Chapter 5

****

“You are finally here.”

The woman closed her eyes and spoke in a spirited tone, as if she was receiving a divine message.

“… Did you know I was coming?”

“I had a feeling something very big was coming. But it must be the princess of the Empire…”

The woman opened her eyes. Through curly hair, mysterious purple eyes stared at me.

“It is a great honor to meet the Princess of the Empire.”

I rolled the wheelchair. I slowly approached her and sat across from her. Behind me, an escort knight and a maid stood side by side. Silence passed. I looked into her purple eyes and spoke with a firm voice.

“… I came here to fix my legs.”

After the wagon accident a long time ago, I’ve used so many ways to fix my legs. But there was only one way I didn’t use. Magic.

This was forbidden by imperial law. The Empire considered the existence of witchcraft as a realm of darkness. As a result, the sorcerers received guests where they lived without revealing themselves.

At the time, my father wanted to heal my legs, even using forbidden magic, but my mother objected. Afterwards, my father told me the residence of the sorcerer whom he had secretly entrusted with the commission. He added that if one day I want to fix my legs, I can visit the sorcerer myself.

“It won’t be easy since I had an accident a long time ago, but… Can you take a look at my legs?”

“…”

“If only these legs could be fixed… I can handle anything.”

My throat burned. My heart raced. It was an easy word, but it was never easy.

Ever since I lost the use of my legs, I dreamed every night. Dream of walking around the world with healthy legs. Dream of going out in front of people again. A dream of returning to the perfect princess, Aileen Lowell.

When I opened my eyes, hell came. I didn’t want to wake up from my dream. It’s okay to die, so there were days when I desperately wanted to feel those healthy legs again.

It was still the same today.

“I can really feel the earnestness of the Princess ….You have endured a very painful life for many years.”

The sorceress narrowed her eyes. As if she understood the pain I was in, she spoke in a very friendly tone.

She got up from her seat. As the purple eyes turned to my legs, I flinched involuntarily. It was not always pleasant to see people’s eyes on my legs.

“Can I check the princess’s legs for a moment?”

At the next resounding voice, I withdrew my watchful gaze. I straightened my back. I pushed the wheelchair closer towards her.

The sorceress smiled as if feeling my courage, and placed her hand on my legs.

She closed her eyes and began to concentrate. The area of the thigh where her hand touched was warm. I bit my lip.

How much time has passed? The sorceress’ eyes widened. I asked her with a trembling heart.

“Can you fix them?”

“Magic can kill people. So it’s nothing if it’s just fixing the legs.”

She continued to talk while my heart was brightened with hope.

“But, it seems that there was a major accident at the time. It’s the legs with no regenerative potential.”

“… … … That’s right. It was a big accident at the time. A large carriage rolled off a cliff.”

I closed my eyes unconsciously as I remembered the accident at the time. It was a trauma.

The feeling of the huge carriage plummeting down the cliff. The moment when my eyes became dark. I fainted before I hit the ground, and when I woke up, my legs were paralyzed.

Ha. I exhaled.

When she saw that I was struggling, the maid who was standing behind me said with a firm voice.

“The Princess has a hard time remembering the accident. Please refrain from saying anything that stimulates what happened at the time.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to remind you of the trauma…”

“It’s okay.”

I raised my hand and stopped the maid. When I opened my eyes, I saw the space inside the cabin again.

The maid’s worried eyes reached me. I ignored the gaze and continued speaking to the sorceress.

“That’s right. My legs have no chance of regenerating. That’s what all the doctors said.”

I should be grateful that only my legs were injured.

The doctors all told me so. I should be glad I didn’t lose my life. Losing the use of my legs should be considered a miracle.

I lost my legs. Everyone said so.

“But losing my legs was the greatest shame and disgrace of my life. It’s still the same.”

I was the most noble princess in the empire. I was a person who caught people’s attention wherever I went just by being there. When the gazes of those who were young in awe and respect turned to compassion and sympathy, I felt a deep shame.

“I am desperate. Even after a long time, I came to this place to fix my legs again.”

“…”

“So, don’t change the subject and talk properly. Tell me I have not taken a vain step.”

My tone had become a little sharper, but the sorceress seemed to be somewhat satisfied with my appearance.

It seemed that there were some bold emotions mixed in it. She was proud of the fact that the princess, who had hidden the mansion for a long time with her back to the world, came to visit her to fix her legs.

Silence passed. How much time has passed? The sorceress blinked her purple eyes and opened her mouth.

“As a result, it is possible to fix the princess’s legs. However, in this case, there is a price.”

“A price…?”

I opened my eyes sharply. One eyebrow raised. What does that mean?

“Yes. The price for fixing the princess’s non-renewable legs.”

“………… I don’t understand. Why exactly should I pay? If it’s money, I have a lot.”

I wondered if she was talking about money, but I had an intuition that the price she was talking about wasn’t just about money. I asked with a slurred speech and the sorceress kindly explained.

“Magic is the power to deal with fate. In order to change the fate of the princess’s legs, the princess must sacrifice her own fates.”

Like that. The price I had to pay was fate.

“… … anything is good. What other fates do I have to give up?”

“I have to ask that. In fact, you will have to pay a fee from here, but…… . You’re a special guest, so I’ll find out first.”

The sorceress smiled playfully, then seriously closed her eyes and put her hands together. She started to focus. Like feeling some kind of energy, feeling the existence of something magical.

I stared at her silently. A mysterious energy seemed to flow around her.

At some point. The wind blew gently inside the enclosed cabin. my hair fluttered. The ornaments hung around the cabin also fluttered with a jingling sound. The wind blew out some of the candles on the desk.

The wind stopped. She opened her eyes and looked at the candles on the desk. Three candles were out.

The next moment, her purple eyes turned towards me. She said in silence.

“Three tragedies will come to you.”

“…Three tragedies?”

I looked at the three candles that were out. The rising smoke gave off a pungent smell.

“In exchange for fixing the princess’s legs, three tragedies that will change her life will occur. That’s what fate said.”

“…”

I see. After hesitating for a while, I opened my mouth.

“Can we know in advance what the three tragedies are?”

“You can’t predict that. If I tell you, wouldn’t it be too boring from the point of view of fate?”

That meant that I had to choose whether to trade my legs for three unpredictable tragedies.

I was in trouble. The carriage accident was a tragic event that had already changed my life once.

When I think about it calmly, living with these legs was right. Rather than going through three incidents that might have the same impact as a carriage accident to fix the legs, it would be a better choice just to live with it.

Knowing that I was in deep trouble, the sorceress spoke to me in a soothing tone.

“If you make a decision, I can always fix your legs. Of course, you don’t have to make a decision right away. You have enough time to think slowly….”

“No.”

But I answered before the sorceress could finish her words.

The worries were already over.

“Okay. I accept it.”

“….”

“I will accept three tragedies, so heal my legs. Right now.”

***

The sorceress packed up some magic-related supplies and led us out of the cabin.

I followed her silently, leaning in the wheelchair pushed by the maid.

We walked for a while and a small vacant lot appeared. It was a vacant lot where the surrounding trees pierced the sky.

“Wait a minute.”

The sorceress told us to wait and went to the middle of the vacant lot alone and began to draw something on the ground. At first glance, it seemed that she was creating a space for the magic.

As I was looking at it with a curious mind, I heard the maid’s voice.

“Are you really okay with it, Princess?”