[Episode 89] - Doubt
“Huu…”
Holding a glass with a drink in one hand, I stood in front of the door and let out a deep sigh. Wondering what on earth was going on, nothing but sighs came out. Recalling what Ainsel had told me before about the Great Witch’s personality, I soon forced a smile.
‘A meddlesome old lady… An old lady even worse than the Queen Dowager… A nagging old lady whose meddling is so severe that even other witches avoid her… Just from the stories, she’s on the level of a mother-in-law from a drama.’
Feeling somehow as tense as a daughter-in-law meeting her mother-in-law in a drama, I turned the doorknob lightly, opened the door, and poked my head in slightly. The moment I tried to get a look at her face first, wondering what kind of person this Great Witch was—
“Kuhuhu… So, how old are you?”
“Th-thirteen…”
“Kuhuhu, still just a young one, aren’t you? My dear child.”
A woman with snow-white hair, with Titania seated on her lap, entered my field of vision. Wondering where the old lady was, I turned my head wildly and surveyed the room, but inside there was only Titania and a woman who looked to be at most in her late twenties no matter how old she might actually be.
Wondering what on earth this situation was, I blankly stared at the scene, when Ainsel, who had been in Titania’s necklace, spotted me and quickly gestured for me to come in. Surely, that pervert sitting Titania on her lap and blushing isn’t…
“That’s the Great Witch…?”
My voice slipped out of my mouth in absurdity.
The moment my voice escaped my lips, everyone in the room’s gazes locked onto me. Titania’s tearful gaze as if begging to be saved, and Ainsel’s gaze seeming to scold me for arriving so late. And—
“So, you are ‘that’ Vivian.”
An expression that had been a leering, perverted grin instantly sharpened as the Great Witch looked at me. The gaze shooting from her deep blue eyes pierced into me, and before I knew it, a gasp—*hic*—a hiccup escaped me. As I watched silently, the Great Witch tapped the seat beside her and called out to me.
“Come here and sit, young one. Let us converse a while, this one and thee.”
*
The moment I stepped into the room, Titania came up to me tearfully and hugged me tightly. Just how much she had been petted by that woman for her neatly combed hair to become so disheveled. I should have come a little sooner…
First, as I tidied Titania’s hair while she hugged me and buried her head in my chest, I whispered into her ear in a voice soft enough for only Titania to hear. There was no reason for Titania to be here.
“Titania, go to the lounge at the very end of the right hallway on the third floor. And wait quietly until I come find you. Understood?”
“Huh? So suddenly…?”
Honestly, I was worried about Snow White being alone in that room. Since Snow White liked Titania, if I sent Titania there, I felt she could keep Snow White from going anywhere.
Still, since I was worried, I’d send Ainsel along too…
“Ainsel, you too.”
-What? You’re going to talk to the Great Witch alone?
I nodded slightly and looked at the Great Witch(?) sitting on the sofa.
Truly, should I call it an inhuman appearance? Snow-white hair and deep blue eyes. Despite possessing the appearance of someone merely in her twenties, her face held a dignity deeper than even the Queen Dowager’s. It was a sight utterly incomprehensible.
Though just moments ago she had looked like nothing but a pervert.
“…Stay quietly with Ainsel until I come find you. If anything happens, call for me through Ainsel anytime. Understood?”
“…Understood. Will you come quickly?”
“Yes, I shall be swift.”
After seeing Titania off, I turned my head again to look at the Great Witch. For now, Snow White would be held up by Titania, so I probably didn’t need to worry about her escaping. Rather, the greatest concern right now was…
The Great Witch sitting on the sofa, staring intently at me.
That woman was my biggest worry. If I had to guess why the Great Witch had come here, it was almost certainly to find Snow White. It couldn’t be mere coincidence that both Snow White and the Great Witch were in the same place.
‘For now, conversation takes priority.’
As Titania left the room, the Great Witch made a sullen expression.
I carefully pulled over a chair and sat in a position facing her rather than the seat beside her that the Great Witch had offered. Then, the Great Witch, pouting her lips slightly, asked as if throwing a tantrum.
“Why didst thou send the child away?”
“Child? …She’s not your child, she’s my daughter, you know? Anyway, *ahem*, I don’t want to teach Titania about witches or magic if I can help it. And…”
I glanced sideways, rolling my eyes toward the Great Witch, and answered.
“That child doesn’t know that I’m not the real ‘Vivian.’ I sent her away beforehand in case you might let something slip.”
“…I see, I see. Thou art a cautious child. This one possesses at least that much sense.”
I held out the drink in my hand to the Great Witch. I had originally brought it for Titania but had forgotten to give it to her. As I watched the Great Witch accept the glass from me, I asked.
“So, what brings you here today? To be honest, I never thought I’d meet you in my lifetime. I never intended to live as a witch, after all.”
From the moment I decided not to teach Titania magic, I had distanced myself from magic as well. I had tried my utmost to keep my distance from the Coven. When I asked, the Great Witch, who had taken a sip of her drink, answered.
“Ask not in such haste. This one did not come here to meet thee. Moreover, thou and this one have not even introduced ourselves to one another, have we?”
“…Y-you’re right. I was a bit hasty. I am—”
I sighed, calmed my heart, and began my introduction to the Great Witch. Since she would naturally know about me, I kept it very brief and simply asked her to call me Vivian.
“Then, it is time for this one’s introduction. This one is Morgan le Fay. As thou knowest, the head of the Coven and a witch who dwells in the Faerie Realm.”
“Morgan…?”
“Yes, thou mayest call this one Morgan familiarly.”
Morgan le Fay? That Morgan? The witch of Avalon? At the sudden appearance of a legendary figure, I involuntarily clamped my mouth shut. Until now, most witches had been from fairy tales and novels.
So I had thought the Great Witch would also be a witch from novels or such, but as expected, was she a Great Witch precisely because she was different? I knew the legend of King Arthur too. It was still one of the most famous legends with active derivative works.
“In any case, this meeting is but a coincidence. This one merely came to find the culprit of the incident involving thee.”
As expected, Morgan had come to find Snow White. I had managed to hide her for now, but I grew somewhat anxious. Was simply hiding her enough? Should I have just put her on a carriage and sent her away even if it drew attention? Or…
“Thou seemest to be thinking hard.”
Startled by Morgan’s words, I raised my head to look at her. Still that cold, expressionless face. Somehow, this woman’s expression was difficult to read. There was no telling what she was thinking or what emotion she felt.
“Great Witch, the witch from legends suddenly visiting out of nowhere—of course I’d have a lot on my mind…”
“Kuhuhu… this one may be a somewhat legendary figure… but fret not so. Did this one not say? That this one’s presence here is mere coincidence. To be sure, this one did come to find the culprit… but this one mistook the child for the culprit.”
“A mistake…?”
Morgan took out a piece of paper from her pocket. When she unfolded the neatly folded parchment, it depicted a face identical to Titania’s.
So… this legendary Great Witch came all the way here based on nothing but this composite sketch…? I looked at Morgan in absurdity, and Morgan waved her hands telling me not to look at her like that.
“Look not upon this one with such cold eyes…! This one has already been scolded by Ainsel sufficiently and explained the situation…! This one simply mistook her based on this sketch and the culprit’s magic spread here…!”
Morgan flapped her hands frantically, busy fanning her flushed face. Seeing that figure, a sigh of relief escaped me naturally; it seemed I had worried for nothing. If she was this much of a blunderer, I felt reassured that I could send her away easily.
“Huhu… It reminds me of the saying that even monkeys fall from trees. So even a Great Witch makes mistakes?”
“Indeed. Rather, it is precisely because this one is the Great Witch that this one makes more mistakes. Even so, this one strives to show thee a good face.”
“To set an example for the other witches?”
“Kuhuhu. Exactly. And—”
Morgan, who had been smiling bashfully as if shy, extended her hand toward me. As if telling me to take her hand, I placed my hand on Morgan’s outstretched palm.
Then, Morgan carefully took my hand and pressed her nose to the back of my hand. *Sniff sniff.* Startled by the act of smelling the back of my hand, I tried to pull my hand away quickly, but Morgan did not let go.
“W-wait…! What are you doing…!”
“Young one, this one has something to ask of thee.”
“Y-yes…?”
Where on earth had her blundering appearance from just moments ago gone? With her nose buried in the back of my hand, a sideways glance rolled toward me, and a terrible chill settled in Morgan’s gaze.
“Why does thy body exude the culprit’s magic?”
Each time Morgan spoke, cold lips brushed my fingers. The sensation I felt each time her lips grazed my fingers was no shallow feeling like mere tickling.
The cold spreading from my fingertips sent a spine-chilling, horrifying feeling. The moment I felt it, I realized I had misjudged this person until now.
I had known it clearly, so why had I mistaken this person? Simply because of her appearance? Because of the atmosphere? The moment a spine-freezing sensation seeped into my skin, I knew for certain.
“Answer truthfully. Unless thou wishest to be made an example of, as a culprit would be.”
That the woman before me was truly not a Great Witch who had lived thousands of years for naught—I could know that for certain.
*
‘The lounge at the end of the right hallway on the third floor… Is this it?’
Having arrived at the place her mother mentioned, Titania tilted her head in puzzlement for a moment and stood in front of the lounge. Why on earth here, of all the many lounges?
A lounge so tucked away that almost no one came by.
Titania, who hadn’t even known such a lounge existed, could only tilt her head in front of the door. It wasn’t a problem since her mother had designated it, but she was still curious why exactly this place had been chosen.
‘In novels, tucked-away lounges like this are places couples use to avoid other people’s attention…’
Her cheeks flushed a rosy pink at the strange thought. There was absolutely no way her mother had meant anything like that by telling her to wait here, but for some reason, she couldn’t help feeling a bit wicked. This was simply puberty.
-Princess?
“Ah, yes. I was just about to go in.”
*Ahem!* Titania fixed her slack expression and carefully grasped the doorknob. And the moment she opened the door without a second thought—
“You got here faster than I thought? What, did the Great Witch already leave?”
“Huh?”
The moment she opened the door, Titania jumped in surprise at the voice from within, her eyes going wide.
The voice coming from inside the room was her own, yet somehow felt off. She had experienced this subtle feeling only once before.
The hunting competition when she was ten years old.
Princess Fiona, who had the exact same face as her. Seeing that figure, Titania had known, even though she hadn’t wanted to.
That she was the ‘same’ as herself.
It wasn’t about personality or upbringing.
How on earth could she explain it? Titania couldn’t properly describe this feeling, but she simply felt that everything about her was the same as herself.
“You…”
“You…”
Their eyes meeting as she opened the door, Titania and Snow White could say nothing to each other. Why on earth was this person here? In the very place her mother had told her to wait, why on earth was this person?
The one who broke the awkward atmosphere of them staring blankly at each other was none other than Snow White. The princess let out a deep sigh and looked at Titania with a bitter expression, as if it couldn’t be helped.
“…Come in for now, Titania. Don’t just stand there blankly.”