Night of Clipped Talons

"Tinasha?"

The following morning, Oscar woke up a bit later than usual, only to

realize that no one was next to him in bed. He shook his head groggily.

But then he remembered that he'd put Tinasha to bed in her own room,

considering how exhausted she was after the New Year ceremony. She was

probably still deep in sleep. Based on how exhausting the night before had

been, she might not wake up for a while longer. Smiling to himself, Oscar

prepared for the day.

Even after he and his protector witch became lovers, she still had a blind

spot when it came to him, evidently. She left herself as vulnerable in her

devotion to him as she had when she risked her life for him.

That was why Oscar was making a conscious effort to keep things the

same as they had been and restrain himself. If he wasn't careful, he could

very well lose himself entirely to this precious woman he'd finally caught

hold of. However, many had said that Oscar and Tinasha already looked

like a couple, so it hardly mattered.

"Becoming a mother, huh…," the king murmured, referring to two

people at once.

He meant both the witch, who was hesitant to become a parent, and his

own mother, who had likely debated the idea but had ultimately still

decided to have him.

Oscar's father hadn't said so explicitly, but he could tell based on his

father's behavior that his mother had been quite the mage. That was

probably why her parents had opposed the marriage. No parent would want

their mage daughter marrying into the royal family that possessed the Mage

Killer.

As for royal bloodlines, very few countries in their land had ever had a

mage ruler. Naturally, it was impossible to prevent mages from being born.

But while Farsas was not a magic-shunning country like Tayiri, no mages

had ever appeared in the Farsas royal family—which was likely due to the

influence of Akashia.

Taking up this sword meant that its bearer could not use magic, even if

they possessed magical power. If Oscar hadn't been cursed and

subsequently met Tinasha, he might have gotten buried in the annals of

history as a nonmage king.

Sighing, Oscar recalled what his father had said:

"Soon after you were born, Rosalia, your mother, placed the seal. Said

she might as well, though you wouldn't need it anyway."

When Oscar heard that, all he could think was, You should have told me

sooner. But perhaps his father had wanted to respect Rosalia's wishes as

much as he could. She had died at only thirty. The memory of his queen,

who'd passed so young, was still deeply imprinted on his father.

Oscar, who had almost no memories of his mother, started to break into

a bitter smile…but then he suddenly felt a headache come on. He pressed a

hand to his temple.

Moon shines on

White nails

Night

Red of scattered blood

It lies ahead

For just a moment, images that formed no concrete symbols or sentences

flashed in the king's mind. Then they all vanished.

Finding it strange, Oscar shook his head, but he seemed to recall the

fragments that had all scattered away.

"Urgh, I slept too late… I'm sorry," said Tinasha when she finally appeared

in the study around afternoon teatime.

She stood in the doorway looking ashamed of herself, and Oscar grinned

and beckoned her over. She sat on his lap and looked up at him. "Do you

want some tea?"

"Later," he answered, carding his fingers through her hair and pressing a

kiss to her forehead.

Her eyes narrowed happily before she reached out to pick up some of

the documents spread out on the desk. "You've already got so much to do

right from the first day of the New Year."

"It's precisely because it's the first day of the New Year," he explained.

"I'll help you," the witch offered, riffling through the papers and picking

out some that weren't especially urgent. She hopped down from his lap and

moved to the couch to put them in order.

Shortly after, Lazar arrived to report on the post-festival cleanup.

Tinasha set aside the documents she had taken for the moment and made

tea. It was the picture of yet another peaceful day.

Lazar had Oscar sign a sheet before reading out the next unresolved

issue on the agenda. "We've received details regarding Gandona's Founding

Day celebration."

"I don't wanna go," stated Oscar, mainly just to say it.

"You have to," Lazar insisted, rejecting him instantly anyway. Oscar

made a sour face.

Just as Farsas held a birthday celebration for the king, the Great Nation

of Gandona to the east had its own annual festivities open to international

guests. One member of the royal family from each country needed to

attend. Usually, that would be a prince or princess, but in Farsas the only

royal at the moment was Oscar. The preceding king had already abdicated,

so Oscar had to go.

Tinasha tilted her head curiously as she placed a cup of tea in front of

him. "How long will it take?"

"Should be an overnight stay over there. It's about the same as the

celebration we have here. After taking a transport to the fortress of

Minnedart, I'll continue on horseback, which might take some time,"

answered Oscar.

"Will they be upset if you're transported directly to an area near the

Gandona royal palace?" Tinasha inquired.

"I don't think so, as long as we give them advance notice… Could you

do that?"

"Easily," the witch said, tea tray still in her hands. "Long-distance

transportation is just a matter of getting the coordinates. If one has them,

there shouldn't be an issue."

"Do you know the coordinates?" he asked.

"I've been there in the past," she said.

"Then I'll be counting on you. That'll make things a lot easier," Oscar

decided.

Tinasha gave him a soft smile, then returned the documents she'd

compiled to him. He listened to her brief explanation of them before adding

his signature.

Now that Oscar didn't have to worry about traveling to Gandona, he

could leave on the day of the celebration, two weeks from now. Realizing

something, he looked up at Tinasha. "That reminds me. Did the demonic

spirits who broke into the castle teleport in directly?"

"There's no way I'd allow that… Someone corroded my wards, and the

spirits slipped in through that hole. It was like it melted away. To be

perfectly honest, I didn't think there was anyone capable of doing that to

my safeguards. I'm at fault for not noticing sooner."

"You were pretty out of it right around that time, huh?" Oscar

commented.

"You're half to blame for that!" she cried, flushing a deep red as she

threw the tray at him. Oscar caught it neatly.

Ever since that incident, Tinasha had been fine-tuning the castle wards

even further. But both she and Oscar knew it wasn't an entirely foolproof

countermeasure. If they pursued one tack, the enemy would simply devise

another strategy. In the end, it was like a game of cat and mouse. As long as

their opponent's identity was unknown, all they could do was guard

themselves against any possible threats.

"Well, speaking of eastern countries, Yarda's been acting pretty

suspicious, too. I guess I might as well go to this Gandona thing," Oscar

remarked casually.

"Of course you're going to go, Your Majesty…," retorted Lazar.

The neighboring country of Yarda had lost to Farsas in the war eleven

years prior; it also shared a border with Gandona. Yarda should also be

sending someone to the celebration.

Oscar murmured as he made his way through the remaining papers on

his desk, "I'll have Tinasha with me, so I don't need that many guards. Oh,

let's bring Pamyra or Sylvia. You'll need someone to dress you, no?"

All of a sudden, the conversation turned to Tinasha, and her eyes

widened. Shock and dread crept across her face. "Why would I need to be

dressed by someone? I can do it myself."

"You'll need it for getting into your gown," Oscar replied matter-offactly.

"I knew it! I'm not dressing up! I'm going there to guard you!" she

protested, remembering when she'd attended King Kevin's birthday ball

several months prior. She'd sorely regretted becoming an object of jealousy

and spectacle. And this time, there would be quite a few guests who knew

that she was a witch. She had absolutely no idea how she could dare to

make an appearance.

Oscar must have thought of all that, too. He rested his chin in his hands.

"Well, that's true… Never mind, then."

But before Tinasha could even breathe a sigh of relief at that, Lazar

interjected, "But Miss Tinasha is Your Majesty's fiancée."

"Oh," blurted Tinasha.

"Now that you mention it…," Oscar began.

After a beat, Tinasha began to panic. She moaned, "I had forgotten you

told people that…"

"I forgot, too," admitted Oscar.

During the postwar negotiations between the Four Great Nations, Oscar

had told everyone that Tinasha was his fiancée, which was why he was

allowed to take her in. It was only a pretense, and so both of them had

completely discarded it.

It was more than likely that many of the royals and prime ministers from

the other countries had seen through that for the lie it was. Many smaller

countries still tried to send their daughters to Farsas to at least become one

of Oscar's royal mistresses. As pretenses went, this one did not offer any

real benefit to Oscar or to Tinasha.

Tinasha was at her wit's end. "Nooo, what should we do?"

She could already feel the piercing, cold glares of dozens of eyes on her.

Oscar sighed to see her looking so noticeably dismayed. "I won't mind if

you don't attend. Just make sure I know where you are."

"I-I'm sorry for this…," the witch apologized, lowering her head

meekly. She knew this was something she should take on herself, but right

now, she was waffling over her own position. She had no clear answer on

how she should act.

She had thought that everything would fall into place as long as she

knew that she loved him. But using that alone to resolve the situation had

put the two of them in a difficult position.

Tinasha bit her lip, thinking of her own weakness and of the crossroads

she was at.

On the eve of the Gandona Founding Day, Oscar and Tinasha departed in

the company of Als and five soldiers.

Of course, Gandona would be handling the security within its own

castle. It wouldn't be fair to bring too many people and appear as if Farsas

didn't trust the local security.

Upon exiting the transportation array the witch had summoned, the

group found itself right outside the Gandona castle city. From there, the

party of eight rode in on horseback. It was close enough to walk, but it

would look quite suspicious if they did that.

They received a warm welcome when they arrived at the castle, and they

were shown to their assigned chambers. The first item on the schedule was

the celebratory ball, which began in the evening and lasted until late at

night. Then they would stay the night in the castle before returning home.

As Oscar changed into his full dress regalia and Tinasha cast a barrier

around the room, he said to her, "What did you come to Gandona for in the

past?"

"I was asked to slay a demonic spirit," she answered.

"Makes sense," Oscar replied.

She finished conjuring the barrier, looked Oscar over, then floated up to

tidy up his hair. He caught her in his arms.

"If you sense anything strange or suspect, call my name. I've made it so

that I'll know right away," she informed him.

"Got it. What are you going to do?" Oscar asked.

"I'll be in the ballroom. Somewhere you can see me," Tinasha

responded, flashing him an elegant, enchanting smile and giving him a soft

kiss.

The Founding Day celebrations were held in the castle ballroom.

It was a vast oval-shaped hall that could hold three hundred guests. A

glass ceiling crowned an atrium that was several stories tall. Galleries ran

along the outer edges of the chamber, spiraling upward to the top.

The highest gallery commanded a view down onto the hall from a

considerable height. And it was from there that Tinasha, dressed in a

sparsely ornamented black gown, watched the festivities below.

Gandona guard soldiers passed by every so often, but other than that,

she was alone. Down below, the king of Gandona had just given a welcome

speech. Now people were milling about and conversing. The noble young

ladies' brightly colored dresses were like flowers in full bloom.

Tinasha spied the king of Farsas—her beloved—surrounded by a cluster

of those dresses. Als was next to him as his guard, and at the moment,

nothing seemed worthy of suspicion.

Why had he chosen her?

The witch had asked Renart that, and she still didn't know the reason.

Nevertheless, she didn't intend to ask Oscar again. He had made his

decision, and Tinasha only hoped that his choice wouldn't put him at any

disadvantage. In the end, she was his witch. That hadn't changed even

though they were lovers now.

Besides, Tinasha was not the jealous sort.

Any emotions of deep jealousy had worn away over the past four

hundred years. So the only thing she felt upon seeing Oscar surrounded by

ladies was guilt that she had escaped attending as his date; she didn't feel

any possessiveness. Even if he took one of the girls as his lover instead of

her, she would probably just feel sad—she wouldn't resent him. Tinasha

thought there was nothing wrong with that.

If, by any chance, she felt jealous and it morphed into resentment, she

could destroy everything in a fit of anger. That was why Tinasha dealing

with the sadness by herself was far preferable.

Leaning over the banister, she gazed upon the scene below. All of a

sudden, someone next to her offered her a glass. "How about a drink?" said

a young man with a soft voice.

"I don't drink. You know that," the witch stated curtly, and in a much

more casual and clipped tone than she normally used. She turned around.

There before her stood a slender man with silver hair and black eyes who

looked to be about twenty-five.

He was almost abnormally beautiful. His features were so handsome that

as long as he smiled and said nothing, girl after girl would fall victim to

love for him. The figure he cut oozed such nobility that anyone would

believe he was some royal family member's illegitimate son.

But when he met the witch's gaze, an evil smile spread on his lips. "It's

been a while. You've grown into one fine-looking woman. Is that because

you've got yourself a man now?"

"Not at all. I grew up because I got injured."

"You have all that power, and yet you got yourself hurt. Humans are so

fragile," he commented.

"I'm perfectly fine with what I have," Tinasha shot back.

The man smirked, then the wineglass in his hands vanished. He came to

stand next to Tinasha at the railing, looking down at the party. His gaze

landed on Oscar. "So that means the one with the oddly colored hair really

is your man, does it?"

"Yes. And don't call his hair 'oddly colored.'"

"I'd want him if he were a woman. What a shame."

"Don't say gross things…," Tinasha groaned, clutching her head as she

could almost feel a headache coming on.

This man was an old acquaintance, and he loved nothing more than

riling people up. Almost all of those who fell beneath his gaze met with

hapless misfortune. Tinasha felt soul-deep gratitude that Oscar was a man.

She turned cold eyes on her unwelcome companion. "So what are you

doing here? Causing more trouble?"

"I'll have you know that I'm currently a duke of this country. And

there's a girl I've got my eye on, too," he informed her.

"I feel sorry for her…," Tinasha remarked. Her heart went out to this

poor woman she'd never met.

The man frowned, as if her reaction was entirely unexpected. "I'm

raising her very carefully."

"I—I see… Don't go overboard," replied Tinasha. She didn't really care

to hear details. There was undoubtedly nothing good about this scenario.

The man glared at the witch but then gave up on it and sighed. Tinasha

returned her attention to the floor below.

Just then, it felt like Oscar looked up at her for a moment. But one of the

girls around him said something, and he looked back all too soon.

Tinasha watched him, a fond smile on her lips. The man next to her eyed

her with some amusement. "You've really lost your edge. Has the lack of a

goal left you soft? I could probably kill you right now."

"Want to try?" she invited, slowly straightening up as she stared back at

him. Her lips curled up into a smile, but her eyes glinted with belligerent

sparks.

Observing as magic pooled in her willowy body, the man smirked. "Oh?

I had no idea you could make such a face. Well, I'm not gonna do anything.

If I cause any sort of a fuss, I'll get an earful from…"

"Travis!" someone shouted before he could finish speaking, and he

flinched.

The two of them whirled around to see a beautiful young woman of

fifteen or perhaps sixteen. She was wearing a pale-green gown, and her

silver hair was a bit closer to a gray color than the man's.

She strode briskly over to him and punched him in the stomach.

"Picking up girls again! You need to learn your lesson. You're always up to

no good! What if you cause a diplomatic incident?!"

Travis grabbed her wrist, grinning as if her punch had caused him no

pain at all. Tinasha stared at the girl in shock.

The girl shook off his hand, faced Tinasha properly, and curtsied to her.

"I apologize for his conduct. My name is Aurelia Canao Naysha Faurecia."

"Ah, I'm Tinasha As Meyer Ur Aeterna Tuldarr," Tinasha replied, lulled

into giving her full name by the girl's excessively polite introduction. As

she returned the curtsy, Tinasha realized that the girl carried the aristocratic

last name of a clan that had married into the Gandona royal family.

The witch looked at Travis, who appended, "I'm her guardian."

This must be the girl he'd said he had an eye on. This was the first time

Tinasha had seen him acting as a guardian among nobles; he famously

hated getting involved in anything too messy.

The girl named Aurelia absorbed Tinasha's introduction, then glared at

Travis again. "Isn't this the fiancée of the king of Farsas? What do you

think you're doing?!"

"She's an old acquaintance," he explained.

"That's obviously a lie…," Aurelia started to say.

"Oh, it's true," interjected Tinasha with a raise of her hand, still taken

aback by Aurelia's fierce spirit.

"Really?" the young woman questioned, distrust, worry, and jealousy in

her eyes.

The witch found that amusing, and Travis clapped the girl lightly on the

shoulder. "Relax. She's not my type at all."

"Don't say something so rude!" cried Aurelia, flushing bright red.

Tinasha burst out laughing.

Once Aurelia recovered her composure, she asked Tinasha, "What are

you doing up here? You could go downstairs."

"I'm here as a guard," Tinasha answered honestly, with a broad smile. If

this girl knew that she was Oscar's fiancée, she must also know that

Tinasha was a witch, but she didn't seem to mind. It was quite intriguing.

When Travis heard that, he arched an eyebrow. "Oh? You're engaged?"

"In the eyes of the public, yes," the witch answered.

"How interesting. It would be so fun if you gave birth to his child."

"It would not, which is why I'm undecided about marrying him,"

Tinasha responded bluntly, then realized that the girl's face had clouded

over. Travis seemed to notice the same thing, as he put an arm around her

and pulled her in close.

After a bit of hesitation, Aurelia looked up and stared right at Tinasha.

"Do you hate children?"

"No, I wouldn't say that, but…"

"It's because she's a witch. She's afraid that her child might become

one, too," Travis detailed, quickly deducing the source of Tinasha's

hesitation. This was partially due to their long acquaintanceship, but more

than that, it was because the man understood what magic was like.

With an awkward smile, Tinasha nodded.

Aurelia cocked her head to one side, clearly finding that odd. "Is that

all?"

"That's all," she answered as the girl's light-blue eyes bored into hers.

Next to her, Travis grinned.

After another hesitant pause, Aurelia spoke up in a shy manner that still

belied her strong will. "It's hard for me to understand how difficult things

are for the witches, but if that's your only reason not to, you shouldn't

hesitate. Once your child is born, they'll undoubtedly experience both

hardships and joys, but it's better to handle those things together rather than

feel so worried about what might happen that you don't have a child at all.

That's what I think your future offspring would want."

Her sincere words of advice were spoken plainly, but they were no less

potent for that.

The witch's eyes grew wide. She found herself unable to think of an

immediate retort.

Tinasha's reaction made Aurelia grow ashamed of what she'd said, and

she dropped into an apologetic bow.

"I've said too much and forgotten my place. I'm very sorry," she stated,

slipping out of Travis's arms and running off down the stairs.

Tinasha watched her go and sighed. "…That's a remarkable girl."

"She was born with an unusual ability no one wanted her to have,"

Travis explained.

"Was she?! I've said something awful, then…"

In that case, no wonder she took the witch's indecisiveness so

personally. Tinasha felt abashed, realizing she'd made an insensitive remark

without realizing.

Travis eyed her, a sly grin on his lips. "She's not so easily hurt. Anyway,

how did it feel to have someone more than four hundred years younger than

you give you a lecture?"

"Very illuminating." Tinasha sighed, covering her face with one hand.

She was acting terribly hesitant and was rapidly growing fed up with it.

She needed to at least hold her head up a little higher, for the sake of the

man who had chosen her without any faltering at all.

By the time the ball came to a close, Oscar was holding back nausea from

inhaling the lingering scents of a dozen different perfumes.

As he and Als exited the hall, a cluster of young ladies rushed after

them. While he could sense what they were after, he took one step into the

hallway and said, "Tinasha."

In the wide dark corridor that still had only a few people in it, a woman

dressed in black appeared. Her long black hair was down, and her dark eyes

were like night itself. The woman's beauty embodied peace and tranquility,

and her eyelashes fluttered bewitchingly as she beheld him.

"I'm here," she said in a clear, resonant voice imbued with otherworldly

mystery.

Ignoring the noble young ladies left breathless behind him, Oscar

walked over to the witch and kissed the top of her head. "It's over. Let's go

back to the room."

"I hope you had a good time," she said.

"Wash my hair for me. In exchange, I'll give the cat a bath."

"I told you that I don't like getting wet when I'm a cat. I'll wash your

hair, so you leave the cat out of it," she stated as they made their way down

the corridor, standing close enough to each other to make their intimacy

readily apparent.

That little display and how beautiful Tinasha was made the young ladies

stop in their tracks. Als cracked a wry smile at how his king must have

predicted what would happen and called the witch down for just this

purpose. Although it was also very possible that he was exhausted and just

wanted to see her.

Oscar brought her to their room and finally breathed out a sigh of relief.

"I'm so tired…"

"I can tell," Tinasha replied, taking his jacket and grimacing at the scent

of perfume wafting off it in waves. This must be part of the reason he hated

appearing at diplomatic functions. But even so, he didn't complain more

than he needed to, because he knew it was his responsibility. Oscar headed

off to bathe, while the witch changed out of her gown into a short slip and

tied her hair up.

Oscar had long employed a lady-in-waiting as his personal attendant, but

now that he and Tinasha were lovers, he preferred to have her help him

instead.

The witch entered the bathroom to find Oscar soaking in the bathtub,

gazing idly up at the steam clouding the ceiling. This was a side of himself

that Oscar usually never showed to others, and Tinasha smiled faintly. "It

sounds like you had quite the ordeal tonight."

"So much unnecessary conversation… Doing work in my study

would've been much easier," Oscar griped.

The witch knelt down next to the bathtub and began to shampoo Oscar's

hair. She used magic to adjust the water flow, working her ivory fingers

deep into his tawny hair. Oscar closed his eyes happily like a great big dog,

which made Tinasha giggle.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"I'm not telling. Anyway, did anything out of the ordinary happen?" As

the king's protector, Tinasha wanted to be apprised of any future

disturbances.

Oscar got straight to the point. "The princess of Yarda didn't show."

"She chose not to come?"

"Gandona looked into it, and she did leave Yarda. She just didn't

arrive," he said.

"That's a very big problem…," Tinasha observed.

From Farsas's perspective, their eastern neighbor Yarda was currently in

a state of domestic turmoil. Based on cobbled-together hearsay, the royal

court seemed to be splitting into factions. One side was preparing for

conflict, so rumors were swirling that a civil war was on the horizon. Other

nations that bordered Yarda seemed aware of the unrest as well, so everyone

had kept a keen eye out for the princess's appearance.

Yet she hadn't shown. Or perhaps she hadn't been able to.

Oscar slicked back his wet bangs. "According to Gandona, Yarda lost

track of them before they reached the border. Something must've

happened."

"Is she the only member of the Yarda royal family?"

"No, she should have an older brother. I think the king is already pretty

old."

"I see…," she said.

When Yarda had declared war on Farsas and lost eleven years ago, their

princess had been offered to Oscar as his bride. This meant that she was

around Oscar's age, possibly a child born late in the king of Yarda's life.

Oscar wondered how her brother felt about his little sister going missing.

"If this looks like it's going to get complicated, I can send out a familiar

and investigate things," Tinasha offered.

"That's an idea… I'll keep an eye on the situation, and if things appear

to be headed toward something drawn out, I'll have you do just that," Oscar

answered.

"As you wish," Tinasha accepted, rinsing off Oscar's hair before

pressing a kiss to his forehead. She got up to leave the bath, but Oscar

grabbed her hand, and she almost fell. She rushed to latch on to the edge of

the tub. "Wh-what is it…? That was dangerous."

"I have something I want to ask you, too," Oscar said.

"Wha…?" Tinasha managed, an ominous feeling growing inside her as

Oscar dragged her into the tub with him. He pulled her onto his lap, still in

her slip, and she smiled stiffly at him. "Seriously, what?"

"You were talking with a man during the party, weren't you? Was he

human?"

"Whoa… You saw that?" the witch blurted out. So that moment when

she seemed to catch Oscar's eye hadn't merely been her imagination.

He nodded. "I did. Apparently, that guy's a duke here, but something's

off about him."

"Ah… I didn't think any humans could see through his facade. He's

actually the highest-ranking demon. In layman's terms, he's the demon

king," Tinasha explained honestly. The information clearly took Oscar

aback. The witch scratched at her temple awkwardly and went on. "There

are many different types of demons, but high-ranking ones like him and the

spirits who serve me are in a class of their own. Their power is

incomparable to that of ordinary demonic spirits, and by their nature, they

do not take much interest in humans. At least, they normally don't…"

"Highest ranking?" Oscar inquired.

"Yes. The highest-ranking class consists only of my twelve spirits and

other demons like that man. Ordinarily, they would never appear in the

human realm. But he's always been the lone exception… He finds humans

endlessly amusing. He's lived in this realm for hundreds of years already,

and he'll meddle in and disrupt the lives of humans who catch his eye. He'll

sneak into a royal court and instigate family feuds or start wars… He's a

troublemaker."

"And you know him?" Oscar pressed.

"Do you recall when I said that Gandona once requested that I slay a

demon? That was him," Tinasha said, turning around so she could lie

against Oscar's chest. "I succeeded in driving him out at the time, but I

wound up pretty seriously injured for it. I think of him as a friend, but our

opinions don't align, so we've tried to kill each other many times. I'm not

sure what he thinks of me, though."

"…Wow. That's a lot to take in," Oscar murmured, sounding

overwhelmed and exhausted. Tinasha laughed. Not many things ruffled

him, but of course, this story of high-ranking demons would leave him

weary.

Her innocent laugh made Oscar frown. He tightened his hold on her.

"You two looked awfully close."

Tinasha's eyes widened, as his remark caught her off guard for a

moment, but she quickly replied in a voice like tinkling bells, "He has no

interest in witches. He actually seemed more into you, so don't get too close

to him!"

"What the hell… I'm going to get a headache listening to all this," Oscar

said, tipping up her chin so she faced him. As he gazed into her dark eyes,

seeing only himself reflected back, he leaned in and gave her a deep,

sighing kiss.

After midnight, the Gandonan prime minister and magistrates were

reminiscing about the evening in the ballroom—with some complaints

mixed in—as they tidied up. None of the international guests were around,

so the conversation naturally turned to the country causing conflict. One

official gazed up at the atrium and remarked, "Yarda's official report is that

their princess is missing, but it seems more likely that they didn't want to

send her."

"I bet they didn't want anyone trying to probe into what they're up to."

"If she'd come, we could've had a hostage, though."

"That course of action would be unwise," scolded Prime Minister

Nellechi after listening to the magistrates' exchange, clicking his tongue

disapprovingly.

By all accounts, Yarda was preparing for war. If the nation intended to

make Gandona the first target of its hostilities, Gandona would need to

teach them their place. As one of the Great Nations, Gandona was far above

its lowly neighbor.

However, if it truly came to open conflict, Gandona would suffer

damages, too. To prevent this, Nellechi wanted his country to strengthen its

foundations inside and out. Yet the king's conduct during the ball had left

Nellechi feeling slightly dissatisfied.

For one, the king had not acted like someone preparing for war. In

Nellechi's opinion, the king's children had all grown up spoiled and were

indisputably incompetent. The next in line for the throne after them,

Aurelia, was strong minded and decisive. Unfortunately, her personality

was a bit difficult to handle because she had grown up abandoned by her

parents. She also had the odious Travis behind her to boot. Even Great

Nations had a host of troubles bubbling away under the surface.

"If we could secure Farsas as our ally…," muttered Nellechi.

Similarly, if Yarda formed a political marriage with bordering Farsas,

the situation would turn in their favor.

However, Farsas…had a witch.

Nellechi had caught only a glimpse of her, but her beauty was

breathtaking. The princess of Gandona would pale in comparison. The

young king of Farsas had once negotiated with the other Great Nations to

obtain that witch. He wouldn't let go of her so easily.

Feeling annoyed by the circumstances not going the way he would

prefer, Nellechi muttered to the magistrates around him, "Witches are so

annoying. Worthless creatures."

"That's a pretty rude thing to say," came a woman's icy voice. It echoed

around the hall, seemingly from nowhere, and Nellechi froze.

He looked all around but saw no woman present. He thought maybe he

was hearing things, but his fellows all had stricken looks on their faces.

Nellechi's knees quivered with instinctive fear. "Who's there?!"

He couldn't see anyone, but he could sense the woman laughing. Then

she whispered in a lilting tone, "No one."

With an awful sound, the glass of all the windows in the ballroom

shattered.

Als was sleeping in the anteroom outside Oscar's bedchamber when he

heard the distant sound of something breaking and woke up. Acting on

reflex, he grabbed his sword and jumped out of bed.

First, he checked to make sure nothing had happened to the door to the

back room. Then he crept into the hall. The two guard soldiers posted

outside eyed their general in confusion. "Has something happened?"

"Didn't you hear that weird noise?" Als asked.

"I haven't heard a peep…," one guard replied.

Maybe it was his imagination. Frowning, Als was about to head back in

when he heard a woman's scream and angry roars coming from beyond the

corridor. "What was that?!"

Unsheathing his sword, he rushed out into the hallway and stared down

toward one dark end of the passage.

There was nothing there.

But it felt like something was getting closer.

He steadied his breathing and held his sword at the ready.

Footfalls echoed softly, but there was also the distinct sound of surging

air.

Winged demons flew down the hallway.

There were three of them. All were identical to the ones that had

attacked Farsas Castle some time ago.

One of them was dragging an unconscious or possibly dead soldier in its

claws. Behind them, Als spied Gandona guards giving chase.

Als exhaled and leaped toward the demon in the lead. Its sharp talons

extended to tear him limb from limb. He dodged them by a hair, then used

his full strength to slice the demon apart at the waist. The second demon

tried to use its wings to whack him down, which he evaded. Then he dashed

to the third one and lopped off the leg that was clutching the soldier. An

earsplitting shriek echoed down the hall.

Als jumped back and turned to face the second demon, which was

fluttering near the window. Silvery moonlight illuminated its grotesque

form. Just as Als readjusted his grip on his sword and stared at the ominous

sight, a fresh pack of demons swooped down outside, barreling toward the

window.

"What? You've gotta be kidding me."

There were well over ten of the creatures gliding toward the man now.

The Gandonan soldiers who had battled the other demons were stunned,

speechless at the sight.

The second demon, the one floating by the window, let out a mocking,

shrill cry. This lured over the new troops, which raised their glittering talons

to smash the glass pane.

However, before they could, an intangible shock wave rolled out from a

room far back in the hallway.

Like a swirling tornado, it destroyed the door, broke the window, and

swallowed up the demonic spirits outside. Shards of glass and wood burst

into the night sky. The attack had been too swift for the creatures to evade,

and their numbers were instantly halved.

On the other hand, the humans gasped and looked to the source of the

wave of force.

A disgruntled-looking young man stepped out from behind the broken

door. The king of Farsas, Akashia in hand and clad in only sleep pants,

looked at Als and the surviving demons with a face dark with ire. "What's

going on? Some kind of damn plague?"

"I'm very sorry for disturbing you," Als said with a bow, which was

when one demon swooped down on Oscar. A single cut with Akashia was

all it took to fell the thing, though. The other creatures hissed hatefully over

the death of their comrade. They made to plunge at Oscar all at once.

Yet another shock wave sent them reeling. In an instant, the corridor was

strewn with bits of demon flesh, leaving the Gandonan soldiers in a daze.

A woman's clear voice reverberated in the dark corridor. "Oscar, is

everything all right?"

"Don't come out in that!" he cried as the king's witch appeared in

nothing but a white slip, running a hand through sleep-mussed hair. Als and

the Farsas soldiers hastily averted their eyes.

However, the Gandonan soldiers forgot all courtesy and stared in a

trance at the enchanting beauty.

Tinasha herself paid none of that any mind and walked over to one of

the fallen demons' corpses. "This creature…"

No sooner had she reached toward it than a laugh rippled through the

hallway, and the witch became acutely aware of another woman's

mysterious aura.

Tinasha's face twisted. "Have you come to die?"

Immediately, she cast a bit of magic. Oscar realized it was a

transportation spell and reached for her, but he was a moment too late, and

she was already gone. He curled the hand that had failed to catch hold of his

love into a fist and cursed her. "Of all the idiot things!"

Clicking his tongue in frustration, Oscar looked out the window and saw

that all the lights were on in the ballroom, despite it being after midnight.

Voices were clearly coming from that direction as well.

As the witch raced through the night sky chasing after the demon

summoner, she thought back to the incident from a few weeks earlier.

Much as on the night of the Farsas attack, Tinasha gave chase to the

elusive mage. Previously, the witch had worried she'd strayed too far from

the castle, and the summoner had slipped away at that moment.

Tonight would be different. Tinasha had no intention of letting this

meddlesome woman escape.

"Bind, O ring," Tinasha intoned, quickly hurling a spell toward the

woman ahead of her. A net of silver threads flew out into the sky to snare

the runaway. With her path suddenly blocked, the woman was unable to

stop and ran right into the web of magic. It instantly twined around her,

binding her fast.

Tinasha teleported in front of the woman and studied her face. The

young lady with green hair was someone she'd never laid eyes on before.

Tinasha crossed her arms in midair and asked, "What do you want?"

The woman's red lips split into a smile. "I'm here on my master's

orders…"

Evidently, the culprit didn't plan to answer further. Her attitude was

defiant, and Tinasha responded haughtily, "Who is your master?"

"Nobody."

"Then you'll die here," the witch decided, stretching out her right hand.

Power gathered there.

It wasn't a complicated spell. It was simply a gathering of enough

strength to obliterate enemies.

Faced with certain death, the green-haired woman only gave a thin

smile. Tinasha hurled the attack at her without any further word.

Just as the spell threatened to consume the woman, a transportation

array opened up before her.

Neither Tinasha nor her captive had cast it—someone on the other side

of the net had.

A man with a sword at his hip darted out of the array behind her,

grabbed her in his arms, and slid back into the portal.

It closed in a flash. Tinasha cried out at the absurdity of the situation,

"What just happened?!"

The power, its target now lost, raced through the night sky. Tinasha

hurried to stop it, but the energy struck something and dispersed.

A man was floating there. "Are you trying to start a fight?"

It was Travis, scowling unhappily after having blocked the witch's

attack.

Tinasha felt utterly deflated. "What are you doing here?" she inquired

helplessly.

"I was pursuing a man who teleported away. He damn well tried to kill

Aurelia. I won't have him underestimating me," Travis stated, his tone

infused with murderous energy.

The witch shrugged. People could always be more coolheaded whenever

someone angrier than they showed up. Tinasha's hair was coming down,

and she undid the ribbon tying it up. "Is she all right?"

"I erected a barrier, and I have people assigned to her. What are you

doing in that skimpy getup anyway?" he asked, and Tinasha looked down at

what she was wearing.

Color drained from her face. "H-he's going to kill me…"

As she shook with fear, Travis eyed her unsympathetically, then let out a

little laugh as if that had cheered him up a bit.

When Tinasha got back to the room, she dressed as she listened to Oscar's

endless lecturing. She had nothing to say for herself: She'd shaken off his

attempts to stop her, chased after the culprit, and still let her get away. She

nodded to his criticisms like a bird at a birdbath.

Once Oscar had voiced all the censure he could think of, he dropped a

hand on top of the witch's head. She was now fully and appropriately

dressed. "The prime minister of Gandona was killed. There are other

casualties, too. Now that you're back, the king of Gandona wants to ask you

some questions."

"Ooh, I don't have a good feeling about that," remarked Tinasha.

"Neither do I," Oscar admitted grimly.

They could more or less imagine what she was going to be questioned

about.

When Oscar, Als, and a very penitent witch were shown into the

ballroom, all the dead bodies were gone. The only reminders of the

gruesome attack were the bits of broken glass and bloodstains all about the

place.

The king of Gandona stood in the middle of the room, his face ashen.

When he saw Oscar, he spread his arms open slightly. "I'm sorry to call you

here at such a late hour."

"It's an emergency. An awful thing has happened. What did you want to

discuss?" inquired Tinasha with a bow from her place next to Oscar.

Fear and loathing filled the king's eyes as he took in how beautiful she

was. "According to the surviving magistrates, the woman who did this

summoned the demons in reaction to some critical words that Nellechi…

our late prime minister had to say about witches. Therefore, I'd like to ask

you where you were when that occurred."

"I was in the king's guest chambers," Tinasha responded, gazing back

evenly at the king of Gandona with her dark eyes.

Oscar took over for her. "That woman sent demons our way, too, after

that. I sensed the summoner there in the hallway, and I believe your soldiers

can confirm that Tinasha was in my room before that."

"Yes, we've heard those reports. But witches have underlings, no?

Couldn't those beasts have come your way to deflect suspicion? Nearly

twenty of our people are now dead, but there are no dead on your side."

Als wanted to protest that there had been more Gandonans to begin with,

but he held his tongue.

Oscar and Tinasha were silent, so the king pressed his accusations.

"Where did you disappear to after the attack? Were you receiving a report

from your subordinate on how your scheme went?"

"I chased after the summoner. However, I wasn't able to capture them,

and they got away…," Tinasha admitted.

"I don't suppose you have any witnesses?" the king demanded.

"I saw it," chimed a newcomer, immediately drawing all eyes. Their

gazes converged on Travis and Aurelia.

Aurelia looked stiff, and Travis had an arm wrapped around her

shoulders as he turned to face the king of Gandona properly. "An assassin

broke into Aurelia's estate. I think it must have happened right around the

same time as the castle attack. I pursued the man responsible and ran into

Tinasha as she was chasing the female assassin. The two killers must have

been working as a team and escaped together."

"…I see," said the king of Gandona, his face pinched.

The king had never much cared for Travis or Aurelia.

Aurelia, his older sister's granddaughter, possessed strange powers of

intuition. In many instances, it was like she had read someone's mind.

She'd been that way since she was a child, and everyone found it

unnerving; her parents had rarely returned home.

After Aurelia's parents perished in an accident, Travis conspicuously

appeared to take over the role of her guardian. Travis, for his part, was an

enigma unto himself. He had appeared upon the death of a duke thought to

have no children with proof that he was the man's biological son. Just like

that, he was granted the social standing and position of his late father.

From there, his gorgeous looks and fluid tongue won him the support of

the ladies of Gandona, though quite a few people were wary of his

unwavering smile.

Both Travis and Aurelia were exceedingly clever, probably much more

so than the king of Gandona and his two children. Quite possibly, it was

only a matter of time before the country fell under their thumb. Such

misgivings beset the king.

The king eyed the group sullenly but ultimately bowed his head to Oscar

and Tinasha, murmuring, "I'm sorry I doubted you," as he backed down.

"You should be thanking me for saving you," said Travis.

"…Thank you," replied Tinasha reluctantly.

They had all retired to Aurelia's estate near the castle and were having

tea. The area all around Oscar's guest chambers had broken windows and

doors as a result of the fight with the demons, rendering it entirely unusable.

By all rights, the king of Gandona should have offered them new

quarters, but he was tongue-tied after the awkwardness created by

suspecting Tinasha. So Aurelia had suggested that they come to her estate

instead.

As part of security, Als was patrolling outside the estate with the

soldiers, so it was just Oscar, Tinasha, Aurelia, and Travis who sat down for

tea. After Oscar stared at Travis with keen interest, now that he knew he

was the highest-ranking demon, he tore his gaze away to pat Tinasha on the

head. "Everyone ends up suspecting you, so you can't run off and

disappear. And if you have to go, make sure you take down the enemy."

"I really felt confident that I would… But because I went, I found out

what they're after."

"Oh yeah? Did you recognize them?" Oscar inquired.

"I don't know the woman. I think she's a half-spirit of some kind? She

didn't seem like a pure mage. But I am familiar with the man Travis was

chasing," Tinasha said, looking up at the demon. He met her gaze with an

unhappy look.

Both seemed reluctant to talk, and silence reigned for a while. Then

Aurelia slapped Travis on the back. "Well, what is it? If you know

something, spit it out!"

"I don't want to say," he replied.

"I don't, either. To see if we're thinking of the same person, maybe we

should say it together…," suggested Tinasha.

The demon king and the witch exchanged glances, opened their mouths

to speak, and said the same name:

"Leonora."

They both had the same hunch. With it confirmed, a wave of exhaustion

overcame the pair. Travis insisted that a girl Aurelia's age should be asleep

by now and sent her off to bed. Though Aurelia made a sour, disgruntled

face, she obeyed.

Once Travis returned, having made sure to shut the door to the girl's

room, Oscar asked the witch, "So who's Leonora?"

"She's the Witch Who Cannot Be Summoned…," responded Tinasha.

"A witch!" cried Oscar.

"The man is Unai, a swordsman and right-hand man to Leonora. Now

that we know she's pulling the strings, we also know why she targeted you

and Aurelia," said Tinasha.

"Why me? I have nothing to do with her," remarked Oscar, frowning.

Travis rested his chin on one hand and answered, "Because Leonora

hates Tinasha."

"No, you're the one she hates! Didn't you dump her in the worst way?"

Tinasha fired back, affronted.

"I've forgotten all about that woman," Travis said blithely, avoiding the

question.

As Oscar listened to their back-and-forth, reality finally dawned on him.

Simply put, these two had incurred the personal enmity of the Witch Who

Cannot Be Summoned, and so she had gone after the people each of them

cared about.

It was very likely that Travis's past with Leonora was why he had no

interest in witches now.

"Anyway, I don't ever want to see her again, so you go and kill her,"

decided the demon king, as if it wouldn't be a big deal.

Tinasha glared at him. "I'd love to, but I have no clue where she went."

"She's in Yarda. Word is, she's in good with the prince," Travis

revealed. Oscar and the witch exchanged glances upon learning that.

The next day, once Oscar was back in Farsas, he summoned Als and Kumu

to his study to discuss this new witch.

Once he'd heard everything, Kumu let out a deep sigh. "Why must it be

another witch…?"

"Is she the one who attacked the castle a few weeks back?" Als asked.

From her place next to Oscar, Tinasha nodded. "Yes. We can say that for

certain now. Using alkakia is also very much something she'd do."

"Does that mean she's signed a contract with the prince of Yarda?" Als

asked.

"No, the only witches who use contracts are the Witch of the Water and

me. Leonora… Well, not many people know about this, but she's a witch

who feeds off of countries," explained Tinasha.

Oscar's eyebrows rose at that. He pulled his lover onto his lap and stared

at her. "What do you mean by that? I thought witches didn't interfere with

nations and wars."

"Ostensibly, yes, but Leonora is different. She doesn't want power. She

likes to hover in the shadows and build up and destroy civilizations. She'll

infiltrate the court as someone's mistress and manipulate people, all while

using almost no magic. She doesn't employ a lot of potions, either…

Instead, she's very good at taking people out with natural poisons," Tinasha

detailed.

The three men fell silent. None of them had ever contemplated that such

a witch could exist.

To the common person, a witch was a creature that brought calamity

using powerful magic. It was beyond typical thinking to think that a witch

could corrupt a country without casting a spell.

"She has…a certain strange charm that attracts people, I guess you could

say. She's rare among the witches in that she works side by side with most

of her underlings, and it's easy for her to worm her way into royal and

noble circles."

"Does she control people's hearts with magic?" Oscar asked.

"No, that's more Lucrezia's area of expertise. Leonora doesn't use

magic, just her innate charm. She's accomplished when it comes to

summoning and physical manipulation…healing and transmutation. I think

she's probably the only person in history to summon the highest-ranking

demon."

"Do you mean that guy?" Oscar inquired, referring to Travis.

"Correct. It sounds like a lot happened, but I never asked because I

wasn't interested," she said with a grimace.

"Just to clarify, can we trust him? The info he gave us isn't a trap,

right?" Oscar asked.

"I don't think we need to worry… He has no reason to deceive me. You

saw it—he really seems to care about Aurelia. I do wonder what kind of

lightning struck that brute of a man to make him like that, but I don't think

he'd go making me his enemy in the midst of all that."

Kumu picked up his king's line of questioning. "But on the other hand,

isn't it possible that the Witch Who Cannot Be Summoned is tricking him?"

"I don't think that's likely, either. Travis is a superhuman master of

wiles. So is Leonora, but he's probably better. That's why she's sending out

demons to harass him instead," Tinasha surmised.

"I bet you're not very good at dealing with types like that," Oscar

commented.

"I can do it if I have to! I've been a prime minister under contracts lots

of times!" Tinasha protested.

"Your backstory really is fascinating…," Oscar mused.

He'd thought her high aptitude for carrying out official duties was due to

being raised as someone who might become queen, but evidently, that

wasn't the full story.

Now that the information was all verified, Kumu had another question.

"So we know that the Witch Who Cannot Be Summoned is a master at

summoning. Miss Tinasha, you also control the mystical spirits. Are your

two skills so different?"

"I didn't summon the spirits—only inherited them. It might be

impossible for me to summon a demon like that from scratch. And in the

attack on Farsas, Leonora cast spells to corrode my wards and summon

demons. However, she didn't make an appearance herself—she only sent

her underlings. It would've been a much closer fight if she'd shown her

face…"

When Tinasha said that, all the blood drained from Kumu's and Als's

faces.

That night, Oscar had very nearly died. If another witch had appeared

during the attack, the castle could very well have fallen.

As they realized all over again just how dangerous witches were,

Tinasha snapped her fingers lightly. "Leonora hasn't made any sort of direct

appearance in over two centuries, but she got her hands pretty dirty during

the Dark Age. She's probably killed the most people out of the five of us.

There's even a story about the keep she sealed off in a solid block of

amber."

"You mean the Amber Castle? That really happened?" Oscar questioned,

recalling the picture book of fairy tales he'd read as a child.

The story told of a palace deep in a forest that people were forbidden to

enter. A giant block of amber encased the structure, and those caught within

didn't know they were dead and went about their lives.

Tinasha nodded bitterly. "It really happened, though it was before I was

born. The story goes, 'The Witch Who Cannot Be Summoned changed a

castle into a gem and carried it off.' It was a bit too big for her to lift,

though. She probably just smashed it apart. I doubt it still exists."

"So she's the very picture of a storybook witch. That's funny,"

commented Oscar.

Leonora was closest to the image most humans would come up with

when they pictured a witch.

Tinasha shook her head in exasperation at how Oscar didn't seem

worried at all. "You should be more on guard against her. In the past,

Leonora fought the bearer of Akashia and won."

"What? I've never heard that before. There's no records of such a

thing," retorted Oscar.

"That's not surprising. It wasn't the king who fought her, but a direct

descendent in the royal line who borrowed Akashia and tried to slay her.

However, Leonora overpowered him in one-on-one combat. Apparently,

Akashia was only returned to Farsas because Lucrezia intervened," Tinasha

explained.

"Why do all of you just keep popping up in all these wild stories…?"

Oscar muttered.

"Maybe it's because we've lived so much longer than you," quipped

Tinasha tartly, resettling herself on Oscar's lap.

Oscar caught up her braid in his fingers. "So does that mean you think

I'd lose, too?"

"Not at all. There's no swordsman more powerful than you," she said,

displaying her pride in how she'd trained him and her trust in him above all

else. Tinasha hugged her knees to her chest. "But back then, Leonora didn't

have all of her underlings. It'll be a bit more difficult to engage her in a

one-on-one duel compared to how it was then. I'm probably the best match

for her."

Tinasha's point-blank assertion left a heavy silence in the room.

As Oscar pondered over how they should handle this opponent now that

they knew just how powerful she was, Tinasha looked up at him. "I'll go

out and kill her, then."

"No," Oscar stated flatly.

"I won't get caught," appended Tinasha.

"You're forbidden from any sort of acting alone," Oscar decreed, and

Tinasha hung her head, stung by his lack of trust in her. Yet when she

thought about past events, it was no wonder.

As he rifled through documents, Als put in his thoughts. "Yarda is the

real victim this time around. The Witch Who Cannot Be Summoned is

surely behind their civil unrest. Once that's done, she'll head for Farsas or

Gandona… So in that case, why don't we make contact with forces that

oppose the prince of Yarda while we can?"

"I see," said Oscar, making to fold his arms but realizing he couldn't

because Tinasha was on his lap. Instead, he rested his chin on her head. He

closed his eyes and sorted through his mind. "The missing princess might

know something."

With that, he issued a few orders to the other three in the chamber. Als

and Kumu nodded and left the room.

When Oscar and Tinasha were left alone, he stroked her neck and asked her

something that was bothering him. "So why does the Witch Who Cannot Be

Summoned hate you?"

"I'm really not sure… We've only fought once. Maybe I shouldn't have

called her a parasite."

"You sure do know how to insult people sometimes…," Oscar

murmured.

"She called me all kinds of things, too. I was just dishing it back to her,"

Tinasha retorted matter-of-factly, though a scornful smile appeared on her

lovely face. She seemed genuinely angry about the situation, likely taking

into consideration the attack on Farsas, too.

As a witch's glint came into Tinasha's eyes, Oscar frowned at her.

"Don't go off and do anything rash. You're not a spirit sorcerer anymore."

"I can still use spiritual magic! I've adjusted all my spells, too!" she

objected, kicking her legs from atop his lap.

However, Oscar gave her a severe and quelling look, and Tinasha

quieted right down. He smoothed down her hair carefully. "You weakened

your power because you didn't care if you couldn't fight anymore. Just let

me handle it."

"…I can do it. It's not solely because of my spiritual magic that I'm

regarded as the strongest witch. If you let me take care of things, we can

wrap this up quickly and neatly," Tinasha boasted, a little embarrassed but

still defiant. Her pride was bleeding through. She clearly had no intention of

admitting that she'd lost some power because she'd fallen in love.

Oscar remained resolute. "No. You can't act alone. I don't like the idea

of waiting for you. You said she has servants, right? What if something

happens?"

Tinasha turned back to face him, then took his face in her hands. Then

she floated up into the air until she was upside down. Her ebon eyes gazed

at him with all the depths of the abyss.

Tinasha smiled. Her smile had all the beauty of a sharpened and whetted

blade.

"I will not allow anyone who tried to kill you to live."

Murderous intent took shape in her voice, and Oscar shuddered.

Tinasha didn't have a jealous heart.

That was an unconscious defense mechanism to keep her from killing

the one she loved. The deeper her love ran, the sharper her urge to kill was.

He contemplated the bottomlessness of that abyss.

Someday, her blade might turn to kill him.

A vision of that suddenly flashed through his mind.

But even so, Oscar had no plan of letting go of the witch's hand now

that he'd taken it.