Chapter 60: The Blossom in the Western Forest
There was a woman who had lost her child.
The child was a twin.
The woman was a witch, and she struggled desperately to save her twins. Her husband, a man of high status, disapproved of her actions.
In the end, the woman renounced her status. She immersed herself in her work and finally achieved some results.
Though she couldn’t bring back the lost lives, she was able to hold onto their souls in one place.
However, the woman was cursed.
- You shall neither see nor touch your twins.
The woman continued her research and wrote books in her spare time.
She hoped that anyone who came to this forest after reading her book would be guided by her daughters and bring news of them to her.
****
“Is Elenia alright?”
“Yes.”
“She always seemed sad because of us. We were a nuisance. She had that same look then.”
Sushia stroked the girl’s hair.
“No, your mother loved you very much.”
“But Elenia never told us she loved us.”
“That’s true. She always got angry when we called her ‘mom’.”
Ascal pondered for a moment before approaching the girl.
“May I take off your hat for a moment?”
“...Will you dislike us then?”
“That will never happen.”
“...Then, it’s okay.”
Ascal removed the girl’s pointed hat. As expected, there were patches of hair missing, and the exposed skin on her head was stained with black spots.
“Witch’s disease...”
Witch’s Disease—a rare, congenital illness that afflicts only a handful of children. Those born with this disease often don’t survive past childhood.
No one knew a cure. After someone coined the term “Witch’s Disease” for children believed to be born under a witch’s curse, the name stuck.
This condition, and the mothers of the afflicted children, were deemed accursed.
Ascal gently touched the girl’s head.
“It tickles... hehe.”
“You must have gone through so much.”
Ascal looked back at Elenia, who was watching his actions with a vacant gaze, clearly terrified.
“What... what did the children say? Do they hate me? Do they despise me?”
“They asked if you were alright.”
Elenia had trapped the souls of her children in the forest but was too frightened to approach them actively, scared of what they might say.
The news brought by visitors was probably all she could handle.
“Are these children reaching their limit?”
Sushia asked, observing the state of the children.
“Yes.”
“You may have bound them to this land, but I can see that the connection is gradually weakening. Maybe, at most, by the end of today…”
“Right. I’ve tried everything, but it’s been in vain.”
Elenia responded with a sense of resignation.
“Is this why you confessed that the medicine was actually poison?”
“Yes. I wanted to take revenge while the children were still here, but now it’s pointless.”
The Empire had abandoned these children, not even recognizing them as human. In return, she wanted to set the Empire ablaze.
She wanted to inflict maximum pain on the father who had forsaken his children, keeping him alive just long enough to witness his empire crumble before his eyes. But now, it was too late.
Elenia laughed as if she had lost her senses.
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
Suddenly, Fer rushed in and kicked Elenia with its front hooves.
“Kyah!”
It seemed to have controlled its strength, as Elenia merely sprawled on the ground. Even Fer must have found the sight pitiful.
“Don’t hurt Elenia.”
“Stop it.”
The two girls wrapped their bodies around Elenia’s, shielding her with their tiny forms even though they couldn’t physically touch her.
“This is absurd!”
Sushia crossed her arms in anger, looking up at Elenia as if to say she should speak her mind.
“Talking about revenge on the Empire, saying it’s pointless, I can’t understand any of it. Isn’t this supposed to be for the children?”
“What am I supposed to do then...”
“Play with them.”
But Elenia couldn’t see the girls.
How were they supposed to play together?
Sushia drew a line in the dirt with a stick.
‘Indeed.’
Elenia watched Sushia’s actions with curiosity.
“Come on, kids! It’s the stick game! The first to complete it wins!”
It was tic-tac-toe.
The children’s eyes lit up.
“I’ll go first!”
One girl drew an O right in the center.
Sushia handed the stick to Elenia.
“Your turn now.”
“What is this...”
“Hurry up.”
Elenia drew an X next to the O.
Soon, a new O appeared next to the X Elenia had drawn, a bit squished.
“Lorian?”
Lorian had always struggled to draw a perfect circle.
Elenia quickly drew another X. This time, the new circle was elongated.
“Flora.”
They were whimsical children. Instead of aiming to win the game, they seemed to find joy in simply drawing circles anywhere on the board.
Elenia, too, started drawing Xs in random places. Circles even started appearing outside the drawn lines.
“I can’t lose.”
Elenia found herself smiling as she began to draw more Xs.
Dozens of Os. Dozens of Xs.
The circles seemed to lean against Elenia’s Xs, as if trying to follow her lead.
“Oh no. I’ve lost.”
Elenia declared her defeat as if following the whimsical rules set by the children.
“Wow! We beat Elenia!”
Lorian and Flora laughed, and Elenia laughed along with them. Even though they were invisible, she could tell where her daughters were.
“Since you’ve beaten me, I owe you a reward.”
It was an old tradition. Elenia used to give her daughters a flower each time she praised them. She walked towards the garden in the forest but stopped in her tracks.
It had been quite a while since she last watered the flowers.
“…Huh?”
But Elenia was astonished. The garden was in full bloom, as if someone had been tenderly caring for it, with a variety of flowers vividly alive.
After picking two flowers, Elenia returned to her daughters.
“Here you go.”
She extended her hand.
Soon, the flowers placed on her palm disappeared. The flowers danced in the air, swaying gently, like an innocent girl dancing.
“Where are you going?”
The two flowers drifted gently. Elenia followed them.
“This is…”
It was her own cabin, surrounded by marshland. But suddenly, the flowers vanished.
“Lorian! Flora!”
Could it be?
Could they have disappeared? Had Elenia lost even the slightest trace of her daughters?
She swallowed hard.
“You can’t see it? That?”
“Dance, Sushia.”
“All of a sudden?”
“And sing.”
Though Sushia was unconvinced, she started dancing anyway, her movements still awkward.
“Fortuna, Fortuna, ad nos veni,
Veritas, Veritas, nobis lumen da.
Amor, Amor, corda nostra imple.
Iterum iterumque cantamus,
Iterum iterumque invocamus,
Ad nos veni, nobis lumen da!”
Her voice was pleasant enough to make the song bearable.
As Sushia sang, starlight began to illuminate the cabin and the marshland.
And then, the original appearance of the cabin started to reveal itself to Elenia.
“Ah...”
There was a flower garden. Day by day, the twins had selected especially beautiful flowers, planting them one by one around their mother’s home, until they had created a garden.
“Elenia.”
“Do we look pretty?”
The twins, hiding in the flowerbed with flowers tucked into their hair after removing their hats, smiled brightly.
“Of course. You’re beautiful.”
Elenia smiled back. Her face was a mess of tears and a runny nose, but the twins didn’t mind. Holding the twins close, Elenia fought back her tears and spoke.
“Lorian. Flora.”
“Why, Elenia?”
“Call me ‘mom’.”
Lorian giggled, and Flora followed suit.
“Mom.”
“Mom.”
Suddenly, the dawn was breaking.
Starlight was invisible under the sun.
Their time was almost up.
“Let’s stop now...”
“Just a moment.”
Elenia hugged the twins tighter, wanting to feel their warmth a little longer, and kept whispering in their ears.
“I love you, I love you. Mom loves you.”
“Me too.”
“And Flora too.”
Moved by the moment, Sushia started crying bitterly.
Ascal, watching the scene, pulled a white marble from his pocket. As a man with black hair, he couldn’t forgive such a melodramatic scene.
****
Last night, the Dragon of Fate appeared in Ascal's dream.
“Where on earth did you find that marble?”
“I just picked it up in the Kingdom of Kelli.”
“Give it to me.”
“...Why?”
“With it, I can regain all my power. I could even make you an emperor.”
“Are you mad? I can’t possibly give it to you.”
“Then just a tenth of it.”
“...Is it that desirable to you?”
“Let’s make a deal. If you need my power, hold the marble and call out. If it’s within my means, I’ll make it happen. In return, I’ll take a tenth of the marble.”
“Can you make an escape from the Empire happen?”
“Except for that.”
****
“Dragon of Fate! Save these two people! And just so you know, subjective interpretations are not allowed. You know what I want, so figure it out and make it happen!”
Suddenly, clouds gathered, and it felt as if time had stopped.
-“How can one bring back the dead?”
“Is there nothing the great Dragon of Fate can do?”
-“That’s the problem with those who’ve been around the block. They get too comfortable and start asking for the impossible.”
“Is there a way or not?”
-“Bringing back the dead is impossible. However, there’s something that witch had prepared in advance. All I have to do is add my part to it.”
“I reject any bizarre interpretations.”
-“Do I look like the type to deceive a regular?”
“Can you also stamp a loyalty card?”
-“...In all my years, I’ve never encountered such a character.”
The Dragon of Fate exhaled a breath. Had Ascal crossed the line? He regretted it.
But the breath did not incinerate Ascal. Instead, he felt a tingling sensation on his arm and rolled up his sleeve.
There was a mark resembling a cloud, almost like a tattoo.
-“It was a good deal.”
“Let’s meet again.”
-“Indeed.”
The clouds dissipated.
Elenia, sensing something amiss, looked around.
“Lorian! Flora!”
Daylight had broken.
The deadline had finally passed.
Elenia collapsed to the ground.
No matter how much one prepares, farewells never get easier.
Then,
The cabin door opened.
Descending the cabin’s steps were two girls in meticulously crafted handmade dresses, looking almost like dolls.
“Let’s go, Sushia.”
“Just like this?”
“Be aware of the situation. We should give them some space. We can collect our dues later. What’s one more day of seeing ghosts?”
“It’s not about the payment...”
Sushia looked distressed, suddenly seeming like a psychopath.
Just then, Fer stretched its front legs, readying itself.
The day was bright. Fer ran effortlessly through the trees, the wind refreshing.
****
“Nice to meet you. As of today, I’ve received official permission to open a new fortune-telling shop. I’ve come to distribute some sweets.”
“I’m the clerk, Lorian!”
“And I’m the cashier, Flora!”
Elenia, her face beaming with joy, looking so radiant it was hard to believe she was the same person from yesterday, bowed slightly to Ascal.
“...I’m the minister here. Who gave you the permission?”
“Oh. There you are, Ascal.”
The Crown Prince, showing himself at the Evaluation Department for the first time in a while, smiled refreshingly.
“I was the one who granted the permission.”
“Cough. Even if you are His Highness the Crown Prince, setting up a common merchant without consulting me...”
“Is that so? It’s not every day someone gets the experience of employing a nation’s Empress. A ‘former’ one, but still.”
“...What did you say?”
Elenia smiled gently.
“Come to think of it, I never told you my previous name.”
“Excuse me?”
“I am Ellen Barba, the former Empress of the Barba Empire. Of course, now I’m just a fortune teller.”
Ellen Barba.
One day, she disappeared, and her name was erased from history as the first empress of Kamalon Barba.
“She’s my mother.”
“What kind of, this can’t be, then what about the princesses...”
“I do meet with Serena from time to time. It’s always better to have a daughter who’s more sociable than a gruff son.”
“Ha. Vanishing without a word and now this. What are you saying, mother?”
It then occurred to him, he first met Elenia in the guise of an old woman. He remembered how she had watched Yulia for an unusually long time. And setting up an illegal street stall around the Evaluation department on purpose.
“Well, what can you do? If I had revealed myself to you, Yulia would have killed me.”
“Yulia does have her obsessive tendencies.”
“The Empress of the royal family... a witch?”
“Oh dear. You’ve discovered the secret. We can’t have that. Lorian. Flora.”
Lorian and Flora stuffed candies into Ascal’s mouth.
“Mmph!”
“Well, you’ve discovered the secret. Now you’re in the same boat as the Empire. Though, you’ve been aboard all along. If you were considering emigration or retirement...”
The Crown Prince spoke.
And with that, the Crown Prince disappeared with a laugh.
“Of course, you wouldn’t have thought of that, for you are someone, the hidden dragon and sturdy pillar of the Empire! Hahahaha! Continue to protect the Empire! But, having risen so high, why are you still called the hidden dragon?”
****
Laika was in the editorial office of the Empire’s newspaper.
“Memories have resurfaced.”
“What business does a traitor have here?”
“The forger.”
A man with a prosthetic leg spoke coldly, leaning on his cane.
“Do not casually mention that name.”
“Yet, I must express my gratitude to you.”
“What nonsense is that?”
Laika pulled out copies of the Empire’s newspaper and magazine, filled with articles advocating for the Cat tribe, massage parlors, and their entry into the Empire.
“J.S., that’s another of your pseudonyms.”
“You.”
“At first, I thought it was mere coincidence. But when I put it all together, it became clear. Clapping requires two hands. The minister employed us without discrimination, and someone took up the pen.”
Laika knelt, extending both palms forward in a gesture of utmost gratitude.
“Thank you. Truly, thank you for saving our kin.”
“How amusing. I just wrote articles about the Cat tribe because they were well-received. It was just the flow of the times.”
“The article you’re writing now, is it about a witch?”
“Yes. The shocking truth that the Empress of the Empire was actually a witch. This will shake the Empire to its core.”
“Forger, you’re inherently one-legged.”
The forger looked down at his leg, fitted with a new prosthetic developed by the Department of Development and Innovation. It was affordable, widely available, and so efficient that it caused no inconvenience.
“We’ve faced much discrimination, simply for being born this way.”
“Yes. And that’s why you sought to destroy the Empire. I don’t know why I’m telling this to a traitor.”
"..."
“Do you still harbor hatred for the Empire?”
“Of course...”
The forger found himself unable to complete his sentence. The hatred that should have surged from deep within was suddenly blocked, as if stuck in his throat.
“Release the witch. She too has suffered long enough.”
“But.”
“I’m asking you, please.”
“......”
The forger dropped the article he was writing onto the floor.
“Damn it! My original draft, not even copied! If I lose this, I won’t be able to submit the article on time! This is serious.”
Laika eyed the paper that had fallen before him.
Chewing thoughtfully.
It tasted good, must be using quality paper.
“This is indeed serious. All the evidence within it would be lost as well.”
“What can one do? Such is life. I’ll have to rewrite it.”
The forger picked up his pen.
“I heard flowers are blooming in the western forest of the Empire. The place that’s always gloomy, known as a spot for suicides and strictly off-limits. That should make for a good filler.”
“What’s the name of the flower?”
“Camellia, or something like that...”
****
Sushia spoke up.
“I’m back. Former director.”
“Weren’t he supposed to have found peace?”
“I’m not sure.”
Sushia has been taking lessons from Elenia from time to time. She seemed to have gotten the hang of controlling her ability to see ghosts.
“Ah!”
Sushia doused him with water.
-Oh, oh, oh.
The former director found peace once again.
