Chapter 7: The Witch

Time flew by quickly.

Before I knew it, the Countess’s tea party was just around the corner.

I had worried for a month that Judel or someone from the Count’s family might show up, but contrary to my anxious expectations, no one came.

The medicine must have been better than expected, as my wounds healed considerably, enough that they no longer hindered my daily life.
It was a shame that scars remained, though…

And the biggest change would be…

“Young Miss… can’t I just sleep in my own room…?”

“No.”

“Young Miss…”

Perhaps it was that Judith and I now slept together.
Ever since that incident, she clung to me more and more, and now she’d be upset all day if we didn’t sleep together.

It was a relief to finally see Judith’s childlike side… but honestly, it was quite burdensome.
Since it was just the two of us in the annex, she would trot along behind me, watching or helping with whatever I did.

Judith widened her crimson eyes, staring only at me.

‘Alright… I give up, I give up…’

I pulled the blanket up to Judith’s shoulders and lay down myself, closing my eyes.
Honestly, what could I do?
She was a child who had likely never received proper affection, and I was the first person to show her any…

Was I going to be tangled up with her forever at this rate…?

Letting out a small sigh, I thought about what was to come.

For now, the most important thing was the Countess’s tea party tomorrow.

Since the annex didn’t seem safe either, the decision I made was this:

To run away.

I decided we would leave the Count’s estate early tomorrow morning and go for a picnic at the lake beyond the back mountain.

This was the only idea I could come up with to eliminate any variables that might arise within the estate.
The head maid vehemently opposed it, saying absolutely not, but when I declared I would take full responsibility for everything and bowed my head to plead, she relented, saying she knew nothing about it and told me to do as I pleased.

It was something I decided on thinking that since no one visited the annex anyway, skipping a day wouldn’t cause any major problems… but honestly, I was scared.
The Count had essentially imprisoned Judith in the annex.

I turned my head to look at the sleeping Judith.
She seemed deeply asleep, breathing softly and evenly.
I pulled her blanket up a little higher.
The nights were getting chilly now.

‘Right… it’ll work out somehow.’

I needed to get some sleep soon too if I wanted to wake up at dawn to prepare sandwiches.
I had saved up as many ingredients as possible for this day, collecting plenty of ham, so I should be able to make delicious sandwiches.

A smile spread across my face as I pictured Judith’s expression, her cheeks full of sandwich, savoring the taste.

---

Since we left at the crack of dawn, it was morning by the time we arrived at the lake.

Breathing in the pleasant scent of the forest, I walked across the dewy grass.
Looking up at the sky, a few wisps of white cloud drifted by, and the breeze blowing from the lake tickled the nape of my neck pleasantly.

Insects chirped loudly as if announcing the arrival of people by the lakeside, and birds busily flitted between branches, singing their songs.

Finding a suitable spot, I spread out the picnic mat and sat down.
A gentle breeze from the lake ruffled Judith’s and my hair.

Judith simply gazed silently at the lake, quietly etching the scenery into her memory.

She was a mature child for her age.
I thought perhaps she was being mindful of me, even though she could run around and play if she wanted, or go exploring if she wished.

“Young Miss, you can go look around if you like. Just don’t go too far, and don’t get too close to the lake.”

“…Alright, I’ll be back.”

Judith, who seemed to be pondering something, slowly walked away to explore the lake.
Left alone for the first time in a while, I too gazed at the lakeside.

I watched the modest summer flowers blooming by the water’s edge, swaying their heads gently in the breeze.

‘How long has it been since I was alone like this…?’

Since coming to the annex, having such leisurely time alone had become incredibly difficult.
I could see Judith in the distance, slowly walking and observing the lakeside.

A smile formed on my lips as I watched Judith, who had picked up a twig somewhere along the way, wandering around the lake, waving the stick.

‘I’m glad we came out.’

For now, I forgot about Judel, the Countess, everything, and just looked at the lake.
The sky-blue lake, like blue glass, reflected the light, making my eyes dazzle, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the freedom I felt after so long.

“It’s the same color as Chloe.”

“Pardon?”

Judith had approached without me noticing and sat down on the mat, leaning against my shoulder.

“The sky blue. It looks just like Chloe’s eyes.”

“Does it?”

‘Young Miss… that’s the kind of line a man uses to flirt with a woman.’

Judith just smiled brightly at me and said no more.

Brushing aside Judith’s hair that had been ruffled by the lake breeze, I spent an incredibly happy time here.

It truly was an incredibly happy time.

Until then.

Behind us, the chirping of birds stopped.

Even I could sense the instantaneous shift in the lakeside atmosphere to something ominous.

Not even insects chirped; only the rustling sound of grass hitting the wind could be heard, creating a desolate mood.

-Rustle

The sound of footsteps treading on grass came from somewhere.
The cloying scent of sweetly rotting fruit assaulted my nose.
A sickeningly sweet smell enveloped the lakeside.

“Young Miss…?”

“Quickly!!”

Sensing the strange atmosphere, Judith shot up, grabbed my hand, and tried to run, but…

In the direction we intended to flee, a human figure appeared through the bushes.

An old woman stood there.

An old, sickly-looking woman stood there.

With every step she took, the undergrowth screamed and rotted away.

Nearby trees crumbled, dying instantly, mocking their countless years of existence.

It was as if winter had descended only upon the path she walked.

Life could not exist around her.

“….Red….”

She was saying something.

But her voice was so cracked and broken that I couldn’t hear it properly.

For some reason, hearing her voice felt like the unpleasant screech of glass being scratched.

Slowly.

Slowly, the distance closed.

My body froze at the utterly unreal scene, unable to think straight.

Her eyes were rolled back, showing only the whites, like a madwoman’s.
There was no sign of intelligence in her approaching figure.

She looked like a zombie shambling towards the living, and with every footstep, the grass rotted, and insects and small animals that couldn’t escape spat blood and collapsed.

“Young Miss!!”

Seeing the animals die finally snapped me out of the unreal stupor, and I lifted Judith into my arms and started running towards the opposite side of the forest.

‘What is this? What? What is that?! What in the world is that?!’

Nothing like this existed in the original story.
There were tales of monsters and other races, but Part 1 was solely about Judith and the people around her.

Something like… that strange thing never appeared in the original.

“Huff! Huff!!”

“Chloe!”

Ignoring Judith’s call, I ran until my breath caught in my throat.

I desperately wanted to stop and catch my breath, but I couldn’t.
I could constantly feel the pressure of her chasing behind us.

I ran with the sole thought of survival.

But my stamina gave out in an instant.
This frail body lacked the endurance to run while carrying Judith.

How far had I run through the forest?
Unable to run anymore, I leaned against a rock to catch my breath, but she gave me no respite, drawing closer.

Her bare soles were stained with blood from running so frantically.
The scent of rotten fruit emanating from her grew stronger, making my head spin.

One step.

One step closer.

Soon, nothing but the sweet, cloying scent of decay filled my senses.

It didn’t feel real.
The world around her seemed monochromatic grey, making her an utterly alien presence.

I had to think, figure out what I could do.

Throw Judith aside and die alone.

Hold Judith close and die together.

Options not even worth considering.

Just as I squeezed my eyes shut, about to push Judith away from my embrace…

A spear of light descended from the sky.

-KRAAANG!!!

With a deafening roar, it pierced through the body of the woman approaching us, pinning her to the ground.

As if feeling no pain, she struggled against the spear stuck in her, trying to reach us, but the spear impaling her abdomen wouldn’t allow it.

Chains seemed attached to the spear, and figures holding onto those chains walked towards us.

A group dressed in white light armor approached slowly.

The man in the center raised his hand once more.

Another spear of light rained down from the sky, impaling her head.

-KRAAANG!!!

Unable even to scream, black blood flowed from the eyes of the woman whose head was pierced.
I held Judith tighter in my arms, shielding her from the sight.

Confirming she wasn’t moving, the man with grayish-blue hair slowly approached us.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes…”

“Unlucky, weren’t you. To think you’d run into the witch we were hunting.”

“A wi…tch…?”

“You don’t know about witches?”

I knew about the existence of witches.
Judith’s ending in the original story.
Her transformation at the end of the world, cursing everything.

But that appearance…

Was that Judith’s final form?

The grayish-blue-haired man tilted his head and began asking about me.

“Judging by your attire, you seem to be a lady’s maid or servant. Where are you from?”

“…I am a maid working for the Sergia Count family. This is the young lady I serve.”

Judith, startled by the situation, hugged me tightly and showed no reaction.
She just buried her face in my chest and didn’t move.

The grayish-blue-haired man let out a small sigh, approached me, and offered his hand.

“I see… Now, allow me to introduce myself.”

He exuded an aura like winter itself.
Grayish-blue hair and sky-blue eyes, just like mine.
His tone felt as if a winter wind blew with his words.

“Demian Edmund. Just a mere nobleman.”

“Edmund…?”

It wasn’t me who reacted to the name, but Judith.
Judith turned her head from my embrace and looked into Demian’s eyes.
Then, as if surprised, her eyes widened, and she quickly hid her face back in my chest.

“The young lady is quite knowledgeable. You know my family name?”

Demian smirked, took my outstretched hand, and helped me up.
Demian… Edmund…? I, too, felt like I had heard that name somewhere before.
It seemed like a name mentioned briefly in the original story.

“We were heading to the capital when we heard a witch appeared nearby, so we came to subjugate it.”

“I see…”

“The young lady seems quite shaken. You should return quickly.”

Demian turned his back to us, walked towards the witch to retrieve the corpse, and vanished in an instant.

I could only stare blankly at the spot where Demian had disappeared without receiving any words of thanks, unable to do anything.
As always, I felt utterly powerless in this world.

Judith seemed truly traumatized, showing no intention of lifting her head from my embrace.

What on earth was that?
Was it my fault for suggesting we come out?

It was still too early to go back, but carrying Judith, who refused to move from my arms, on my back, I headed towards the Count’s estate.

I never imagined a witch would be such a creature.

Because the story only mentioned she became a witch in the end, not what that witch was like.

The witch I saw in person was simply wretched.

Killing everything that came near, no one could approach her.

Not even small animals, not even tiny insects, could get close to her.

For some reason, seeing that appearance, I felt pity for her.

Was it because I knew the Judith from the original story?

The way she writhed upon spotting people and ran towards them.

It felt like she was struggling desperately with loneliness.

The Judith from the original story too…

Became a witch because she struggled with loneliness.