CH 35

Luana’s heart was pounding with fear. She felt like her heart would pop out of her throat immediately. It was scary and painful. He didn’t seem to be a duke whom she usually talked to in a friendly manner. Is this the kind of intent that the knight gives? Until now, she had never imagined it would be like this because she had not seen anyone directly hurt anyone.

Luana grabbed the hem of Gerald’s cloak as she couldn’t calm down.

“This is exaggerating.”

Gerald said coldly, hiding Luana behind his back.

“Exaggerating?”

The duke snorted.

“It’s not exaggerating against witches.”

“You are blind in hatred.”

“Me? I’m fine.”

The sword held out forward gleamed fiercely in the dim light. Looking at him, Gerald sighed.

“You won’t just let me go.”

“Of course. I’ll take you as a guest.”

That’s what he said, but it didn’t seem like he meant to treat him as a real guest. Saying so, the duke held out his other hand that did not raise his sword.

“Come here, Luana.”

He called Luana.

“You haven’t gone far, so I’ll forgive you.”

She escaped from prison, but he said he would forgive her. The only chance to survive may be now. All she could see now was the duke, but soon other knights might come, making it hard for Gerald to run away with Luana alone. Thinking like that, she couldn’t move.

‘This person knows how to lift the duke’s curse.’

If Gerald succeeds in getting through the duke, and Luana doesn’t follow Gerald, she might never be able to figure out how to lift the duke’s curse. Her mind was full of this thought, so that she couldn’t move. She didn’t even know what the duke was thinking.

The duke’s expression hardened when Luana didn’t move. On the contrary, Gerald’s expression became calmer.

“Luana is not going.”

Saying so, Gerald took Luana and took a step back.

“Whether you like it or not, neither of you can get out of here.”

“That’s just your wish.”

At the same time, Gerald threw something in his hand at the duke. He immediately slashed it with his sword, but that was the wrong choice. Purple powder burst through the cracked bottle. He held his breath but had already inhaled some of the fine powder.

“Poison doesn’t work for me.”

“It’s not poison.”

The duke began to feel sleepy. He desperately tried to wake up, but it was useless. Profound drowsiness came upon him.

The duke, whose eyes were gradually closing, suddenly opened his mouth wide. He bites his hand mercilessly! Blood splattered everywhere.

“What are you doing?!”

The frightened Luana ran to him but stopped while looking at the duke. His red eyes gleamed like a beast. Blood dripped down the back of the duke’s hand, staining the ground.

Bite

He bit his hand again and reached out to Luana. He wasn’t talking, but that alone was enough to convey the meaning.

‘Don’t go.’

All the duke wanted was for Luana not to go.

Luana’s heart was pounding like crazy, and she was confused about whether to reach and hold the duke’s hand or not, but Gerald called her.

“Luana.”

Luana turned around. Gerald stood looking at her with an anxious look on his face. He also did not explain it for a long time, but the meaning was conveyed.

‘I have to go.’

Between her conflicting thoughts, Luana pondered again.

‘Should I stay in the mansion or follow Gerald?’ The duke’s skinny figure flashed in her mind as she bit her lips and worried.

‘Yeah, there’s a limit to what I cook.’

The duke needs to find his happiness. Luana left him and slowly backed away. The red eyes that had been emitting an eerie light suddenly faded. As soon as she stopped walking with a worried look, Luana almost got caught by the duke who reached out in front of her. After barely avoiding him, the Duke’s eyes returned to normal.

It was a trap!

Do you want to hold on to yourself that much? This is his only hope. Luana felt worried and said to him,

“I’ll be back. I will definitely come back. Don’t be mad and wait.”

Then she turned her back and ran to Gerald.

“Let’s go!”

Gerald glanced at the duke and ran with Luana. He wanted to deal with him. If he dealt with the duke, who had not yet had heirs, there would be no one to look for the witch anymore. Although there were collateral relatives left, they did not inherit the curse. However, considering his feelings toward Luana, he thought she should leave the duke alone.

‘First, I have to protect the little witch.’

With that in mind, Gerald and Luana left the mansion.

As soon as the two left the duke, the duke’s eyes, desperately holding back his sleep, closed softly.

‘Luana.’

The last image of Luana was blurry. She said something long, but he couldn’t think of it properly because it was hard to keep his sanity. But there was one thing for sure.

After all, she chose her own race, the witch, not him.

‘That’s right.’

The witches have always been that way. He can’t read other people’s pain without knowing about it himself. The duke closed his heavy eyelids and thought of Luana to the end. He didn’t even know his own feelings but only recalled his obsession.

***

From the moment they left the duchy, it was easy to run away. They drank the medicine from the small vial Gerald gave her so no one could look at them.

“It’s an invisible potion.”

“Yes, but will the duke be okay?”

“It’s just sleeping powder, so he’ll feel better after a good night’s sleep.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

At Luana’s words, Gerald was worried. Initially, young witches were raised among witches and raised with special care. But she was very affectionate because she grew up among humans. Even it was a man who put her in the dungeon. Of course, the dungeon felt different from other prisons, but she still got locked up there.

The duke even pointed his sword. He didn’t know what he would have done if he hadn’t been put to sleep with sleeping powder.

‘Well, I can fix that from now.’

Gerald thought so and took Luana to his house.

From the outside, the house looked like a small hut, but when Luana entered, the inside was more spacious than she thought. She went back and forth several times in and out of the hut just in case she saw something wrong, but nothing changed.

“Wow, how can you do this?”

Luana let out her exclamation and looked into the house.

“From the outside, I don’t think it would ever be this big!”

“The Witch of Space cast this.”

“The Witch of Space?”

“That’s right.”

“Do all witches have titles?”

“Yes.”

“So what kind of witch is Gerald?”

Now Luana could be sure now. Gerald was a man. And yet he is a witch! Of course, Luana become more curious!

“I’m the only male witch, and I’m a potion witch.”

“The Witch of Potion!”

He had a worried expression the whole time she came, but now he is relieved to see her showing her curiosity. Gerald kindly answered Luana’s question.

“We’re making all the potions that exist.”

“That’s awesome!”

“Aren’t you curious about what kind of witch your mother was?”

“Now that you mention it, I’m curious.”

Gerald smiled and handed Luana a thick little book.

“This is Elanya’s diary. She left it to me before she left for the human world. You’ll learn a lot by reading it.”

“Mother’s diary.”

Luana didn’t have much interest in her mother, but she accepted it and asked Gerald,

“Thank you for the diary. But more than that, I want to know how to lift the curse.”

Because of that, she left him even after watching the duke become like that. She had to figure out how to break the curse here. Luana looked at Gerald as if she would never let him go.

“You’ll find out if you look at Elanya’s diary.”

“What?”

“Now, I tell you, the witch who cursed the duke is Elanya.”

“What?”

Luana looked at her mother’s diary for a moment, then asked carefully.

“You’re not lying or joking, are you?”

“What’s the point of lying to a little witch?”

“B-but was she that old? The duke’s curse has been passed down from generation to generation!”

“Didn’t I say that witches have a different lifespan than humans? Elanya is older than Luana thinks.”

Gerald smiled, but Luana couldn’t keep up with him. The witch who cast the curse is her mother! If the duke knew, he might try to catch her and torture her immediately. Is it a good thing she ran away? Her mother, who had no presence, was so entangled with the duke’s family, and she had no idea what to do with this.

Gerald, who saw perplexed Luana, kindly added an explanation.

“Witches are not particularly good beings, but we are not evil. We are not the being who curse the innocent out of boredom, so look at her diary.”

“Can’t you just tell me everything you know?”

“Elanya kept her diary so only her own descendant could see it. I don’t know the contents either.”

Suddenly, the sky seemed to be spinning.