TWCT 15

Chapter 15

 Why a Rainbow Appears (2)

From around that time, a change began to appear in Lord Feliks as well.

He stopped complaining about any kind of training—swordsmanship practice, studies, or etiquette.

He stopped crying, and even when things were difficult, he would grit his teeth and try to overcome them.

Perhaps… he had begun to feel that he was loved by many people.

And that realization may have become something important to him, allowing him to trust himself and keep pushing forward.

Around the same time, he stopped visiting the castle’s back garden.

From that, I understood that he had chosen his path.

Perhaps… he had abandoned that place that had once been his “talisman,” and chosen the difficult, arduous path of becoming a king—something that had previously been impossible for him to even consider, since his parents had declared, “We will never allow you to become king.”

The path Feliks chose was a harsh one, but if it was his wish, I wanted to support him with everything I had.

For that reason, I studied everything I could about the Kingdom of Sterling in order to help him even slightly.

And I continued casting rainbows on days that held meaning for him, hoping to support him from behind the scenes.

“Rupia, there is an appropriate time for a person’s body to grow. For example, the growth you should gain at age nine can only be gained when you are nine. Even if you eat twice as much at age ten, you cannot recover the growth you missed at nine.”

My older brother admonished me after I had collapsed repeatedly from overexertion and gone days barely able to eat.

“My brother is right. Ruu, I know you always give your all to everything, but you must not push yourself so far. It seems that tall women are preferred in the Kingdom of Sterling, so here—eat a little more. And try to moderate how often you cast your rainbows.”

My cousin Isaac, Duke of the Aster family, agreed with my brother.

“Understood.”

That was my answer—but in the end, I did not listen to my family.

I continued casting rainbows on days that were important to Feliks.

And once my fever subsided, I would eat a lot so that I would not worry them.

Even when I turned ten, eleven, and twelve, I continued casting rainbows without change.

Eventually, everyone gave up and stopped trying to dissuade me.

And so I continued casting rainbows for him, and he firmly became known as the “Beloved Child of the Goddess,” eventually being called the “Rainbow Crown Prince” by the people.

I do not think it was because of the rainbows, but unfortunately, when I turned seventeen, I was shorter than average.

Among my siblings, I was the only one.

However, no one ever mocked me for it.

On the contrary, they always supported me, so I never felt inconvenienced or inferior because of my height.

By this time, my family had all understood that I was completely devoted to Feliks.

So when I cast a rainbow at his coronation ceremony prior to our wedding and fell ill afterward, my brother only sighed and said, “I expected as much.”

—In fact, I had arrived in the Kingdom of Sterling a week before our wedding date, but I was unable to see Feliks until the day of the ceremony because I had been bedridden.

And since Feliks did not know the reason for my fever, he might have been displeased, thinking, “It is irresponsible to fall ill before such an important event!” But instead of complaining, he sent me a handwritten letter expressing his concern.

Lying in the guest bedroom of the Kingdom of Sterling’s palace, I read his letter when my brother arrived and gently brushed back my damp bangs.

Then he asked me seriously:

“Are you not going to tell King Feliks that you have been casting rainbows for him all this time?”

It took me a while to understand his question through my fevered haze, so after a pause I answered:

“…Even if I were to tell him, it should not be now. He believes he is blessed by the ‘Rainbow Goddess.’ If he learns that it was actually just my magic, I think he would be disappointed.”

“That may be true,” my brother replied briefly.

But I shook my head.

“I do not want to disappoint Lord Feliks. So… ideally, I want to become someone important to him first—someone whose help he believes had meaning for him as well.”

After speaking at length, I grew breathless and closed my eyes. My brother wiped the sweat from my forehead.

“That is a long-term plan. You truly center everything around King Feliks.”

He sighed again and offered me sliced fruit.

“Eat, even if you must force it. You will likely not recover before the day of the wedding, so build up your strength. …By the way, will you not cast a rainbow on your own wedding?”

With no appetite at all, I took only a small bite of the fruit.

“I have heard that after the wedding there will be important events such as the reception and audiences with foreign dignitaries. If the Queen collapses and cannot attend, it would cause trouble for Lord Feliks, so I will forgo casting a rainbow at the wedding.”

My brother looked at me as if I were a hopeless child and sighed toward the heavens.

“If you cast a rainbow, you could publicly demonstrate that you are a blessed figure… Truly, you think only of King Feliks and nothing of yourself.”

Then he glanced sideways at me.

“I hope he takes good care of you. Since you do not take care of yourself, your husband will have to do it.”

“If that happens, I will be the happiest person in the world.”

I replied dreamily.

“…No, perhaps it would be a problem if King Feliks too much indulges you. You would only work yourself even harder for him!”

Saying so, my brother wrapped the blanket tightly around me and told me to sleep.

“Yes, understood… thank you, Brother.”

When I thanked him, he waved his hand without turning around. It was a familiar gesture I had seen every time I fell ill.

Watching my kind brother—who had traveled such a long distance to attend my wedding and was still worrying about me—I finally allowed myself to sink into a deep, peaceful sleep.