The witch wants to survive
W. Flower_Hwaryeong
“Tsk, I took it in because it looked fine. But it’s still in terrible shape.”
The eight-year-old boy had no choice but to bow his head. No matter how shameful it was and how much he didn't want to do it, the pain of his stomach rotting was so great that he thought, "Should I just die?" But at that time, V's fear of death was so great that he bowed his head again.
“There is no food today.”
The stable, a small warehouse filled with horse manure, was V's home. He watched his wife leave the shed, clicking her tongue, and closed his barely open eyes. Truly—it was a contradictory feeling. He wished this pain would go away, but at the same time, he wished it never would. No matter how painful and humiliating it was, he no longer had to pick up trash. Even hard bread could satisfy his hunger. Sometimes, when the lady didn't get her way, he wouldn't give her food, but it was okay. Now, a week of hunger was nothing.
The skin clung to my ribs, and every breath was painful. The warehouse was scorching hot in the summer, and freezing cold in the winter, but even that was okay. If only there was a place to lay my head. Just when I was getting used to that life, one day, I suddenly remembered my mother, who had sold me to a noblewoman due to her alcoholism, occasionally praying under the moonlight while drunk.
“Oh, God. Please, please, let Raon come back to me.”
Even though he was young, he knew intuitively that Raon was his father's name.
My mother was a maid in a noble household. An ordinary maid who served and assisted the nobleman. However, it seems her thoughts were different. She yearned for social advancement, for wealth, fame, and power. So, she sneaked into her master's room, a crime she should never have committed. Ultimately, she was brutally tortured, lost an arm, and was expelled from the noble household.While pregnant with V.
Cast out as a cripple, she lived a life of gritting her teeth and drinking alcohol. Then, she found out about V's pregnancy and went back to the noble family, but the servants, who knew of her sins, kicked her out before she could even meet her master. As time passed, a child was born. The child resembled him terrifyingly.
“Viya, you look just like your father.
So, someday he will recognize you. Then, you must not forget this mother. Because, you are the one I gave birth to.Because he's my son.”
She lived with a hope that seemed like a hollow truth. She hoped that one day he would recognize her son. But even hope was an inevitable miracle. By the time V turned eight, Raon hadn't visited, and the house was falling apart. Now, with no money left for alcohol, she realized he'd never once thought of her. She sold her child, who looked exactly like him, hoping to both avenge him and make a fortune. She sold him to a noblewoman with a peculiar predilection for young boys.
At first, he cried and screamed and refused to leave because she was his mother, even though she was beaten and abused. However, when he saw his mother's people come and beat him and try to make him faint, he stopped rebelling when he saw his mother smiling and counting money from afar.
‘Oh, my mother never loved me for even a single moment.’
The eight-year-old boy, being whipped and trampled, thought to himself, "There is no such thing as God. If there were, He should have granted my mother's wish and saved me from the pain I writhe in."
Just as he was losing faith in God and hope in life, a god-like being appeared to him.
“Here it is!”
The sound of footsteps pouring down along with the hoarse male voice startled V and he crouched down. He put his head between his knees and trembled, imagining being hit by the people sent by the lady. No matter how mature the child was, a child is still a child. As he was trembling in fear, the sound of the warehouse door opening was heard and a different voice than before seeped into his ears.
"baby."
“… …”
A gentle voice, devoid of hostility or malice. My bony hands clenched into fists, turning pale. Still, I was terrified. I couldn't trust anyone. Even the lady had been so affectionate when she first brought me here. As I stood there, trembling, unable to raise my head, the clear sound of shoes tapped the floor a few times before stopping right in front of me.
“Don’t be afraid, baby. I’m here to save you.”
A cold yet gentle hand touched my cheek, along with the words I'd been waiting for. I raised my head and met the eyes of the person before me. She was a woman with red hair and crimson eyes, a breathtaking beauty that almost stopped my heart.
“W-Witch!!… It’s a misunderstanding. That’s it, so, what happened is…!!”
The noblewoman ran barefoot and knelt before the red-haired woman. It was an action that seemed out of place for her, who always adorned herself with ornate jewels and dresses. Startled by the sudden change in surroundings, she glanced around. The red-haired woman sighed deeply, wrapped the cloak around her shoulders around V, and lifted him into her arms. Embarrassed by the woman's nonchalance in lifting a fourteen-year-old boy, even though he was short and skinny from starvation, V buried his face in her shoulder.
It was strange. The lady and the woman in front of me were both the same woman, but the red-haired woman felt strangely reassured.
"You're really good at talking. I saw it with my own eyes. Was this a misunderstanding?"
"That, that... I just brought the child outside because I felt sorry for him. I really had no other ulterior motives."
“Honey, you tell me. Was it really like that?”
The red-haired woman's gaze turned to V. He shook his head, ignoring the noblewoman's gaze, which seemed to be asking for permission, and the gaze that seemed to be glaring at him as if she were going to kill him. He told her everything that had happened from the time he first came here at the age of eight until he turned fourteen. How he had been, what he had eaten, what had hit him.
…and if not, with whatsexual abuseWhether you received it.
The red-haired woman's gaze, having heard the entire story, turned murderous. The murderous aura was so intense and terrifying that it made the air around her feel heavy. When I groaned in pain, pressing down on my shoulder, the woman finally stopped. She barely managed to suppress her anger, exhaled, and handed me, wrapped in a cloak, over to the male knight.
“Protect the child. I’ll handle this.”
“Yes, witch.”
“Wait, wait a minute…!!”
My hands were anxious. Fearing that the woman who had saved me would leave forever and never return, I reached out and grabbed her by the collar. Even though I didn't want to cry, my eyes were watering and my throat was choked with the feeling that tears would spill out at any moment. As I held onto her collar, unable to open my mouth, the woman's beautiful face broke into a smile, wiping the moisture from her cheek with her thumb as she spoke.
“Honey, don’t cry. I’ll be back soon.”
“Ha, but!!…”
“You look like you don’t believe me. Then should I tell you my name?”
“… …”
“My name is ‘Carcia.’”
“Car… Sia?”
“Okay. Let’s call you… ‘Taehyung.’ You’ll be living with me from now on.”
"taehyung."
“Wouldn’t your old name be a bad memory for you?”
If I remember Carcia's face as she looked at me as I chewed on the name 'Taehyung', it was truly affectionate. But when I couldn't shake off the look of hesitation, one of the knights who was holding me smiled and said, "It's okay. Carcia is very strong." He nodded. What moved V's heart wasn't 'She's strong,' but 'We will live together.' As soon as he agreed, the knight quickly walked away from the warehouse, and soon after, the lady's screams were heard several times, and the warehouse was blown away with the sound of an explosion. And the last thing I remember was the collar of Carcia's pure white shirt that had returned.red drops of bloodThis was it.
* * *
"My god is dead. How can I just sit still?"
As Karcia left the room, V suppressed another wave of emotion and leaned back against the headboard. Karcia was truly cruel. Did she even know how I felt when I saw her leave so miserably after teaching me the language of love, the temperature of love, and then leaving so miserably?
This time, at any cost, he had to protect her. This time, he was lucky, her soul hadn't left, and he'd made a deal to save her. God never makes a second deal. Reminded of that, V washed his face dry with his hands, then turned his gaze to his butler, Karen, who was standing farther from the bed.
“Karen, protect Karcia.”
"yes."
“No one must know that Carcia-sama devoured the body of the dead Princess Camilla.”
“If anyone noticed it… how,”
“Kill him.”
"…yes?."
“Age, status, and power don’t matter. Right there, right away,Kill.”
Now, not a single mistake could be made.