Chapter 8: Chapter 8: A Trust Misguided Brings Destruction (3)

At that time, she was desperate.

And in her desperation, she thought she would find solace with the person she was told she’d spend the rest of her life with.

But that solace was covered in lies and eventually replaced with fear and horror.

When Aurora’s Mother disappeared after killing many officials in retaliation for their betrayal, her Father locked her in the dungeon to show his stand against Witches. Thanks to one of her Knights, she found out the newly crowned Empress intended to kill her while imprisoned and make it seem like suicide. Many others sacrificed their life so she could escape the Palace.

When Aurora ran out of funds to support herself, she started to understand the dire situation she was in. Even more so when she resorted to selling her jewelry and eventually her clothes. And every day that passed, she was one step closer to her 16th birthday. She had no means of surviving the ‘consuming’.

As a Princess who didn’t lack anything and who only knew about the world through the books she read, she took everything for granted. That’s how useless of a person she was.

Covered in rags, with her face and skin darkened with dirt, she saw the one person she ever truly opened up to.

He was touring the fief on inspection in his Father's place. While observing him from a distance, she remembered the last time she spoke to him. Surely, he would believe her. Surely, he wouldn't despise her.

And so, she waited for an opportunity to get close to him without others noticing.

It was when he stepped out for air at night that she called out to him. When he saw her, he was shocked and then excited. With no care for the horrid smell coming off of her, he pulled her into a hug.

“Where have you been? I’ve been so worried!”

“Sir Harrison…” Drops of round tears started falling from her eyes. Why was it when she’s around him, she couldn’t stop herself from crying?

Harrison Ascarot was known for both his kindness and intelligence. He was the top student in school when it came to his studies. Although he didn't have any potential for magic, the instructors highly appreciated his knowledge. He was someone that made one want to rely on him.

“Didn’t I say I’d protect you? Why didn’t you come to find me until now?!”

To be honest, she was afraid. What if he wasn’t on her side? What if he turned her over to her Father due to the loyalty of his family to the Emperor? But when she saw him panicking for her sake and scolding her, her doubts were washed away and she broke down in his arms.

From then on, he declared that she would be in his care and even threatened his servants to keep her existence hidden. For her, he risked the Ascarot’s name to protect her.

When she told him about her upcoming awakening, he reassured her he’d prepare what she needed. "You don't have to worry about it." He said, patting her head.

"That's...you will get in trouble with your Father if he finds out you spent so much."

The consuming is when the Witch’s mana runs wild when turning 16 years old and tries to consume their host’s life. A Witch’s mana core can store an unlimited amount of mana, causing their body unable to handle it. After a human first awakens their mana core at age 8, they naturally gather mana until reaching their limit. And each time they use magic, the mana will deplete and refill again.

A Witch’s core, however, does not run out of space and constantly absorbs mana throughout the years as they age. Absorbing mana for eight years is the borderline of what the body can handle. That’s why when a Witch is close to their 16th birthday, they’ll become very weak and ill.

A magical artifact can absorb excess mana and make it easier. These artifacts come in all shapes and sizes. It can be a weapon, a painting, or a piece of jewelry. It’s said that the stronger the Witch’s special ability will be, the more artifacts are necessary. Even so, at least three is needed even for the weakest abilities. The highest record was eleven, which actually came from her Mother.

"As you know, magical artifacts are very expensive and can only be created by special blacksmiths called artisans." She mumbled with her head hanging down. "It costs hundreds of gold for a single one. How will you explain spending so much to Duke Ascarot?"

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If a Witch does not come from a wealthy and powerful family, they can only make a contract with nobles. The contract usually states that in return for providing the artifacts, the Witch must obey the noble and not allow any harm to come to them. Hal promised he’d never force her to use her powers for him and instead will help her control it.

Hal put his fingers on his chin as he thought about it. After a while, he answered her. "My Father isn't strict about how I spend the money I'm given as long as I'm not too excessive. I am currently supervising a few projects that will create new trade routes. I'll slowly take a low amount from there so it isn't noticed."

When she wanted to object to his idea, he gently tucked her hair behind her ears and smiled. "As I said before, you don't have to worry about it."

After that, Aurora spent her days in leisure. Hal didn’t want to draw his Father’s suspicion and pretended that nothing changed. Although rare, he spent some time with her when he was free.

Three months later...

Hal came to the mansion as promised a day before her birthday. When he came, she could barely keep her eyes open. She had already spent two days in bed with a high fever. She was mostly delirious, calling out her Mother's name and saying things that didn't make sense.

When midnight struck, Aurora immediately felt her mana expand incredulously, just as she thought she'd explode something warm enveloped her. The magical artifact did its job and absorbed her mana as much as it could. When she finally calmed down, it broke.

This happened over and over again in the next few hours.

At times she'd lose control of her mana, harming those close by before the artifact started to work. She tried to warn them not to come close before it happened. At one point, Aurora heard the piercing scream of a maid. She never saw that maid again after that.

Usually when a Witch goes through their 2nd awakening a barrier from the wind element was cast around them to prevent others from coming to harm. But now that only Witches can use mana, they had no way of casting a barrier spell.

The room was half destroyed. The mirror and window were broken. Scratches that were very similar to the claw marks of an animal were left on the walls.

She spent the next two days in and out of consciousness and heard faint voices of two people talking next to her bed. One was Hal…while the other was unfamiliar to her. She still had a high fever and couldn’t clearly hear everything.

“She’ll wake up by tomorrow morning. She’s gone through seven magical artifacts already!” The unfamiliar male voice said.

“Seven? Amazing….” That voice was Hal, who sounded excited. “Her ability….strong…..she is… -ful….”

She finally woke up on the fifth day.

When she opened her eyes, she realized that she was alone. Everything that was broken or torn had long been replaced and repaired. Before she could sit up, the door opened and Hal strode inside with a worried expression. He went down on one knee and took her hand in his.

In the next moment, Hal disappeared from in front of her as if he was never there in the first place.

Stunned by this strange phenomenon, Aurora immediately sat up in bed. She looked around the room and didn't see a single person.

The door opened once again, and just as before Hal came inside with the same concerned expression. He kneeled in front of her bed and gently took her hand in his.

What?

What just happened?

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