Episode 108. Witch (4)

To affirm the words I threw out expecting a denial. There are so many surprising things happening today. Feeling a strange premonition, I quickly detached the locket from my body. Masturbating at my birth mother’s grave is a bit…

“No, I’m not directly telling you to do that. I mean…”

Winnie hands the locket back to me.

“The faint aura of the witch remaining here is too weak to brainwash an ordinary person. Instead, it has the effect of making you think of the person whose magic is imbued in it.”

“…Isn’t that just because it’s a picture?”

I mean, if you carry a locket with someone’s picture, you can’t help but think of that person. But Winnie confidently said with a sure face.

“No, that’s the key. The core of a witch’s magic is to give an influence that makes you think like that. It would be troublesome if they found out you were a witch, right?”

That strangely makes sense…? Is it rather inducing you to think like I do?

“And you said your mother was a maid who took care of Count Mountberne when he was young, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then there’s probably a separate reason for Count Mountberne as well. This locket alone is too weak, so his feelings for her are amplified, or something like that… You said there was no one who strangely disliked her.”

“So that’s also?”

All because my mother, Diana, was a witch?

“Overall, she seems to have had an ‘allure’ type of ability. It had a stronger influence on the people of the Mountberne Family, and especially on the Count she took care of.”

How strongly do you have to be allured to go to the grave and do such a thing…? Besides, why bother doing that…? Seeing my face full of questions, Winnie continued to explain.

“It probably wasn’t intentional. There are many clumsy parts to say she cast a direct spell, and a normal village girl would have had almost no opportunity to learn…? If she had learned magic, she wouldn’t have bothered doing hard work like being a maid.”

Is that so? Well, it seems difficult to think of her as having learned magic like Winnie. Just looking at the bookshelf in this room, there are so many books… Even if she saved money her whole life, a mere maid wouldn’t be able to buy those books.

“So, even if she just stays still, her abilities affect those around her?”

“Huh? Maybe she did? If she could do this unconsciously, she would have been incredibly talented…”

To find out this much just from this one locket. But there was still one thing that wasn’t explained.

“But that doesn’t make sense.”

“Huh?”

“You said witches only give birth to daughters. I’m a son?”

Was I a woman I didn’t even know about? But I can confidently say that I have everything a man should have, and I’m the furthest thing from feminine. Winnie smiled as if she had forgotten.

“No, no. It’s only our family that never gives birth to sons. Although the probability is low, ordinary witches sometimes have sons. Then, like you…”

Winnie stroked my arm. There’s almost as much difference as between an adult and a child.

“You’ll have an incredibly outstanding talent in one field. Like being incredibly smart, or having incredibly outstanding physical abilities like Edward…”

“…Are you saying I’m not smart?”

“W-Well, isn’t it not wrong? Even just me in front of you is smarter than you…?”

Keung, it was hard to argue. Because even I think so. Instead, I tickled her side as revenge.

“Ha, Heu-hit! Stop it! Heu… Hoo…”

Heum heum. Anyway, the son of a witch has outstanding talent, is that it?

“…It would be nice if it was a son.”

“I’m telling you, I can only give birth to daughters.”

Tch. I was wondering what it would be like to have a son who resembled me and had outstanding talent. I feel a little disappointed. But those feelings were immediately overturned after hearing Winnie’s next words.

“And if a witch gives birth to a son, she loses her life.”

“…Huh?”

“There’s a reason why we only give birth to daughters in our family… Kkyat?”

I hugged Winnie tightly.

“I don’t need a son like that.”

“You don’t have to worry… Really.”

I didn’t even want to imagine Winnie losing her life. Even though I was born that way… It’s not a pleasant thing.

“I won’t be like your mother, so don’t worry…”

Winnie said as if comforting me. Yeah, what’s the point of worrying about something that has no chance of happening? It’s just a waste of emotions. Wait, but… Did Winnie just…?

“…Mother?”

“Ah, no…”

Winnie’s face turned red. Mother… It’s not a bad sound.

“W-Well, I’m pregnant. I’m pregnant with your child, so I can’t just call her carelessly, right? So, I called her mother… Are you upset?”

Am I upset? Not at all. But there was something a little annoying. Winnie, who always calls me stiffly by my name and doesn’t say a single word of love or affection. She calls Diana, whom she’s never even met, mother.

“Winnie.”

“Eung?”

“If our mom is mother, what am I?”

Winnie tightly closes her mouth. Really, what is it that makes her so embarrassed about this?

“What am I, I’m asking?”

“I, I don’t know.”

“You said you’re smarter than me. With that good head of yours, don’t you know what even I know?”

“If you know, why are you asking!”

I kept pressing Winnie, but there were so many right answers, and she couldn’t answer even one of them. Really… When I pushed her a little more, she completely escaped from my arms and ran away.

“L-Let’s talk about something else. Are you hungry?”

“Not really.”

Actually, I was a little hungry. Maybe it’s because I have a body that digests well even if I just stay still, but I get hungry quickly. But if it’s to tease Winnie, I can endure that much.

“Then, uh… S-Shall I show you something like this?”

Winnie took out various things from the drawer and held them out in front of me. There were many things I had never seen before, but I wasn’t that interested. I wish she would answer me quickly… Huh?

“What’s that?”

“Huh? This?”

Why did I forget about that until now? I saw Winnie wearing it on the day I first saw her. The shape is a little different from what I remember, but it’s definitely the same material. It was that red stone that I saw last before I died.

“T-This is expensive…”

“What is it?”

“Why are you like this…”

Ah, my emotions became intense because I remembered that time. It’s not Winnie’s fault. I calmed my mind once and said again.

“I think I’ve seen it somewhere, so I’m curious.”

“…Eung…”

Winnie took out the red stone. It had a hole drilled through it and was tied to a thread. It wasn’t sharply sharpened or made to be used as a weapon. Rather, it had a simple pattern engraved on it.

“This is passed down through the Family… It’s a type of catalyst. What’s a catalyst… Well, it means it helps when using magic.”

Magic? Was that barbarian also using something like magic? No wonder he was abnormally strong…

“Usually, you put this in when using magic. Then you consume the power contained within it to make the power stronger, or the duration longer… You use it for effects like that.”

“Then what happens when you use up all that power? Do you throw it away?”

“You can refill the used power. It’s a bit off-putting, but… If you drink blood, you accept that power and become stronger, they say?”

‘A vessel to hold the blood of a warrior.’

It seemed like something was starting to make sense. I still don’t know why I went back in time…

“So, does the effect change depending on whose blood it is?”

“Yeah. Usually, they use chicken blood, but they say the most effective is human blood? I haven’t used it myself, so I don’t know well.”

“You’ve never used it?”

“I was going to use it, but someone ruined it…”

“Really?”

“Because of that, I made dolls for several months, and I had everything prepared in its place, but someone scattered it all. But I think it’s fortunate.”

…Are you talking about me?

I remember knocking down a bunch of dolls in this house a long time ago when I was opening the door… It seems like that was it.

“What was the effect?”

“Huh? Ah, no. You don’t need to know.”

Winnie is avoiding my eyes. It’s different from when she was avoiding my eyes because she was embarrassed earlier. This time… She has a look like she’s been caught doing something wrong. This… I have no choice but to ask thoroughly.