“You’re finally here.”
At the top of a tower in the imperial palace, a witch who was lingering near a window looked down and shouted. A procession of guards and a colorful carriage had just entered the square of the Emperor’s Palace. Not long after the carriage door opened, she came out holding the hand of a handsome man. The witch laughed out loud as she watched her. A thief came. The thief who stole her body walked into her trap. The witch added her own plan to the Emperor’s plan to bestow the wasteland of Billund to the Grand Duke. She had also invited the Grand Duke’s lover, Hazel, the Witch of the Black Forest. Originally, the plan was to get her body back if that woman accepted the Grand Duke’s marriage proposal, but…
“Why are you procrastinating?”
According to rumors, the Grand Duke had already proposed to his lover a month ago. But the woman refused, citing various reasons. What kind of foolish and ignorant behavior was that? There were even rumors that Hazel, the Witch of the Black Forest, was planning to abandon the Grand Duke by falling in love with another man with holy powers. Not long ago, she asked the wizard academy how to have a child with a man with holy powers.
“I can’t believe they’re breaking up. It will never happen.”
So the witch decided to get her body back before the two broke up and her plans went completely awry. As soon as she did that, she would quickly accept the Grand Duke’s marriage proposal.
“That stupid thing…”
The witch stroked the frog she was holding in one hand as if slapping it and clicked her tongue. It wasn’t the frog prince, but the woman who stole his body that was stupid.
“It looks like the body’s original owner was found out, right?”
Rumors have been spreading throughout the empire these days that ‘Hazel the Good Witch of the Black Forest’ was actually a wandering low-level witch and was merely acting as a stand-in for the real ‘Evil Witch Hazel’, who has disappeared so quickly. Wanted leaflets asking for the whereabouts of the ‘true evil witch’ were posted everywhere. Actually, she was glad that that woman was stupid. Thanks to this, she would be able to make a new start as a ‘good witch’.
‘No one would imagine a good witch targeting the empire.’
The witch laughed and glared at the woman climbing the stairs toward the Emperor’s palace. The soul of that shameless thief would be extinguished forever.
“Be nice. If you don’t want to become your mother’s dinner, go in quietly!”
The witch threw her frog prince into the tank and drew thick curtains over her window. The light of the candle began to glow like a ghost in her darkened room. A large altar was set up in the middle of the room. The witch took a musty-smelling black and red lump out of her chest and placed it on the magic circle in the middle of the altar. It was a by-product of a monster.
“That nasty thing.”
The Empress, making one excuse or another, did not provide the materials needed for the mana recovery ritual.
“Do you have to be a ferocious poisonous snake to hand over all your hair?”
Only after threatening her did she reluctantly let go.
“How funny do I look?”
When this is all over, she won’t leave it alone. If she get her body back, it wouldn’t be a problem to turn all those hairs into poisonous snakes.
The witch plunged the obsidian knife deep into the by-product. As the red and sticky juice flowed out and wet the altar, the magic circle began to flash purple. The witch placed her hands on the magic circle, reciting her spell. Intense power was sucked out of the mass that was the source of mana, swirled along the magic circle, and surged into her body.
“Tsk…”
Her legs were unsteady and cold sweat broke out on her forehead. It was because the mana had become too much to handle in this miserable body.
‘I have to hold on.’
The witch forced mana into her body. She performed her ritual twice a day in preparation for this day. She had to replenish her mana faster than the prince’s body could lose it.
“Just for today, wow, you just have to hold on.”
The witch gritted her teeth, squeezing in the mana that swirled unsteadily within her body.
‘What is that damn thief doing in the library?’
The witch glared at the fake witch’s back through a gap in her books on her bookshelf. The place where she was standing was a secret passage known only to the royal family. If you open this bookshelf and go out, you will find yourself in the library of the Emperor’s palace. She didn’t know why it was confined to a musty place like a library with so many rooms and gardens, but it was a good thing.
‘Things will be easier than I thought.’
The Grand Duke was having an audience with the Emperor. This meant that if only one of the guards guarding the woman was defeated, her body could be recovered.
‘I wonder how best to ostracize him.’
The woman walked along the maze-like bookshelves, looking for something. The witch walked down the passage along the walls of her library, contemplating her way, not wanting to lose her woman from her sight. Then the woman went around the large pillar and disappeared before her guards.
‘Now is the time!’
The witch quickly opened a nearby secret door and went out into the library.
“Who…”
Sensing her presence, the guards became dazed as soon as they turned to look at her. The moment her eyes met, hypnotizing him worked. The guy immediately walked like a puppet and disappeared into the distance.
‘Good.’
No, it’s not that good. She wasted precious mana hypnotizing that guy. She clicked her tongue as she estimated how much mana she had lost, even though the witch had only used as much as she could.
‘This damned body of him. I’ll throw it away soon!’
Once his original body was restored, the thief’s soul would be thrown into thin air.
‘Then I guess he’ll be taken away by the Shinigami.’
The last thing left was the crown prince’s body. As soon as his soul escapes, the crown prince would die. If the crown prince’s body was lying scattered in the middle of the library, who would be suspected of being the murderer? It would be ‘Hazel, the Witch of the Black Forest’, the only person present. She was trying to get her body back and start over, but the first step was to kill the crown prince.
‘The crown prince tried to attack me, so I killed him without realizing it.’
The witch walked around the pillar to the woman, rehearsing her words to the prince.
The witch drew a picture of the Grand Duke usurping the throne to protect her lover, who had become the murderer. Coincidentally, the Grand Duke’s family had a number of soldiers. If she finds and presents all the evidence that the Emperor murdered the previous Grand Duke and his wife, the Grand Duke’s patience would crumble.
‘It’s the perfect plan!’
That was when she approached cautiously. A woman standing on the ladder, pulling out a book from the top of her bookshelf, felt her presence and looked down.
“What? Are you speaking to the Crown Prince?”
The woman came down after her and slightly lifted the hem of her dress to show respect.
“Hold your head up.”
‘Look into my eyes.’
Soul replacement surgery required close eye contact.
“Where does it hurt?”
The woman raised her head and asked with a puzzled look on her face. The witch ignored her incomprehensible sounds and approached her, step by step, while making eye contact with her original body. While quietly reciting her soul replacement spell in her mouth.
“What? Mana?”
“Oh my. Precious tea is flowing all over the place. It looks like the Grand Duke has been cherishing it all this time, right?”
“…What do you mean by that?”
She was worried that she might end up injuring someone else’s face by using it so recklessly. Then there was no point in trying for eternal life.
“She would be worthy of being the Grand Duchess and Empress.”
“What do you mean, Gerald?”
The witch, who had come right in front of the woman, stopped when she heard the voice of an unfamiliar man. She turned around and saw the Grand Duke glaring at her with angry eyes. The tall, handsome man passed her by as fast as a breeze and embraced her original body.
“I can’t believe she’s worthy of being an Empress. I hope I heard wrong.”
It was meant to be that she would become an Empress after becoming a Grand Duchess, but the Grand Duke seemed to have completely misunderstood the meaning.
“Have you become so shameless that you even want to steal my lover?”
She was glad if he thought so. If the Crown Prince suddenly died here, the Grand Duke would have no choice but to become an assassin and try to usurp the throne.
Great.
The witch continued to quietly recite her spell. The Grand Duke pulled the woman away, but fortunately she was within the influence of the spell. It was a perfect opportunity as the woman was also surprised and was staring at her. However…
‘Why not?’
The thief’s soul was not easily pushed out of that body. She poured out her mana and tried hard, but it was no use. It seemed like the thief had gained a lot of strength in the meantime.
‘How dare you abuse someone else’s abilities!’
At some point when she was grinding her teeth…
‘Omg!’
A shield made of holy power unfolded before her eyes.
‘Where on earth did this come from?’
She couldn’t win this. The witch promised the following and had no choice but to take a step back.
‘This is a fairy tale. Is there really no such thing as a cabbage baby or a baby delivered by a stork?’
It was a time when she was looking for a book while thinking about this. Could it be that the crown prince suddenly appeared and made unpleasant noises as if he had been possessed by a perverted old man? If it weren’t for the crown prince, they would have dragged him to the nearest police station. Just as he was about to leave, the Grand Duke appeared and the Crown Prince disappeared again.
“Where did the guards go?”
She looked at the man who was so angry that his forehead was wrinkled, and she tilted her head, saying she didn’t know.
“This is the imperial palace. No matter how powerful you are, it can be dangerous, so never be alone.”
He asked with a worried look on his face and hesitated for a moment to see if there was something he wanted to say.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
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