Chession was rather embarrassed by the simple answer.
"Beauty... This isn't it, you're a real witch?"
"Yes? What did you say?"
Gremory, who had clearly answered earlier, scratched her ear and tried to avoid answering. This was because of Iris, who was screaming at the top of her lungs next to her.
- Say no! You have to say no! The world will never accept a witch! If you want to live quietly in hiding in this house, you must absolutely! Absolutely! Say no! You are not a witch!
In the meantime, Chession also started screaming.
"Are you a witch?"
"No."
"You said it was right just now?"
"I thought you were asking if I was pretty."
"Haa. I really don't know anymore."
Just as Chession was about to leave the room, Gremory grabbed the hem of Chession's clothes.
"Come pat me and go."
"What?"
"When I turned into a cat, you were good at petting. Pet me like that now."
"..."
"I can't sleep, so that's why. Please pet me."
"Haa. Seriously, what should I do with you?"
"I want you to stroke me. Right now."
Chession, whose heart suddenly started beating faster, was worried. Could this be some kind of witch's temptation? Besides, what man in the world would refuse to be petted while staring at her with such a pretty face?
Chession, who had fallen for the witch's temptation, stroked Gremory's head like he was stroking a cat. Gremory went into bed with a satisfied expression and made a pleasant purring sound.
Cute.
Useless.
He wanted to give her a good slap. She made him worry so much, and now she's acting so normal, like she's teasing him.
Chession maintained a blank expression, controlling the corners of his lips that were about to rise helplessly, and stared at Gremory's sleeping form for a long time.
...That was the moment when he was about to leave her room.
'Wait a minute. Why aren't there any silver ornaments in this room?'
When he first rescued Mori and brought her to the mansion, he noticed that Mori had thrown away all of the silver ornaments. At the time, he thought it was because of the trauma from the witch hunts, but now that hr thinks about it, it feels strange.
'Witches are extremely sensitive to silver. Their skin gets damaged if they touch it for too long, and they feel a burning pain even if they are slightly pricked by a silver needle.'
So Iris also had the experience of being pricked by a silver needle during the witch hunt. Even Iris's trauma with silver wasn't that severe.
'... In Mori's case, she must have suffered a more severe trauma.'
Chession left Gremory's room. Then Isolene and the maids who had been standing right in front of the door quickly dispersed. They whispered about what the two were doing on this late night.
***
Deep at night, Gremory opened her eyes to an ominous aura.
'It's a black aura.'
When she first came to this mansion, she felt the black energy rising from somewhere. It was definitely coming from Chession's room. Gremory transformed into a cat and climbed the window frame, and headed towards Chession's room.
She opened the window with her forelegs and went in, sitting down at Chession's bedside.
Chession was having a nightmare and was sweating profusely.
"Iris..."
Calling his sister's name.
She could almost guess what kind of nightmare he was having.
Gremory pawed Chession's forehead with her forepaw to save him from his nightmare. Chession flinched, but soon became quiet. The black energy that had been gushing out also disappeared.
Chession, who had just woken up, smiled when he saw the red eyes of the black cat in front of him.
"Are you here to wake me up?"
Nod.
"Thank you. It was a really bad dream."
Chession held the cat in his arms. The little cat was held obediently in Chession's arms.
It was at that moment that Gremory changed her form into a human. When the cat in his arms turned into a human, Chession was startled and let go of Mori.
"Hey, wait a minute! Can you turn into a cat again?"
Gremory snorted.
"Oh my, look at these people. Just look at them making a fuss just because my appearance has changed a little."
"Sorry, sorry! But I'm embarrassed!"
Chession hurriedly pulled the blanket over his thinly dressed body. Gremory burst out laughing, dumbfounded.
"Why go there when there's nothing to see?"
"Look, why is there nothing to see! There's so much to see."
"Why are humans so reluctant to show their bodies to others? Aren't all bodies similar anyway?"
"Aren't you ashamed of showing your body to other people?"
"Not really."
"Please be ashamed!"
Gremory giggled and teased Chession.
That, too, for a moment.
Gremory approached Chession, lowering her posture. Chession felt the heat on his face and pushed her away with all his might.
"Mori, don't do this. I really...!"
"Shh. There are intruders. Two of them at that."
"!"
The heat drained from Chession's face. He reached out to the bedside, grabbed the dagger he had hidden, and whispered to Gremory.
'I'm sorry, but I only have one weapon right now.'
'It doesn't matter. I'll fight with my bare hands.'
Just as Gremory was about to reveal the witch's claws, Iris screamed, "Don't do that!!" Gremory eventually changed her strategy.
'...No. I'll fight with this.'
What she was holding was a pillow.
'You want to fight with that?'
'The northern snowfield fighters are not picky about their weapons.'
'Well, then what.'
'I'll aim for the one wearing the black hood. You aim for the one wearing the red belt around his waist.'
'Yes.'
The intruders began to move slowly. Chession and Gremory pretended to sleep to let their guard down.
Finally, just as they were coming in through the window, Chession suddenly stood up and swung his dagger at the one wearing the red belt around his waist. Gremory swung her pillow at the one wearing the black hood. The pillow, reinforced by the witch's power, was harder than a boulder, and the hooded one flew far away and fainted.
Now the only one left is the one with the red belt around his waist. He must be quite skilled, because Chession is having a hard time.
Gremory decided to play a little prank on him. She put a weak mental curse on him to make his footwork awkward.
As soon as he cursed, the bastard twisted his foot, and Chession took advantage of the opportunity to subdue him. Chession untied the red belt from around his waist and tied his hands behind his back.
It was at that moment that Gremory let out a snicker.
The hooded man, who was thought to have passed out after being hit by a pillow, picked up a silver candlestick next to him and threw it at Gremory.
"Mori!"
Chession immediately knocked out the hooded man by striking his head, then ran towards Gremory. But it was too late.
Gremory cut her arm on the sharp part of the silver candlestick.
"Gyaaaaaaaaah!"
She twisted her body while letting out a terrifyingly sharp scream. It was a scream so painful that it was hard to believe it came from Gremory, who had been indifferent even when spitting up blood.
"Mori, it's okay. It's okay...!"
Chession checked the condition of Gremory's arm while holding her in his arms. The wound wasn't that deep.
'What the heck? Why does a minor scratch hurt so much?... No way.'
If only because of some other fucking possibility. If it's because Mori is a witch.
'Ha, no way. Am I having such delusions even in this situation?'
Mori is a victim of witch-hunting. That's why she has such a fatal trauma.
The knights and Isolene, who heard Gremory's screams, rushed to Chession's bedroom. The knights captured the two intruders. Isolene hesitated for a moment, wondering why the two were together in their pajamas at night, and then looked at Gremory, who was crying sadly.
"Did you get stabbed in the candle holder? It's okay, Mori. It'll get better with a little disinfection."
"It hurts, ugh... I'm scared..."
"It's okay. The witch hunt is over. We won't be stabbed to death by candlesticks, so don't be afraid. Your Highness, I'll calm her down. Your Highness, go and interrogate the intruders."
"Huh? Oh... Yes."
Chession came to his senses and left to do more urgent work. Isolene placed the lamp next to her and checked on the crying Gremory.
'When I see a child who has always been indifferent crying like this, I feel like there must be a reason. No way.'
When witch hunts were in full swing, there was a time when people would stab women with silver weapons to identify witches. They said that witches felt more pain than ordinary people or something like that.
"Mori. Have you ever been stabbed by silver before?"
"Sniff. On the silver window..."
"What? A window?"
Gremory lowered her collar to reveal her chest. There was an unusually large and clear scar on her chest.
What was even more shocking was that the scar extended down her back.
It meant that the silver window had been pierced.
"Oh my god, Mori. Come here."
After wrapping the wound on Gremory's arm with a handkerchief, Isolene held Gremory in her arms and cried together for a long time.
How much did it hurt? How on earth did she survive with such wounds?
She began to reflect on himself for thinking that Mori was indifferent and unique, considering that she was a victim of a witch hunt.
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