Chapter 10 – The Witch and Her Apprentice (11)

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As Estelle replaced the lukewarm towel on Josie’s forehead, countless worries flitted through her mind.

‘Should I apologize for hitting her? What if she doesn’t accept it?’

Even if she put herself in Josie’s shoes, she knew that suddenly slapping someone and then apologizing would only come across as insincere—like giving poison and then offering the antidote.

No matter how she tried to imagine a positive outcome, her thoughts always veered toward Josie getting angry or running away. Estelle shook her head, trying to dispel the negative thoughts.

‘Right, I’m a witch. I should act like one.’

‘What if I make her drink a potion to forget?’

If they hadn’t fought in the first place, there’d be no need to apologize, and they could return to their happy, carefree days. But the thought of Josie forgetting everything, including the slap, didn’t sit well with Estelle.

She wasn’t sure she could face Josie, smiling brightly with no memory of what had happened.

“You should have just let me die back then…!”

That moment kept replaying in her mind, piercing her heart.

‘If it hurts this much, maybe I shouldn’t have saved her.’

‘Why did I save Josie in the first place?’

A child orphaned by war.

A child wasting away from famine, waiting for death.

A child abandoned at birth, treated as less than human, begging at the village gates.

There were countless children in worse situations than Josie.

Beyond the excuse of needing an assistant, Estelle couldn’t come up with a reason that would satisfy either of them.

But.

If she hadn’t saved Josie back then…

The Josie who grimaced at affection and said she didn’t need it, the Josie who got lost in fairy tales and eagerly asked what happened next, the Josie who beamed with joy when she first used magic, the Josie who finally expressed her anger—all of that would be gone.

Estelle didn’t want that.

Even if the time they had left together was less than a hundred years, she realized how much Josie meant to her life.

She carefully removed Josie’s sweat-soaked clothes and gently wiped her down, trying not to wake her. Despite her efforts, Josie stirred, and Estelle fumbled, unsure what to do. Once Josie settled, Estelle dressed her in fresh clothes and lit a calming incense.

“Sniffle, sniffle.” Josie was sound asleep, her cheeks still flushed. Estelle gently stroked her face.

Maybe the reason didn’t matter.

Josie’s appearance, with her silver hair reflecting the moonlight and her snowflake-like eyes peeking shyly from behind her bangs, was enough. Even the butterfly-shaped flower resting delicately on her hair covering her right eyes.

Estelle leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Josie’s forehead, careful not to wake her.

 

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Josie woke up just past midnight.

“Mmm…”

Her mind was foggy.

As her thoughts cleared, the memories she had tried to forget came flooding back.

‘What have I done…?’

It wasn’t just a mistake. Her words had driven a spike into Estelle’s heart.

Even if Estelle kicked her out tomorrow morning, Josie wouldn’t have anything to say in her defense.

To Josie, Estelle was a witch who could do anything and knew everything.

When she saw Estelle effortlessly take down over twenty orcs, Josie wondered if the books she’d read were exaggerating. After all, the orcs in the books were described as formidable monsters that even grown men struggled to defeat.

And Estelle’s skill with magic and potions? Her alchemy that could seemingly create anything?

‘If I follow in Estelle’s footsteps, maybe I can save someone too.’

Josie wanted to save someone, just as Estelle had saved her when she was crying by her parents’ graves.

When she decided to save the prisoners, she stubbornly insisted, even when Estelle objected.

She had been confident, believing she could do anything like her mentor.

Perhaps she had been overestimating herself way too much.

Unable to distinguish the right potions for the situation and focusing only on their effects, the results were too much for a fifteen year old to bear.

When two of them died, she hadn’t had time to doubt. Their conditions were so poor that it wouldn’t have been surprising if they had died at any moment.

She believed that if she worked harder, she could save the remaining two.

She begrudged every moment spent eating or sleeping.

She hadn’t bathed in days, and her hair was tangled and greasy.

When the third one died, a chill ran down her spine.

Something was wrong. A warning bell rang in her mind.

A memory of studying with Estelle flashed by. Among the books on potions and herbs, she found one titled [The Effects and Side Effects of Potions].

As she read the side effects listed in the book, her hands trembled.

Her body shivered, and her head felt hot, as if she had a fever.

‘I killed them.’

She didn’t want to believe it. She wanted to deny it.

She wanted to shift the blame for their deaths onto someone else.

The arrows of resentment that shot from Josie’s heart struck the target named Estelle with precision.

Thinking about it, Estelle had always been capricious.

She could bring prosperity to a village or watch it fall to ruin.

From saving Josie to deciding the fate of those prisoners.

Josie had wanted Estelle to save them, just as she had saved her.

That resentment also carried the unspoken truth Josie had never shared with Estelle, and she felt she couldn’t leave it unsaid.

She wanted to bow her head and apologize.

As she slowly sat up, something slid off her head and landed on her chest.

It was the lukewarm towel that had been on her forehead.

‘I… fainted, didn’t I?’

Skipping meals and sleep had taken its toll.

Touching her forehead, she realized her fever had gone down, but she still felt a bit dizzy.

“Mmm… Josie?”

“Estelle…?”

The room was dark, and Josie hadn’t noticed Estelle sleeping by the bed.

Estelle hadn’t expected to see Josie awake so soon either.

She had been nursing Josie, keeping watch, but had dozed off.

“Well… you see…”

“……”

A long silence stretched between them, neither knowing what the other was thinking.

“Estelle, is it okay if I sleep with you tonight?”

“Mmm. Of course.”

Josie moved to one side of the bed and took Estelle’s hand, pulling her closer.

It had been so long since Estelle had shared a bed with anyone.

Lying side by side under the same blanket.

If they turned their heads, their noses would touch. Both Estelle and Josie swallowed dryly.

“You know… at first, I hated you.”

Josie was the first to break the silence.

Her words hit Estelle like a thunderbolt, and she wanted to close her ears and run away.

But she knew this might be her only chance.

She turned her head to look at Josie.

“You might not remember… but the village I lived in survived thanks to you. When I was a baby, the village was suffering from a famine. People started leaving one by one. My family couldn’t afford to leave, so we just waited for death.”

Josie’s village was a barren land ravaged by famine.

The village lake had dried up, crops withered quickly, and the villagers, who hadn’t eaten properly in days, had sharp, desperate eyes.

If it hadn’t been for the village elder’s plea, Estelle would have left without helping.

To Estelle, the elder’s request was just another quest.

She planned to use the villagers as labor to gather herbs and ingredients in exchange for reviving the village.

To Estelle, the village was nothing more than that.

“Then suddenly, people stormed in, and the village was destroyed… I barely survived with my mom’s help. I hid alone in a storage shed and overheard them looking for you.”

In the Aria Chronicle, only the Heresy Inquisitors were mad enough to wipe out villages in their search for witches.

When Estelle saw the ruined village, the men impaled on spikes, and the women’s bodies floating in the lake, she knew the Inquisitors had come.

The village was precariously close to the border where the Inquisitors operated, so it was nearly impossible for them to have found it unless someone had tipped them off.

“So… on the day you found me… I had so much I wanted to say.”

‘Why did the villagers have to die if you’re the witch?’

‘Why did my parents have to die?’

‘Please save my parents.’

Josie didn’t say those words out loud.

The seven year old Josie was now fifteen.

Josie turned her head and met Estelle’s gaze.

Had she ever been this close to Estelle before?

Even the princesses in fairy tales couldn’t be this beautiful.

“When you saved me, I thought I’d hate you forever. But do you know how I feel now?”

“……”

Estelle shook her head instead of answering.

If she spoke, the tears she’d been holding back would spill over.

“I don’t hate you anymore.”

Josie blushed and smiled brightly.

“Teaching me all these things, worrying about me, caring for me so much… I think I understand why now.”

Just as Josie saw Estelle as a mother, Estelle saw Josie as a daughter.

“I was selfish, asking so much of you… You had your reasons too. I’m sorry for saying such harsh things. Hehe. I always wanted to tell you that.”

“Mmm… Josie, I’m the one who should apologize for hitting you…”

Estelle hugged Josie tightly.

In this moment, nothing else mattered—not the original story, not pure love, nothing.

All she wanted was for this child to live a happy, ordinary life. And if she could watch over Josie’s happiness until the end, that would be enough.

“Why are you crying…?”

“Mmm, it’s nothing. You’re just so beautiful. That’s why I’m crying.”

From worrying about whether Josie would accept her apology to asking about her favorite foods, colors, ideal type, dream home, and even trivial things like whether she wanted to see the ocean—they talked about everything they had put off until now.

Exhausted, they fell asleep, still holding each other close.