Witch – Chapter 104 – The Witch and the Black Knight (15)

Ｒｅ​ａ​ｄ ｏｎ Ｋ​ａｔＲｅａｄｉ​ｎｇＣａｆｅ

Edel flinched at the tears streaming from his eyes.

The teardrops, unable to bear their own weight, rolled down his cheeks and dripped from the edge of his jaw.

“Tears.”

He brushed his fingertips lightly against his chin, and the damp sensation irritated his senses—touch, sight, even smell.

In Edel’s life, he had only shed tears once before. Including now, that made twice. He stared at the falling tears with his usual indifferent gaze.

When was the first time?

He closed his eyes, using the tears as a guide to trace back the blurry memories.

A time before he was called the Black Knight—no, even further back.

The life of an orphan, scrounging for food in the back alleys of the demon realm. A rat-like existence, wandering in search of anything edible to fill his starving stomach.

Edel remembered holding a little girl’s hand as they walked together. Though he had no family, at some point, she had become his companion in those filthy alleys.

The girl wore tattered rags that could hardly be called clothes, walking unsteadily on bare feet covered in wounds. He didn’t know if she couldn’t walk properly or if someone had broken her legs.

Three or four of her teeth were missing, and a large bruise—like a handprint—marked her face. It looked about the size of the hands belonging to the tyrants who ruled those alleys.

Finding food wasn’t easy. There were plenty of orphans like him, and even when they did find something, the strong would often take it from them.

One day, after coming back empty-handed, they retreated to a burrow—more of a den for demon beasts than a home—to rest their exhausted bodies.

That place was Edel’s only shelter. When it rained, the water would flood in, and the stench was unbearable, but…

Whenever he tried to sleep, the cold rising from the ground would wake him up again and again. So he and the girl would huddle together, enduring the brutal winters.

‘Stay here. Wait for me.’

Whenever Edel crouched down, clutching his empty stomach, the girl would pat his head before suddenly leaving. Even though walking must have been painful for her, she never showed any sign of discomfort in front of him.

Young Edel didn’t care much about where she went. Because when she returned, she always brought back something to eat—something she must have gotten from who-knows-where.

The food in her small hands was all he could see, more than the fresh bruises on her face.

‘Eat.’

‘What is this?’

‘A potato.’

She compared the sizes of the two potatoes in her hands before handing the slightly bigger one to the starving Edel.

Looking back now, it must have been a rotten, tasteless potato… but Edel devoured it ravenously. The taste didn’t matter. To survive, he had to eat.

When he choked from eating too fast, the girl patted his back with her tiny hand.

Still unsatisfied, Edel stared hungrily at the remaining potato in her grip.

‘You can have this one too. I already ate.’

She handed him the other one without hesitation.

Even as he ate the second potato, Edel didn’t feel gratitude. Instead, he wondered how many she had eaten before coming back. If she could give him two so easily, she must have eaten at least three—no, probably four.

Only bringing back two?

There must be a hidden food stash somewhere, right?

‘I want to eat more.’

Too exhausted from hunger to think further, Edel’s mind was ruled by primal instincts—like a beast’s. To him, surviving day by day in that abandoned burrow was just how things were.

That day had been lucky.

They had found food in the alleys, so they wouldn’t starve. A rare occurrence, happening maybe once in the time it took for the demon realm’s moon to change phases.

The girl returned to the burrow with a relaxed expression, ready to rest.

‘I’m hungry.’

But for the first time, Edel whined to her, curling up in protest.

‘I’m hungry.’

‘Go get me more food.’

The girl’s expression darkened, but she forced a smile and ruffled Edel’s hair.

‘Stay here. Wait for me.’

This time, Edel followed her as she limped away from the burrow. He thought that if he trailed her, he could get more potatoes.

Not just two—maybe even five.

The girl headed deeper into the alleys, stepping into the suffocating darkness without hesitation.

The heart of the backstreets was where the strong resided—no place for a child, especially an orphan with no protector.

It wasn’t uncommon for orphans who ventured too deep in search of food to never return.

Edel knew those stories well. The girl had warned him countless times.

Yet… here she was, walking straight into that place.

Edel hesitated, torn between following her or staying back. But his growling stomach decided for him.

‘Food… please.’

‘You expect me to feed you?’

‘Ugh…!’

A large hand—belonging to one of the alley’s infamous tyrants—struck the girl’s face. The violent thud made Edel’s eyes widen.

The force was so strong that she tumbled several times before shakily rising again.

‘F-food, pwease…’

Her swollen cheeks made her words slur, but she still smiled, spitting out blood and broken teeth, as if worried the tyrant might be displeased.

Rustle.

Then… she removed her rags—clothes that barely functioned as such.

Her naked body was covered in bruises, old and new.

‘That’s why I like you. You know how to act weak. The weak should beg the strong, right? Don’t hold back. Other brats don’t go this far. Good. Today, just ten hits. Two potatoes sound fair?’

‘L-last time… was five…’

‘You saying no?’

‘N-no… I wike it…’

Something was wrong.

She wasn’t getting food from a hidden stash.

A pain deeper than hunger stabbed into Edel’s heart.

Thud…! Ugh…!

Thud…! Gah…!

Thud…! ….

With every scream, Edel felt like he couldn’t breathe. Even though she was the one being hit, his body trembled so violently he could barely stand.

‘Stop. Stop. Stop…!’

‘I didn’t want to fill my stomach like this…!’

He wanted to rush in, to stop the relentless violence against the girl who could barely even breathe—but Edel had no strength.

Just as the tyrant said, she was weak. And Edel, weaker than her, was even more powerless.

More than anything… he was terrified that those fists might turn toward him instead.

Fear. A primal instinct of the weak.

Just like hunger.

Edel covered his mouth, ensuring not even his breath could be heard, and fled like a beast.

He didn’t remember how he made it back to the burrow. When he came to his senses, he was curled up in the deepest part, crying.

Waiting for the girl to return.

He cried until he fell asleep, only to wake up from nightmares, pacing the burrow before breaking down again.

He wanted to give both potatoes back to her. He swore he’d never whine about being hungry again.

But the girl never returned.

Recalling the unpleasant memory, Edel clenched his fists.

The reason he became strong—the Black Knight, one of the Four Heavenly Kings. A precious memory he had forgotten in his obsession with power now stabbed at his heart through his tears.

Why had he forgotten?

The woman who had embraced him, the girl who had held his hand—

After losing to Estelle, he had begun learning about pure love, yet somehow, these buried memories resurfaced one by one.

Was this also pure love…?

It was more complex and profound than he had imagined. Something invisible, intangible—sometimes a name, a meal, or a smile.

Like with Sion and Aria. Like with Estelle.

But then, weren’t tears the opposite of pure love?

Thinking that way, he couldn’t tolerate the thing that had brought him to tears a second time.

Crush.

He mercilessly crushed it in his grip.

“To make me shed tears… I commend your spirit. But you are nothing more than a weakling.”

Fragments scattered, but he paid them no mind. Instead, he smirked victoriously.

“Estelle. I won.”

Wiping the white juice from his hands, Edel turned to Estelle, who had been watching from behind, and gave her a thumbs-up—just like the “Good job!” drawn on her praise sigils.

“Hey…! What do you think you’re doing, smashing an onion just because it made you cry?!?!”

Day 1 of seriously learning how to cook.

Estelle’s face turned red as she yelled.

Lucent