How Can You Pay Back The Kindness I Raised With Obsession?

She glanced over her shoulder to see the wariness that was sharply etched on his smooth face.

She could not do anything but smile when he looked suspicious of her words since he looked so alike Luna. Siblings were siblings after all.

“The Great Evil craves noble’s blood.”

She smiled, and the Archduke’s eyes narrowed even more.

“How dare you lie to the owner of this land. Don’t you know you might be punished?”

Unlike the overbearing words, the Grand Duke’s voice was light. So he wasn’t really threatening.

She turned her head without giving a response. Footsteps followed her again. They were much deeper in the forest than when she went with the children last time. It was the end of the mushroom season, so many villagers visited it, so it was difficult to see mushrooms unless it was deep in the forest.

By the way, the Grand Duke followed without hesitation into a wooded, dark valley.

‘It bothers me, really.’

As she collected the mushrooms, his gaze pierced the back of her head as if he was plucking them. Just staring at her bothered him, but the Grand Duke suddenly approached and even rummaged through the basket.

“Why are you picking this?”

What he had in his hand was an ordinary net mushroom. That’s the common mushroom that everyone eats here in the fall. She tilted her head in bewilderment, and the Grand Duke also held up a mushroom and tilted his head at an angle with the same eyes. The conversation seems to be slipping into a labyrinth already.

“Of course… To eat?”

Why did he ask the obvious? He didn’t even know what mushrooms were, did he? But he snorted at her answer and placed the mushrooms in the basket. Immediately, a long finger pointed to the base of the tree next to him.

“I don’t care. This kind of thing, it’s not necessarily used only for black magic.”

At the base of the tree, several strands of white mushrooms with broad spikes on slender trunks poked out their heads. Poisonous umbrella clown mushroom. That mushroom, which at first glance seemed ordinary, was a poisonous mushroom that would kill anybody who ate even one piece of it.

‘Oh, I’m a witch, so he must be thinking I’m here to collect mushrooms for potions.’

The Grand Duke should be thinking that she was nervous and pretending to be gathering edible mushrooms.

“I’m here to pick something to eat. If you want to eat that, have a lot of anti-poison medicine, your highness.”

Of course, there’s no way the Grand Duke would eat that. He knew it was a poisonous mushroom and asked her. She moved deeper into the valley in search of mushrooms.

There was a loud buzzing bee above the tree where she squatted. She looked up and saw a large beehive dangling from a branch.

‘I’m just going to pick mushrooms.’

If she didn’t touch it, she would be safe.

“Daisy, don’t touch the beehive!”

She warned Daisy, who was busy wandering around alone to mark the territory. The soul was a dog that loved honey, and the body was a cat that knew how to climb trees. If she climbed the tree and tried to steal the nectar, she might be stung by a bee.

Was she really coming close to steal honey and eat it? Not long after the warning, there was a rustling sound from the bushes behind the trees.

“I told you not to…”

Suddenly, goosebumps rose to the back of her head. She could hear the bowstring pulling taut behind her back. The only person behind her would be the Grand Duke. Could it be that he was trying to kill her? It was a moment of urgent reflection. She looked straight in the direction of the Grand Duke and let go of the bowstring.

‘You’re really trying to kill me! For what? What did I do!’

An arrow flew her way like a thunderbolt. Surprised, she swapped the mushrooms in her hand with arrows. So instead of arrows, he was hit by mushrooms. Not the Grand Duke, but something lurking in the bushes.

“Daisy?”

Was he really trying to kill Daisy? Why were innocent cats so hated? That was more vicious than trying to kill her! She couldn’t take it anymore! Grabbing the arrow as if to break it, Daisy in the bush stood up.

‘What? Stand up on two feet…? When did you get taller than me…?’

It wasn’t Daisy.

“Whoops!”

It was a bear well over twice her size. The bear opened its mouth with sharp teeth to see if it felt bad to be hit by a mushroom. A ferocious cry shook the valley.

“Oh dear…”

She touched a bear that was trying to fill its stomach before hibernation. As she slowly stepped back, making eye contact with the bear, she heard a cry as fierce as a bear behind him.

“Witch, what are you doing?”

At the sound of the long sword being drawn from the swordhouse, the bear’s gaze fell away from her and turned to the Grand Duke.

“Could it be… Is that the bear you brought in?”

“It’s not like that! Would I run away if I summoned it?”

She replaced the arrow that was trying to shoot the bear, so he misunderstood that she was trying to save the bear. Oh my gosh. If she was going to shoot an arrow, that was the moment. The bear was just in front of her.

“Hah… If you’re not going to help, get out of the way right away.”

She also wanted to get out of the way right away, but the bear chased after the person who ran so she slowly backed back, and the bear came out of the bush and walked menacingly to the base of a beautiful tree.

‘One minute! But why did the bear come to this tree?’

She looked over the head of the guy standing as if guarding a tree. Bees were flirting around the large hive.

‘Oh, it’s here for honey.”

But since she was under the hive, it was thinking she was trying to steal its honey and that’s why it was going to attack her.

“What are you doing?”

She stopped only five steps from the trees. The bear also stopped and stood up on his feet again.

“One slash and you’re done, so hurry up and get out of the way, witch.”

Once the target of the attack was determined, the bear would not give up easily. It means that whether she ran or not, the bear would go after her. She held out her left palm and raised her right hand to say to the Grand Duke not to come towards the hive.

Once again, the ferocious roar of the bear echoed through the valley, thump, he slumped on the ground, and just as he was about to leap towards her, she teased her fingers.

Banking!

The beehive that had been dangling from a tree branch fell on the bear’s head. The bear, blind from the hive, rolled on the floor trying to remove the hive. How steamy the honey was. Too easy to fall off.

The bees suddenly surrounded the bear that had broken into their house and began attacking him with stinging bee stings. She smiled fondly as she watched dozens of bees eventually step up and flee chasing the bear into the depths of the forest. End of situation!

… but it was an illusion.

Daisy, who returned at some point, was barking softly and chasing the bear belatedly.

“Daisy! Stop and come here!”

As she was about to chase Daisy, something grabbed her shoulder.

“What?”

The Archduke’s large hand gripped her shoulder lightly. All her nerves were on her shoulders. She looked at the Grand Duke with incomprehensible eyes. Wasn’t it too close, his lips that had been firmly closed opened the moment she thought.

“Isn’t it better for you if I’m beaten by the bear?”

“Why? Why would I wish someone who I have only seen his face twice to die?”

Did that guy have any paranoia? The delusion that everyone in the world wants to kill him. Such a crazy man would be worthy of locking up his younger siblings and raising them.

“If you didn’t want me to die…”

“Yes, I don’t.”

“So you’re trying to gain my trust? With your own hands…”

The Archduke turned her around and grabbed her right hand up. The gesture was polite, as if he were asking the noble lady to dance at the ball, but what followed was not the same at all.

“You brought the bear directly with this hand and sent it back with this hand too.”

Maybe her expression was as fierce as a bear at that moment.

“I want to get some time alone, not the trust of the Grand Duke.”

“…”

“Go.”

She threw his hand away and turned around. The sky rumbled. She looked up and saw a thick dark cloud hanging over the leaves that covered the sky. Immediately, thick raindrops fell on the hood but she couldn’t go back to the cabin right away.

“Daisy!”

“Next time, put a bell on it.”

For some reason, the Grand Duke didn’t go, but stayed in the rain to find Daisy together. It was too much to make the long way home in the heavy rain. Eventually, they found a suitable cave to shelter from the rain, but the Grand Duke followed her as well.

She sat on her knees at the bottom of the cave and looked up at the sky as the downpour poured downpour.

‘When is it going to stop…’

As she sighed heavily, the Grand Duke, who was standing at an angle against the wall, looking at her, and not at the sky, asked:

“Don’t you know the magic of the weather?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t know.”

“Hmm…”

A suspicious gaze glanced at her, and she lifted her head to look at the Grand Duke. He was wet too.

The Grand Duke ran his long fingers roughly through the hair that flowed down his forehead. Thick droplets dripped from his damp silver hair. Drops of water rolled down his marble-like cheeks and nape of his neck from how wet he was. The straightened tendons in the neck were like slides. The Grand Duke asked irritably as she stared as the water droplets traveled down his tendons and collarbones and disappeared into the collar of his wet shirt.

“What are you looking at?”

“Pardon?”

She was looking at the water droplets. Couldn’t she see them?

She looked up in bewilderment. When their eyes met, the Grand Duke, whose lips had been pursued to say something, suddenly paused. His lips pursed and he was about to ask why. The Grand Duke’s eyes suddenly narrowed sharply and his gaze flicked out of the cave.

“Is this the reason for changing your appearance…?”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

According to Daisy and Lady, one day the witch’s appearance suddenly changed. She thought the reason was because of her paintings. According to the two of them, a few days before she possessed that body, the witch received a large treasure chest from a strange man. She opened it and laughed greedily, counting the gold coins, and suddenly changed into her current form.

Witch counting gold coins. She did draw that one illustration, but there’s another motive? Did the Grand Duke know anything?

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Translator Note: