“You know? I told you my true identity.”
Instead of answering, the witch said something else. Of course, that was intentional.
‘How much did she talk about?’
Did she tell the story that she was just a wandering low-level witch, or did she make it up together with the Grand Duke? There was no way to know that either. She should have asked and sent it. Maybe she should have held on to the frog with all her soul. When she regretted it, it was already too late.
“She told me that she was not that wicked witch, but that she was a lowly witch who wandered from home to settle in a hut.”
The Grand Duke foolishly fell for her Judo newspaper and blew a drink.
“Yes.”
The witch answered quickly and became lost in thought.
‘Then the term ‘low-level witch’ came entirely from her head.’
It meant that the Grand Duke did not know the truth that it was just an unknown soul dragged from somewhere.
‘As expected, didn’t she date because she truly loved him?’
Ignoring the difference in social status, she didn’t honestly reveal her identity to her lover who loved me enough to think about getting married. The recent rumors that they had broken up seemed plausible. It was clear that the crazy woman had left first.
‘We need something to change the Grand Duke’s mind.’
The witch believed that the offer she had prepared would be enough to turn him around.
“Your Highness, did I tell you how long I have been staying at the witch’s hut?”
“No.”
That’s good. The witch pursed her lips to hide her smile of conversion, then she began to speak.
“Actually, it’s been quite a while. That witch, she told me that I could stay comfortably as long as I had nowhere to go, but she soon showed her true colors and treated me like a slave.”
Her eyes were red and bloodshot and tears were streaming down her face. It was easy enough to just use a tickle spell on her eyes. In this way, he first wins the Grand Duke’s sympathy. Of course, it’s unpleasant that he’s trying to frame himself as a bad person.
“Sobbing…”
“So?”
…so? As her cold words returned, the witch gently lifted her head from her hands and glanced at the Grand Duke. He was leaning against his desk and crossing his arms.
‘Aren’t men weak to tears?’
She guessed not. He didn’t look sympathetic at all. How serious his eyes were. Even if the lover abandoned her, wouldn’t it be polite for a noble man to comfort a crying woman?
‘That woman, what kind of evil thing did she do that caused her to break up?’
It seemed like her heart had already cooled down.
‘But when you hear these words, you will have to support me.’
The witch wiped away the useless tears and pulled out her trump card.
“Around that time, a man I had never seen before came to visit her witch. She seemed to be whispering something about the witch and her, and she gave me a map, a baby toy, and a heavy bag of gold coins.”
The witch recited what happened to me as if she had witnessed it with her own eyes.
“She’s a witch and she sent a man saying she’ll take care of it tonight and get the balance ready. Then, the next day, a tragedy occurred at the Grand Duke’s residence…”
The Grand Duke’s eyes twisted as he realized what a tragedy it was.
“I’m sorry I remembered it so late.”
She seemed to be wondering why she was telling this story now, so she added hastily.
“I completely forgot about it all this time. A few days ago, when a messenger came from the imperial palace, I thought his face was familiar, but today I suddenly remembered that it was the man who came that day.”
It was a complete lie. The messenger the empress sent to the hut a few days ago could not have been the same person as the emperor’s confidant who came to me.
‘But there’s no way the Grand Duke would know that.’
All they had to do was instigate a fight.
“You probably remember his appearance.”
The Grand Duke, who had been listening in silence, finally opened his mouth. He succeeded in capturing interest. The witch nodded her head as if she had been waiting. Now she comes face to face with the appearance of the henchman who came to her cabin a few years ago. It is up to the Grand Duke to catch them.
“First, bring him to the court, interrogate him, and make him confess that the person behind it is the emperor.”
The usurpation of the throne will begin from there.
“When the emperor is questioned, I will stand as a witness.”
That’s all she has to do in front of her. The Grand Duke will do the onerous task of raising an army and taking the throne in the name of revenge and justice.
‘At that time, I will be able to kneel at the feet of the miser emperor, who always treated me as if he were his subordinate and cut short my labor costs.’
Moreover, when she was in her queen’s form, she kept flirting with me, which was so disgusting. How many times have I barely resisted wanting to turn into her frog?
‘That’s why I wanted to escape from the empress’ body even more.’
However, there was another goal that was more important than anything else. Completing the ritual for eternal life. To do so, infinite manpower and materials granted to the imperial family were needed.
‘Then I will live forever with this appearance and this age.’
When her first puppet emperor dies, she will be replaced by another emperor. That’s how you sit behind the black curtain and live a life of eternal youth, wealth, and power.
* * *
What on earth was going on? From the butler, the maid, Lady Balea, and the chef, Harold, to the royal guards and guards. The Grand Duke suddenly summoned together the servants who were in charge of important duties in the Grand Duke’s family. While everyone was looking at each other in confusion, the door opened and the Grand Duchess and the Grand Duchess came in. The moment they saw the stone-faced face, everyone felt it. That’s bad news. It was when the atmosphere was about to get heavy. No, why was that? Wasn’t the Grand Duke’s rabbit doll held in his arms as he came in after him? The Grand Duke’s expression is just as serious as his younger brothers, and he is a rabbit doll. Had anyone even touched the belongings of the former Grand Duchess? It was at the moment when she was making this guess.
“Hello everyone.”
The rabbit doll spoke. In a familiar voice.
“Hey, Miss Hazel?”
The rabbit doll even waved at everyone who was even more confused, and the Archduke stopped in the middle of the room and spoke in a solemn voice.
“From now on, listen carefully to what I have to say and never tell it to others.”
This was how the Grand Duke’s secret operation began.
* * *
“You probably remember his appearance.”
Even when the Grand Duke asked that question, she had no idea that things would turn out like this.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen Hazel’s drawing skills.”
She thought they would just describe it in words, but she never thought they would ask her to draw it by hand.
‘Did she know how to draw?’
The witch didn’t know how to draw. But if she did, she would be suspected.
“Hmm…”
The Grand Duke sitting behind the desk looked at the parchment and wrinkled his brow.
“He hasn’t been drawing lately, so his skills have deteriorated.”
The witch felt annoyed and dissatisfied at the same time. That was the best drawing out of the dozens she drew in two days.
“I’ll call a painter.”
The tone of speech was soft, but the content was extremely harsh. The witch smiled sheepishly and suppressed the bloody thoughts inside her.
‘A small creature that can turn into a frog with just one wave of my hand!’
The hands hidden behind my back were shaking. If she had a fiery and impatient personality before, she would have been like that a long time ago.
‘The emperor probably tried to kill him as soon as he set foot in the palace.’
Of course, it is not easy to do so in an imperial palace full of wizards and guards. However, he changed after a hasty attempt at black magic and a bitter failure. He learned to be patient after enduring many years of hardship as a frog. If he had failed to kill the emperor, he would have been executed, and even if he had succeeded, he would have been removed from the throne shortly thereafter.
‘If you want to occupy the throne forever, you must obtain it in a seemingly legitimate way.’
The Grand Duke was chosen as that means.
‘So you have to endure it.’
The witch forcefully folded her fingers that kept trying to reach for the Grand Duke. It was not too late to pay the military price for being rude after gaining eternal life. Then, all you have to do was replace him with someone who listened better than that guy. The witch came out of the Grand Duke’s office, followed the Grand Princess and the Grand Prince who were waiting for her, and clicked her tongue inside her.
‘He is a husband with a handsome appearance…’
She was secretly looking forward to it, but after experiencing it for two days, it seemed like her personality couldn’t keep up with her appearance.
‘He was extremely considerate in the imperial palace!’
She thought that maybe it was because she had hurt her heart so much in the meantime. So she tried to change her mind, something she had never done before in her life.
“Your Highness, please take it.”
“…What is that?”
“Flowers. I brought it because it was pretty and reminded me of Your Majesty.”
“Did you get permission from the gardener?”
“…”
Even though I gave her not only flowers but various other gifts and spoke kind words to her, the Grand Duke was still cold to her. Then he finally said something he had never said in his life and never wanted to say again.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness.”
She didn’t know what she did wrong, but she apologized after coming in.
‘Why should I apologize for your mistakes! That damn thing!’
Besides, she thought that the Grand Duke would understand if she apologized.
“What on earth are you sorry for?”
The Grand Duke was also a fucking bastard. He looked at her cutely, but he didn’t know how to use her…
“Hazel?”
The witch was startled when the Grand Princess suddenly spoke to her.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on February, 24.
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