Interlude: The Place Where the Witch’s Soul Rests

 

 

 

Interlude: The Place Where the Witch’s Soul Rests

 

ONE morning, Rose woke up after the sun rose.

She rolled out of bed and slid open the curtains. The bright sunlight shone into the room, casting a window-shaped shadow onto the rug.

“…I overslept.”

As a shut-in who took pride in living a reasonably regular schedule, Rose had never goofed like this before. Now guilt over failing to tend to her grandmother’s garden that morning, and sheer horror at the realization she might become incapable of living alone again, sent Rose into a mighty panic. She flew out of her room in her nightie and bumped into something hard.

“Oomph!”

“Kya…!”

She had collided with Mona, who had been standing outside her room. Shock colored the maid’s face. Rose felt the impatient flame burning under her feet sputter out when she saw her tight cheeks and clenched jaw.

“M-Milady. I came to check on you since you didn’t come down at the usual time…”

“I feel just fine. Anyway, I must hurry to the hermitage—”

“You needn’t worry about that. His Lordship sent someone to tend to it already.”

Upon entering Rose’s room, Mona promptly set about her work. She prepared a cup of iced tea using the tea set on the cart in the hallway. While Rose moistened her dry morning throat, Mona tidied up her messy bed and tried to select a dress for her from the closet.

“Is there a particular dress you feel like wearing today?”

A dress she felt like wearing? She never picked out her clothes based on feelings. Ever since Tala told her wearing the same outfit every day would damage the material, she randomly selected whatever she hadn’t worn the previous day.

Not only was Mona skilled at her job, but she even asked Rose questions about things she had never conceived of before, so she had clearly served a proper noblewoman at some point. No doubt she was inwardly displeased to now have to serve a gloomy witch. As Rose remained silent on the matter, Mona picked out her clothes.

“Then how about going with this beige dress for today? There just so happens to be a matching ribbon for your hair…”

“What need is there for a ribbon?”

“Do you dislike ribbons?”

That was a difficult question to answer. Rose didn’t have enough experience with ribbons to strongly reject them. Besides, she knew in a hidden corner of her heart that she wanted to try wearing one just as much as she felt embarrassed about making herself look pretty when she was a witch.

Unfortunately, Mona took Rose’s prolonged silence to mean she had offended her. She was visibly flustered.

“To tell you the truth, Ms. Tala actually instructed me to help you dress up if you aren’t feeling under the weather, milady.”

“Why?”

“It seems His Lordship canceled the order out of concern for your health, but yesterday…he requested a lunch for two be made for today.”

“…Lunch for two?”

“Yes, milady.” Mona glanced at Rose to see her reaction before finally working up the nerve to just come out and say it. “…His Lordship has been awfully giddy since yesterday…”

“Giddy?”

“Restless, too…”

“Restless…”

“…Ms. Tala suggested he is attempting to ask milady out on a date.”

Rose fell silent once again, her expression flat. Mona searched her face. Muttering “Mm” and “Ngh” under her breath, Rose sat at her dresser.

“…I leave it to your capable hands.”

“Th-Thank you!”

Mona nervously held the comb against Rose’s hair. One whole season had come and gone since both girls had arrived at the mansion together, but not once had Rose allowed Mona to touch her. She had no need for her assistance, and she also thought the other girl wouldn’t want to touch the scary witch’s body.

Mona began braiding Rose’s light-pink hair, weaving in the beige ribbon in the process. Rose was afraid she looked funny, but she didn’t tell her to stop.

Rose was a witch. Witches couldn’t tell a lie. Thus, Rose could only hold her silence. It was unpleasant to have a bunch of strangers think she was a witch trying to up her sex appeal, but Harij definitely wouldn’t see her that way.

It was a curious feeling having her hair taut against her head, but it stopped bothering her by the time she changed. Maybe she was overly self-conscious, but she thought she looked pretty much like an ordinary city girl when she stood before the mirror.

The low-key beige dress brought out the glossy charm of her dry, light-pink hair.

“My back feels exposed…”

“It is summer after all.”

“You expose it for summer…?”

“Yes, for summer.”

She hadn’t worn revealing clothes any other summer she had lived through, but apparently, exposure was in for the warm season.

“…It suits you very well,” Mona said with diffidence. Through the mirror, Rose looked at Mona standing behind her.

“…Thank you.”

Rose blamed the new dress for the ticklish feeling and returned her gaze to herself in the mirror. The fabric fit Rose like a glove. She was terribly dismayed that more than half her back was visible, but if Mona said it suited her, then she had nothing further to say, as she knew zilch about beauty standards. The high neckline helped it look more like day wear than formal wear from the front.

Rose stiffly descended the stairs with her right arm and leg swinging out in unison. All she was doing was wearing the dress someone else picked out for her. All she had done was put a little more effort into her hair. All she did was have a ribbon woven into her hair. All she was doing was wearing a dress without her usual robe on top. And yet, for all those little things, Rose couldn’t settle down.

She heard Harij’s clear, strong voice out in the hallway. He was probably talking to Safina.

“Good morning.”

It wasn’t morning anymore, but she went with that greeting anyway.

Harij’s mouth dropped when he looked up at Rose from the papers he had spread out on the dining table. After seeing his stunned face, she seriously wondered for a second if she should have said “Good afternoon” instead. Harij’s gaze cruised her figure from head to toe for a long while before he nodded.

“Morn…ing.”

The stupefied look on his face disappointed her. She was disappointed in herself for getting her hopes up that he would be pleased. She bowed her head to hide how let down she felt. Then she moved toward her seat when she saw Tala preparing her tea in place of breakfast.

The second she stepped forward, Harij jumped to his feet, not caring that he knocked his papers off the table. He didn’t even glance at his chair as it clattered onto the floor behind him. Blanching, Safina crouched to collect the fallen papers.

Harij rushed to Rose’s side with wide strides and hurriedly draped the coat he was wearing over her shoulders.

“…Um?”

“You can leave now.” Harij directed that missive behind Rose with his arm still around her shoulders. She managed to turn her neck just enough to see the footmen bow and quietly leave the room. Once he confirmed their departure, Harij turned Rose’s face back toward him. “What happened to your robe? Are you washing it?”

It sounded as if he was criticizing her for not wearing her robe, which miffed her. Sure, Rose was a witch, but that didn’t mean she was obligated to wear a robe twenty-four hours a day.

“I sometimes don’t wear a robe when venturing into town.”

“Are you going into town today?”

“Aren’t we going?”

“What?”

They both tilted their heads, clearly not on the same page.

“I’m so sorry, Young Master. I said something I shouldn’t have. I was under the impression you two were going out together today and instructed Mona to help her dress for the occasion.” Tala came from the kitchen in a hurry and apologized to Harij.

“I see… How are you feeling?”

“Perfectly fine. I simply overslept.”

“Really? That’s a first. I was hoping we could go out together if you aren’t busy today.”

“I can make time.” Her current concoctions had reached a stage where she could take a break. “I heard it is to be a date.” She gazed into his eyes to make sure he wasn’t going to back out.

“…It is.”

“Also known as a tryst.”

“I know.”

He averted his gaze. Rose shifted until their eyes met again.

“Is there a problem?”

“…No.”

Harij was stroking her hair for some reason. His fingers must have discovered the ribbon woven into it because his touch was even gentler than usual.

“You wore that knowing you would be going out with me… I bought you that outfit.”

He did? Rose was entirely under the impression it was among the items included in Tien’s dowry for her. She took another look at the dress she was wearing. The light material was fit for summer, but it left her back unprotected, and she still felt it should have covered more, especially if she wore it to work.

“I didn’t think it would reveal this much back…,” Harij mumbled, his tone rough like the wreakage of a storm. Even he, a man who handled everything flawlessly, lacked the knowledge needed to pick out women’s clothes.

That attested to Mona’s skill, as she had taken steps to provide Rose with the best date outfit when she didn’t understand how it worked herself. While Rose was busy being grateful to Mona, she was graced by Harij’s dashing smile at point-blank range.

“You look amazing. You’re adorable.”

She feared her eyes might burn if she looked too long. Staring at something too bright and dazzling for long periods of time was said to be bad for the eyes. After basking in his smile, which was brighter than the sun, she covered her eyes with both hands.

 

∴ ∵ ∴

“IS this a popular date course for cityfolk these days?”

Rose tilted her head under the sunlight filtering through the thick tree canopy, the shawl covering her shoulders fluttering with the slight movement. Cool air ran past her, bringing the familiar smells of the forest right to them.

Dirt clung to their shoes, and every time they took a step, they risked stumbling on the roots and tough grass, making this a hard date spot to recommend to anyone unused to gallivanting through forests. By the same token, their destination was as gloomy as they came.

“It’s in this general area.”

Rose had guided Harij to an evergreen oak tree deep within the forest. The giant oak’s leaves and branches had extended so far, they intermingled with the other trees, obscuring its full scale. Its eerily curled branches looked like a witch’s gnarly nails as depicted in stories.

Carrying a bouquet of colorful flowers that clashed horribly with the creepy surroundings, Harij let out a wry laugh.

“There isn’t a grave marker?”

“It’s a deceased body. Mourning for the soul is all that matters. Besides, it is better for everyone if no one knows where a witch has died.”

“I see.”

Harij laid the stunning bouquet at the base of the evergreen oak. Growing uncomfortable, Rose picked a lily of the valley off the ground and placed it beside the bouquet.

Harij proceeded to bow his head and stood there for a while with his eyes closed. With nothing to do, Rose wandered around the tree.

This was where she buried her grandmother five years ago. She visited when she felt like it, but not often. The moment her grandmother had departed the land of the living, she departed the realm of being a witch’s concern.

However, Rose did occasionally visit as a granddaughter. She didn’t want her grandmother’s soul to remain in this plane of existence, but Rose sometimes found herself wandering back to her resting place.

“Sorry for the wait.”

“Are you finished?”

“Yeah. I’m glad I got to greet her.”

“Speaking of greetings, is it all right that I haven’t gone to greet your family yet?”

Rose didn’t know much about marriage, but she knew it wasn’t something they could do without permission, given Harij’s noble blood.

“Oh, did I not tell you? My oldest brother has already inherited the title and lives with my parents in Heizlan. Our territory is far from the capital, and I’ve only just taken on a new post, so I can’t take the time to travel. You will meet at the wedding.”

It seemed wedding ceremonies also served as a way to meet everyone for the first time.

“I have another older brother… He lives abroad, but he will come back for our wedding.”

“Then I will greet them all at that time.”

“Yeah, please do… How about we have lunch now?”

“We might inadvertently sit on top of my grandmother if we do it here, so how does eating somewhere else sound?” Rose suggested with cool indifference, earning a mortified nod from Harij.

They opened their lunch basket in an area where there were several freshly cut tree stumps. Tala’s deluxe lunch consisted of sandwiches. There were two types: one with thick bacon and fried eggs sandwiched between thinly sliced baguettes and the other with sweet apple jam.

Just looking at them aroused hunger. Determined to try both, Rose reached for the bacon sandwich first.

“Wait.”

Rose shot Harij an evil look for stopping her. Anyone would think it ridiculous to glare at the person you love most in the world just for preventing you from eating. Rose thought so, too—until three seconds ago.

But after seeing Tala’s delicious lunch, she realized that concept was nothing more than a pretty ideal that held no merit in real life. After all, the sandwiches Tala whipped up looked so tantalizing.

“Don’t glare at me. If you want it that bad, why not ask her to make lunch for you every day?”

Rose only requested half a roll from Tala for lunch every day. A part of that had to do with her regular eating habits before moving in with Harij, but it was also because she had discovered she didn’t have a huge appetite in the first place.

“I can’t eat that much when I’m alone.”

“I see.”

Harij’s smile was so affectionate as he let out a light chuckle, it made Rose feel as if she had admitted to something embarrassing. She cocked a puzzled eyebrow at him.

“Sit here.”

Harij laid a handkerchief he pulled from his pocket on top of a stump. Rose’s lips turned down at the corners—she just realized he wasn’t trying to get in the way of her and her sandwich. She was ashamed of how petty she had been to glare at him.

“I’m sorry. I thought you were trying to steal the sandwich from me,” Rose muttered as she sat on his handkerchief.

“I would never do that.”

“Why not?”

“There isn’t an idiot in the world who would snatch away something that delights the woman he loves.”

Taking in his words filled Rose with boundless joy. It suddenly clicked into place for her how real this was—each word he uttered and his gentleness toward her.

Heat sprung to her face. Rose’s hand shot up to her forehead, but the hood she reached for wasn’t there. She couldn’t help but wonder why she had removed her greatest armor—the robe.

She quietly reached for the basket, stole a sandwich, and took a big bite. It should be harder to tell the change in her expression if she was munching on something.

Harij followed suit and bit into a sandwich. The sandwiches eaten on the handkerchief Harij had laid out for her tasted extra special.

In the middle of the forest, surrounded by the cries of animals and bugs and a babbling creek, the couple ate with relish.