HIDDEN deep within the forest was a lake.
In the middle of the pristine lake floated a small island upon which a lone witch’s hermitage stood. For decades and centuries the scenery had remained unchanged.
Since ancient times, the witches who lived there sometimes helped people, guided them, or profited off their wishes.
Today, like the days of yore, a small boat arrived at the Witch’s hermitage. The man and woman on board disembarked with familiar ease. The woman glided from the dock to the hovel knowing the exact steps needed to cover the distance and flipped over the closed sign hanging out front. Satisfied that the sign now read “Open,” the Witch pulled the key from her neck, unlocked the door, and entered the building.
Boots trotted the ground behind her.
“You don’t have to come with me…every time you have a day off, you know?” Rose muttered with a hint of dismay to Harij, who followed her. “You should take it easy on your days off at least…”
“I come here to take it easy. So it’s all good.”
Harij pulled a tablecloth out of the basket he brought. His broad hands smoothly spread it to the edges of the table without a wrinkle. It smelled of being fresh out of the laundry.
He took a book out of the basket and sat on his usual chair bathed in sunlight shining through the small window. Spending time with Rose while sitting in his special chair without disturbing her work had become Harij’s favorite way to spend his days off recently.
Harij had received his reinstatement orders after he had successfully escorted Billaura to the border. In other words, it was two months after the break-in and the incident with the horrifying accidental ingestion of a love potion. The long time off was likely to reward him for his many years of service without using leave. After his two-month break, Harij was reinstated as a Royal Knight serving within the palace.
The reason why Rose was so informed about Harij’s situation was because she was now living under his care as a houseguest in his manor.
Even Rose, who never thought about taking preemptive measures to prevent home invasions, had been traumatized enough by the break-in to think twice about it now. She tried to do as much as she could to strengthen the island’s security with Harij’s assistance, but his worries were endless. Eventually, he obstinately insisted he would live in the hermitage with her.
Things probably would have been solved quite easily if she had immediately accepted his marriage proposal.
But, to the witch who had lived as a shut-in recluse since birth, change was the scariest thing in the world. Generations of witches had lived on this land and protected it, and it was also the irreplaceable home she grew up in and loved. She couldn’t give it up for good.
After a lot of back and forth discussions, Rose decided to reside in Harij’s manor at night. During the day, she resumed her duties as a witch in the hermitage. The fact that he welcomed her into his home as a houseguest rather than his fiancée showed how much he was being considerate of Rose, who couldn’t make up her mind about marriage.
Where she lived wasn’t the only thing in Rose’s life that had changed. For some reason, people were becoming friendlier toward witches.
Did Harij successfully convince them? Or was it because Rose didn’t look like the hideous witches in stories? The answer was a mystery. Rose knew that humans easily changed their minds, but also not that easily. It was because they didn’t change that Rose was able to make a living as a witch.
Still, while Harij might have asked them to do it, people occasionally ventured from the city into the forest to check on her. They might not have been 100 percent sincere about it, but Rose simply decided to accept their kindness at face value.
The lake had also become a playground for the children, and they sometimes left fruit in front of the hermitage for her.
“Ouch…!”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. Happens all the time.”
The hermitage was still a castle of clutter. Rose put the vase she accidentally kicked back in its original spot. Her gaze dropped to her feet as she stood up.
Rose was wearing a new pair of boots. Harij had bought them for her after she gave her spare pair to Billaura. These were completely different from her prior drab and tasteless boots. While emphasizing practicality, they were also delicate enough to decorate a lady’s feet. They could probably last for years as long as she took proper care of them. Small beads had been embroidered in an ivy pattern along the polished black upper leather. Rose was smitten with the way they glittered in the light with every step.
“Oh, right, Harij, would you mind checking the mailbox for me?”
Clients still came to the Witch seeking the witches’ secret potions even though she wasn’t in business twenty-four hours a day anymore.
She prepared a signboard informing them to leave a note in the mailbox describing what they needed and the next day and time they planned to visit. Harij accepted the mailbox key from her without complaint and fetched the letters. He came back with a single envelope the color of lettuce, or rather, the soft shade of spring buds.
“Thank you… Oh, it’s from Lady Lau.”
Harij was surprised when Rose mentioned the name of the sender.
“I haven’t received a single letter from her yet!”
“Girls mature faster than boys. They stop clinging to their older brothers sooner.”
Rose tore open the seal, careful not to rip the paper inside. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a letter opener.