I Picked Up a Witch With Amnesia

7. Butterfly Dream – 02

Rumble, rumble.

A return procession to the Estelle duchy. Lying down in a luxurious carriage in the middle of the procession, I woke up involuntarily at the impact of the carriage rattling violently.

“Mmm…”

I turned my eyes and glanced at the scenery outside the window. Already everywhere, there was only a thick darkness that made it impossible to see even an inch ahead. When I pricked my ears, it seemed that I could hear grass insects chirping somewhere.

I raised my head slightly. In the middle of the night sky, as if sprinkled with ink, the sight of the full moon shining brightly through the clouds as if shyly hiding its inner flesh comes into view. And around the full moon, countless stars were embroidered as if they were having an audience with the goddess of the night.

“…Umm, Cain-sama…”

Next to me was Arya, who was sound asleep with her head resting on my shoulder. It was really cute to see her sleeping soundly with her mouth slightly open, so I gently smoothed her disheveled hair.

“…Hehe, please do more…”

I was just admiring Arya’s sleepy-talking face for a while without saying anything. Suddenly, I realized that a woman’s face that didn’t look like her was overlapping on Arya’s face, and I let out a sigh without knowing it. Apparently, it seemed to be quite severe.

I remember the last time I saw Bianca’s face before leaving the Marquis of Castana. Bianca, who seemed to be about to burst into tears at any moment, and was making a certain kind of expression that I had never seen before, was at the extreme of her normally confident and dignified appearance. was doing

“…what the heck was that?”

It was confusing. And for some reason, I didn’t like it. The woman I know, Bianca del Castana, was never like that, and I don’t think she should look like that and act like that in front of me.

The Bianca I knew was the kind of woman who looked down on others, looked down on them, and acted as she felt, causing a nuisance to those around her. No, it was just such a woman. She had a tattered expression on her face as if she had been hurt by something, and she thought that the appearance of a downtrodden puppy scolded by her owner was absolutely unsuitable for her.

…No, maybe that was the essence of the woman Bianca del Castana. Because, at that time, she was like that. Ten years ago, the face of a small girl whose mouth seemed to have a cold smile on her face, but whose eyes were about to shed tears at any moment, and the look of the girl she had just seen were surprisingly similar.

– Hey, we’re talking about it. Will we meet again next time? No, can we meet? right?

– …Yeah, I know. But still…

– …good. I woke up. It’s the first time I’ve talked like this and played with someone. everything was good

“…that’s stupid. There’s no use in having memories like that.”

Unbeknownst to me, my heart was disturbed, and I spat out words that sounded like excuses. Somewhere in my chest, I started to feel like I was going to have something big on me. To get rid of those feelings, I closed my eyes and tried to get some sleep. It was a naive escape from the thought that if I would rather fall asleep, I would be able to forget all of this.

But, that was the time.

Less-!

The wagon came to a sudden stop without any prior warning or warning. Unable to overcome the inertia, the carriage itself was pulled forward rapidly.

“Kyaa, kyaak!”

“aria!”

Arya’s body, which was sleeping on my shoulder, couldn’t overcome the recoil and tried to jump forward. Fortunately, my movements weren’t slow, so I was able to grab Aria in an instant and hold her tightly in my arms.

“Are you okay, Aria?”

“Yes, yes… it’s okay. I’m really fine. Cain…”

Perhaps it was because she had been sleeping soundly and was suddenly beaten up, Aria’s face turned bright red. In an instant, realizing that I was still holding Arya, I quickly released her from my arms.

“…Ugh.”

As if there was something dissatisfied with my actions, Arya put on a sullen expression, but her expression quickly changed to a hard one. Then, he whispered to me in a very small voice.

“…Sir Cain. Did you notice? Now, around…”

“…okay. I know. aria.”

I knew very well what Arya meant by saying that. Because it was so quiet outside. Its name was the carriage in which the Duke of Estelle’s high rank was riding. It was obviously strange that no one would open the doors of this carriage to check on us, even though such a carriage was almost toppled over in a major accident.

… Crucially, it was so quiet outside. Neither the neighing of the horse, nor the sound of people talking loudly, and even the chirping of grass insects were all gone. It was as if I had landed in a different world where no sound existed, only an unpleasant feeling of desolation lingered in this place.

“…..”

“…..”

Arya and I looked at each other’s faces in silence. Unknowingly, I gulped down my saliva down my throat and swallowed it. And then, with a strong heart, he slowly opened the wagon door.

kiik-

The moment I got off the carriage and stepped outside, I realized something was wrong.

“This…”

All the members of the procession escorting me were spread out on the floor. From simple wagoners to knights and even the horses that drove the wagon, all of them fell without exception. There were no traumas or traces on them. In a way, it seemed that they were simply in a deep sleep.

…And, for me, it was an unfortunate news that I had no choice but to close my eyes tightly. The culprit would mean that he did this without any trace, sign, or harbinger, without Arya and I noticing.

‘…Should I run away?’

It may have been too late already, but it was the moment I was thinking about whether I should struggle.

Turbuck-

Suddenly, from somewhere, footsteps were heard. It was a light, inaudible footstep, but because the surroundings were so quiet, it seemed to me that the footsteps were louder than thunder.

“…what? Cain. It’s been a while. Alas, no. I saw it in half a day, so if I said long time no see, would it sound a bit strange? Then… what the hell am I supposed to say? Good night? good morning? Really, I don’t know anything. Won’t you give me the answer, Cain?”

Beneath the moonlight, a woman I knew very well was slowly approaching me, giggling and laughing. And, as I looked at her figure illuminated by the moonlight, I opened my mouth without even realizing it.

“…Bianca.”

I saw Bianca giggling towards me, and involuntarily took a step back from her. The current Bianca was too dangerous. A maddening alarm was ringing in my instincts. I don’t know why, but Bianca felt the same atmosphere as when she faced the “winter witch” in the past.

“What is it, Cain? Why are you backing away from me? I came to see you, and I ran to see you one step at a distance, but you only think about getting away from me. Again, all you can think about is running away from me. If you keep coming out like that, I’m sad.”

As she said that, Bianca darkened and pretended to wipe away tears. And, looking at her like that, I felt my legs tremble for some reason. To put it in a metaphorical way, an unknown feeling of fear, as if something non-human were imitating a human, gripped my heart and squeezed it tightly.

However, I soon realized instinctively. In this situation, if even the momentum is suppressed by her, then there really is no answer and it is Marie.

“…Bianca. What the hell did you come here for? And, is this what you did?”

I asked Bianca, barely suppressing the fear of thousands of ants crawling on my limbs. However, I couldn’t help but notice that the tip of my words trembled slightly.

“I’m sorry, Cain. At most, I came this far, but the only thing I can ask is why did I come? But since it’s your question, I can’t leave it unanswered. why did i come here? Hey, did you come here to see you?”

Kiduk-

A cold smile hung on Bianca’s lips as she answered my question.

“And, I just wanted to talk to you two. I had no desire to speak while leaving other uninvited guests in the audience. Originally, ladies are shy, aren’t they?”

Then, Bianca glanced at the ‘uninvited guest’ standing next to me with her brow furrowed as if she really didn’t like it.

“Well, it was unexpected that it was staring at me with its eyes wide open. You’ve managed to recover the power to call yourself a ‘wizard’.”

Saying that, Bianca takes a step toward me.

“However, that other thing is not very important. The problem is that now you abandon me and go to another woman.”

For a moment, I couldn’t understand what Bianca was saying. Aside from the sudden statement that I was dumping Bianca, the statement that I was going to go to another woman didn’t make sense at all.

“…I, abandoned you? Bianca, what else is that…”

…but that was a mistake. I should have said nothing at this point.

“…no.”

Suddenly, Bianca tousled her hair and started muttering bitterly at me.

“no. Now, I really hate it. so, i hate it I hate being alone forever. You abandoned me, and I hate being left alone like that.”

“Bianca. Please speak to someone…”

“30 years!”

Bianca suddenly cut me off and started muttering something in a low voice.

“30 years, a whopping 30 years. i was alone That I was always alone How long do I have to live like this? How long do I have to be so miserable? I don’t want anything I don’t want anything. You don’t need anything. Is even such happiness, which everyone else has, a luxury to me? Answer me, Cain.”

In her eyes as she said that, a droplet of pupil was clearly formed before she knew it.

“I have never been happy for a single moment since I was born. I wanted to die every day I wanted to be praised by someone, even just once. I wanted to be loved by someone. Was it such a big mistake? Should I just be unhappy all my life? Could that be my destiny?”

“…Bianca.”

“But, it was you who showed me the light. Cain, it was you who taught me the warmth of people, how to live life, and the joy of being with someone.”

“…And, you are leaving again. Just like the time when you reunited with me with a casual expression, completely forgetting the promise you made with me when you were young, you are about to leave me again.”

“…you, can’t you…”

No way Bianca wants me to-

“If you go like this, it will be over. You’ll soon forget everything. Forget about ugly women like me, maybe you’ll meet someone else and fall in love. But not me. No. I’ll be spending time alone again. Again, we’ll have to go through a long, long winter. You know, Cain. That stuff is really, really boring now. It’s something I never get used to.”

Bianca, who said that with her eyes glistening, was rationally insane to the end.

“So, it’s all your fault. It’s your fault for abandoning me and leaving for another woman. It’s your fault for leaving me alone for so long and betrothed to a girl like Sarah Cernard.”

“…I, now, can’t stand it. I’ve been putting up with it all my life. Any more, I don’t have the energy to put up with anything. It was just a story like that.”

Turbuck-

Bianca took a step forward towards me. Then, he raised his hand and carefully stroked my cheek, muttering to me like this.

“So Cain, please. Engage me once again. marry me at the end Come with me. make me happy I just want to be happy for once…”