Chapter 17 - The Silver-Haired Magician
"It has been a while, Lady Rachel."
"It has indeed. It is good to see you, Theodore-sama."
A few days after receiving his letter, my health had stabilized enough for me to welcome Theodore-sama into the drawing room. I wasn't sure what had been discussed between him and His Highness, but Louis had given his blessing for today's visit. Louis had originally planned to come as well, but his schedule had proven too demanding.
Theodore-sama wore his long silver hair tied back with a black cord and was draped in a black robe. With his tall, slender frame and sweet features, he and His Highness usually drew every female gaze in the room whenever they stood together. Despite the constant attention from women, he apparently had no fiancée. Since he had a younger brother, he didn't seem particularly concerned with marriage. "That guy is an eccentric," Louis had once said.
"You slept well the other day, didn't you?"
"The other day?"
"Ah, I suppose you didn't see my face. You looked like you were suffering when I visited, so I took the liberty of casting a sleep spell on you." Theodore-sama lifted the cup before him and took a sip, a mischievous, boyish grin spreading across his face.
I remembered that moment during my illness when my pain had suddenly vanished and a powerful drowsiness had taken hold. So that had been his magic.
"Thank you for your help. And for taking the time to visit me today."
"No need for that. I was just Louis's tag-along."
He referred to the Crown Prince so casually, without any titles. I wondered if that was truly acceptable, even for close friends. Noticing my surprised expression, Theodore-sama nodded as if understanding my concern.
"We treat each other as equals in private. Of course, I don't speak so freely when others are around."
"Others?"
Wait, surely I counted as an "other"?
"My intuition tells me you're fine," he said.
"Your intuition?"
"Exactly. Intuition is important! If you're always stiff and serious, you'll just wear yourself out, right? That goes for me, Louis, and you too."
"I... wear myself out?"
"Yeah. You don't show it on the surface, but you have a heavy, brooding aura about you. I don't know what happened, but why not try relaxing a bit?"
"Relaxing?"
"Yeah. Just live a little easier. Gaining or losing special things... there's not much we can do about that. So, why not just live with a smile?"
What was he saying? This man knew nothing about me. He didn't know what had happened or what I had done. Yet he spoke so lightly. But perhaps he could say it precisely because he didn't know. Because he was an outsider, he could see something I had missed.
Live with a smile, huh?
I knew I was too trapped in the past. But I had been so desperate just to get through each day that I hadn't even considered changing that. His words were light, yet they carried a strange weight. They felt like a patch of sunlight melting away ice. The thought occurred to me quite suddenly.
Ignoring my stunned expression, Theodore-sama reached for a madeleine and popped it into his mouth. He chewed for a while, washed it down with tea, and finally spoke again.
"After all, you're special, aren't you?"
"Um, what do you mean by special? Do you mean as the Crown Prince's fiancée?"
"Well, making him wear that kind of face is certainly special." Theodore-sama nodded repeatedly with a teasing grin. "But that's not what I meant." He pointed toward my lap. "That cat there. It's yours, isn't it?"
"Huh? A cat?"
I looked down at my lap. There was nothing there. Only the fabric of my dress and my own hands.
"Oh? You can't see it?"
"Um... is there something there?"
"Ah, right! You don't have any mana. I guess it'll become visible once you give it a name."
"A name?"
"Yeah, exactly. I forgot. There is a black cat sitting on your lap. Now, what will you name it?"
A black cat? A black cat... Kuroneko...
"Kuro."
"Kuro! That's so literal!"
Theodore-sama burst into laughter at my answer. It seemed to have hit his funny bone; he covered his face with one hand and slapped his thigh with the other, wheezing "Kuro, Kuro!" even as Sarah, standing nearby, turned away with shaking shoulders.
I couldn't help it. He had asked so suddenly. I felt my cheeks puffing out slightly in a pout.
"Man... naming a spirit 'Kuro.' It sounds like a common house cat."
Wait. A spirit?
"Look. You should be able to see it now. On your lap."
Doubtful of his words, I looked down once more. And there, truly, sat a black cat.
"Meow."
It let out a soft cry, rolling around and stretching out on my lap.
Wait, where did you come from?