“You were able to rob me of my mana because you have a physical trait that allows you to do so. I shall prove that to you now.”
“Huh? Wha, um, me... huh? Physical trait?” What she was being told made no sense. In fact, she had never been told that in the sixteen years she walked the planet. Rosemarie rose to her feet in shock, nervously patting herself down. Fritz stood before her, holding the broom upright.
“I’m sending some mana into this. Would you be a dear and touch it?” Even faced with a flustered Rosemarie and a grim, tight-lipped Claudio, Fritz was unfazed. He squeezed the handle of the broom, then let it go.
Just when she thought the broom would drop, it suddenly stood right back up. It was bobbing a little and seemed ready to fall at any moment, but it was most certainly hanging above the ground on its own.
“...?!”
Surprisingly physically adept for a clergyman, an inside informant with mana, and an even shadier customer than Claudio. Rosemarie shot Fritz a shocked, bewildered look. He just stood there and shrugged.
“Yup, this is about the best I can do with my garbage-tier mana.”
“Oh, no. I think it’s incredible. I feel this would do wonders for housekeeping.”
“Ahaha. Let’s let it loose in the castle, then, shall we?”
“You will do no such thing,” Claudio said in a peeved tone. “What kind of imbecile are you? You’re testing my patience. Hurry up and get this over with.”
Fritz replied with a few halfhearted “Yes, sir”s, cleared his throat, and fixed his posture in his seat. Rosemarie, too, found herself straightening her spine in the midst of the serious mood.
“All right. Just give this a little touch, would you? This broom is currently imbued with mana, so if the broom falls once you touch it, you’ll have stolen the mana from it. That should be enough to convince you.”
Rosemarie gulped and reached nervously for the broom. She’d never heard of someone with a physical trait that caused them to steal mana, or whatever it was. If that really were the case with her, it would feel as though she had mutated—a terrifying thought, indeed.
Her fingertips touched the handle. As they did, an odd feeling coursed through her, as though she had touched lukewarm water. She jerked her hand away. The broom tottered dangerously in the air, then fell straight to the floor.
The solid noise that echoed in Rosemarie’s ears made her grab her hand in a flabbergasted daze. Her shoulders twitched as she was left speechless. The broom remained motionless on the floor. It didn’t rise back up.
“That... can’t be.”
“Now do you see? There is a trait in you that extracts mana from others. Do you believe me now?”
Rosemarie watched Claudio as he sat there, his hand resting on his face. She felt herself go limp and sank to the floor, sitting where she’d stood.
“—B-But Your Highness, you used magic at the wedding.” Rosemarie grabbed for one last contradiction. “I had a sorcerer by my side, remember? It was their magic.” The contradiction was shot down immediately. All she could do now was hang her head in disbelief.
Everything Claudio said was true. While she couldn’t feel the mana she stole from him in her body, what she just saw explained everything.
“A prerequisite for becoming crown prince is that you have mana. No matter how small in quantity it may be. In my current condition, I run the risk of being cut off from the throne. —Now do you get it? Do understand the severity of what you’ve done?”
Rosemarie’s eyes widened and she squeezed her folded hands tightly. “W-Who knows of this...?”
“My father, King Baltzar. Fritz here. Alto Clausen, Vice Captain of the Imperial Guard and my personal aide. And Archmagus Edeltraud. There are a few chief retainers who also know, but those are all the people you need to be concerned with.”
Rosemarie could read between the lines. Those are all the people you’ve inconvenienced. She had stolen Crown Prince Claudio’s mana and caused his disfigurement. It was also apparently putting his life in jeopardy. It was no small wonder why he hated her.
“I am so sorry. I have been such a major inconvenience without ever even knowing. I will return your mana to you right away, Your Highness!” Rosemarie jumped to her feet and squeezed Claudio’s hand with both of hers.
Claudio’s icy expression tensed, as though he’d just been lied to. “...What are you doing?”
“Huh? Well, I’m trying to return your mana, so...”
“If all you had to do was hold my hand, then my head would have returned to normal long ago. That would make marrying you pointless.” Claudio glared at her; she could practically hear him tutting at her, unamused. She lowered her eyebrows as a feeling of guilt washed over her.
He had a good point. If all he wanted was an apology and a quick turnaround of his mana, he’d hardly have to go to the trouble of marrying someone he hated. In that case...
“Um, could the way to do it be, by any chance...” She looked up slowly at Claudio, her eyes wide and innocent as a puppy’s.
There was only one reason he’d have to marry her. Once it hit her, her face flushed with heat.
A vein bulged in Claudio’s forehead as he spat out in a gravelly tone, “No, conjugal intercourse is not the way.”
“Oh, of course it isn’t!” The mere thought seemed to annoy Claudio. Meanwhile, Rosemarie covered her face with her hands, unable to hide her embarrassment. She was ashamed of herself. How could such an indecent thought cross her mind?
“Well, she’s bound to get the wrong idea. Look at the situation she’s in,” Fritz quipped with a wry smile. Rosemarie nodded slightly, still hiding her face. She then heard Claudio let out an exasperated sigh.
“I still don’t know how to get my mana back from you. However, there is a limit to just how long I’d stand keeping you as a guest. And having you taken prisoner would require fabricating charges, which is more trouble than it’s worth. So, marrying you was the quickest and easiest way to keep you here in Baltzar without inciting any public outcry. A wife is her husband’s property. Not to mention, no matter how I treat you, divorcing me will prove quite difficult.”
Rosemarie stared at Claudio blankly, her face tensing. She was told she had to return something, and had rather optimistically thought that meant she could do so right away. It seemed, though, that things would be a little more complicated than that.
“Once I get my mana back, your vision will also return to normal. Like it or not, until that time comes, you will remain here as my wife. —Then again, when I’ll be able to find a way to get things back to normal remains up in the air.” He flashed a cruel smile Rosemarie’s way, making her shudder. If he didn’t know the way, that meant he might look for a way, turning her into his own human test subject.
“I will stay here, but... y-you won’t hurt me, will you...? I beg of you, please don’t do anything bad to me.” Tears formed in her eyes out of fear. The mental pain of seeing someone’s head turn into that of a beast was something she had some resistance built up against, but physical pain was uncharted territory.
As she sat there, staring at Claudio’s silent and emotionless face, Fritz, who stood right by his side, started to smile.
“Isn’t this starting to sound, well, you know—more than a little indecent?”
“The only indecent thing here is your cesspool of a mind!” With a voice so low it practically skirted the ground, Claudio threw his third knife at the clergyman. However, Fritz gleefully and casually evaded it, followed by his exit from the room.
“Well, I did promise you at the wedding ceremony, didn’t I? ‘I swear to spend every waking moment dedicated to you, never looking away.’ Of course, since you’re my mana vault. I’m going to dedicate everything I can to you.” A sarcastic smile draped across his face, Claudio rose to his feet, and calmly walked past the frightened Rosemarie. With his robe waving behind him, he headed toward the door.
“Ah, yes. You are not to breathe a word of what I’ve told you to anyone. Unless it is one of the three I mentioned before, you will not speak of my lack of mana under any circumstances.” He shot a dreadful look Rosemarie’s way, and she nodded her head up and down like a berserk bobblehead.
(Of course, my lips are sealed! But I want to go home soon...!)
“—Well, then, my royal wife, I hope you have a pleasant night.” Claudio smiled affectionately, just as he had earlier that day, and exited the room.