Chapter 25
The day after the parade, the Punishment Unit received the command to set out.
After merely having breakfast, we were to venture forth to hunt the monsters lurking near the territory.
The target was clearly defined.
The easiest to kill, yet simultaneously the most bothersome monsters.
If left unchecked, they could spread like wildfires and cause significant damage.
Goblins.
As the sun began to rise, I hurriedly dressed.
I had to act earlier than others to make my way to Vivian’s castle for breakfast.
I heard that this expedition was expected to last around three days.
That meant I wouldn’t see Vivian for about three days.
Recently, I had faced her daily, at least three times a day.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
While our meals were more about silent staring contests than conversation, simply eating together had cultivated a certain bond between us.
The fact that we wouldn’t share meals for three days already felt a bit disappointing.
No, it wasn’t just disappointment; I suppose I was worried.
.
.
.
“…”
I entered the hall silently and caught sight of Vivian.
She must have sensed my presence, as she looked my way.
Red hair. Red eyes. Strikingly beautiful.
Every time I saw her, I couldn’t help but catch my breath.
A meal was prepared for us on the table.
Well-cooked potatoes surrounded by herbs.
A variety of breads. Fresh grapes and ripe apples.
Even a shining bowl of creamy soup.
Everything was adequate for breakfast, nothing excessive.
Vivian was seated on the left side of the table, waiting for me.
She wasn’t sitting at the head anymore, as sometimes our legs would collide if she stayed there.
I took a seat on her right and faced her.
“You must have had a tough time waking up early.”
I said.
“…I have to if I want to eat safely.”
Vivian replied tersely.
I didn’t hesitate and immediately took a potato, splitting it and placing it in my bowl.
Vivian followed suit and placed a potato in her own bowl.
As I popped some food into my mouth, Vivian’s gaze flickered toward me for a moment.
She stood still until I swallowed and took another bite.
“It’s well-cooked.”
I remarked, savoring the aroma of the herbs.
Only then did she finally put a potato in her mouth as well.
Recent meals had always played out like this.
If I tasted something first, Vivian would do the same.
She wouldn’t touch any food until I had tried it.
It may have appeared peculiar to outsiders, but it was slowly becoming our daily routine.
I scooped up a ladle of soup and tasted it, feeling the warm comfort settle in my stomach.
Looking up at Vivian, I saw her staring at the soup.
“…May I have some?”
I asked, and she quietly nodded in response.
I poured some soup into her bowl, and for a while, the clinking of our utensils filled the silence.
With the lack of conversation, we ended up sharing a lot through our eyes and actions.
Even now, I noticed Vivian’s gaze wandering from the bread to the leftover food in my bowl.
Then back to the bread, then to my face.
After sipping a spoonful of soup… she glanced at the bread again.
Sharing the table allowed us to quickly figure out what each other liked.
Vivian loved bread.
During our meals, she ate the most and relished it the most.
“…”
Watching her, I couldn’t help but chuckle internally.
This was my little revenge for the torment she caused me at the parade yesterday.
While I tasted other dishes, I completely ignored the bread.
“Ah, I’m stuffed.”
“…”
As the meal was reaching its end, her eyes kept fixating on the bread.
“…Why?”
I asked, intending to poke at her.
She was quite prideful after all. Especially with me, she acted even more stubbornly.
There was no way she would admit it was because she wanted bread.
“…It’s nothing.”
“Is it that you want the bread?”
My provocation made Vivian frown.
That was simply amusing to me.
“…You know everything…”
“You could just eat it. Judging by the looks of it, the food doesn’t seem poisoned. It wouldn’t be just the bread.”
“…”
She sighed lightly, ignoring my words.
With her clumsy actions, she merely splashed the soup around.
Once I teased her enough, I finally reached for the bread.
I tore off half of a large loaf and placed it in front of me.
Dipping the bread into the remaining soup, Vivian pretended to be uninterested and placed her hand on the bread.
As I took the first bite of the warm and soft bread, I thought I saw her eyes sparkle for a moment.
I took a sip of water and glanced behind Vivian.
The maids who had changed previously were still bustling about.
I suddenly became curious and asked her.
“So, have you found the instigator?”
By ‘instigator,’ I meant the one responsible for the poisoning.
Vivian understood instantly and shook her head.
“No.”
Honestly, I hadn’t expected her to find someone.
There were too many suspects, and she had no one on her side.
We were walking on thin ice, like performing a balancing act.
Why did I even want to protect this person?
…Could it really be the curse of a witch? I couldn’t tell.
“Even if you can’t find the instigator, you still need to hold someone accountable.”
I said.
Vivian nodded.
“The chef and… all the maids are punished.”
“How?”
“They were all exiled from the territory… especially Sena, I heard she lost a leg during the interrogation…”
“…”
Thinking about it from Vivian’s perspective, the punishment was somewhat fitting.
I didn’t expect her to go that far with her gentle nature.
Well, I also didn’t think this was a decision she made entirely on her own.
“What are you going to do now?”
“…?”
Vivian raised an eyebrow at my question. Her head tilted slightly as a habit.
Seeing her like that made my fingertips tingle, so I quickly averted my gaze and asked.
“While I’m gone, how will you manage meals?”
I said it provocatively, yet deep down, I felt genuinely concerned.
Like before, I was worried she wouldn’t even be able to bring food to her mouth.
Vivian took my jibe and responded rather heatedly.
“…If you say so.”
I redirected my arrow back at the maids behind Vivian, shouting.
“Did you hear? The maids and chefs involved in the poisoning incident were all exiled! Don’t forget it!”
They quickly bowed their heads, signaling that they understood.
Vivian seemed ready to retort to my threat, but she closed her mouth and ate the bread instead.
In the past, she might have scolded me for saying something mean, but now she didn’t seem that fragile anymore.
I soon stood up from the table.
Wiping my mouth and hands with a prepared cloth, I looked at Vivian.
“…”
“…”
We maintained eye contact for a long while but ultimately did not exchange any farewells.
And with that, I departed.
****
“…”
Day two after Kyle’s departure.
Vivian couldn’t believe the changes happening to her own body.
Nothing had clearly changed.
The food was still just as carefully prepared, and the layout was the same.
The chef who cooked the food was the same, the maids were the same, and even the cutlery was as it had been.
Yet, Vivian’s heart raced as if the world had turned upside down, beating wildly like never before.
Her stomach churned uneasily, and her hands trembled.
She couldn’t manage to eat anything at all.
Ever since he left, she hadn’t been able to bring a single spoonful of food to her lips.
Her proud declaration that she didn’t need him felt unbearably shameful now.
Why was she like this?
She scolded herself internally, reflecting.
Even though the servants verified several times that there was no poison, she was engulfed by fear the moment Kyle left.
Like a fragile child, she was consumed by terror.
As the head of the Rondore family and the lord of Roktana, here she was trembling over food.
At this point, even the family members looking down on her from above might be letting out a sigh.
Vivian looked at the food once more.
Despite the fragrant aroma, her mouth felt parched as if in a desert.
No matter how much she tried to gather her courage, doubts were tightening around her, and the deeper they dug, the more powerless she became.
She loathed herself for not even being able to overcome this level of fear.
Vivian’s fork trembled slightly in her hand.
It felt as though even the fork was mocking her frailty by breaking the bread beneath her control.
Gently, Vivian laid down the fork and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes.
In the silence surrounding the table where she sat alone, not a sound could be heard.
Although Kyle was merely absent, her table felt utterly deceased in this stillness.
In hindsight, she realized that if she were to ingest poison now, no one would save her as before.
Back then, Kyle had been by her side, but now, he wasn’t.
At that time, all the vassals were merely glancing at one another, shifting the blame.
“…”
As Vivian felt her appetite slipping away, she spoke.
“C-Clean this up.”
Although she was hungry, there was nothing she could eat.
Thus, she succumbed to her fragility once again.
.
.
.
Alone in her room, Vivian couldn’t shake off the feeling of being utterly pathetic.
Now she understood.
She realized the undeniable difference that set them apart.
Kyle Allen was far stronger than she could ever compare to.
He marched forward with courage in any circumstance.
Despite the resentment, criticism, and torment of countless people, he quietly trod the path he had to follow.
He even shouldered some of the responsibilities that should have been hers, proving his resilience.
In contrast, Vivian constantly collapsed and fell, unable to bear even the burdens she shouldered.
‘When your weakness is so evident… your family must also realize.’
As Kyle Allen’s voice echoed in her head, Vivian gritted her teeth.
The more it became an undeniable truth, the more painful his words stabbed at her.
It felt like a curse.
No matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t break free from this curse.
But how on earth could she resolve this?
She certainly didn’t possess the courage or power that someone like Kyle did.
She had no idea how to win the hearts of people or how to restore the territory.
She had never once anticipated needing such strength in her lifetime.
That burden had always belonged to her brother, Lois Rondore, not her.
She had merely expected to go through her studies, marry someone, and live an ordinary life.
Now that everything had become twisted, she was lost.
Without saying anything, she feared that Kyle Allen would be bitterly laughing at her in silence.
Especially when it came to that enemy, she didn’t want to feel belittled.
…If only I had some power.
Vivian thought without realizing it.
If she did, things would have surely been a bit better than they were now.
“Need help?”
At that moment, a soft woman’s voice echoed from somewhere.
Startled, Vivian turned her body swiftly.
“…”
And she froze at the sight that met her.
Vivian’s room was on the third floor.
It was high enough that one could hardly climb up.
The castle was made of stone, with nothing to grasp and climb.
Yet before her sat a woman, comfortably perched on the window sill as if sitting in an armchair.
Against the backdrop of the night sky swirling with blue, her silhouette stood out sharply.
She wore a large pointed hat with disheveled blonde hair.
From her long pipe, wisps of smoke curled lazily into the air.
A beautiful woman, appearing to be around thirty. Full bosoms. Long legs.
The woman touched the end of her pipe, leisurely taking a puff.
The smoke flowed gently from her mouth, spreading into the atmosphere.
Vivian wrinkled her nose at the sweet and bitter scent.
“…W-Who are you?”
Vivian asked.
But the woman only smiled and replied.
“Do you want to be a witch?”
