Chapter 23 : Black Forest (4)

“You’re a good witch to me.”

At Haru’s words, Beatrice felt as if her heart had stopped. The black vines wrapped around his ankles, but Haru’s gaze remained unshaken.

“What… what did you say?”

“I said you’re a good witch. You make me rose tea every morning…”

“But… but that was poisonous tea!”

“Still, it was delicious.”

Haru smiled. Beatrice’s face turned red.

“Even if you can’t cook, you make things with effort…”

“Sh… Shut up! That was just an experiment!”

The black vines tightened around Haru’s waist. But his voice remained gentle.

“You stayed up all night researching to help me…”

Beatrice’s pupils trembled. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Th… That was just because I wanted to get rid of you quickly…”

“You’d sparkle with joy when you saw a frog…”

“That’s a lie! I never did that!”

But Beatrice’s voice cracked at Haru’s words.

“You’re good with your hands. When I went into your room, I found a bunch of my dolls?”

“Stop… stop it…”

Beatrice’s shoulders trembled. Her emotions were running wild, and the black forest shook.

“That…”

“And even though you poisoned me dozens of times, you never really wanted to kill me, did you?”

Beatrice’s eyes widened.

“How… how did you know…?”

“I’ve been watching you all this time.”

Haru took a step forward. The vines wrapped around his ankles, but he didn’t care.

“And you purposely let the adventurers go free in front of me.”

“Stop…”

“Just like now. You used your last bit of magic to save me.”

“Stop it!”

Tears fell from Beatrice’s eyes.

“Please… please don’t do this…”

But Haru didn’t stop. The vines wrapped around his body, but he took another step forward.

“Why… why are you doing this?”

“If you get help, you have to repay it. Whether I’m a bad witch or whatever. That doesn’t matter.”

Beatrice’s tears wouldn’t stop.

“Do… do you want to die with me…?”

“I’m not going to die. And if I really feel like I’m going to die, I’ll run away then.”

“Idiot. You fool…”

The black vines completely enveloped them. But Haru held her hand tightly.

Beatrice grasped his hand with all her remaining strength.

For the first time, she felt the warmth of someone else and cherished it.

It was then.

“Wait, I got a good idea.”

Haru smiled brightly. In a world filled with blackness, the red glow of the chaos crystal shone.

“Wait… No way…”

Beatrice’s eyes widened. Haru’s magic flowed into the crystal.

“No! That’s…”

But it was already too late. The sky trembled with the magic pouring into the crystal.

Boom!

The ground shook. The translucent crystal glowed with red veins, burning like fire. The surrounding trees swayed.

“Are you crazy?!”

Beatrice screamed. But Haru still wore a smile on his face.

“Stop! This reckless…”

The chaos crystal turned red again. Unstable magic burst out in all directions.

Boom!

The black forest shook. At first, it tried to absorb the erupting magic, but soon realized something was wrong. The chaos crystal blazed like a small sun. The forest recoiled from the overwhelming energy.

“Dawn!”

Haru drew the holy sword. The light of dawn illuminated the clearing brightly.

He cut through the vines that bound him one by one and released Beatrice.

Without hesitation, Haru thrust the holy sword into the writhing black earth.

“Beatrice. Now it’s your turn.”

She immediately understood. The perfect balance created by the rampaging magic and the calming effect of the holy sword.

“Now I understand… Now I know.”

The true nature of the black forest that had bound her until now.

Her magic surged through the ground and erupted.

“Forest, I nullify all past contracts.”

Her magic flowed across the earth. Spell formations, tangled like black threads, embroidered the ground.

Beatrice’s fingertips sliced through the air. The old magic circles that made up the forest crumbled away.

New patterns of a contract bloomed under the moonlight. This time, they were not chains, but symbols of resonance.

‘Now I understand. The forest was never my enemy.’

Her magic exploded outward. The knowledge she had accumulated turned into spells, enveloping the forest.

The trees trembled. This time, it wasn’t hunger, but euphoria.

“There will be no more bondage or submission.”

The symbols of black thread burrowed deep into the heart of the forest. They fused into one will, one existence.

‘We were… one all along.’

Beatrice realized.

“Now, welcome your true master.”

Her magic filled every corner of the forest. This time, there was no more struggle or resistance.

Only perfect harmony remained.

Under the moonlight, the new contract was completed. No longer the Witch of the Black Forest, but the true master, united with the forest.

“Hm… Now, should we call it the Witch’s Black Forest instead?”

Haru said playfully.

“…Joking, even in a moment like this.”

Beatrice sighed, but a smile spread across her lips.

‘This fool… I don’t even dislike this side of him anymore.’

A warmth filled her chest. She could no longer deny the identity of this feeling.

Beatrice bit her lip under the moonlight for a long time. The words she could never say, the memories she had buried deep inside for so long, surged up to her throat.

“…Will you listen?”

Haru nodded silently without saying a word.

“We just… wanted to study magic.”

Beatrice’s expression became serious.

“We weren’t witches from the beginning. We were just ordinary girls who loved reading books. We lived with our mother and sisters, exploring the mysteries of magic.”

Her hand clenched the hem of her black dress tightly.

“But people feared us. They hated what they didn’t understand… and when they fear something, they attack.”

Her red eyes glistened with tears.

“At first, it was just whispers. Then it became stones being thrown… and in the end, the burning stake.”

Her voice trembled.

“My mother… burned to death in front of my eyes. My sisters were beheaded in the square… my friends…”

Beatrice took a deep breath. Even after five hundred years, the memories of that day were vivid.

“So I created this Black Forest. So that no one could ever harm me again. And…”

She bit her lip.

“…for revenge.”

Silence fell. Haru quietly listened to her story.

“I don’t regret it. I’ll continue to protect this forest. For that, I can… I can devour any human or anything.”

Haru nodded.

“Alright. Do as you like. But don’t eat me.”

“What… what are you saying! At a time like this…!”

Beatrice was flustered, but she was silenced by his mischievous smile.

“Or should I confess? ‘In the name of the hero, I forgive all your sins…’”

“Ugh…! Who needs your forgiveness? And it’s all your fault the forest went out of control!”

“What do you mean?”

Her voice became quieter.

“Well… I… you… ugh… I started liking you…”

The last words were almost inaudible.

“Oh, speaking of that.”

Haru suddenly changed the subject.

“We need to stabilize the chaos crystal again… want to help?”

“…What?”

“I’ll teach you how to cook in exchange. Not how to brew poison, but real cooking.”

Beatrice’s eyes widened.

“Right now… right now, in this situation, you’re saying that…”

Laughter erupted.

“Really… you’re an incorrigible human.”

Her laughter echoed softly under the moonlight, as if all time was melting away.

“Yeah… alright.”

Beatrice smiled gently.

“I’ll do it the way you want… just this once.”

“Finally, it’s complete.”

Beatrice looked at the transparent, glowing chaos crystal. A week of work had come to an end. There were no more excuses to make.

“I should go now.”

Haru said, gathering the crystal. Beatrice remained silent, her black dress hem clutched tightly in her hands, then released.

“Alright. Go ahead.”

She struggled to keep her voice steady. A witch shouldn’t long for anyone.

Haru’s footsteps grew fainter. Beatrice watched his back, silently, unmoving.

The Black Forest rustled. It seemed to whisper, ‘Catch him.’ But Beatrice shook her head.

‘Not yet… Not yet.’

Returning to the cabin, Beatrice looked at the room Haru had used.

“Hehe… It’s finally quiet.”

Her laughter trembled.

“Finally, the troublesome guest is gone.”

Her words trailed off.

“Now, no more soup in the mornings, no more firewood… no more bothersome person…”

Tears fell. Beatrice quickly wiped them away.

“This… This isn’t very witch-like.”

But the tears wouldn’t stop. She was overwhelmed by the feeling of missing someone.

Beatrice gazed out the window. The Black Forest stretched endlessly under the moonlight.

She looked back at the room Haru had left. The chair he sat in, the table where he read books, the teacup he used for his black tea. Everything held traces of him.

‘This feeling… it’s new.’

Her chest warmed. A pure affection, never felt in five hundred years, filled her heart.

“Now I understand…”

The dark walls that had confined her fell away.

The truth she realized by becoming one with the forest. In the end, there was only one thing she had truly wanted.

‘To be loved.’

Moonlight seeped through the window.

‘I will never… be alone again.’

Black magic rose from the tips of her fingers. The forest grew even thicker.

“The Black Forest will soon be me… and I will soon be the Black Forest. We are already one, aren’t we?”

There was no hesitation, no fear.

“If the whole world becomes the Black Forest…”

Her laughter echoed under the moonlight.

“Haru will be with me forever. No matter where he is, no matter what he does… as long as he is within the Black Forest, we will always be together.”

Beatrice looked out the window. The endless darkness welcomed her.

Madness flickered in her eyes. But within it, there was also deep affection.

“Hehe… just wait a little longer. I’ll build us a bigger home soon.”

The earth trembled. The Black Forest began to expand. Endlessly, without stopping.

“I love you… I really love you.”

Black vines dug into the earth. The trees trembled. This time, it wasn’t fear, nor was it terror, but anticipation.

“Let’s be together forever.”

The witch’s laughter rang out.