CSTB Chapter 50

Chapter 50 

Did my bold bluff work?

“I don’t recall seeing anything like that written in any book about beastkin.”

Not at all.

“I’m a possessor!”
“…What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means I died and got transported into the book I was reading! My real name is Yang Jaehee, and this world is the novel I was reading. So I know exactly what’s going to happen in the future!”
“Yang Je… what?”
“Jaehee! Anyway, that’s not the important part! The point is—I know the future!”

And so, Rosé, pressed for time, couldn’t help but reveal that she was a possessor.

Jonathan hadn’t believed her earlier when she said the cat beastkin had clairvoyance simply because it wasn’t in the book.

Would he believe this?

“All I need to do is eavesdrop on the two of them, right?”

Unexpectedly, Jonathan agreed rather cleanly to cooperate. When told to follow the tuxedo cat, he nodded without fuss.

That’s surprising.

Following the cat, they reached the iron gate separating the garden from the rear grounds. The gate was so tall Jonathan couldn’t get over in one go and struggled for quite a while.

“This won’t do at all.”

Still, seeing Jonathan safely chasing after the tuxedo, Rosé crumpled the half-written paper in her hands and muttered.

This was no time to relax about Christina and Noah’s current atmosphere.

“What on earth is happening right now?”

Unless the two of them actually held a wedding, things were already happening that hadn’t appeared in the original story. Rosé needed more information. More precisely, more eyes and ears to bring her that information.

“I’ll have to bring in those guys from the marketplace.”

She hadn’t even considered whether those fragile children had survived when both their leader and second-in-command had suddenly vanished. That thought brought a flicker of guilt. But it only firmed her resolve.

“If I offer them the rear grounds and take responsibility for their meals going forward, they’ll follow, right?”

She could take responsibility again from now. If those cats were still alive, they’d be a huge help.

* *

Just before lunchtime, Jonathan returned through the private chambers after following the tuxedo cat into the back garden.

Of course, it wasn’t because he believed Rosé’s talk about being a possessor that he listened in on their conversation.

“I just thought—you must have had some urgent reason to spout such nonsense.”

A very Jonathan-like reason, Rosé thought.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to hear the entire conversation.

“I was in a blind spot, but somehow Count Califon noticed me.”

As before, it was as if the count had eyes in the back of his head. He noticed Jonathan and even greeted him.

Still, Jonathan had overheard a little before that.

“They were talking about Lord Zion, who has already passed away.”

So, as expected, the two were speaking about Zion. Count Califon had apparently said it would be wise to consider which side would be better to support.

“I can’t fathom why they’d talk about someone already dead.”

Jonathan, who thought Zion was gone and had no idea of the true situation, couldn’t grasp the meaning. But Rosé understood.

So Count Califon really was on Zion’s side.

She had dismissed the rumors, hoping he was just a gossiping noble. But “consider which side to support”?

A man who tried to sway Duke Raymond with words like that could hardly be unconnected to the protagonists.

The story really is diverging.

Before, Rosé had only cared about securing Noah’s position. But ever since she became aware of how much she valued him, she could no longer shrug things off with “it’ll work out somehow.”

She was just thinking she needed to plant eyes and ears near Count Califon when Noah appeared down the path.

“Jonathan, you said you’d step out briefly, and you’ve been with Rosé all this time?”
“You’ve come, Your Majesty. I had a matter with Lady Rosé.”
“A matter? What kind of matter?”

As always, Noah in natural sunlight seemed to monopolize the radiance of the sun itself, dazzling enough to blind.

Look at those eyes, that nose… oh my, even those lips are moving as he speaks.

Shoving aside the usual flood of ridiculous thoughts, Rosé rushed straight toward him.

“Noah!”

At her fervent greeting, Noah’s lips quirked up then down again. Rosé reached him and blurted her request before even greeting him.

“Noah! I want to bring the cats here!”
“Lady Rosé, again…”

Jonathan’s face darkened at her sudden informal tone, but Rosé couldn’t care less.

“Cats?”
“The cats I used to live with when I was staying in the marketplace! I want to bring them here!”
“Rosé, I think… it would be best if you calmed down a little first.”

As Rosé rushed in, clutching her skirt, almost pressing her head to his chest and staring up at him, Noah looked flustered.

Yet soon he gave an answer.

“Very well. Jonathan, send the knights to fetch the cats from the Ramsdam marketplace.”
“No! I have to go myself! You don’t know which ones are my… my friends. What if they catch the wrong ones?”

Naturally, Noah refused outright.

“No.”
“Yes.”
“No. Have you forgotten your existence must remain secret?”
“I haven’t forgotten. But if I just cover my eyes well, no one will recognize me! I checked it myself!”

In trying to say she could go herself, Rosé also ended up admitting she had sneaked out before. But there was no helping it—timing and circumstances left no room.

“You mean you’ve gone out after transforming.”

Noah’s eyes hardened at once. His trembling gaze, hurt and angry as before, was unmistakable. But Rosé met his eyes firmly.

“Yes. Just once. But there was no problem.”

No problem at all.

Though she had run into Aria, that hadn’t risked exposing her identity.

Especially since Melissa and Aria had no connection. Even if Duke Raymond had already joined their side, Aria would never tell him trivial details about Rosé.

For Aria too, Duke Raymond was just a card to use.

“Rosé… you…”
“There was no choice. I swear it’s true.”

Holding Noah’s hand tightly, Rosé poured all her will into her gaze. She wanted him to know she would never recklessly endanger herself—because she had to protect him.

“There’s a cat I knew from before. I’ll go with him and bring back only my friends, quietly.”
“…Is there really such a pressing reason to bring them here?”

His wavering eyes steadied, but Noah still hesitated, trapped by the “what if” of losing Rosé.

“They fed me when I was starving in the streets. They shared their warmth. Without them, I might have died out there.”

In truth, Rosé had been the one to protect that band of cats, but she said it this way knowing it would persuade Noah.

And as expected, he couldn’t turn away from “the cats who cared for Rosé.” With a deep sigh, he relented.

“Then I’ll go with you.”
“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

Rosé secured permission to go out the next day, promising she’d stay quietly inside the carriage.

* *

Though he granted her request, Noah’s insides twisted with unease. He couldn’t even eat lunch properly.

Even back in the conference hall waiting for the nobles, his legs wouldn’t stop shaking.

What if they had to clear everyone out of Ramsdam marketplace?
What if someone saw them on the way?
How could he ensure no one at all laid eyes on Rosé?

“Lady Rosé said she’ll exit through the window. She’ll board the prepared carriage there, so if you just clear people away from near the main entrance at that time, it should be fine.”

Her eyes would be covered with a black veil thinly see-through, and she’d have a wide-brimmed hat to obscure her face. The carriage curtains would all be drawn, and Rosé wasn’t to get off at all.

She had devised these measures the moment she decided to go, but none of it reassured Noah.

“Your Majesty, you arrived early.”
“Had we known, we would have come sooner, ha ha.”

No matter what, the unease wouldn’t fade.

It was so bad that…

Even the nobles taking their seats one by one looked suspicious in his eyes. As if any one of them might at this moment try to snatch Rosé away from him. His chest tightened with dread.

Thanks to that, Noah was sorely tempted to cancel tomorrow’s outing altogether.

If only he could, he would lock Rosé in the back garden forever.