Chession was in despair. Kenneth Ortega, after all, it's a relationship counseling between him and Mori. Mori was even thinking about it.
"I'm sorry, but I've never been in a relationship, so I don't think I can give you relationship counseling."
"What did you do to get older? Tsk."
"...."
"I'll just ask Isolene."
"Now, wait! Let's hear what you say."
"I was going to ask you what love is."
"Oh..."
Chession felt the blood drain from his body. The man who taught Mori the feeling of love was Kenneth Ortega. That damn bastard.
"It can be defined differently by situation and person. It's a very complicated emotion."
"Most of the love I've seen has been simple. He didn't seem to be any different from his friends, and he seemed generally happy."
Tension resurfaced in Chession's body. You said you were people-watching, and yesterday you and Kenneth went around the couples' spots. This cannot be done. I'm going to issue an order to close all couples' attractions from today.
"But I also think love makes people weird."
"In what way?"
"I saw a woman being beaten by her husband. All the money she brought when she got married was stolen by the man. I tried to talk to her because she was crying. After all, she was kicked out of the house, but she said she still loved him."
"I think that's something that the officers have to solve. What house did it happen in?"
"When I asked her why she loved him, she told me that he was a good person and that she did what she deserved."
"That's not love. It's a crime. I'll send the officers to the house soon."
The sudden burst of seriousness brought Chession's blood color back.
"Hmm... I know all the other feelings, but love is a bit difficult."
"It's difficult. Many people don't know much about love. You just experience and feel and get to know it in your own way."
"Really? I want to experience it too."
At this point, Chession began to feel depressed. He thinks she liked Kenneth a lot. Still, Chession felt his emotions grow clearer. He didn't want Mori to be taken away by Kenneth.
Chession summoned up the courage to ask.
"Mori. How was your date with Kenneth yesterday?"
"Huh? Who is that?"
"The red-haired man who sent you a letter of courtship. Didn't you two go on a date together yesterday?"
"No. I went with your sister's ghost."
"Is Iris still with you?"
"Always. It's fun to be with her."
- No. It's not! Older brother! Not!
Gremory, who ignored Iris's desperation, gulped the apple juice through a straw, and the relaxed Chession went limp like a man who had been sucked by a giant mosquito.
***
Gremory didn't spend much time thinking about love peacefully. That night, when she and Chession returned from a date to inspect the territory.
Gremory had a bad dream. Dreaming of standing alone in a black space with nothing.
Someone walked in front of her.
It was her mother.
Gremory realized that this was not just a dream. The consciousness was connected to the mother in the demon world. Witches with mixed blood can connect their rituals with each other.
The wavy dark-haired woman chuckled with her red lips.
"Baby, what are you doing in the human world? Let this mother be sealed and sacrificed."
Gremory's expression turned cold. Offerings to the demon gods are usually sealed one month before the worship ceremony. To prevent them from running away in fear. Or, if they show signs of escaping, they imprison them earlier.
With less than a month to go, the Mother would be sealed. Forcing power to connect consciousness to a sealed subject. As expected, she was the mother who gave birth to the strongest daughter in the Demon World.
"As you can see, I'm living in hiding. I don't want to be sacrificed."
The woman smiled and covered the corners of her mouth with the back of her hand.
"I don't think you're just living in hiding. You don't want to live like a human being and help humans, are you?"
"Not really."
"Isn't that so? Chession Ethel, you are clearing the man's enemies and taking care of his people for the Grand Duke."
"I kept my contract because I received the black goat, and I didn't take care of the man's people; I just filled my stomach. They gave me food on time, so I made medicine for them."
"Really? I see."
The woman finished talking and turned around. Gremory was also turning around to leave when a shrill voice caught her ankle.
"You are a witch who feeds on human misery. You can't be happy with humans. The people in that mansion like you for a limited time. If they find out you're a witch, will they like you as much as they do now?"
"I never hid it in the first place."
"It's just not yet known. If they realized that you were a real witch, would people like you as much as they always did?"
Gremory's brow was furrowed. The woman's laughter hit her ears.
"If it is known that I am a witch, will people hate me?"
Gremory didn't care about her identity being known. She didn't hide it from the beginning, and she even let the members of the Grand Duke's family interpret everything as they wished.
But now, after listening to her mom's words, she began to think about the current situation for the first time.
'Witches are horrible beings who enjoy the misfortunes of human beings. So is it natural to be ostracized?'
A monster that preys on tainted souls by playing with humans through unfair contracts, pretending to grant their wishes, and causing them to meet a miserable end.
From a human point of view, it was natural that such witches were reluctant to exist. Humans and witches are like prey and predators. What kind of food in the world would a predator like?
After all this agony. Gremory began to feel a little scared. She thought that if her identity was revealed, she might lose everything she had so far. Imagining the attitude of the member s of the Grand Duke Palace, which would become cold, cold sweat formed down her back.
'Humans don't know how good I have been. No matter how kind the wolf is, the rabbit is bound to be scared.'
She didn't want to lose. Precious things like warm gaze, laughter, and comfort.
I finally got friends.
Chession, and others.
...It would be much better to give up the witch's power if she were going to lose it all.
"Oh, do you think you want to give up your witch power? That can't be done. Without that power, you'll lose your humans."
"What are you talking about?"
"Why do the people around you like you? You benefited from the power of your witch and secretly had a crush on him. If it weren't for the witch's power, you'd just be treated as a pet. And..."
When Gremory looked over her shoulder, her mother was laughing heartily.
"You can't know about love for the rest of your life. Because I made you like that. I've sealed your feelings since you were in my womb."
"So, what?"
"The positive emotions you're feeling right now aren't real feelings. These are temporary feelings that will disappear over time. Because you are a witch! Because you are a witch who should love negative emotions! You will only feel painful emotions for the rest of your life, and you will live with them!"
"That's. Shut your mouth and get out. I don't want to look bad."
"...Before Chession Ethel brought you to the Grand Duke's Palace, you were enjoying putting yourself in pain, weren't you? You locked yourself in a small hut in a mountain village, cut off your tongue, and twisted your legs. While eating mice, and eating the pain of the villagers. Isn't that right?"
"..."
"That's you, Gremory. You are not you now. It's just a temporary Illusion."
Gremory turned around again. The nonsense that witches used to shake the minds of others was no longer worth listening to.
'It was just because I didn't know how to feel at that time. I'm different from other witches now. I don't want to enjoy the pain anymore, and I don't want to eat other people's pain. I just want to live peacefully among humans.'
As she tried to move forward while ignoring it, her mother's voice interrupted me again.
"Don't think you're different from the other witches, Gremory. Being the strongest in the demon world means being the worst in the human world."
Gremory, who woke up at the last of those voices, jumped up. Fortunately, the surroundings were still peaceful.
"...Huh?"
When she woke up, something like water was flowing from her eyes. Gremory didn't know why she was crying.
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