The Tiny Witch from the Deep Woods: Volume 2, page 16
With that, she left the small room behind.
A few moments later, Caro sat up. While half asleep, he’d noticed Misha walk over to him, and had pretended to be asleep because he’d been curious as to what she was doing.
“What was that about?”
He’d almost panicked when she took his hat off, but in the end, all she did was put a blanket over him and pat his head like he was a baby.
Caro had free access to this special room in the library and even had a maid to attend him while he was here. There was no way Misha didn’t understand how important he was! But she’d made no attempt to flatter or suck up to him. She’d spoken to him like an ordinary friend, enjoyed tea with him, and discussed her favorite books with him. Caro had thought that if he showed some vulnerability, her true nature would shine through, so he’d pretended to sleep, but she was still just as kind and gentle.
“Like I’m just a kid,” he murmured to himself.
There were no adults who treated him that way. With the special circumstances of his birth, everyone had wanted him to grow up as fast as possible. His uncle was the only one who seemed disappointed at how mature Caro acted, but there was nothing Caro could do about that.
The closest person to him, his own mother, was the most passionate about his education. She was kind, but she never did anything close to spoiling him. She told Caro that she loved him, but when the night was dark or when the lightning fell, he was always alone.
“You need to be as smart as your father was.”
“You’re going to be as strong as your father was.”
How old had he been when those words from her started to feel like soft, padded chains?
“She smiled when she touched my hair, didn’t she?” As if to rekindle the sensation of Misha’s hand on his hair, Caro reached up to touch his own head. On the desk beside him was a short letter in neat writing.
“Oh. She’ll be back tomorrow?” He smiled softly.
“You went to the library again today?” Lalaya asked over dinner.
Misha nodded, feeling a twinge of embarrassment as she saw the deep red liquid in the princess’s glass. “Yes. The work on the herb garden is in full swing now, so there’s nothing for me to do there at the moment. And I don’t have to worry about the rain if I’m in the library.”
It was still as rainy as always, putting rather tight reins on what Misha could actually do, but she had yet to find herself bored.
“How nice. I wish I could spend all day in the library,” Lalaya muttered, swirling the liquid in her glass. Recently, her condition had started to improve, so she was gradually being introduced to official duties as a member of the royal family.
The only members of the royal family left to do such work were Ryan and Lalaya. With Lalaya bedridden for most of her life until now, they had put as little work on her as possible, leaving Ryan to shoulder the entire burden. Despite Lalaya having complained about having more work to do, seeing her brother under so much pressure had bothered her quite a bit, so she was secretly happy to take some of that stress off of him. Misha was well aware of that, so she couldn’t bring herself to stop the princess from getting involved.
“You’re not back to a hundred percent yet, so take it easy, okay?”
“I know, I know. If I collapse now, all the suffering I’ve been through will have been for nothing.”
Lalaya’s body seemed to have finally adjusted to the ordered lifestyle of getting up and going to bed early. Even when Lalaya had no interest in food, Misha telling her it counted as medicine was enough to get her to finish it, and even when Misha wasn’t around, she would properly drink her juice and take her medicine. It sounded like a joke, but that was enough for her to feel good enough to get out of bed in the morning without a struggle.
It might have also helped that Misha was so annoyingly persistent that no one else felt the need to scold the princess anymore. The struggle of dealing with chronic fatigue was difficult to express to others. It always looked like the victim was simply slow and lazy. It was quite common for people to comment negatively on it in passing. As strongheaded as she was—and with her equally strong sense of responsibility—Lalaya was fully cognizant of how disappointing her behavior came across. That was why whenever she’d started feeling better, she’d immediately overdone it, and then her health had worsened yet again. People who didn’t understand her situation kept trying to give her “advice,” which had only led her to develop a strong rebellious streak. As a result, she’d earned a reputation for being a princess who was good for nothing but her temper.
However, once Misha had shown up, that little apothecary had started following Lalaya all over the castle, constantly heckling her over every little thing. Because Ryan declared their guest wouldn’t be punished for any rudeness she showed, no one was willing to step in and stop her constant rebuking of the princess. And when the others saw Lalaya could do nothing but scowl and reluctantly do as she was told, it seemed they lost the will to follow up with their own criticism as they had done before. In fact, the prevailing opinion quickly shifted to one of sympathy for her.
As the stress caused by those criticisms started to relent, so did her explosive temper. Misha’s scolding concerned simple things, no more than “wake up on time” or “don’t be a picky eater”—such things that would stress out the princess only if she let them. And as she slowly but surely realized her body was starting to recover, her rebellious impulses started to wane.
Nonetheless, she still found herself regularly wanting to shout, “What are you, my mom?!”
“Lady Lalaya, make sure you eat too. You need more than beverages alone.”
Lalaya had already finished her herbal juice and was now drinking “the karas wine she’d always had since she was young.” (Referring to it as such always got a funny look out of Misha, so Lalaya had made a habit of doing so.)
“I know, I know.” She scowled a bit as she put the glass back on the table.
She was so used to being given the drink as a supplement when she couldn’t eat that she had made getting nutrition from liquid alone a habit.
Seeing the elegant form with which she picked up and used her cutlery to eat was enough to fascinate Misha. Even something as simple as this could be beautiful when done properly. Misha did her best as well, but she couldn’t hold a candle to Lalaya. In that sense, the meals she shared with Lalaya were a chance for her to practice her table manners, seeing as she had such a good example right in front of her.
“By the way...” Misha began.
As she stared at the princess, suddenly her concerns from earlier in the day were revived. That boy’s beautiful blond curls. Bright blue eyes like the sky in summer.
“I made a new friend when I was at the library today. He had exactly the same color hair and eyes as you do.”
She had wondered why his features seemed so familiar, but now that she saw them again in Lalaya, she was satisfied that she’d solved the mystery.
Lalaya tilted her head. “At the library?”
“Yes. He was a cute boy named Caro. He was really smart too. He was reading some really tough books. He also treated me to some tea.”
“Huh,” Lalaya replied with a small frown, a gesture Misha missed in her thoughts of what to get Caro as a thank-you gift. The change in expression lasted only a brief moment, but Carrie was quick enough to catch it, and she quietly stepped out of the room.
“I’m glad you’re having fun. If you’re running around that much, why don’t you have a glass? It’ll help you keep your energy up.” Lalaya gave Misha a sly grin as she lifted her wine glass.
“I’m fine, thank you.” Misha had long grown used to her teasing. After all, Lalaya was always quick to shove Misha’s previous mishap back in her face. Even so, Misha couldn’t quite hide the burning in her ears at the suggestion.
“It’s so good, though,” Lalaya insisted.
“I’m healthy! I don’t need it!” Misha blurted out, well aware how ill-mannered her outburst was.
Once they had finished their meal and Misha had returned to her room, Lalaya barged her way into Ryan’s office.
“Misha met that boy.”
With no warning of her visit and the sound of her knock still in the air as she stepped into the room, Ryan was surprised to see her, but he could only shrug at her declaration.
“I know. What about it?”
“What do you mean, ‘what about it’?!” Lalaya shouted back in a very unladylike manner, but there was no one else around who’d be bothered by that. Even the maid who constantly attended to her was left waiting outside the office. “What are you planning?”
“Nothing,” the king replied, not even looking up from his paperwork. Sensing that his sister was about to snap, he finally pried his attention off of his desk and looked up at her. “He’s usually in the capital at this time of year, and he spends more than half of his day at that library when he is. With how often Misha also goes there, it’s hardly a surprise they met.”
Ryan’s logical response almost had her dumbstruck for a moment, but Lalaya quickly snapped out of it and shook her head. She slammed her hands on his desk. “Don’t try to fool me. There’s no way someone as wary as he is would talk to a total stranger!”
Although she mustered as much menace as she could, Ryan was too accustomed to his sister’s temperament to let it faze him.
“Sure, Misha came up in conversation, but we didn’t talk that much about her. I just told her we had a visitor from Bluheitz and that she was really into the library.”
Lalaya’s glare made it clear that she didn’t trust a word he was saying. Ryan wasn’t bothered by that; he shrugged again, returning to his paperwork.
“However...” he said. “I guess Geord’s reports were lying on a table in the room before we talked, so there’s a chance he saw them.”
“Aaagh! You totally tricked him into it, didn’t you?! Well don’t come crying to me when it causes problems later!” Lalaya spat before she stormed out of the room. The sound of her footsteps was enough to express her mood to everyone in the castle.
Ryan sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “She’s really gotten better, hasn’t she?”
“Are you sure this is okay?” Tris called out softly from the corner of the room, quietly and covertly reading his own documents.
“You mean Lalaya? Or...”
“I mean the boy, of course.” He then handed Ryan the documents he’d been holding, a full report of the boy’s actions that day.
“Oh, he was calling himself Caro, was he? Then I guess there’s no doubt. No one uses that nickname anymore, but I guess it’s his now.” Ryan’s brow furrowed slightly, as if he were in pain. “I’m quite hopeful, Tris. You saw what Misha has done for Lalaya. No one else could help her, and now she’s feeling well enough to storm into my office to complain. Hopefully Misha can do something for him as well.”
The soft whisper faded into the silent office.
Chapter 15: Fun Times
“There you are, Misha. Why are you waiting out here?”
Misha turned around at the voice behind her. Caro was standing there with his arms crossed.
“Oh! Hi, Caro.” Though she couldn’t see his face under his large hat, she could tell from his voice that he was irritated. Misha greeted him happily regardless, ignoring his apparent frustration.
“What do you mean, ‘hi’? Why are you wasting time out here?”
Since Misha’s message had said she’d be back at the library at the usual time, Caro had gone to look for her when she hadn’t shown up. His search had brought him outside of the library. Thinking that there was no way he’d miss her if he waited at the front entrance, he instead saw her standing there as if she were the one waiting for someone.
“I didn’t think you’d be here already, so I figured it would be best to wait outside for you,” Misha replied, a little embarrassed.
Caro’s frustration immediately vanished. In fact, now he was embarrassed that he’d been so upset. He hadn’t even considered that she would have been waiting for him.
His words tumbled out of his mouth in haste. “I was bored, so I came here before lunch. The food here is pretty good.”
“Mm, yeah, those snacks yesterday were really good.” Misha, however, was oblivious to his embarrassment.
Suddenly, something bolted down the street toward them. Caro flinched backward but relaxed once he saw what it was. “A puppy?”
It was Ren, jumping on top of Misha’s feet. She crouched down to pet him.
“Oh, back already, Ren?”
Caro opened his mouth to say something, but a faraway voice beat him to it.
“Misha! Did the boy you’re waiting for show up?”
“Yes, thank you!” Misha shouted back as she stood up and waved at a girl in the distance.
“Is she a friend of yours?” Caro asked, pulling his hat down to cover his face even more.
“Yep. She was worried because I was standing around here for so long. She was waiting with me for a while, but when Ren started to get bored, she went off to play with him.”
The little white puppy at her feet gave a happy bark.
“This is Ren?” Caro pointed at him.
Hearing his name and seeing Caro’s attention on him, the puppy jumped up excitedly, realizing he was the topic of discussion.
“Yep. I picked him up while I was traveling, and we’ve been together ever since. Ren, this is Caro. Remember the boy I was telling you about yesterday?”
With Misha’s formal introduction, Ren politely sat down in front of Caro and gave his tail a happy wag, as if this were some canine way of greeting someone.
“Wow, he’s smart. It’s like he understands what you’re saying.” Caro knelt down like Misha had and patted Ren on the head. “Whoa, he’s so soft.”
Having no experience with animals except for horses, Caro was taken aback by his first experience touching a puppy’s fur.
“He feels really nice, right?”
Completely engrossed in the sensation, Caro jumped when an unfamiliar voice spoke right beside him. When he realized it was the same little girl who’d called out to Misha earlier—she had taken a seat on the ground beside him—he immediately relaxed.
“I’m Anna. Are you Misha’s friend?”
After hesitating a little at the straightforward question, Caro eventually nodded.
“Yuu and Teto are helping the grown-ups on the boat today. Let’s go.” Anna grabbed his hand and tried to pull him along.
“Huh? What?”
Having no idea what she was talking about, but also not wanting to aggressively shake off the hand of a girl so much smaller than him, Caro could only look plaintively at Misha.
“Anna’s brother and their friend are helping some of the fishermen on the lake. You can see them from the beach, so she’s inviting you to go see,” Misha translated for him.
“Yeah, that’s what I said!” Anna pouted a little at the fact she hadn’t been understood.
“Come on, he needed some more context,” Misha said with a laugh.
“Whatever! Let’s go! If they catch lots of fish, you can take some home too!” As Anna pulled harder on the uneasy Caro, Misha kept laughing and gently pushing him from behind.
“Come on, it’ll be fun!” the apothecary said.
And once Ren added his voice to the mix too, Caro had no choice but to run along with them to the lake.
“Yuuuuu!” Anna shouted, waving at one of the boats out in the open water. One of the boys heard her; he looked up from the net he was pulling on to wave back.
“He looks the same age as me,” Caro murmured.
“He’s gonna be eight soon!” Anna answered him, not taking her eyes off the boat.
“Oh, so we are the same.”
“The kids of commoners start helping with labor around that age,” Misha explained. “Even if someone outside their own homes needs more workers, they go to help. By helping all sorts of people, they find out what kind of work they’re good at. Then at about ten years old, they start a serious apprenticeship and begin working for real.”
“They bring home fish! That’s gonna be dinner tonight!” Anna added happily. Caro glanced back and forth between Anna and the boats floating in the water.
He must be nobility. No merchant’s kid would be surprised by this, Misha thought. His reaction had brought her one step closer to his true identity.
“I help sometimes too! When they’re out working, I look for plants!” Anna declared proudly as Caro fell silent. “I’ll show you how. If you bring some home, you can add it to your dinner, and your mom will be really happy!”
“Huh? Oh, no, I...”
“Don’t worry, it’s easy. I’ll teach you!”
As Anna started pulling him away again, Misha smiled and waved goodbye. “Time for some field work! See if you can find any of the plants you read about yesterday.”
Caro blinked in surprise. One of the books he had read together with Misha was an illustrated encyclopedia of plants. Some of them had been labeled as “edible,” but that had been no more than trivia for Caro.
“You know some good plants too?” Anna asked. “Then we can teach each other! I wonder if there’s any good ones around here...”
Without waiting for a word in reply, Anna dove into the grass, dragging a somewhat flustered Caro behind her as they left Misha.
I came here to read. Why am I crawling around in the grass? Caro thought.
Glancing behind him, he found his disguised escort watching from a distance, his panic as clear as day. He was usually stone-faced, so the change in his demeanor made Caro want to laugh.
Oh, Misha’s bodyguard is talking to him.
Misha’s bodyguard patted Caro’s on the shoulder and told him something—Caro assumed it was to let it be—and this time, Caro burst out laughing for real.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.” Caro shook his head. “That looks edible. What do you think?” he said, reaching out to a plant winding up and around a low shrub.
