IBVS 08

Chapter 8

Briana, who had been trembling all over, stammered in an equally shaky voice.

“M-Mother… h-hello. Ah!”

Clutching the hem of her light green dress embroidered with flowers, Briana slightly bent her knees to greet me, but the strength suddenly left her body and she collapsed right onto the spot.

No, seriously, what on earth did Sierra do to this child? She’s so scared she fell over?

Unlike with Belkas, no memories surfaced when I looked at Briana, so I carefully approached and helped her up.

Because of that, the child stared at me with startled eyes.

“…Are you alright?”

“Ah, I-I’m… sorry! I-I’m so poorly taught that I tripped and fell. I-I’ll greet you properly again.”

Poorly taught…?

Was that something a normal child would say?

Feeling an odd sense of unease, I held Briana’s hand as she tried to straighten herself and greet me again.

“It’s alright. You don’t have to greet me so formally. Oh dear, your dress got dirty.”

As I brushed the dust off her cute light green dress, the child began trembling even harder than before.

Anyone watching would think she had an electric motor attached to her.

Sierra, just what did you do?

Just like with Belkas, I had no idea what I should do.

At least Belkas had seemed somewhat curious about me.

But what I felt from Briana was absolute fear.

Terror.

It was so obvious that I couldn’t bring myself to get any closer to her.

“Noona? Whe’dyou go?”

At that moment, Belkas, who had been hiding behind the back of my dress, walked over to Briana.

“Bel… C-come here. We have to go back. If Father finds out, we’ll get scolded.”

Unlike when she spoke to me, Briana whispered softly to Belkas as she grabbed his hand.

But Belkas immediately yanked his hand away and shook his head.

“No! I’m not going! I’m gonna go play with Witch Lady! You go, Noona!”

At the word witch, Briana flinched and looked up at me, so I gave her a gentle smile to reassure her.

But the moment she saw that smile, she stiffened even more in fright.

Ah, right.

Now that I thought about it, Sierra’s smile wasn’t exactly a smile.

I’d have to be careful.

“B-but still, Bel… If Father or Brother Valen finds out…”

“I’m not going! I said I’m not going!!!!!”

Even while fearing me, Briana stubbornly held onto Belkas’s hand and tried to pull him away.

Apparently disliking that, Belkas flailed his arms before finally looking like he was about to throw himself onto the floor.

“Nooooo! I’m going with Witch Ladyyyyy!!!!”

And just as I expected, Belkas sprawled dramatically onto the ground and shouted at the top of his lungs.

Now that I saw it, Belkas was an incredible tantrum thrower.

That booming voice.

Those perfectly defiant gestures.

That absolute refusal to back down.

As expected of the future candidate for Magic Tower Master and the first-ever 9-circle mage, famous for a stubbornness even the future emperor struggled with.

Briana glanced at my face nervously with an awkward expression.

“Bel… really… d-don’t do this.”

Her voice sounded as though she might burst into tears at any moment.

Watching the situation unfold, I gave Jane, who was standing behind me, a signal with my eyes.

At first, Jane tilted her head, not understanding what I meant, but when I subtly gestured toward Belkas and Briana with my chin, she quickly nodded in understanding.

“When I give the signal, put Briana in the carriage. I’ll carry Belkas myself.”

“Yes, Madam!”

After quietly whispering to Jane, I waited for the right moment.

And finally, the instant Belkas’s little arm swung up and down in the air—

“Now, Jane!”

With a hurried rustling sound, Jane’s maid skirt fluttered as she dashed forward.

“Kyaa! Let me go! Mother!!! I’m sorry! I was wrong!”

Briana cried out in panic after suddenly being scooped into Jane’s arms, but there was no helping it right now.

“Alright, Belkas, come here.”

Then I picked up little Belkas.

The child who had been wildly flailing suddenly settled into my arms and smiled brightly.

“Does it not hurt anymore?”

“Yeah. Thanks to you, I’m all better now. Thank you for worrying about me, Belkas.”

“…That’s good.”

As if he had never thrown a tantrum in the first place, the child became gentle and buried his face into my shoulder.

I softly smiled as I stroked his head.

When I climbed into the carriage with Belkas in my arms, Briana looked at me with fearful eyes and asked,

“M-Mother… what are you doing? P-please let me and Belkas go.”

Anyone seeing this would think I was kidnapping them.

Hmm.

Actually, in a way, maybe this was close to kidnapping.

From Briana’s perspective, her stepmother, who had never been close to them, had suddenly shoved them into a carriage.

“F-Father forbade Belkas from going out. If he leaves like this, Belkas might get severely punished.”

For the first time, Briana spoke clearly without stammering.

It seemed she was so worried about Belkas getting scolded by their father that she gathered the courage to speak despite her fear of me.

Looking proudly at Briana, I smiled gently—carefully making sure it looked as soft as possible.

“That’s true. Then Belkas would be disobeying the Duke’s orders. But Briana, do you know something?”

“Right now, I’m ‘kidnapping’ you two. So if the Duke decides to punish someone, then all the blame falls on me. Understand?”

If the Duke concerned her that much…

Then there was no choice.

It was time to make use of my role as the wicked witch.

At the word kidnapping, Briana flinched and stared at me in shock.

It looked like she still had more to say, but after hesitating awkwardly, she lowered her head.

Ugh, is this really the right move?

I worried that I might just be giving her another trauma, but Belkas, sitting beside me, innocently smiled without understanding his sister’s feelings.

“What’s kidnapping? Is it something good?”

At those casually tossed words, I immediately protested and lectured him.

“No, no! Kidnapping is bad! Belkas, if a stranger—or even someone you know—offers to buy you something tasty or asks you to come with them, you must say no! You have to shout loudly, ‘I don’t want to! Help me!’ Understand?”

“Mmm, why?”

“Because then I can come save you, Belkas. Briana, you understand too, right?”

It probably wasn’t my place to say this after boldly declaring I was kidnapping them, but I couldn’t help worrying that something bad might happen to the children someday.

“…Yes.”

“I’d be happy if Witch Lady came to save me!”

Briana quietly nodded while Belkas kicked his feet excitedly.

This was exactly why you had to be careful about your words and actions around children.

Since it took some time to travel from Glade Castle to the shopping district, little Belkas chatted endlessly beside me before eventually falling asleep.

Meanwhile, Briana sat quietly across from me, gazing out the window.

Only then was I finally able to properly look at her face in the sunlight.

A round forehead.

Long eyelashes.

Soft cheeks that still held traces of baby fat.

A delicate yet adorable face.

She had the Glade family’s characteristic silver-gray hair and emerald eyes, just like Belkas, but her overall aura didn’t resemble the Duke at all.

Briana looked far more like Ishiana, the former Duchess whom I had vaguely seen in portraits.

Even in the portrait, Ishiana had been breathtakingly beautiful.

When Briana grew up, she’d probably become just as stunning as her mother.

As I looked at Briana fondly while thinking that, she suddenly turned away from the window.

She must have noticed my gaze.

Embarrassed after getting caught staring, I hurriedly looked away.

This was awkward.

I had thought that since we were both girls, I’d be able to get close to Briana quickly.

But it wasn’t easy approaching a child who trembled and stammered every time she looked at me.

What was it that Briana liked again…?

As I recalled the contents of The Children of the Silver Deer, it wasn’t difficult to find the answer.

What Briana loved was magic tools.

Unlike magic itself, magical engineering required magic tools to be personally designed by magical engineers before they could function, making it even more difficult than wielding magic.

There weren’t many people in the Empire who even walked that path.

Even so, ever since she was young, Briana had been interested in designing and creating magic tools herself, unlike noble girls her age.

Because of that, she had suffered ridicule and bullying from other young ladies during her childhood.

But after overcoming it all, Briana eventually became one of the Empire’s greatest magical engineers.

And when demons invaded the Hellarium Empire once again, her masterpiece—the magic tool Istellia—saved countless imperial citizens by holding back the demons.

To think these fragile little children would one day become heroes who protected the Empire.

The thought moved me deeply.

Yet at the same time, it hurt to know I would never get to witness those future versions of them.

…Because before then, I’ll leave the Ducal House. I’ll only stay until the children become adults.

Swallowing down the bitterness in my heart, I spoke to Jane.

“Jane, tell the coachman to head to the magical engineering district first.”

“The magical engineering district? Madam, since when were you interested in magic tools?”

“It seems they’ve quietly become trendy in high society lately. A m-magic mask machine? One that makes your skin better? I’m interested in that.”

“Really? As expected, Madam, you’re always ahead of the trends even without going out much!”

Jane clapped her hands in amazement at my words, and I responded with a slight smile.

I had no idea whether something like that actually existed in this world.

But who cared?

If it could win Briana’s favor, I was fully prepared to say whatever nonsense it took.