Want to Become a Witch? (2)
After the march ended, the next day the Disciplinary Unit’s deployment order came down immediately.
She had to eat only breakfast and head out to exterminate monsters near the territory.
The target was set: the easiest to kill yet most annoying monster at the same time. If left alone, it could spread like wildfire and cause enormous damage. Goblin.
As the sun was just beginning to rise, she hurriedly dressed.
To reach Vivian’s castle for breakfast she had to move earlier than everyone else.
She had heard the expedition would last about three days, meaning she would not have to face Vivian for that long.
Recently she had seen her at least three times a day—morning, lunch, and dinner. It was more eye contact than conversation during meals, yet a strange bond had formed from simply sharing food.
The thought that she would not be sharing meals for three days already felt a little sad.
No, not sad. Worried?
“...”
She entered the hall silently and looked at Vivian.
She had sensed her presence and turned her head.
Red hair. Red eyes. A beautiful face that stole her breath no matter how often she saw it.
On the table was a meal prepared for them: well-boiled potatoes surrounded by herbs, various breads, fresh grapes and ripe apples, and a soup glowing with a milky sheen.
Everything that made breakfast feel light.
Vivian sat on the left side of the table waiting for her.
She no longer occupied the head seat; it had become a habit after the occasional leg-bump that had changed everything.
She sat on the right side to face her.
“You got up early, huh.”
“...I had to eat breakfast safely, so.”
Vivian answered flatly.
Without hesitation she broke a potato and placed it in her bowl.
Vivian followed her example and set her own potato down.
When she put food in her mouth, Vivian’s eyes briefly met hers.
She stayed perfectly still until she swallowed and took the next bite.
“Well boiled.”
Feeling the aroma of herbs, she said to Vivian.
She then belatedly put the potato in her mouth.
Recent meals had always been like this.
She tasted something first, and Vivian followed exactly.
Until she tried the food herself, Vivian would not touch it.
Though it looked grotesque to outsiders, it had become their daily routine.
She took a spoonful of soup. The warmth eased her stomach.
Lifting her gaze, she saw Vivian watching the soup too.
“...Give me?”
At the question Vivian nodded quietly.
She placed the soup in her bowl as well, and for a while the clinking of dishes filled the hall.
Without conversation they shared a great deal through eyes and actions.
Vivian’s gaze kept darting to the bread, then to the remaining food in her bowl, back to the bread, then to her face.
She took a spoonful of soup... then looked at the bread again.
Sharing the table, one could quickly tell who liked what.
Vivian liked bread more than anything.
While eating she consumed the most and found it the tastiest.
“...”
Looking at her, she laughed inwardly.
She was planning a small revenge for the annoyance of yesterday’s march.
She tasted the other dishes one bite each, but never touched the bread.
“Ah, I’m full.”
“...”
As the meal reached its end, her eyes kept returning to the bread.
“...Why?”
She asked, wanting to scratch Vivian’s pride.
She was proud—especially when it came to her.
She could not have said she wanted bread even if she died.
“...No.”
“Want bread?”
At the challenge Vivian’s expression darkened.
She found it amusing inside.
“...You know everything...”
“Just eat it. Judging by it, it doesn’t seem poisoned. It can’t be only on the bread.”
“...”
She breathed lightly through her nose, ignoring the words.
Her rough hands kept dipping the spoon into the soup.
Only after teasing her did she finally put her hand on the bread.
She tore a large loaf in half and placed one piece in front of her.
When she dipped the bread in the remaining soup and ate, Vivian finally placed her hand on the bread, pretending not to care.
The moment she brought the warm, soft bread to her mouth, her eyes seemed to sparkle for a moment.
She drank a glass of water and glanced behind Vivian.
The maids who had changed before were still working.
Suddenly curious, she asked her.
“So, did you find the perpetrator?”
Here “perpetrator” meant the one behind the poisoning.
Vivian understood at once and shook her head.
“No.”
Of course she thought she could not find it.
There were too many suspects and Vivian had no allies.
They were walking a precarious tightrope of ice.
She wondered why she was protecting such a person.
...Really, was it the witch’s curse? She could not know.
“Even if you cannot find the perpetrator, you must find the one responsible.”
She said.
Vivian nodded.
“The cooks and... the maids were all punished.”
“How?”
“All were exiled outside the territory... and especially Sena lost a leg during torture... I heard.”
“...”
Thinking from Vivian’s perspective, the punishment had been carried out well.
She was so weak she had never imagined she could do such a thing.
Well, thinking about it, this was probably not her direct judgment.
“What are you going to do?”
“...?”
At the question Vivian showed confusion. Her head on the opposite side tilted habitually.
At that sight her fingertips tingled, so she asked while avoiding her eyes.
“While I’m gone, what are you going to do about meals?”
She said it provocatively, but honestly it was worrying.
As before, with food in front of her she might not be able to put it in her mouth.
Vivian reacted strongly, as if mocking her words.
“What illusion are you having? I’ve been living fine without you. If you disappear, do you think I can’t eat? If it’s there, it’s fine. It’s not something you necessarily need, right?”
“...If you say so.”
She turned the arrow’s direction and shouted to the maids behind Vivian.
“You heard it? All the maids and kitchen staff involved in the poisoning incident were exiled. Do not forget it.”
They quickly lowered their heads and sent signals that they understood.
At her threat Vivian opened her mouth as if she had something to say, then closed it and ate the bread.
In the past she might have scolded her for not speaking ill of others, but now she was not that weak.
She soon rose from her seat.
After wiping her mouth and hands with the prepared cloth, she looked at Vivian.
“...”
“...”
They stared at each other for a long time, but did not exchange a greeting at the end.
She left for the expedition like that.
****
“...”
Two days after Kailo left.
Vivian could not believe the change that had come over her body.
There had been no change.
The food was prepared with the same care, the composition was exactly the same.
The kitchen staff who cooked it was the same, the maids were the same, and even the dishes had been returned to their original state.
Yet Vivian’s heart pounded as if the world had changed, beating strongly like before.
Her stomach churned nauseously and her hands trembled.
She could not put the food in her mouth at all.
She had not eaten even a spoonful since Kailo left.
The sight of her boldly declaring that she did not need anyone was too embarrassing and pitiful.
Why was she like this?
She scolded herself inwardly.
Even though the servants had confirmed there was no poison, as soon as Kailo left this happened.
She had been swallowed by fear like a weak child.
The lady of Rondore and the lord of Loktana... was trembling over a single meal.
At this point even her family looking down from the heavens would sigh.
Vivian looked at the food again.
Her mouth was dry as a desert despite the fragrant aroma.
No matter how she tried to calm herself, suspicion oppressed her, and the deeper the suspicion grew, the more powerless she became.
She was too pitiful that she could not overcome even this much fear.
The fork in Vivian’s hand trembled slightly.
Even this pitiful Vivian, the fork seemed to laugh as if the bread had burst.
Vivian quietly set the fork down, leaned back against the chair, and closed her eyes.
No sound was heard around the table where she sat alone.
Just one Kailo missing, and her table had become silent as death.
Thinking about it, even if she ate poison now there would be no one to save her like before.
Then Kailo had been there, but now he was not.
Then, like in this same place, all the vassals would watch each other’s eyes and shift responsibility.
“...”
Vivian said, her appetite not returning.
“Ch, clear it please.”
Her stomach was hungry, but she could not eat anything.
So she surrendered to her own weakness.
.
.
.
Vivian locked alone in her room could not erase the thought that she was too pitiful.
Now she knew.
Because the difference was too stark, she knew.
Kailo Allen was so strong he was incomparable to her.
He advanced with courage in any situation.
Despite countless people’s resentment, blame, and harassment, he walked the path he had to without a word.
Even bearing the burden Vivian should have taken, proving his resilience.
On the other hand, Vivian herself could not lift the burden she should bear and kept falling.
‘Seeing your weakness... your family will know too.’
When Kailo Allen’s voice came, Vivian bit her lip.
The more it became an undeniable truth, the more painful the words dug into her.
It was like a curse.
A curse she could not escape no matter how she struggled.
But how was she supposed to deal with this?
She had no courage like Kailo’s, no dignity to wield power.
She did not know how to manipulate people’s hearts, nor how to set the territory right.
She had never once expected that she would need such power in her lifetime.
It was her older brother Royce Rondore who had borne that burden, not her.
She had simply received various lessons, expecting to marry someone and live normally.
Now that everything was distorted, she was lost.
Although she did not say it, was not Kailo Allen laughing at her internally?
She had a mind not to be ignored, especially by her enemy.
...If I had the ability too.
Vivian thought unconsciously.
If so, it would definitely have been a little better than this.
“Need help?”
At that moment a soft woman’s voice echoed from somewhere.
Vivian startled and quickly turned her body.
“...”
And froze in place at the sight.
Vivian’s room was on the third floor.
It was not a height where a person could climb.
The castle was built of stone, and there was no object to grab and climb.
Yet the woman in front of her sat comfortably leaning against the window frame as if she were sitting in an armchair.
Her silhouette was clearly visible against the blue-lit night sky.
A large witch hat and disheveled blonde hair.
Smoke rising subtly from a long pipe.
A beautiful appearance around thirty years old. Full breasts. Long legs.
The woman put the pipe to her mouth and slowly took a puff.
The smoke flowed softly from her mouth and spread through the air.
At the sweet and bitter aroma, Vivian frowned at the tip of her nose.
“...Who, who are you?”
Vivian asked.
But the woman only smiled and answered.
“You, want to become a witch?”