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

That body was a very fine vessel. Only by regaining it will you be able to recover all of your original abilities.

 

‘Suddenly the shell became quite nice.’

 

One day, her appearance changed from an old woman to a young and beautiful girl. She remembered that day as the day when the funeral of the previous Grand Duke and his wife took place. Originally, the funeral was supposed to commemorate the death of the young Grand Prince, not the Grand Duke and his wife. But who would have guessed that the damn Grand Duke and his wife were there with their child at the moment when the curse was placed on the Grand Duke? In addition, the Grand Duchess, who had holy powers, sensed suspicious black magic and deployed a shield. In the end, the holy power and magical power clashed, and the curse ritual ended incompletely.

 

‘But it worked out well.’

 

Because of that, the Grand Duke and his wife died. However, the Imperial family made a shocking statement that they could not give all the money because the Grand Duke, who was the original target of the curse, was still alive.

 

“Oh, shall we tell the world everything you guys have instigated?”

 

Only then did the royal family deliver a chest full of gold coins. After a fight, she was counting the gold coins she received more than she originally received.

 

“These cute things… Hmm? How on earth did this happen?”

 

She suddenly became a different person. No matter how much she tried to change her appearance with black magic, it didn’t work. It was incomprehensible.

 

“Anyway, it worked out well. I will live eternal life with this face!”

 

As she became more beautiful, her desire for eternal life was rekindled. In the meantime, she attempted black magic for eternal life several times, but failed each time and only managed to extend her life by several decades. 

 

‘I won’t fail this time.’

 

She confidently began the ritual…

 

“Aaaahhh!”

 

What went wrong caused the balance of mana to become unbalanced and the body and soul began to separate.

 

“I don’t want to die yet!”

 

No matter how you save the soul, if you leave the body like this, it will most likely rot. The witch quickly separated her magic power and placed some of it into her body. But to keep her body alive, another soul was also needed.

 

“Omg!”

 

‘Come here now!’

 

Her heart was so anxious that she dragged her body and the closest souls she could find. As soon as she put something that felt wet, like it was soaked in water, into her body, she saw the Grim Reaper.

 

“Wicked Witch Hazel, it’s time to go…”

 

“It didn’t work!”

 

The witch threw the soul of a frog in her basement tank to her reaper, who then entered the frog.

 

“Good. If I only last a week here…”

 

She escaped from the water tank with the body of a frog and counted the days while eating the mana recovery medicine and monster by-products stored in the basement. In a week, she would be able to restore her magic power, which would change her soul at least once.

 

‘Then I will get my body back.’

 

Then there was just one day left.

 

“What? Why are you here? Pity you.”

 

The damned woman who had taken over her human’s body said she felt sorry for the frog and released it into the river. She tried to run back to the cabin, but ended up jumping on her unfamiliar frog legs. On her way she was chased by other frogs and storks until she was eventually swept away by a river swollen by heavy rain. When she came to her senses, she found that she had been swept all the way to the wrong place.

 

“That damn thing. You will have to pay for using someone else’s body with everything you have.”

 

But she knew that the shameless thief had done something good.

 

The Grand Duke’s lover… There were also rumors that she might get married soon. It couldn’t just be a rumor. So, in order to personally get rid of Princess Monette, who seemed to be an obstacle to her marriage, she suggested that she marry the crown prince.

 

‘It’s so funny how the Emperor and Empress take it without knowing anything about my intentions. You stupid things, you don’t know that I’m trying to eat them too.’

 

Quack!

 

The witch grabbed the frog prince once again. She said she would spare this guy, but she didn’t mean to. Because he was a competitor to her ‘husband’ for the throne. She promised the Empress that if she took control of the Grand Duke’s family, she would protect the Crown Prince’s throne by lowering the Grand Duke’s reputation. Of course, it was a promise she had no intention of keeping. If you regained her body and obtained the Grand Duchy, she would obtain the throne. Then, she would gather all the capable wizards from all over the world and have them offer her a spell of eternal life that never fails. It was a great plan. To do this, the witch decided to wait until the thief had everything.

 

* * *

 

She stood in the middle of the cabin’s basement and looked around the inside.

 

“I didn’t know this place was this spacious.”

 

It was a room that seemed cramped just a few days ago, but once the luggage that was packed in it was removed, it looked quite spacious.

 

“Shall we stop here for today?”

 

These days, she had been organizing her basement a little bit every day. How much clutter was in this little cabin. No matter what she did, it never ended. Until now, she thought that the items in here were not hers, so she did not touch them unless she needed them. In hindsight, it was an excellent choice. What’s in here might be evidence of a crime. So today, she picked out only suspicious items and put them in the basket.

 

Just right.

 

She clicked her fingers and carried the basket to the Grand Duke’s office. Now it was her turn to explain what was suspicious. She came out of the basement and headed to the Grand Duke’s residence. She had already collected all the witch’s gold coins that were piled up in the basement and gave them to the Grand Duchy to be used as evidence. She had no regrets, as she had received a lot of money as a salary from the Grand Duchy for several years. She raised enough money to make her dream of owning her own home come true in just a few years.

 

‘Wait a moment… Then should I really buy a house?’

 

After learning that the witch had used terrible black magic here, she began to feel a little uneasy about this cozy home.

 

“Your Highness.”

 

The Grand Duke was alone in his office. He let go of his quill and narrowed his eyes as she entered.

 

“What?”

 

“Oh my god… Famous paintings are walking around, right?”

 

“It’s pretty, right? It’s my work.”

 

She curled her eyebrows and smiled slyly. She said that her current appearance was the same as the painting she drew in another world, and from then on, every time he saw her, he said something like a masterpiece or a famous painting. At first, she didn’t know what to do every time it happened, but now she was used to it and she could shamelessly accept it. Actually, for a while, she felt awkward about everything, not just this unfamiliar sound. She felt like she had been living under the mask of ‘Witch Hazel’ and then suddenly the mask came off, revealing her real face. Except she pretended to be from here in the first place, but it was her.

 

While she hesitated for a while, this man treated her like nothing had happened at all. Maybe it’s because he had known for a long time that she was not that evil witch.

 

“Uh… And don’t these black marks look like blood?”

 

She took out each item from the basket she had sent ahead of time and explained why she had brought it because it was suspicious. When the last item was explained, the Grand Duke asked.

 

“What are you doing tonight?”

 

“…Why do you ask me every night?”

 

Anyway, the ending of every night was the same, hmm, wasn’t it?

 

“No, I don’t plan on doing that tonight…”

 

What was he trying to say? It was a time when the Grand Duke was as hesitant as she was. Someone knocked on the office door. The person who came was Sir Daniel.

 

“Your Highness, I think you should go to the knights’ quarters immediately.”

 

After the Grand Duke and Sir Daniel disappeared, she organized the witch’s belongings that had been laid out on the table in front of the sofa. Then she was thinking of leaving the basket next to the desk. At first glance, a scroll of parchment spread out on the desk caught her eye.

 

Candidate list.

 

The parchment with these titles on it had the women’s names written in rows. Next to each person’s name, there was detailed information along with family name and age. Which family were they close to, and what were their outstanding abilities? It was as if they were explaining the qualities of a certain position. It wasn’t written what kind of place it was, but she felt like she knew.

 

It must be the Grand Duchess’ seat.

 

“Should we do it within this year…?”

 

She remember the other day the Grand Duke said that he would get married within this year. It is now April, so there are only eight months left in the year. It’s time to hurry up and get engaged. That meant it was time for her to leave quickly too.

 

* * *

 

“As expected, it’s reliable.”

 

Elliot patted Luna’s shoulder as they sat side by side in front of his office desk. When he called Luna to show her how to review the budget, Luna said she already knew quite a bit. 

It always bothered him that he promised to teach her how to manage the estate and mansion, but he couldn’t keep his promise because he had to go off to war right away. He was thankful that his vassals taught her well on his behalf.

 

“Oh, that’s right.”

 

Elliot held out a parchment scroll to Luna, who was leaving her class early.

 

“It’s a list of candidates.”

 

Luna pouted her lips as she reluctantly took the scroll.

 

“Wasn’t it up to you to decide who it would be?”

 

“Why me?”

 

It’s not about him, but about choosing his younger siblings’ tutors.

 

“Now you are old enough to make your own decisions.”

 

Gone are the days when he had to pick each babysitter or teacher. Elliot told Luna that she should consult with Luca and narrow down the candidates to two or three, she asked.

 

“Do you know how much Hazel insists?”

 

As if Duchess Monette had made a fuss, Hazel sang to him to bring in a tutor as soon as he returned.

 

“I heard it’s time to bring in a tutor? No, I heard you’re late?”

 

Actually, it was late.

 

“Hmm, okay.”

 

Luna turned around and was about to leave, but she suddenly stopped and asked:

 

“Today, right?”

 

The disapproving expression from a moment ago was gone, and a meaningful smile was appearing. Elliot smiled the same way and he opened the drawer and showed what was inside.

 

It was a ring box.

 

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Translator Note: