Witch Hunt
Witch Hunt
Mediating a fight between family members.
For an elder of the household, it is a duty and a role they must naturally undertake for the sake of the family's peace.
Florencia, the mistress of Edelheid, had also been performing that role all along.
Except, she had only ever taken the side of the children she had given birth to.
Renoa, the illegitimate child, was always excluded from those mediations filled with hypocrisy.
And yet.
"Sylvia. What is that way of speaking to your eonni? Apologize at once."
Today's Florencia stepped forward to mediate, taking Renoa's side instead of Sylvia's.
This was the same Florencia who, just yesterday, had tried to slap her across the cheek.
At that, everyone in the hall froze as if time itself had stopped.
The smug expression on Sylvia's face hardened in an instant. Idella dropped the fork she had been chewing on onto the floor.
The second son, Lowell, stared at Florencia with his mouth agape in disbelief.
Cassius set back down the spoon he was about to bring to his mouth.
Renoa was the same. Though her brow was furrowed, her bewilderment was palpable.
It was the first time in her life she had ever received Florencia's protection.
It wasn't strange at all that anxiety came before joy.
"M-Mom? Are you taking that woman's side right now? And what do you mean, eonni? Her?"
"Sylvia."
"Have you already forgotten what that viper did to us yesterday? And yet you want an apology? Why should I?"
In her confusion, Sylvia poured out a barrage of questions.
However, not a single flicker of agitation appeared on Florencia's face. She rebuked Sylvia with a stern expression.
"Quarreling between siblings is not the etiquette of a noble. No matter if Renoa is your half-sister, she is strictly your eonni. Apologize at once."
"But...!"
"Now."
Florencia's betrayal dealt Sylvia quite a shock.
She even let tears fall from her sorrow. In a sobbing voice, she delivered her apology to Renoa.
"I-I'm sorry."
"..."
Florencia's gentle gaze landed on Renoa this time.
"Now, Renoa. Your younger sister is apologizing, so shouldn't you show some magnanimity as the eonni?"
"..."
"Renoa?"
"...I'm sorry for hitting you, too."
Florencia nodded with a satisfied smile.
"Yes. Family shouldn't fight. Doesn't it look so good to see you reconcile? Now, let's get back to our meal."
Florencia began to eat again as if nothing had happened.
The others could only steal glances at one another.
Cassius stood up from his seat.
"Cassius. Are you finished already? Your work must be exhausting, so shouldn't you eat a hearty meal?"
Like any other mother, Florencia worried for her son with a tender and affectionate attitude.
However, Cassius looked at her coldly before leaving the hall without a word.
Cassius returned to his study.
He slumped into his chair.
He closed his eyes and quietly entered a state of meditation.
Then, suddenly.
-Kwang!
He slammed his fist down on the desk.
Slumped over the desk, Cassius did not get up for a long while, his shoulders only shaking intermittently.
Irion and Renoa also returned to their room.
The two of them also couldn't easily shake off the shock from moments ago.
Florencia's behavior was exactly like that of a mother who cherished Renoa as her own daughter.
That very Florencia, who used to loathe Renoa so terribly.
"There's a saying. They say if a person changes overnight, they're about to die."
At Irion's words, Renoa thought for a moment. She wondered if Florencia was about to die soon.
'No. That's not it.'
Renoa immediately denied it.
No matter how much she suffered the humiliation of kneeling before her, she wasn't the type of person to take her own life.
Even if she did think of death, she wouldn't leave alone. She would use any means necessary to harm Renoa before going.
No, if she succeeded in harming her, she wouldn't die at all.
If that's the case, there is only one thing to think in this situation.
"She's already dead."
Florencia was dead. The one moving around alive right now was not her.
She was merely a puppet controlled by the Duke, by Sercia.
Realizing this, Renoa felt goosebumps break out on her arms.
At one time, Florencia had been a wall to Renoa.
The mistress of the most powerful ducal family in the Empire.
Such a Duchess had been murdered inside the mansion. Not only that, but a puppet was imitating the Duchess.
People only felt a sense of strangeness; they didn't even know the fact that she was dead.
Of course, she had thought such a thing could happen from the moment the witch took over the Duke's body.
But witnessing the calamity before her eyes made the reality of it hit home.
'Is there even a single normal human left in this mansion?'
Perhaps not just Florencia, but the other figures in the mansion were puppets as well.
It was truly a dollhouse created by a witch.
Renoa opened the drawer next to her desk. She took out a bracelet from inside.
It was the magic tool Renoa had worn at the Imperial banquet to limit the use of mana.
Renoa slowly caressed the cold, black metal.
"How is the plan going?"
"There's no separate news yet."
Recently, people from the Imperial family had entered the Duke's territory.
The public excuse was a gift from the Prince for his friend Renoa.
In reality, it was the infiltration of key figures from the Imperial side for the subjugation of the witch.
Having hidden throughout the Duke's territory long ago, they would be in the middle of preparing for the witch's subjugation.
This bracelet Renoa received was also mixed in with the gifts sent by the Prince.
If this bracelet were placed on the witch, she would become an ordinary person unable to use a single spell.
The message from the Imperial side was that she would then be unable to move her soul between bodies.
All they had to do was hand over the weakened witch to the Imperial family. The rest would be handled by them.
It was a simpler task than expected.
But.
"Irion. Let's move the plan up a bit."
Renoa did not want such a clean conclusion.
There had to be a mess for a gap to exist for Renoa to dig into.
Otherwise, Cassius would take over the family, and Renoa's place to stand would completely vanish.
She couldn't let that happen.
"Moving the plan up... In what way do you mean?"
"We subdue the witch one step ahead of the Imperial family's intervention."
Become the greatest contributor to the witch's subjugation.
If she did that, Renoa would become the hero who protected the family from the witch, and she could be guaranteed a certain level of standing.
"Wouldn't that be dangerous? I think it might be better to just wait safely."
"No. For our future, we must do this."
"Hmm..."
When Irion hesitated, Renoa asserted herself strongly once more.
"The Duchess died just yesterday. Is there any guarantee that even greater damage won't occur in the next few days?"
Irion couldn't answer immediately.
If he could have been certain of that, he wouldn't have let Florencia die.
His and Renoa's safety came first, but Irion also wanted to prevent innocent victims if he could.
"Understood. Whatever, let's give it a shot."
Lately, Sercia had been busy beyond belief. It was to fix Renoa's mana circuit.
Because she didn't even have time to gather her wits, she had caused a few minor incidents, but they weren't factors to worry about much.
"Is dark magic really the only way?"
She had mobilized all the knowledge she had accumulated, but she couldn't find any other suitable method.
Just one.
It was possible with dark magic.
A taboo that forcibly twists causality by making a deal with the world.
Under the law of equivalent exchange, she would sacrifice an offering to heal Renoa's mana core.
Since Renoa also had the witch's blood flowing through her, the risk was lower compared to ordinary people.
However, that risk was the problem.
Once you touch dark magic, the mana circuit itself becomes corrupted. You become unable to handle anything other than dark magic for the rest of your life.
From the perspective of Sercia, the witch, a body optimized for dark magic might actually be easier to handle.
However, what she coveted was a pure, unblemished vessel that could perfectly contain any magic.
She hadn't endured this long labor just to obtain a defective product steeped in dark magic from the start.
"I'm going to lose my mind."
She was truly going around in circles.
"More importantly, what's the situation outside?"
Cassius seemed to have reported something recently, but she had been so busy she couldn't remember.
She left the laboratory to clear her head for a moment.
While taking a walk, Sercia, as Duke Pascal, soon spotted Renoa and Irion walking from the opposite side of the hallway.
"Renoa!"
"Ah, Gaju-nim."
"What brings you all the way here?"
"I came to see you, Gaju-nim. There is a gift I'd like to give you."
"A gift? From Renoa? To me? Truly?"
"Yes. It's thanks to you, Gaju-nim, that I can be who I am today. I really wanted to convey my gratitude."
A smile bloomed on the Duke's lips.
'A gift! I've never received one before! This is so moving!'
Until now, Renoa had looked like a pretty doll that resembled her, but now she looked a bit different.
Should she say much cuter?
Or perhaps lovely?
Is this the maternal love that humans feel when they look at their children?
Is this why humans give birth to children? Is it worth the labor pains of ten months?
She felt like she could understand their hearts a little!
"What kind of gift is it? What kind of gift?"
"It's nothing grand."
Renoa pulled a small velvet box from her bosom.
When she opened the lid, a black bracelet with a metallic luster revealed itself. Jewels were embedded along the rim.
"It's a bracelet. I thought it would suit you well, Gaju-nim, so I specially commissioned a craftsman to make it. What do you think?"
"It's a very sophisticated bracelet!"
In truth, the appearance itself was just that of a high-end bracelet, but perhaps because Renoa gave it to her, she liked it much more.
"If it's alright, may I put it on for you myself?"
"Of course! What mother... father would refuse when their lovely daughter is putting it on for them!"
The Duke even hummed a tune and readily held out his wrist.
Renoa carefully lifted the bracelet and brought it to the Duke's hand.
Just as the bracelet, having passed the fingers, was about to reach the hand.
"...!"
Sensing something strange, the Duke suddenly pulled his arm back.
At the same time, he moved his other hand, attempting to cast a spell.
But that level of reaction was already anticipated.
Irion, who had been standing behind Renoa, lunged forward like a bolt of lightning.
Ultra-close range.
A speed that could not be followed with the eyes.
It was far too fast for the Duke's body, a magician's body, to react to.
-Tak!
He snatched the bracelet from Renoa's hand and forced it onto the Duke's hand.
It was a movement as smooth as flowing water.
The mana that had been condensing at the fingertips of the Duke, who was forced to wear the bracelet, scattered like a lie.
"Wh-What on earth is this...!"
The Duke's face turned deathly pale. He couldn't draw up the mana in his core.
A sense of helplessness, as if everything as a magician, as a witch, had been castrated.
"How is it, Gaju-nim? Did you like the gift I gave you?"
Renoa's low, mockery-laced voice rang out.
"Re-Renoa? What is this? My mana isn't moving?"
"It's a magic tool made by the Imperial family. It's a mana restraint designed to catch a witch."
"Th-The Imperial family? A witch? A mana restraint? I have no idea what you're talking about?"
The Duke, completely unable to grasp the situation, gave a stiff laugh.
Renoa paid him no mind and gave him—no, gave Sercia inside him—a beaming smile.
"Shall we have a private little chat? Mother."