She questioned if she was having a nightmare of her wedding day.
Claudio was seated on the bed before Rosemarie, the picture of composure, and she felt the desire to put her bucket right over her head.
“Um, may I ask why you are in my room?”
“Because I’m going to be sleeping in here, obviously. I told you that you’re going to be helping me.” That afternoon after the Archbishop’s visit, just as Claudio had predicted, he was informed that he was cleared for participation in the Imperial Bout from King Baltzar. He may have been purporting it would be a spectacle, but he may have been hiding a desire to participate all along. Claudio had finished his work and seemed to be in good spirits when Rosemarie left him. But after her usual evening meal and bath, he made an unexpected visit around the time she was preparing for bed.
Heidi, unaware of the entire situation, seemed to be conflicted between being delighted and being resentful. Either way, the fact that she was turning into a black cat was leaving an impression.
“After all, it would appear that I can sleep when you are around. You’re going to help me for the sake of my health,” Claudio declared in a refreshingly clear manner. Rosemarie covered her flushed face with both hands in reaction—perhaps seeing the writing on the wall. This was a terrible form of harassment.
(Well, of course, this is a life-or-death situation to the prince. But as a trade-off... I might be the one with problems sleeping instead...)
Claudio reeled her in by the arm, and she nervously climbed into bed. She figured it was because the bed they were in was meant for two, but as she lay there with a warm hand grasping her own, it didn’t really feel as though he was nearby. Even so, she wasn’t getting drowsy in the slightest. Slowly parting her eyes halfway and looking to her side, she found Claudio with his eyes shut tight. Partially thanks to the dimly-lit room, the shadows cast over his face made her vaguely worried as to whether or not he was alive. She stared at him, worried that he might not be breathing. Just as she saw Claudio’s brow furrow up, he slowly opened his eyes.
“Is my face that uncommon to you? You sure are staring at it like it is.”
“No, um, ‘uncommon’ is not the word... I was just somewhat concerned as to your complexion. Also, the fact that I do not see you with a beast head has been a marvel to me.” For someone who had always had ill-will manifest itself in visible form, she couldn’t help but marvel. Just being able to see an expression with an abundance of human emotions was invaluable.
“A marvel, eh? —I have to wonder how you see my real face through your eyes.” Claudio squinted as Rosemarie tilted her head in response.
“Your face does not look human even to yourself?”
“No, it doesn’t, and it doesn’t have the feel of human skin if I touch it, either. It’s virtually the same texture as a beast,” Claudio said, smiling sarcastically.
Looking at his untidy appearance, Rosemarie reached the tip of her finger over to Claudio’s cheek without thinking. While it was a little low in temperature and chilly, she felt smooth human skin.
“I can see your face as human. You also have the proper texture of human skin. Prince, you are no beast.” If Claudio’s head turned into the sacred beast’s seven years ago, he would have still been a child then. If she had been the one feared by all around her since then, she would have gone absolutely mad.
Claudio raised his hand unnaturally, probably in an attempt to brush Rosemarie’s away, but it fell back to the bed limply. Even in the faint darkness, she could see glimpses of relief flashing in and out of his blue eyes as they widened in surprise.
(Even though he doesn’t seem like he ever has anything to fear, has that been a concern even for him?)
Claudio didn’t say a word, so Rosemarie started to form words in a fluster.
“Um, but... I’m sorry. I will do my best to not look at you so much.” He likely already had enough people staring at him out of curiosity and fear with his beast head. Add someone he despised into the mix, and there was no doubt he would find the situation even more grating.
“—I’m not telling you to apologize,” Claudio murmured bluntly after a short pause, turning his face away to escape the hand touching his cheek. At the same time, though, he squeezed his hand a little more tightly around hers.
(If so, what did you want me to say?)
Up until now, Rosemarie had discerned whether someone was angry based upon the bestial nature of their heads. She had gotten somewhat used to Claudio and his quick shifts to anger, but she was losing her grip on what to do with regard to his gestures and tone—neither of which held the same resentment as his words.
“Quit observing me and hurry your way to sleep. You’re going to be busy tomorrow, too.”
“Huh? Do you mean I will be filling some sort of role as well?”
“Did I not already tell you?”
“No, I don’t believe I was informed,” she replied, blinking. Claudio then put his unoccupied hand to his forehead and let out a deep sigh.
“Aah, I almost forgot. The word came after you’d left the room, I suppose,” Claudio muttered as if to himself, then glanced at Rosemarie.
“According to tradition, the winner of the Imperial Bout receives a handkerchief belonging to the most important lady in all the land, in lieu of a formal prize.”
“In recognition of their courage, correct?” Even among all the knowledge she’d had crammed into her during her engagement before becoming Crown Princess, this was one tradition she thought especially odd.
“Volland doesn’t have such a tradition, so, it...huh?! No, I couldn’t! I simply couldn’t!” The gist of what Claudio was trying to say dawning upon her, Rosemarie brought the comforter over her head as if trying to flee.
“Who else will do it if you don’t? The Queen Mother has filled that role up until last year, but she is of old age now. This year we have you around, and I received word that she would gladly step down if I am going to be off competing. I’ll ask you one more time: who else will do it if you don’t?”
Her only reply to Claudio’s exasperated question from the other side of her comforter barrier was a violent shake of the head.
If the Queen Mother, Claudio’s grandmother and most important lady in all of the land, was stepping down, duties should have fallen upon the queen. But the queen, Claudio’s mother, had passed away when he was still an infant. Given that, the duties would inevitably fall to Rosemarie.
“M-May I be so bold as to ask if I can wear my bucket on my head...?”
“What is this whole bucket nonsense? Do they conduct official business with buckets on their heads in your country?” Claudio asked in an irritated tone, to which Rosemarie shook her head while still curled up into a ball.
(He is right. This is official business. Yes, it’s official business... Aah, but, I’m so scared... I’d love to run away...)
A slew of people under one roof was bound to be teeming with animosity—not to the same degree as the Archbishop earlier, but still there, regardless. She was obligated to stand in the midst of all those beasts. With her body shivering like mad, she squeezed the comforter tighter.
“Are you that afraid of seeing people’s heads as beasts? Personally, I wouldn’t find the fact that you can instantly identify people who harbor animosity cumbersome at all; in fact, I’m envious.”
Rosemarie’s breath was caught in her throat for a second due to Claudio’s envious-sounding wisecrack.
(Huh? ...He is envious of my eyes? He is... envious of being able to see any and everyone’s animosity?) Rosemarie felt some muddled emotions sprouting in the pit of her stomach.
She had been plagued by these eyes ever since her childhood. Although she was a princess, her inability to stand in front of strangers has not only been giving herself a hard time, but everyone else around her as a result. The mere thought was incredibly pathetic and filled her with guilt.
Claudio said that he was envious of those very eyes.
“—Very well. I will take up the role,” she spouted in a terribly cool tone. While she had the shivering under control, her body felt cold as ice on the inside. Claudio’s hand started to feel awfully heavy in her own.
“Well, that is a sudden shift. Why are you so motivated all of a sudden?”
The sudden change in her attitude was undoubtedly giving Claudio room for suspicion as he tried to pull away the comforter from her head, but she desperately clutched the blanket as if saying, “Not so fast!” She didn’t know what kind of expression she was making right now, but she didn’t want Claudio to see it regardless.
Most likely tired of dealing with Rosemarie and her shellfish-like obstinance, Claudio relinquished his hold on the comforter with little persistence.
“I don’t know what’s going on with you, but if you say you’ll take up the role, then you’d best do it and do it right.” She felt him squeeze his hand slightly in hers. At the single tug of her arm serving as her response, Claudio had nothing else to say.
After a short stint, she could hear Claudio’s quiet snoring.
He was so sound asleep, it was hard to believe he’d ever had the sleepless nights that Fritz mentioned. Looking at him so sound asleep tormented her, spreading a gloomy feeling through her chest.
Was she annoyed? Was she sad? Or maybe she was uncertain and nervous over her role in the Imperial Bout tomorrow? Rosemarie couldn’t answer any of those questions, and instead let out a deep sigh.