CSTB Chapter 13

Because the weather was nice. It seemed a maid had made a mistake while trying to air out the room by opening the window.

What Rose had thought of as a simple matter turned into something enormous the next day.

“Oh no… Someone’s going to end up dead again at this rate.”

“Exactly…”

Early in the morning, Evelyn and Amelia entered the bedroom and sighed repeatedly as they voiced their worries.

No one was hurt, and everything had passed uneventfully, so Rose wondered what the fuss was about—of course.

“This isn’t something to be brushed off, Your Majesty. This was clearly an assassination attempt. We must find the culprit and interrogate them.”

Melissa was the problem. In the original story too, people here—especially Melissa—were experts at blowing small things out of proportion.

She was the very person responsible for ruining Noah’s image by escalating things and causing the deaths of people who didn’t need to die.

This time too, after hearing that a flowerpot had fallen, Melissa had rushed to the bedroom early in the morning, claiming it was an assassination attempt.

Standing in front of the large mirror, Noah adjusted his attire and responded with a blank expression while looking at his reflection.

“It was just one flowerpot. And such a pathetic assassination attempt? I’ve never even heard of one like that.”

“They said it fell from above. If it had struck your head, it could’ve killed you. How is that not serious?!”

Having seen the flowerpot fall firsthand, Rose didn’t think it had been thrown intentionally at Noah.

If that had been the case, Rose would have taken it far more seriously long before Melissa showed up.

But Rose, who had just woken up and was stretching a moment ago, showed no sign of distress.

‘That’s not it.’

Because it wasn’t an assassination attempt.

More than just common sense, Rose knew—because she had read the original story—that this wasn’t an assassination.

Although the exact date the main characters returned to the capital wasn’t given in the original, it was described as “when the snow that had fallen all winter began to melt.”

‘When I walked to the storage yesterday, the snow was still pretty solid.’

It was still deep winter—the time when the protagonists were watching for their return to the capital—so there was no reason for an assassination attempt.

What benefit would there be in killing Noah now?

If they were going to panic this much after putting Noah on the throne, they should’ve just fled with him from the start.

At least then, he wouldn’t be stuck in a position he didn’t want, constantly receiving hate…

“They say this happened while you were out looking for that cat.”

While Rose was lost in thought—Would I not have met Noah if that hadn’t happened? That would’ve been a problem too—Melissa suddenly shifted the blame toward Rose.

‘Yes! That’s right! But so what! I went out to save Noah, and I’m the one who knocked that pot away, thank you very much!’

Rose narrowed her eyes, wondering if she should scratch that pretty face a little to make her back off, when Melissa brought up the lightning incident.

“They say the red-eyed cat climbed up that tree, and then lightning struck. Red eyes are clearly an omen. Now they’re talking about the Emperor’s eyes again. And yet you still insist on keeping that cat by your side?”

She then shot Rose a glare sharp enough to kill.

‘Stare all you want! What are you gonna do about it!’

Rose wasn’t intimidated, but the sheer hatred in Melissa’s eyes—like she wished Rose would just die—still stung.

‘What did I even do…’

Rose’s ears, which had been perked up, drooped sadly.

“If you believe that, Mother, then I suppose you also think this years-long drought is my fault?”

Noah stepped in, blocking that glare from reaching Rose.

It seemed Noah didn’t want Rose to feel any of the negativity Melissa was radiating.

As he stood before her and let out a hollow laugh, Melissa raised her voice.

“Who would say such a thing!”

“Those same people who say lightning struck because of a cat. Why? If I find out who they are, will you suggest we kill every citizen in the Empire who says such things?”

Noah’s sharp retort made the already tense atmosphere grow even colder.

Rose then heard Melissa grinding her teeth.

“I will find the one who nearly brought harm to Your Majesty’s sacred body and hold them accountable.”

With that, Melissa spun around and stormed out of the room.

Only after the door slammed shut did Evelyn and Amelia finally peel themselves off the wall they’d been hugging.

“It’s alright.”

As soon as the door closed, Noah turned to Rose and lifted her into his arms.

Though he was saying those words to Rose, it sounded like he was trying to reassure himself.

As he pet her gently, Rose could feel Noah’s ragged breath gradually return to normal.

‘He’s been enduring all this on his own…’

Rose had thought she understood him well from the novel…

But seeing it in real life—experiencing it firsthand—was on an entirely different level.

Every time she saw things like this, it made her chest ache.

So Rose deliberately rubbed her face against Noah’s chest.

If her role was to be a source of comfort, then she wanted to fulfill that in any way she could.

Just as she hoped, Noah, calming down while stroking her back, said:

“There won’t be any more incidents.”

Though the words were meant for Rose, they seemed to be directed at the maids too.

After all, it was likely a fellow maid who had accidentally knocked over the flowerpot. Perhaps Noah had noticed the fear in Evelyn and Amelia’s eyes—that one of their friends might be punished.

As if in response to his words, the two maids let out quiet sighs of relief.

‘He’s probably a much better person than anyone knows…’

Yet even to the only being he could confide in—this cat—he still couldn’t fully let down his guard.

If only he had someone he could truly lean on…

‘Not an evil woman, though!’

Rose believed he could become a wise and noble ruler, not a mad tyrant.

But the fact that no one understood that, and that it would lead him to an early demise, wasn’t just sad—it was infuriating.

‘Ugh! I’m going to fix Noah’s image no matter what!’

Noah waited for Rose to finish her breakfast before carrying her out of the bedroom.

Rose seemed reluctant, as if she wanted to stay, but until the window latch was repaired, Noah couldn’t leave her there alone.

Cradling her in his arms, Noah headed for the study at the far end of the right hallway.

Fortunately, there were no meetings scheduled today.

Though the nobles were likely gathered in the council chamber bickering over the tax reform Noah had proposed last session, there were no official events.

Before settling into his seat at the desk, Noah tried to place Rose on the soft one-seater couch nearby.

But for some reason, Rose refused to be put down. She rested her chin on his shoulder and clung to him.

With no choice, Noah sat in his chair and let Rose curl up in his lap, where she finally looked satisfied.

“Not there.”

“Mrrrow~.”

Noah was happy Rose didn’t want to leave his side, but her excited kneading had ended up touching an unfortunate spot, making him flustered.

“She should know better by now…”

As he muttered this while watching Rose doze off, a knock came at the door.

“Come in.”

When Noah responded, it wasn’t Evelyn with tea, but Jonathan carrying a book.

Jonathan glanced at the sleeping Rose on Noah’s lap and asked:

“Was the window open yesterday?”

At his question, Noah turned his gaze to the report he held and answered:

“Seems the latch was opened before someone left.”

“The latch?”

Jonathan looked surprised, but Noah continued as if it were no big deal.

“Yes. You’d think they’d be more careful.”

“How would a cat know to be careful? She’s always roamed freely. Probably just did what she normally does. Still, opening a window latch… That’s impressive.”

Jonathan gave the typical response of someone uninterested in cats, but Noah’s reply was different.

“For Rose, it’s easy.”

He spoke with certainty, as if a latch like that was nothing to Rose.

Jonathan shook his head, half-exasperated, half-amused.

“You’re going to start saying she can talk next.”

He handed Noah the book he was carrying.

“Here’s the book you asked for.”

Noah took it immediately, flipping through the pages, prompting Jonathan to ask:

“Why are you so interested in these, anyway? Planning to write a fantasy novel about beastfolk or something?”

“A novel?”

“Beastfolk are only found in legends, after all.”

Jonathan offered another reasonable answer, but Noah, eyes still fixed on the pages, murmured almost inaudibly:

“They’re not just legends.”

“What was that…?”

Without answering, Noah turned to the section on “beastfolk” in the ancient text.

After flipping through a few pages, he seemed to find what he was looking for. A rare, satisfied smile appeared on his lips.

“It’s true—they reach their full form in the second spring.”

Jonathan still didn’t understand what Noah was trying to confirm with these books. He could only watch with a puzzled look.