The Witch's Potion
The Tebron Empire was not a nation where divine power held great sway. It had been founded with humans of the present world at its center, rather than gods of the afterlife.
The Temple was closer to an academy that gathered those with divine power, and most of its priests were scholars.
The priests spent their lives in training within the Temple, lending their strength to the empire. They primarily wielded their abilities in spiritual domains such as prophecy, healing, and purification.
Among them, Malipa was renowned as a priestess with an unusual gift. Known as the "Mad Witch," she possessed the ability to connect with the minds of others.
She could read people's thoughts and draw out forgotten memories. Her unsettling power and worldly personality, so unlike a typical priestess, were the reasons she was called a witch.
The Marchioness of Lilche had made good use of Malipa's abilities whenever necessary ever since meeting her during the Regentera civil war, when Malipa had been a wandering fortune-teller. I knew her name because of that, but this was the first time I had seen her since I was very young, and I felt extremely nervous.
"Oh my, the little lady has grown so much? I hardly recognize you. It feels like just yesterday you came holding your grandfather's hand to see me when you were this small."
Malipa, with curly hair reaching her waist and large spectacles perched on her nose, looked me over with delight.
This was the most remote tower in the Temple. Unlike the deathly quiet main building, strange bubbling sounds from various potions echoed through Malipa's tower like white noise.
Malipa was an elderly woman so old that her death would not come as a surprise. Yet her thin, high-pitched voice brimmed with as much vitality as any young person's.
"I suppose the reason you've come to a priestess you never bothered to visit is obvious. There's something even your authority as a lady can't solve, so you've come seeking the power of the gods, haven't you?"
"The Marchioness of Lilche left a will. She said that if I came here, I could receive your help."
I had no idea where to begin. Just as I was about to explain my situation, Malipa clicked her tongue with an expression of utter annoyance.
"Why bother rambling on and on? Give me your hand."
"My hand?"
"Yes. Do you know why I'm called a witch? When I hold someone's hand, I can see their memories. I'm a busy person too, you know. I don't have time to listen to every little complaint. So give me your hand."
The ability to see memories just by holding hands explained why people avoided her. I hesitated without realizing it, and Malipa grumbled irritably.
"Why are you hesitating after coming all the way here? You're already backed into a corner, aren't you? I've lived my whole life with your grandfather and grandmother breathing down my neck, so I've seen every kind of mess this world has to offer. A peaceful life like yours is so boring it makes me yawn, so I'll probably forget it the moment I see it. Don't worry and just give me your hand."
I didn't like the idea of someone else seeing my memories, but as she said, someone standing at the edge of a cliff had no choice. I pulled my hand out from under the table and held it out to Malipa.
"Oh my, how can your hands be as pretty as your face? Lovely, truly lovely."
Malipa's wrinkled hand covered mine. She closed her eyes slowly, as if falling asleep, then furrowed her brow as though she were seeing something.
"Ah... oh... hmm... oh... my..."
Her eyeballs moved restlessly beneath her closed lids. After muttering incomprehensible exclamations for a long while, Malipa slowly opened her eyes again.
"Simple enough. You just need to stop time until you find the witnesses."
"Pardon?"
I pulled my hand away from Malipa's and asked.
"I've never heard of an ability that can stop time."
"It's a metaphor, you dense girl."
Malipa brought parchment and a quill to the table and began scribbling furiously.
"Look here. Your goal is to halt your sister-in-law's trial, right? His Majesty the Emperor ordered you to marry Archduke Illid instead. Of course, Archduke Hellion could find the witnesses before that, but given the circumstances, that seems impossible."
"Yes. That's correct."
"Then there's only one way. First, agree to marry Archduke Illid. Then, as promised, His Majesty will suspend the Duchess Regentera's trial."
Malipa continued with confident certainty.
"But the wedding won't proceed as planned. Time will stop, and in the meantime, if Archduke Hellion finds the witnesses, ta-da! Everything will be perfect. Without even using the Amnesty, you'll achieve everything you want!"
It made perfect sense when I heard it. But I still couldn't grasp what "stopping time" actually meant. Unless Malipa was a god, she couldn't do something like that.
"You'll just be asleep for a while. Just like that silver-haired duchess is staging her own act right now. About two weeks should be enough, don't you think?"
Malipa suddenly stood up and led me to a cauldron beneath the window. White smoke rose steadily from the bronze pot.
"If you just use poison, even if you wake up, your organs will be damaged. We can't do that to someone as precious as you. So we'll use this potion instead. One drop of this, and no matter how powerful a priest comes, they won't be able to wake you. You'll fall into a sleep closest to death."
Malipa picked up a rusty ladle and stirred the bubbling potion. The white smoke billowed higher, reaching the ceiling.
"If you drink this, you'll collapse like a dead person within an hour and fall into a deep sleep. During that time, your mind and mine will connect. I'll wake you when the time is right, depending on how things are going."
"What if I don't wake up?"
"That's a good question. The odds are fifty-fifty. You either wake up, or you don't. Ah, and you might wake up late, too. Belona Regentera once drank this potion in her youth and regained consciousness three days after the expected time. Back then, Wilhelm Regentera thought his sister was dead and tried to kill me."
Malipa widened her already large eyes and mimed strangling herself.
"The choice is yours, my lady. If you don't trust me, you don't have to do it. I'm not forcing you."
I stared at the bubbling cauldron and fell into thought.
Honestly, I didn't find Malipa very trustworthy. But regardless of my opinion, she was someone who had helped my grandfather and aunt many times.
'Besides, there's no other way.'
The Marchioness of Lilche wouldn't have left a will telling me to seek out someone untrustworthy. I decided to trust my grandmother's judgment.
"I'll do it. It seems like the best option right now. But you must wake me on time."
"Goodness, you sound just like Belona. Though Belona's way of speaking was much rougher."
Malipa chuckled and opened a cabinet, pulling out a dagger from inside.
"Now then, my lady. We're going to work some magic together. The dream traveler and the guide each need to add a drop of blood."
The dagger gleamed under the dim light as Malipa held it over her finger. Soon, red blood dripped into the cauldron, and the smoke billowed even higher.
"Now it's your turn."
I took the dagger she offered. When I lightly scratched my little finger, blood welled up like a paper cut. As my blood joined the mixture, the smoke grew thick enough to fill the entire room.
"Here, take this."
Malipa collected the smoke into a small glass vial. The smoke soon condensed into a colorless liquid resembling distilled water.
"Just one drop is enough. If you mix it with water and drink it on the wedding day, the effect will appear within an hour. I added some special ingredients for dramatic visual effect, so look forward to it."
"Visual effect? Are you saying there will be other symptoms besides falling asleep?"
"That's right. It wouldn't be any fun if you just collapsed. It might feel like a common bout of dizziness. So I made sure it would look serious to anyone watching."
Malipa's meaningful smile made me feel uneasy.
"If I look too ill, Hellion will worry."
"My lady, now isn't the time to worry about others. Think about what's most important. If you don't do this, you'll have to use the Amnesty, and you said you didn't want that."
I nodded briefly. Using the Amnesty would give the imperial family and Bladin a pretext to interfere in our family's internal affairs. There would surely come a time when we needed it more than now.
I looked at the vial resting in my palm. The transparent liquid looked like it held nothing but dew, and I wondered if it would really work.
"Thank you, Malipa. What about the price?"
Malipa's divine power always came with a cost. I had heard that failing to pay the price for her help would bring great misfortune.
"The price is simple. Just don't tell anyone that you're going to drink this potion."
"But people will worry..."
The words struck me like a blow to the heart as I thought of Hellion.
He would already go mad hearing that I had to marry Illid. If I collapsed like a dead person on the wedding day, he wouldn't be able to stay sane.
"There you go again with that. You can apologize to them after you wake up. Belona never worried like this. The little lady has quite the worrisome personality, doesn't she? It's exhausting."
Malipa frowned as if slightly disgusted.
"Remember. You must not tell anyone about this potion. This potion is only complete when even those closest to you are deceived."
"What if I tell someone?"
"The potion's effect will vanish. You'll sleep forever. How do I know? I didn't want to know either. If you don't believe me, try it yourself."
I shook my head firmly. I couldn't ruin something so important over pointless doubts.
'I'm truly sorry I can't tell Hellion and my brother in advance, but it can't be helped.'
I gripped the vial tightly. A poison that brought one close to death in order to ensure survival. Its contradictory nature was truly strange.
Fifty-fifty odds. Wake up, or sleep forever. Restore everything to how it was, or ruin it all.
I felt like a reckless gambler who had bet their entire fortune. I could only hope that today's meeting with Malipa would be the beginning of a winning fight.