Would You Like to Become a Witch? (3)
Vivian found herself speechless at the woman's proposal.
A flood of questions crashed over her all at once.
Become a witch? Was this woman a witch herself?
Was that how she had climbed to this high place without raising any alarm?
What would happen if she called the guards now? What intentions had brought her here?
"Don't think too deeply about it, my dear."
The woman's soft voice cut through Vivian's swirling thoughts.
With a soft whoosh she exhaled a plume of smoke and stepped into the room with alluring grace.
Vivian instinctively took a step back.
She felt a primal fear, yet an equally strange curiosity held her in place.
Leaning against the tea cabinet, Vivian mustered her courage once more.
"I-I asked who you are."
"You already know the answer, don't you?"
Vivian pressed her.
"A-are you a witch...?"
"My name is Elena."
The witch who introduced herself as Elena sat down at Vivian's desk. With a snap of her fingers, the extinguished candle flared to life.
In that light, the witch's face became clearer.
At the sight of that magic-like spectacle, Vivian's breath caught in her throat.
But the witch ignored Vivian's confusion and continued.
"Vivian Rondore. Last direct heir of the Rondore family. Fourteen years old. Lord of Loktana. A very precarious position. Numerous political enemies. One assassination attempt already. In this vast territory, the only person she can call an ally is... Linne Rommer, perhaps?"
The witch recited Vivian's circumstances as if reading from a record, without the slightest ripple of emotion.
"It must have been so hard for you."
"..."
The situation was far too bewildering for her words of comfort to sound sweet.
Vivian swallowed hard and stared at the witch.
Elena offered a warm smile and said,
"It hurts my feelings when you look so wary."
"H-how am I supposed not to be wary...? Y-you're a witch."
"And why does that matter?"
Vivian recited the knowledge she had learned while reading aloud with Lady Linne.
"T-the existence of witches is strictly forbidden by the L-Las Church...! Don't you know that just being a witch is grounds for execution? Not long ago, I even stamped the execution order for a witch...!"
"That doesn't give you a reason to be wary of me."
"I-I was taught that witches worship demons...! And that they cause harm to many people because of it...!"
"The part about worshipping demons is misinformation. And as for causing harm to people—doesn't everyone do that? Even some grandmother somewhere has lived her life causing harm to others."
Elena's voice was both alluring and sharp.
Exhaling another puff of smoke, Elena rose from her seat.
With leisurely steps, she gradually approached Vivian.
Vivian did not move. Whether it was fear, tension, or sheer bravado, she could not tell.
"Vivian Rondore, as I said earlier... I only came because you looked like you needed help."
"..."
Vivian wanted to retort, but the words would not come easily. It was because the witch's words struck precisely at the helplessness she had tried so hard to bury deep in her heart. The witch's words aimed exactly at her pain.
Vivian did need help.
Elena continued calmly.
"You can't do anything on your own, can you? You have no one you can trust by your side, do you? You're drowning in the fear of death, aren't you?"
Each word dug deep into Vivian's chest. This person she had only just met kept trampling closer with muddy boots.
Vivian's chest ached. In truth, had she not been tormented by the very same anguish just moments ago?
Had she not felt the shadow of death in her solitude, and despised herself for it?
"You're still being toyed with by that detestable enemy of yours, aren't you?" The witch drew even closer and whispered into Vivian's ear.
"You want to defeat Kailo Allen somehow, don't you?"
At the mention of that name, Vivian's heart pounded fiercely. Even this, the witch was reading from Vivian's heart. The image of Kailo scattering insults, claiming her family had died because they were weak, was vivid.
She did not want to lose to him, of all people.
Yet even amid the witch's sweet words, Vivian could sense the darkness lurking beneath.
"Y-you. H-how do you know me so well?"
"Because I've been watching. Because you looked like you needed help."
"J-just because I looked like I needed help... y-you came to find me like this? What am I to you?"
The witch shrugged.
"Well, to be a bit more honest... I thought you might be able to help me too? That we could help each other get by."
The witch's tone was light, but the intention within it was clear.
"Lately, the persecution of witches has been growing fiercer."
She turned her head to gaze out the window as she spoke.
"Not only the Las Church's witch hunts... but their search nets are spread so wide. Most of those who die are innocent people who aren't witches at all, but occasionally a real witch is caught and executed."
"..."
"But oh my?" The witch turned her head and looked straight at Vivian.
"You're the lord of this Loktana, aren't you? And you need help? I thought we might be able to join hands."
"W-why should I do that? W-witches are a crime deserving of death."
Vivian answered in a trembling voice.
Even though she had said to her face that it was fine if she died, the witch showed no agitation. It was the reaction of someone to whom such contempt was natural.
"There's no need to be so inflexible, is there? With my help, if you decide to become my disciple, if you decide to become a witch... you too will surely stop trembling and place countless people beneath your feet."
"..."
To say she was not tempted by that proposal for even a moment would have been a lie.
Something in her heart stirred.
She did not know what power a witch wielded, but Elena's confidence clearly implied that she could solve all the problems Vivian faced.
The witch brought the tip of her long pipe to Vivian's face.
Seeing the tobacco leaves glowing like embers, Vivian flinched and turned her head away, but Elena did not stop and pressed the tip against Vivian's left cheek.
Contrary to the heat she expected, a cool sensation flowed across Vivian's cheek.
Elena, forcing her to face her directly, said,
"It's a simple matter, Vivian. If you promise to help me just a little... I will pass on the power of a witch to you. This is not an opportunity that comes easily. I rather took a liking to you, you see. The lord of Loktana as my disciple... heh heh, isn't that fun?"
"What e-exactly is a witch's power?"
"You can kill whoever you want with a curse... eavesdrop on others' words... think of it as gaining one more weapon that no one will know about."
In a word, it was an unsettling power. But it was also certain.
As if trying to shake off that unease, Vivian pressed her.
"B-but if they f-find out you're a witch... you die."
"You'll die as you are now, too."
"..."
"Shouldn't you make a choice that lets you go further?"
Vivian fell silent. The witch's words grew heavier and heavier.
Before she knew it, Vivian could no longer easily reject this alluring proposal.
Rather than rejecting it, she was calculating the costs and benefits beneath it.
Was this a hand she could grasp so easily? Was there some hidden intention? What would change if she accepted this? What future awaited? What would she have to lose...
"B-but then... wouldn't it be enough if you just helped me without me having to become a witch?"
"Oh my. I came here to become your teacher, not your servant. I can't stand the humiliation of becoming someone's servant."
"..."
"And power is something you must learn to wield yourself. Not leave it to others."
Vivian could not refute her.
In the end, she had only been fretting for a moment over the unease of becoming a witch.
"Then is that really... all? That if I h-help you, you'll pass the power on to me..."
Sensing that Vivian was wavering under the temptation, the witch smiled.
And she revealed it honestly.
"Ah, there is one more thing."
"Yes?"
"It's not that you have to do something for me... but to become a full witch, there is a price that must be paid. After all, you can't seize powerful strength without a cost. A sacrifice... you could call it that."
"...A sacrifice?"
The witch gazed at her for a long while, then answered quietly.
"...The thing most precious to you."
"..."
"To become a full witch, you must sacrifice the thing most precious to you."
If Vivian had heard such words a few years ago, she would surely have ended the conversation at this moment.
But now, the witch's words did not sound quite so chilling.
"The most precious thing..."
Vivian murmured lowly, her gaze fixed on the floor. Her heart drifted through memories of the past.
Her father's warm smile. Her brother's reliability. Her mother's soft embrace... All of it was gone now.
There was nothing precious left for Vivian.
"...I-I don't have anything precious."
The witch answered as if it were fine.
"There's no need to sacrifice it now. Originally, witches only offer the price once they become adults. You need to reach an age where you can clearly recognize what you hold in your hands."
"And if even after becoming an adult I d-don't have anything precious?"
"It would be better to think about that when the time comes."
"What d-did you sacrifice?"
The witch placed a hand on her lower abdomen.
"I sacrificed my descendants."
"..."
"My children, and the children they would have borne... I offered them all."
Vivian did not know what to say.
This proposal that had approached her in her helplessness was certainly tempting.
The fear of death, the pressure from adults, the powerlessness and self-loathing she felt herself—they were hard to endure.
"..."
But conflict remained all the same. She did not know what meaning something precious that might arise far in the future would hold for her, so it was hard to step forward readily. Though she doubted whether such a thing would even come into being.
Vivian asked.
"If I have to s-sacrifice something precious... is there any meaning in becoming a witch?"
"You can't have everything. If you can sacrifice a little happiness to obtain what you desire, then you should."
"..."
"Vivian, you can survive, and you can achieve your revenge."
The witch said simply.
"Wasn't that what you needed most right now?"