89. Suspicion
89. Suspicion
[Chapter 89] - Suspicion
"Phew..."
I stood in front of the door with a drink in one hand and let out a deep sigh. I couldn't help but sigh, wondering what on earth was going on. Recalling the personality of the Great Witch that Ainsel had told me about, I forced a smile.
'A meddlesome grandma... A grandma even worse than the Queen Dowager... A nagging grandma so meddlesome that even other witches avoid her... Just hearing about her, she sounds like a mother-in-law from a soap opera.'
Feeling a sense of nervousness, as if a daughter-in-law in a drama were meeting her mother-in-law, I turned the doorknob slightly, opened the door, and poked my head in. Just as I was about to get a look at this "Great Witch" character—
"Keu-hu-hu... So, how old are you again?"
"Th-thirteen..."
"Keu-hu-hu, you're still a baby. A baby."
A woman with snow-white hair, holding Titania on her lap, came into my view. I whipped my head around the room, wondering where the grandma was, but the only people in the room were Titania and a woman who looked like she couldn't be older than her late twenties, no matter how old she was.
Wondering what on earth was going on, I stared blankly at the scene. Ainsel, who was on Titania's necklace, spotted me and gestured for me to come in quickly. Could it be... that pervert blushing while holding Titania on her lap is...
"That's the Great Witch...?"
My voice slipped out in my bewilderment.
The moment I spoke, everyone's gaze in the room locked onto me. Titania's gaze, tearful as if asking for help, and Ainsel's gaze, as if scolding me for why I was only just arriving. And—
"Yes, you must be 'that' Vivian."
The Great Witch, who had been making a goofy, perverted face, instantly shifted her expression to a sharp one as she looked at me. When the gaze shooting from her deep blue eyes landed on me, I hiccuped before I knew it. Hic. As I stared at her, the Great Witch patted the seat next to her and called me over.
"Come here and sit, child. Let's have a chat for a moment."
*
As I entered the room, Titania approached me, teary-eyed, and threw her arms around me. Her neatly groomed hair was a mess from being petted so much by that person. Should I have come a little earlier...?
For now, I smoothed out Titania's hair, who was hugging me and burying her face in my chest, and whispered in her ear in a voice only she could hear. There was no reason for Titania to be here, after all.
"Titania, why don't you go to the lounge at the very end of the right hallway on the 3rd floor. And wait there quietly until I come to find you. Understand?"
"Yes? All of a sudden...?"
Honestly, I was worried about Snow White, who would be alone in that room. Since Snow White liked Titania, if I sent Titania there, I figured I could keep Snow White from going anywhere.
Still, I was worried, so I'd have Ainsel stick with her...
"Ainsel, you too."
-Yes? You're going to talk to the Great Witch alone?
I nodded slightly and looked at the Great Witch (?) sitting on the sofa.
She really didn't look human, did she? Snow-white hair and deep blue eyes. Despite having the appearance of someone in her twenties, her face held a sense of authority deeper than the Queen Dowager's. It was a look I couldn't comprehend at all.
She had just looked like a pervert a moment ago, though.
"...Stay quietly with Ainsel until I come to find you. If anything happens, call me through Ainsel anytime. Understand?"
"...I understand. You have to come soon, okay?"
"Yes, I'll be there soon."
After seeing Titania off, I turned my head back to look at the Great Witch. Since Snow White would be held up by Titania, I didn't have to worry about her running away. If anything, the biggest concern right now was...
The Great Witch, sitting on the sofa and staring intently at me.
That woman was the biggest worry. If I had to guess why the Great Witch came here, it was almost certainly to find Snow White. It couldn't be a coincidence that both Snow White and the Great Witch were in the same place.
'First, conversation is the priority.'
The Great Witch made a sullen face as Titania left the room. I carefully pulled up a chair and sat opposite her, not in the seat next to her where she had told me to sit, and glanced at her. Then, the Great Witch pouted slightly and asked, as if I were throwing a tantrum.
"Why did you send the child away?"
"Child... she's not your child, she's my daughter, okay? And besides, ahem, I don't really want to teach Titania about witches or magic. And..."
I glanced sideways, eyeing the Great Witch, and replied.
"That child doesn't know that I'm not the real 'Vivian.' I sent her away just in case you let something slip."
"...I see. You're a cautious child. I have enough sense to know that much, you know."
I offered the drink I was holding to the Great Witch. I had brought it for Titania, but I'd forgotten to give it to her. I watched the Great Witch take the drink from me and asked,
"So, what brings you here today? Honestly, I never thought I'd be able to meet you in my life. I didn't really plan on living as a witch, after all."
Ever since I decided not to teach Titania magic, I had distanced myself from magic too. I had tried to keep my distance from the Coven as much as possible. When I asked, the Great Witch sipped her drink and replied.
"Don't be in such a hurry to ask. I didn't come here to see you, either. Besides, you and I haven't even introduced ourselves to each other yet."
"...Th-that's true. I was a bit hasty. I am—"
I let out a sigh, calmed my mind, and began to introduce myself to the Great Witch. Since she obviously already knew about me, I kept it very brief and just asked her to call me Vivian.
"Then, it is time for my introduction. I am Morgan le Fay. As you know, I am the head of the Coven and a witch who resides in the Fairy Realm."
"Morgan...?"
"Yes, you may call me Morgan, familiarly."
If it was Morgan le Fay, that Morgan? The witch of Avalon, Morgan? I couldn't help but keep my mouth shut at the sudden presence of a legendary figure. Until now, most of the witches were witches from fairy tales or novels.
So I thought the Great Witch would be a witch from a novel or something like that, but I suppose a Great Witch is a Great Witch after all? I knew the legend of King Arthur, too. It was one of the legends that was still famous and had active derivative works.
"Anyway, this meeting is just a coincidence. I just came here to find the culprit of the incident involving you all."
As expected, Morgan had come to find Snow White. I had hidden her, but I felt a little uneasy. Was hiding her enough? Should I have just put her in a carriage and sent her away, even if it was conspicuous? Or...
"You seem to have a lot on your mind."
Startled by Morgan's words, I looked up at her. Her expression was still cold and blank. Somehow, it was hard to read this woman's expression. There was no way to know what she was thinking or what she was feeling.
"Great Witch, and a legendary witch at that, has suddenly appeared, so of course I have a lot on my mind..."
"Keu-hu-hu... I am a bit of a legendary figure, indeed... However, don't be too nervous. I told you. My coming here is just a coincidence. It is true that I came to find the culprit, but... I mistook the child for the culprit."
"A mistake...?"
Morgan pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. When she unfolded the carefully folded paper, a face identical to Titania's was drawn on the parchment.
So... a human who is a legendary Great Witch came here based on just a montage like this...? As I stared at Morgan in bewilderment, she waved her hand, telling me not to look at her with that expression.
"Do not look at me with such cold eyes...! I have already been scolded enough by Ainsel and have explained myself...! I just mistook the culprit's magic power spread here for the child's..!"
Morgan was busy cooling her bright red face, fanning herself with her hands. Seeing that, I let out a sigh of relief, feeling like I had worried for nothing. I was also relieved, thinking that if she was this much of a klutz, I could easily send her away.
"Huhu... It reminds me of the saying that even a monkey can fall from a tree. Even a Great Witch makes mistakes, huh?"
"Well, it is precisely because I am a Great Witch that I make many mistakes. Even so, I try to show you all a good side of myself."
"To set an example for other witches?"
"Keu-hu-hu. That is right. And—"
Morgan, who had been smiling shyly, reached out a hand to me. As she looked as if she wanted me to take her hand, I placed my hand on the one she offered.
Then, Morgan carefully took my hand and buried her nose in the back of my hand. Sniff, sniff. Startled by the act of her smelling the back of my hand, I tried to pull my hand away quickly, but Morgan wouldn't let go.
"W-wait a minute...! What are you doing...!"
"Child, there is something I would like to ask you."
"Y-yes...?"
Where had the klutzy appearance from just a moment ago gone? Morgan, who had her nose buried in the back of my hand and was glaring at me with a sideways glance, had a terrible chill in her gaze.
"Why does the culprit's magic power waft from your body?"
Every time Morgan spoke, her cold lips brushed against my fingers. The sensation felt every time her lips brushed against my fingers was not a shallow sensation like mere ticklishness.
A goosebump-inducing feeling, as if the cold spreading from my fingertips was freezing my spine. The moment I felt that, I thought I had misjudged this person until now.
I clearly knew, so why did I mistake this person? Just because of her appearance? Because of the atmosphere? The moment the sensation that felt like it would freeze my spine permeated my skin, I could know for sure.
"It would be best to answer truthfully. If you do not want to become an example to the culprit."
I could know for sure, truly, that the woman in front of me was not a Great Witch who had lived for thousands of years in vain.
*
'3rd floor, end of the right hallway, lounge... Is this it?'
Titania, who had arrived at the place her mother mentioned, tilted her head as if puzzled for a moment and stood in front of the lounge. Why, out of so many lounges, was it this one?
The most secluded lounge, where almost no people even passed by.
Titania, who hadn't even known such a lounge existed, just tilted her head in front of the door. It didn't matter since it was a lounge designated by her mother, but she was still curious why exactly this one had been chosen and designated.
'In novels, such secluded lounges were places couples used to avoid other people's gazes...'
Titania's cheeks flushed slightly as she had a strange, blushing imagination. There was absolutely, positively no way her mother had intended something like that by telling her to go there, but she couldn't help but feel a bit racy for some reason. This was puberty, after all.
-Princess?
"Ah, yes. I'm going in now."
Ahem! Titania, having fixed her goofy expression, carefully grabbed the doorknob. And the moment she opened the door without much thought—
"You came faster than I thought? What, did the Great Witch already leave?"
"Huh?"
As she opened the door, Titania, startled by the voice from inside, widened her eyes.
The voice heard from inside the room was her own voice, but it felt like it wasn't. She had only felt this subtle feeling once before.
The hunting competition when she was ten.
Princess Fiona, who had the same face as her, whom she had seen there. Seeing that, Titania couldn't help but know, even if she didn't want to.
That she was a person 'exactly the same' as her.
It wasn't about personality or upbringing.
How should she explain it? Titania couldn't properly explain this feeling, but she just felt that everything about her was the same person as herself.
"You..."
"You..."
At the gazes that met as they opened the door, Titania and Snow White couldn't say anything to each other. Why on earth was this person here? In the place her mother had told her to wait, why on earth was this person here?
The person who broke the awkward atmosphere of just staring blankly at each other was none other than Snow White. The princess, who let out a deep sigh, looked at Titania with a bitter expression, as if she couldn't help it.
"...Just come in, Titania. Don't just stand there blankly."
