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HARIJ paid his next visit to the Witch’s hermitage well after the sky had grown dark.
The moon hanging in the sky had waned to the shape of a cat’s claw. Stars twinkled brightly to make up for the lacking moonlight. Thin clouds whisked by in the night breeze, casting a shadow over the forest. Harij stealthily made his way through the forest while blending into the dark.
The bell announced a visitor with a ding-a-ling, and Rose quietly peered outside through the window. The dock across the lake was faintly illuminated by a lantern’s flame. Spotting the person she had been eagerly awaiting caused her heart to race. The orange light swayed in the dark like a jack-o’-lantern as it steadily crossed the distance.
Rose felt restless, like a hen in a henhouse frightened by an intruder who came to steal her eggs.
She opened her closet. Inside was the viridian-blue robe Tien gifted her the other day. The robe was expertly woven with silk threads of the same color, just slightly more subdued, embroidering the cuffs and hemline. Rose was grateful to Tien, but she had yet to wear this robe in front of anyone.
When she stopped to think about it with a clear head, she realized wearing it would be like announcing she had ordered a new outfit just for Harij.
In the end, she stowed the robe deep within the closet with a sigh after petting it. As for the lipstick and blush, she didn’t have the courage to even try them on, as bad as that made her feel about Tien’s generosity.
She wanted Harij to remember her as herself, and not as a foolish witch who tried too hard to put on makeup and doll herself up.
A dull thud came from beside her hovel—the sound of the boat docking at the island. Rose dusted off her old mended robe with a few pats. She looked at her reflection in the water jug and improved her complexion by pinching both cheeks. Then she shuffled over to the door and waited.
Afraid that nervousness made her face looked tight and ugly, she began counting in her head. By the time she reached six, she sensed someone in front of the door. Seven, eight, nine…
Just as she was wondering whether she was counting numbers or her own racing heartbeat, there was a knock.
Rose slowly breathed in and opened the door. The bell jingled overhead.
“Welcome. Did you get ahold of what I asked for?”
My voice isn’t shaking, is it? I don’t have a stupid grin on my face, do I? Rose looked up at her visitor after taking special care to school her appearance. Harij was quite tall, so Rose had to crane her neck back to see his face. He’s good-looking no matter when I see him. She wanted to enjoy the sight of him.
He handed her the lantern, which had been removed from its stick. She placed it on top of the fireplace as was her custom. She needed to lock her jaw to keep from smiling at the city lantern perched beside her tiny old one.
“Yeah. Check for yourself.”
Rose accepted the ingredients with both hands. Harij pulled out a chair from the table and heavily sat down. She was grateful for visitors who could seat themselves. Some among her clients wouldn’t sit unless she pulled out the chair for them, although, since she didn’t really care if they sat down, she never did.
Harij heaved a loud sigh. He seemed frustrated, which led Rose to quietly inquire, “Are you tired? I have a potion to replenish your energy.”
“Don’t need it.”
Instant refusal. Even in the poorly lit room she could read the clear skepticism on his face. Apparently, he didn’t believe in witches’ secret potions.
Then why request a love potion?
Rose sensibly pretended not to notice the contradiction. She had already spent too much time miserably thinking of all the reasons why he came seeking a love potion.
I’m glad I didn’t put on lipstick.
Depressed, she slowly moved past the cauldron to her work space. She tried to slide open the cabinet door next to her workbench, but something was jammed inside. She placed the materials from Harij on the workbench, then grabbed the sliding door with both hands and yanked it to the side.
CRASH! SHATTER! Something definitely broke inside the cabinet, but she pretended not to hear it. Feeling someone’s gaze on her back, Rose turned around only to be met with Harij’s incredulous stare.
“Did something just break?”
Rose didn’t answer. Anything she chose to say ran the risk of being a lie.
“…Can’t you clean up the place a bit?”
“Unfortunately, there’s no magic that can automatically clean a room.”
“You have hands…”
Rose answered his inquisitorial stare with a shrug. Her two hands could cast magic, yes, but they couldn’t clean a room. For she was a witch. No matter what anyone had to say about it, “Because I’m a witch” was her response. Indefinitely.
Assuming the conversation was over, she proceeded to look through what Harij had brought, which turned out to be exactly what she had asked for. She was about to get to work when he started talking again.
“Hey, what is this?”
“Oh, that’s lettuce from a few days ago.”
Harij was obviously disgusted by the plate of wilted greens he picked up off the table. Those were the leftovers of what she had been snacking on while mixing a potion and had forgotten about when her work demanded her full attention. Condensation covered the lettuce, and it smelled funky. The parts touching the plate were completely discolored, and not even Rose considered it edible now.
“…You only ever eat lettuce, Lady Witch. Is there a special reason for that?”
“No. Lettuce is the only vegetable grown in my garden. I can snack on it without any prep work aside from washing the leaves.”
“Huh?” There was a one-second pause before he said the same word again. “Huh? Lettuce is all you consume?”
“I eat other food when I go out, but…it’s my staple diet, yes.”
Does he have a problem with that? Is he interested in what witches eat?
This time Rose gave a skeptical nod. Harij rose from his chair, careful not to knock anything over, and skirted around the cauldron to get to her.
He grabbed her arm while she was too surprised to react, moving so fast she didn’t even see him reach for her. His movement was befitting of his rank as a super elite S-class knight, but she wished he would show more restraint around her.
“…Chicken legs have more meat on them than this.”
“You surely jest…”
Harij was holding her wrist and closely assessing her. Sweat threatened to burst out of the pores on her face.
No matter what this man says, he has a nice face. I don’t care how many times I’ve thought this tonight—he really is handsome!
His eyelashes, which seemed to have four times the volume and length of hers, fluttered every time he blinked.
Unable to endure the weapon that was his face being so close to her any longer, Rose turned her head away.
That finally made Harij realize he wasn’t dealing with one of his subordinates. “Sorry,” he said, releasing her hand.
“Don’t be.”
It took everything she had just to utter those two words. Under her robe, she pressed a hand against her rollicking heart. It was pounding like crazy.
After regaining a modicum of calm, she spoke to him in a commanding witch’s voice. “I shall proceed with the preparations using the ingredients you have brought me thus far. The next step takes time, so please come back in a month.”
“You need more time…?”
In response to the depressed grumble she heard above her, Rose gave a professional bow of her head.