Chapter 7 - The Tyrant’s Tra

Translated by Tam

Edited by Kio

Amelie was dumbfounded. There was no explanation. Serwin stroked Amelie and went out, as he had been doing so for days. She thought she would be playing with Ethan until he came back.

But Ethan took Amelie to the Count’s office. He left the office without a word, giving Amelie to the Count. Perhaps it wasn’t something that had been said in advance, and the Count was also surprised.

‘It’s fishy…’

Amelie was full of doubts, and she didn’t change to her human form. The moment she returns to a human form, the Emperor may come in.

‘Did you notice who I am?—’

She walked on the table in the form of a bird and agonized. Watching the little bird that often walks, the Count clasped his heart because of her cuteness.

Then, the door opened roughly.

Boom!

“I heard they let Amelie go!”

Renee came running from practice swordsmanship, she was covered with dirt and sweat. She knelt down in front of the table and looked into Amelie’s eyes.

“Amelie, are you okay? The Emperor didn’t bother you, did he?”

Amelie shook her head. She was not subjected to any roughness. She just had a hard time seeing all the knights going through rough times.

Renee shook her body and looked at Amelie’s body. Breaking any of her feathers was the momentum to catch Serwin’s counterattack. She sighed of relief when she saw that she’s not getting hurt.

‘You’re all right, aren’t you?”

Seeing Renee act like that, at least it wasn’t a trap. Amelie came back to her human form.

“Is anyone out there? The Emperor?”

“‘The Emperor went hunting. Sir Ethan and everyone followed the Emperor.”

“Really?”

Wasn’t it a trap? Amelie wondering.

“Why did he just give me back?”

“We don’t know the details, but maybe it’s because father asked him to return you every day?”

“Father?”

When Amelie looked at the Count in surprise, he smiled embarrassed.

“Renee worked harder than I did. She visited Sir Ethan every day so she could see you. She even carried a sword before.”

Amelie opened her mouth wide.

‘What are these people? Did they have two lives?’

Serwin’s quickness and cruelty would have been better known by the Count and Renee. He killed a man without distinction of rank. But he keep asking for her back. It was a dangerous act for any aristocrat.

“Why did you go so far? That’s dangerous.”

“I’m worried about you, so I’ll be able to stay still.”

The Count nodded his head, agreeing with Renee.

“Even if we were to be in danger, would we be as good as you who was held by the Emperor?”

“I’ve been doing very well—”

“Really? That’s a relief. The Emperor and Knights’ atmosphere is getting ugly, and I was so worried that it might affect you.”

You may not know that trouble could arise from bothering the Emperor, but they acted as if it were nothing. If Amelie’s safe, that’s enough.

‘Is this what a family is?’

The tears rolled up. She felt sick at the strange feeling. Amelie bit her lips. The Count and Renee hugged Amelie.

“Good thing you’re safe, Amelie.”

The Count whispered in a low whisper.

“I’m glad Father and Renee are safe too.”

Amelie shed tears. The warmth from both sides melted away the fears and worries she had felt.

When Amelie stopped crying and calmed down, the butler came in with the refreshments as if she had been waiting.

“Congratulations on your late return. Miss Amelie.”

The butler greeted Amelie. He was an old butler who had worked in the Mansion since Renee and Amelie were born. Having watched their growth, he always felt sorry for Amelie, who left home when she was young. Even after Amelie returned home, she was unable to say hello and was anxious because she was afraid that she might offend the Emperor, and after that he rushed to her when he heard that Amelie was in the office.

“Thank you. Oh, thank you for the food basket. All the fruits were delicious.”

Amelie’s cheeks blushed. She knew the Count and Renee cherished Amelie, but she didn’t expect to be welcomed by the people of the Mansion.

The butler left the office with a gentle smile.

‘They’re all good people.’

Amelie thought while eating cookies. The spirit of the Count was the same, as all the young people were simple and good.

‘The cookies are delicious.’

It was hard on the outside, but it broke gently in my mouth. The strong scent of butter spread through the mouth, and sweetness wrapped around the tongue. Amelie kept picking up the cookies. The Count and Renee looked pleased at Amelie.

In the midst of their gaze, Amelie had a question.

‘Why doesn’t anyone think it’s weird?’

Amelie had a developmental disability. She wasn’t diagnosed properly by a doctor, but she never doubted that she had one. She said Amelie barely responded to the stimuli around her, and she had no desire. When she was young, she barely spoke a babbling level of language.

But one day, she suddenly improved and came to the Mansion. Amelie herself knew that she had changed, but the Count and Renee were taking it for granted, even though they couldn’t have known it. She felt so strange about it.

After a moment, Amelie decided to ask straightforwardly. She couldn’t answer this question because she was thinking about it alone.

“Isn’t it weird?”

At her words, the Count and Renee’s eyes met each other. As attention was focused, Amelie slightly lowered her eyes due to embarrassment.

“What are you saying?”

“I’ve changed. I speak and move freely. I wasn’t like this before.” Amelie’s shoulders stiffened.

‘These people know that Amelie is different from what she used to be. By any chance, you didn’t realize that I was possessed, did you? Maybe they’re trying to get me off my guard and kick me out of here!’

Amelie clasped her hands at the terrible thought. Just imagining it made her sad. If her guess is true, it means that their kindness is a lie. It was a short meeting, but Amelie was shaken by the affection they showed.

“Actually, a few days before the witch died, she called me for a short conversation. Amelie, it was about you.”, said the Count.

It was unusual. The grandmother witch was reluctant to see Amelie with her family. Because of that, her relationship with the Count also grew apart. She can’t believe that she called the Count first. Is there a hidden motive?

“Grandmother the witch? About me?”

“I don’t know anything about magic, so I don’t know if I understand it exactly, but if I organize it my way, I’m going to put you back to the way it was.”

“The way it was?”

Amelie tilted her head.

‘Didn’t this body have a developmental disability from birth? What does that mean?’

The Count continued to talk.

“Looking at you today, I understand what she said. She made it possible for us to talk and laugh together.”

The Count was moved with tears. Amelie patted the Count on the shoulder awkwardly.

“She was once a great witch, so she must have found a way out there.”

Renee continued to talk.

“Did Renee hear the story, too?”

“Yes, she said it would be a very difficult magic. She told me to take good care of you .”

“How is that possible?”

“Well, neither of us knows much about magic.”

The Count looked apologetic.

‘Did the Grandma witch put me in this body? What magic did she use to do that?’

Amelie thought of many magic tricks, but she had no magic to make someone possess another body. It was the same when she recalled the memory of the body owner.

Grandmother witch died because of old age about a year ago. There was no way to know what the difficult magic she was trying to write was and whether it was successful.

*****

There were two kinds of magic in the world.

The first is magic used by wizards. They put the mana into their body into a magic trick to create magic, but even if one wasn’t a wizard, they could use magic if they had a mana stone.

The other is the magic of witches, who represented the Priests of the Demon. They were able to use a variety of magic, such as telekinetic power, foresight, transformation, and making magic drugs by using the special powers given by the demon.

Unlike Wizards, witchcraft could only be used by Witches, and magic was a very natural act that did not require explanations, such as picking up objects with their hands. Of course, there was a magic book about witchcraft, but the average person could not understand it or copy it.

Therefore, Amelie had to find another witch to find out what had happened to her.

“Other witches might know. I’m going on a trip anyway, so I’ll have to find the witch.”

She doesn’t want to go back to her body. Both Amelie and Lee Sooyeon just felt like her bodies. But she needed to know what had happened to her.

“Travel? So you’re going out of Dellahaim?”, Renee asked.

“Yes, I’m actually here to say good-bye.”

“I can’t believe you’re leaving Dellahim. That’s not possible!”

The Count shouted loudly. Amelie looked at the Count in surprise. His face turned white. He held Amelie’s hand with his hand.

“……I’m sorry, I screamed at you.”

Amelie nodded vacantly. The Count’s hands were trembling slightly.

‘What’s wrong with him?’

The Count’s response was excessive. Just like Amelie going to die.

“Think about your trip slowly. It hasn’t been long since you got home. It’s too bad you’re leaving right away like this soon. Okay?”, said the Count. It didn’t seem to be just a disappointing response.

“But Your Majesty is in the mansion.”

Amelie mumbled, unable to give a flat refusal.

“Your Majesty is going to return soon. He can’t afford to empty the Palace for a long time.”

“Right. If you don’t have to leave in a hurry, stay a little longer. How can you go away like this when I didn’t even take care of you properly?”

Two pairs of blue eyes looked eagerly at Amelie.