Chapter 4: See? It’s All Right
“IT’S nice weather today,” Agnes muttered.
Looking out the window at the Lefort garden—or rather, the field—Agnes lifted her teacup to her lips. Originally what had been a garden of blooming flowers was now a field of strangely colored medicinal herbs and mushrooms. Of course, Agnes could only see part of the garden from here, but it was so striking she couldn’t help staring out at it.
“Well, we need those medicinal herbs,” Agnes reasoned. “They’re for Duke Granier. And the mushrooms are…well, you know.”
Forcing herself to accept the importance of the mushrooms as well, Agnes placed her teacup on the table, and Ciel jumped onto her lap from where he’d been sitting at her feet, almost as if he’d been waiting.
Ciel stretched out his body and put his paws on Agnes’s shoulders. He gently moved his face closer to hers and licked her cheek.
“Whoa! That tickles, Ciel,” she giggled.
“Rawr.”
Fluffy cats are cute and their behaviors are irresistible, but feline tongues are rough and can be quite painful.
Since Ciel was a sacred beast, Agnes wasn’t sure if he exactly qualified as a feline. But no doubt, her skin would be raw if he kept licking her like that. As adorable as it was, Agnes could do without the pain.
Just as she lifted Ciel up into her arms, she heard a gasp from behind her.
“Agnes!”
She turned to see Claude, who had just opened the door, with Maurice, his personal knight, behind him. Apparently, Agnes had been so preoccupied with Ciel that she hadn’t heard Claude knock.
“Huh? Oh, Claude, Maurice, hello.”
But before Agnes could even really finish saying hello, Claude rushed in and quickly snatched Ciel from her hands. Agnes was surprised by his behavior and the speed at which he moved, but she was most distracted by his expression—a mask of sadness and anger—quite unlike Claude.
“Um…?” Agnes looked uncomprehendingly at Maurice, who for some reason shook his head apologetically and indicated that Agnes should look at Claude, not him.
Claude was holding Ciel by the scruff, dangling him in front of his face at kissing distance. “Your role is to protect Agnes, not to be caressed by her,” he said in a threatening tone. “You already get to be with her all the time, and now I find you snuggling up to her and licking her. I’m so jealous!”
“Er, do you even hear yourself?!” Agnes interjected. Now she felt like a fool for worrying that something might have been really wrong.
“Unfortunately, His Highness is saying exactly how he really feels,” Maurice whispered to her before leaving to close and stand guard by the door, as if to say he washed his hands of the whole thing.
“Isn’t it the role of a personal knight to keep their master’s rampages in check?” Agnes asked.
“When it comes to Dragonmates, no,” Maurice said flatly. “I am prepared to risk my life for His Highness, but I have no intention of incurring his displeasure and dying.’’
“Oh, please!” Agnes sighed, incredulous.
Agnes wanted to brush it off and tell him not to be so silly, but a part of her knew that there was something special about the Dragonmate bond. She could hardly blame Maurice.
Agnes rescued Ciel from Claude’s grasp, expecting some resistance, but Claude readily handed the cat over. Only, he wouldn’t let go of Agnes’s hand now. Ciel jumped out of Agnes’s arms and ran to hide behind Maurice.
“Don’t get me involved in your mess, cat!” Maurice shouted.
“Rawr.”
Now Maurice and the sacred beast were arguing. It didn’t seem serious, so Agnes decided it wasn’t her problem.
“Claude,” Agnes said softly. “I was simply petting Ciel because he’s so soft and fluffy. Don’t make it sound so disturbing and wrong, please.”
As if to punctuate Agnes’s words, a Steccherinum ochraceum mushroom covered in soft needles appeared with a big pop. A roundish Hericium erinaceus with numerous soft, white hanging fronds completed the party atop both of Claude’s shoulders—but for some reason, the mushroom freak didn’t react.
“In that case,” Claude said weakly, pulling Agnes’s hand and placing it on top of his head, “come, pet me too.”
“What?!” Agnes gazed at Claude with shock, gasping.
“Lady Agnes. His Highness will not be deterred. It would be quicker to simply pet him,” Maurice advised. It seemed like he was trying to help her out, though it didn’t feel very helpful.
Agnes was taken aback to think that Claude would be jealous of the sacred beast he himself had summoned for her. Then again, wasn’t such insane jealousy proof of his love for Agnes? She had no other choice but to stroke Claude’s soft hair.
“Is… Is this okay?” she asked, unsure.
“Ah. It’s nice to be touched, but…I want to touch you too, Agnes,” Claude replied, gently stroking her hair in turn.
“Again, His Highness is very forward with his feelings,” came Maurice from behind.
Honestly, Agnes wouldn’t mind if Claude kept a few more of his feelings to himself though.
A clam-shaped Cryptoporus volvatus grew with a pop on the back of Claude’s glove. The bump was cream-colored with a brown top and a glossy finish, making it look like it had been dipped in delicious caramel sauce. However, once again, Claude continued to caress Agnes without making the slightest move to pluck the mushroom.
“Uh, um…” she muttered.
“Yes?”
Claude did not stop even when Agnes cleared her throat. Instead, he dropped a kiss on her forehead. Such a natural move, and his expression was filled with love. Agnes felt her heartbeat catapult.
“D-Didn’t you come here to discuss something?!” she asked, her voice rising with her panic.
“That’s right. Agnes, let’s go to town and see a play.”
“A play?”
Agnes was thankful that the stroking and kissing seemed to be over, but what was all this about a play?
Claude narrowed his eyes and grinned as he responded, “Yes. It’s a story all about defeating monsters with the power of dragons.”
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BY horse-drawn carriage, they arrived at a large theater in the center of the royal capital. After entering the building through a luxurious private entrance, they were guided directly to a private box located right in front of the stage with the best view. The seats were plush and incredibly spacious.
Maurice stood guard by the door, but there were also theater staff waiting just outside to wait on them. Agnes had been thinking of Claude as a mushroom fiend for so long, she’d almost forgotten he was a prince—of course, he would get the VIP treatment.
Agnes, raised as a commoner and then a count’s daughter, then becoming something of a recluse during her engagement years, found herself uncomfortable around all the glitz and glam. In an attempt to calm herself down, Agnes repeatedly stroked Ciel sitting on her lap.
“Agnes, don’t forget about me too…” Claude entreated.
“You said this play was about slaying monsters or something?” Sensing danger, Agnes quickly changed the subject to avoid public spectacle.
“Yes. It’s what they call a hero story. Look, it’s starting.”
The curtains rose, and the orchestra kicked in. The play turned out to be a simple story about good and evil. Innocent people besieged by monsters. A hero comes to their rescue, with the help of a dragon. In the end, the hero rescues the princess from the monsters and the two swear their love.
A tale as old as time, yet one that retains the power to move people emotionally.
During the curtain call, Agnes gasped a little as she clapped loudly.
“I thought it was just a story, but it’s a true one, isn’t it?” she asked.
“Naturally, the play has been heavily dramatized, but it is certainly a retelling of an event that happened a long time ago,” Claude replied.
After several curtain calls from the performers, Agnes rubbed her palms, sore from so much clapping.
“So, the ancestors of the Visage royal family borrowed the power of dragons to save people, right?”
“Yes, through dragon’s blood, to be precise.”
Claude reached out and stroked Agnes’s palms. Apparently, he’d noticed how red they were and was concerned.
“This happened a long time ago, right?” she asked.
“It’s a fairy tale based on the royal family from around the time of the founding of this country, so yes, I think it happened a very long time ago.”
Agnes patted Claude’s hand to indicate that her palms were fine now, and Claude reluctantly let go. He instead reached out and slowly stroked Agnes’s pink hair. It was embarrassing but sort of soothing at the same time.
“The Visage royal family has been protecting this land for so long, hasn’t it?” she mused.
The Crest Bearers of the royal family, those with dragon’s blood, protected the masses from monsters. That was the duty of the royal family.
In that case, what role did Agnes, Queen of Mushrooms, have to play? She pondered vaguely on this topic as she listened to the applause raining down on the stage.