<2>
“I’m sorry, Delcia.”
Arnold, Delcia’s brother, who had been guarding Edwin, apologized. Delcia shook her head, having spent a long time crying while holding him.
It wasn’t anyone’s fault. Everything was the result of the war, and all of this was something only those who took part in it had to endure. Delcia herself was part of that endurance. Therefore, she had no choice but to bear it.
Her mind understood this clearly. Delcia was a strong person; she could reason it out. But her heart, holding Edwin in her arms, could not comprehend it. The pain twisted her chest so sharply that she struggled to breathe.
If only this were a dream. If this were a nightmare that, when she woke up, she could exhale in relief. How wonderful it would be if it were so.
Delcia clenched her fists tightly. She could not bring herself to deny Edwin’s death. To do so would mean dishonoring the deaths of all those who had perished in the war.
Two days later, Edwin’s body, covered by the family’s banner and enclosed in a cold coffin, arrived at the duke’s estate.
Upon hearing the news that Edwin’s coffin had arrived, Delcia rushed over in a panic. She covered her mouth as she entered the room where the coffin was placed. At first glance, his face radiated no warmth at all—it was cold and lifeless.
Delcia’s trembling hand reached out to stroke Edwin’s face. This couldn’t be real. Delcia whispered to herself as she touched his face endlessly. My Edwin couldn’t possibly look like this…
Through her tear-blurred vision, she gazed down at him. His expression seemed peaceful, as if he had laid down all his burdens. Delcia’s lips trembled.
“…No.”
Not yet. She shouldn’t let go yet.
“…No, I can’t.”
Her voice was hoarse, worn thin from two days of barely speaking. Delcia shook her head. She tried to accept Edwin’s death, but it was impossible. Seeing him cold and lifeless with her own eyes was unbearable.
“Edw… Edwin…”
Her heart ached as if she wanted to die in his place. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Yes, she couldn’t let Edwin go like this. She couldn’t send him away like this. She wanted to bring him back by any means necessary—even if it meant sacrificing her own life. Delcia bit her lower lip hard as she stared at him through tear-soaked eyes.
Was there really no way to bring Edwin back? Suddenly, a thought flashed in her desperate mind. A story she had once dismissed as nonsense.
“Miss, there’s a strange forest on the outskirts of the capital. They say a witch lives there who grants wishes!”
“Ella, there’s no way a witch that grants wishes exists. It’s just a rumor.”
“No! They say there’s no cost, but so few people ever find the forest that hardly anyone’s wish is ever granted. Isn’t that amazing?”
“Yeah… I suppose so.”
The conversation with Ella resurfaced in her mind. Delcia stood up unsteadily. With trembling legs, she set off toward the forest rumored to exist somewhere on the outskirts of the capital, not even taking a carriage. Her eyes seemed to pierce through reality itself.
Delcia faced a landscape blanketed in dust. It was a forest she had never seen in her life. But getting here had been no easy task.
To find this forest—whose existence on the outskirts of the capital wasn’t even certain—Delcia had wandered endlessly around the outskirts. The area was sparsely populated. If the forest existed, it should have been visible at first sight, but there were only a few crumbling buildings.
She cried out in frustration when it was nowhere to be found. She hid from the knights of Count Perdo’s household who had come searching for her and only emerged to continue her search once they had passed. Night had fallen by the time she had been wandering for hours. When she reluctantly began to turn away, a sound cracked through the air.
Creak… crack…
She spun around, and giant trees had suddenly emerged along the path between the outskirts and another region, groaning loudly as they revealed themselves. Tears streamed from Delcia’s eyes. Instinctively, she knew.
She had finally arrived at the forest where the witch would grant wishes. She had searched desperately, and here it was. Without even knowing why the forest had appeared, Delcia staggered inside.
As soon as she stepped in, the forest vanished as if it had never been there.
The forest was excessively dark, damp, and foreboding. Yet, it wasn’t more grim than the ordeal Delcia had already endured. Each step into the quiet woods filled her with fear; she wanted to run and hide immediately.
Her legs kept stopping, her body trembling, but she refused to turn back. Edwin’s cold, lifeless face haunted her, and just thinking of it gave her courage.
Delcia wandered blindly, not knowing where the witch might be. Her feet blistered, her soft skin scraped, and she even stumbled and fell at times. Each time, she struggled to her feet and pressed on.
Finally, she spotted a massive tree, larger and thicker than all the others. Light poured from within it. Delcia felt certain that the witch lived there. Summoning the last of her strength, she moved forward.
Standing in front of the glowing tree, her tear-streaked face spoke in a small voice:
“Please… help me.”
In the still forest, even a whisper carried loudly. A presence stirred inside the tree.
“Oh my, a human? It’s been so long… my, my.”
A woman with long red hair stepped out from within the tree. She was Vianna, known among humans as the witch. Standing at the doorway, she widened her eyes at Delcia. Her magical aura and appearance were strikingly familiar. Vianna ran forward and grasped Delcia’s hands.
“Selena?”
“…Huh?”
“Ah… sorry, I mistook you for someone else for a moment.”
Vianna smiled awkwardly and released Delcia’s hands, scratching the back of her head before stepping aside.
“Well then, come in. For now.”
The door in the tree opened, spilling warm light. Delcia stepped inside with Vianna’s permission and sank into a soft chair, bowing her head in humility. She felt embarrassed for seeking help in such shabby attire.
“Oh my, you’ve been through a lot.”
Vianna muttered this as she handed Delcia a thick blanket. Wrapping it around herself, Delcia whispered:
“Thank you… um…”
“Call me Vianna. That’s fine.”
“Alright, thank you, Vianna.”
“It’s nothing. But what brings you all the way here?”
Vianna sat across from her. A steaming teacup appeared before Delcia, who fidgeted with her fingers instead of touching it, and finally spoke.
“I… heard a story.”
“Ah, the one about a witch who grants wishes?”
“…Yes.”
Vianna chuckled softly.
“Still that story, huh? I thought it was forgotten. Well, you’ve come to the right place. I’m the witch you’re looking for.”
Vianna smiled, gazing at Delcia with eyes that seemed to see through everything.
“I see a shadow on you.”
“A shadow?”
“Yes. A shadow. It appears when someone nearby has died.”
“…Ah.”
Delcia nodded. It was a moment that made it real—she had truly found the witch.
“Just so you know, a wish that brings someone back to life requires a price.”
“…A price? But you said there was none—”
“There are unwritten rules in the world. A wish that violates them requires an equivalent price. If the wish you’re making is to bring someone back from the dead, the cost won’t be light.”
Vianna took a sip of tea, looking over the rim at Delcia, whose face had grown dark.
“Curious about the price?”
“…Yes.”
“As I said, it’s no light cost. A heart. A living heart. To bring back someone whose heart does not beat, you must provide one that does.”
“…A h-heart.”
Delcia’s eyelashes trembled. She hadn’t expected this and had no way to prepare. Who could give up the source of life—the heart?
Delcia spoke honestly, her dry lips trembling.
“You mean… my heart? I’m not prepared.”
“Yes, I thought as much. You must be desperate to have come here, but there’s nothing I can do. Without the price, I cannot grant your wish.”
Vianna shrugged, her tone not one of sympathy.
The woman before her, with the same magical aura as her close friend, had the same wish. Vianna didn’t want to help it come true. The urge was purely impulsive. It had been a long time since a human stepped into the forest, and it thrilled her to see someone seeking a wish.
But that was all. The intense longing that came from sensing her magic prevented her from granting a wish that would cost a heart.
“Vianna, could you wait just a few days?”
“That’s difficult. You were lucky to find the forest today; who knows what tomorrow will bring? The forest is… capricious.”
Delcia’s heart raced. She didn’t know what to do. She looked down at the steaming teacup, the white mist reminding her of Edwin’s cold, lifeless body.
Tears welled in her eyes. She didn’t want to let Edwin go. She would give her heart if she could keep him alive. Delcia paused as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.
If giving her heart could save him… perhaps she should.
Delcia finally spoke, her voice trembling:
“I-I’ll give my heart as the price.”
“…What?”
“I’ll give my heart from my body as payment. Please… grant my wish.”
Vianna’s face stiffened. Delcia’s determination reminded her painfully of her friend Selena, who had wished so many years ago.
