The Black Cat Prince Laughs At The Moonlit Sky 1-213 min read

Chapter 1-2: The Colors That Become Light 

My hair is red.

I’m not exactly a redhead, it’s really more like a deep red like wine.
Both of my eyes are the same color as well.
Because of that, I was bullied a lot when I was a kid.
Because red is the color of blood, everyone was uncomfortable with me.

I’d go home crying after being bullied, and my mom who single-handedly raised me, told me a story.
About the three primary colors of light.

“—-In this world, there are tons of colors, but among them were mysterious colors.
One is blue. Another is green.
And lastly is…
Fiorentina. It’s your color, red.
If you were to combine all three, what do you think would happen?
It would become a bright, and sparkly light.
Our next-door neighbor’s eyes are blue, isn’t it?
Carol from across us has green.
In this world, there are people with various colors.
Even if everyone has blue, or green, you wouldn’t be able to produce light with just that.

That’s why, Fiorentina.
Your red color is important, and is a beautiful color.
So don’t cry anymore—-”
Don’t cry, Fiorentina…
******

“…Ugh…”
My consciousness comes back.
As I open my eyes, a dirty cloth-like ceiling spreads before me.
…It seems like I’ve been sleeping in a tent-like place.

“Oh, you’re up.”

Flinch.
I hear a voice to my side, and I jumped to my feet.
As soon as I did that, a dull pain throbs from the back of my head.

“Ahhh…”
“Ah, you should rest a bit more. Even though I said we’ll patch you up, we’ve only managed to do first aid.”

While rubbing the back of my head, I looked up at the owner of the voice as he came near me.
And there was… the silver-haired man from earlier.

Looking at him once again… he was beautiful like a sculpture.
Tall nose. Narrow, silver eyes. This beauty, I wonder if it’s also an elf trait.
He’s probably halfway through his twenties. His tall body is also well-built, definitely like a soldier…

Soldier…

Surprised, I tightly closed my legs, and covered it up with my hands.

“…You’re the lowest… While someone fainted… You demon! Super pervert! Go die!!”
“…Can you stop coming to that conclusion?”

With tears in my eyes, the man makes a bitter face, and lets out a sigh.

“No matter how many times I tell you that I don’t plan on doing that, you’re not listening… Wait, do I really look like a pervert? …It’d be worrying if I am.”
As he lets out a “Good grief,” he turns around, and just like that, walks over to a table a distance away.

…From the looks of it, he really didn’t do anything. I could at least see that much seeing as it’s my own body.
On the contrary, bandages are wrapped around my head, even the wounds all over my body looks like they were treated with care.
It’s exactly as he said, I was properly taken care of.

…He…was serious about saving me…?

And then I looked around the place I was currently in.
Just as I thought, it’s a temporary tent. The floor was the brown ground. Even the table the man was facing right now, and the bed I was on were simple and foldable.
So that means, this guy is a stationed soldier… An enemy soldier.

But even if he is, why did he save me…?

“Here.”

The man brings over a glass from the table. Water, or at least what looks like a transparent-looking liquid.

“Relax. It’s just water.”
“…”

He said with a wry smile, as if guessing my thoughts.
Even though I’m still a little confused, I drank it.
…It really is just water.
As I obediently drank it, he looks at me, and gently laughs.

“What’s your name?”
“…Although it’s cliche of me to say this, but shouldn’t you give your name first before you ask others?”

As I drank the water, without looking at him, I answered.
As if I’ll give my name like that to an enemy. Also, it’s me who has tons of questions I want to ask.

“Ah, true, my bad. My name is.”

Without showing an offended expression at my cheekiness,
He says,

“Louis Sylphy Rutherford. As you’ve guessed, I’m a soldier from the Loganz Empire.”

Loganz Empire… I’ve sort of guessed from the crest on his uniform, but I was right. An ally of the enemy nation, Fortanica.
I glared at the silver-haired man… Louis as harshly as I could.

“Why did a Loganz soldier save me… An Istrada citizen? What were you thinking?”

I asked with a harsh tone.
And then, he stared, puzzled, and said.
“‘Why’… You were hurt.”
“H…Huh? But you guys came here to do just that, right? Plus… wouldn’t those Fortanica guys get mad at you for breaking the alliance like that?”
“Haha, ‘get mad,’ more like they’ll kill us. Well, even if they find out… It’s only me, the commanding officer, who they’ll do that to.”
“…What do you mean…?”
“Hmm… How do I say in simpler terms? Us Loganz soldiers don’t like to needlessly kill. Even though publicly, we’re only supposed to be supporting Fortanica, but actually, we’re also fighting on the frontlines…”

While saying that, he rubs the wound on his right arm.
Looks like that wound is a new one.

“Like this, we also have troops that rescue people secretly, as well as protecting the surviving civilians without letting them know. It’s the orders from the King of Loganz. It’s a secret, okay?”

He said with an impish smile.
…Is that true?
If so, then the Loganz soldiers…

“…Why did he do that…”
“Obviously, even the King and all of us hate killing people.”
“Then, why are you joining in this war?”
“There are lives that can be saved by joining in. By minimizing the damage, we could end this needless war. And that’s why we came here.”
“…”

I was at a loss for words. For anyone to seriously do that, these guys are idiots.

Even though there’s merit to taking over an enemy country by exploiting and laying waste to it.
If they were to put themselves in a disadvantageous situation by saying “We hate killing people,” their actions are way beyond kindness, and more foolish than anything.

“…Even while proudly saying that, we couldn’t protect the town that you were in from Fortanica’s attacks. No matter how many times I apologize, it doesn’t solve the problem… As someone from the enemy nation, I’d like to apologize. To even involve you in this trivial conflict between our countries… I’m really sorry. We’ll try our best to end this with as little damage as possible. That’s why, if possible, please wait for a little more.”

Saying that, Louis bows with a serious expression.

…Huh, wait a minute. This guy just now said something super serious with no hesitation at all, didn’t he?
Long story short, isn’t this a military secret? That’s what I mean.
Why is he telling that to… someone from the enemy nation? If I were to betray you, you’d be killed, you know?

Just…what is the Loganz Empire…

“And that’s my story. How ’bout you?”
“Huh?”

His voice cut off my thoughts, and unconsciously raised my voice, hysterically.

“If it’s fine with you, can you tell me? Your name that is. If not, then I’ll just have to keep on calling you, “you,” you know?”

Louis says with a smile.

…For some reason, he’s just been saying things I don’t understand.
Anyways, it seems like he was serious about saving me, an enemy citizen.
Plus, this person looks nice… Even though I thought of him as an idiot earlier, not one millimeter of his face looks like it…
If he was acting, I thought, “It can’t be helped even if I’m deceived.”
I could see that much in the honesty in his eyes—-

“…Fiorentina.”

I held out a hand wrapped in bandages. I looked straight into his silver eyes.
I said,

“Fiorentina Caramellat. You can call me Fior for short.”
“I see… It’s a nice name. Nice to meet you, Fior.”

Taking my held out hand in his own, he said.
I showed a smile for the first time, and Louis too delightfully smiled back.

“…”

However.
The first to break that friendly atmosphere was none other than me.
While shaking hands, I gripped Louis’ right arm, he pulled it back and,

“Ow, ow, ow! What’re you doing all of a sudden?!”

Ignoring Louis who raised his voice, I laid that arm on my knees.

“I can heal this wound. I noticed it since earlier.”

On the arm he’s been rubbing was a wound. Looking at it closely, it looks like a deep cut from a sword.
Carrying me with this wound, he even put off taking care of his own wounds… So stupid, this guy.

“Ah, if it’s that one, one of the rescue squad already…”
“Even if it’s someone from the rescue squad, what did he do? My head still hurts as well… To not be able to take care of a single cut like this, your soldiers must not be good at it. They’re a terrible doctor.”

…As you’ve guessed, I’m stubborn. And have a sharp tongue.
Rather than saying that, it’s more of a habit. Since I’ve been living all by myself, I don’t needlessly put up a front.

…But that’s beside the point.

I took a sidelong glance at the bewildered Louis.
I slightly sat up straight, and raised my index finger.
And… drew in the air.
My own name.
“—-Thy name is Fiorentina. Spirit. In accordance with our contract, show yourself.”

As I cast the spell, the “signature” I wrote in the air shone.
At the same time, a warm light shines on my right hand…
I touch Louis’ injured arm with that.

—-Then.
Cells, tissue, skin.
Regenerating the area where the laceration is…
In the blink of an eye, it disappeared without a trace.
Unmarred skin, as if the injury never existed.

“You… That power…”

Louis looked at me, taken aback.
With a slightly proud face,

“My magic is healing. Although being able to perfectly heal anything is a little rare… Anyways, can’t the rescue soldier at least be able to do that to an arm, at least? Even though I’m receiving proper magic training, his skills are even lower than a normal person like me. If I were able to heal myself, then I’d do it immediately like what I did just now.”
As expected, my head still hurts, and as I press down on it, I said that.

Magic is a kind of “personality.”

Even though there are abilities similar to the healing magic I use, there’s absolutely not one person who has the same exact thing as me.
For example, although I can’t heal my own wounds, there may be others who can heal themselves.
On the contrary, there are also people who can’t heal their own wounds.

It becomes possible to use magic after 14 years old.
As a person celebrates their 14th birthday, a spirit comes along to protect that person. And creates a contract with them.

A contract where until the person’s life ends, they are to stay by their side, and come to their aid.

The contractor signs with their own blood, and recites the words of the contract.
And then, they’ll be able to invoke magic. Although spirits are normally visible to the naked eye, they’re able to materialize through magic.
And then for the first time, seeing what kind of spirit came, they’ll know what kind of magic they can use.

From there on, a person needs to write their own name in the air, and recite the words whenever they use magic.
But it seems like, unless you receive proper magic training and pile up on experience, you won’t be able to demonstrate its full power. Properly training, and studying.
Although there are special schools, and organizations that train even the nation’s soldiers, because there are people who abuse magic for their own gain, in order to prevent that from increasing, entering these require strict exams.
Of course, since I’m a commoner, and come from a poor family, I wasn’t able to receive any formal education in magic.

Based on what I mentioned above, let me summarize.
The magic I use stimulates the body’s natural regenerative capabilities, and hastens the healing process…
Even without having received any training, my power is stronger than the rescue soldier’s, being able to do an almost complete recovery.

In other words, I’m a prodigy.
“I’ve never seen a human… with so much potential until now.”

Louis rubs his arm, as if looking for the wound that was there earlier. I shrug my shoulders.

“Well, because of this power, I was brought out to the capital.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m an orphan. Both my father and mother already passed away. Actually, I was supposed to live in the orphanage in my hometown, but… that town’s lord expected a whole lot from my healing magic, and pulled me out of it. In case something happens… But.”

I smiled, remembering the scene from earlier.
Covered in blood, lying down weakly, their blood-covered bodies…

“…It’s ironic, isn’t it? Everyone died already, except for me. If I had been killed before I could heal them, then there’d be no point in me being there.”
“You…”

I turned Louis’ hand towards me.
I wonder if he feels guilty for what I said. For some reason, I feel insulted.
Reflexively, I tightly close my eyes.

…But.
Those hands gently holds both my shoulders.
“Eh…?”

In front of me were Louis’ steady, silver eyes.
Those glass-like eyes were looking straight into mine.
And then they narrowed a little in sadness.

“…You don’t have to put up a front.”
“H…Huh? Suddenly saying that…”
“I see it in your eyes. The truth is you’re really, really scared. Since you’re infront of someone from the enemy nation right now… You must be worried about dying.”
“Wha…”
“It’s fine.”
“…”
“You don’t have to worry. You’re safe. You’re alive. That’s plenty enough for now. So… stop smiling so bitterly.”

With those simple words.

At that moment.
Without noticing, tears fell, I couldn’t stop them.

“…Eh…What is this…”

I wonder why this is happening.
Even when corpses were in front of me, even when I accepted my death, not one drop fell.
For them to overflow right now.
Looking at my tears, Louis laughs.

“Good, good. If you wanna cry, you should. Instead of smiling, this is way better.”
“…D…Don’t I look stupid…?”

Not wanting to show him my crying face, I turned away from Louis.

…It’s annoying, but he’s right…
I was really scared. I was sad. I felt hopeless.
I’m acquainted with death. Having lost both of my parents, I had no choice but to get used to death.

But.
I survived. I’m saved. Was saved.

Mixed with relief from that were feelings of guilt for the people who died, as well as a sense of helplessness.
With my emotions in a mess, the tears overflowed.

“…”

What should I do? Even though I didn’t want to cry, even though there’s no point in crying, the tears won’t stop—-
Pat.
Louis put his hand on top of my red hair.

“I’m glad that you’re alive. Thank you.”

He said in a voice as if coming from the bottom of his heart.

I can’t pretend anymore.
I sobbed as much as I could infront of him—-

This is how I met Commander Louis.
Because of this meeting.
My life would become truly dyed in a different color—-

This was a long chapter, I expected short chapters to be quite honest. Also, if Fior doesn’t want Louis, I’ll take him. He sounds adorable.