Witch – Chapter 57- The Two Witches (37)

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[It’s not too late yet. Let me take over.]

[If this continues, both you and I will be consumed by the curse.]

[I’ll resolve the unfinished business and the curse for you.]

Eyes as beautiful as gemstones, shining brightly, stared at Beryl.

That couldn’t be.

She had stitched and sealed those eyes shut so they could never see the light again.

Beryl touched her eye area with trembling hands.

There was nothing left where her eyes should have been.

The hollowed-out sockets began to bleed, and the blood tears started to consume her body.

‘My body… won’t move….’

She had to escape from those eyes.

The precious feelings she couldn’t surrender to the curse or even to herself belonged to her alone.

The eyes reached out from the darkness, grabbing her face with both hands to prevent her from escaping.

‘No…!’

[Remember this. Estelle is buying time, but even that is ridiculously insufficient.]

“No…!!!!”

Beryl’s scream echoed through the room.

It was… a dream, right?

As Beryl woke up, the first thing she did was check her eye area.

Feeling her two eyes beneath the blindfold, she let out a sigh of relief.

The eyes she had seen in her dream lingered in her memory, tormenting her mind.

She knew what the voice meant—that she didn’t have much time left. She tried not to think about it, tried to forget, but the whispers of the curse still echoed in her head, giving her a headache.

Even with the magic circles, blindfold, and potions Estelle had prepared, all they could do was buy time.

The voice was right—if she opened her eyes, she could suppress the curse… but doing so would mean either parting ways with Nicks forever or winning his love in a way she didn’t want.

She couldn’t let that happen.

The five days Estelle had brought into her life felt more precious than her 500 years of existence. She didn’t want to give up these feelings to anyone.

Not even to herself.

Compared to her other self, the current Beryl was pitifully inadequate.

She admitted it.

She hated meeting people, her shop had been failing for over 50 years, and without her friend’s help, she couldn’t even manage her love life properly… But all Beryl had left were these unspoken feelings.

How much longer could she stay sane?

Three days? Or just today?

Maybe she only had a few hours left….

One thing was certain—Beryl didn’t have much time.

“Ugh… Beryl?”

“Estelle, you can sleep more. I’m fine now.”

“No, Beryl…”

Estelle, who had been dozing off while leaning against the bed, groaned and tried to get up, but Beryl cast a sleep spell to put her back to sleep.

‘I’m sorry, Estelle. I know you’d stop me if you were awake. At least let me finish this on my own.’

This might be her last chance as herself.

If her other self took over, she would never relinquish control again to suppress the curse.

Even if she did, it might be hundreds of years later… or never.

Beryl hurriedly prepared to go out.

She washed up quickly and changed into the clothes Estelle had prepared for her.

She didn’t forget to put the tarnished silver coin, filled with memories of Nicks, into her pocket.

As she checked to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything, a small stone decorated in the corner of the room caught her attention.

‘Ah, and this is a gift for you, Shopkeeper. It’s a gem I found while exploring a dungeon. It shines beautifully in purple.’

It was a stone Nicks had given her as a gift when he became a Stella-ranked adventurer.

Back then, it was just a stone, but now it glowed with a vivid purple light, strong enough to be sensed.

Nicks had been telling the truth.

She placed the now-gemstone in her pocket.

With the silver coin and the gemstone, Beryl felt Nicks’ warmth. As long as she had these, she could endure the whispers of the curse.

“Estelle, I’ll be back. Thank you for everything.”

“…….”

Estelle, deep in sleep, didn’t move. Beryl kissed her forehead briefly and left the room.

[G̴̨̛̫̣̈̎̃̃̌̅̀Ỏ̵̡̠̪͓͛͡ back. G̴̨̛̫̣̈̎̃̃̌̅̀Ỏ̵̡̠̪͓͛͡ back. G̴̨̛̫̣̈̎̃̃̌̅̀Ỏ̵̡̠̪͓͛͡ back.]

“Ugh…!”

Just stepping outside, the noise ringing in her head made her feel like vomiting, but she held it in.

Beryl clutched the silver coin in her pocket and took slow, deliberate steps forward.

Her vision narrowed as her senses were interfered with, but she couldn’t stop.

Instinctively, she realized she had less time than she thought.

‘I know I’m being reckless. I know the best thing would be to go back to the room and rest… but if I don’t do this now, I might never get the chance.’

Estelle had told her to trust her feelings and follow them.

Even though she was ignoring Estelle’s efforts, she hoped she’d forgive her.

If Estelle were in this situation, wouldn’t she make the same reckless choice? After all… they were friends. It felt like she would.

Come to think of it, she didn’t know where Nicks lived.

She had heard he moved after becoming a Gold-ranked adventurer, but he hadn’t told her the exact location.

Back then, she had no intention of going out except for walks, and she hadn’t asked because she never thought she’d need to visit his house.

Now that she wanted to find Nicks, she felt lost.

‘Maybe I can find Nicks at the adventurer’s guild.’

The world Beryl could perceive was shrinking, but she couldn’t stop.

She felt that even if her senses disappeared, she could still find Nicks.

As Beryl’s heart filled with determination, the gemstone in her pocket began to glow ominously.

‘Where am I?’

Unlike Beryl’s thoughts, the world was cruel… Having relied on her senses for so long while living with her eyes closed, Beryl was now plunged into darkness, unable to see even an inch ahead.

Perhaps because the festival had started, the streets of Venetia were crowded, and Beryl felt like she was being swept into a deep swamp.

How much time had passed?

Her mind was foggy.

She couldn’t tell who was in front of her or where she was. Even though she had lived in this city for over 50 years, everything felt unfamiliar.

Though it had been 50 years, she had rarely gone out, spending most of her time holed up in her shop.

Even though she had gone on walks with Nicks recently, they always followed the same route….

‘If I had known this would happen, I would’ve gone out more often.’

Even though she knew regret was useless, she couldn’t help it.

The interference with her senses must be due to the curse.

She could have used detection magic, but for some reason, her senses, magic… everything seemed to ignore her wishes and refused to respond.

“Eek!? D-don’t touch me!”

Someone had just groped Beryl’s chest.

It wasn’t an accidental brush or bump—it was a deliberate, lustful touch.

Beryl hugged her chest and collapsed on the spot.

The sound of snickering laughter and the murmurs of the crowd around her left her feeling devastated.

What was happening now?

She couldn’t move anymore.

At this moment, Beryl wasn’t a witch—she was just a helpless woman.

She wanted to escape from here.

“Nicks… help me, ahhh!?”

She took the silver coin from her pocket, hoping Nicks would appear, but someone pushed her, causing her to drop the coin.

No. Where did it go?

The silver coin, more precious than her life, had fallen to the ground.

Her heart sank.

Beryl frantically felt around the ground with trembling hands, searching for the coin.

“Please help me. That coin is more precious to me than my life. Ah, where is it… ugh…!”

Someone stepped on her hand as they passed by, sending a wave of pain through her, but she didn’t stop.

Ignoring the pain, she desperately searched the ground for the coin.

No. No. No.

Without the coin… she didn’t think she could hold on.

She had only endured this long because of the coin and the gemstone.

If she lost even one of them….

She should have convinced Estelle to come with her.

Beryl felt gloomy, realizing that all she had done since coming outside was regret.

Her awakened self would probably laugh at her.

Should she take off the blindfold and relinquish control now?

“The coin is here.”

Just as Beryl was shrinking into herself, debating whether to remove the blindfold,

a girl with a voice as refreshing as a butterfly spoke to her.

“Thank you. This coin is as precious as my life… no, even more precious.”

With the girl’s help, Beryl escaped the crowd and expressed her gratitude.

Sitting on a bench in the central square by the fountain, Beryl caught her breath and clutched the coin tightly in both hands, determined not to lose it again.

“I’m glad. I’m Josie. You’re Beryl… right?”

The girl, who introduced herself as Josie, called Beryl by her name.

Josie was the party member who traveled with Nicks and Estelle’s daughter.

Beryl felt ashamed for having once been jealous of such a kind girl.