Ch. 17 The Witch and The Prince (6)
by Afuhfuihgs
Chapter 17 – The Witch and The Prince (6)
As the days passed, Leo gradually adapted to his transformed body and life here.
After half a month, he stopped crushing crops, breaking brooms, or accidentally flinging axes while chopping firewood.
He was finally pulling his weight.
Though he grumbled about missing meat, he never left his meals unfinished.
Even if he tried, Josie’s relentless spoon wouldn’t allow any leftovers.
Watching them, it felt like seeing a mother dealing with a picky child, and it made Estelle laugh.
In front of her, Josie always seemed like a baby, so cute and innocent… but now she was mature enough to take care of someone else.
Children really do grow up fast.
In her past life and now, she had always wanted to grow up quickly.
But she wished Josie could stay a child forever.
Even for a witch, that was too much to ask.
“I’ve cleaned up around the house, so we won’t need a deep clean for a while.”
“Why do we have to do a deep clean while I’m here…?”
“If you keep complaining, next time you’ll have to lick the bathroom clean.”
“Ugh… isn’t this enough for today?”
Listening to their conversations during meals, they seemed like real siblings.
Josie must have her reasons.
Whenever Leo complained about the food or tried to slack off, Estelle wanted to step in and handle it her way.
But since she had decided to respect Josie’s wishes, she had to trust her and wait.
“Mom, I’m going to visit that place with Leo today.”
“Are you sure?”
The only place that came to mind was the graves of the three women buried nearby.
Estelle had told Josie about the location, but she had never visited, so she must have been preparing herself for this moment.
Now it seemed she had made up her mind.
“Yes, I’ll be fine.”
“Be careful.”
Not that there was much to be careful about within the barriers.
As a gesture of encouragement, Estelle hugged Josie and patted her head.
As they walked to the graves, Josie was acutely aware of Leo following behind.
‘You can rest after the morning work.’
She had told him he could rest after finishing the morning chores, and Leo had been excited about it until the deep cleaning was done.
Even though Leo was older than her, he often acted like a child, making her feel like she had a younger brother.
His complaints about the food… and how he brightened up when praised for his work….
The princes in fairy tales were so dashing.
She was too old to believe in fairy tales, but meeting a real prince made her realize how different reality was.
Still, she believed Leo had his own strengths.
He couldn’t use magic, and it took a lot of effort, but he managed to do unfamiliar tasks well.
Because of that, she couldn’t bring herself to believe Leo had harmed her parents.
The thought of Leo, who couldn’t even handle a broom properly, hurting someone was hard to imagine.
“We’re here.”
The small graves near the edge of the wards greeted them, the flowers swaying in the breeze as if welcoming visitors.
“Who are they…?”
“They were the ones captured by the orcs.”
But I couldn’t save them…
Swallowing her words, Josie approached the graves.
Estelle had always comforted her, saying she didn’t need to grieve or feel guilty over their deaths, but it was easier said than done.
If only she had done better.
Thinking about the past that could’ve been would only leave lingering regrets, so she shook off her thoughts.
She hadn’t come here to dwell on the past.
She patted her cheeks twice to focus.
“Could you say a prayer for them?”
“I think Leo would be better at it than me.”
Leo would know the prayers for the dead. It seemed better for him to do it than for her, who knew nothing. She thought even God wouldn’t ignore a prince’s prayer.
“…I’ll pray.”
He closed his eyes and clasped his hands.
‘Please forgive me for not saving them.
If there’s a next life, may they be happy.’
“Do you think God heard Leo’s prayer?”
On the way back, Josie, feeling lighter, casually asked Leo.
Leo couldn’t understand Josie.
A witch’s daughter asking for prayers to God.
When she asked him to pray, he seriously wondered if she was mocking him.
Leo didn’t know who the graves belonged to or what they had done, nor did he care.
He had gone after the orcs to save them, but only for the sake of joining the Heresy Inquisitors, nothing more.
“God doesn’t ignore sincere prayers.”
Leo’s answer was hollow, the kind of thing you’d hear in a sermon. His prayer had been neither sincere nor earnest.
Come to think of it, Leo’s life had never gone well no matter how much he prayed.
In fact, the more he prayed, the more hardships blocked his path.
Ever since he was away from the kingdom, he had stopped praying altogether.
If Josie hadn’t saved him, he’d be standing before God, facing judgment.
“Josie.”
Josie, walking ahead, stopped and turned around.
“Josie, why did you save me?”
He had wanted to ask this for a while.
There must have been a reason—money or something. There had to be.
Otherwise, his situation was way too pathetic.
If she was the witch’s child, she must have had an ulterior motive.
“I just wanted to save you… Is that not enough of a reason?”
Josie, about to give a vague answer, reconsidered at Leo’s serious expression. If not now, they might never understand each other.
“When I first saw you, it made me remember myself as a child. I told you, didn’t I?”
She recalled how the witch had saved her after her parents died.
“Actually, our village would have died without the witch’s help. After she came, our poor, barren land started yielding bountiful harvests every year. My parents even revered the witch more than God.”
The village thrived, and everyone lived happily without fear of starvation.
Josie soothed her aching heart as she reminisced.
The small village grew bustling, even welcoming large caravans. Though she couldn’t remember the details from her childhood, the happiness of those moments remained in her heart.
“A witch wouldn’t do such things for free. She must have wanted sacrifices or curses…”
“Curses? No, she just wanted herbs or unfamiliar plants. Oh, and she told us never to tell strangers about her. So when strangers came, the children had to play inside. But otherwise, it was good.”
The witch had saved a lost child in the forest and healed the sick in the village.
The village children even said they wanted to become witches when they grew up.
Leo thought Josie was making up stories to deceive him. A witch helping people?
Josie continued.
“……Come to think of it, it was after Tony and Rebecca died.”
Rebecca?
Hearing that name, Leo felt uneasy.
Rebecca was a common name, but a cold shiver ran down his spine.
“I survived that day thanks to my late mother, but… I found out too late that the Heresy Inquisitors had come to the village.”
“I hid in the storage shed and heard the villagers’ screams. It was terrifying. I almost fainted.”
The screams and cries were too much for young Josie to bear.
When she came to her senses, the village was in ashes.
“All the women, regardless of age, drowned in the lake… and the men were impaled on giant spikes and burned, My parents suffered the same fate…”
“The Heresy Inquisitors of the Holy Kingdom wouldn’t kill innocent people…!”
Leo didn’t want to believe it.
The Heresy Inquisitors always judged evil, and Lady Lucia’s sword only sought the hearts of witches.
He remembered Lady Lucia kneeling before him as a child, swearing to eradicate evil.
“You’re a prince of the Holy Kingdom, right? But… this is the truth. We weren’t cursed, and we didn’t harm anyone. We were just… people who survived due to the witch’s help.”
“…….”
“I saved you… because I saw myself in you, waiting to die at my parents’ graves, crying. The hand I held back then… it was still warm.”
Leo’s head spun.
He felt nauseous, as if he would go mad if he didn’t vomit soon.
He wanted to run away from this place.
“Haah. Haah…”
Josie wasn’t about to let him go.
Step by step. Slowly.
Like a snake tightening around its prey, she closed in on Leo.
Josie, holding back tears, stood before Leo. For the sake of her mother, who had trusted and waited patiently for her… she couldn’t keep avoiding this.
“Leo… you weren’t involved with the Heresy Inquisitors back then, right? You didn’t kill my parents, did you?”
As a child, Leo had stubbornly demanded a gift from a caravan leader visiting the Holy Kingdom.
He had snatched a crumpled letter in the leader’s pocket, devoid of royal manners.
‘Prince, that letter has no owner!’
‘Then I’ll find its owner!’
The letter’s contents were clear… it pleaded for help, claiming a witch had deceived the villagers and eaten a child.
Tear stains smudged parts of the letter.
And the name Rebecca written at the end.
‘Lady Lucia! Lady Lucia!!’
The one who had delivered the letter to Lady Lucia upon his return was none other than… Leo.
“That was…”
His mind was a mess.
If he killed Josie now… he could free himself from these feelings.
Even if the Heresy Inquisitors had killed innocent people, if Josie just disappeared…
He wasn’t in his right mind.
“Leo…?”
As his trembling hand reached for Josie’s throat—
A crimson magic circle glowed near Leo’s heart.
Announcement
A big thank you goes to James Baily for the very generous donation!!!
As a thank-you gift, I may or may not increase my upload schedule from 1–2 chapters per day to 2-3 chapters per day~ I could increase the amount of releases in the future, but that’s all I could manage for now…~ Anyway, make sure to thank them for that!
P.S. There was neither mind control nor soul transference involved. I’m totally doing this out of my own free will~
Lucent
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