By Zephyria 
It felt as though it had started in the late evening, yet dawn was breaking once again… Exhausted to the point where he didn’t want to think about anything, Isaac stared blankly out the window, only glancing up with his eyes at the cat pressing its paws firmly against his cheek.
‘Why is he angry…?’
As Isaac barely managed to mutter in a thick, sleep-laden voice, the cat sitting at his feet spoke: 『He is angry.』 The cat perched on the cushion atop the chair also chimed in, 『He’s angry! He’s angry!』
『An aura of irritation has been creeping up for a few days now. What’s with him? Did you hit him?』
‘…If I had hit him, would I even be alive right now…?’
Isaac shifted his body, which had been sprawled out as if he were dead. Lying on his side and propping up only his upper body, Isaac leaned his face toward the cat by his head.
‘But he really is in a bad mood, right?’
『Yeah. Really bad. Scary bad.』
Yes, it seemed so. Isaac stared intently into the cat’s black eyes before flopping back down.
He had felt this way for a few days. It wasn’t overly obvious, but the Prince’s eyes were sharper, and his expression was colder. He spoke only when absolutely necessary. When Isaac had subtly mentioned this to Rihan, Rihan had watched the Prince intently for a long while with a thoughtful look before saying, “I can’t really tell. He’s always like that.”
Since Rihan, who had served the Prince by his side in the borderlands for a long time, said so, Isaac had tilted his head, wondering if it was just his imagination. It was then that the Prince, without even looking away from his book, said coldly, “Witch. Stop idling and stay in your place. Rihan, go attend to your duties.” Rihan immediately straightened his expression and left, and Isaac quickly retreated three steps away from the Prince, solidifying his thought: ‘He really is in a bad mood.’ Usually, when the Prince was reading, he didn’t pay any attention to his surroundings until he closed the final page of the book. Moreover, it wasn’t as if Isaac had been chatting that much.
Lately, it had reached the point where even if Isaac stood exactly four steps behind the Prince, a cold gaze would fly his way instantly. …No, it was a nominal guard duty anyway; what was the difference between three steps or four?
Furthermore, it was the same at night.
Over the course of countless nights, Isaac had developed a knack for it. After doing it again and again, once the hour had grown sufficiently deep and he looked like he was dying—drenched in tears and sweat—he would cling tightly to the Prince’s body, sobbing and whispering for him to save him, that he felt like he was dying, and repeatedly kissing the Prince’s cheeks and lips. Then, the Prince would usually end the night’s activities.
But recently, despite being busy with work all day, the Prince possessed the stamina of some monster. Every night, claiming he would share his life force with Isaac, he held onto him until very late—or very early. Now, even when Isaac pleaded for mercy and begged with countless kisses, the Prince acted as if he hadn’t heard. As if he had no shred of compassion left, there were many days when he pushed ruthlessly until Isaac actually fainted, refusing to leave Isaac’s body.
On this particular day, he had somehow managed to endure without fainting…
‘Is he angry at me…?’
『You hit him, didn’t you?』
『He did, he did. It’s obvious Subun is angry at Manbang.』
‘I told you I didn’t hit him! If anyone got hit, it was me, not him!’
Isaac sat up abruptly, shouting at the whispering cats. However, a sharp throb shot through his lower back as if it were snapping, and he groaned, collapsing back down.
Just then, the Prince emerged from the bathroom. Casting a brief glance at Isaac and the three cats, the Prince tossed the towel he had been using to dry his wet hair and walked toward the table.
‘You tiny black witches. Be grateful that I’ve let you keep your lives, and stay quiet and behave until you return to your lands on the day of the Great Dark Moon.’
The Prince spoke as he poured liquor into a glass. The cats, blinking their round eyes, made a fuss: 『What? What did he say?』, 『Hit him! Subun needs to be hit!』 But as soon as the Prince turned around with his glass, they instantly shut up.
Isaac gazed blankly at the Prince, who was leaning against the cabinet, wetting his throat with liquor while looking at Isaac. Uncertain of what to do, Isaac scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and asked.
‘Why are you in a bad mood?’
The Prince arched an eyebrow. It was as if he were asking, ‘Me?’
‘It seems like you are.’
Isaac examined the Prince carefully. The way he roughly patted himself dry with a towel after coming out of the water, the way he slowly swirled the glass, and the way his head tilted ever so slightly, minutely to the left when looking at someone—these were all things the Prince did when he was in a very bad mood. There were various other small signals as well.
The Prince, who had been staring intently at Isaac as he observed him, suddenly turned his head away. …Right now, it seemed he was slightly irritated because he had been read accurately.
‘You seem to know my habits better than I do.’
The Prince’s voice sank further. Ah. This was dangerous. He seemed truly angry.
‘Indeed, perhaps because you are a witch, your intuition is quick. Sometimes it feels as though you know me better than I know myself. Even parts I wasn’t aware of.’
The Prince set down his glass and walked toward Isaac. His heavy footsteps, approaching while water droplets dripped from him, were menacing.
‘Yes, as you said, I have not been in a good mood lately. Try to guess why. I don’t know either, so I’ve been thinking about it.’
‘—.’
‘Everything with work is going flawlessly. The outline of how to handle future affairs is already set. Except for one thing.’
The Prince stopped in front of Isaac. He looked down piercingly at Isaac, who was looking up at him while sitting on the bed. The eyes that had been lost in thought while scrutinizing every detail of Isaac’s face suddenly narrowed faintly.
‘Since you seem to know me so well, tell me. How do you think I will dispose of you?’
The low tone of his voice was harsh. The thought suddenly crossed Isaac’s mind that this might be one of the reasons why his mood had been foul all along.
Isaac, who had been staring at the Prince, dropped his gaze.
His disposal. After the Witch hunt ended, what would be done with him, one of the few remaining witches?
At first, he naturally thought the Prince would kill him once everything was over. However, the witches, who were now few enough to be counted on two hands, were all said to be crossing over to the land of the new moon and never returning. As witches disappeared from the human world, the Witch hunt also stopped.
The Prince decided not to go through the trouble of hunting down and killing the remaining dozen or so witches who would simply hide until the Great Dark Moon and then leave. However, Isaac was a witch who remained clearly within the Prince’s sight.
Would he kill this last witch? Or.
‘…If you are letting the last witches remaining in the human world cross over to the land of the new moon this Great Dark Moon,’
When Isaac paused for a moment, the Prince’s eyebrow twitched. It seemed he had realized what Isaac was about to say.
‘Then, could you please send me along with them?’
Isaac finished his sentence and looked up at the Prince. The Prince looked down at Isaac expressionlessly. Isaac couldn’t tell what he was thinking, staring at him so piercingly without any emotion. Only the nearby cats suddenly bristled the fur on their necks and scurried off the bed.
‘You wish to go to the land of the witches…?’
‘…Because I can never become human.’
Isaac muttered like a sigh.
He wanted to be human. Not a mixed-blood, not a Pureblood Witch, but a whole human being. But that was no longer possible, and if so, the only way to break the royal curse was to leave this place.
After letting out a quiet sigh at his feet, Isaac raised his gaze again, but he flinched midway. The Prince was staring at him. With a gaze so cold it felt as if it would freeze his heart.
‘…No… well, if you absolutely must kill me…’
Frozen under that terrifying gaze, Isaac instinctively took a step back, but he couldn’t bring himself to say “Kill me,” so he let his words trail off awkwardly.
Then, the Prince reached out. Isaac winced and frowned at the pain as the Prince roughly grabbed the back of his hair, and he held his breath as the Prince brought his face right in front of his.
‘If I absolutely must kill you…?’
‘—.’
‘Then you would run away. To the land of the new moon.’
Whispering as if spitting the words out—that he wasn’t the type to simply agree to be killed—the Prince curled his lips. His strong hand pulled Isaac even closer.
‘Either way—whether I decide to kill you or not,’
The Prince murmured low.
‘Things will not go as you wish.’
The Prince spoke harshly, like a beast growling in full rage. Simultaneously, the Prince bit into Isaac’s lips and overlapped his body over him. The cool body that had just been washed in cold water was instantly heated up again, and the night, which Isaac had thought was over, resumed. Far more roughly and mercilessly than before.
As he was tormented under the Prince once again until dawn, Isaac realized something desperately and anew. It was the obvious fact that when the Prince looks like he’s in a bad mood, one must be careful with every single word.
“…So, I’m wondering, why on earth has he been in a bad mood all this time…?”
Isaac muttered with a sigh. The Prince, who had been looking at Isaac with eyes that remained coldly sunken, only averted his gaze and turned his head when the King said something to him from the side. And even while talking to the King—his father—the Prince’s cold, expressionless face did not fade.
Setting aside the fact that he usually has no expression, I just wish his mood would get a bit better.
Isaac looked gloomily at the Prince, whose state had hardly improved since they returned to the capital from Hailen.
There were only fifteen days left until the Great Dark Moon. Unless the Prince beheaded him before then, Isaac intended to take the Moon Fragment Ship; he had to. That meant there were only fifteen days left to see him.
Even if it’s only fifteen days, I want to be with him while he’s feeling comfortable and pleasant.
If the last thing to remain in my memory is his constant displeasure, my steps upon leaving will feel very heavy.
It was just as Isaac let out a breath as heavy as those steps.
“Yes, then I must personally commend the guard who assisted Kaieon and achieved a great feat in this matter. Where is he?”
The King, who had been talking with the Prince for a while, spoke while scanning the area.
At the banquet, rewards were being distributed to those who had contributed to the Witch hunt in Hailen. A few who were said to have made particularly great contributions, such as Rihan, had received enormous prize money and titles as rewards and had stepped aside. Just as the rewards were nearing the end, the King mentioned the guard.
At first, Isaac didn’t even realize the King was talking about him. He only stared intently into the Prince’s deep blue eyes, which were fixed on him. Looking again, the color was truly beautiful. He was thinking about how truly beautiful the Prince was.
“Isaac.”
The Prince called his name. Confused as to why he would suddenly call his name in a place like this, Isaac only then realized that everyone’s gaze was converging on him and quickly scanned his surroundings. Then—he understood the situation.
“Yes, it is indeed him. Well done. Come closer.”
As Isaac instinctively took a step forward, the King, following the gazes of the people to see Isaac, smiled benevolently and waved his hand. Isaac moved forward as the people cleared a path and knelt blankly before the King.
A reward from the King.
He knew it in his head, but it didn’t feel real. The fact that he, a mere soldier, was receiving a personal reward from the King and standing in the center of such a dazzling banquet was hard to believe.
Yet, the reason he felt this wasn’t a dream was because he could faintly hear whispers like, ‘I heard he’s a witch,’ and ‘That man is the one…’ The gazes filled with curiosity and hostility, piercing his entire body, pulled Isaac back to reality.
“I am told that you were a great help to Kaieon in achieving this task. To commend your hard work, I wish to grant you a reward. What do you desire?”
The King’s voice drifted down from above.
This was the moment he had longed for. It was the time to obtain what Isaac had agonized over wanting for so long. Suddenly, his heart beat wildly.
Perhaps because of that, words didn’t come out immediately, as if his heart were blocking his throat. Likely because his nervousness was evident, he saw the Queen Consort, sitting beside the King, quietly turn her head and smile along with the Princess.
His face grew hot, but unable to even fan himself amidst so many gazes, Isaac broke into a cold sweat and struggled to speak. However, he was flustered that the words simply would not come.
“He has been quite curious about Your Majesty’s treasury for some time.”
At that moment, the Prince spoke. The people’s gazes shifted to the Prince, and the King looked at him in surprise. He blinked, wondering when the Prince had ever spoken on behalf of someone else.
“He once told me that he wished to see the numerous treasures there and that he would be happy if he could have just one of them.”
Isaac looked back at the Prince, who was gazing at him. The Prince fell silent, as if that was all he had to say, and the King, who had been nodding while listening to the Prince, turned his gaze toward Isaac. He nodded with a benevolent smile.
“Will that suffice? Very well, let us see what you might covet. I shall take this opportunity to look around the treasury for the first time in a long while.”
He never imagined he would be moved directly to the treasury from there.
The King, who was moderately intoxicated and in high spirits, readily stood up, saying, ‘Now that you mention it, I too wish to look over my treasures after such a long time,’ and a few of his aides and the Prince followed behind him. And Isaac followed at the very end.
He had heard that the treasury was located in the deepest part of the palace. That place, where mountains of gold, silver, jewels, and all sorts of mysterious and rare things from around the world were gathered, was said to be attached right next to the bedroom of the main palace where the King resided. Isaac had only heard rumors and had never been near it.
It was said that only the King, a few direct royal family members, one or two officials whom the King trusted and cherished deeply, and those specifically granted temporary permission by the King could enter. Thus, for Isaac, it was a place he had only heard of in rumors and had never even dreamed of entering—but.
“Now, now, come inside.”
Right next to the King’s bedroom.
There stood a massive iron door. The crude, pitch-black iron door was so huge and thick that nothing could pierce it, and with three locks as large and complex as a human head, it was imposing, as if it would never open.
Upon reaching the door guarded by four soldiers whose physiques were stronger than most strongmen, the King took out the ring of keys he always carried. He pulled out the bluntest, most plain-looking key and opened the first lock. Then, the captain of the guard, the oldest and most rugged-looking among them, stepped forward politely and opened the second lock. Only then did the King take out the thinnest and most elegant-looking key from the ring and open the final lock.
After that, four exceptionally large soldiers rushed to the door all at once and began to pull. Only after pouring in an immense amount of strength, until veins bulged on their foreheads and forearms, did the heavy iron door finally begin to move inch by inch.
Once the iron door, which seemed as if it would never open, finally opened completely, an old wooden door engraved with exquisite and beautiful carvings appeared inside. That wooden door, which looked like an ancient piece of art in itself, opened easily.
The King, standing at the front, opened the wooden door and stepped inside, taking a deep breath as if truly pleased. Then, he turned and gestured for them to enter.
Isaac stepped inside, following the others who had likely entered several times before. After taking a slow, deep breath and lifting his head, Isaac stopped breathing in the next moment.
It was a vast hall.
The entrance, which had no windows and was accessible only through the single door they had just passed, featured a giant lantern hanging in the sky that emitted a light as bright as the sun. No, it wasn’t a lantern. Looking closer, the rounded sphere was shimmering and moving as if it were alive. White and yellow mottled patterns were etched onto the surface of the sphere as it slowly rotated in a circle, the patterns undulating very slowly. Like a star shining of its own accord. …No, it truly was a star. Small stars, some the size of apples and others the size of walnuts, were orbiting around it.
Isaac, staring blankly up at the dazzling star that illuminated the treasury instead of lamps, stood rooted to the spot and looked around the warehouse.
A carpet with intricate and beautiful embroidery was flying in mid-air. So that was the legendary Flying carpet. A goose was perched atop the carpet, but perhaps startled by the sudden arrival of people, it leaped down onto the table below. After laying another golden egg among the pile of golden eggs already on the table, it waddled toward the wall and hid behind a twelve-panel folding screen.
Each panel of the screen depicted a dazzling beauty; the beauties in the paintings looked at them as if they were alive and greeted them with a beaming smile. Some beauties leaned their upper bodies halfway out of the painting as they greeted them, as if they could be brought out of the painting if desired.
In the display cabinet next to the screen, various potions of brilliant colors were lined up, including a Potion that turns you into a mermaid and a Potion that attaches bones and regenerates flesh on a dead person. Below the cabinet lay Leather shoes that can travel a thousand miles and Glass shoes that transform you into a noble when worn.
In addition, the vast room was filled with other wondrous things such as the Golden hair of a giant, a Talking mirror, and a Wooden puppet whose nose grows when lying, with gold and silver coins piled up like dust in between them.
Isaac was unable to close his mouth for a while at the overwhelming and dazzling sight. His heart beat violently as he gazed blankly around the treasury. Isaac had always loved things that sparkled and were flamboyant. His mind grew hazy, and he even felt a desire to live in this room forever. The King, wearing a satisfied smile as if immensely proud of his treasury, explained one by one, his voice sounding distant: “This was sent as a gift from the neighboring country of Grenham thirty years ago, and this is a treasure passed down from the twenty-second ancestor…”
Finally,
“Now, then, Guard, which of these do you desire?”
The King spoke.
Isaac, who had been standing frozen and merely looking around the warehouse, finally snapped back to his senses. He must not be too enchanted by the glittering things. He had to keep his wits about him. And he had to obtain what he needed.
Isaac calmly surveyed the treasury once more. Even then, he felt as if his consciousness might drift away several times toward those dazzling objects, but he steadied his heart and walked slowly through the warehouse.
People were watching Isaac’s footsteps. The King, who would not be pleased if he chose something excessively large; the officials who had followed him; and the Prince.
The Prince was watching Isaac in silence. He had been doing so since they entered the room. Without casting a single glance at the countless treasures, he looked only at Isaac. At the end of that gaze, Isaac clearly felt that the Prince was intently observing what he would choose.
Isaac had known for some time that the Prince was suspicious. Suspicious of why Isaac was so greedy for the treasury. This was because the Prince knew Isaac’s nature—that he lacked great material greed and did not seek promotion—as well as Isaac did himself.
Thus, when Isaac spotted it—he deliberately averted his gaze. Then, he stopped in his tracks, fixing his eyes on a large golden statue right next to it.
Found it.
He found it. He knew the moment he saw it. He would have known even if the flint stone in his inner pocket hadn’t suddenly trembled as if breathing and grown hot.
It was placed insignificantly in a corner among the countless treasures. It looked shabby, as if anyone would pass by it without interest, covered in dust like a piece of messy waste paper.
A small, worn-out wooden box. A flint jar smaller than a shoe box, looking as if it might break at any moment with rusted hinges, sat there.
“—.”
His heart raced. The flint stone was heating up against his chest.
That’s it. That’s the one. Give me that. Take me there. The flint stone was speaking thus.
The Prince’s gaze lingered on Isaac, who stood staring at the golden statue—and the flint jar that had entered the corner of his vision. Beside the Prince, whose eyes narrowed slightly, the King’s eyes also narrowed with anxiety. The human-sized golden statue was very large and beautiful.
Isaac slowly moved his feet again to complete one more lap of the warehouse. Those dazzling treasures no longer caught his eye. The only thing etched into his retina was that shabby box. And Isaac knew that it was the most precious thing in this room.
He had to ask for that. He had to obtain it.
After circling the warehouse, Isaac stopped in front of the door and looked up. Then, he hesitated.
The Prince was looking at him. Standing in one place in silence with his arms crossed, he was scrutinizing Isaac’s gestures, his gaze, and every detail. And Isaac instinctively realized what he must not say. He must not let the Prince discover what he truly wanted.
“—Gold coins,”
As Isaac spoke, the attention of the people gathered. The King, who watched with tension to see what Isaac would choose; the people looking on with curious eyes; and the Prince, who waited for Isaac’s answer with an expressionless face, his thoughts unknown.
“I wish to take gold coins. …Enough gold coins to fill that box.”
Isaac looked at the King while pointing to the flint jar in the corner. Then, he casually withdrew the hand that had pointed to the box and looked greedily at the gold coins piled here and there. However, he maintained a reserved attitude—not too greedy, appearing as if he would not invite anger by being overly covetous despite there being many other tempting items.
His heart pounded.
Would he be able to get what he wanted? He had to. Please.
The Prince’s eyes flickered slightly. His gaze, staring intently at Isaac with a faint frown, sank into suspicion.
Isaac did not look back at the Prince. If he looked at the Prince at this moment, he would surely give something away. So, Isaac kept his eyes fixed only on the King. …Please, he cried out desperately in his heart.
“…Ho ho…”
Finally, the King spoke. The King, who had been looking at Isaac with wide eyes, laughed, the wrinkles around his eyes softening.
“Gold coins, gold coins. Very well, take as much as you wish. Ho ho, what an unambitious young man. —Someone, quickly fill that box with gold coins and hand it to this young man. Fill it to the brim. Hahaha.”
The King, perhaps relieved and relaxed, let out a loud belly laugh and signaled the warehouse keeper. The warehouse keeper bowed and hurried over to start sweeping gold coins into the flint jar. The small box was soon filled with gold coins.
It was an amount of gold that would allow an ordinary person to live in leisure for several years. Isaac received the heavy box with a pleased and satisfied expression and bowed deeply to the King. The King smiled generously at the modest young man who had chosen to take something more common than dust from a treasury full of immense treasures.
“Ho ho, yes, truly an unambitious young man. —Now, since we have rewarded this frugal youth, let us return to the banquet hall. Everyone must be waiting.”
The King, laughing continuously and patting Isaac’s shoulder, hurried the people to leave the warehouse, perhaps fearing Isaac might change his mind. The people filed out of the warehouse.
Isaac, clutching the box of gold coins, walked among them, and the Prince silently watched him from behind. After steeling his heart, Isaac turned his gaze toward him. He bowed deeply to the Prince, who was still looking at him with suspicious eyes.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, Lord Kaieon, I was able to see a surprising and wonderful place. It is a place I have long hoped to see, even just once.”
Isaac spoke with an excited breath. Those words were not a lie. For a long time, he had hoped to see the King’s treasury, and the treasury he had actually seen was indeed full of surprising and wonderful things.
The Prince quietly looked down at Isaac’s flushed cheeks, which had not yet lost their excitement. And at the pile of gold coins Isaac was clutching.
“That is what you desired?”
The Prince asked, tilting his head slightly.
“Yes. And seeing that place.”
Isaac smiled brightly, as if saying that since his wish to see the King’s treasury had been fulfilled, this much for the rest was enough. Indeed, in a situation where he could have one of anything he wanted from the King’s treasury, coming out with only gold coins was a truly unambitious act. That would align with his usual nature—the Isaac who did not harbor particular greed for wealth.
The Prince continued to look down at Isaac for a while, still not entirely convinced, but the King, who had been the last to leave after confirming the treasury was locked, grabbed the Prince’s arm and said, “Now, let us all go,” causing the Prince to finally avert his gaze. And Isaac followed behind, clutching the box filled heavily with gold coins.
The Firesteel in his bosom was burning fiercely. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but the wooden box he held also felt warm. Hurry. Hurry. Hurry. He could clearly feel the presence of the Firesteel wanting to empty all the gold coins inside and enter the flint jar. As if it had finally met its partner after being separated for an eternity.
He had finally obtained it. The thing he had longed for so much.
The magic flint jar.
His heart was racing.
The cats, who he thought would run wild and turn the whole room upside down, were unexpectedly quiet. Very quietly, without even making the sound of breathing, they stared at the flint jar Isaac placed on the table.
“…”
Why are these guys so quiet? Is this not what they asked for? Did I bring the wrong one… Isaac slowly took his hand off the flint jar on the table and checked their reactions. They remained motionless, their eyes fixed on the flint jar.
“…Hey, is this not it? Did I bring the wrong one?”
Just as Isaac began to feel anxious, wondering if the flint jar was such a precious treasure that it was kept separately in the warehouse, or if it was somewhere in the warehouse and he had missed it, he glared at the cats.
Suddenly, in those large eyes—eyes the size of teacups, eyes the size of windmill wheels, eyes the size of towers—tears began to well up.
Isaac flinched and shrank back, watching the three of them.
Why are their eyes suddenly watering? Are they sick? Surely, it couldn’t be that tears are falling from their eyes…
「Waaaaah!」
「It’s the flint jar! It’s the flint jar!!」
「Our treasure has returned!! Waaaaah!」
The three of them suddenly shouted and burst into tears. They lunged at the worn-out wooden box like lightning, spilling all the gold coins inside and clutching the box dearly. They tried to squeeze their bodies into the space smaller than a shoe box, rubbed their cheeks against the corners of the box, and hugged the box while crying and meowing.
Watching this, Isaac’s shoulders slumped.
Thank goodness. I guess I didn’t bring the wrong one. While he breathed a sigh of relief, having worried about what he would do if he had brought the wrong one, he gazed down at the creatures meowing around a single box.
It was the first time he had seen these guys cry. It was the first time he had seen cats cry. Seeing them pour out tears like chicken eggs from those large eyes while touching and hugging the box was both heartwarming and poignant.
Come to think of it, these guys had spent all those long years in the human world solely because of this. Because of this, they could not leave for the land of the new moon even while witch hunts were rampant, and they stayed here without meeting their family and friends.
“Now you can go back, too.”
Isaac murmured abruptly, looking down at the three of them rejoicing in a commotion around the box. Now they could go. And the time for him to go was also approaching.
Isaac looked up at the birdcage hanging by the window. In one of the three cages hanging there, the one in the middle, was a small crow. It was the new body to move Alikisa into.
Once Isaac made a wish and became a Pureblood Witch, she would no longer be able to stay in Isaac’s body, and the only place for her to enter after leaving would be that body. He didn’t feel particularly pity for her, as she would have to live inside there, unable to do anything until the crow’s life ended. He only felt a slight sense of apology for feeling as if he had deceived her. But that was her karma.
And Isaac, having become a Pureblood Witch, would have to leave the human world once the Great Dark Moon arrived. Isaac swallowed a bitter breath as he looked at the rounded full moon rising in the night sky outside the window.
Still, he was glad that everything ended well.
“I’ll just be the only one feeling regretful, then…”
Isaac nodded to himself and turned his gaze back to the flint jar.
The time had come. He felt that if he hesitated any longer, his resolve would fade. Isaac took the flint stone from his bosom and placed it beside the flint jar. The cats, who had been hugging and kissing the box, suddenly pricked their ears and looked at the flint stone. The cats who had been rolling inside the box or rubbing their cheeks on the corners stood up and approached the flint stone.
「It’s the stone.」
A cat, crouching low, purred while looking at the flint stone. The other two also narrowed their eyes. Those eyes began to shine and glisten more and more.
「Now our treasure is complete.」
「Our treasure, finally, again.」
The cats whispered softly. Then, they looked at Isaac. Looking up at Isaac, they purred without a word. The purring sound was rising with anticipation and excitement.
Isaac realized what they wanted. Slowly picking up the flint stone, Isaac placed it inside the box.
The moment the stone landed with a clink inside the box.
“—.”
Suddenly, it felt as if lightning had struck the room, and his vision became as bright as fire. Isaac reflexively closed his eyes and turned his head, and white flames seemed to linger and flash behind his eyelids.
Isaac slowly opened his eyes while still facing away. As if the immense flash of light from a moment ago had been a lie, the room was silent. No more bright light was visible. Isaac turned his gaze back toward the box—and saw three tigers.
Three tigers, as huge as houses, filled the room, sitting with their heads lowered as if they might touch the ceiling. Their jet-black, glistening eyes were looking down at Isaac.
Though he had seen this form countless times, it was different from other times. Those massive and lush bodies held something different from before. It was life force.
The tigers, having regained the source of their Mana, were emitting an explosive life force and Mana, as if they possessed an overwhelmingly overflowing spring.
That immense Mana felt as if it could grant anything Isaac desired. Even something considered impossible—a mixed-blood becoming a Pureblood Witch.
「Exactly three more. After granting exactly three more wishes, we shall take the flint jar. That is the reward for finding our flint jar.」
The tiger spoke, bringing its head close to Isaac.
Exactly three more.
He had to think carefully. A wish once made could not be undone, and he could only make three wishes.
Looking into the teacup-sized eyes of the tiger leaning close to him, Isaac took out the flint stone that had been in the flint jar. Clutching the flint stone, which now shone smoothly in his hand as if it had become a completely different object from yesterday, Isaac tapped it gently.
A tiny spark crackled in his palm.
At the same moment, the tiger’s large eyes flashed like flames. Its glossy black fur billowed and rose as if it had become a blaze.
A terrifying overflow of life force. That astounding Mana.
No matter that he was mixed-blood, the power was so immense that Isaac could feel it vividly, and he found himself catching his breath.
So this is the power of the flint jar. Their one and only treasure. The thing that would now grant Isaac what he desired—and, in another sense, what he never wanted.
「I shall grant your wish. What do you desire?」
The tiger murmured. Hearing the deep, majestic voice that sounded as if it were echoing from beneath the earth, Isaac briefly glanced out the window. The full moon was hanging brightly in the sky.
By now, the Prince would be with the King. As the banquet drew to a close, the King had mentioned his intention to abdicate the throne soon and spend his days in a secluded suburban Star Palace. He had dismissed everyone else, moving to the study to speak privately with the Prince about state affairs and royal matters. Thus, Isaac had also withdrawn and returned to his bedroom first.
The King was gentle and benevolent in nature, but he had a frail side to him; for a long time, he had mentioned on several occasions that he wished to abdicate early and live leisurely in a quiet suburban Star Palace. Now that the Prince had returned after achieving successive great feats and had stood tall such that no one dared oppose him, it seemed the King felt the time was right to turn his long-held wish into reality.
Though frail, the King was not foolish, and once he made a decision, he carried it out promptly. If he had spoken of it so openly at the banquet, the abdication would likely take place within the coming year, or at the latest, the year after.
Soon, the Prince would ascend to the throne.
“I wanted to see that sight…”
Isaac murmured regretfully to himself.
The Prince had already solidified his position so firmly that no one could oppose or challenge him. Nevertheless, Isaac wished he could see him standing at the highest peak.
But there was no time.
Isaac turned his gaze from the full moon to the tiger. The tiger was waiting for Isaac’s answer. The other tigers also waited silently for him to speak.
Isaac took a deep breath. Then, he spoke a wish that could not be undone.
“Make me a Pureblood Witch.”
The moment the words left Isaac’s lips, blue flames seemed to flow from the tiger’s eyes.
「I shall grant it.」
A low, thick resonance, as if echoing from a cave. At that same moment—Isaac felt it vividly.
The sensation of something within his body fading and dying away. Simultaneously, the feeling of something coming vividly to life and growing explosively. Those two sensations locked together and intertwined within Isaac’s body.
“—.”
There was no pain. It was a sensation different from pain. It felt as if a tsunami were surging through his body.
Something crude and violent crashed in, and what was pushed away swelled back up like a flame to resist, only to vanish instantly like a bubble at some point. Then, a fierce sensation would rush into the void, occupying and covering the spot. A sensation that shook every corner of his body, every single cell, so violently that it was hard to breathe.
Though it wasn’t pain, a massive sensation stormed through his entire body, feeling almost like pain. It started from the heart and spread through the veins to every limb. When it had completely filled every nook and cranny, down to the tips of his fingernails and toenails, Isaac stopped breathing. His eyes widened, and he froze, unable to move a muscle.
A moment where his body felt as if it weren’t his own, unable to move. A moment where he couldn’t even breathe at will, where what had been his vanished and was replaced by something that was no longer his—something entirely different from what he knew.
It was a moment of a small death.
And right then, Isaac realized that he had changed into something else.
His halted breath slowly returned. The blood that had stopped in his body began to flow again. His heart started beating, and his muscles, bones, and flesh found their places.
Everything returned to normal.
Isaac, who had been frozen without a flicker of movement, slowly, very slowly, moved his body.
It felt like nothing. Just as it had been a few seconds ago, everything moved as if nothing had happened. It seemed as though nothing had changed.
However, Isaac knew for certain. He knew that a part of his body had died and another part had filled that void.
“….”
Ah, I see. He knew instinctively, even without anyone telling him.
He was now a witch.
A complete witch, with no human part remaining.
It was a subtle feeling—somewhat sorrowful, somewhat regretful, yet at the same time, as if it were nothing at all.
“But if I’m a witch… what’s different from when I was human?”
Isaac looked down at his body, which felt no different in terms of movement, and then looked up at the tiger.
「Hmm, living a long time and healing quickly from injuries?」
「The biggest difference between a witch and a human is the use of Mana, but from what I see, Manbang, you weren’t born with much Mana anyway, so it probably won’t feel that different.」
Is it really that different? Sensorialy, it probably isn’t, one of the tigers, who had been whispering among themselves, suddenly pointed its front paw at Isaac’s chest.
「Still, if there’s one thing that’s definitely different, it’s that.」
“That… …—”
Isaac, looking down at his chest in confusion, stopped speaking.
From his chest, near where the heart resides, a bluish smoke was seeping out. The smoke, small and rounded like a curled-up fetus, bore a blue hue like ice. Isaac recognized the moment he saw it; it was the shimmering smoke, as if light were leaking from its center. It was Alikisa.
The witch, who had lost all her Mana and had been slumbering inside Isaac, seemed to have no strength left to wake up even after being pushed out of Isaac’s body, where she could no longer remain. The soul, sleeping without any will or consciousness, had only the instinct for survival left; it wavered and spread outward, risking total annihilation if it did not find a body to inhabit immediately.
It has to go somewhere. It must dwell somewhere, possess something. Otherwise, the lost soul will simply vanish.
The smoke, whose color had begun to fade, wavered unstably and spread hazily throughout the room. The smoke brushed past Isaac and even the three tigers, shaking as if not knowing what to do, until it finally reached the crow in the cage by the window.
The smoke seemed to flicker. As if a faint hesitation remained even within its sleeping consciousness, the smoke merely hovered unstably around the crow. However, just as it had almost lost its blue light, turning pale and nearly dispersing into the air, it seeped into the crow right before vanishing.
Caw—! The crow let out a long cry. It fluttered its wings frantically inside the cage.
The smoke, which had rushed in as if devouring the crow in an instant, vanished without a trace, and the crow, which had been fluttering in alarm, eventually calmed down.
It had completely merged into the crow.
The witch, who had wandered among humans for so long, devouring them and causing pain, was now forced to remain inside the crow until its life ended. Unable to speak, she was trapped inside like a prison, unable to move to another body.
Whether it was grieving over this miserable end, the crow let out two long cries—Caw— Caw——even though Alikisa was likely still asleep.
「Hmph. After tormenting and bullying both humans and witches so much, she ended up like this.」
「Phew… it’s a world where poetic justice is meaningless. To think Alikisa, who worked so hard to accumulate evil karma, would end up in this state.」
One tiger leaped toward the cage. While clicking its tongue as if pitying her, its eyes were curved in amusement as it half-opened the cage door and poked its front paw inside. It seemed there was nothing more mischievous than the tiger enjoying itself by poking the belly of the frantically fluttering crow.
“Yes, you are also steadily accumulating evil karma, just like a witch…”
As Isaac, looking at the tiger with white eyes, murmured, the tiger suddenly widened its eyes and shouted, 「Of course! You are a proper witch now, so devote yourself to evil karma!」
A proper witch. Isaac chewed over those words. He looked down at his hands, his body. It seemed as if nothing had changed, but his body was already entirely different from what it had been a few minutes ago.
I have become a witch now.
“….”
There was nothing to be sad or regretful about. Isaac had been half-witch from the start, and he didn’t dislike or hate witches. At one point, he had even wondered what it would be like to become a witch and cross over to the land of the new moon. Thus, becoming a witch was neither painful nor regrettable.
“Now I have no choice but to cross over to the land of the new moon…”
I can no longer stay in the human world. Isaac murmured like a sigh, staring blankly up at the full moon.
It was then.
Suddenly, the surroundings became deathly silent.
The tigers, who had been chattering so much until a moment ago, were quiet. …When noisy things suddenly go silent, it’s usually a sign that they’re up to no good.
“Why are you all suddenly—”
It was when Isaac frowned and turned his head. Isaac, too, stopped speaking mid-sentence.
At the door—at the door that had opened silently at some point—stood the Prince.
How long had he been standing there? He likely hadn’t been there long. The Prince’s gaze, as he looked into the room while stopped at the door, was fixed on Isaac. Looking at Isaac with an expressionless face, the Prince’s lips twitched slightly.
“Where is it that you have no choice but to cross over to…?”
The Prince strode into the room and looked around. His gaze, scanning the things in the room, stopped on the three tigers. Suddenly, the Prince frowned.
It’s not the Dark Moon… a muttered monologue was faintly audible. He seemed to find it strange that three tigers were sitting there even though it wasn’t the Dark Moon. His gaze, scrutinizing each one, was fierce. His blue eyes, which seemed as if they wouldn’t miss a single detail, examined the tigers curiously before looking at Isaac.
“Yes, where is it that you have no choice but to cross over to?”
The Prince asked again, looking at Isaac. Isaac looked up at the Prince in bewilderment and stammered.
“…I was talking about how witches end up crossing over to the land of the new moon.”
The Prince looked at Isaac intently. Isaac tried to act as if nothing were wrong, but perhaps because he was startled by the sudden appearance, cold sweat beaded on his forehead. Seeing this, the Prince’s eyes narrowed further.
“You returned sooner than I thought—”
“What were you doing.”
Isaac tried to change the subject by offering a greeting, but the Prince cut him off. Isaac instinctively clamped his mouth shut for a moment. This reflexive gesture, as if he had been caught doing something bad, was because he had been doing something he didn’t want the Prince to know about.
The Prince’s eyes twitched as he looked at Isaac. As if something bothered him, he stared piercingly at Isaac and asked again.
“What were you doing.”
Though his voice was low, it sliced through the air more sharply than a shout. That chilling aura made not only Isaac but also the tigers right beside him flinch. The one with its paw in the cage clattered as it pulled its leg back.
At that moment, the latch on the cage came loose because of that movement. The cage door opened, and the crow inside flew up, avoiding the tiger’s paw. Flap— the crow took flight and escaped through the open window.
“—No!”
Isaac’s expression changed instantly, and he leaped up.
He couldn’t let it get away. Alikisa wouldn’t be able to escape the crow by her own power, but in the one-in-a-million chance that another witch or a high-ranking mage caught that crow, they might be able to extract Alikisa. Even if the possibility was slim, there was no telling what that cunning witch would do to escape from inside the crow.
“Alikisa!”
Isaac rushed to the window and reached out for the crow just as it was leaving, but his hand only grazed the tail feathers, grasping empty air, and the crow flew away outside with a long cry. Isaac didn’t even notice the Prince catching him from behind as he stumbled against the window frame; he only stared at the crow’s retreating form.
Watching the crow fly far away into the night sky, Isaac grit his teeth. A corner of his heart sank into darkness.
It was then.
Suddenly, a piercing whistle erupted from beside him. Simultaneously, a snow-white shadow shot across the sky like an arrow. That white shadow flew like a bolt of light and collided with the black bird that had been fleeing. Caaaw—! The crow’s wretched scream echoed through the night sky.
“—.”
While he watched with wide eyes, the shadow, which seemed to be fluttering and entangled for a moment, soon flew back toward them. The large white shadow, rapidly approaching while clutching the black bird in its sharp talons, was a hawk.
The giant hawk, slowing its wingbeats as it approached the window, dropped the crow into the Prince’s outstretched hand. The Prince, receiving the struggling crow, grabbed the bird’s wing and twisted it right there. With a sickening crack, the crow’s cry tore through the air. Then, without hesitation, the Prince snapped the other wing as well, and with a pained shriek, the crow went limp, unable to flap its wings any longer.
Isaac stared aghast at the Prince clutching the crow.
He caught it. It’s a relief he caught it, but…
“Alikisa…?”
The Prince murmured. His gaze shifted from the crow to Isaac. Isaac, whose face had hardened while watching the twitching crow, hunched his shoulders.
The Prince tossed the bird onto the table. The crow seemed to try and move its wings, floundering a few times before going limp. No one spoke, with the twitching bird between them.
“Alikisa, huh… This crow, is it.”
Eventually, the Prince murmured. The way his finger slowly stroked down from the crow’s head was somehow dangerous. Isaac watched those fingertips with tension.
“Tell me. What is the meaning of this.”
The Prince’s cold words fell.
Looking down at the crow twisting in convulsions, Isaac swallowed a bitter breath and slumped his shoulders. At this point, he could neither deceive nor gloss over it. The Prince was not the kind of person who could be fooled.
“…Alikisa is possessing that crow. She was originally inside me, but she was pushed out and went into the crow.”
Isaac spoke heavily. It wasn’t necessarily a secret that had to be kept. However, he hadn’t wanted to mention that the witch he thought was dead was still alive, nor the circumstances of her possessing the crow. The Prince raised an eyebrow.
“Why was a witch inside you?”
“…Because that’s how the contract was made.”
Just before the witch died, he had made a contract with the dying woman.
To make the mage’s Curse on the Prince be lifted. In exchange, she could dwell in Isaac’s body.
Isaac looked down at his feet for a moment before raising his head. He faced the Prince with a face that was gloomy but without hesitation. The Prince was looking at Isaac with a faintly frowning expression. As the Prince seemed to piece together when and why such a contract had been made, his face suddenly turned cold.
He was a brilliant man. He would have been able to deduce the flow of events from the fragmentary pieces of information he knew. And only then would he have found the answer to the question that had been bothering him: why the witch had broken the contract with that young mage, even while risking the backlash of returning to her. If the condition was to possess Isaac’s body, then the pieces fit together.
“….”
The Prince’s gaze was terrifyingly cold. It was cold enough to chill Isaac’s very heart. Isaac murmured, barely enduring the freezing sensation that made him want to avert his eyes immediately.
“I am sorry. I let her live as I pleased. ……Still, I thought it would be good if I could break the curse placed upon Lord Kaieon. And I intended to transfer her into an animal’s body so that she could no longer harm anyone.”
I didn’t expect to lose her like that, but thanks to that, I managed to catch her—Isaac added with a small bow. In doing so, he briefly avoided that terrifyingly glaring gaze.
The Prince said nothing. In that heavy silence, Isaac broke into a cold sweat, feeling as if he were sitting on a bed of needles.
“Transfer her, you say……. A witch would not have moved on her own accord.”
After the silence, the Prince spoke. Isaac instinctively looked at the Prince before bowing his head again. This wasn’t necessarily a secret that had to be kept, nor would it make a great difference whether he spoke of it or not, but it was still something he didn’t want to mention. Whether he was half-witch or a full witch, it would all be the same to the Prince.
“……. Because a witch cannot reside in a witch’s body…… if she discards her human blood, she can no longer remain in her own body.”
At Isaac’s words, the Prince raised an eyebrow as if he had heard something difficult to comprehend.
“Discard human blood……?”
“I have become a full witch, no longer a mixed-blood.”
Isaac spoke, swallowing a heavy breath.
He had entered into the contract knowing it would come to this. He knew he couldn’t keep Alikisa within his body forever, at least not until she desired, so he believed he had to force her out. And he knew that the only way to do so was to become a Pureblood Witch.
Therefore, all these results were things he had considered and chosen.
Still, he hadn’t wanted to say it.
The Prince already looked at Isaac with such irritation even when he was only half-witch; if he were a full witch, it would be worse. Perhaps the only reason he had been allowed to stay by his side was that he was half-human.
The Prince remained silent. He simply stared at Isaac without a word, and only after a long while did he speak.
“It is not the Dark Moon, so how? Can wishes not be made only during the Dark Moon, and are they not granted only during that time?”
For a moment, Isaac fell silent.
With the flint jar—the magic flint jar that could grant any wish, he had achieved his goal. If he told him that, what would happen?
Isaac hesitated. He couldn’t immediately decide if he should speak. But then, the tigers caught his eye.
The tigers’ ears were pricked. Their jet-black, glossy pupils flickered unstabley. It seemed as if a growl would leak from their mouths, which were baring their teeth, at any moment.
Don’t tell him. You must not tell him. It is our treasure. You must not let a human know. Humans will steal it away.
“――.”
The Prince did not move, looking down at Isaac as if waiting for an answer. However, seeing Isaac remain silently tight-lipped, he frowned slightly, perhaps thinking that Isaac would not answer.
The Prince’s gaze shifted toward the tigers. The tigers, meeting the Prince’s coldly sunken gaze, seemed to widen their eyes for a moment, but they did not back down, staring back at the Prince with wide, defiant eyes. After looking at each tiger one by one, the Prince scanned the room. As if there were some clue to be found there.
As he scanned the room, the Prince’s gaze paused briefly on the flint jar sitting on the table and the gold coins piled beside it. These were items brought from the treasury.
The moment the Prince reached out toward them, Isaac’s heart sank. However, the Prince merely brushed his hand over the gold coins as if suspicious of something, and soon turned his gaze away.
Having surveyed the room, the Prince seemed lost in thought for a moment.
“Then now that you have become a witch, can you use magic?”
The Prince asked casually, and Isaac shook his head tensely.
“I doubt it, probably. That is something one is born with…… even if I learn how to use Mana, I won’t be able to use any great magic.”
“And yet, the wish to become a full witch was granted……?”
Unless it was some ‘great magic,’ such a thing would be difficult to achieve. At the Prince’s question, which was laced with cynicism, Isaac fell silent again.
How—it was an extension of that question.
He could not speak of the flint jar. The tigers, the owners of the flint jar, did not want him to. After a long silence, Isaac gave only a short reply within the limits of what he could say.
“Exactly three times. I can only make three wishes. There are two left now.”
That was the extent of the answer Isaac could give. He would not say anything more. The Prince, realizing this from the quiet but firm tone, frowned faintly. Isaac looked back at the Prince in silence.
Even if he couldn’t provide a full answer, such things were not important to Isaac. What he had used to grant his wish, or how he could grant it—none of that mattered to him now. What mattered was that he had now become a witch. And that he could no longer stay here for long.
He hadn’t wanted this. He wanted to stay here, in the world where this man existed.
“……Actually, I wanted to become human.”
Isaac, who had been staring at the Prince, suddenly murmured. The words, which carried a sudden sigh, were close to a monologue. The Prince raised an eyebrow and looked at Isaac.
“If I became human, Lord Kaieon would be less averse to me, I could blend in with people and live a stable life with a peaceful mind, and also, I could continue to stay by Lord Kaieon’s side.”
He added the last part after a moment’s hesitation. He thought about not saying it because it felt somewhat awkward, but he felt that it didn’t matter anymore. Since there wasn’t much time left, there was no reason to suppress what he wanted to say.
“That’s why, once I could grant a wish, more than anything else, I wanted to become human…….”
Stopping mid-sigh, Isaac looked at the crow lying on the table. The crow was still twitching, struggling to flutter its wings. Was Alikisa’s spirit still asleep inside? Or was she awake now?
If he hadn’t contracted with her, he would have wished to become a complete human. While many of Isaac’s desires had vanished like bubbles as he became a witch, he did not regret it. He was satisfied with having broken the curse placed upon the Prince. Only the regret of not being able to stay long remained.
“Then, what about now?”
The Prince asked then.
“So, now that you’ve become a witch, what does that mean?”
The Prince’s voice had grown faintly lower. Perhaps there was something subtle in Isaac’s answer; the voice asking the question while scrutinizing Isaac was harsh.
Isaac looked at the Prince and answered quietly.
“Well…… I have no choice but to go to the land of the new moon.”
The moment he answered, it felt as if the fact that he had become a witch, and that he must go to the land of the new moon, had become finalized, and Isaac suddenly felt a surge of heat in his chest. Perhaps he looked slightly tearful for a moment. Isaac dropped his gaze to his feet.
“Since I have now become a pure witch, I must board the Moon Fragment Ship during the coming Great Dark Moon.”
Isaac quickly pushed his darkening expression deep inside and lifted his head. However, he froze upon seeing the Prince looking at him from right in front.
The Prince was looking at Isaac expressionlessly. He couldn’t tell what he was thinking or how he felt. However,
“Do you think you can board it?”
The voice asking quietly was low and sunken, and even if it hadn’t been that eerily cold voice, Isaac could tell by that terrifyingly frigid expression that the Prince was in a very bad mood. Very. More than ever before.
“……. Are you going to kill me?”
After a brief deliberation, Isaac asked. If the Prince wouldn’t let him off just by leaving the human world and decided to kill him because he was a witch. Of course, he would strive not to die, but it would be difficult to escape his grasp.
The moment Isaac spoke, the Prince’s face grew even colder. It wouldn’t have been strange if he had beheaded Isaac at that very moment.
“If not, then I must board it.”
Isaac murmured, scratching the back of his neck. Now that he had become a witch, there was no other way. Now, all the witches remaining in the human world would leave, and by doing so, the witch’s curse would be broken. He could not remain there. It was a pity that he would no longer see this man, but it was inevitable. He only hoped for one thing,
“I ask for your kindness for the little time remaining until the Great Dark Moon.”
He simply wanted to spend the remaining time together in peace.
Isaac bowed his waist in greeting. Just as he was about to lift his deeply bowed head, a cold voice dropped over him.
“I see……. The moment you decided to become a full witch, you decided to cross over to the land of the witches.”
Hearing those words, which sounded like a monologue, Isaac lifted his head.
“And by boarding the Moon Fragment Ship during the Great Dark Moon, you can cross over.”
The Prince, reciting the conclusion he had drawn as if confirming it, looked at Isaac, who was merely blinking in silence. His expression was terrifyingly cold. As cold as those blue eyes that looked almost black.
Suddenly, the Prince brought his face close to Isaac’s. Just a hand’s span away, the coldly sunken blue eyes gazed at Isaac.
“Witch. You seem to have thought that you could decide everything on your own and do as you pleased, but you were wrong.”
The Prince whispered lowly. While staring intently at Isaac, the Prince reached out toward the crow that was still twitching on the table, and the crow, whose neck was seized by that large hand, trembled and tried to flap its broken wings, but it was useless.
—Snap.
The sound echoed exceptionally loud in the quiet room.
A flutter, a convulsive leap of a wing—and with that, the movement stopped. Forever.
The corpse of the crow, thrown aside carelessly, rolled on the floor. The twitching of its toes eventually stopped as well.
The Prince, who had kept his gaze fixed on Isaac the entire time, reached out and pulled the cord hanging on the wall. It was the cord to call the guards.
“I told you that your life is mine, and that the moment your breath ceases must be the moment I desire.”
The guards, who had rushed over upon hearing the sound, opened the door and entered. The guards, greatly surprised to see the Prince, Isaac, and three large tigers, hurriedly drew their weapons, and Isaac looked at them as bewilderedly as the wide-eyed tigers.
Seeing the guards, the Prince pointed to Isaac with his chin. The guards looked back and forth between the tigers and Isaac in confusion, but they approached Isaac as the Prince indicated, and soon, Isaac, surrounded by the tips of the guards’ weapons, sat motionless in the center of the weapons, looking at the Prince. He couldn’t understand what was happening.
The Prince, stepping back casually, looked at the bewildered Isaac and spoke.
“I am the one who decides everything about you――and you shall not board that ship.”
—Clang.
The sound of an iron door closing echoed heavily from afar. It was probably the time for the guards to change shifts. If so, it was roughly around six in the evening.
Isaac sat blankly in the windowless room, quietly estimating the date. He had checked diligently every time the guards changed since he arrived, but as the days passed, he became unsure if he was remembering correctly.
How much time had passed? Six days? Seven? Or perhaps ten? Surely it hadn’t been fifteen days.
Even if he tried to ask someone, the guards guarding the prison did not answer, and there was no one else to ask. Isaac was the only one in this prison.
“……I never imagined I’d actually end up locked in a dungeon.”
Isaac murmured to himself. His voice only echoed in the empty room before disappearing.
It was a prison located beneath the Byeokyeong Palace. It was too dark to see clearly, but there seemed to be about six or seven rooms in this basement; however, only Isaac was there. Only Isaac and the guards who rotated twice a day.
There was no reason for the Royal Palace to have facilities for imprisoning criminals. It was unthinkable for a heinous criminal to remain within the walls of the Royal Palace. Even if they were royalty, nobility, or someone who committed a crime within the palace, they had to be sent to the detention facilities on the outskirts of the capital.
However, despite that, some of the Star Palaces within the Royal Palace had detention facilities in the basement depending on the case, and those were primarily used to temporarily confine subordinates who had committed a crime against the owner of that particular palace. Depending on the case, some would be released in a day or two, or rarely, some would not be able to leave for several years; this was entirely managed by the owner of each palace.
In the residence of a royalty with a harsh and foul personality, there were always people locked in the basement, while in the residence of a kind and benevolent royal, there might be no prison at all. Byeokyeong Palace had a prison. However, the only person locked inside was Isaac, and no one had been imprisoned there before. The owner of Byeokyeong Palace was a person who would simply behead anyone who committed a crime serious enough to be locked in the basement.
So, one could say it was fortunate to be imprisoned without being killed, but…….
“It feels like only yesterday I was struggling to avoid this, saying I didn’t want to spend my whole life in a dungeon having my blood sucked out…….”
In the end, it seemed his fate was to be imprisoned for some reason.
Isaac leaned his back against the cold stone wall and let out a sigh.
Just then, footsteps approached from the end of the hallway. Since the iron door had clanged a moment ago, the guards must have changed shifts.
Originally, there should have been a jailer in the prison, but since no one had ever been imprisoned in the basement of Byeokyeong Palace, there was no jailer. So now, the guards were temporarily acting as jailers.
“……Hey, Hoden.”
Isaac murmured, seeing the guard sitting on the chair outside the iron bars.
“Are you on night duty today? You were on night duty yesterday too. You’re a newlywed, yet you’re on night duty constantly; did you get on the wrong side of Squad Leader Simon?”
Isaac spoke casually, but an answer did not readily return. Hoden looked at Isaac with a complicated gaze and only gave a short reply: “It just happened.”
Isaac had served in the Royal Guard for a long time. Most of the guards knew him. Depending on which squad they were in, they were more or less close, but they were all people who had rolled together during training and fallen into vats of liquor together. Until a few months ago, they were in a relationship where they joked and laughed without reserve.
“Ett was on day duty today and Olsen was on day duty yesterday…… so tomorrow, will Olsen be day and Ett be night? By the way, how did you three get picked? Working in a gloomy prison must be a chore. Then again, monitoring duty might be more comfortable than outdoor duty.”
Even though Isaac spoke, Hoden did not give much of an answer. He just sat silently, dropping his gaze awkwardly.
Isaac stopped talking after chatting alone. The other rotating guards were all similar. He realized anew that the position of a witch was so narrow.
Indeed, it is said that witches steal life force and steal luck with just a few words. They are said to be cunning and evil, approaching with a friendly facade and sweet words while harboring plans to cause harm. So, it was only natural to be wary.
“……I’m disappointed that you’re ignoring me to this extent, you rascal.”
Isaac murmured grumpily. Hoden’s shoulders flinched, and he stole a glance this way. However, Isaac didn’t bother to speak further. He would only be troubled anyway.
Isaac knew that in Hoden’s gaze, a flicker of discomfort was mixed with a flicker of apology. A few other colleagues were the same. Because he was a witch, they avoided him out of discomfort and fear, but on the other hand, they felt sorry for avoiding him like that, and they felt pity for Isaac, who was being shunned by everyone. However, he fully understood the heart that could not readily open up and approach.
Yes, it was indeed the right decision to decide to cross over to the land of the new moon.
Not only had he become a Pureblood Witch, but in a situation where rumors had already spread everywhere that he was a witch, how could he live a peaceful and cozy life while receiving such gazes? It was hopeless.
Isaac scratched his head vigorously. Then, he suddenly let out a sigh.
By the way, I wonder if the flint jar is alright.