Episode 03
‘And in the end… she lost her reason and killed the one she loved.’
Rather than letting things reach that point, I believed it was far better to give her freedom—to let her fully connect with the magical beasts and embrace her wild nature.
As time passed, it became clear that my judgment had been right.
Bella learned to control her instincts without losing her identity as a human.
She was nothing like the monstrous great witch of the past, who commanded beasts and slaughtered countless people.
Bella was content simply running through the mountains and fields, lapping water from the lake, and chasing fireflies.
At night, I kept watch so Bella could slip out of her room and exit through the back door of the estate.
If anyone approached unexpectedly, I distracted them.
And if that failed—
I used a little help from herbs.
Not anything dangerous, of course.
Habil root.
A powerful sedative and hallucinogen—but harmless, since it worked through magic rather than harming the body.
Just inhaling the scent of the dried and powdered root would send someone into a sweet sleep, waking refreshed the next morning.
Perfect effect. Zero side effects.
The only downside?
It was incredibly rare.
And naturally, it was always my job to gather it.
Which is why—
I was currently deep inside the forest, searching for herbs.
A thick fog hung in the air.
After scanning my surroundings, I pulled up my hood. The basket hanging from my wrist was still empty.
Normally, I’d avoid dense fog and quickly grab what I needed—but today, not a single Habil root was in sight.
“This is bad… Did I harvest too much? Are they all gone now?”
This place—Honwood.
A magical land at the boundary between the human world and the demon realm.
Everything born here carried magic.
Even I, Ophelia, possessed a tiny trace of it in my voice.
Proof of that was the small six-petaled flower mark on my neck.
Because magic was so dense here, rare herbs like Habil root grew easily.
But that also made it dangerous.
After all—
This was where Bella had been cursed.
“I need to take at least one root back…”
I didn’t have many left at the estate.
But what if I went deeper… and ran into a monster?
Bella welcomed her curse.
I definitely wouldn’t.
“Ugh… what should I do…?”
I hesitated, staring into the fog—
Then suddenly realized something.
‘Wait… this is a novel world anyway, right?’
Bella was cursed for a reason.
It made narrative sense.
Her wild nature. Her freedom. Her romance with the prince.
Everything about her curse was inevitable.
But me?
I was just a supporting character.
A background extra.
Which means… there’s no way I’d get cursed, right?
“Haha… I worried for nothing!”
Feeling reassured, I stepped into the fog without hesitation.
The air was damp, like a room filled with a humidifier.
The chill of magic felt refreshing.
I even hummed as I searched for herbs.
“Habiil~ where are you~ oh! There you are!”
I crouched down, pulling out a small hoe from my basket.
My short, wavy blonde hair fell forward as I worked.
“Wow, this one’s pretty big—must be all the magic in the fog—huh?”
Suddenly—
A violent wind exploded through the forest.
“Ah—!”
Leaves and debris slammed into my face.
Even covering myself didn’t help.
The peaceful forest from before had turned into something far more dangerous.
Why?
Did I trigger something?
No. That would be ridiculous.
I’m just a side character. This world wouldn’t react to me.
…Right?
Then I heard it.
Two voices.
One shrill. One low.
Laughing.
Arguing.
Getting closer.
“I can’t believe you’re my sister!”
“I feel the same about you!”
“Give it to me! It’s all day!”
“No! It’s all night!”
Monsters.
Humanoid ones.
Through the bushes, I saw them—
One dressed in white.
One dressed in black.
Their skin matched their clothes—pale as paper, dark as void.
They floated above the ground.
Their faces—
Grotesque.
This is bad…
My confidence shattered instantly.
These weren’t something I could ignore.
And just like that—
My worst fear came true.
They began attacking each other.
Blasts of white light and black clouds filled the forest.
They dodged effortlessly—
But the forest took the damage.
Trees shattered.
Ground split.
Chaos everywhere.
Wait… if they’re blasting magic everywhere… what about me?!
And then—
Boom.
A flash of blinding white consumed everything.
When I finally opened my eyes—
“Chirp.”
…Huh?
“Chirp… chirp.”
Everything felt strange.
The forest was quiet again.
The monsters were gone.
“Chirp…?”
Wait.
Why do I keep hearing chirping?
Something felt very wrong.
The Habil root I’d grabbed earlier looked… enormous.
“Chirp?”
I raised my hand—
And froze.
A small, yellow, fluffy wing.
“Chirp…? C-chirp?! (Is this my voice?!)”
“Chirp! (Is this a dream?)”
“Chirp… (I’m hungry…)”
Three things became very clear.
First— I had turned into a tiny yellow chick.
Second— dream or not, I needed to get back to the estate.
Third— I absolutely could not carry the Habil root anymore.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
A curse?
Now?
Me?!
I couldn’t even function as a proper supporting character anymore.
Forget being helpful—
I didn’t even know how to get home.
My sense of direction remained, but…
With these tiny chick legs?
It felt impossible.
I flapped my wings.
Nothing.
Just made me hungrier.
“Chirp… (sob…) chirp… (sniff…)”
Even crying didn’t help.
Back when I was human, this sound was cute.
Now?
It was just… miserable.
Should I just wait?
Maybe—
Since Bella’s curse worked at night,
If I was cursed by the “day” monster…
Would I return to normal at night?
But that meant waiting in the forest.
Alone.
At night.
That’s even worse.
And Bella would worry if I didn’t return.
She wouldn’t even be able to sneak out safely without me.
“Chirp…”
In the end, I had no choice.
I started walking.
And walking.
And walking.
Then—
The ground trembled.
Hoofbeats.
Someone was nearby.
“Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!”
At that moment, I didn’t care who it was.
Bandits, thieves—
Anyone.
As long as they could take me out of this forest.
I ran toward the sound, flapping desperately.
Two riders stood by a spring, letting their horses drink.
A white horse.
A black horse.
Both elegant.
One man had silver hair.
The other—
Red.
“…Wait.”
Something about them—
Wasn’t ordinary at all.
