Chapter 10
I rubbed my arm, covered in goosebumps.
It wasn’t impossible. What if the witch had tried to enter the Empress Dowager’s body but changed her mind and went somewhere else?
In the end, I flopped down on the floor. I felt like all the strength in my body had drained away.
Should I just tell the emperor I’m the witch and agree to marry him? That might shock the real witch into revealing herself.
I stared up at the high ceiling, thinking and thinking again.
Whether the Empress Dowager was the witch or not, I couldn’t just sit here doing nothing. I had to do something.
❖ ❖ ❖
The next day, the emperor gathered the ministers in the audience chamber.
While the ministers slowly filed in, the emperor sat on the long-backed jade throne.
I knew from his proud posture that he was about to make a grand announcement.
The emperor leaned forward, placed his hand on the lion-paw armrest, and stood up.
“The last witch is still alive.”
His words caused an uproar in the audience hall.
“The witch is really alive?”
“What happens now?”
The ministers around me started murmuring all at once. I could see the fear on their faces.
They were afraid of one thing—the return of the witch’s era.
The emperor stepped down from the throne and walked through the noisy chamber.
“Isn’t that right, Anier?”
As soon as he asked, dozens of ministers turned to look at me. They moved aside like the Red Sea parting, lining up along the pillars, making way for the emperor to walk through.
“Yes. When the last witch died 25 years ago, she gave birth to the true last witch.”
I looked around solemnly, like a skilled prophetess.
The emperor smiled gently and stopped in front of me.
“And now, it’s time for another prophecy, isn’t it?”
Behind his blue eyes, the ministers’ stares bore into me. I placed a hand on my chest, trying to calm my pounding heart.
“His Majesty the Emperor will soon get married.”
“Marriage? At last!”
The ministers cheered with joy.
But that joy was short-lived. They quickly began to wonder who the bride would be.
“With whom…?”
I looked at the emperor’s face. He gave me a slow, heavy nod.
“His Majesty will marry the last witch.”
My prophecy caused another uproar in the chamber.
In the midst of it, I thought of the witch.
Well, witch. What are you going to do now?
Now everyone knows you’re going to marry the emperor.
You’ll have to show yourself, right?
But if you’re hiding inside the Empress Dowager, if you’re just pretending in there… don’t worry. I’ve got a plan for that too.
So be ready.
❖ ❖ ❖
Harry stood in front of Louisville’s bedroom door and let out a deep sigh. He smelled like alcohol, but he wasn’t drunk. It might sound like “I drank but I wasn’t driving under the influence,” but it was true.
Harry could hold his liquor better than most. But today, for some reason, he was especially sober, and his mind was clear. So he came to confront his older brother about something that had been bothering him all day.
After a moment, he knocked with a determined look on his face.
Knock knock—
Inside, Louisville was polishing his sword in a thin robe. He glanced at Harry, then checked the window. Outside, it was dark.
“Sleepwalking again?”
Louisville asked in a flat voice. Harry frowned and walked toward the desk where his brother sat. Worried about the smell of alcohol, he stopped a few steps away.
“No. I’m fully sober.”
Well, not completely sober, but he didn’t want to annoy his brother by admitting he’d been drinking. He looked fine on the outside anyway.
Then Harry got to the point.
“Are you really planning to marry the witch?”
“That’s what Anier prophesied, didn’t she?”
Louisville replied while wiping the blade with a cloth. Still focused only on his sword, he didn’t look up. Harry looked frustrated.
“You can just refuse! Witches can only give birth to daughters—what about the heir?”
Louisville paused before sheathing the sword and turned to look at Harry. Then he gave a small laugh.
“Worried about succession? That’s not like you.”
“I’m worried about the country.”
“That’s even less like you.”
Louisville stood up, buckled the sword to his waist, and looked calmly at Harry.
“And long ago, there was a record of a witch giving birth to a son.”
“Oh, you mean that ‘mutant’ who was born hundreds of years ago and raised in secret?”
“Exactly. He was eventually killed by the witches, though.”
The witch’s son had hidden his gender by dressing like a girl when he was young. But when he reached adulthood, his secret was discovered, and he was immediately executed by the other witches. It was one of the legendary stories about witches.
“But even if she can’t bear a son, I think a female emperor would be fine.”
As soon as Louisville said that, Harry practically exploded.
“You mean you’d let a witch rule the Empire of Louis?!”
Harry’s pale face turned red and blue. He didn’t hate the idea of a female ruler—it was the witch he couldn’t stand.
“That’s absolutely not acceptable!”
Like Louisville, Harry had first learned about the witch’s curse three years ago, and ever since, he couldn’t stand even hearing the words “witch” or “curse.”
“I still can’t sleep at night just thinking about that witch’s curse!”
Louisville reacted coldly to Harry’s complaint.
“Probably because of your sleepwalking.”
“No! Because I’m so angry!”
Harry protested with a near-tearful expression, and Louisville looked at his flushed eyes and crossed his arms.
“Isn’t it the witch’s fault our mother ended up like that?!”
Harry shouted so loudly his voice cracked, but Louisville only grew colder.
“You’re going to cry, aren’t you?”
“Don’t mock me!”
Harry hated how his brother always treated him like a child. They’d always been like this since they were young—Louisville was cold, Harry was fiery.
“Anyway, I’m completely against your marriage to the witch!”
Harry raised his voice as he made his declaration. Louisville let out a deep sigh.
Then, uncrossing his arms, Louisville calmly explained.
“I’m trying to break the witch’s curse.”
Harry blinked and swallowed hard. After thinking it over, he opened his mouth with a serious look.
“Then let me marry the witch instead!”
“What?”
Louisville raised an eyebrow in surprise at the unexpected offer.
“You’re the ruler of this country, and you need to have an heir. So let me be the one to sacrifice myself.”
Louisville silently looked Harry up and down, who was now breathing heavily.
Then he noticed Harry’s clenched fists shaking.
“You really haven’t changed.”
Louisville murmured quietly as he stepped away from the desk. Harry was always passionate but scared. That’s why Louisville had never fully trusted him.
“I’ll pretend you’re just drunk. Go now.”
As Louisville walked past, Harry flinched and looked back. His brother had known he was drinking from the start.
❖ ❖ ❖
I sat by the window, looking down at the imperial palace’s large garden, then looked up at the sky.
Rumble, rumble.
The sky was gray and heavy, and it looked like it would start raining any minute. The thunder sounded ominous.
I didn’t like rain.
When I first started going to school, one day it suddenly rained. I called my mom after class and asked her to bring me an umbrella.
— “I’m busy. Why didn’t you bring one yourself? Just run home.”
All I got was a cold reply. My mom was a housewife, but she wasn’t good at taking care of our home.
Luckily, the school wasn’t far from home, so every time it rained and I didn’t have an umbrella, I ran home.
That’s why I came to hate the rain—because it meant I had to run.
I liked how the capital didn’t get much rain. But today, it was finally going to rain again.
It was the first time since I had that dream where I saw a heavy downpour.
Today, I’d also dreamed of rain.
Normally, I would’ve just stayed in my room because I hated the rain. But because of that dream, I grabbed an umbrella and went out to the back garden.
Because of that dream—where I saw the emperor.
In the distance, I saw the emperor walking with his hands behind his back.
Shhh—
Suddenly, it started pouring. Clark, who had been walking next to the emperor, panicked and ran back to the main palace.
