Ch. 58 The Two Witches (38)
by Afuhfuihgs
Witch – Chapter 58- The Two Witches (38)
“I’m Beryl. You’re Estelle’s daughter, right?”
“This is the first time we’ve properly met. I’ve always wanted to meet my mom’s friend! Just like Mom said, you’re really beautiful.”
“This kid… Estelle really doesn’t hold back, does she?”
I didn’t know how Estelle had described me to Josie, but even if it was just flattery, it felt good.
In the past, I would’ve been flustered, saying, “What are you talking about? I’m not beautiful,”
but lately, I’d gained some confidence in my appearance.
“But what brings you here? Weren’t you with Mom?”
“Ah, well…”
It felt awkward to tell Josie that I’d forced Estelle to fall asleep.
I had no choice but to come up with a plausible excuse.
“Estelle had something urgent to take care of, so I came out alone.”
“Leaving her friend alone… I don’t even know where she is, and she’s neglecting her daughter too.”
“Hahaha… Yeah, I guess so.”
Sorry, Estelle. I’ve caused a misunderstanding with your daughter.
“What about you, Josie? Where’s the boy you usually hang out with? Do you know where Nicks is?”
Josie might know where Nicks is.
I carefully hinted at my true intentions, mixed with worry.
“Actually, I was looking for Leo. He’s always sleeping in, but today he disappeared early in the morning… We were supposed to celebrate disbanding the party with Nicks today. It’s the festival, after all.”
The festival. Right, the festival.
I’d forgotten about it for a moment.
Josie was grumbling about looking for Leo, but even without my senses, I could tell she was smiling.
Her voice always perked up whenever she mentioned Leo.
This girl is in love.
It was a different kind of love from Estelle’s—a real, romantic love. The thought made me smile.
“Josie, do you like Leo?”
“Huh… Me…?”
“Or do you not?”
“Ugh… Should I say I like him or not…? Is it that obvious?”
Is that even a question?
Even without seeing her, her voice was dripping with honey.
“Yeah. It’s super obvious.”
“Ugh… This is bad.”
“What’s bad about it? Doesn’t your heart race when you think about Leo? Don’t you feel lost, not knowing what to do? Aren’t you happy just being with him?”
I’m in love too. Just thinking about Nicks makes my heart race.
Josie must feel the same.
“Mom doesn’t like Leo very much. I don’t know why, but it feels a bit… excessive.”
“Estelle?”
The same Estelle who’s so enthusiastic about helping me with my love is harsh on her own daughter’s love?
For someone called the Witch of Love, Estelle isn’t exactly lenient with all kinds of love.
I couldn’t imagine Estelle meddling in her daughter’s love life.
“Josie. No matter what anyone says, trust your feelings. They’ll guide you.”
It should be fine to give her some advice as Estelle’s friend.
After all, it’s the same advice Estelle gave me.
“Thank you. That gives me strength! I’ll scold Leo when I find him!”
“You’re looking for Nicks, right? Do you like him, Beryl?”
“Yeah… I do. I have something I need to tell him.”
“Phew… That’s a relief.”
“Huh? What do you mean, ‘relief’…?”
Beryl asked again, not understanding why Josie had sighed in relief.
Was there someone else who liked Nicks…?
Ah, Emily.
I don’t know if Emily likes Nicks, but nothing was more painful than hearing Nicks talk about another woman.
Lately, Nicks hadn’t brought up Emily, so I’d forgotten about her.
My mood soured.
“Ah, it’s nothing…! Nicks is supposed to meet here. He should be arriving soon.”
“Thank you for helping me. If it weren’t for you, I’d still be crawling on the ground looking for that coin.”
If Josie hadn’t been here…
I might’ve been consumed by the curse or opened my eyes.
“I’ll go look for Leo now. I hope things work out for you.”
“Yeah. Good luck to you too. Remember what I said?”
“Yes, I’ll trust my feelings!”
Josie carefully got up and walked away.
She’s a good kid.
Estelle has a lovely daughter.
If I ever have a daughter, I’d want one like Josie.
To build a home with Nicks,
to live a life with Nicks,
even if we can’t grow old together, to stay by his side until the day he’s laid to rest…
I’ve never regretted becoming a witch,
but the thought that I’d only have 100 years at most with Nicks was painful.
But we haven’t even started yet.
I don’t know how much of those 100 years I’ll have, but…
It all starts with confessing my feelings.
“Beryl… Noona?”
“Nicks?”
Even without my senses, I could tell Nicks was in front of me.
His ragged breathing, as if he’d been running, made his presence even more vivid.
Thank goodness. I’m not too late.
“Haa… I’ve been looking everywhere for you. You shouldn’t be out alone when you’re not feeling well.”
“I wanted to see you. Were you worried about me?”
“How can you say that now…? Yeah, I was worried.”
Just knowing Nicks was worried about me made me feel like I could fly.
I didn’t want to make him worry, but I also wanted to be a little mischievous and make him worry again.
When Nicks’ hand touched my forehead, a burning sensation spread through his fingers.
My forehead was burning like a furnace.
“You have a high fever. Let’s get you home.”
“I have something to tell you, Nicks.”
“You can tell me at home.”
“No, I want to say it now.”
Nicks, who was about to take my hand and lead me home, couldn’t resist my stubbornness.
Thanks to Nicks holding my hand, the whispers of the curse were silent.
If I didn’t say it now while I was still myself, I never would.
“……”
My heart was pounding so loudly I thought Nicks might hear it.
All I had to do was open my mouth and speak, but my voice wouldn’t come out, too embarrassed. It created a strange tension between us.
That’s right. Trust my feelings.
I hope happiness lies at the end of this.
“Nicks, will you dance with me at the ball?”
“……”
I said it.
I’m not too late.
I finally told Nicks what I’d buried in my heart.
“Nicks…?”
Why isn’t he answering?
For some reason, Nicks’ response didn’t come.
“……”
Beryl wandered aimlessly through Venetia.
She didn’t want to think about anything anymore.
The whispers of the curse didn’t matter now.
The silver coin in Beryl’s hand dangled precariously from her finger.
“Watch where you’re going!”
“……”
She walked alone, bumping into people and being brushed past by those who found her presence unpleasant.
Thud. She collided with someone.
“Hey, you should apologize if you bump into someone.”
“……”
Someone with a rough male voice grabbed Beryl, but she didn’t resist. Maybe she didn’t have the strength to.
“Boss, she looks blind.”
“What, blind? Looks like everyone’s crawling out of their homes for the festival.”
“The girls at the brothel can’t compare to this one. How about we have some fun today?”
“Why not? It’s a festival. We’d be missing out if we didn’t enjoy it.”
As rough hands dragged Beryl into an alley…
She didn’t care anymore.
“What’s this? A silver coin?”
“No… Give it back!!”
No. Not the coin…!
A rough hand snatched the coin from Beryl’s grasp.
Should I kill them?
If I open my eyes, it wouldn’t just be a few humans… The entire city of Venetia, Nicks’ home, would disappear from the map.
While Beryl was paralyzed, her clothes were torn roughly.
“Boss, make sure you don’t rough her up too bad.”
“Ah, don’t worry.”
I’m really going to be violated…
“……”
Just as it seemed like she was about to be violated, the rough hands and the lust-filled voices disappeared.
“Beryl, are you okay?”
“Estelle?”
Estelle took off her robe and covered Beryl’s body.
How…? Estelle should’ve been asleep.
“If Nicks hadn’t woken me up, I would’ve slept through everything. I’m glad I’m not too late.”
So it was Nicks.
He must’ve gone all the way to the room after searching for me.
“Here, take your coin.”
“…Thank you.”
Why is this one coin so precious to me? I don’t even need it anymore.
It felt like there was a hole in my chest.
“Let’s go back, Beryl. You don’t look well.”
“……”
Even Estelle is telling me to go back. Just like Nicks.
“Estelle… What is love?”
“Beryl, you… Don’t tell me.”
“Huh? Tell me. Please. What is love?”
The love Estelle described should’ve been filled with happiness, making the whole world beautiful.
But Beryl’s chest felt like it had a gaping hole, no matter how hard she tried to cover it.
So…
Tell me.
“Estelle… What is love? Why does it hurt so much?”
Just thinking about Nicks used to fill me with happiness,
but now, just thinking about him feels like I’m dying.
It feels like hatred is seeping through the cracks in the hole in my chest.
“Beryl, I’ll explain everything…! Let’s just go home first…!”
Beryl pushed away Estelle’s frantic hands as her eyes grew damp.
Tears, blocked by the eyepatch, glowed with a mysterious, gem-like light.
Clink.
The silver coin in Beryl’s hand fell and was swallowed by the dark shadows of the alley.
“If I’d known it would hurt this much… I should’ve never fallen in love…”
[Ŷ̵̲͚̗̦͚̈́͛̓o҉̞͓̤̝̮̭͉̙͋̂̆̐͆ͅụ̶̮̭͇͋͒̐̏̅̈́̍’̴͕̝̭̞̥͎̟̆̏͋̋̒̐̃̃̍͑r̷̥̝̞̗̥̝̝̩̫̳̮̈͒́̄͛͊͋̓̎̐̈́̚ẽ̸͍̲̦͕̖̠̞̪͒͆̏ m҉̝̣̩̝̩̳̗͙̣͖̯̘̒͋̆͐̅̾́̓̐͒i҈͈̱̯̭̪͉͑̍͂̾̐̏̾̐̇̓͒͆ͅn҈͔̖͖̬͇̦͓̐̈̋̈́̏é̶̞̭͕̪̖̤̮̄̎̇̾̈́.҈̟̘͔̳͙̰̗̯̗͉͕̌͗̎̆́̓̅̏͒͌̓̀]
The gemstone in Beryl’s pocket glowed brighter than ever, a vivid purple.
[Ah… Foolish one. It’s too late to turn back now.]
Before Estelle could stop her, the world began to fill with a green light.
Lucent
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