Reasons to Protect the Witch's Son

The tips of her fingers gently brushed over his torn lips. Her hand then moved to his cheek and carefully traced his other wounds. A faint pain and the pungent smell of medication spread from wherever her fingers touched.

Maybe because of that, the spots that she touched kept itching and his throat felt dry. He didn’t know where to look. He couldn’t even turn his head because she was applying the medication, at this moment, all he could see was her.

Downturned silver eyelashes cast a shadow on her fair cheeks. Time seemed to slow down. He was frozen in place, unable to move, but Elaine was so focused on what she was doing that she didn’t even notice.

“There, all done.”

After carefully inspecting the wound, Elaine withdrew her hand and smiled. She then handed Ash the medicine bottle and instructed him.

“I got this medicine from the doctor here, they said it works really well for wounds. You have to apply it every day, consistently.”

Feeling it was a waste of time to have to apply it every day, Ash was about to retort, but Elaine beat him to it.

“Otherwise I’ll do it for you.”

Struck by her words, he closed his mouth. Then, after a while, he slowly averted his gaze and reluctantly answered.

“Fine, I get it. Why couldn’t he have told you every other day?”

Although he had an unpleasant expression on, he still took the medicine bottle and placed it in his pocket.

Elaine was chuckling at his reaction when a knock was heard at the door. As soon as Ash gave permission to enter, Hilaire and Edwin stepped into the room.

“You are already able to move around?”

Ash asked after seeing Edwin.

After being rescued from the mercenaries, Edwin was immediately taken to see the doctor. He had no visible injuries, but his health had deteriorated significantly during the time he was kidnapped and he needed to rest in bed for the time being.

Edwin nodded slightly.

“Yes, I was able to rest well so moving around this much is okay.”

Edwin approached Elaine and Ash and bowed his head.

“Thank you. It’s because of you two that I was able to return safely.”

Hilaire also expressed her gratitude along with Edwin.

“Thank you as well. You too, Dame Elaine. I am truly grateful.”

“It isn’t something you should be thanking me for. It’s because of me that you were caught up in this mess in the first place.”

Elaine brushed off the gratitude, just as Ash had.

“I was just doing my job.”

“Still, thank you anyways.”

Even though Ash may have been the reason for Edwin’s kidnapping, he could have just ignored what was happening, but he didn’t do that. He even went as far as to be the decoy himself to save Edwin. He had the skill to avoid receiving a single injury, but allowed their attacks. Edwin deeply felt grateful and felt the need to express this.

At that time, a commotion was heard from outside. It was the voice of someone desperately looking for Edwin.

“Edwin!”

The voice that was desperately crying out belonged to Jackson.

“Ah, actually, I snuck out for a little while without telling Jackson…”

When the doctor had said that he needed to rest, Jackson wouldn’t allow Edwin to take a step out of bed. After he had returned from being kidnapped, everyone seemed to treat him as a fragile glass doll.

As Jackson’s shouting continued, Edwin, blushing in embarrassment, bowed his head again, before leaving the room. Ash watched him leave and when the door was closed, he turned to Hilaire asking.

“What about the other victims?”

Hilaire answered immediately.

“They are still recovering. There were some people who were still in good condition, but most of them were critically injured and it will take time for them to recover.”

It was revealed that the people imprisoned in the iron cage had been kidnapped by the mercenary group and had been subjected to all kinds of cruel treatment. A few years ago, the mercenary group was involved in all kinds of dirty work, including kidnapping and human trafficking, and was destroyed by Ash. However, the mercenaries were unable to change their ways, and ended up doing terrible things like this again.

Ash relaxed his clenched fists and spoke.

“When their condition improves, help them return to their homes.”

He had decided to take responsibility for the victims and pay all compensation in the name of Duke Killiard. He would also contact the families of those who had already lost their lives and take responsibility for all procedures, including their funerals. It wasn’t him who was at fault, but he always tried to shoulder the burdens like this.

“Alright.”

Hilaire looked at him for a moment and bowed her head in silence. Then she brought up the next topic that needed to be discussed.

“Sir, I also have something to report to you.”

He nodded, signaling for her to continue.

“It’s not solid evidence, but Drayton revealed one more piece of information during the interrogation.”

“What was it?”

“He had said that the person who had commissioned the work had been a young girl.”

“Girl?”

“Yes, he couldn’t see her face, because it was covered with a hood, but he said the voice sounded as if it had come from a young girl.”

“A girl…”

Ash, who was speaking deeply, was then silent for a moment, as if lost in thought. Elaine, who had also been listening to the report, had a stiff expression as she spoke.

“It’s similar to the last attack. Traps using magic tools and the large scale of the assassinations are the same.”

The assassins who attacked Ash last time were highly skilled and it was a large-scale attack. A maid who was an employee also had attacked Ash with a magic tool.

Hilaire, who had previously been informed of the attack after returning from her mission, nodded in agreement.

“Certainly, there are similarities. Your Grace, what do you think? Could it have been them this time as well?”

In response to her question, Ash crossed his legs and tapped on the armrest rhythmically.

“Well, its not like there is only one group targeting me. I can’t be sure, but… there is definitely a possibility.”

At his words, Elaine narrowed her eyes as she asked.

“Do you two know who it is?”

Hilaire answered.

“It’s not certain, however, only noble families with significant wealth can pull off an assassination of this scale. Among them, only a few high-ranking nobles, and…”

“The royal family.”

Ash finished, bluntly.

“The royal family?”

“In the past, while tracking down an assassin, I caught a glimpse of the royal family’s involvement. Along the way, the tail got cut off though.”

“…”

“So, it’s just one of the possibilities among many, including the other noble families.”

Ash’s face remained calm as he spoke. Elaine clenched her teeth silently. She had known that Ash had many enemies, but the royal family? Aren’t they his blood relatives?

Although they weren’t father and son, they were his only remining blood relatives. How could they be one of the many groups pointing their swords at him now?

Ash’s words were filled with sarcasm.

“Anyway, even of we find evidence, nothing will change. If I report it, I will be the one who is criticized.”

Even now, the majority of the people thought it was normal for him to be despised and condemned. No matter how clear the evidence was and how much he claimed to be the victim, no one would take his side. Rather, he would just be accused of being the witch’s child slandering an innocent person. They would say he was trying to ruin lives, just like his mother.

Perhaps the people would even applaud the person who was trying to kill the witch’s child, who deserved to die instead. Even more so if it was the royalty, or high ranking.

“…”

Ash, who had been speaking indifferently, suddenly noticed that Elaine had gone silent. The moment he noticed her darkening face, he cursed under his breath.

‘Shit. Did I say something wrong again?’

He understood her to some extent now. He could at least tell that she was upset by what he had said. He had thought it would be okay for her to know.

‘What should I do in a situation like this?’

He didn’t know what to say., so he pursed his lips and after a while managed to force out a sentence.

“…It’s nothing special to me.”

But, unfortunately, Ash didn’t know that those words made her even more upset.

As her eyes began to mist over with tears, as if she was about to cry, Ash’s face became confused. Unsure of what to do, he frowned and massaged his temples in embarassment.

“…”

Hilaire, who was watching the two from the side, looked on in surprise. It was a rare occurrence. She had been watching Ash for several years, but this was the first time she had seen him look embarrassed or even care about someone else’s feelings. It was a look that not even her father, who had been his bodyguard for a long time, had ever seen.

Hilaire thought to herself.

‘It seems that my Lord has found someone he can truly trust this time.’

***

Edwin Lister was sitting in his room, staring blankly into space.

 

‘I have come to save the Count, you are safe now.’

‘It’s okay, you don’t have to be scared.’

 

A woman who had miraculously appeared while he was trembling helplessly in the pitch-black darkness.

 

‘Now, shall we get out of here?’

 

He could still vividly picture Elaine extending her hand while saying that. She had looked like a knight in shining armor, riding in on a white horse. She had then led him out of the room, into the light. She was so cool and dependable.

He placed his hand on his chest.

After that day, whenever he saw Elaine, his heart would start to pound. He would steal glances at her, eyes drawn to her as if she were a magnet.

What was her favorite food? Since she was a knight, was swordsmanship her hobby? What was her ideal type? He became curious about these things and continued to observe her unknowingly as his interest grew, however…

‘Sir, please eat this too.’

‘Did you apply your medicine today?’

‘I’ll tie it for you, Sir.’

‘Your Grace?’

Always, every time, she was with Ash. When she was eating. When she was walking down the hallways. She was with him wherever he went. Moreover, with the way that she treated him, anyone could tell her actions were filled with affection, to the point it was overflowing. Her affection was so obvious that you wouldn’t be able to miss it, even if you had tried. Edwin had beed in shock as he watched.

‘Could Elaine really…’

As he thought this, disappointment surfaced and he was heartbroken, however he then vigorously shook his head.

‘No, it’s too early to give up!’

From what he had seen, they hadn’t developed that type of relationship yet. There was still a chance for him. If he showed her a more impressive side of him than Ash, maybe she would notice him. So, the first thing was to understand who he was dealing with. Didn’t they say that if you know your enemy and you know yourself, you can win any battle?

Burning with determination, Edwin grabbed the nearby paper and pen.