ECMP 03

Chapter 03

Esteban

Warm bath water… it had been almost 15 years since she last felt it. She was locked up at age 10 and died at 25.

“…Thinking about it again, it was a really miserable life.”

The warmth that spread through her body felt nice.

In the past, if she didn’t wake up early, Diana would pour water on her, soaking her completely.

Then she had no choice but to sleep in a wet bed that night.

Even a mage couldn’t escape illness like a cold.

“…Father forbade me from using magic.”

It wasn’t just a restriction.

If she wasn’t going out to use magic, iron shackles made of dark steel were always fastened around Anastasia’s thin ankles.

They were originally restraints to limit magic. But now that witches and mages had mostly disappeared… they were just metal used for bridles and chains for flying beasts used by knights.

Every time the cold metal touched her ankle, it felt like her stomach twisted.

It must have been because it blocked the natural flow of magic that witches have.

“…What is this, exactly?”

In her small hand, Anastasia still held a long strand of his black hair. For some reason, she felt like she shouldn’t throw it away.

That wasn’t the only thing.

Anastasia quietly touched her chest.

She could clearly feel a scar under her fingers. Of course, in her previous life, as the only witch of the Etranger family and as a tool, she had been used for tasks like capturing flying beasts…

But all those scars and wounds were gone.

And this thin, vertical scar was definitely from the final battle when she was pierced through.

There was no doubt.

Every time she touched it, just like when she first held that long black hair, her head ached.

“…I definitely… died.”

She felt like this might be a mystery she had to solve in this life.

Or maybe… there was a reason she had been brought back.

Something she had to do.

A mission.

Anastasia decided to find it. She also felt lost about what to do next.

Just… simply taking revenge on everyone who hurt her would make life meaningless.

“Good. I’ll accept it.”

She placed the long black hair inside the locket hanging from her necklace.

A necklace from her mother.

Her only keepsake.

In fact, Anastasia didn’t even know her mother’s name.

“I’ll reclaim everything I lost.”

Her status.

Records about her mother.

Her freedom.

And… even the cursed knight from Aquila Castle who had taken her lightning for her at the end.

That was enough for the bath.

* * *

Anastasia finished dressing herself and came out. The maids and servants were amazed as they looked at her, perfectly neat and elegant.

The name “golden osmanthus” was not an exaggeration.

“…This can’t be real…”

Even Diana stood there with her mouth open, staring at Anastasia.

Her outfit wasn’t a fancy dress, but something rough, like riding clothes.

Even so, Anastasia’s natural beauty didn’t fade at all.

“…Lady. May I ask you something?”

Anastasia waved her hand slightly, as if annoyed.

“Is the carriage ready?”

“Yes, of course! It’s ready!”

Outside the window, a luxurious black carriage with silver decorations was waiting.

It was a custom-made carriage owned only by the Etranger ducal house. A masterpiece by Esteban Hohongel, the greatest painter, architect, and designer in the kingdom.

Only the finest black horses were allowed the honor of pulling this black carriage.

“Good job.”

Diana felt a strange sense of joy.

Anastasia already had the grace and composure of a noble, and she instinctively knew that this praise was valuable.

“What about the driver?”

Honestly, she didn’t expect to find a driver.

If someone took her to the capital and got caught, they would likely be fired immediately.

“There is someone who volunteered.”

“…Volunteered?”

For my carriage?

Anastasia’s eyes widened, and soon an old man slowly approached from the other side of the hallway.

“Lady.”

“…You?”

“Don’t you remember me? I’m hurt, Lady.”

The old man slowly lifted the brim of his hat. Only then did Anastasia recognize his face.

When she was young.

Before being locked in the tower.

Whenever she hid and cried in the garden because of Je니스 and Aslan’s bullying, he would always come to her.

— “Lady, why are you crying?”

— “No one… no one likes me…”

— “Don’t say that. I may be old… but I can keep you company.”

— “Really…?”

“…Enoch? Is that really you?”

Even though he was in his fifties, Enoch had once been a friend who helped ease her loneliness.

“Yes, it’s me. Thanks to Diana’s loud screaming, I woke up immediately in the stables.”

Because of that, he had been demoted from head butler to stable hand after being targeted by Je니스 and her mother.

“You’ll get fired like this.”

That’s why Anastasia didn’t want to burden Enoch further.

“Hmm… Lady.”

“What?”

“Even if I do get fired, so what? My son is a farmer in the neighboring territory. I can go see my grandchildren and live peacefully. And didn’t you say you were going to get clothes tailored?”

“…That’s true. How did you know?”

Enoch glanced at Diana. Diana’s face turned pale instantly.

“So it was you.”

“I… everyone kept asking why… they said they wouldn’t drive if I didn’t tell them… I told them… but they still didn’t…”

That was understandable.

Until yesterday, she had been treated worse than the horses pulling a black carriage.

“So, Enoch, you understand as well.”

“Of course. I know how beautiful Lady Anastasia will look once she dresses up properly in the capital.”

“…Stop talking nonsense. So, will you really do it?”

“It is always an honor.”

That was enough asking.

Anastasia quietly sighed and extended her hand. Enoch knelt on one knee and kissed the back of her hand, then bowed.

“You may rise. Get ready. I’ll follow soon.”

“Thank you.”

Only then did Enoch stand up. His fully gray hair showed the passage of time.

He must have had a hard life.

“By the way, Lady, you’ve grown so much. It moves me.”

“Don’t lie.”

Enoch chuckled, bowed properly, and walked toward the carriage.

“…You’re not going to scold Enoch?”

Diana asked from the side, clueless.

“Do you think Enoch is like you, Diana?”

* * *

Inside the swaying carriage, Anastasia thought about how long it had been since she last rode in a seat that wasn’t for cargo.

“…I can’t even remember.”

She had almost never ridden in a proper carriage.

She was always treated like cargo in the back.

Even when she received a knighthood from the king, she was transported in a cargo carriage.

“…It must have been because of the war with the Sared Kingdom.”

She still remembered the terrible smell and sight of the battlefield.

Nobles often forgot how cruel war was, and the war with the Sared Kingdom that would happen three years later was also due to that.

“…What are you talking about, Lady?”

Diana blinked and looked at her.

“What?”

“A war with the Sared Kingdom?”

Ah.

Did she say that out loud?

Realizing her mistake, Anastasia closed her mouth and glared at Diana.

“…Lady?”

“It’s nothing. I just thought it might happen.”

Diana looked confused but didn’t press further.

It was a 120-day war between the Sared Kingdom and their kingdom over the Honson territory. It caused heavy loss of life on both sides.

The reason was simple.

“…It had been almost 50 years since the last war.”

Everyone had grown too comfortable in peace.

No one remembered the horrors of war, and young men admired the glory of war heroes.

So they willingly went to war and died.

Anastasia had been sent to support the front line at that time.

With one powerful lightning strike, the enemy lines collapsed, and her name as the “Golden Osmanthus Grand Witch” spread.

But then her father traded her to the enemy kingdom to save her captured brother Aslan.

A prisoner exchange.

It wasn’t about preserving the only mage family’s honor. He simply gave her away because she could escape anyway.

Her chest burned with anger.

“…Lady?”

“…What now, Diana?”

Before Anastasia could dismiss her coldly, Diana handed her a handkerchief.

“Why are you crying…?”

Diana quickly turned away when Anastasia looked at her sharply.

“…You don’t need to know.”

“Yes, ma’am…”

* * *

The kingdom’s top designer and craftsman, Esteban Hohongel, had a brand named after himself.

Located in the capital city of Ainol, the most prestigious, crowded, and refined shop in the kingdom, it could only be entered by those of high status and dignity.

Diana was worried.

Going to Esteban Hohongel’s shop in riding clothes…

It was unbelievable. Maybe Lady Anastasia didn’t know the strict rules.

As expected.

Before the luxurious store, Anastasia Etranger had to stop.

“…You’re saying I can’t enter?”

Anastasia spoke calmly to the clerk.

“Sorry, but you cannot enter Esteban Hohongel’s shop in riding clothes. Please follow the dress code.”

“Even if I’m the second daughter of the Etranger family?”

The clerk’s face slightly paled.

The Golden Osmanthus Grand Witch.

People feared and respected magic. It was natural.

“…I apologize.”

Then an old man suddenly knelt before Anastasia, showing knightly respect.

“…Who are you?”

The old man looked up at her with bright, clear eyes.

In his life… he had never seen such beauty.

“Please allow me to show respect, Lady.”

With formal and elegant manners, the old knight took Anastasia’s hand and kissed the back of it.

“May I ask your name, noble lady?”

“I am Anastasia Etranger, the second daughter of Etranger. And you?”

“I am Esteban Hohongel, the owner of this place. Now open the door!”