Chapter 1
Under the moonlight, a gust of night wind blew, scattering her thick red hair. The owner of that red hair was running barefoot.
“Damn it!”
She cursed and looked back. Her ruby-red eyes were filled with rage.
“Why did they all die? Why!”
Unbelievably, all the witches—who were once considered the strongest in this world—were wiped out. All except her.
“Is no one really left? Really…?”
Even though she didn’t want to believe it, she had seen the witches being brutally murdered with her own eyes.
The last witch shivered as if chills were crawling down her spine. She wrapped her arms tightly around her stomach. The eerie wind once again tangled her red hair.
“Jen.”
She softly spoke a name. He was the man she had truly loved. He had been a weak commoner, but his constant kindness had made her fall for him. In the end, he betrayed her.
He had sold her out to the Gardener family, who had just seized power.
The Gardener bloodline was immune to any witch’s spells or curses. So, when that bloodline appeared in large numbers, the witches had all been caught off guard. They were like a perfectly solid wall.
“That’s far enough.”
At the sound of a low, deep voice, the witch flinched. She had heard that voice when she had run away in panic from the horrifying scene where the witches were being slaughtered.
She grabbed her tattered skirt and turned around. Gardener Cutter stood there with a sword in hand. He was the second son of Gardener Hemmel, the head of the house and the most active witch-hunter. He was now the emperor.
“I said I’d live quietly!”
The witch shouted in anger. Cutter calmly walked out from between the trees. Behind him followed armed men carrying weapons and torches.
“No need. Just die.”
Murderous intent flickered in Cutter’s blue eyes. The witch kept backing away, terrified.
“I’ll go live far away. I’ll never come back.”
“I’ve seen too much of your kind to believe that.”
The witches had ruled the Louis Empire for eleven years. During that time, religion, philosophy, and human rights were all ignored.
“Since I was young, I saw your kind summon storms to knock down travelers, manipulate commoners to fight, and burn noble ladies’ hair.”
The witches’ mischief often led to murder. The last witch replied as if it were nothing.
“What was I supposed to do? It was fun.”
This was a trait they couldn’t change—it was in their blood. Witches were born to chase after fun and mischief. The problem was, what they found fun often hurt others.
At her shameless response, Cutter clenched his jaw.
“That’s why you were betrayed.”
He recalled how her lover had revealed her hiding place. Madness sparked in the witch’s red eyes.
“Ugh!”
She wanted to move the forest branches to trap Cutter’s body, but the Gardener bloodline nullified all magic. She couldn’t do anything.
“No matter what you do, it won’t work on me.”
Cutter smirked and lifted both arms slightly.
“Everyone behind me is also my relative.”
The witch looked past the trees and despaired. If everyone protecting him was also a Gardener, then she, even as a witch, was no better than a powerless human.
“So just obey. I’ll at least let you die in style.”
Grab—
Cutter suddenly grabbed her arm. The witch gritted her teeth and glared at him, but he calmly met her deadly gaze.
“Burning at the stake sounds about right.”
That day, Emperor Gardener Cutter declared the last witch would be executed by fire.
❖ ❖ ❖
In a cozy little cottage under the blazing sun, two men stood face to face. Their clothes alone revealed a clear difference in status. One, dressed in shabby clothes, grabbed his black hair and shouted.
“This is not what we agreed on, Your Grace!”
He had dared to raise his voice to Grand Duke Jefferson, the emperor’s older brother. The Grand Duke quietly stared into Jen’s furious black eyes.
“You said if I told you where she was, you’d spare her life!”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep that promise.”
Despite being in his early twenties, the Grand Duke acted very maturely. Jen collapsed to the floor in despair.
“Suzanne is not like the other witches.”
Jen hadn’t betrayed the last witch—he had made a deal with the Grand Duke. He truly loved Suzanne. Though she liked playing pranks, she wasn’t an evil person.
“I feel sorry too. But all final decisions belong to His Majesty.”
The Grand Duke had also wanted to settle things by imprisoning her, but the emperor insisted on executing her in public.
Jen dropped to his knees and clutched the Grand Duke’s pants.
“Please, save her! Right now, in her belly…”
Jen suddenly stopped. He wasn’t sure if he should reveal that.
The Grand Duke slowly knelt down. Even as the fine hem of his coat dragged on the ground, he didn’t care.
“Is she pregnant?”
“N-No, she’s not.”
Jen shook his pale face side to side, but the Grand Duke wasn’t easily fooled. He gently placed his hand on Jen’s shoulder.
“You can be honest with me.”
Jen’s dark eyes trembled violently. The Grand Duke spoke in a soft, kind tone.
“I feel guilty about this too.”
❖ ❖ ❖
The last witch cried the whole time she was being dragged to the execution plaza. Her red eyes were already bloodshot.
“Ugh! I’ll curse you all!”
Cutter found her screaming pathetic. He stepped up to her, who was held down by knights, and coldly whispered.
“Did you forget already? I’m Gardener Cutter.”
He was proud of his Gardener blood, which was immune to witch curses.
“You can’t hurt me. I have the Gardener blood.”
She wanted to rip out his golden hair and gouge out his blue eyes, proof of his lineage. But she could do nothing as she was dragged along. The knights were also from the Gardener bloodline.
Thud.
Cutter shoved her onto the platform in the middle of the plaza and kicked her. It was all for show.
“Waaaah!!”
The crowd cheered wildly. They fully supported the Gardener family for ending the era of witches.
“Ugh!”
She clutched her stomach and bit her lips hard enough to bleed. She couldn’t die like this.
“What about your wife!”
With a twisted face, the witch shouted and began to chant a curse.
“Every child your wife bears will die! And if not, everyone around her will try to kill her! No one in this world can save her!”
“Too bad.”
Cutter easily dismissed her curse.
“I don’t have a wife. So you have no one to curse.”
He smirked. But only for a moment. His smile soon disappeared.
“And you’re about to die.”
At his signal, the knights handed him a torch. Meanwhile, firewood was being stacked under her body.
❖ ❖ ❖
Jen lay on a small bed, gasping all day. At night, he heard a pot crash in the kitchen.
Clatter.
It must have been Flip, the neighbor. Sometimes Flip came in and stole things while Jen was sick. When Jen had finally grabbed his collar once, he was repaid with a punch.
As he listened to the sounds, Jen sensed that his final moments were near. He had no choice but to call out.
“Flip!”
Flip dragged his fat body into the room, his round face full of annoyance.
“What?”
Jen felt ashamed that the only one he could entrust with his dying wish was a thief, but he had no choice.
“I want to see my daughter… just one last time.”
“Daughter? What are you talking about?”
Flip scratched his round belly and replied casually.
“You never even got married.”
“No.”
Jen spoke with uneven breaths.
“She’s the daughter… the witch gave birth to before she burned.”
“The witch?”
Flip’s eyes widened in shock, and he rushed to cover Jen’s mouth. Jen, already barely breathing, looked like he was about to die.
“Are you insane!?”
Flip shouted angrily. In the empire, even saying the word “witch” was taboo. Rumors said the empress had gone mad because of a witch’s curse.
“All the witches are dead. You know that!”
As soon as Flip removed his hand, Jen started coughing violently—and even vomited blood.
“No… She gave birth to my child just before she burned…”
Jen raised both hands as if recalling the past. His hands were clearly scarred by burns.
“I caught her… with these hands…”
Suzanne had given birth under the burning pyre. Jen had saved the baby while crying. Since he was unmarried, the child was sent to live with her grandmother. Jen visited her once a week, but now he couldn’t anymore.
“She really is the last witch…”
Jen thought of his young daughter and let tears roll down his cheeks. Flip, watching silently, suddenly narrowed his eyes.
“Where is she now?”
