Reasons to Protect the Witch's Son

On the contrary, he changed their positions so that she was the one holding onto him.

“You must follow me carefully.”

He spat out the words and started walking forward in large strides. He was taller than most men and was able to make his way through the crowds without difficulty. He was able to clear their path at a much faster rate than when she had been leading the way.

Elaine’s face was filled with confusion as she witnessed this.

‘Was Ash’s back always…so broad?’

But her attention was quickly drawn elsewhere. Killiard had flowers that bloomed without fail every spring. Butterfly flowers, so named because of the four wide-open petals that resembled the wings of a butterfly.

“Wow!”

Elaine let out a small gasp at the scene that was unfolding before her eyes. Yellow flowers were blooming in abundance all over the fields on both sides of the road. It appeared as if hundreds of butterflies had landed there.

“Sir, look over there!”

The petals of the flowers fluttered as the breeze blew past making it seem as if the butterflies wings were moving, flying through the sky. She was unable to avert her gaze from the sight, she was clearly excited to be able to witness this scene.

As Ash walked after her, he was in thought.

‘Now that I think about it, its her first time attending a festival here.’

If that was the case, it should be a grand experience for her. Killiard’s Butterfly Flower Festival is quite spectacular after all. As expected, it had been a good idea to come after all.

After they had walked a bit further, a square with numerous stalls appeared. Many of the stalls present were selling snacks. Elaine’s eyes sparkled. Ash, noticing her interest, asked.

“Do you want something to eat?”

“What about you? Is there anything you want to eat?”

“It doesn’t particularly matter to me. We can get what you would like to eat.”

“Well, wait here for a moment then!”

Elaine ran away as she shouted that then quickly came back carrying an arm full of food. She had everything from baked potatoes to lamb and chicken skewers, waffles, sausages and more.

Ash’s eyes widened slightly.

“Are you planning to eat all of that?”

“Huh? Of course!”

Elaine tilted her head as if wondering why he would ask such an obvious question. She then smiled brightly and placed a grilled skewer in his hand.

“Now, you have some too!”

He accepted it instantly. The grilled skewers with brown sauce tasted more spicy than the food he was used to. The two walked around the bustling streets, eating the snacks Elaine had bought. Then, after they had finished the food, Elaine pointed to one side.

“Sir, would you like to try that?”

It was a game of darts. She had seen a man loudly advertising that you would receive a prize if you were able to hit a certain point on the target.

“Welcome!”

As the two approached, the man welcomed them loudly.

“Would you two like to play?”

“Yes.”

“Would you like to play as a team or separately?”

When they said they would like to play together, the mans face brightened. He was feeling happy inside. The team version involved the two people taking turns throwing darts. However, one of the participants this time was a young lady who, at first glance, seemed delicate. He didn’t know what the guy was like, but they would lose points for sure because of the girl. He wouldn’t have to worry this time about giving the prize away. He thought so for sure…

After a moment, the man’s jaw dropped in shock.

‘Who on earth are these people…’

The target was very far away. The red circle in the center of the target was smaller than a fingernail. He had come up with this trick in order to avoid having to give away any prizes.

“Wow, everything was a hit!”

But it wasn’t a problem for these two people. Darts were packed into the center of the target. The man, who made eye contact with the woman as she turned around, looked bored. Not only the man, but also the woman who looked like nothing special at first, turned out to be monsters.

“If you get a perfect score, do you get all of the dolls here?”

“Yes, yes…”

It was a condition set up to attract customers but, he had no idea that anyone would ever be able to actually succeed. The man felt defeated and replied with a dejected expression.

“But its hard to carry them all, how about you just take a few?”

“Sounds good. It would be a hassle to have to deal with them all.”

Ash agreed with Elaine. They then both chose a doll and left the game stall.

“Thank you! Please enjoy the festival!”

The man’s voice rang out behind them, as if they were his saviors.

After that, they went around watching street performances and visiting various stalls. Then, she stopped in front of a stall lined with souvenirs. It was a long-awaited festival, she wanted to get at least one souvenir. There were many cute items lined up on the stall, starting with small crafts.

While she was thinking about what to choose, the stall owner suddenly began speaking to them.

“Hehe, your girlfriend is really pretty. This is really popular among couples these days.”

The old man smiled kindly and showed them a pair of bracelets.

“G-girlfriend?!”

Elaine, who was momentarily embarrassed, stammered and asked back without realizing it. When she looked back at Ash, his face was also colored with embarrassment.

“Hmm? No? Sorry, I made a mistake.”

“Oh, no. It’s alright.”

Elaine quickly came to her senses and shook her head.

“Then how about this? This is also another very popular item.”

“Then please give me that.”

After purchasing the item recommended by the old man, she left the place with somewhat hurried steps. Her mind was tangled as she continued walking forward.

‘A couple? Me and Ash… we look like lovers? Like those people over there?’

Her eyes automatically followed a couple who they were passing by. The couple was looking at each other, smiling sweetly. They had their hands clasped tightly together as they kissed and whispered words of love.

How could she be involved in such a relationship with Ash? It was something she had never even thought of. No, it was impossible to even imagine. It was only natural. To Elaine, Ash was the son of someone precious to her, and also someone she had helped raise when he was a child.

However, just by looking at their appearances, the two could really have been entangled as a man and woman. Moreover, although she had always treated him as a child, he was technically older than her now. She was still 20 years old, but he was now 23. If you subtract the years she was asleep, he would have been through three years more of life than she had. That fact was somewhat shocking and when she looked at his side profile, he felt unfamiliar.

She was waling in a daze due to the sudden realization.

“Hey! Be careful!”

A man carrying a box full of things urgently shouted in front of them. Just as she was about to bump into the man, an arm wrapped around her waist. Soon after, Ash strongly pulled her towards him.

“Oh.”

Her gaze collided directly with the purple eyes hidden under the hood. Because he had pulled her away in a rush, she saw his crimson lips ask her.

“Are you okay?”

But, why did that particular moment come to mind right now?

Ash had finished showering and was wearing nothing from the waist up. That moment when she had taken a step back, stumbled and then the firm arm wrapped around her waist. The sensation of his bare skin on her fingertips. That image overlapped with their current situation.

For a moment, her heart skipped a beat. Elaine, startled, reflexively broke away from him and took a couple of steps back.

‘Just now…what was that?’

“Thank you for the help.”

She quickly thanked him, setting aside her surprise.

“No problem. With this many people around, you should be more careful.”

Ash withdrew his hand and calmly turned around as he continued speaking.

“It’s too crowded here. Let’s go somewhere more quiet.”

“…That would be nice.”

They were both silent the entire way. She glanced up at Ash’s face but couldn’t see his expression because his face was covered by the hood.

‘Now that I think about it, what does Ash think about what the stall owner said earlier?’

Did he think it was unpleasant? It was reasonable to think this way as he was mistakenly seen as being in a relationship with someone he didn’t even like.

Elaine hesitated before speaking.

“What happened at the store earlier… Don’t worry about it… If you feel uncomfortable…”

“I never felt uncomfortable.”

Ash who spoke firmly, slightly furrowed his brow.

“…It didn’t really bother me so don’t worry.”

As he said that while walking away, his face really did seem indifferent. It made it impossible for her to know that even though he had said it was nothing, in reality, he was just as agitated as she was.

It was the same for him just now. The slim body that fit securely into one arm, the close face. A similar situation had occurred before. It hadn’t mattered at that time so, why did it bother him so much now? Strangely enough, the areas where they had made contact felt hot.

Eventually, as they left the crowd, a fairly quiet space appeared but Ash continued to move forward as if he already had a destination in mind. Finally, Elaine stopped walking, looked around and opened her mouth.

“This place…”

The place Ash had led her to was a small garden above the square. The square and the streets were filled with a festive atmosphere. Waves of golden flowers spread all around it. Everything was visible at a glance down the open hill. Elaine’s eyes widened.

“Everything looks even more beautiful from up here. How did you know about this place?”

“I just happened upon it. I probably found it when I was looking for a quiet place, like today.”

He replied as he removed the hood he was wearing. They were the only ones on the hill. Everything viewed from the hill appeared small. The people, houses and trees. Killiard, with the setting sun behind, was very beautiful.

‘How great it would have been if we could have all seen this scene together.’

With Bella, Espel and Lloyd…

Even though she knew they were all people she couldn’t be with anymore, she still ended up thinking this way.

But could she really never see them again?

From the moment she had set foot in Killiard to meet Ash, until now. Whether it was short or long, time had passed. And during that time, Elaine had been secretly looking for one person.

When she had found out that Ash was alive, she felt both joy and relief. Who could it have been that saved the young Ash from Sevika that night 20 years ago? There was no way a three-year-old boy could have escaped that hell on his own. She could only assume that someone had taken him away.

And the first person that came to mind was Espel.

‘Espel.’

Although he was a demon and the natural enemy of humans, he had always been kind to Elaine. Like Bella, he was a part of her precious family.

If Espel was the one who ran away with Ash that night and if he was still alive and breathing, she had thought he would be somewhere around Ash. If she stayed near Ash, wouldn’t she be able to meet Espel?

It was a small hope. It may end up being a futile hope. Nevertheless, it was a hope that she had no choice but to hold onto. She wanted to ask Ash if he knew something, but found it difficult to talk about it for fear of revealing her secret.

She had been watching for a month already but Espel’s shadow was nowhere to be seen. If Espel was really alive, there was no way he wouldn’t be around Ash. Above all, there was no way he wouldn’t recognize Elaine. And yet, there was no hint of anything.

‘Really Espel…’

She interrupted her running thoughts and quickly shook her head. No, its still to early to be certain. If she watched just a bit longer, maybe…

“Dame Elaine.”

When she raised her eyes at the sudden call, purple eyes were looking at her. He stared at her quietly and then softly asked.

“Shall we head back?”

The wind blew carrying the scent of flowers. His black hair gently swayed in the breeze.

“…Yeah.”

She looked into those eyes and thought.

‘Okay, let’s wait a little longer. Lust like Ash, who appeared like a miracle, Espel might also appear like that, First of all, lets protect what is close to us.’

***

The sun had already set and it was starting to get dark outside. Elaine and Ash left the glowing lights of the festival behind and headed toward the mansion. As they approached the main gates a loud voice could be heard.

“The Duke is away?! I must see him as soon as possible!”

“If you could just calm down and explain the situation first…”

“I don’t have time for that! Our master is…!”

In the distance, they could see Lowell arguing with a man. The man was in such a hurry that he kept shouting about how he must be allowed to see the duke right now. Lowell, who was awkwardly dealing with the man, noticed Ash.

“Your Grace!”

The other man’s head reflexively turned in the direction Lowell had shouted. He then left Lowell and began running toward Ash in a hurry. Grabbing his coat, the man desperately shouted.

“Your Grace! Please save our master!”