The Witch's Daughter and the Prince
Joshua took a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart, watching her mother’s retreating back for a moment before the door even fully closed. She let out a long sigh. She couldn’t help wondering what kind of trouble her mother might have caused while she was gone. Fetching water for Leo, who might wake up at any moment? It was such an absurd errand that it defied common sense. Staring at the cup that was now only half full—thanks to how fast she’d run back—she could almost hear her mother’s signature “eheheh” laugh echoing in her ears, which only made her sigh again.
If she had used magic to fly here, she could have arrived faster without spilling any water. But since she needed to avoid using magic for the time being and focus on stabilizing herself, it had been her only real choice. Joshua set the cup down on the shelf and studied Leo, who showed no sign of waking no matter what dream he might be lost in.
His neatly settled golden hair, sharp eyebrows, perfectly proportioned nose, roughly chapped lips, and defined jawline. If she had to pick between calling him handsome or unattractive, she would definitely say handsome. She had never paid this much attention to his features before, so it felt strangely unfamiliar. When she thought about how Leo usually acted, he seemed more like a disobedient little brother than a prince. But watching him sleep so quietly… occasionally his face overlapped with the princes from the fairy tales she used to read, and it made something in the corner of her heart tickle.
“Leo, if you wake up right now, I’ll let you skip bathroom duty.”
She poked his cheek with her index finger, even offered him the免除 from bathroom cleaning—the chore he hated most—but not a single finger twitched. She considered shaking him roughly awake, but then she froze, unsure what she should even say first once his eyes opened.
Did you sleep well? How’s your body feeling? That sounds way too formal, doesn’t it? What if I say it too directly and he refuses to talk to me?
She felt like an idiot for spending an entire week bedridden from mana exhaustion, endlessly worrying about how to start a conversation. Why was she even agonizing over this? She didn’t want to use the drastic methods her mother had suggested. Her mother was incredibly kind and wonderful, but she showed an almost excessive indifference toward anyone outside her family. That was when Joshua truly felt the reality of her being a witch. If she went around threatening or attacking people, saying things like “I’ll kill you”… then she wouldn’t be any different from the ones who had killed her parents back then. Besides, it crossed a line that even a human—not just a witch—should never cross.
That was also why she had desperately blocked Leo’s curse.
“Joshua, get a grip.”
She patted her cheeks a couple of times and stood up, opening the window to change her mood. A single blue butterfly fluttered in through the refreshing morning air and warm sunlight, gently landing on top of her head. Since the flowers blooming around her body were shaped like butterflies, they often perched on her without fear, so she greeted it like an old friend.
“Hello. Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, I slept well. I think I slept too much, though—my body feels a bit stiff.”
Since when could butterflies talk? And why did its voice sound exactly like Leo’s? For a moment, her brain couldn’t keep up with the situation.
“Leo?”
“Yes… Joshua.”
Wondering if she was hearing things, she called his name again, and once more Leo’s voice answered. There was no way his soul had possessed the butterfly… Maybe her mother was playing a prank? She tried sensing the butterfly’s mana, but she couldn’t detect any dark crimson energy. Then that meant…
She slowly turned around. There, sitting up in bed and staring straight at her, was Leo. His eyes looked exhausted, as if he were the one who hadn’t slept at all. Had her noise kept him awake? Or maybe his body still hadn’t fully recovered. The worry she felt in that instant overrode all the words she had prepared.
“Are you okay? If you’re still tired, you can rest mo—”
“Why are you worrying about me?”
“…Pardon?”
Joshua’s concern was sincere, but Leo couldn’t accept it. He kept thinking about where her misfortune had begun. Even though he had saved her from being killed by orcs, he had still tried to lay hands on her. If he could just erase her… maybe then he could escape this crushing guilt. When his heart had felt like it was about to burst, he had even thought dying right then wouldn’t be so bad. The witch who had barged into his mind without permission, digging up his past and spouting whatever she wanted. And Joshua, who didn’t even seem to know how to get angry and was only ever kind. Leo didn’t have the courage to face either of them. He wished Joshua would just get mad at him. He didn’t deserve her worry, and he didn’t want it.
“I… tried to kill you, Joshua.”
“I know.”
She knew—and yet she still saved him? Why?
“Knowing that, you still brought me back to life? I tried to snap your neck! If you weren’t a witch, you wouldn’t even be here! If I wanted to right now, I could still—!”
“I know that too.”
Joshua understood exactly what those desperate words meant. After all, they were the very questions she had been wrestling with for an entire week.
“I thought about it too. About what you did… and what it all meant… But even if I could go back to that moment, my decision wouldn’t change.”
Her resolve didn’t waver. Instead, she stood before him even more firmly, without the slightest hesitation. Her kindness struck Leo’s chest like guilt and sin made manifest. In that case, he had no choice but to tell her the truth. Would she still think the same once she knew?
“Back then, when you asked if I had anything to do with the Heresy Inquisitors? The one who delivered that letter you could never have reached—it was me. The one who killed your parents… was none other than me.”
The truth Joshua had wanted to hear poured mercilessly from Leo’s lips.
“And that’s not all. The reason I left the kingdom, the reason I joined the Heresy Inquisitors and punished heretics—it was to wipe out disgusting heretics like you! Do you understand what that means? It means I existed to eliminate you!”
“……”
“Is that enough for you? This is the truth you wanted, Joshua. Your enemy is standing right in front of you. You don’t need to save me anymore, do you? Do whatever you want.”
His anguished cry filled the room, far too raw to be a simple plea for death. In the heavy silence that followed, Leo breathed harshly. Cold sweat ran down his skin just like before, and his body trembled, but he had said everything. He closed his eyes and waited for death.
“……”
Even after learning the truth, he didn’t feel any relief. Did Leo truly want to die? Joshua couldn’t understand him either. There had been times when she wondered what she should do if Leo really was connected to her parents’ deaths. Did her parents want revenge? Even if she took revenge, would it wash away all her sorrow and longing? Would her mother right now want her to kill someone? What did she want to do?
The anger surged all the way to the top of her head. It was closer to rage. Because tears were already welling up in Joshua’s eyes. She felt that if she didn’t release this anger right now—if she didn’t tie up this knot properly—she would never be able to move forward.
Her actions were instantaneous.
Without a word, Joshua walked up to Leo and—
Slap—!
Leo’s head snapped to the side. Before he could even process what was happening—
“This is for my parents.”
Slap—!
This time to the other cheek.
“This is for trying to kill me.”
Slap—!
“And this is for that foul mouth that kept saying you’d kill Mom!”
“And finally—!!!”
“……!”
She stopped the hand that had been about to strike his cheek one last time. Instead, she pulled Leo—who had been silently taking every hit—into a tight embrace so he couldn’t run away.
“What are you…”
Leo opened his eyes at the warmth he felt instead of pain. He couldn’t comprehend why he was suddenly wrapped in Joshua’s arms, her tears falling onto him.
“Leo, you died today. You’re no longer a prince or anything else. Do you understand?”
“Don’t joke around! This isn’t death or anything! Just kill me already. I don’t have any reason or courage to keep living…!”
How much more did she plan to torment him? To Leo, who no longer had anywhere to go or any hope left, life itself felt like nothing but a curse.
“You said I could do whatever I wanted, remember? I’ll do exactly what you want. Because this is a curse.”
She said it like that, but it wasn’t a curse at all—just empty words. After all, Joshua had never learned any real curses. If Leo had no reason to live… then even if it was only a pretend curse, she hoped it would become the driving force that kept him going.
She hugged him even tighter so he couldn’t escape and gently stroked his hair. It felt strangely natural to give someone else the comfort she had only ever received. It made her think of her mother. If her mother were here instead of her, wouldn’t she have said something like this?
“I’m a witch’s daughter, so whenever someone asks me for a favor, I just can’t help but grant it.”
Then she would flash that signature witch-like smile and tease him endlessly.
“From now on, your life belongs to me, Leo. Because you died and came back to life. So stop talking about dying or not dying so carelessly.”
“Is that… a curse too?”
Thinking of it as a curse somehow made his heart feel lighter. He had thought there was nowhere left to run. But Joshua had given him one last place of rest.
“Yes, it’s a curse. How about it? Scary, right?”
It was so terrifying that he could no longer hold back the hot tears streaming down his face.