Chapter 13
Why had I been brought here?
Where had the original witch’s soul gone?
Maybe… the Grand Duke knew the answers.
“What are you really planning?”
I asked him directly, but he answered with something completely different.
“What kind of cat likes water that much?”
He was looking at Daisy happily rubbing herself around in a puddle outside the cave.
Well, her soul was a Golden Retriever.
‘If he finds out, we’re dead…’
I swallowed nervously and answered as if nothing was wrong.
“There are cats like that too.”
Now it was my turn to change the subject.
“By the way…”
The moment I flicked my finger, a large towel appeared in the air and dropped right onto the Grand Duke’s head.
“What are you doing?”
The Grand Duke suddenly became alert.
He pulled the towel off his face with one hand while quickly drawing his sword with the other.
Did he think I was trying to blind him so I could attack?
“So you can dry yourself.”
“…Ah.”
Does this man seriously have paranoia?
I covered my own head with another towel and snapped my fingers.
Pieces of firewood fell from the air, piled themselves into a campfire, and flames quickly rose.
“Come over.”
“I won’t eat you.”
Maybe he didn’t like being treated like a coward.
The Grand Duke narrowed his eyes at me before walking over and sitting down.
The campfire was between us, and he sat about three steps away.
“Ah!”
He roughly dried his hair with the towel, sending water droplets flying toward me.
Looking at the satisfied look in his eyes…
He definitely did it on purpose.
‘See? He’s not a good person after all.’
Could someone like him really raise those children?
While I was worrying again and warming myself by the fire, the cave became completely quiet.
I looked up.
The Grand Duke was resting his chin on one hand, watching me like I was a monkey in a zoo.
“Most women scream and run away when they see a bear.”
Was he still thinking about that?
“I’m a witch.”
Still wearing the towel on his head, he only continued staring at me.
Was he still suspicious?
“Daisy, that’s enough! Come inside!”
His quiet gaze kept making me uncomfortable, so I called out to Daisy for no reason.
Come save me!
But Daisy had no idea how I felt.
She happily ran around outside in the rain.
Sigh…
Just as I let out a deep sigh, I heard rustling behind me.
When I turned around, I saw the Grand Duke taking a big porcini mushroom from my basket.
‘Unbelievable.’
He put it on the tip of his dagger and started roasting it over the fire.
I immediately complained.
“Why are you eating my mushrooms without permission?”
“Because I’m hungry.”
“Didn’t anyone teach you that you should ask the owner’s permission before taking someone else’s things?”
And this man was raising children?
“Someone else’s?”
“How is this yours?”
“I picked it…”
“This forest belongs to my territory.”
“So everything that grows here belongs to me.”
“…”
“Shouldn’t Miss Hazel be the one asking the owner’s permission instead?”
He smiled smugly, even the corners of his eyes curving upward.
How annoying.
Soon, the delicious smell of roasted mushrooms filled the cave.
Watching him slowly enjoy each bite left me speechless.
‘At least he’s not a picky eater like his younger siblings.’
And although he was a high-ranking noble, he knew mushrooms surprisingly well.
The way he recognized the Death Cap mushroom earlier wasn’t something an ordinary person could do.
“Enjoy all the mushrooms you want.”
“As for me…”
I snapped my fingers.
A picnic basket and a blanket appeared from the air.
“I’m going to have tea.”
I spread out the blanket, arranged different desserts and tea, and elegantly began my tea time.
The Grand Duke stared at me blankly before asking,
“You’re eating alone?”
He sounded completely shocked.
“Do you want some?”
I should be the surprised one.
“What if I mixed a magic potion into the cake and tea so I could turn Your Grace into a puppet under my control?”
I repeated exactly what he had accused me of when he slandered my carrot cake before.
How could I forget that?
“And what would you do after controlling me?”
“Wow…”
A wonderful idea suddenly came to mind.
I clasped my hands together excitedly.
“Then I could go to the Grand Duke’s mansion and see my little chestnuts.”
The Grand Duke narrowed his eyes at me before letting out a quiet laugh.
“That’s really all you can think of…”
He muttered to himself.
Then he looked at me again as I sipped my tea.
“There wasn’t anything in the cake.”
“I told you.”
“Then how did you do it?”
That wasn’t something I could explain with words.
Even though I had planned to eat everything by myself just to show him, I cut off a slice of cake and offered it to him.
The Grand Duke looked at me, then at the cake, before finally taking the plate.
But he didn’t take the fork I offered.
Instead, he took out a small silver fork from inside his clothes.
I was speechless.
Did he always carry silver utensils in case someone tried to poison him?
At this point, I couldn’t tell whether he was severely paranoid…
Or if people really were always trying to kill him.
“By the way, you came to a witch’s house all by yourself.”
“Even last time, you didn’t bring any mages or holy knights.”
Soldiers with only swords and spears couldn’t fight a witch.
For someone so obsessed with protecting his own life…
Wasn’t that surprisingly careless?
‘Wait…’
A forgotten memory suddenly came back.
‘Then whose holy power did I feel that day?’
The Grand Duke put the cake into his mouth and paused for a moment.
Without answering my question, he simply looked down at his plate.
“Don’t talk while I’m eating.”
Seriously…
So I waited until he finished eating before asking again.
“How’s my cake?”
“I’m not sure.”
“I think I need another piece before I can decide.”
He answered vaguely before helping himself to another slice directly from the plate on the blanket.
This slice was twice as big as the one I had given him.
“Now I understand…”
He finished the huge slice in no time and quietly muttered.
See?
I knew he’d understand after tasting it.
Smiling, I poured him another cup of tea.
After eating that much cake, his throat must be dry.
As he took out his silver spoon this time, I finally asked what I had wanted to know all along.
“How are my little chestnuts doing?”
“They’re not little chestnuts.”
“They’re the Grand Duchess and the Young Grand Duke.”
“So… are the Grand Duchess and the Young Grand Duke doing well?”
“‘Are’ becomes ‘Are they doing well?’ Show proper respect.”
“So… are they doing well?”
The Grand Duke stopped adding sugar to his tea and burst into laughter.
I only repeated what he told me to say.
Why was he laughing?
“I can’t tell if you’re teasing me, if you’re slow, or just stubborn…”
Why won’t he answer my question?
“Are they eating well?”
“No.”
“Thanks to you.”
Oh no.
This was the time when growing children should eat well.
I carefully told him everything I had learned while living with the children.
Their eating habits.
Their favorite foods.
The way they liked their meals cooked.
But as he listened…
His expression became colder and colder.
What had upset him?
Anyway, since he didn’t seem to be in a good mood, I only added one last thing before staying quiet.
“You should cut the carrots into very small pieces.”
“I know.”
The Grand Duke took his silver spoon, still shining after being dipped into the tea, out of the cup and answered shortly.
“My younger siblings repeated that to me so many times that I couldn’t forget it.”
Then he added,
“So pretending your kindness is completely genuine… is that your real plan?”
I snapped my fingers.
The teacup he was about to drink from disappeared from his hand and appeared in mine.
The Grand Duke froze in the same position.
He looked down at his now-empty hand before laughing helplessly.
“Should I be grateful that you didn’t turn me into a frog?”
“I don’t do things like that.”
“You did a few years ago.”
“The city guards still have records of it.”
“Th-That was…”
Seriously…
Why did the witch keep doing things like that?
Cold sweat ran down my back as I tried to make excuses.
The Grand Duke carefully studied my face before asking,
“Why did you suddenly decide to become a good witch?”
“Well… a few years ago, I became seriously ill.”
“After that, I regretted everything I had done.”
“So I decided to reflect on my past mistakes and live as a good person from now on.”
“Haha…”
“I don’t believe that.”
His purple eyes watched me sharply through his half-closed eyes.
“People don’t change overnight.”
“It’s not easy to throw away the way you’ve lived your whole life.”
“So you came here to interrogate me.”
“It’s not an interrogation.”
“It’s a question.”
The Grand Duke rested his elbow on his knee and supported his chin with his folded hand.
Although his eyes looked playful…
The gaze behind them was completely serious.
“I’m very curious about you, Witch… no, Miss Hazel.”
“If your questions are over, are you going to tie me to a stake and burn me?”
“If that’s your goal, then this is definitely an interrogation.”
A short laugh escaped his lips.
“There’s no need to worry.”
“I actually came here because I have a favor to ask.”
“I already knew.”
“…Can you see the future?”
The Grand Duke suddenly became cautious again.
Seriously.
If I really had that ability…
I would never have lost the children.
“I can’t see the future.”
“But it was obvious.”
“You suddenly came here and even called me ‘Miss Hazel.'”
“I may not have foresight…”
“But you are surprisingly sharp.”
“Anyway…”
“My answer to Your Grace’s request is no.”
