown prince possibly being mana-less is an unprecedented event, so I guess I can’t blame ’em.)
Inquiries were held when acceding the position of crown prince. At the time, Claudio still had his mana and his head wasn’t a lion’s. He probably never expected to lose his mana afterward.
The clamorous grand hall suddenly went so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Claudio stepped through the royal entrance.
His firm and youthful build was clad in black knight garb, and his head—that of a silver lion. The regal way in which he walked in, without an ounce of nervousness, made you want to naturally take to your knee and bow. And in actuality, like an ebbing wave, the aristocrats and bureaucrats in the hall started to take to their knees.
Fear and reverence coupled with doubts and suspicion. A plethora of emotions filled the hall.
(I suppose it’s for the best the royal wife isn’t here.)
Rosemarie would probably have fainted if she saw this landscape. Probably nothing but beast heads, left and right. It was the only thing you could consider a lucky circumstance out of her disappearance, if you even dared.
King Baltzar was the final person to make his entrance, and he sat upon the throne, commencing the inquiry.
***
Six candles were set on the large candelabra that was transported into the middle of the hall.
“We would like you to light each of the candles on this, Prince Claudio. If you do, the status of your mana will be clear as day,” explained Archbishop Kastner within the pins-and-needles atmosphere of the hall. In order to bar any outside interference from sorcerers other than Claudio, their attendance had been banned.
(Yes, just sorcerers.)
Claudio caught sight of Fritz, with a look of innocence on his face, standing behind Kastner.
There were people who didn’t have great enough mana to become a sorcerer like Fritz, and there were also people who would never try to be a sorcerer, as well. There were probably some of those people among the many assembled in the hall as well.
(—I’m counting on you, Master Edel.)
Claudio uncharacteristically prayed to the normally aloof sorcerer.
He held his hand out toward the rightmost candle. The clamorous hall once again filled itself to the brim with nail-biting tension.
—There was a pause for a few seconds, but the wick remained unlit.
Even the people who were optimistic at first were gradually starting to cast eyes of doubt on him, and their whispers got louder.
Claudio didn’t budge an inch regardless.
(Master Edel... were you so wrapped up in research that you forgot about the inquiry? Or maybe...)
Normally, whenever Claudio were to use magic, Edeltraud would be close by to use it in his stead. But when it came to using it from a distance like this, it wasn’t likely that even the archmagus, who used magic and spells willy-nilly, would be able to pull something like this off.
“It would appear that candles are quite tricky to light, yes? This candle might very well be tampered with. Let us give it a light just to make sure.” Kastner chuckled with a bounce of his shoulders. He approached the candle and beckoned a chamberlain over with a flame.
A warm orange fire burned, and Claudio gritted his molars ever so slightly.
(This is bad, eh...?)
Fritz, who was standing by Kastner’s immediate side, shot Claudio a panicked look. If Fritz strained himself, he probably could have lit it, but Claudio let out a big sigh in lieu of a nod back.
“Change the candle. Who were these prepped by and where? You said that they might have been tampered with, didn’t you? These are tools for a very serious inquiry. It should be common sense that they are not tampered with, but how can you say that for sure?” Claudio let out a deep chortle. The angry-sounding chortle terrified the chamberlain next to him so greatly, they dropped the flame they were holding. Kastner stamped it out, expressionless.
“A pathetic display that only—”
“Claudio.” King Baltzar, who had been silently overseeing the turn of events up until this point, interrupted Kastner mid-thought. His voice, though not forceful, naturally drew one’s ears toward it.
“If you have your doubts, then use the candles on the wall. Acceptable, Archbishop?” The king pointed at the candles set up all around the hall, then cast his eyes upon Kastner.
The two of them saluted with a hand to their chests, at which point the chamberlain prepared to fetch the candles on the wall.
Claudio involuntarily patted his chest. He was hoping Edeltraud would successfully establish the link he needed with them in the meantime.
Once the chamberlain plucked off the first candle, the sound of many people running around was heard from outside the hall.
“What is this about?” Kastner knitted his brows in suspicion. The people in the hall made a stir and chattered.
The rushed-sounding footsteps got closer. Then, the door of the hall opened, making a sound so loud it seemed almost as if it would shatter into pieces.
“—Prince Claudio!” It was Alto who flung the door wide open. Practically stumbling from behind him was someone clad in a filthy dress, bruised all over and looking as if she had been dragged through the mud—none other than Crown Princess Rosemarie.
***
“—Prince Claudio!” Rosemarie rushed into the hall, timidly minding the massive number of eyes all staring at her at once, but pushing past that and stepping inside. Startled, the attendees of the inquiry all cleared a path for her. Or, more accurately, they all backed away trying to avoid her.
“Rosemarie?!”
She saw Claudio trying to make his way toward her in wide-eyed shock, and tears welled in her eyes in relief.
Rosemarie jumped into Claudio’s arms as he stretched them out toward her, almost falling over himself. Without a moment to even catch her breath, she pressed her lips against Claudio’s.
“—?!”
“I have missed you so much.” She quickly parted lips and huddled herself up to Claudio, whose cheeks were crimson and expression utterly baffled.
“In other words, if you kiss Claudio, then mana might return to normal.”
That was Edeltraud’s suggested idea. It was an experiment to return Claudio’s mana.
She couldn’t lift her head, and her heart was throbbing so hard it made her feel as if it were going to pop out of her chest at any moment, causing her to feel dizzy.
(Please, return to normal.)
She squeezed onto Claudio’s clothes with a prayer. That was when he grabbed her shoulders even harder.
“...Hah.”
Claudio’s face wrenched as if suffocating and he thrashed his head about like a beast.
“Prince Claudio?!”
“Your Highness!”
Alto had come to their side sometime in the interim and helped pry Rosemarie from Claudio, who was gripped to the girl so hard he was likely to crush her shoulders.
The person she’d run into as she fled the castle guards was Alto. By now, though, she was starting to feel terrible about how many times he’d had to bail her out.
Claudio shivered dramatically once again, but soon took a deep breath and slowly lifted his head. Without even wiping the sweat from his brow, those blue eyes stared at Rosemarie full of confusion.
—Just then, the clamor turned into an uproar.
“His Highness’s face...”
“It no longer... looks like the sacred beast?”
“Prince Claudio’s face is human again!”
As several people shouted and their cries echoed through the hall, Rosemarie looked up at Alto, who was holding her up.
“Is his face really back to normal?”
“Yes, milady. It most certainly is!” Alto replied, beaming with a proud smile as his voice trembled in joy. Rosemarie looked at Claudio, touching his own face, and she was moved to tears.
With his face still tense as if he had seen something unbelievable, Claudio swept his hand across the air.
The candles on the candelabra in the middle of the hall were lit all at once. The candles that were arranged on the wall also lit up, one by one, with a blue mana-fueled flame. Claudio waved his hand once more, but, this time, the flames changed in color to a dark red.
(His mana... it’s back?)
Rosemarie was so comforted by this that she sank to the floor, weak in the knees.
“Are you okay?” Claudio quickly extended his arm and took her into his embrace.
“T-Thank goodness...” As she wrapped her arms around his neck, the tears welled in her eyes fell down her cheeks. The worry she had was far greater than the temporary sense of shame she felt—worried about the possibility of nothing happening because of her kiss, or it causing his condition to degrade more.
“I’m not very sure how, but it looks like my mana is back. —Thank you,” he whispered to her, choking her up. However, he let go of her faster than she could bask in the sentiment and nod her head. With a fearless smile, Claudio turned around.
“Now, then. As you can plainly see, I have my mana. More importantly, I am trying to piece together exactly why the princess, who should still be detained, has shown up here looking as disheveled as she is. Any clues, Kastner?” Claudio’s interjection drew Rosemarie’s eyes over to the other side and she gasped.
(It’s not back to normal? But, why...?)
Kastner’s face was still in the same demonic state of being half melting lizard and half human. If Claudio’s mana returned to him, then she should not have been able to see that.
“Yes, ‘why’ is the question that I would like to be asking here.” A smirk crossed his demonic face. Those reptilian and human eyes both glared straight at her, causing Rosemarie to cringe in fear, but she opened her mouth, regardless.
“T-The Archbishop abandoned me in the Forbidden Forest as I was being detained. He said it would be a problem should I bear a child...”
“—Your Highness, whatever are you saying? If you were abandoned in the Forbidden Forest, there would be no way you could have returned. I would appreciate it if you would not falsely accuse me for an escape that you made on your own.”
“It is not false! Last night, I was—”
“Rosemarie.” Claudio’s consoling voice hushed her up. She looked at him, dissatisfied, as if asking why he wouldn’t let her explain herself, but Claudio gave a sweet smile as his only reply. He then turned back to face Kastner.
“The princess has not uttered a single falsehood. These people have testified to that being fact. Fritz.”
“Yes, Your Royal Highness Claudio.” Fritz bowed respectfully, and from behind him came the knights clad in the gold-embroidered uniforms who had shoved Rosemarie into the wine barrel as she was still being detained in the prison.
“These gentlemen were unable to bear the torment of conscience and came to me for penance. Archbishop, as a man of the church, I cannot simply overlook you involving paladins for your own agenda. Oh, perhaps I should bring forth these, too, while I’m at it.” Fritz pulled out several notes from his breast pocket.
“I took the liberty of doing some investigating per Prince Claudio’s instructions... And what turned up was: suspected embezzlement of state church contributions, bribes to bureaucratic personnel, violence and bodily harm toward the maid staff. —And the list goes on, but would you care to share your side of the story?” Fritz said with a complacent smile. Kastner gritted his molars in frustration.
“Fritz, how dare you...”
The uproar of the crowd composed of looks and cries of disapproval rained down on Kastner.
Even though Rosemarie knew the various beastly glares that only she could see weren’t directed at her, they still sent a shiver down her spine and made her feel sick. Claudio stroked that same shivering back softly and gently with one hand.
“Kastner, what were you planning to do after I was deemed mana-less? You cannot become the king of this nation without mana. In order to receive the right to be heir to the throne, you must have both the lineage and the mana. Can the candidate you hoped to back claim both?”
The human side of Kastner’s face was bathed in hatred, and scores of scales on the melted lizard portion fell off as he opened his mouth wide. A forked tongue popped out from the inside of his red mouth. He grabbed the nearby candelabra and tried to swing the blunt object at Claudio, but before the knights had a chance to try to stop him, Claudio quickly and easily stopped him instead.
“Mana this, mana that! Shut your impudent mouth about mana, brat! That mere shell of a contrived law was made during this nation’s inception just so that sorcerers would preserve their bloodlines. A king can be perfectly suitable even without your blasted mana.” Kastner growled in reply. Claudio cast his eyes in pity at the man as he murmured:
“I figured as much. You really don’t know the reason why mana is necessary for acceding to the throne.”
While it was unlikely he would try to attack Claudio again, Kastner’s arm tensed up. His muddled, dark eyes were tinged slightly with confusion.
“This castle was constructed in order to keep the Forbidden Forest in check. The castle’s mana is pivotal. Should the king be mana-less, the forest will spread further and further. The capital would be completely engulfed and eventually fall to ruin.”
“That cannot be...”
“You’re qualified to say it’s impossible? You, the person who doesn’t know a thing about the mystic arts? You can say that for certain?” Claudio pressed for answers, but Kastner did nothing but clam up in frustration. Claudio smiled triumphantly, unhanding Kastner’s arm. After being abruptly tossed aside, Kastner staggered a bit before regaining his footing. He continued to glare with hatred at Claudio nevertheless.
“What you have been trying to do would equate to a treasonous plot to destroy the nation if not given proper discretion.” From Claudio’s body, a white shimmering haze rose up, and the freshly lit flames of the candles all wavered despite there not being any wind.
“On top of that, you plotted regicide against the princess. Before you are judged before the law, I am going to judge you myself!” The amorphous haze started to take form. Suddenly, the small flames of the candles erupted into practical inferno. What showed up in the center of the hall, parting the flames, was a creature with a gallant lion head and body and curled ram horns. Its back, lurched in an intimidating posture, housed a pair of elegant wings.
“... the sacred beast, the Silver Lion?!”
Its pelt looked far too soft to be an illusion, and the force of wind from the harsh flap of its wings seemed very real. It left Rosemarie awestruck.
The sacred beast let out a thunderous roar. That roar rattled the atmosphere, invoking awe and fear from the onlookers’ very core. As the crowd stood frozen in place, Kastner turned heel with a frantic look on his face.
“After him,” came the cold utterance from Claudio’s mouth. Hearing his instructions, the Silver Lion chased after Kastner as he ran toward the exit. The Silver Lion pounced toward Kastner, who was trying his best to escape while stumbling over himself.
“Stop! You vile monster...! Stay back, stay back, stay back! Aaaaaaaaaaah!!”
The sacred beast opened its gigantic mouth wide and swallowed the Archbishop’s head whole.
Shrieks echoed throughout the room. Those who sank to the floor in a daze, those who were trying to run away in a panic—everyone was in fear of Claudio.
“Prince Claudio... how could you...” Rosemarie clasped onto Claudio’s tunic with shivering fingers. He responded with a smile.
“Look closely.”
The sacred beast started to dissolve like a clearing fog. Left in its wake was the form of Archbishop Kastner, his mind in an absolute daze with his eyes partially rolled up into his head. Upon noticing that, the crowd’s confusion gradually quelled, and someone called the knights to take him into custody.
“He will be out of commission for a while.”
“That was still taking things too far!” She looked at Claudio as he smiled pleasantly with a judging eye. The Archbishop was probably unconscious. She could see the castle guard knights carting the limp body of Kastner off, carrying him by both arms.
Claudio watched calmly as Kastner was taken off into custody. Then, he began instructing those around him. Rosemarie noticed all the people still left in the hall focusing their curious eyes upon Claudio as he spoke.
(Oh, that’s right. The majority of people here are only seeing Prince Claudio’s human face for the first time...)
He was probably recognizable when compared to his younger self, but likely looked considerably different.
She also caught sight of some girls swooning over this dashing black-haired young man standing before them, which put her in a somewhat unamused mood.
“Claudio.” A subdued yet clear voice resounded. Rosemarie turned around along with Claudio and the others. She hurried to take a knee before King Baltzar, the man unperturbed by what just transpired before him. Beside her, Claudio stood.
“I am terribly sorry for the commotion, Your Majesty. Also, I apologize for speaking of the details of the Forbidden Forest before everyone in attendance. I assure you it was done in the interest of preventing anyone else like Kastner from doing the same...”
“That matters not. If you believe you’ve incited a commotion, then be sure to improve upon your actions in the future. You are plenty capable of doing so, I am sure.” Those were the king’s only remarks, made with a stern expression, as he vacated the throne and left with the chamberlain.
“Prince Claudio...” Their exchange was so extremely curt that it was hard to believe they were father and son. It was an interaction that made Rosemarie’s brows droop, discouraged, but Claudio smiled at her as if nothing happened.
“Now, then, a hefty clean-up process awaits. We have exposed all of Kastner’s wrongdoings, after all. It’s about time that I drag all of his conspirators out to the public. However, before I do that...” Claudio’s tone was intentionally bright and cheery to Rosemarie, her mind still not clear. He then softly held her bruised hands.
“You did a good job coming back here. When I heard you had been abandoned in the Forbidden Forest, I was beside myself with concern.”
“I have you to thank for that, Prince Claudio. Master Edel told me I was able to come out safe because I had your mana in me.” There was no stopping her from feeling guilty for stealing his mana in the first place, but that was the one instance in which she was grateful that she had it.
“So, you were able to see Master Edel. That is what brought that deed into fruition, I see...”
“That deed...?” Rosemarie cocked her head in confusion and Claudio stared at her straight in the eyes. More accurately, straight in the lips. The sensation of Claudio’s slightly dry, yet unexpectedly soft, lips came rushing back into her memory, and the blood shot to her head.
“That was...! Um! Master Edel told me to test that in exchange for sending me to you, Prince Claudio, you see, and...” Now that she thought of it, she ended up kissing Claudio with a packed audience. From an unrelated bystander’s perspective, she looked like a loon of a princess devoid of common sense with no regard for the public eye.
(Bucket! I need my bucket!)
Since she still had Claudio holding on to both of her hands, she couldn’t use them to cover her face. Instead, she dug it into her arms, shivering bashfully.
“You’re blushing up a storm.”
“...Your ears are just as red, Prince Claudio,” she pointed out in response to his teasing remark.
“—Shut up. Not another word.” He retaliated by pinching her nose instead of her cheek this time around.
“Your Royal Highness.”
Rosemarie froze up before she could even turn around upon hearing the addressing voice. It was a familiar deep voice, one belonging to the wolf-headed captain of The Second Order.
“I will be right there.” She herself had not been cleared of being suspected of assassinating the prince. She didn’t want to think that her returning like this had added to her charges, but she had no idea what would happen.
Claudio furrowed his brows and whispered to her.
“Rosemarie, you remember what I told you, right?”
“‘No matter what happens, don’t admit to the crime. I will have you cleared in no time. So, just have faith and wait.’” She was confident that she recited each line without error. Claudio looked dumbfounded for a second, probably being caught off-guard by that. He then quickly averted his gaze, seemingly embarrassed.
“I will be waiting for you.”
“Good.”
Rosemarie bashfully smiled at Claudio, who gave a firm nod in reply with his head still facing away.