Ch.127Ill Fate (10)

Even an exceptional Inquisitor candidate and a witch of the ash tree who showed promise from a young age were both barely adults. They were equally flustered by an unexpected pregnancy.

With the money the two had saved, plus what Haspel had desperately gathered from various sources, they managed to find a discreet midwife. The problem was finding a place for the delivery. No place would accept a witch carrying an Inquisitor’s child.

When the birth was imminent, the three secured a room in Magdeburg’s red-light district. Someone had died there recently, so it had been vacant for a few days. Though they scrubbed it thoroughly, they couldn’t remove the filth that had become part of the room itself.

The midwife was experienced enough. Her habit of heavy drinking and forgetting the previous day’s events was problematic, but her skill in delivering babies was unquestionable.

Yet even she couldn’t help with a difficult birth.

“They’ll both die at this rate. You must choose,” the midwife shouted at Heinrich. Heinrich could only weep, unable to make a decision. Haspel lamented, asking if there was truly no other way.

Elisabet couldn’t speak. She had lost too much blood. Her consciousness was hazy, and she felt no pain—only a dull heaviness.

That’s when the witch saw it.

A vision of her child, too afraid to leave the womb yet unable to retreat back inside. Light pulled at the child, and shadow pulled at the child. Each claimed the baby as its own. The division among her ancestors was trying to kill her daughter before she was even born.

‘Why are you so cruel to this little one, who hasn’t even been born yet?’

Elisabet, the witch of the ash tree, recalled her days of living. Days of running, hiding, fighting, and living under oppression.

It was because of the shadow. Something she hadn’t wanted but had possessed since birth—something she couldn’t hide or cover.

Though she had never appreciated it throughout her life, in that moment, she truly hated the shadow. Out of pure hatred, she moved her hands. Using blood, ash, and dust as paint, she drew images and wrote words.

Haspel, understanding the meaning, screamed, and Heinrich tried to grab her hand. But Elisabet refused with her eyes. Eventually, Heinrich and then Haspel helped her.

Just as hunters know their prey well, Inquisitors know the techniques of mages and witches. Though not as skilled as Elisabet in using them, Heinrich could assist with her spell.

They couldn’t eliminate the daughter’s strong energy. What is innate cannot be changed. But they could suppress its manifestation.

Elisabet’s soul flowed into the child’s body. The newborn drew the unmanageable shadow energy to herself. And it settled in the deepest, darkest part of the daughter’s soul.

Into a dark room with no windows.

* * * * *

Clouds briefly shielded the hot sunlight. As it momentarily darkened, the world that had been exposed under the scorching sun caught its breath.

Elisabet gazed absently at the obscured sun. Its edges glimmered, but not enough to hurt her eyes. ‘No matter how much you hide and conceal, what is hidden will eventually be revealed…’

“It’s strange. My time stopped when I was twenty. I haven’t changed a bit since that moment. Yet my daughter has grown older than me, and the world says I’m already dead. I just, from here…”

Elisabet placed her hand on her chest, as if covering her heart.

“I was just watching from here. But the world passed me by.”

The witch lightly slapped Kain’s hand. It was clearly playful. Kain looked at the witch, seemingly bewildered.

“…I was trying to feel alive, but you ruined it?”

“I was just…”

“Shut up. It’s too late now.”

Elisabet stuck out her tongue. Even the sensation of her tongue drying out felt strange. Yes, mouths could get dry too…

“…But this isn’t so bad either.”

“If there’s more you could do, would you?”

“What?”

Kain tore at his sleeve. Being a patched piece of cloth, it came off easily. Then he took off his shoe and threw it aside.

Kneeling, he put the shoe on Elisabet’s foot. When it wobbled loosely, he wrapped the torn sleeve around her ankle and the shoe to secure it.

“Let’s walk together.”

* * * * *

The area near the monastery’s main building was a wide, flat rock. Since the monks swept it with brooms morning and evening, there were no sharp stones to prick one’s feet. It was a bit hot from being sun-baked, but manageable even barefoot.

“Huk… hueek…”

Elisabet was the one struggling.

Standing and walking requires balance. It’s unnecessary when lying in bed, but essential when standing and walking. Having been confined to a room for over 20 years, she seemed to have completely forgotten the feeling.

“Wa-water… please…”

“If you drink now, you’ll choke. And we haven’t even gone halfway around yet.”

“I think I’ve twisted my ankle…”

“I wrapped it well, so that won’t happen.”

“My legs hurt.”

“Doesn’t it make you feel alive?”

“I’m dying, really! Where did you learn such manners!”

“Ah. There’s someone I respect, Mr. Verneith… He told me that when you face a problem with no answer, just walking aimlessly makes your heart lighter.”

Of course, Kain had never seen Director Verneith actually walking. He’d seen him drinking plenty while saying, ‘What’s the difference between walking, drinking, or your heart beating? They’re all the same.’

He never thought he’d miss that smug face. Kain shook his head.

“I carried you up here, but let’s walk down together.”

“You’re really going to die.”

“Can’t you just turn back time?”

“You’re doing this on purpose! Even God can’t do that! Memories can be reversed, but time…”

Elisabet’s face turned bright red. It was because Kain was looking at her with interested eyes.

“I see. So your plan to make it as if nothing happened was about erasing memories.”

“If you can’t remember it, it’s as good as never happening. Why? What are you looking at? I’m a witch. Is it strange for a witch to act like one?”

Kain extended one arm. The sulky Elisabet grabbed it. They walked leisurely, like gentlemen and ladies do. Having something to hold onto certainly made walking easier.

Sweat emerged, her breathing grew rough, and her throat burned. Her legs, lacking strength, kept wobbling. Yet the witch’s heart pounded vigorously.

“It’s like taking baby steps. What am I doing at twenty years old…”

A woman frozen at twenty. A woman who never had the chance to be a mother. A mother who became younger than her daughter, stumbling but walking. Smiling like a child who has realized she can go anywhere in the world on her own feet.

* * * * *

Only after completing a full circle did Kain offer her a gourd filled with water. Elisabet happily took it but gave him a sidelong glance.

“…This isn’t even a sip.”

“I’ll bring you more several times. If you gulp down too much at once, you’ll choke.”

Before he finished speaking, Elisabet had already downed the water. Since it was so little, she gulped it carefully to avoid spilling. Kain truly did bring her water several more times.

Eventually, even the witch admitted that if she had tried to drink a full gourd at once, she would have spilled half and coughed out the rest.

The sky remained high and the sun hot. Even standing still would make one sweat profusely. But the witch of the shadows felt cool. The overhanging tree was constantly fanning her with its leaves.

– My daughter. You’ve been through so much.

Hearing words carried on the breeze, the witch looked around. She couldn’t tell who had spoken. Instead, she saw the wind passing through the leaves like waves. The wind, carrying the scent of forest and grass, nestled snugly in the witch’s embrace.

After briefly tumbling inside her body, the wind leaped away like a cat. Not departing gracefully, but ruffling Kain’s sweat-dampened hair. Her gaze traced his thick, sweat-glistening arms, his tired but kind eyes, and the slender line of his face, dropping to just below his chin.

“Really… what am I doing…”

With a sigh, Elisabet cast away any lingering attachments. The pleasant fatigue was more comfortable than any bed.

An ordinary day. A day so ordinary it made her yawn was sweet and happy.

“Kain.”

“Yes.”

“When all the leather straps break, Maria will become an uncontrollable witch. A person filled with rage, blind to everything around her, you know?

Of course, I can handle her to some extent, but this child’s shadow is already too deep and dark. The power that has been suppressed and repressed for over twenty years will return to its owner. Perhaps her life might even be in danger.”

“Is that why she wore those straps tightly binding her body?”

The straps Maria wore under her clothes seemed excessive for either underwear or equipment harnesses.

“Only the leather straps with inscriptions have any real effect. The full-body binding is due to Maria’s own fear. She knows what will happen if the suppressed power explodes, so she unconsciously tries to bind it. So… please stop my daughter from cutting the remaining straps.”

Elisabet smiled warmly.

“The original plan was… for me to emerge for a while. By gradually extracting the suppressed shadow, we could avoid the worst-case scenario. But this body is Maria’s, not mine.”

Kain’s eyes wavered. Somehow, her words sounded like those of someone preparing for a long journey.

“…Are you leaving?”

“Yes. I’m going to look for Maria. It’s not our first meeting. Our first encounter was truly… terrible.” Elisabet shook her head. She seemed to be trying to shake off a bad memory.

“Anyway…”

“Elisabet?” Kain asked cautiously.

“Yes?”

“…Could you stay a little longer? Actually, I asked the Abbot yesterday to send people from the Magdeburg headquarters to take away the heretics imprisoned here. I think it would be best if you returned to Magdeburg with them. So until they arrive…”

“That’s a good idea,” Elisabet agreed.

“Magdeburg would be much safer than this journey. The problem is that stupid Heinrich can’t even guard his own daughter… but why are you asking me?”

“Because Maria would never accept it. I, and Liliana, like Maria. We haven’t been together long, but she feels like a one-of-a-kind friend.

But… I don’t want to ask my precious friend to travel a dangerous path while watching her fall apart. We can see each other again after this is all over.”

Elisabet tilted her head. She looked quite amused.

“So… you want me to stay until my daughter’s body is loaded onto the Magdeburg carriage? You want the mother to take care of her runaway daughter?”

“…It sounds a bit strange, but something like that.”

“What about you?”

“I’m going all the way,” Kain was resolute. “This was my task from the beginning. If I get hurt or broken, that’s my burden. I don’t know what’s waiting, but I… need to see this through to the end.”

“…Why? Because it’s something you have to do? Or because you were given a mission?”

“It’s not just because of that. It may sound silly, but I want to know the meaning.”

“Meaning?” Elisabet frowned. “What do you mean?”

“The meaning of everything I’ve done so far. The things I did supposedly for the Empire. I want to know what meaning they had for me, what meaning they had for the world. After this is over, I’ll quit my job at the Security Bureau. I’ll live as a nameless farmer. So… I want to finish this properly. Because I won’t have another chance.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Elisabet still looked perplexed. “Why look for meaning outside yourself?”

This time, Kain fell silent. Elisabet took another sip of water.

“The fact that you’re searching means you don’t know. But… well. The world isn’t that kind, is it? If it were kind enough to explain the meaning of everything to people, I don’t think I’d be living like this.”

“…”

“You really don’t know?”

“I don’t. I…” Kain even stammered. Elisabet pursed her lips with a “hmm.”

“I don’t understand either. In my twenty years of life, I received all kinds of teachings, but none of them taught that the world reveals meaning to people. It’s not like it’s buried on some high mountain that you have to dig up.”

“Ah. My meaning is a bit different from that. I want to find it myself. I’m not waiting for the world to teach me. It’s not like digging up something buried like the Holy Grail. Just. From the countless meanings within me, I want to draw out the one most valuable.”

“Well, I don’t know much about this, but,” the witch wiggled her finger, and a breeze with the scent of grass circled above them.

“How can you say you’ll search for something when you don’t even know what you’re looking for? What kind of sophistry is that? Even if it really is the meaning you’re searching for, how would you know if it’s meaning or not?”

“Because I think I’ll be able to accept it,” Kain sighed. “Everything I’ve experienced. Everything I have to experience. Everything I had to face.”

“You know what? I’m pretty extreme, but you seem more heretical than any heretic I’ve met. You’ve got quite the nerve, saying such things in front of a monastery.”

Of course, the witch was joking, and Kain laughed, shrugging his shoulders.

“I’m serious. No one talks like you. Trees just grow without asking questions. Animals eat without thinking. Because God told you to live that way. Have people changed since 20 years ago? Back then, people believed they had a calling.”

Kain knew about this too. The teaching that everyone has a mission from God. That was the calling. Therefore, a person’s life should be devoted to understanding God’s meaning.

“…Then perhaps God told me, ‘Find your own meaning.’ Since I can’t figure it out at all. If people truly have a calling, wouldn’t it be easier if God just said, ‘You do this’?”

Curiosity settled in the witch’s eyes. Like the eyes of a young snake that had crawled into a bird’s nest. What is this grass? What is that egg? Is it edible? Or…

Finally, the witch clapped her hands.

“Alright. I’ve changed my mind. Let’s go down.”

“…Go down?”

“You seem more interesting than I thought. I don’t know if all young people these days are like this, or if you’re just unique… but there was no one who talked like you 20 years ago. So, carry me on your back.”

“Let’s walk together.”

“Shut up,” the witch glared. “I need to save my strength for interrogating people in prison. So hurry up and carry me.”