Witch – Chapter 74 – The Two Witches (54)

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After leading Josie and Leo around the festival for about two hours and returning, the place had been mostly cleaned up. The strange atmosphere and traces on the floor had been neatly cleaned away.

It seemed Beryl had undergone a change of heart, as the eyepatch that once covered both eyes now only covered one. The exposed eye, now unstitched, proudly displayed the Demon Eye.

She had once said she was afraid to open her eyes, but now Beryl, with one eye open, greeted us with an awkward smile, still as gentle as ever.

Come to think of it, when I had glimpsed her through the door earlier, she had also been covering one eye.

I wanted to ask what had happened and hear the details, but… the awkwardness in the air made me hesitant to bring it up.

“Estelle, welcome back…”

“Sorry…”

I apologized softly to Beryl, who was awkwardly welcoming us.

“No, don’t be. I’m the one who should apologize. I should’ve kept the door locked, but I ended up showing you an unsightly side of me.”

If it were me, I would’ve been angry.

But Beryl’s apology made it hard to look her in the eye.

I had expected something to happen, but who could’ve imagined it would last past 9 AM?

I should’ve sent a message ahead of time.

Beryl, her hair still damp as if she had just washed it, sat awkwardly in a chair, her face flushed, looking uncomfortable.

It felt like she was silently pressuring us to finish our business and leave quickly.

Since we were uninvited guests who had interrupted their happy time, I felt bad for Leo, but maybe it was best to leave it for later…

“If you’re uncomfortable… I’ll come back tomorrow. Sorry for interrupting your good time.”

“It’s not that…, it’s just… I can’t seem to hold myself up…”

“Beryl, you need to be careful. Let me help you.”

Beryl, sitting awkwardly, was slowly sliding off the chair, proving her point.

Only after Nicks caught her and helped her back up could she sit properly again.

Just how much had they done… to leave her unable to even hold herself up…?

We already had a long day because of what Josie had done this morning… but these two had boldly surpassed my expectations and were heading straight for the stars.

The end of pure love is often like that. I get that they’re excited now that their feelings are mutual, but… from a guardian’s perspective, this was as frustrating as it gets.

Everyone in the room was blushing and awkwardly gauging each other’s reactions.

Leo, too, seemed to have caught on to what had happened here through my conversation with Beryl.

No one wanted to speak… I was the only one who could lighten the mood.

In a way, I was the one who had caused this situation. I even felt a sense of duty to fix it.

“Ah, right! Introductions, yes. Beryl, let me introduce you. This is my daughter, Josie. And this is Leo, our knight.”

“Hello. Nice to meet you again. I’m Josie.”

“Greetings. I’m Leo, the knight.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Beryl, Estelle’s friend. Josie, thank you for helping me yesterday.”

Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one who wanted to lighten the mood, as they exchanged greetings without much awkwardness. The fact that Josie had visited the shop with Nicks earlier seemed to have eased the tension.

Moreover, Josie had apparently met Beryl separately without my knowledge, as Beryl expressed her gratitude.

“I helped Beryl when she was in trouble while I was looking for Leo yesterday.”

When I glanced at Josie, she smiled and explained the situation.

“I found the silver coin, but… I lost it again. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’ll find it for you again.”

“Thank you, even just for saying that. Someone probably picked it up. And… I’ve gained something more precious than that silver coin.”

Beryl smiled as she placed her hand over Nicks’s, who was supporting her.

It was a smile filled with more happiness than the one she used to wear when she was trying to win Nicks’s heart and dreaming of a happy future.

Seeing that smile made me feel happy too, to the point where I wondered if I would ever experience that kind of happiness myself.

“How about you, Josie? Are things going well?”

“Hehe. Not bad.”

While I was lost in thought, Beryl and Josie were exchanging stories only they knew.

What? What are they talking about?

In front of her mother, my daughter was sharing a moment with my friend.

Somehow, I felt left out, and I couldn’t shake off the strange feeling.

“Ah, right. Estelle, you had something to discuss with me, right?”

Just as I was puffing out my cheeks and watching their heartwarming conversation, Beryl, noticing my expression, changed the subject.

“Yes. I wanted to ask you for a favor.”

“What is it? If it’s something I can do, I’ll help however I can.”

Exaggerating a bit, it seemed like Beryl would even give away her Demon Eye if asked right now.

“Leo’s eyes are… special. Like your Demon Eye. I thought you might be able to figure something out.”

“Leo? Can you show me?”

Beryl gestured for Leo, who was standing behind Josie, to come closer and sit in a chair where she could see him comfortably.

“Please, let me know if it’s uncomfortable.”

Leo, cautious about revealing his Holy Eye in front of another witch, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly opened them.

His golden eyes, filled with divine light, met Beryl’s gaze.

Even Beryl, who possessed the Demon Eye, furrowed her brows when faced with the Holy Eye, which could see through everything.

It must have felt instinctively unpleasant to be scrutinized so thoroughly, as if every part of her was being exposed.

I, too, couldn’t forget the unsettling, eerie feeling I had when I first saw the Holy Eye.

“Estelle, this is…”

“Yes. It’s the Holy Eye. Eyes bestowed by angels upon chosen humans.”

Eyes that distinguish the good and evil of souls, a blessing given to the most devout in the Holy Kingdom.

A symbol of being a divine messenger, destined to be involved in major events in the future, but for those who stand against the divine, it’s nothing short of a curse.

“Leo isn’t very adept at handling the Holy Eye. I thought someone with a Demon Eye like yours might understand its power. Is it possible?”

“It’s not impossible, but… Estelle, are you serious?”

Beryl looked at me with worried eyes. Something Josie, Leo, and Nicks couldn’t understand.

She was subtly warning me that awakening Leo’s Holy Eye might backfire and turn its power against us.

Given what the Holy Kingdom has done to witches, it’s hard for a witch to view the Holy Eye favorably.

Even if Josie has feelings for Leo, Beryl, being a witch, is naturally hesitant to help.

I never thought I’d be asking a witch to examine the Holy Eye.

If Josie hadn’t chosen Leo, I wouldn’t have had to make such a request.

“I’m serious. Please.”

“…….”

If Leo doesn’t grow stronger, Josie might be in danger.

As a witch, the Holy Eye and the Holy Kingdom are one thing… but as a mother, I can’t back down.

“Sigh… Alright.”

“Hehe. Thank you.”

Beryl let out a deep sigh and nodded.

“Leo, you should thank her too, right?”

“Th-thank you.”

Before heading to Venetia, Leo had been terrified that showing Beryl his Holy Eye might get him killed. Typical of him.

I had to push the back of his head to force him to bow and express his gratitude.

“Nicks, can you take Josie outside for a bit? This might be dangerous.”

“Sure. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

At Beryl’s request, Nicks responded warmly and gestured to Josie.

Normally, Josie would insist on staying, but seeing Beryl’s serious expression, she silently followed Nicks out of the shop.

“What are you going to do?”

I had asked for help without thinking it through, but I was curious about Beryl’s method of examining the Holy Eye.

I hoped it wasn’t something primitive like extracting the eye and dissecting it…

“I can’t do it alone. Estelle, I need your power.”

“My power?”

The Demon Eye is all-powerful, so I wondered why she needed my help.

Beryl was the type who would show up out of nowhere during tough times in Aria Chronicle Part 3, solve everything, and then vanish.

“I’ll use my Demon Eye to put the Holy Eye in a defenseless state, and then you’ll send Leo into his own subconscious. The angel who granted the Holy Eye must reside within him. If the Holy Eye is defenseless, we might be able to meet the angel in his subconscious. Asking the angel directly would be faster.”

I had heard rumors that the Demon Eye was the lost eye of an angel, but Beryl seemed to know a lot about the Holy Eye.

“Wouldn’t it be faster to summon the angel into the Dream World instead of sending Leo into his subconscious?”

“Estelle… if an angel appears in the Dream World, they won’t be in the mood for a friendly chat. They’d probably attack on sight. Even I would struggle to subdue an angel.”

That’s true.

If you were resting peacefully at home and suddenly found yourself in a place that defies divine order… even an angel wouldn’t try to resolve things peacefully.

But at least she didn’t say she’d definitely lose.

“Are you sure about this? Putting the Holy Eye in a defenseless state.”

Even if she made it sound easy, rendering the Holy Eye defenseless didn’t seem like a simple task.

The power of the Demon Eye that close-eyed-Beryl had shown was strong, but it felt somewhat lacking in versatility.

I was a bit worried. Slightly uneasy.

“Estelle, don’t worry.”

Beryl, noticing my concern, smiled and removed her eyepatch.

The freed Dream Demon Eye, now fully exposed, sharply focused on me—more precisely, on my chest.

No way, right?

With open-eyed-Beryl here, there was nothing to worry about, but…

The sudden shift in atmosphere and the sharp gaze directed at me made me uneasy in a different way.

“Hey, milk jugs. Been seeing a lot of you lately?”

“Y-Yeah. Just yesterday…?”

Beryl stood up and reached out as if to roughly grab my chest.

She tried to get up, but…

“Oooh… my baaack…!”

I should thank Nicks.

If I laughed here, it wouldn’t end with just my chest being grabbed.

I barely held back my laughter as Beryl collapsed, letting out a beast-like groan.