Chapter 60
For hours, Noah had been wandering the forest, blindly calling out Rosé’s name.
He finally stopped at the bank of the Whale River, which bordered the edge of the woods, wearing a dazed and helpless expression.
He had searched this much and still couldn’t find Rosé. Truth be told, Noah couldn’t even be sure he had checked anywhere properly.
“Your Majesty, please wait up… huff, huff.”
With Christina trailing behind him, every path in the forest had started to look the same to Noah not long after they entered.
“My goodness… we actually walked all the way to the Whale River.”
At some point, his search for Rosé had become synonymous with wandering aimlessly.
It wasn’t necessary for things to go this way, but once again Noah was reminded of why the imperial palace had been built right alongside this forest.
“What should we do? The sun’s already setting.”
Christina, afraid to lose Noah and stubbornly clinging to him, steadied her breathing as she spoke. Just as she said, the sun was sinking, leaving long streaks of afterglow over the river.
In his urgency to find Rosé before nightfall, Noah had completely forgotten how often he himself got lost in these woods.
“Do you think the water here is drinkable? I’m feeling a little thirsty… Are you all right, Your Majesty?”
Of course not.
He was so anxious that he hadn’t been able to stop moving for even a moment; his shirt beneath his jacket had long been soaked with sweat.
Christina crouched to wash her hands and sip a little water, looking just as much a mess, but thirst or disheveled clothes weren’t Noah’s problem.
“Your Majesty, are you feeling unwell? You look pale…”
When he was a child—
Even if he had been an obedient boy who always listened to his mother, Noah was still a child.
Life inside the well-tended palace gardens, seeing only his mother and a few servants, was never enough.
As a boy, Noah had tried countless times to find a way beyond the palace boundaries, and every time he had gotten lost in this very forest.
—“Here he is, Lady Melissa.”
—“Noah!”
Luckily, people always came looking for him. But the despair he felt, wandering endlessly until he realized there was no way out, never faded easily.
Now, he was feeling that same despair again—this time because he couldn’t find Rosé.
“It’ll be fine. Before sunset, people will definitely come looking for us.”
Perhaps that was why his hands were trembling without him realizing it.
Christina noticed and tried to hold his hand, but Noah instinctively slapped it away and gave her a cold glare.
The faint smile that had lingered on her exhausted face instantly disappeared; her lively blue eyes dulled in an instant.
Anyone could see she was hurt—yet Noah didn’t care.
He was far more worried about Rosé, who must be wandering these woods just as lost as he was.
“…She did this on purpose.”
As he glanced at Christina, wondering why she was even here with him, the realization struck.
Rosé had deliberately thrown him together with Christina in this place.
Cats were creatures that roamed freely through their territory as if it were their home.
Even as a cat, Rosé used to dash around the gardens, only to return home whenever the sun went down.
There was no way Rosé didn’t know that if you waited long enough, cats would come back on their own.
Why, though?
The deduction that this was intentional was simple enough. But the reason for it was still a complete mystery.
“Where are you going, Your Majesty? If we stay here, people will come find us.”
“I don’t plan to waste time here. We move.”
If he wanted to know why, the first step was to leave the forest and confront Rosé.
With that thought, Noah turned back into the woods, and Christina followed behind him, her face looking like she might burst into tears at any moment.
Oliver had yet to return with news, and as Rosé waited impatiently, darkness fell over the gardens.
“This forest confuses even those with a good sense of direction. Unless someone goes in to find them, they won’t come out. Please, just go inside and rest.”
After hearing Jonathan’s words, Rosé returned to her chambers. She ate a simple dinner alone, prepared for bed early, and drank the warm tea she always had before sleeping. Then she lay down in the large bed, alone.
“…Things are going according to plan, but still…”
How could the space Noah usually occupied feel this empty and lonely?
Half of her wished he’d suddenly open the bedroom door and appear, while the other half hoped he was spending this time with Christina.
Neither thought could be said to outweigh the other; they alternated through Rosé’s mind, coming and going.
“Forget it, just sleep!”
She rolled across the bed, pressing her face into Noah’s pillow, where he used to rest his head.
Maybe if she could catch even a trace of his scent layered over the soap they both used, she’d be able to fall asleep.
“…But it’s too clean. That’s the problem.”
The pillowcases and sheets, changed daily, carried nothing but the smell of freshly sun-dried fabric. No trace of Noah’s scent remained.
It was still earlier than her usual bedtime. After reading a bit and tossing around the bed for a long while, Rosé finally sat up abruptly.
“I’ll wait for Oliver to report back before I sleep.”
If the two of them had gotten lost, then Oliver would return with that confirmation by now.
With that thought, Rosé slipped out of bed, put on one of Noah’s robes, and left her chamber.
Ironically, that robe carried his scent. It was hard to describe, but it was a smell that naturally calmed and steadied her heart.
Slowly walking the corridor, Rosé opened the door leading to the gardens and leaned against the iron railing of the stairs, gazing out at the dark forest.
The bright moonlight kept it from feeling frightening.
She watched the path leading into the woods for a long time, wondering when Oliver would appear.
“…Did the plan actually work?”
Of the conflicting thoughts earlier, the first—that things were proceeding well—began to take hold.
She found herself hoping the one to emerge from the forest path would not be Oliver, but Noah.
Her mind told her that Noah needed to spend the night out there with Christina for this plan to succeed.
But her heart begged him not to give in to Christina’s temptations no matter what—to stay true to himself.
Part of her simply wanted the man who had claimed to have no interest in women to keep holding to that.
“…Well, a sudden change would be unsettling, wouldn’t it?”
It was similar to the feeling of a fan who wants their favorite idol to remain unattached, not dating in some unknown place.
“Honestly… you just lose all sense when it comes to handsome men, don’t you?”
And more fundamentally, if Noah were to break that resolve and embrace someone—Rosé desperately wanted that someone to be her.
It was an irrational, impossible desire… but it wasn’t just a fleeting thought. Every time she asked herself if being human would make things any better, those weren’t empty words.
“It’s all because Noah’s been too good to me.”
He was the emperor, dazzling in every way, and yet she had the audacity to cling to some foolish hope.
It was all because Noah had treated her too kindly—looking at her as though she alone were enough for his whole world.
So she kept watching the forest, blaming him all the while.
“…Oh?”
A rustling sound came from within, and then Noah stepped out.
“Noah!”
Rosé’s smile broke out naturally, forgetting for the moment that the plan had failed.
She ran down the stairs with a bright face, but—
“Noah…”
Noah stopped a short distance away, looked at her, then brushed past with a hardened, angry expression.
He had done this before, several times. She could’ve told herself he was upset with her again.
But this time, the coldness in his face made her heart sink heavily.
“Lady Christina!”
Rosé didn’t have time to dwell on her own feelings—because Christina emerged behind Noah, crying.
“Lady Christina…”
“Huuhhh… h-huuuuhhh… uwaaahhh…”
Even after moving to the study, Christina’s sobs only grew louder. Rosé’s face turned paler by the minute.
Since Duke had discovered she was a beastman, Rosé had defended Christina, and Noah had shown no particular reaction.
He hadn’t scowled in anger like before. He had simply nodded, as though it didn’t matter, and Rosé had misunderstood.
She thought that meant Noah had begun to make a place in his heart for Christina.
“I’m sorry, this is all because of me…”
“Uwaaaahh… h-hic… waaahhh…”
But no—it wasn’t because he accepted Christina. It was only because Rosé had asked.
“What do I do? This really turned into a disaster.”
Not realizing that, Rosé had tried to push their relationship forward before the Hunt Festival, and instead had only made everything worse.
Christina’s clothes were disheveled, and her feet were in terrible shape. Clearly, Noah hadn’t shown her the slightest consideration.
Not only had the plan failed, but Rosé now felt horribly guilty for not considering how deeply Christina would be hurt if things went wrong.
She had been so fixated on securing Noah’s throne, so frantic with unexpected complications, that she hadn’t thought that far.
“I’m so sorry, Lady Christina. Truly, I’m sorry.”
Rosé repeated her apologies again and again.
At that moment—
“Excuse me, my lady.”
Jonathan entered the study, carrying a bowl of hot water.
