Chapter 81: Paradox
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 81: Paradox
After that day, Evangeline realized Yohan had become strangely cold.
“Yohan!”
“Yes, M-Master. What is it?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing. Could you bring something to drink to the workshop?”
“Yes, I will.”
It felt like a strange distance had formed between them.
“Yohan. Um, today… how about it?”
“...I will prepare.”
Their sweet, love-filled daily life had shifted to something more business-like.
‘Why is he being like this…?’
A slight distance. That distance was driving her mad. After making love with Yohan, Evangeline quietly left the room, grabbed a bottle of liquor, and headed for Margaret’s room.
She forcibly broke open the door, which was sealed shut with a barrier, and stepped inside. Margaret, who had been sleeping, woke with a start at the sound of the barrier shattering. Seeing that the intruder was Evangeline, she let out a sigh of relief.
“Hwaaaah—! Ritzzzz!”
“...What is it, at this hour?”
“I wanna drink, drink alcohooool—!”
“Isn’t it your turn today? Are you done already?”
“Hic, I came here ‘cause it’s overrrr!”
Watching Evangeline act like a drunkard, Margaret sighed and snapped her fingers. In an instant, the room, which had contained only a single bed, transformed into an outdoor space, faintly illuminated by the moonlight.
The moonlight shone down on the two witches. The satellite, reflecting the sun’s light, bathed them in a glow as intense as if the sun itself were shining down in its place.
“So? What’s wrong?”
“Yohan, it’s Yohaaaan—!”
“...What about your disciple?”
Evangeline poured out everything she had endured from Yohan over the past few days—the needless coldness, the emotional distance that made her feel unloved.
Margaret listened quietly, sipping her drink. After a moment of thought, she spoke cautiously.
“Maybe… his love has faded?”
Thud. Evangeline froze. From the blink of her eyes to the beat of her heart, all movement ceased. She stared silently at Margaret.
Her eyes were cold, devoid of any emotion. Meeting that gaze, Margaret felt a fear like a frog before a snake. Just as a cold sweat began to trickle down her back, Evangeline broke into a bright smile and spoke.
“Hey, there’s no way Yohan would do that!”
“R-Right? I misspoke.”
“Yep! You misspoke! Be careful, okay?”
But dismissing another’s opinion like this didn’t make Evangeline’s problems disappear.
The fact that Yohan was still avoiding her remained unresolved. The wound etched into her heart would not heal.
“I really don’t know why he’s like this…”
“When exactly did it start?”
“I don’t knooow… I don’t even want to remember…”
“Try to remember. You might have done something to upset him.”
At Margaret’s words, Evangeline racked her brain, replaying the times Yohan had ignored her. Yesterday, when he avoided her gaze? No. The day before, when she felt a slight distance? No. Not even three days ago, when he had subtly avoided her…
“I don’t knooow… Hic, Yohaaaan…! What did your master do wroooong…!”
“...If you really don’t know, why don’t you ask him directly?”
“How can I do that! Right now, it’s just a feeling, but what if I have to see him say with his own mouth that he really hates me!”
If that happened, she could no longer postpone or hide from the fact that Yohan hated her. Being subtly disliked and being officially disliked were on completely different levels.
Even if they were to get on good terms again later, it would be far easier to recover from a period of unspoken avoidance than from him having explicitly said, “I hate you.”
Of course, to achieve that recovery, the first priority was for Evangeline to figure out why Yohan disliked her in the first place.
‘There’s no way his disciple would hate her, though…’
Wondering if Evangeline was just imagining things, Margaret said nothing more and simply tilted her glass. The liquor must have been quite strong, as she soon began to feel tipsy.
*
When I woke up in the morning and went to wake my master, I scowled at the thick smell of alcohol wafting from her room.
“...Master?”
“Ugh— Yo, Yohaaan… Wa-water…”
“Please wait a moment.”
I immediately scooped up a gourdful of cool water and brought it to her. Evangeline gulped it down, then let out a long sigh as if she’d finally been saved.
“Did something happen?”
“...It’s nothing.”
“Who were you drinking with? The smell of alcohol is no joke.”
“...Do I smell right now?”
“Yes. A little.”
Shudder. Evangeline trembled and immediately kicked me out of the room. Only then did I realize that telling a woman she smelled was rather inconsiderate. I headed straight for Margaret’s room.
There were five witches in this house. Excluding Beatrice and Regina, who were with me last night, that left only Margaret and Hekaterina. But there was no way my master would have been drinking alone with Hekaterina. The only person she would drink with was Margaret…
Just as I suspected, a smell similar to the one from my master’s room began to emanate from Margaret’s room.
“Here, Ms. Margaret. Here’s some water. Drink up.”
“Waaater…?”
Margaret carefully sat up and, just like my master, began to chug the water. Letting out a sigh of relief, she looked at me and tilted her head.
“How did you know to come here…?”
“I went to Master’s room and she was so drunk she couldn't even support herself. I figured she wasn’t drinking alone.”
“Aha.”
Margaret, seeming to understand, tried to get up, but she swayed, clutching her head from the hangover. I steadied her for a moment before she flopped back onto the bed.
“Ugh, Disciple. Do you have anything sweet…?”
“Sweet? We’re out of honey.”
“Go buy some…”
“Buy some…”
Before I could say, “I’m not you, how am I supposed to get to a city that sells sweets?” Margaret pulled a piece of paper covered in formulas from her clothes.
“This… is a scroll with the coordinates of a nearby city… If you infuse it with magic power, you should be able to travel to the city…”
“Seriously, if you had something like this, you should have told me sooner…”
“Bring it right back after you use it… It’s valuable… The hell I went through to make just one of those— Ugh-!”
Her hangover seemed worse than I thought. Margaret clamped a hand over her mouth and started to gag. To preserve her dignity, I quickly left the room and looked down at the scroll she had given me.
‘How in the world do you make something like this…’
“That.”
Regina, who was passing through the living room, saw the scroll in my hand and spoke up as if she recognized it. I held up the scroll and asked if she knew what it was.
Regina nodded and replied.
“That would be the magic parchment I created for Lady Margaret.”
“...You made this?”
“Yes, that is correct. I am the Witch of Records, after all. I can record the magic of other witches as well.”
She explained that magic recorded in this way could be used by someone other than the original witch, and that it was quite a hassle to make, so she hadn’t made many of them.
The moment I realized a rather valuable item had fallen into my hands, I made a sour face.
‘So that’s why she was hiding it.’
And—I also learned that Regina was not just some witch whose only ability was to pry into the lives of others.
Then again, if all she could do was spy on people’s private lives, she would have been called the Witch of Espionage, not the Witch of Records.
“Will you be going?”
“Yeah. It’s a bit much to go alone, so… Ah.”
I thought of the witch who was probably rolling around in a corner of her room by herself. It was a pain to go alone, and I had the perfect person to take with me.
*
Thud. Hekaterina, landing in a back alley out of public view, immediately looked around and began to grumble.
“Why am I shopping with you…”
“It’s nice to be outside for a change, isn’t it?”
“Shut up. Especially in this state…”
Hekaterina scowled, looking down at the sleeveless dress that revealed all her skin, a far cry from the uniform she usually wore.
The vulgar dress exposed everything from her shoulders to her upper chest. If she accidentally raised her arms, her armpits would be on full display, and a wrong move might even reveal her nipples.
Thanks to that, her usual confident demeanor was nowhere to be seen; she could only walk with her body hunched over.
“Seriously, you fucking pervert… You like this kind of thing?”
“...It was the only one of Master’s clothes that fit you. It couldn’t be helped.”
“So why are you making me wear someone else’s clothes?”
“Then take it off here.”
As Yohan said that, he tugged the dress downward. Hekaterina shrieked and clutched the dress tightly.
Watching her protest so much, yet refuse to take it off when he tried, Yohan let out a hollow laugh.
“See? Now stop making a fuss and follow me.”
“...Just you dare touch my body one more time.”
“Yeah, I plan on fucking you like crazy tonight.”
The moment she stepped onto the city street while being sexually harassed, Hekaterina felt people’s eyes on her. Her small, childlike height, contrasted with her large breasts, was drawing attention.
‘Disgusting…’
Frowning slightly, she hid behind Yohan’s back to cover her exposed chest as much as possible. Yohan chuckled at Hekaterina hiding behind him and led her to a cake shop.
He bought a large number of sweet desserts covered in chocolate and fresh cream—expensive treats that commoners couldn't afford—and left the shop with them in hand.
“You dragged me all the way out here just to buy this?”
“I did it so you could get some sunlight. Ah, wait a minute. There’s something I forgot to buy. I’ll be right back.”
After leaving the shop, Yohan realized he had forgotten something and ducked back inside, leaving Hekaterina behind.
Watching him go, Hekaterina wore a dumbfounded expression. What would he do if she just ran away?
‘Does he think I’m some kind of caged animal?’
If she escaped his grasp, she would regain her magic in just a few days. Even the curse of fear that had been the source of her magic.
Then she would be able to torment Yohan and his group one-sidedly. Unlike before, she had gathered enough information on Evangeline and the other witches; finding a way to defeat them was only a matter of time.
Glancing toward the back alley, Hekaterina realized she could escape if she really wanted to.
‘...Forget it. Who knows what he’d do to me if I failed again.’
Giving up, Hekaterina leaned against a wall to wait for Yohan. She felt a shadow fall over her and looked up.
Right in front of her, a group of scruffy-bearded thugs had appeared.
“Hoo— How much, missy?”
“Is she even a missy? She’s so tiny. Ah, but looking at her chest, I guess she is.”
Hekaterina scowled at the thugs blocking her path.
“...Get lost.”
“Puhaha—! You hear that? She told us to get lost.”
“You shouldn’t use bad words. Looks like you weren’t taught any manners. I guess we’ll have to teach you a lesson today, missy.”
They casually grabbed Hekaterina’s arm. Startled, Hekaterina tried to shake them off with a look of disgust, but she belatedly remembered that her magic was sealed.
“Let go of me… Mmph!”
“Just be quiet and come with us. Hmm?”
“Hey, hey, lift her up.”
As if they had done this countless times, they skillfully gagged her and dragged her into the alley.
Of the people who watched her, not one tried to save her. Kidnapped into the back alley in an instant, Hekaterina sensed what was about to happen to her and began to feel terror and revulsion.
Mmph, mmph! She twisted and struggled, but she couldn't even overcome the strength of an adult man. Without magic, this body was so fragile.
“Hehe, you wanted this too, didn’t you? Seeing as you’re wearing such a slutty outfit…”
The thugs’ hands reached for her. Just as they began to rip her clothes to shreds, someone approached silently and tapped them on the shoulder.
“What the, get the hell aw—”
“Move.”
Crunch! Yohan mercilessly smashed the thug’s face in, then immediately lashed out with his limbs, taking down all the thugs.
Then he looked down at Hekaterina, who had been moments away from being raped, and sighed.
“Jeez… you got your clothes all torn up.”
“…”
“Are you even a witch?”
“...Shut up.”
This is all your fault.
You’re the one who raped me, who took my virginity and my magic.
Hekaterina swallowed the words rising in her throat and glared fiercely at Yohan.
Meeting her glare, Yohan silently took off his own clothes and draped them over her.
“Let’s go back.”
Hekaterina quietly nodded and clung to Yohan. It was infuriating. Infuriating that she had been scared by mere humans, and infuriating that she couldn't do anything without relying on one.
That day, Yohan gently raped Hekaterina.