Chapter 83
It had been nearly forty years since the last Red Witch appeared, so when Kiara was born, even the royal family had been caught unprepared.
When asked why he didn’t take the rare Red Witch for himself, the Crown Prince replied:
‘This whole soulmate curse nonsense seems a bit exaggerated. I can’t exactly call tending to a bunch of herbs ‘magic,’ can I?’
Unlike the traditional and rigid people of Altnebra, those in the capital and imperial court regarded witches as relics of the past — old myths, not reality.
As such, they weren’t even sure Kiara was a real Red Witch.
And even if she was, the Crown Prince wouldn’t have dared to risk bonding with her.
‘Who knows how long the emperor has left to live? There’s no way I’d gamble his precious life on some frail little woman.’
For much the same reason, Ael had also once suspected Kiara of being a trap set by the Crown Prince.
Why bother hiring a skilled assassin or instigating war, when a delicate girl could do the job far more efficiently? If Ael were to bond with her, all they’d need to do was eliminate her and he’d follow soon after.
Ael narrowed his eyes, studying Kiara. She, meanwhile, had been thinking hard and finally opened her mouth.
“So you’re saying that witches who have taken royal soulmates have never had children…?”
“There has never been a single witch who carried their soulmate’s child.”
The way Ael spoke so firmly, with such conviction, made it sound as though such a thing could never happen.
Left with little room to argue, Kiara reluctantly accepted it and carefully asked her next question.
“Th-then… Ael, your parents…?”
“You think they were soulmates?”
Ael stroked his chin, lost in thought for a moment, then let out a short laugh and shook his head.
“Probably not. I never checked.”
The Grandilgales had always had their own methods of dealing with witches. In Ael’s mother’s case, her tongue was silenced, though not in the literal sense.
Unlike other witches, she had appeared in the Black Forest in the form of a young child and grew up within the imperial palace. The problem was, because she was so young, she learned to speak early. And once she did, the royal chosen to bond with her made sure she would never speak again.
That royal was Ael’s father, the emperor.
Ael didn’t remember her face clearly, but he’d heard his mother had been famed for her beauty. Apparently, not wanting to mar her appearance, the emperor chose not to cut out her tongue but gave her medicine to damage her voice instead.
After a long pause, Kiara finally spoke up.
“…That’s strange.”
“What is?”
Ael watched her with a faint smile. Looking at her innocent expression, unaware of just how close she had come to the same fate, he felt grateful for the first time for how sloppy the imperial family had been this time.
Unaware of Ael’s inner thoughts, Kiara furrowed her brow, clearly still puzzled, and continued speaking.
“The Grandilgales… I mean, the imperial family. Aren’t they descended from the first emperor and the Red Witch?”
“That’s right. Though it’s a little silly to take pride in that, if you ask me.”
“…Whether it’s pride or not, weren’t those two… soulmates? That whole talk about the First Blood and the Last Blood… isn’t that all about the contract they made when they became soulmates?”
Hearing Kiara’s question, Ael looked at her as if he had just been struck. Startled by his expression, she nervously glanced up at him.
“W-what…? Was that… a childish question?”
It was a childish question.
Though she asked with sincerity, her face still held the same innocent curiosity. But perhaps because of that innocence, she was able to wonder about things that others never thought to ask.
“Well, you should look into it yourself. You have access to the archives now.”
Ael smiled thinly. After all, not much was known about the contract between the first Grandilgale and the Red Witch. And now that they were in Altnebra, it was a perfect opportunity to find out.
“Really? I can?”
Kiara blinked her large eyes in surprise.
Up until now, Ael had merely tolerated her access to the archives at best. But now he was actually encouraging her to go. She was stunned.
Of course, Ael had his own reasons.
‘While looking into the first emperor and the witch, she might uncover some other useful information.’
Well, it didn’t matter whether it was useful or not. As long as it was something the Crown Prince didn’t know, anything she discovered would be worthwhile. Eventually, it would all be useful.
With that thought, Ael found Kiara gazing up at him with those clear, crimson eyes unexpectedly endearing.
“…Anyway, back to where we were. If you really don’t want to, I won’t force you anymore.”
Ael grinned and gently patted the top of her head with his large hand. His tone sounded almost as if sparing her were some kind of reward.
Just a moment ago, Kiara had been trying to stop him. But now, faced with how easily he backed off, her emotions became tangled.
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