“You don’t need to apologize. He’s the sort of man who comes to volunteer his services as my spy within the Church.”
“Well, Your Highness, I can’t just rest on my laurels. You are quite reviled in the Church, after all. Plus, believe it or not, I am a capable and popular individual. Remember that I have connections both inside and outside this nation. So instead of wasting away in some corrupt church, I would much rather have you put any of the intel that I’ve painstakingly gathered to good use.” The face bearing that frivolous smile had not appeared beast-like in the least this whole time. Everything he said was the truth. Nonetheless, she was shocked that such a carefree clergyman could exist.
“I more or less understand circumstances, Sir Fritz. But why the ceiling antics...?”
“Mostly for the fun of it, I suppose. Also, I was worried that Your Highness might lose control of himself with the fated young miss finally within his grasp, so I was keeping my eye on—! Your Highness! Could you please stop tossing those knives?!” Fritz slapped down the knives that came careening at him a second time. At nearly the same time, he grew a long muzzle, and his head transformed into that of a light orange fox. Rosemarie found herself going tense in fear.
Not even caring that the now anger-morphed Fritz was lashing out at him, Claudio scoffed in displeasure.
“What else do you expect? You’re saying things to earn my ire. Now, leave. This conversation is going nowhere.”
“My leaving is certainly an option. But what about your inability to prove how your non-sorcerer wife stole your mana? I believe that instead of losing your cool and threatening her, it would be easier and more helpful to make sure she can properly comprehend the details.” Now that he’d calmed down, Fritz’s face reverted back to human form—the same human face as before, with its amorous vibe (despite him being a man) thanks to the mole under his eye. Claudio reluctantly nodded, his face contorted into a sour scowl.
“—I get it. Let’s do that, then.” Claudio consented to the idea, ordering Fritz to bring something to him. Once Fritz exited the room, Claudio silently sprawled on the sofa nearby.
Rosemarie shuddered, her shoulders shaking as she watched Claudio timidly. As Claudio sat with one elbow perched on his lap and propping his head up with his hand, his face exuded fatigue from every pore.
“A-Are you tired...?” In response to her simple, instinctive question, Claudio glared back at her as if possessed. It seemed she had touched on a sensitive subject. A chill ran down the course of her spine.
“Oh, I’m tired, all right. So very, very tired. And you’re the main culprit.”
So, she was the root of the issue again? She’d had so many accusations slung at her, she just wanted to curl up and clutch her head.
“Um, I hate to ask you this while you’re so tired, but would you mind explaining the situation in a little more detail? Like, how I managed to steal the mana from you, maybe? I may not be very smart, but I’m not making heads or tails of any of this, you see...” She said this in a subdued voice, standing idly in place.
Maybe the fatigue from earlier today was partially to blame, but she knew that her head wasn’t working at full speed.
“There’s nothing to explain. ‘Since you stole my mana, I’ve been unable to use sorcery, have had my head turned into a silver lion’s, and have grown ill as a result. You’re not going anywhere until I reclaim my mana.’ Simple enough, what’s there to understand?” Claudio said, knitting his brows in exasperation. The delicate care that he had shown to Rosemarie up until a few moments ago was gone as if it never happened. For as much as Claudio’s care and attention filled her with joy, Claudio himself actually didn’t mean a single bit of it—it was a fact that made the girl’s heart ache.
“... I’m sorry. I just don’t understand. I beg of you. Please, tell me.”
Claudio stared at her, silent and unmoving, as she pressed him for answer. Finally, he opened his mouth, extremely displeased.
“—Sit there.” Claudio gestured to the seat in front of the vanity with a jerk of his chin. Once she’d seated herself there hesitantly, he let out an exaggerated sigh.
“The Seed of Mana-Sealing is within me.”
“The Seed of Mana-Sealing?” She tilted her head in confusion upon hearing the piece of unfamiliar vocabulary, which prompted Claudio twitch an eyebrow, so she rushed to shut her mouth.
“The Seed of Mana-Sealing is just what it sounds like: it is designed to suppress one’s mana. My base mana was quite strong. And by drinking the Seed of Mana-Sealing, I suppressed it. Had I not drunk of it, my mana might have ended up hurting even myself.” Claudio dropped his gaze slightly. He looked vaguely sad for a second before his sharp gaze immediately fell upon her.
“On our National Foundation Day, I saw a child going into the Forbidden Forest. You do know what I mean by ‘Forbidden Forest,’ I take it?”
“Yes, you’re referring to the sea of trees in the back of the castle, correct? I was taught in my royal training that it is the place where they enshrined the remains of the Silver Lion, the sacred beast that helped the foundation of Baltzar with its powerful mana while the nation was still forming. However, I remember hearing that those without mana who enter the forest blindly disappear... Could this child who entered the forest be... me, by any chance?” She recalled that she had been far more interested in the sea of trees she saw upon her arrival in Baltzar than in the sturdy castle opposite it. Seeing as she’d been an energetic bundle of curiosity in her youth, it wouldn’t have surprised her at all to hear she’d wandered into that forest on her own.
She clenched her hands tightly in her lap, waiting with bated breath. Claudio, on the other hand, continued nonchalantly, ignoring her question.
“—I chased after the child. I was already old enough to know that, on the off chance that it were the child of an official guest, their disappearance could develop into a diplomatic issue. Although, now that I know it was the princess of a fledgling nation, I wish from the bottom of my heart that I had left you be.”
“...Yes, you’re right.” Rosemarie slumped her shoulders dispiritedly, to which Claudio only gave a perturbed “humph.”
“I found the child up in the tallest tree of the Forbidden Forest, her face scrunched up in an unattractive mess, on the verge of tears. And when I attempted to rescue her, I had my mana stolen from me.”
Rosemarie felt Claudio’s strong gaze fall upon her, making her shoulders jump. To say that she was used to being stared at by the eyes of beasts would be an understatement. Being scowled at by a pair of human eyes, though, was a new experience altogether.
“After my mana had been stolen away, I gradually began to take on the form of the Silver Lion. First, my hair turned silver overnight. The next day, my skin became covered in silver-white fur. The day after that, the horns followed.”
That seemed to be the same process by which people’s heads turned into beast heads before Rosemarie’s eyes. The only difference was that it was a slow transformation over time as opposed to changing before one’s eyes. She had to wonder which was more frightening—witnessing it happen or having it actually happen to yourself.
It wasn’t clear if he was suppressing his anger, but the nonchalant way he was talking indicated how immense his anger was.
“All a destructive culmination that sprouted forth after the Seed of Mana-Sealing within me hungered for mana.”
“Sprouted forth...” Rosemarie suddenly remembered a flower she’d grown hydroponically once before. She could sense the flower’s energy and liveliness as she watched the white roots grow every day behind the glass of the bowl. At the same time, she could also sense something unsettling about the tangled, encroaching mess of roots. It made her shudder to think that the same thing was possibly happening inside of Claudio. She rubbed her arm, a chill running through her body.
“—That very Seed of Mana-Sealing is why His Highness’s life is in danger.”
Rosemarie jumped in surprise and turned toward the door upon hearing Fritz, who had made his return unannounced.
“If you’ve already made it back, then you should be quicker about entering.”
“Well, I figured far be it from me to go barging in when you’re finally in the mood to explain matters. This’ll do, right?” Paying no mind to Claudio and his displeased glare, Fritz smiled bewitchingly and held up a broom.
“Yeah, that will do,” Claudio said with a nod, turning his sights toward Rosemarie. She cowered at both his cold stare and unamused expression.