The False Vice-Commander ~The Forest Witch Blooms in Secret Love~ - The False Vice-Commander ~The Final Tea Party and the Words Left Unspoken~

The eastern gate of the royal castle was shrouded in morning mist. Water vapor rising from the Fontaine River blurred the chalk-white ramparts into soft focus. Noir Elmreef stood before the gate, dressed in her usual white blouse and black pencil skirt. The cold morning wind gently brushed through her jet-black, flowing hair. Her indigo-violet eyes were fixed on a single carriage waiting beyond the gate. Several trunks were piled onto its cargo bed. Two knights of the Royal Capital Guard stood silently in attendance nearby. Banishment from the kingdom. Those words dissolved into the chill of the morning air. "……Hmm." Noir murmured quietly. (In the end, it's come to a morning like this.) Only a few days had passed since the night of the Star Festival. That night when tea had been laced with poison, Celes had collapsed, and she had cornered Vira in the great hall. Yesterday, the Council of Nobles had formally approved the banishment decree, and the king had signed it. Possession of the forbidden magical herb Lunabane, and attempted murder of a royal family member. The verdict had stood. Footsteps sounded from beyond the castle gate. Slowly, a woman walked forward. Her long, wavy crimson hair blazed brilliantly in the morning sun. But her complexion was pale, and her jade eyes were red, as if she had cried them raw. She wore no gorgeous dress, no flashy accessories—only plain traveling clothes. Even so, she held her back straight and her chin raised. Vira Esfort. Once called the "Ice Rose," the prime candidate for the crown prince's betrothed, the marquis's daughter who had been closest to the throne of queen. She stopped before Noir. And then, she glared hard. Large tears welled up in her eyes. "……Why are you here?" Her voice trembled. There was no trace of her usual haughty tone. "If it weren't for you……if you had never come out of that forest, everything would have gone perfectly." Tears streamed down her pale cheeks. She clenched her fists tightly and bit her lip. "Lord Gilvest was mine. The throne of queen, the future, everything—it was all supposed to be mine. And yet……and yet, someone like you——!!" Noir gazed at Vira in silence. The wind blew. Noir's black hair swayed softly. She wore a gentle smile. There was no anger, no pity, no pride of a victor. Only quiet eyes. "Vira. Your feelings for His Highness the Crown Prince—they were genuine, weren't they?" Vira's shoulders jolted. "Your methods were wrong. But your feelings weren't a lie. That much, I can tell." "……Wh-what are……" Vira lost her words. Her lips trembled; she tried to say something, but no voice came. Tears spilled from her eyes one after another. Sniffling, her face crumpled like a child's, yet still she did not look away from Noir. "……I hate you. I hate you so much. Just go back to your forest already." It was like a final, desperate struggle. Noir tilted her head slightly. "……Hmm. I see. That's fine." Vira swallowed her sobs and turned sharply on her heel. Her shoulders shaking, she climbed the steps of the carriage. She glanced back only once, casting a look at Noir filled with hatred—and something else, an emotion beyond naming. "Don't you forget this——!!" The carriage door closed. The coachman cracked his whip. The horses whinnied, and the wheels began to turn, grinding against the cobblestones. Noir stood there until the carriage vanished from sight. (Farewell, Vira.) A faint ache stirred deep in her chest. Was this sorrow, or relief? She still didn't quite know. From the shadow of the castle gate, a man quietly stepped forward. Deep chestnut hair with dark red streaks. Golden eyes—the mark of royalty—gazed in the direction the carriage had gone. It was Gilvest Valdis. He came to stand beside Noir. "……You've done well, Noir." "Your Highness. You were watching?" "Yes. But it wasn't my place to step in. That was something between you and her—a settling of accounts." Gilvest gazed at Noir's profile. The morning light cast shadows from her long eyelashes. Her quiet beauty made his heart pound. (I want to make this woman my queen.) What had been a vague longing now crystallized into unshakable resolve. Noir turned to face Gilvest and spoke in her usual unhurried tone. "Hmm. By the way, Your Highness, have you had breakfast yet? If you'd like, I can brew some tea. Your magical energy is a little elevated today, isn't it?" Gilvest gave a wry smile. This was just how she was. Utterly unaware of his resolve, she was simply beginning another ordinary day. "……No, not yet. Would you?" *** Afternoon. Noir visited the royal medical office in the north wing of the castle. The white corridor carried a faint scent of disinfectant. She knocked and opened the door to find a silver-haired young man sitting upright on the bed. It was Celes Lindbloom. The silver earring in his right ear glinted, catching the light streaming through the window. A bandage was wrapped around his left wrist—though this was not a wound from his duty guarding Noir. Apparently, it was an injury sustained during a physical fight with His Highness on the night of the Star Festival. She had heard something about how it happened, about dancing or whatnot, but neither of them had yet told Noir the full story. "Celes. How are you feeling?" Celes rose from the bed. "Lady Noir. I told you repeatedly that your concern is unnecessary……I have already fully recovered. There is no hindrance to my guard duties." His voice was just a little faster than usual. Noir tilted her head and approached him. "You don't have to push yourself. You still look pale. Sit down." When Noir pointed to the bed, Celes hesitated for a moment, then sat down as if resigning himself. Noir seated herself on the stool facing him. The distance between their knees was only a few centimeters. Celes's blue eyes wavered slightly. "It should take a few more days for the poison to fully leave your system. Lunabane is a neurotoxin, so I'm concerned about aftereffects. Any headaches? Blurred vision?" "……No issues." Noir peered intently into his eyes. Celes caught his breath at the depth of her indigo-violet gaze. "Celes. I've been saved by you, time and time again." "……I merely did what was expected as your guard knight. To me, Lady Noir, you are……in terms of my duties, someone precious." Celes's voice trembled faintly at the end. He averted his gaze from Noir and looked out the window. Noir smiled, just a little sadly. "……I see. Duty, then. That's a shame." She stood and lightly smoothed the hem of her skirt. "I had thought of you as a friend, you see." Celes's shoulders twitched. Without saying anything more, Noir quietly left the medical office. The sound of the door closing echoed through the silent room. Celes remained frozen in place for a while. "……A friend." He murmured under his breath. (A friend. She thinks of me as——) "A friend." Should he be happy, or sad? His heart was a tangled mess. His feelings of love had not reached her after all. But she had called him a "friend." To him, those words weighed more than anything. Celes slowly lay back on the bed. Then he pulled the blanket up, covering himself completely, all the way over his head. Facing the wall, he let out a small sigh. His ears burned hot. So hot he wondered if even his silver earring might melt. His perfect mask as a guard knight now lay crumpled in ruins beneath the blanket. *** Night. The Moonlight Garden behind the royal castle was wrapped in silence. Beneath a sky full of stars, white queen-of-the-night flowers bloomed bewitchingly. The soft glow of magical lamps faintly illuminated the cobblestone path. Gilvest waited for Noir in the gazebo at the garden's center. His heart pounded annoyingly loud. This was not a symptom of his magical energy accumulation disorder. Even he understood that now. He heard footsteps. Turning around, he saw Noir standing with the moonlight at her back. Silver gradients shimmered in her black hair, and her indigo-violet eyes gazed at him quietly. It was a sight as if a spirit of the moon had descended. "Your Highness, what brings you out at this late hour? Surely your magical energy isn't unstable again? Or perhaps there's a possibility of another ailment……" Noir tilted her head and spoke with an utterly serious expression. Gilvest was dumbfounded. And then, in the next instant, laughter welled up from the very pit of his stomach. "……Haha, ahahahaha. An ailment……an ailment, she says! No, you're right—this is indeed a splendid affliction." He laughed for a while longer, and when he finally calmed down, he drew a deep breath. "Noir. When I'm with you, my heart is noisy. Every time I see your face, my chest grows hot. This is not a symptom of magical energy accumulation disorder. Even I understand that." He took one step closer to Noir. "The thought that you might return to the forest makes my chest ache. Ah, let me say this first—it's not a respiratory ailment either." Another step closer. "It seems I have fallen in love with you." Noir blinked several times. (Love……?) A gentle warmth spread deep in her chest. But what to call that emotion—she still didn't quite know. Then, slowly, Gilvest dropped to one knee. The moonlight illuminated his golden eyes. "Noir Elmreef. I want you to stay by my side. Not as my vice-commander, but as my wife." It was unmistakably a proposal. The air in the garden grew taut. For a long moment, Noir said nothing. She looked up at the night sky, then looked down at the crown prince kneeling before her. And then. "……Hmm." She began with her usual verbal tic. "Your Highness. To be honest, I don't quite understand this thing called romantic love." Gilvest's shoulders dropped, just slightly. Noir smiled at him. "But, you see, when I'm by your side, my heart feels quiet and very, very warm. It's a sensation I never knew when I was alone in the forest. So……would it be all right if I stayed by your side and researched this feeling?" "……Research." Gilvest stared blankly. Then, once again, laughter bubbled up inside him. (I see. This is just the kind of person she is.) He rose to his feet and took Noir's hand. "So, in other words, from now on, I am to become your research subject?" "Hmm. Yes. It may become a large-scale research project spanning a lifetime. After all, it's an unprecedented endeavor—investigating the interaction between royal biology and a witch's emotions." The two looked at each other, and then, at the same moment, burst into laughter. It was a wordless confirmation of a shared affection. *** The next morning. The rumor that the crown prince had proposed to the Forest Witch spread through the royal castle in the blink of an eye. Civil officials and maids passing in the corridors buzzed with whispered gossip. "Congratulations!" "When is the wedding!?" "What will happen to the tea parties!?" On her way to the vice-commander's office, Noir was surrounded by junior officials pelting her with rapid-fire questions. She tilted her head, looking just a little troubled. "Nothing has been decided yet. By the way, do we have enough tea leaves in stock? We'll need to look into new suppliers." The officials' shoulders all slumped in unison. "That's so like the Vice-Commander……" Noir pushed open the heavy door of the vice-commander's office and stepped inside. A quiet room. On the desk, neatly organized stacks of documents. On the wall, geometric-patterned magic circles she had drawn herself. This place had already become her home. She walked over to the window. The white cityscape of the royal capital, Lumière, shone in the morning sun. Far off, in the southwestern direction, a faint shadow of deep green was visible. The Cardona Forest. The place where her solitary laboratory, built over so many years, once stood. She gazed quietly in the direction of the forest. (Just a little longer.) She gently claspe

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Episode 7

Name: The False Vice-Commander ~The Forest Witch Blooms in Secret Love~
Author: Novelia

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