Chapter 11
“I like the version you read much more, Bride.”
[Why? You didn’t like it at first.]
“That’s because I didn’t know the story. But now I can tell that the witch really cared about the Emperor.”
…Which part made him think that?
“The witch was incredibly powerful, wasn’t she? But she still helped the Emperor because they were friends.”
[That’s true.]
“If I were the witch, I would’ve become the king myself instead of Leon. The Emperor worked hard too, but without the Red Dragon and the witch, he never would’ve succeeded.”
[Hmm…]
That was an interesting way of looking at it.
I had always thought of it as the story of a mountain boy overcoming hardships to become Emperor.
But if the witch became the main character instead…
Lucian’s opinion actually made sense.
The Red Dragon wasn’t human, so he couldn’t become king.
But the witch was.
She possessed incredible power.
In fact, she might have been even more suited to rule than the Emperor himself.
“Do you have any more stories about the witch? I want to read them!”
It seemed he had completely fallen for the witch.
He kept repeating “witch” over and over like an excited little chick.
In the end, I brought him every other version of The King, the Dragon, and the Witch that I could find.
I spent the whole night reading them to him.
For some reason…
Lucian simply refused to fall asleep.
“Yaaawn…”
[I told you not to stay up so late. Sleepy?]
“…No.”
Despite his answer, his eyelids kept closing.
Lucian desperately forced his eyes open, trying to stay awake.
But sleep eventually won.
In the end, I caught him before he could fall face-first onto the table and fed him breakfast little by little, like feeding a baby bird.
Only after finishing an entire bowl did the light return to his eyes.
“Bride.”
[Yes?]
“The witch is so amazing.”
His sudden comment made me blink.
“Don’t you think so? She defeated all those bad people and became the Emperor’s greatest companion!”
[Oh dear… Here we go again.]
“The Emperor should’ve been grateful to the witch! He only became Emperor because of her!”
The versions I had read to him yesterday were different adaptations of the original.
They had all been published between the second and fifth year of the Kingdom Calendar.
The kingdom had only recently been founded back then.
People couldn’t stop talking about the King, the Red Dragon, and the witch.
Perhaps because of that…
The stories from that era added a romance between the Emperor and the witch, describing her as his closest companion.
And now…
Lucian was completely fascinated by that part.
“I wonder what the witch really looked like.”
“They said she was unbelievably beautiful.”
“What kind of person do you think she was?”
[Who knows? I have no idea.]
“Didn’t you ever meet the witch or the First Emperor, Bride?”
[Do you really think I did?]
“Well… you’ve lived for about the same amount of time as the Empire has existed.”
That was true.
I’d been trapped here for more than three hundred years.
“What was it like three hundred years ago?”
“Were there really lots of bad people?”
“Did the Emperor and the witch really appear and defeat them all…?”
Before I knew it, Lucian was stomping his feet excitedly.
He was clearly curious about the era of the First Emperor.
Unfortunately…
I couldn’t answer any of his questions.
[…Lucian.]
[I don’t remember my life before I became a ghost.]
“Huh?”
[I’m sure I was alive once… but I don’t remember any of it.]
“How is that possible?”
[Who knows? When I opened my eyes… I was already inside this mansion.]
There wasn’t really anything special about it.
One day, I simply became aware…
And found myself as a transparent ghost.
Back then…
I didn’t even know how to speak.
Or how to think.
I simply drifted wherever I floated.
Eventually…
People began coming to the mansion.
Watching them little by little…
I gradually learned how to think for myself.
“If only you had chosen me… none of this would’ve happened.”
I froze.
A strange memory suddenly flashed through my mind.
It felt like…
A man had visited this mansion every single day.
It was probably…
Three hundred years ago.
Before I had gained consciousness.
[…So something like that happened too.]
“Huh?”
“What happened?”
Lucian tilted his head after hearing me mumble to myself.
I quietly looked at him.
Because of that strange memory…
For just a second…
Another face seemed to overlap with Lucian’s.
But before I could make it out…
It disappeared.
[It’s nothing.]
For some reason…
A chill ran through my soul.
“So…”
“You don’t even know how old you are?”
[No.]
“You don’t know what kind of person you used to be either?”
[That’s right.]
“B-But you’ve lived here for three hundred years.”
“So at least you know what the outside world was like, don’t you?”
I quietly looked at him.
Come to think of it…
He didn’t know.
[Come with me for a moment.]
Although confused, Lucian followed me without asking any questions.
Matching my pace to his…
I led him to the fence surrounding the mansion.
Just before reaching the entrance…
I stopped.
Lucian took one more step…
And crossed outside the gate.
“Bride?”
[I can’t go beyond this point.]
I slowly reached my hand past the entrance.
The instant it crossed the boundary—
Crackle—!
A violent current burst through the air.
My soul shook violently.
Even though I couldn’t truly feel pain…
My entire body trembled.
My stomach churned.
“B-Bride!”
Lucian immediately ran back to me.
“What happened?!”
“Are you okay?”
“Does it hurt?”
[Haa… Haa… You saw it yourself.]
[I can never leave this place.]
[I’ve tried countless times because I wanted to see the outside world too…]
Every attempt ended the same way.
With unbearable pain…
As though my soul would disappear.
I tried digging underground.
Flying through the sky.
Hiding inside people’s belongings.
Using magic.
I tried every method I could think of.
For nearly ten years…
I searched for a way to escape.
Eventually…
I accepted that nothing could break these chains.
So I gave up trying.
[Ah… There it is again.]
A chain suddenly appeared around my neck.
It always appeared whenever I tried to leave…
Then disappeared once I gave up.
Lucian stared at it in horror.
His trembling hand reached toward my neck.
“H-How…”
“Why did this suddenly appear?”
“Can’t it be removed?”
[Who knows?]
[It only appears whenever I try to leave.]
[Since we’re here, I’ll show you exactly how far I can go.]
The area inside the fence…
And the entrance to the forest behind the mansion…
That was my limit.
The moment I tried to go any farther…
The strange current would strike again.
And the chain would drag me back.
[Remember this well.]
[If you ever go farther than I can reach… I won’t be able to come find you.]
[So unless it’s absolutely necessary… don’t leave this mansion.]
[You’re still too young to survive outside on your own.]
“How…”
“How can this happen…?”
Tears streamed down Lucian’s face.
I stared at him in surprise.
“You’re just… trapped here!”
“Who would do something so cruel to you?”
“Whoever did this is a terrible person!”
He burst into tears.
Watching him cry and become angry on my behalf…
Felt strangely unfamiliar.
And somehow…
For the first time in a long while…
I couldn’t honestly tell someone that I was fine.
Because the truth was…
I was angry too.
I didn’t know whether it had been done by a human…
Or by a demon.
But I hated whoever had chained my soul to this mansion.
Still…
Three hundred years was a very long time.
My resentment had slowly faded.
I had abandoned hope.
I had given up escaping.
Now…
I simply existed.
Drifting through each day as it came.
Though calling it “living” felt strange for a ghost.
[Haha… At this rate you’ll end up with swollen fish eyes from crying.]
[That’s enough, little groom.]
“B-But…”
“Bride…”
“You’re…”
[Where did such a sweet little groom come from?]
[Seeing my little groom cry for me makes me feel much better.]
Hearing me laugh…
Lucian slowly stopped crying.
His eyes were bright red.
His nose was running.
Using mana, I gently wiped his messy face clean.
“…One day…”
“I’ll definitely set you free.”
His eyes were swollen from crying.
Yet his expression was completely serious.
Without thinking…
I answered him.
[Alright.]
[I’ll look forward to it.]
Honestly…
I wasn’t expecting anything.
Even I, who knew almost every kind of magic…
Had never discovered why I was trapped here.
There was no way a little child could free me.
And even if he somehow did…
What difference would it make?
I was only a ghost.
“Once you’re free…”
“Let’s travel together.”
Lucian excitedly talked about seeing the ocean…
The endless grasslands…
And the desert.
Listening to him…
Reminded me of the old me.
The one who had always wondered what lay beyond this mansion.
For just a moment…
Just a tiny little moment…
I wanted to believe him.
“Oh!”
“You said you don’t even know your own name, right?”
[It doesn’t really bother me.]
[After all… there was no one who could call me by my name.]
“But I can!”
…That was true.
Now…
I had Lucian.
“Can I give you a name?”
[You?]
I was a little worried he’d come up with something ridiculous.
Still…
[If I like it, then sure.]
“Hmm…”
“What would be good…?”
Apparently, he hadn’t thought of one beforehand.
“Lily.”
“Hazel.”
“Camilla.”
“Daisy.”
He suggested one name after another.
None of them felt right.
[By the way… where did you even hear all those names?]
There was no way an eight-year-old had invented them himself.
“They’re the maids’ names.”
[…You’re trying to name me after a maid?]
“N-No!”
“I just couldn’t think of anything else!”
Lucian waved both hands frantically.
I simply stared at him with narrowed eyes.
…Maids?
Had Lucian even met any maids?
The thought felt strange.
Then I remembered.
Just before Lucian arrived…
Someone had clearly brought him here.
Among the people who used to visit this mansion…
There had been servants.
Meeting a few maids along the way wasn’t impossible.
Satisfied with that explanation…
I stopped thinking about it.
“Oh!”
“What about Aria?”
[That’s the witch’s name.]
“Exactly!”
“The Great Witch Aria!”
“She’s my favorite person, so I want to give you her name!”
His intentions were completely obvious.
Ignoring his sparkling eyes, I offered another idea.
[Then how about Ria instead of Aria?]
“Ria?”
[Yes.]
[If you call me Aria, it’ll be confusing whether you’re talking about the witch or me.]
[Ria is short and simple.]
“Ria…”
“Ria…”
“I like it!”
“Ria is such a pretty name!”
[Of course it is. Who do you think came up with it?]
The moment I praised myself…
Lucian’s smile stretched from ear to ear.
He happily followed beside me, repeating my new name over and over.
“Ria!”
“Lady Ria!”
“Big Sister Ria!”
[Yes, yes.]
“Ria!”
“What should I call you from now on?”
“Just Ria?”
“Lady Ria?”
“Big Sister Ria?”
[Whatever you’re comfortable with.]
“Then I’ll call you Ria!”
“Don’t be sad if I stop calling you Bride.”
He was far too excited.
At this rate…
My ears were going to fall off.
[Good grief! That’s enough already! Stop saying my name!]
Lucian froze for only a second.
Then…
Like a little chick…
He started chirping again.
“Ria!”
“Ria!”
“Ria!”
From that day on…
He called my name so many times that even after he fell asleep…
I could still hear his cheerful voice echoing in my head.
“Ria… Ria…”
