The Red Witch - Chapter 11

TN: "Rayne" -> "Laine"

‘Is this how it always is, or is it because she’s a witch?’

With a doubtful look, Ael stared at Kiara, when an unpleasant voice echoed in his ear like an illusion.

‘They say the witches of the Black Forest are whxres. The darker their eyes, the worse it gets.’

He had heard that during a report on his mission to conquer Altnebra. His older brother had said it.

The Crown Prince’s orange eyes flickered with desire. Just by looking at him, it seemed like his current interest wasn’t in Altnebra, but in the witch.

Regardless, seeing Ael’s indifferent attitude, Ael’s brother chattered even more lecherously.

‘While you’re at it, give her a good fxcking. She’s a witch, after all, and she’d love it if the prince fxcked her. Let me know how well she shakes her hips and whether she’s a bxtch worth tasting.’

He didn’t need to listen to that nonsense. Besides, Kiara, with just a single kiss, became completely tense and drained of energy. Yet, this was the woman they were calling a born and bred whxre?

Wait, hold on, could it be some kind of illusion magic? Is she trying to cast a curse because I let my guard down?

‘…There’s no way I’d fall for a witch’s illusion.’

Ael frowned.

The second prince of the Bretnach Empire, the leader of the Golden Lion Knights, Aeliel Grandilgale.

But people were more familiar with his nicknames, “The Mad Lion” or “The Red Lion,” rather than his grand titles. It was a reference to his blood-soaked rampages on the battlefield, not caring for his own life.

But surprisingly, Ael was rather indifferent when it came to women or s-xual desire.

No matter how much of a prince he was, the red eyes and black hair were considered a scourge upon the lang. A symbol of a witch — a Red Witch, no less. With such conspicuous features, he would have a hard time surviving if rumors spread about him. Especially if the person who wanted him dead most in the world was none other than his older brother, the Crown Prince.

As soon as he thought about his brother, the heat that had been enveloping his body quickly faded.

‘To think I was so defenseless and out of it. It’s good we’re not in the capital, at least.’

If this had been the capital, he might have already been dead at the hands of an assassin sent by his brother, or killed by his own hand.

Thinking back on it now, it almost felt like Kiara had used illusion magic to make him lose his senses.

Maybe I should have just killed her.

Ael narrowed his eyes as he looked at Kiara.

Even now, as he looked at her standing in the middle of the chapel, there had been a moment of unrest among the knights.

‘R–Red Witch. We need to kill her before she makes eye contact with us.’

Thanks to Maeve, who had been a loyal subordinate, Kiara was spared more or less. That was still the case now.

If he tried to kill her, Maeve would no doubt step in again, using the empire’s well-being as an excuse. So, given the situation, it might not be so bad to indulge in lust rather than killing her.

All for the glory and good of the Empire, of course.

‘…The good of the Empire.’

In the end, using a flimsy excuse like that to justify such grandiose actions seemed a bit excessive even for him.

Ael tilted his head slightly, one corner of his mouth curling upward in a mocking smirk. No, that wasn’t just a flimsy excuse — it was downright pathetic.

If the Empire were truly destined to fall, it would have collapsed long ago.

How many had he killed under the name of the Empire? The resentment of the dead alone would’ve been enough to bring it to ruin. Even here in Altnebra, just in this one chapel, the blood of those he cut down had pooled and splashed across the floor.

‘The chapel…’

Ael’s gaze flickered as he remembered the moment he first caught sight of Kiara.

In the middle of a battlefield that had once been a chapel, she stood with a white wedding dress soaked in red.

While the screams of the dying echoed and the fleeing crowd collapsed around her, beneath a translucent veil she simply lowered her eyes demurely, waiting for a groom who would never come.

Thinking back on it, it was no wonder the knights had been shaken. At that moment, Kiara had looked every bit the witch they feared.

‘Though really, I’m no different.’

Ael gave a bitter smile. He had cut, stabbed, and sliced without pause, without caring whose blood splattered where. Doing so in a chapel, no less. To the others, he must have seemed like a demon.

In a way, Kiara’s continued survival wasn’t thanks to Maeve at all, but to the sheer number of people who had already died.

Even for Ael, that much blood stench was enough to be sickening. He didn’t want to add more without reason.

‘Not that one more body would’ve made much of a difference, I suppose.’

Ael’s gaze turned back to Kiara. With a frame that small, she probably wouldn’t even bleed that much.

He clicked his tongue in dry exasperation, and Kiara, already so petite, curled up even smaller.

Her black hair spilled over her pale back, catching the candlelight and drawing Ael’s eyes.

‘…Black.’

Now that he thought about it, it wasn’t just her eyes that were red. Her hair was black too — like his.

He remembered again the first time he saw her in the chapel. None of his men had wanted to get close to her, so Ael had stepped forward himself to lift her veil.

‘Y-you won’t get cursed, Captain… since you’re a Grandilgale…’

‘So the name Grandilgale’s finally good for something, huh.’

Back then, he’d been calm, even amused. But the moment those large, round eyes appeared from under the veil, he’d been thrown off guard.

It had caught him by surprise, because it was different from what he had expected.

Not that he even knew what he had expected.

When the veil was lifted, Kiara looked up at him with a soft, delighted smile, like she was genuinely happy to finally be unveiled. Ael, too, found himself unable to look away from her for a moment.