episode_0018

-Thud!

“Pant, pant, pant, huff…”

When did things go wrong? I’m not quite sure.

As I regained consciousness, I found myself as the villainess Yeong-ae, a witch. People’s gazes were clearly filled with malice.

Merely passing by made everyone around me disappear, and children who tried to approach me would be hit by their parents and then dragged away in fear.

“Mother, mother, mother.”

A sudden war began. A relentless war. A war that grew more gruesome.

The citizens rose with the help of another nation.

Families crumbled for citizens who dared not resist and sparked revolutions.

And then, I felt the arrow’s gaze upon me. I had done nothing wrong, nothing at all. I was just living peacefully with Amelia.

The sight of fire through the window and the screams ringing in my ears felt suffocating.

There seemed to be no escape. The grasp of death was closing in within moments.

I was so terrified that I wanted to cry in my mother’s arms right at that moment.

At the sound of footsteps, I turned around.

There I stood. I stood there as if looking into a mirror.

But I could immediately tell that the figure before me was my mother. In that moment, I understood what my mother was thinking.

“Huff…! Mother. Mother.”

My mother forcefully changed my clothes and pushed me into a secret passage hidden in the fireplace that I never knew existed. Then she handed me the notebook she always kept.

So, I cried endlessly in the secret passage, calling out to my mother desperately.

I had tried to escape from this place to seek help from another nation, but the strict security measures made it impossible to flee immediately.

I was anxious. Even if I could escape, the journey to another nation would be long. I needed to reach out for help as quickly as possible.

Determined to escape from this place tomorrow, I finished my meal and was preparing for the day ahead when suddenly…

“Hey! News! Breaking news! That damn witch is being executed right now!”

“What? Really? Finally, the witch is going to die. But why execute her so quickly?”

“That’s right! I’m so happy we can finally see that witch brat die.”

“A villain like Yeong-ae should be killed quickly. Do you know how much we’ve suffered because of her…!”

-Thud.

I dropped the spoon I was holding.

Usually, there is a grace period for prisoners, there is! But the sudden news sounded like thunder, making my hands tremble.

Everyone in the restaurant started to evacuate, even the chef.

The restaurant was left deserted in an instant.

Pushing through the massive crowd, I moved forward.

“Hey, who’s pushing like this!”

“Execute the witch quickly!”

“Why isn’t she coming out!”

“Hurry up!”

“That witch brat looks pathetic!”

In front of me was the guillotine.

-Clack, clack.

-Swish, swish, swish.

Someone in armor was approaching, dragging something along.

“Where did you find this witch!”

“Where is the villainess Yeong-ae! They’re not planning to spare her, are they!?”

The voices of the citizens, filled with immense malice, echoed around.

The square was so noisy that when the soldier in armor raised his hand, it fell silent instantly.

In the soldier’s grip was the witch, the villainess Yeong-ae whom the citizens had been eagerly awaiting to see executed, and to me, she was my mother.

No one could utter a word.

Her arms and legs, forcibly removed, looked grotesque, and her skin peeled off, resembling meat hanging in a butcher shop.

Her eyes seemed hollow, forcibly widened, filled with wounds.

Tears streamed down, obscuring my vision.

Then someone entered my sight. It was a woman clad in pristine white armor. She, too, was crying alongside me.

Gazing at my mother.

Mother’s last words were “I love you.” With those words, Mother died without any resistance as the blade descended.

As soon as the execution was over, the soldiers disappeared, and people stood in shock for a moment before dispersing.

No one wanted to approach the witch. They said the curse would transfer. Surely, a stronger curse would be passed on through death.

After everyone had vanished, I slowly approached Mother.

I lifted Mother up. She had a small smile on her face.

Holding Mother in my arms… tears streamed down.

– Thump. Thump.

At that moment, hearing someone approaching, I hugged Mother’s head to my chest and ran away.

Entering the forest where no one could find me, I sat down.

It’s unbelievable.

That Mother is dead.

Lowering my head, I saw empty eyes. Eyes with nothing in them. Gently, I closed Mother’s eyes with my hand.

I embraced Mother tightly. Just like she did for me.

It was inconceivable that Amelia, who was more like a mother to me than anyone else, who always embraced me with her big frame and big heart, was now completely in my arms.

I wished this was all a dream.

I wanted it to be all a joke, as always, burying my face in Mother’s chest and spending time together.

I know. When your throat is cut, you die. That having just a neck means you’re dead.

I remember when I first met Mother.

Amelia, who awakened her mana at the age of 10 and came to me as her maid.

Amelia, who made mistakes like me and stumbled around.

The day we cooked and ate together.

The day she took care of me with affection.

When I confessed at my coming-of-age ceremony at 12.

When I was rejected and cried my eyes out.

The memory of resting in Amelia’s arms on the day of my first menstruation.

The moment I first called Amelia “Mother.”

Amelia was my mother.

Trembling, I lifted the spell on Mother.

Her black hair turned blonde, and her face returned to Mother’s face.

I healed Mother, covered in wounds and blood. Mother, now clean.

She looked like she was just sleeping.

Now I don’t know what to do. I’ve never thought about life without Mother. I don’t even know what to do here.

But I have to live. Because Mother died for me.

I can’t leave Mother like this forever. I kissed Mother lightly and said,

“I love you… Mom.”

I got up to bury Mother.

“I love you…”

To go back in time, I studied under my master like crazy.

I absorbed everything. I remembered everything I saw. I dismantled and interpreted all of the master’s magic.

Even in the midst of that, every night Mother came and died in front of me.

With sunken eyes, she cursed me, her throat slit. I know. Mother would never say such things to me.

I knew, but it was so hard to endure the nightmare that cursed me in the form of the mother I loved.

I couldn’t sleep, and since I didn’t sleep, the mother who was executed floated by my side.

Finally, realizing I couldn’t study in this state, I turned to drugs.

The master tried to stop me, but I simply couldn’t focus without drugs. Ignoring half of the curses filled with Mother’s voice, I studied.

The reason I ignored half was because it was still Mother’s voice, no matter how much of a curse it was.

In the end, I deciphered part of the world. Now I just need to gather the necessary ingredients.

There was no time. Every minute, every second, I did everything I could to meet Mother as quickly as possible.

Money or negotiation are all useless. Just a waste of time. I gathered everything by stealing or killing.

Later, as news spread that I was alive, many people came looking to kill me. I killed them without hesitation.

Now, all preparations are complete.

My master said, no matter how much of a dragon I am, we can’t predict what will happen on a global scale. Whatever the outcome, it won’t be surprising.

It doesn’t matter. My body has reached its limit. It moves only with drugs and various substances.

Without drugs, I can’t move. But if I take them, I gradually die.

That’s the state of my body.

If this magic fails, I’m scheduled to die anyway. That’s why there’s no turning back.

And the magic succeeded. When I opened my eyes…

==

“It was a dream after a long time.”

I woke up in a room where moonlight softly streamed in.

When I turned slightly, I saw Amelia sleeping soundly.

I don’t even remember how I got here now.

Driven by the sole desire to see my mother, I rushed here. And now she’s right in front of me.

-Touch touch

I could touch her like this.

I kissed Amelia’s cheek lightly and got up.

Once again, I quietly slipped away using the silence spell and went down to the first floor.

I opened the door to the annex and stepped outside. If I’ve made it this far, I consider it a hundred percent success.

Surely, Amelia changed her panties today. That means she even changed them.

“I can’t touch Amelia, so I have to be satisfied with this…! I went through a lot. This much is fine. Hmm…!”

Arriving at the garbage collection point, I couldn’t find the trash bag I discarded today.

There should have been a trash bag for today, but it wasn’t there. I immediately used mana to investigate.

“Master, I’ve definitely crossed the line with this one.”