Emilia sat stiffly in the dimly lit study, hands folded in her lap, posture unnaturally rigid. The room smelled of old parchment, candle wax, and something faintly sweet—tea, probably. But she barely noticed. Her thoughts were too loud, the weight in her chest too heavy.
Satella was back.
The Witch of Envy. The calamity of legends. The reason she could never escape people's stares, their whispers, their fear.
And now, that very Witch was walking this world once more.
She still wasn't sure how she had ended up here. Puck had practically dragged her, insisting she needed to talk this through with people who could actually help. Which meant Rosewall, Otto, and Beatrice.
Rosewall, as usual, sat too comfortably, lounging in his chair, smiling that unreadable smile, fingers laced together like he was enjoying all of this.
Otto looked… well, the way Otto always looked when forced into high-stakes situations—nervous, exasperated, and completely aware that he was out of his depth.
Beatrice, curled up in her chair, arms crossed, was scowling deeply, her tiny brows furrowed.
Puck, meanwhile, was floating just above Emilia's shoulder, tail flicking in amusement. "Alright, let's get this out of the way," he said, stretching lazily. "What's our plan?"
"Plan?" Otto exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples. "We're supposed to have a plan for this? A Witch—that Witch—is walking around again, and you expect us to just come up with a plan?!"
"That is what meetings are for, in fact," Rosewall chimed in, voice dripping with amusement.
Otto groaned. "Oh, fantastic. So, what? Do we all just sit here and pray she doesn't destroy everything?"
Emilia finally spoke.
"No," she said quietly, fingers tightening in her lap. "We do something. We prepare."
All eyes turned to her.
Puck purred in approval. "That's my girl."
Rosewall's smile didn't falter. "And how, exactly, do you propose we prepare?"
Emilia took a breath. "We need to reinforce the capital's defenses. Strengthen the barriers. Ensure that—"
"Barriers won't stop her," Beatrice interrupted bluntly. "She's not a regular Witch, in fact. If she's truly free, then there's nothing stopping her from devouring everything in her path, I suppose."
A cold silence settled over the room.
Otto's shoulders tensed. "Then what are we supposed to do? Just wait for her to come for us?"
"We need more information," Emilia said, voice firmer now. "We don't even know how she came back. The Dragon Tablet told us she returned, but why? How? And what is she doing now?"
"Wouldn't be surprised if she's plotting the end of the world as we speak," Otto muttered.
"Well, she hasn't destroyed anything yet," Puck pointed out, resting his chin in his paws.
Rosewall chuckled. "Ohhh, but she has. A forest, I believe? Ahh, poor animals~"
Otto blanched. "Wait, what?"
"She's already started devouring again?" Beatrice's eyes narrowed.
Emilia swallowed hard.
Of course she had.
This was exactly what she had been afraid of.
Rosewall tilted his head. "Now, now, no need to panic~. It's a small price to pay for such a historic occasion."
Otto turned to him, aghast. "A small price?! A forest was wiped out!"
Rosewall waved a hand lazily. "A single forest is nothing compared to what she did before. Ahhh, but I wonder~. Does she even remember?"
Emilia's breath caught.
That… that was something she had been thinking about too.
What if Satella wasn't the same as before?
What if she had returned without her memories? Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Would she still be the same monster the world feared?
Would she still destroy everything?
Rosewall's gaze flickered to her, as if reading her thoughts.
"Hmmm~. Whatever the case, the Royal Selection has taken a very… interesting turn~." He grinned. "With the Witch of Envy back in play, the game has become far more exciting, don't you think~?"
Otto buried his face in his hands. "This isn't a game, you lunatic!"
Emilia barely heard them.
Her mind was still stuck on that one thought.
If Satella had forgotten who she was—
Then maybe… maybe…
There was still hope.
"Then how do we stop her?" Otto asked, his voice tense.
Silence hung over the room like a heavy fog. Nobody wanted to say it, but they were all thinking the same thing.
There was only one option.
Reinhard.
The Sword Saint was their only hope.
If there was anyone in the world with even a chance of defeating Satella, it was him.
Beatrice exhaled sharply, crossing her arms. "Hmph. Well, if we're going to rely on a ridiculous cheat character, I suppose Reinhard is the best we have, I suppose."
Otto let out a breath of relief. "Okay, good. We have a plan. We get Reinhard to handle it. And hopefully, he can actually beat her."
"Hopefully~," Rosewall echoed, his smirk widening.
Emilia swallowed, trying to shake the unease in her chest. Could Reinhard stop her? Could even he win against the Witch of Envy?
They had to believe he could.
Because if he couldn't—
Then there was no stopping her.
Ē~Ē
Subaru sat cross-legged in her dark room, back straight, hands resting lightly on her knees. The silence pressed in from all sides, thick and heavy, broken only by the distant murmur of cultists outside. She focused on her breathing, inhaling deeply, exhaling slowly, trying to calm herself.
Her dad had always told him to meditate.
"It clears the mind, kiddo. Helps you sort out the mess in your head."
So she tried.
Tried to push away the hunger, the exhaustion, the horror of everything she had done, the people she was surrounded by, the monstrous expectations placed upon her shoulders.
For a moment, she almost felt at peace.
Then, her mind's eye opened.
And suddenly, she saw it—the country.
Spread beneath her like a falcon gazing from above, the rivers, the forests, the cities stretching out into the distance.
And then her mind whispered.
"Devour it." Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Subaru's eyes snapped open.
Nope. Nope. Nope.
She clenched her fists, forcing the thought away, shaking off the lingering, primal urge still coiling in the back of her mind.
Okay. No meditation. Bad idea.
Maybe something else would help.
A hot bath.
Yeah. That sounded good.
She needed something to calm her down, something to pull her back into normality, even if it was just for a little while.
Rising from her spot on the cold floor, she stepped out of the room, searching for a servant. The moment she found one, she ordered them to prepare a bath, making sure to specify that the temperature should be kept low.
"Do not make it too hot," she said firmly. "I am not interested in being boiled alive."
The servant bowed deeply, murmuring praises about how even her request for a simple bath was divine wisdom.
Subaru ignored it.
Soon enough, a wooden tub was brought into her room, filled with steaming water.
The moment the door closed, she let her gown drop.
And immediately realized something.
Satella had a killer figure.
Like, wow.
She had been trying to ignore it, to pretend she wasn't aware of her own reflection, to avoid thinking about it too much—but standing there, completely bare, she couldn't deny it.
If she was still a guy, she'd definitely fall for her.
Subaru shook her head violently.
Bad Subaru. No pervy ideas.
Shoving the thoughts aside, she stepped into the tub.
The moment the hot water touched her skin, her body relaxed instantly.
Tension melted from her shoulders, her stiff muscles eased, the exhaustion sank away like ink dissolving in water.
The heat seeped into her bones, washing away the lingering chill of death that always seemed to follow her.
For the first time since waking up in this horrifying new existence, she felt human.
Her fingers trailed absently across her skin, across the soft curves of her body.
So this was why women loved bathing so much.
Everything felt good.
Subaru sighed deeply, sinking further into the water.
Eventually, the warmth lulled her into drowsiness.
Her eyes drifted shut.
And she fell asleep.
TBC
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