Witch – Chapter 86 – A Hundred Year Reunion with the Witch (5)

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“A second child? Not yours?”

“No, she’s your second daughter.”

The baby in the basket, sleeping peacefully, unaware of the world.

The soft pink baby hair swayed with Dorothy’s breath as she leaned closer.

A cotton blanket was carefully lifted, revealing the tiny body.

Small fists clenched tightly, adorable feet wrapped in swaddling—the baby looked exactly how Estelle might have as an infant.

“Um… do you not like her…?”

“……”

Estelle asked nervously, watching Dorothy’s reaction, but received no response.

Dorothy tugged at her own hair—a habit that surfaced whenever she was irritated.

Estelle knew this habit well and immediately recognized Dorothy’s displeasure.

“Mom…?”

‘What’s the problem? Should I have waited until she was more grown…?’

Estelle had finished adjusting the clone’s physical development, so the infant stage would pass quickly, and she’d soon become an adult. It shouldn’t have been a big deal…

But she hadn’t considered how shocking it might be for Dorothy to suddenly be presented with a baby and told, “Here’s your second daughter”.

Come to think of it, Dorothy never liked troublesome things. In her eagerness to see Dorothy again, Estelle might have rushed things.

“She’s… a clone I made. She’ll grow up quickly, so you don’t have to worry about her being too much trouble. At first, I thought about making a homunculus, but then I figured she should at least resemble me to help ease your loneliness… Oh, and she feeds on mana instead of food, so no need to worry about meals!”

Estelle rambled, misinterpreting Dorothy’s irritation and trying to lighten the mood.

“Are you misunderstanding something?”

“Huh…?”

“Did you really think I’d be happy with just some meat puppet that looks like you?”

Dorothy had been solitary, but never lonely.

Until she met Estelle.

And that loneliness wasn’t something just any substitute could soothe—it was meant for one person alone. Only Estelle could fill that void.

‘But this wretched girl… she raised a daughter yet still doesn’t understand a mother’s heart?’

A second child?

To ease her loneliness?

The more Dorothy thought about it, the more absurd it became.

It almost sounded like Estelle was saying she wouldn’t come back anymore.

What angered Dorothy most was Estelle’s attitude.

Calling her “Mom”, acting affectionate—it all felt like a deception, making her sick.

“Meat puppet? She’s alive, breathing properly… Do you… need more? I can make as many as—”

Slap!

Estelle’s head snapped to the side.

“Mom…?”

The stinging pain on her cheek was nothing compared to the ache in her chest as she watched Dorothy tremble with suppressed rage.

The one who had been hit was Estelle, but somehow, Dorothy’s expression looked as though she was the one wounded.

Dorothy’s face flushed with anger, her eyes glistening with tears that threatened to fall at any moment.

“Who do you think you’re calling ‘Mom’, you wretched girl? Who asked for this kind of gift?”

“……”

“You think a hundred of these things could ever replace you? Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited just to see your face… and you dare pull this kind of stunt?”

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

All Estelle wanted was for Dorothy not to feel lonely. After Josie left on her journey, Estelle thought she understood a little of what Dorothy must have felt—that’s why she made this gift.

Something that should have been met with laughter and warmth… now spilled like water that couldn’t be gathered back, tears finally falling from Dorothy’s eyes.

“Get out. Don’t ever show your face in front of me again.”

The terrace doors burst open with a gust of wind, wrapping around Estelle and hurling her out of the house.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen…”

Estelle lay sprawled on the ground, muttering to herself. The basket, gently landing beside her, made her feel utterly rejected.

‘Where did I go wrong…?’ The stars above seemed to mock her ignorance.

The sound of the door slamming shut made it clear—Dorothy was furious.

If she had known this would happen, she wouldn’t have made the clone. She even resented the sleeping Estelle No. 2 in the basket.

‘Should I just dispose of her?’

Estelle reached toward the basket, a magic circle appearing in her palm.

If she poured mana into it now, the clone would truly become just a lump of flesh. But what was she doing? She was the one who messed up—taking it out on the innocent infant felt wrong. She lay back down.

Destroying Estelle No. 2 wouldn’t undo what had happened.

Estelle pondered why Dorothy was so angry.

She had made her purely so Dorothy wouldn’t feel lonely—nothing more.

But if she imagined the reverse—if Josie returned from a long journey and presented her with a clone, telling her to use it to ease her loneliness…

If Estelle were in that position, she might have turned the clone into a lump of flesh on the spot.

What Estelle wanted to see was Josie herself.

Not some imitation.

This wasn’t just a prank—it was driving a stake through a mother’s heart.

One of the worst things a daughter could do… and she realized it far too late.

And to make matters worse, she even said she could make more if one wasn’t enough.

Like pouring oil on a burning house.

“Damn it… What have I done?”

Estelle covered her eyes with her hands.

In the week without Josie, she had been so consumed by loneliness that she failed to see the bigger picture.

She wanted to go back and apologize, but she didn’t have the courage to face Dorothy’s tears again.

“Don’t ever show your face again”—what if showing up now only made things worse?

Estelle picked up the basket and stood.

If she left without apologizing, she might never see Dorothy again.

Even if Dorothy didn’t forgive her, she at least wanted to say she was sorry.

Knock knock knock.

After taking a deep breath, she gently knocked on the firmly locked door.

“Mom… no, Dorothy. Are you listening?”

She didn’t expect the door to open or an answer.

Just listening would be enough. She wasn’t even sure if Dorothy was listening… Even if her words were nothing more than self-consolation.

“I… I’m sorry. I made this because I didn’t want you to feel lonely because of me. But if Josie did this to me… just imagining it makes me furious.”

What Estelle loved was Josie herself—not something that merely resembled her. She hadn’t realized Dorothy felt the same way.

Nothing could replace a child. Even if they weren’t related by blood…

“I’m a mother too. I should’ve known… I failed both as a mother and a daughter.”

It felt like there was more she needed to apologize for, but nothing else came to mind.

How could she remove the stake she had driven into Dorothy’s heart? How could she mend the hole she had torn open?

It was too difficult for Estelle.

“I’m sorry. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

She didn’t expect to be forgiven right away.

She could come back tomorrow. And if not tomorrow, she’d keep coming back until Dorothy accepted her apology.

Estelle stepped back from the door, preparing to teleport.

“I love you. I don’t know what you’ll think, but I mean it.”

Even if the result had been driving a stake between them, her love for Dorothy was genuine.

She called herself the Witch of Love, yet she was so clueless at it.

Creak.

The sound of old hinges echoed in the quiet night.

“Dorothy?”

“……”

The door that shouldn’t have opened swung wide.

Dorothy stood there, sharp eyes fixed on her. Estelle hastily canceled her teleportation.

“I-I’m s-s-sor—”

She needed to apologize.

But the mere fact that the door had opened left her lips trembling, unable to form words.

Afraid Dorothy might change her mind upon seeing Estelle No. 2, she hid the basket behind her back.

Like a guilty child, she didn’t know where to look, her gaze darting around.

“You said you’d stay five nights, and now you’re leaving? You wretched girl…”

At Dorothy’s words, Estelle’s shoulders shook.

Tears she thought would never fall—except over Josie—welled up uncontrollably.

“Ugh… Hic…”

“Tch. What right do you have to cry?”

“B-but… Hic…!”

The harder she tried to hold back, the more her emotions overwhelmed her.

She just wanted to be held by Dorothy and forgiven.

“What are you doing, clinging to your mom like a child?”

“Sob…! Waaah…!!”

Before she knew it, she was in Dorothy’s arms, babbling incoherently between sobs.

Dorothy’s gentle pats didn’t stop until Estelle’s tears ran dry.

Lucent