TWFLLYM Ch 47

For Every Witch

[Roserikta] "Sob, sob."

In the dream, Roserikta wept. Tears rolled down her face without stopping. The sight of her own crying self felt pitiful.

She was never the type to cry easily, so why were these tears falling?

She looked young, perhaps not even ten years old. Even then, she lived with her grandmother.

She wore a stiff, fresh witch’s dress with a clean apron tied neatly around her waist.

[Grandma] "Rosie."

Her Grandmother approached from behind.

Grandma......

Even in her sleep, Roserikta reached out with both hands to grab her.

It was her. Grandmother.

I missed you. I still miss you so much.

[Grandma] "Are you finished reflecting on your actions?"

[Roserikta] "Sob, sob."

The young Roserikta shook her head while sobbing.

[Grandma] "Oh dear. Not yet? Then you must stay here alone a little longer."

At those words, Roserikta realized where she was. The basement. Her grandmother’s secret storage room.

Right, she remembered now.

It happened when she was nine. She had just learned how to read her grandmother’s recipe book. The excitement drove her to touch every potion she could find. Eventually, she even opened the secret storage. And inside......

[Roserikta] "I don't want that. Wahhh."

The young Roserikta slumped to the floor and wailed. She looked upset and miserable. Her desire for her grandmother to comfort her was so obvious that her adult self felt embarrassed watching.

Her grandmother likely felt the same. She watched the crying child with a mix of deep love, pity, and a hint of guilt.

[Grandma] "It seems you still don't understand what you did wrong."

Despite her warm gaze, her voice remained strict.

The young girl, unable to see her grandmother’s eyes, only felt resentment toward the harsh tone.

[Roserikta] "No. I don't know. Wahh. Why can't I touch the medicine here? I already know what they all are now!"

In her sleep, the adult Roserikta clicked her tongue.

I sound just like Clobell.

You don't know anything. You have only just learned to read the titles.

[Grandma] "No, you don't know."

[Roserikta] "I do! I studied so hard!"

The young girl shouted back, her temper flaring.

Grandmother wiped the pity from her face, leaving only disciplined affection.

[Grandma] "Some things can never be learned through study alone."

[Roserikta] "What......? How is that possible? You know every potion there is."

[Grandma] "I know the medicine. But you must remember this: humans are the ones who take the medicine. There is no way to fully understand a human being."

[Roserikta] "Huh?"

The words were too difficult. She didn't understand even half of it.

[Grandma] "Listen well. I am going to tell you a story that will break your heart. This is your punishment. Even if it hurts, you must listen."

[Roserikta] "Sob, sob."

Young Roserikta made a face, suddenly afraid.

A heartbreaking story? What could it be?

Grandmother was never one to hurt her on purpose.

[Grandma] "Rosie. Imagine you are an adult."

[Roserikta] "An adult?"

[Grandma] "Yes. You grow up and fall in love with someone. But you know the truth. If you love this person, something terrible will happen."

[Roserikta] "What kind of terrible thing?"

[Grandma] "Everyone becomes miserable. You, that man, and even the child born between you."

[Roserikta] "......"

[Grandma] "You and that man die early, and the child becomes an orphan. A child who grows up without a mother or father lives a lonely, sad life. That child will never remember her mother's face and will carry that pain forever. Even knowing this, would you still love that man until the end?"

[Roserikta] "......"

Silence followed. The story was too frightening and sad.

Roserikta knew exactly who that orphaned child was.

It was her mother’s story. A witch mother who chose to love a human man and turned her back on the moon. She passed her witch's blood to Roserikta but died before she could baptize her under the moonlight.

A mother who died too young. A face Roserikta couldn't even remember.

[Roserikta] "Ugh...... Wahhhh!"

She couldn't answer; she just cried.

Instead of comforting her, Grandmother stood silently by her side until the sobbing stopped.

Only much later did Roserikta understand why her grandmother had been so harsh.

The heart is a terrifying thing. It does things the mind can never understand. To be a pharmacist, one had to learn that first.

[Grandma] "Taboos always exist for a reason, Rosie."

She spoke after the girl finally calmed down.

[Roserikta] "Then why didn't you destroy such scary medicine?"

Young Roserikta asked while sniffing.

Grandmother finally smiled kindly and wiped the girl’s nose, deciding she had been punished enough.

[Grandma] "I wonder. Perhaps there is a reason for that, too."

Roserikta blinked up at her.

[Grandma] "The Moon’s destiny influences everything a witch does."

She placed the forbidden potions and magic books back into the cupboard and turned the lock.

[Grandma] "Perhaps the fact that I left a bottle of love potion behind, and the fact that you found it, is all part of the destiny hidden by the moon."

She leaned down until their eyes met. Her face looked so large and clear.

Even knowing it was a dream, Roserikta’s eyes filled with tears of joy.

Grandma. Can I touch you? I'm afraid you'll vanish if I reach out.

[Grandma] "Rosie. Keep this in mind."

Don't leave, Grandma. Please stay. I'll dream every single day if I have to.

[Grandma] "Every witch lives within the Moon’s destiny. Every witch."

Every witch.

Every witch.

The final words echoed in her mind. Dizziness washed over her, and she reached for something to lean on.

Thump!

Her head hit something solid. She opened her eyes and gasped in shock.

[Roserikta] "What in the...... Sir Eaton!"

Her heart dropped. Eaton was awake, staring directly at her with wide eyes.

[Roserikta] "How...... when did you wake up?"

It was too early. The sedative should have kept him in a deep sleep until tomorrow morning.

[Eaton] "I am sorry."

He took a step forward.

[Roserikta] "What are you...... sorry for?"

It was late, and everyone else slept deeply. The room was dark and silent. Only his breathing and his footsteps hammered against her eardrums.

[Eaton] "The Countess wants this."

[Roserikta] "Pardon......?"

"The Countess" meant the black witch.

Eaton reached out. His hands moved toward her throat. It felt impossible, yet he clearly intended to kill her.

[Roserikta] "Captain!"

She screamed. She had to run before he caught her.

[Eaton] "I will finish this quickly. The pain won't last long."

He blocked her path. The massive hands of a trained knight crushed her neck instantly.

[Roserikta] "Gasp! No......!"

Her breath cut off. It felt as if death had opened its mouth and swallowed her whole without warning.

[Clobell] "Hey! Rosie!"

A soft touch brushed against her cheek.

[Clobell] "Wake up! What are you dreaming about?"

[Roserikta] "Clo...... bell?"

[Clobell] "Open your eyes! Now!"

She used every ounce of her strength to lift her eyelids.

Clobellina was the first thing she saw. The cat sat on her chest, hitting her cheeks with chubby paws.

[Clobell] "What is wrong with you? You were groaning like you were dying. Did you have a nightmare?"

Roserikta sat up abruptly.

[Clobell] "Ack......!"

Thud!

The movement sent Clobellina tumbling to the floor.

Roserikta scanned the room frantically. Everything looked exactly as it had before she drifted off. Eaton slept soundly on the bed, his breathing steady. Only Clobellina was awake and moving.

[Roserikta] "Has the Captain...... been asleep this whole time?"

She asked, unable to believe it. The sensation of hands squeezing her throat remained vivid. The pain of suffocation and the paralyzing fear of death still lingered.

[Clobell] "As far as I know. Isn't that why you fell asleep too?"

[Roserikta] "No, just now, clearly......"

She touched her own neck.

[Roserikta] "Ouch......"

It hurt. This pain was no illusion.

[Roserikta] "Clobell. Check my neck. Are there handprints?"

[Clobell] "What? Why would there be handprints?"

She kept her eyes fixed on the sleeping Eaton. Tension still crawled down her spine.

[Roserikta] "Because the Captain was just strangling me."

[Clobell] "What? What are you saying?"

Clobellina’s eyes went wide as she approached.

Roserikta quickly scooped the cat into her arms.

[Clobell] "There is nothing. I don't see anything. Are you serious? Even if he's out of his mind, would he really do that?"

[Roserikta] "Truly nothing? It hurts when I press it."

[Clobell] "Nothing. Seriuosly nothing. Were you just dreaming?"

She had been dreaming. It was the first dream of her grandmother in a long time. Then the dream had shifted suddenly; Eaton had attacked her. Right before she died, she heard Clobellina’s voice.

[Roserikta] "It must be that."

She whispered, her face pale.

[Clobell] "That? What is 'that'?"

[Roserikta] "A Dream Intruder."

[Clobell] "Huh? What does...... oh, are you talking about that evil bat from the storybook?"

It was one of the witch's fairy tales. Heidi was an owl and a dream merchant. She bought pure, kind dreams from children and sold them to people who needed hope.

The villain was an evil bat—a dream intruder who snuck into Heidi's dreams and turned happy ones into nightmares.

[Roserikta] "My grandmother was telling me something important, then the dream changed. The Captain tried to kill me. If you hadn't woken me up, I would have died."

Without even knowing why. People wouldn't have found her body until morning.

[Clobell] "Heh! What are you talking about! Why would you die! That makes no sense!"

She hugged Clobellina tightly. The cat’s heartbeat, faster and more frantic than a human's, gradually calmed her terrified heart.

[Roserikta] "Thank you, Clobell. You saved my life."

[Clobell] "Don't die. You can't die. Sob, sob......"

Clobellina was frightened too. Her round eyes filled with tears as she clung to Roserikta, unsure of what to do.

[Roserikta] "Black magic is a terrifying thing."

It stole love from people, stole good dreams, and led them toward a lonely, miserable death.

[Roserikta] "A black witch shouldn't exist in this world."

At first, she only thought about breaking Kalart’s curse. Now she knew that wasn't enough. As long as a black witch lived, the curse would never end.

The pieces of good dreams that remained—thanks to Clobellina—whispered to her.

[Grandma] "Every witch lives within the Moon’s destiny, Rosie."

I think I understand now, Grandma. There is a reason I am experiencing these things here.

The fact that I am a witch, that I met a Prince under a dark curse, that I fell for him, and that I noticed the black witch's presence.

It means I have a job to do. I understand. I will do it. I will protect him.

[Roserikta] "Clobell."

[Clobell] "Yes, Rosie."

[Roserikta] "I have work to do."

[Clobell] "You mean breaking that guy's curse?"

[Roserikta] "Yes. But I think it might be very dangerous. Still, I really want to do it. What do you think?"

She had just realized her life might be at risk. To a black witch, the lives of a girl and a cat were likely nothing more than dust on a shoe. She couldn't force Clobell to come along.

[Clobell] "Are you asking me to stop you?"

[Roserikta] "No."

I’m saying you should do what you want, just as I am doing what I want.

[Clobell] "Then why ask? If you do it, I do it."

[Roserikta] "You hate hard work and being annoyed. I don't want you to be in danger either, Clobell."

[Clobell] "You can't do anything without me. You just almost died, and now you’re talking too much."

Clobellina let out a huff, making that familiar face she used when she found something absurd. She didn't look annoying; she looked reliable.

[Clobell] "A witch and her cat share one fate. I don't need anything else."

Clobell is actually saying things like this. What a show-off. She must be scared, too.

[Roserikta] "Alright, I understand. Thank you, Clobell."

[Clobell] "In return, I have something to say, too."