I Picked Up a Witch With Amnesia

1. start f*cking

It came suddenly, without any sign.

At first, I thought the winter would last a few days longer than usual.

However, when I saw snow falling from the sky instead of sprouting in March, I realized something was wrong.

June, the time when, as usual, the sweltering heat hit the continent.

However, snow was everywhere, and people could not walk the streets without wearing thick winter clothes.

Only then did people notice. The fact that an endless winter has come to this continent.

August. All nations and tribes on the continent gathered at the capital of the empire and resolved to join forces.

Until the end of winter, it was decided to put an end to all conflict.

Just in time, the goddess’s oracle descended from the sky.

[The disaster that calls for winter is in the north.]

Accordingly, an investigation team was dispatched. An investigation team was dispatched to the north to find out what the disaster called winter was and what caused it.

December. The investigation team returned. But only one returned. He said: He said he saw a witch who calls for winter in the northernmost part of the Duchy of Estel.

Snowflakes bloomed from the witch’s fingertips, and only cold remained where the witch passed.

The news immediately hit the capital. Soon, the capital city starts burning with two topics.

First of all, about the existence of the ‘witch’ that brings winter.

and second. About how to dispose of the bastards of the Duchy of Estel who produced witches.

I heard that as soon as winter began, those bastards couldn’t stand the cold and rushed straight to the islands.

Everyone in Jeje laughed at her rudeness when she rushed to Jedo because she thought her life was a waste, even if she would freeze to death in the dukedom if she had produced a ‘witch’.

And soon public opinion expanded.

Those cowards, the culprits of everything. The bastards of the dukedom shouldn’t be left alone.

Yes. I am very much in favor of that opinion. Will the justice of this land be established only when such bastards are left alone?

…If only I wasn’t the head of the Duchy of Estelle.

The dungeon of the Empire, among them, I was forced to spit out a lament as I was put in solitary confinement in the deepest place.

“f*ck…why are you all f*cking with me…”

****

ten days. It’s already ten days.

In other words, ten days had already passed since he had been locked up in the imperial dungeon and had not been able to get outside air.

For the past ten days, I hadn’t even seen a human face except that of the f*cking-looking jailer who brought me food.

Well, actually, in a sense, being stuck in the dungeons of the Empire wasn’t all that bad for me.

This was because, in the entire empire, Cain von Estel, the head of the Duke of Estelle, was a great celebrity. Can you easily imagine that I was so popular that, at the mere sight of my face, the citizens of the system would rush to burn me alive?

Being locked up in a dungeon like this, at least the fact that I didn’t have to worry about someone stabbing me in the back was definitely an advantage.

“…Damn it, he’s like that nerd.”

I frowned at the thought of the face of the emperor, who had imprisoned me deep inside the dungeon. In fact, it was not at all incomprehensible that the emperor had thrown me into the depths of the dungeon without saying a word.

The never-ending winter brought by the witch had already lasted for a year. It’s been a year since I like to say it, and it has already been well over a year since food has not been produced on the entire continent. Deaths from starvation were already appearing one after another in various parts of the continent, and it was not uncommon to see nobles aung daung with a loaf of bread in the market.

Of course, if you borrowed the power of magic, it was possible to grow food in a limited way in this fierce cold. However, in proportion to the population of the entire continent, the number of people dealing with magic was too small, and the number of people suffering from hunger was too large to count.

In this situation, the number of people going hungry is increasing day by day, while the food currently produced is extremely insufficient.

Day by day, the dissatisfaction of the subjects of the empire grew stronger, and at the same time, even the most hideous and strange rumors spread throughout the system. It is to make a scapegoat after blaming all the faults on the head of the Estelle family who produced the ‘witch of winter’.

To sum it up in one word, the crimes against me would be ‘guilt by association’ and ‘crimes of guilt’.

“…Well, if you’re going to kill me, I’ll kill you.”

To be honest, I don’t think much of blaming the emperor and other thugs who came up with such a cute idea. If I were in someone else’s shoes, I’d be sitting in a bar by now chewing hard about that son of a bitch who had the audacity to shut herself in the institution, the cause of witches.

Also, the resentment and resentment of everyone in the empire toward me was also something I couldn’t understand. It has already been a year since I held on to my hungry stomach and persevered with only hope that the situation would improve soon. They would have needed an outlet to excrete their own emotions. It was nothing more than a story about how, unluckily, I won the role of warding off evil.

However, if there is one thing I’m worried about, it’s about my sister, Elena. He was a naturally weak child. As soon as winter began, Elena could not stand the cold and collapsed in bed, which caused us to rush to the island.

I don’t know anything else, but it was because I couldn’t just watch Elena freeze to death in the cold. If I died, the child would have to take over the Estelle duchy, but I couldn’t help but worry about whether the timid Elena would be able to take on such an important role.

“…But why hasn’t anyone been shining their noses for ten days?”

There would be no objections to killing a heinous scoundrel like me, so are we even discussing how to make the killing more painful?

By the time I was sitting in solitary confinement and drawing a blueprint for my gloomy future, the end came unexpectedly quickly.

“…Your Excellency, Duke Estelle. I’m out of prison. Please follow me.”

The rambunctious guard who had worked hard to procure my meals for the past ten days had come to inform me of my release.

“Hmm. Came quite late than expected. Did you come to tell me that the date for my execution has finally been set?”

The guard expressed denial at my sarcasm.

“Your Majesty wants to see the Duke. I think you should prepare for an audience.”

****

Hall of the Sun. A thousand years ago, when the empire was founded, dragons cast magic and dwarves built it in celebration of the empire itself, symbolizing the majesty itself.

I was greeted by the emperor prostrate in the middle of the hall at such a gigantic size that even a hundred people could enter at once.

“…Meet the Sun of the Empire.”

In fact, as a duke of the empire, there was no need for such excessive courtesy, but because of the sins I had committed, I fell flat on my face without even realizing it. It was because I wanted to refrain from stretching out here and then dying by a terrible method of execution, such as being beaten by a string or being blown up.

“Duke Estelle, it’s been a while. Will I see you in five years?”

For some reason, I unknowingly replied to the way he pretended to be close to me.

“…That’s right. I think this was the last time I came here to inherit the title of duke since my father passed away.”

“Huh, that’s right. Five years have already passed since Franz died…”

Seeing the Emperor, who for some reason mentioned his friendship with me, I sneakily rolled my eyes and looked at the situation around me. No matter how much I thought about it, it didn’t seem like they had prepared this kind of place to slap me around the neck. At this moment, I just couldn’t get a sense of what the hell that man like a serpent was thinking.

“Duke Estelle.”

“…Yes. your majesty.”

“I have been thinking a lot about the treatment of you. For your sin is so clear that it cannot be concealed. The existence of a ‘witch’, who is certain to be from the Estelle Territory, has brought an endless winter to the present continent, and as a result, many lives are dying. This is the result of your bad virtue for not properly ruling the territory, and you are also responsible for a certain part. Do you admit this fact?”

‘…What kind of bullshit is that.’

It was true that the so-called witch was found in Estelle’s estate. But, how the hell do we know if that bitch is from our territory? In the report of the investigative team, it was written that ‘I witnessed a woman calling for winter in Estelle’s estate.’

Okay, let’s give it a hundred steps and say that the witch is from our territory. But why is it my fault? Did I have to go through the heads of every person living in the estate to see if they were future criminals or not?

On the tip of my tongue, the words ‘Don’t talk shit like that’ jumped up my throat, but with superhuman patience, I managed to push it back into my throat. Anyway, it was because nothing would change if I protested here and now.

“…I admit it. your majesty.”

When I answered with an expression as if I had put everything down, the emperor gave an ambiguous smile that I couldn’t understand the meaning of, and then started to speak at me.

“However, the Duke of Estelle is a venerable family that has shared history since the beginning of the empire. I have decided to give you a chance to make up for it even if you look down on the souls of your ancestors who served the empire.”

‘Make up? chance?’

Indeed, it could not have been a word with an ominous tone. What did the emperor tease his tongue like that in order to make a weakling like me do something?

“Duke Estelle. I will order you.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I plan to organize an expedition to subdue witches. I will give you a chance to restore the honor of the duchy by becoming a guide to lead the expedition.”

“…Yes?”