Ch. 96 The Witch and the Black Knight (7)
by Afuhfuihgs
Witch – Chapter 96 – The Witch and the Black Knight (7)
Cooking had become as essential as magic since I arrived in Aria Chronicle.
Given its Japanese origins, the game featured many dishes unfamiliar in the west, making adaptation tricky at first.
How many people had I cooked for so far? Dorothy, Josie, Leo… and Stella, if you counted the baby food I’d recently prepared.
Four people.
Not many, considering over 120 years had passed.
Leo was a special case—not family. If he ever called me “mother-in-law” instead of “Lady Estelle”, it’d be creepy… but that would mean I’d only cooked for family otherwise.
Today, though, there was him.
Watching the Black Knight shovel food into his mouth without a care made my eyebrow twitch.
Manners? Etiquette? Of course a battle-obsessed fool like him wouldn’t know—but this was extreme.
He tipped plates straight into his gullet, splattered food across his armor, and chewed like a wild beast.
I’d laid out a generous spread, but my portion had vanished into his stomach before I could blink.
The beautifully garnished dishes now lay in ruins. At this point, I might as well have just served plain boiled potatoes.
Was there a starving ghost inside him?
The sight was so grotesque I lost my appetite entirely.
By the time I picked up my spoon, there was nothing left to eat.
“Why aren’t you eating? Hunger is the fastest path to defeat.”
The Black Knight licked his lips, his helmet slightly ajar.
You ask now, after inhaling everything?!
His unkempt beard, probably untouched for ages, had salad clinging to it, as if begging for mercy.
Just looking at him killed any desire to eat.
“Whose fault is that? You ate my share too.”
My favorite salad lay massacred across the table, its remnants silently pleading for death.
“Food belongs to no one until it’s in your mouth. In the demon realm, most deaths are over food. Strong or weak, it doesn’t matter—first come, first served.”
“Do you steal the Demon King’s food too?!”
I trembled with rage.
“How did you know? When I first became a Heavenly King, I dined with him… It wasn’t much different from today. After that, he never ate with me again. Said he’d lost his appetite.”
“You… You’re insane! You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?!”
How had the Demon King ever made him a Heavenly King?
Now I understood why the Demon King “lost his appetite.” I felt it in my bones.
This couldn’t continue.
With a month ahead of us, I couldn’t tolerate this daily.
I could remake my food, but the stains on the table and floor? Unforgivable.
Worst of all, if the Black Knight acted like this in front of another woman, my pride as the Witch of Love would shatter.
No one would find that behavior attractive.
He’s just a seven-year-old in a giant’s body. With the right approach—appealing to his desire to grow stronger—this was fixable.
First, shave that beard. Before pure love, he needed to learn the basics.
“Burp… Got any meat left?”
His rancid breath hit me like a spell.
You ate everything, and now you’re complaining about side dishes?!
Fine. Another thing to correct.
Splat.
Something landed on my chest.
A mashed potato fragment.
I’d never mashed potatoes before—wait, no. His teeth had done the mashing.
Had food just flown out of his mouth from a burp? Really? Really?!
“……”
The fury rose swiftly. My chair toppled as I stood, though I’d tried to be careful.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Three steps. That was all it took to reach him.
“Strong one, what are you—?!”
Mana surged through my crimson grip as I seized his helmet and lifted him bodily. His pained cry meant nothing—I tightened my hold, grinning.
His flailing was almost comical.
“Before pure love, you need to learn basic decency. Manners included.”
I’d underestimated the task.
Pure love required more than just affection—and the Black Knight was worse than I’d thought.
If I didn’t instill some sense in this strength-obsessed fool, our deal was void.
“Decency?! What’s th—Ghk!”
“You want to grow stronger, right? This is essential. Don’t resist.”
This felt like a detour from pure love, but sometimes, the long way was necessary.
Without basic social skills, I’d bury him underground and forget our deal.
This is for Josie.
At the mention of strength, he went limp, letting me drag him like a misbehaving child.
For a moment, I almost pitied him—like a parent hauling a troublemaking kid home by the ear.
But my grip didn’t loosen.
Our destination?
“First, a bath.”
The bathroom.
The stench from his helmet opening was unbearable.
Food scraps clung to his armor. His beard was a biohazard. I couldn’t face him sober.
“You know what bathing is, right?”
“I’m not… that clueless.”
“Good. Strip that armor and scrub everywhere. If you stink afterward, you’re done for. Wash the armor too. Shave that beard. Trim your nails.”
I wasn’t his mother, yet the scolding poured out. He blinked dumbly, then nodded.
Josie had been so mature—never needing lectures. Compared to her at seven, the Black Knight was pathetic.
“Answer me.”
“…Understood.”
His reluctant reply finally let me exhale.
I turned to leave, but a thought struck:
What if he walks out dripping wet? Or worse—naked?
‘Facing you makes me—’
No. Don’t imagine it.
My face burned at the mental image.
I glanced back—he hadn’t removed his armor yet. Relief.
“Do you have clothes besides that armor? If you come out naked, I’ll cut you to pieces.”
“Only the armor…”
“I’ll leave spares outside. Wear them. Or else…”
I recalled Sion teaching Aria the basics—washing, sleeping, sharing, making friends.
Strangely, I was following his path.
But Aria was beautiful—Sion had fallen at first sight. The Black Knight? More likely to make people lose their sight.
Operation: Learn Pure Love Through Fairy Tales was on hold.
First, we’d build basic decency. That was the true shortcut.
How had teaching pure love become parenting? And for a grown man, no less.
Hoping Leo had spare clothes, I headed to his room.
Lucent
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