Chapter 2
“Since it doesn’t look like you’ll drop dead this instant if you don’t eat, I’ll leave it at this for today. I’ll leave another cup of sugar water on the table, so drink it if you feel inclined.”
With a look of immense satisfaction, he departed. Left alone in the excessively spacious and opulent room, Gremory sat dazed on the bed for a long while.
Good grief, this is absurd.
“Ha… wow. Heh. Pfft.”
The situation was so foreign to Gremory that she couldn’t even find the right exclamation. She was a witch who had spent her entire life amidst loathing and torture—and she had enjoyed it. She had no idea how to process being kidnapped by someone who was pathologically kind.
Moreover, a problem had arisen. The contract with her summoner, Belita, had been abruptly severed.
Belita had died after nearly being violated by those mountain village bastards. As she summoned Gremory, she had made a wish: make those wretched villagers suffer as much as possible before they died.
The contract was sealed, and in exchange for granting that wish, Gremory was to take Belita’s soul as a servant for ten years.
However, the damnable Grand Duke Cethion Edel had meddled in the process and tangled the threads of the contract. He had intercepted and slaughtered the very villagers Gremory was supposed to kill.
Perhaps it was due to an error in that process, but Belita’s soul—which had always been by her side—suddenly vanished into thin air. Yet, Belita’s physical body remained in Gremory’s possession.
Did an error just grant me a free body? Better yet.
Thinking it over, the situation was actually quite favorable. To permanently acquire a human vessel usually required granting a grueling, high-level wish, but thanks to Cethion, she had obtained one with ease. Now, she could roam the human realm and feast on the suffering of others without being bound by a summoner’s contract. How wonderful was that?
Fine. Since he provided me with a body, I shall spare this household.
In a way, Cethion was a benefactor for providing such a massive gain without asking for anything in return. By the laws of the Demon Realm, one could not harm a benefactor or their immediate circle.
Besides, that man seemed to be suffering enough already without her needing to lift a finger. She could tell by the thick aura of agony permeating the mansion. Usually, a house with a history of misfortune is filled with such dark energy, but this estate was excessive.
In other words, it was a delightfully gloomy place for a witch to reside.
Gremory decided to stay here for the time being, humoring the residents of this manor. Her ultimate goal was to hide away in a comfortable place for as long as possible, and she couldn’t imagine a location that fit the criteria better than this.
The next morning.
Gremory set about making her new nest comfortable. She drew the blackout curtains to keep the room pitch-black even in broad daylight and stuffed all the silver ornaments—which witches detested—into the back of the wardrobe. She felt like burning the bed to ashes, but since it was surprisingly plush and to her liking, she gave it a pass.
Now, all that remained was to suss out the situation in the mansion.
But why are there so many vengeful spirits here? Is there a reason? Can I eat them?
As a witch who fed on suffering, the vengeful spirits drifting through the halls were excellent snacks. However, she needed to understand the mansion’s circumstances to determine if they were “edible.” If they were spirits of people close to Cethion, she couldn’t consume them. A witch with a sense of professional ethics does not eat the friends of her benefactor. It’s bad for the conscience.
She could have talked to the spirits herself, but she decided against it. What spirit would ever say, “I have no relation to the Grand Duke, so please feel free to devour me”? They would all obviously lie.
Pretending to sleep, Gremory pulled the blanket over her head and closed her eyes. She then linked her vision with a crow flying outside.
Through the crow’s eyes, the atmosphere outside was bleak beyond words. Every servant walked with a haggard, sluggish gait, and the knights had complexions as dark as soldiers worn down by a decade of war. It was only natural, given the manor was overflowing with spirits and dark energy. It was a difficult environment for the living to endure.
They all look delightfully miserable.
Then, she saw Grand Duke Cethion Edel walking into the garden. Startled servants bowed their heads deeply and retreated as if fleeing.
The expressions on the sentries’ faces were subtle. They watched their lord with incredibly complex gazes—the kind of look one might give a former lover who had become a mortal enemy. It was the common expression found in families with a surplus of baggage.
Just as she was about to move the crow to follow Cethion, the maid from yesterday knocked on the door.
“Miss, may I come in? Oh, right, you can’t speak.”
Despite receiving no answer, the young maid barged right in. Gremory peeked out from under the covers, her eyes narrow.
The maid carried a tray. She pulled a table over to the bedside and set the tray down.
“It’s potato soup. It’s perfect for filling an empty stomach. Please try some. I added some common spices, so it should taste quite good.”
“……”
“Phew. You really should eat something today. That’s the only way your wounds will heal quickly. Please? I really want you to get better soon.”
The girl was young, yet she babbled on with her nagging. Gremory felt like tearing a piece of the maid’s flesh off, but she restrained herself. Hunger could be somewhat satiated by drinking the dark energy filling the manor.
…Though, doing only that felt like trying to fill one’s stomach with water. It would be much better if she could eat those spirits.
The maid continued to prattle. Gremory pulled the blanket over her head, hoping the girl would leave if she stayed silent, but the maid took a seat right next to the bed instead.
“I’m sorry for being so pushy about the food. Come to think of it, you don’t even know my name, do you? I’m Anna.”
“……”
“It’s very dark in here. Well, I read in a psychology book that ladies who have just been rescued often prefer the dark. It’s for… psychological stability?”
“……”
“Even if you don’t understand the words, it’s a tradition in the Edel family to keep talking to you like this. The Grand Duke’s younger sister once lost her voice due to the shock of being hunted as a witch.”
“?”
Now, that was a useful bit of information. So that was why that Duke fellow was so hell-bent on rescuing witches? Because they all looked like his sister to him? Given the dismal state of the house, it seemed the sister had already kicked the bucket.
“Most of the ladies who lost their speech were able to talk again after being spoken to like this. I hope the same happens for you, Miss.”
“……”
“Witch hunts are so barbaric. Look at how the hunting stopped the moment the rewards for reporting witches disappeared. In the end, it was all about money. Oh, and politics too. It’s so convenient to attack a rival family using the excuse that there’s a witch among them.”
“……”
“The criteria for being a witch are ridiculous, too. Black hair being the mark of a witch? Goodness. Judging someone based on hair color is just so illogical.”
Actually, black hair really is exclusive to witches, Gremory thought. A normal human born with black hair is just incredibly unlucky.
“And the claim that witches command black animals? Like black cats or crows? It’s all nonsense and superstition.”
Gremory, who had been controlling a black crow until a moment ago, felt a bit awkward.
“Speaking of black animals… it reminds me of Mina. She was a black cat I raised in this manor. I saw her up until a month ago, but now she’s nowhere to be found. She was my only friend…”
After rambling for a while, Anna began to pour out her deeper feelings.
“To be honest, I’m so lonely, Miss. I think everyone in this manor feels that way. I think it’s because of the air here. It makes you feel lethargic, lonely, and gives you this strange sense of dread.”
“……”
“I feel so refreshed when I go out to get groceries, but the moment I step back into this house, my shoulders ache and I feel suffocated. Time seems to move slower here, too. No matter how long I wait, it feels like clock-out time never comes.”
Gremory’s ears were beginning to ring, and her patience was reaching its limit.
Do I really have to put up with this? I wish she’d just disappear.
Should she cast a hex to drive the girl mad and then devour her? No one would care if a single maid went crazy and vanished in a place like this. A maid likely wasn’t anyone important to Cethion, anyway.
Just as she was weighing her options, the maid stood up with a relieved expression.
“Ah, I feel a bit better now that I’ve said it all. Thank you for listening, Miss. Please eat the soup if you feel like it. I’ll be going now.”
With that, she skipped out of the room with a light step.
What a perceptive little brat.
Gremory was about to reconnect her vision with the crow when someone else knocked and entered.
It was Grand Duke Cethion Edel.
“Hm, forgive my intrusion.”
Cethion, who barged in despite knowing it was an intrusion, sat down beside the bed—the very spot Anna had just vacated.
“Are you feeling any better? I see you haven’t eaten a thing again today. I wish you would tell me if there’s a particular food you enjoy.”
As if I’d tell you. Just as she was about to scream at him to get out, Cethion leaned his chin on his hand and began to mutter while staring off into space.
“……My sister really loved apples.”
Apparently, the residents of this house intended to use the (pretend) mute witch as their personal confessional.
