Ch#147
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The news that the Duke had regressed in age once more felt like a bizarre joke. Gavin assumed some catastrophe had occurred, given the strict orders for confidentiality. There had to be a significant reason for hiding his condition from the public.
Nevertheless, Billy’s presence was mandatory. He stood as the sole head chamberlain currently capable of supporting the Duke’s Commander.
“This long journey was unnecessary for you,” Yuls remarked.
Gavin met his gaze with an expression of disbelief, as if the suggestion was preposterous. “If I didn’t come, who would be here to receive Your Excellency?”
“Who else is aware of the situation?”
“Within the household, only Billy and Bert. Bert traveled with us as well.”
“With everyone present here, who is managing the estate affairs?”
Gavin paused. “…Bert was quite insistent that we all attend.”
A quiet laugh escaped Yuls. He suspected they had been engaged in Scorching season drills; Bert always became particularly intense during this time of year.
“Furthermore, Your Excellency,” Gavin added, “we located her.”
“This quickly?”
“Indeed. She is awaiting your arrival at the Winter estate.”
*
The coastal residence sat exactly one hour from the docks.
The road was flanked by a dense variety of exotic flora. Adi found herself momentarily mesmerized by the wide, jagged leaves of the Palm trees before snapping her focus back to the path ahead. A modest wall topped with iron spikes cordoned off the grounds. Vines climbed the stone in patches, and the garden beyond was a riot of greenery, mirroring the Duke’s primary residence.
The house eventually emerged into view. Its architecture—bright white accents and pillars set against yellow masonry and a salt-worn gray roof—evoked the spirit of a summer retreat rather than a winter home. Passing through the gates, Adi realized the yellow exterior wasn’t paint at all, but a meticulous mosaic of tiles. The craftsmanship was stunning.
The domestic staff stood in a formal line outside. Among them were Bert and Billy. Though she masked her reaction, Adi felt a surge of relief at seeing them.
The carriage ground to a halt at the front entrance.
Adi wondered if Roy would emerge in his disguise, but Yuls stepped out as himself.
The moment his feet touched the ground, he demanded, “Where is the Witch?”
“In the Drawing room,” Bert answered. When she felt him looking her way, Adi instinctively looked down. The fact that the Grimaldi family bore responsibility for the Duke’s current state weighed heavily on her.
The Duke entered the house with Roy close behind, followed by the head chamberlains. Bert stayed behind. As Adi climbed down from her saddle, he walked over.
“Adi.”
“Guard.”
“It is good to have you back.”
His kindness only made her feel more like a criminal.
Public imagination usually painted a specific portrait of a Witch: a withered hag with skin like parchment, a hooked nose, and tattered Linen robes. People envisioned them hunched over black pots filled with boiling insects and foul weeds.
In reality, Witches were indistinguishable from any other person.
If anything, they were striking.
“Dorothy.”
The girls of that ilk were frequently far more attractive than the average human.
Leaning against the Drawing room wall, Adi observed the young girl positioned by the window overlooking the surf. She was beautiful. With her porcelain complexion, Cinnabar-tinted cheeks, and eyes the color of a Blue sky, she looked like a child whose only concern was a box of sweets. Her small, delicate face wore a smile that suggested total innocence.
“I was told the Oak Forest was reduced to ash?”
The girl’s voice was sweet, but her laugh was the only thing that betrayed her nature. It was a harsh, rhythmic cackle that sounded like a carrion bird deep in the woods.
A doll’s face paired with a raven’s cry.
“The entire Kingdom is in chaos,” she continued. “The neighboring lands are just as frantic.”
“You seem quite pleased by the disaster,” Yuls observed.
“Not at all. The loss of a forest is a blow to all our kind. That is our origin, after all.”
“I may have been born there, but you certainly weren’t.”
“True,” she conceded. “I am far too refined for a life in the dirt.”
The way she spoke was entirely disconnected from her youthful appearance.
“I anticipated the Mother Tree’s demise, but the scale of this is impressive. The balance has shifted; the power on the opposing side will surge now.”
The girl made a sharp clicking sound with her tongue.
“They acted as a check on one another. With one gone, the future looks quite volatile.”
Despite her dire words, her expression was bright with curiosity. Yuls clearly found her attitude distasteful.
“I understood you were traveling toward Ramels.”
The Witch’s face clouded instantly. She let out a theatrical sigh, her features twisting into a pout that felt practiced.
“The authorities claimed a child couldn’t sail without a guardian. I had to find a companion.”
Yuls remained silent, prompting her to finish.
“I was robbed.”
A genuine grin broke across Yuls’s face. He looked delighted by her misfortune.
The Witch glared at him, clearly thinking him a monster for enjoying her struggle.
In truth, the betrayal had stunned her. The man she employed had sworn he loved children and promised to protect her. He had taken every coin she possessed to buy supplies for the long trek to the Northern Continent, then simply vanished.
“A Witch who falls for a common grift,” Yuls mused.
“If it fooled me, it was a masterpiece of a lie.”
Acting as if human treachery was a foreign concept, she announced, “I intend to blight his entire bloodline for a century.” Then she waved it off as if it were a minor annoyance.
“It wasn’t all bad. Before I departed, I saw a stranded whale in Belipeera. It was dying, and the local children were playing on its ribs. Those little humans were remarkably vicious, discussing how to rip out its teeth for jewelry. The creature’s organs were still radiating heat. It’s strange, isn’t it? A beast from the freezing depths with a warm heart.”
“I can’t tell if you’re being poetic or just morbid.”
“I’m serious. It was fascinating.”
Adi wondered what she found interesting—the fact that supposedly innocent children were naturally cruel?
“Regardless, I survived. I’m penniless now and stuck here. I’ll need to secure funds for the Ramels trip. You’re going to provide them, right?”
“If you provide me with answers, I will provide the gold.”
“A fair trade. So, why the summons?”
“As you predicted, I located the object of my search. But I have reverted to my previous state. I might even be younger than before.”
“I sensed something was off,” the Witch said, as if the realization had just dawned on her. “Don’t give me that look. I don’t care enough about Your Excellency to track your exact age. How was I supposed to notice such a minor shift?”
Yuls threw a small Cloth pouch toward her. She caught it and looked inside. Finding no rare toxins, only a few pieces of shriveled fruit, she pulled one out.
“What is this? Why are you showing me a snack?”
As she popped the fruit into her mouth, Yuls spoke.
“I was informed that fruit is lethal to Witches.”
She immediately spat the pulp onto the floor with a disgusted noise. She signaled a head chamberlain for a drink, and when he presented a tray, she swished the liquid in her mouth and spat it back into the fine china. The chamberlain’s jaw tightened, but she ignored him.
“When I consumed it,” Yuls explained, “my lungs felt like they were bursting and I vomited blood. After the fever broke, my body had shrunken.”
“…And you just let me eat it?”
“You decided to swallow it yourself. Don’t blame me for your own carelessness. You assumed that because normal Poison is harmless to you, you could eat anything.”
“Fair point. Usually, toxins are just spices to me. I never imagined something could actually kill a Witch.”
“It’s a rare wild growth. I only learned its nature after the fact.”
“I see.”
The Witch stared at the pouch with newfound wariness. She didn’t touch the others. The discarded fruit sat on the Drawing room Carpet, ignored by everyone.
It looked remarkably mundane.
“If it’s fatal to my kind, does it kill humans?”
“It has no effect on them at all.”
“But it affected you?”
“It did.”
“Do you want to try another one?” she asked.
The room turned freezing. Yuls, the chamberlains, and the Escort Knight Division all fixed her with a murderous stare.
“I’m only kidding.”
She wasn’t, but she lacked any sense of guilt and knew she needed to play nice to get what she wanted.
“A Poison for Witches,” she whispered.
In her long life, despite her youthful face, she had never encountered such a thing.