Chapter 96

"Is that you, Itto?!"

She looked in the direction of the voice.

On top of the box-shaped carriage, the familiar gray fur was visible.

It seemed to have followed her all the way up to the roof.

"Why did you come here?"

"Meow!!"

Itto, who had jumped down from the roof, approached the area near the rose garden where His Majesty was.

Itto is a gardener cat.

While its love for strawberries is striking, the gardener cat is a mythical creature closely associated with plants.

Perhaps it was curious about the rose garden, which is usually off-limits to anyone other than the royal family.

"…This one…"

"This is Itto, the gardener cat I mentioned before, who lives in my summer palace…"

Itto, unafraid of His Majesty, was staring intently at the rose garden.

This was unusual.

Gardener cats have a history of being overhunted.

Itto, due to this, tends to be wary of people it meets for the first time.

Not only humans, but even when it first met Mr. Goo the wolf, Itto was cautious.

Itto would only approach someone from the start if they had strawberry treats.

"Perhaps, Your Majesty, have you met Itto somewhere before?"

"…No, this is our first meeting."

His Majesty, as if to avoid my gaze, looked at Itto.

Then, Itto meowed as if greeting His Majesty.

"…It seems you and Itto get along well, Your Majesty."

His Majesty, unlike Mr. Heilroot, might have a nature that attracts animals?

…Imagining His Majesty being fond of cats, His Majesty's face remained as usual, expressionless.

Or perhaps, in front of dogs and cats, His Majesty might show a different expression?

As I wondered, His Majesty spoke to Itto.

"Do you want to enter the rose garden?"

"Meow meow!!"

"I see. Then wait a moment."

"…Is it alright for Itto to enter?"

"He helped grow the strawberries, so it's a kind of thank you."

His Majesty is so kind.

He might be fond of cats and fluffy creatures.

As I felt a sense of sympathy, His Majesty headed to the entrance of the rose garden and quickly returned with a single rose.

"Leuticia, do you have a handkerchief or a ribbon?"

"Here."

From a hidden pocket in the dress, I took out a ribbon, which is kept in case the dress's decoration falls off.

"To enter the rose garden, a small rose accessory sent by me is required. Use this rose to decorate Itto's neck instead."

"Thank you."

Lucian tied the ribbon around Itto's neck and adorned it with a pink rose vine.

"Hehe, you look even cuter now."

"Meow?"

By chance, the combination was surprisingly fitting.

Itto, who was once a stray cat (or something like that), suddenly had an elegant air.

Thinking about the power of roses, I entered the rose garden with His Majesty.

The rose garden was surrounded by a hedge, and there were guards at the entrance.

After passing through the brass gate, we found ourselves in a place of—

"Wow…!!"

Blossoming roses and a sweet fragrance.

Under the blue sky, a field of roses was in full bloom.

Soft pink. Translucent white.

Rich velvet-like red roses and delicately purple-tinged climbing roses.

Large, beautiful, and fantastical roses that seemed to spill over.

"Amazing. It's very beautiful."

"Ah, these are the pride of my royal family."

"Meow!!"

Itto, as if nodding in agreement with His Majesty's words, meowed.

It moved its nose and looked at the roses one by one.

Its tail swayed, and it followed us as we walked through the roses.

It was a wonderful rose garden, enveloped in a fragrant aroma.

Arches of roses were set up along the paths, and petals occasionally fell.

As we walked, His Majesty explained the types of roses planted and the "Rose Gathering."

We found a small table set.

A small round table painted white with three-legged chairs was placed there.

The table set blended well with the light pink roses and green vines around it.

"Your Majesty, shall we have tea there?"

"Ah, let's do that."

We opened the small basket we brought and quickly prepared.

We poured tea from a magic flask made by alchemy and arranged the pastries.

After finishing the preparations and sitting down, Itto also sat on the remaining chair, waiting cutely.

"Your Majesty, today I have arranged pastries that can be eaten by hand. Please enjoy whichever one you like."

"…Let's start with this one."

The one His Majesty picked up was a small, round macaron.

It was made with early-picked blueberries and had a light purple color.

"! This has a mysterious texture. …Interesting."

The small macaron disappeared into His Majesty's mouth.

At first, it was crispy, but the inside was soft and melted in the mouth.

The cream in the middle was smooth, and the macaron carried the scent of blueberries.

"Meow!!"

Itto also immediately picked up a macaron.

It chose, of course, the strawberry flavor.

Itto bit into the pink macaron with its small mouth, finished it happily in no time, and reached for the next strawberry macaron.

"…Itto, could it be that…?"

Was coming to the rose garden the main purpose?

Before coming here, I gave Itto some strawberry macarons, but perhaps it wasn't enough.

"Hehe, Itto, like me, is more interested in food than in charm, isn't it?"

"…What are you suddenly saying about the gardener cat?"

His Majesty, who had stopped eating the macaron, asked.

"No, I just remembered that a silver wolf who came to the summer palace recently looked at me as if to say, 'You really are more interested in food than in charm.'"

"…I see."

His Majesty nodded and said,

"…This one read my expression so accurately when I was with the wolf. Impressive…"

He muttered something in a low voice.