I Picked Up a Witch With Amnesia

6. Bullshit – 01

“…Bianca del Castana.”

In the depths of the imperial palace, especially in her own room in the deepest place, Iris El Devhart leaned back on a chair and stared at the ceiling, deep in thought.

Currently, the ‘Bianca del Castana’ that Iris is thinking of is not the Bianca of the present time. Before time went backwards, he was thinking about Bianca who shared the joys and sorrows with her on the expedition. Rather than the title of the daughter of the Marquis of Castana, she was a woman who was revered as one of the five greatest wizards in the empire and an unparalleled genius. She has an eccentric personality like a wizard, but at the same time, a weak woman who couldn’t reveal herself well to others. …And, the only woman in the expedition who treated him without hesitation.

The woman Iris knew, Bianca del Castana, was a very contradictory being. On the outside, the woman was very confident in everything and showed a consistent and confident attitude towards others, but in reality, she was just a pitiful woman who was weak in nature.

It seemed like she always pretended to be strong and acted like she didn’t care about other people’s eyes, but in Iris’ eyes, Bianca’s behavior was nothing more than an obsession. I thought it was similar to a hedgehog that erects thorns toward others to hide its weakness. In a sense, Bianca del Castana was a very pitiful woman.

The fact that you cannot be honest with yourself, so you have no choice but to repeat sharp words and actions toward others, the fact that you seek affection from others for a subject that you do not even care about yourself, and the fact that you seek affection from others, contact with others The point of being like a child who feels fear, everything.

But I could understand. In the world, he was busy spouting admiration for Bianca del Castana, looking only at the splendid side of the unseen genius, but he was well aware of the fact that such a figure was not all that constituted a woman called Bianca. Iris, who holds a position of one-man but one-man in the Empire, knew a few more secrets that normal people would never know.

…For instance, how ‘how’ a woman named Bianca del Castana came to be. How the Marquess of Castana used a woman named Bianca del Castana. How a woman named Bianca del Castana was treated by the Marquis of Castana.

It was a sentiment that shouldn’t be felt, but Iris had sympathy for a moment as she looked at Bianca’s past life. No, in a sense, it was right that she was a woman worthy of sympathy. It really couldn’t have been a poor girl. She was a woman who lived a life of being shunned, shunned, and ostracized from everything that constitutes her. She was a pitiful woman who had never received affection from her family even for a moment. That was the past of the woman Iris knew, Bianca del Castana.

“…..”

And one day, Bianca del Castana came face to face. An ordinary boy named Cain von Estel. Even Iris doesn’t know what happened in that insignificant, trivial meeting. However, he seemed to know only one fact. At least for Bianca del Castana, meeting Cain von Estel would not have been trivial.

To be honest, for Iris, Bianca’s attitude towards him was quite disrespectful. Although she always kept a certain distance from others and was polite, the fact that she was open to dealing with only that person sometimes got on Iris’ nerves. The way she made all sorts of quibbles at him was seen by Iris as nothing but a scene of being spoiled and dependent on him.

…But because of that, Iris was able to put her mind at ease. Because she was not honest with herself, she was a woman who did not realize what she wanted. She was an immature woman who was swayed by her emotions and did not know what to do. In a competition with such a childlike woman, he thought that there was no way he could lose. Yes, even until yesterday.

“…umm.”

However, I felt that I had to revise my thoughts. A woman named Bianca del Castana was a match that should never be taken lightly. While looking at the data secretly taken out from the Black Tower, the birthplace of black magic, Iris came up with such a thought.

“…Human memories, so…”

Bianca del Castana hadn’t even thought of hiding her tracks. That’s why Iris could easily know what purpose Bianca had been visiting the Black Tower. The main theme Bianca is currently researching is ‘memory’. Bianca’s blow felt all the more devastating because she hadn’t thought that she would show off her magic legs more freely than the saintess, Ariel Thiers.

“…what the heck is it?”

What is Bianca del Castana’s goal? Why is she doing research related to memory? I do not know. The reason I don’t know is because there are so many things to figure out that I couldn’t easily figure out her intentions.

The simplest inference is that Bianca del Castana is trying to bring back ‘memories’ from before time was rewinded backwards. But, is that realistically possible? Iris didn’t know much about magic, but she knew that no wizard in the world could perform the miracle of rewinding the world’s time. Even if the legendary dragons, who are now gone, come back to life, it would be impossible to do such a thing.

So I could say for sure. Such an act was no different from an impossible task for a mere human being.

However, no matter how much I thought about it, the answer did not come easily. It seemed that the frustration was doubled because it was impossible to share the problems related to ‘regression’ with others. It was when Iris was wrapped in agony as she grabbed her hair.

smart-

“Who is it?”

In response to the princess’ question, a voice very familiar to her came from outside the door.

“Lowering. Sosin, this is Chris. I judged that there was news that I needed to tell you urgently, so I came to visit you at this late hour.”

“…come in.”

After Iris gave her permission, the door opened and a lightly armed knight entered her room. It was her guardian knight, Chris.

Iris looked at Chris with a slightly questioning look. It was because there was no way Chris would come to his bed at this late hour unless it was extremely urgent.

“What brought you here at this hour, Chris?”

“…That’s it, I…”

In response to Iris’ question, Chris showed a hesitant attitude. A completely different attitude than usual. Iris felt an ominous feeling pass through her body.

“…This is news related to Cain von Estel, no, Cain.”

“…with Cain?”

“…Yes.”

Chris’ answer made Iris feel the anxiety she had just felt amplified tenfold. No, what on earth had happened that Chris was hesitating, unable to speak easily?

“Between these two, Cain-nim and Bianca del Castana of the Marquis of Castana…”

Today, Chris’s words only felt terribly slow. Iris urged Chris toward her unconsciously.

“…between, what did you say happened?”

Unable to overcome Iris’ urging, Chris eventually had no choice but to spit out the back story that he hadn’t been able to finish.

“It is said that an engagement ceremony will be held. That too in a week.”

Woojjigeun-!

And at that moment, the chair Iris was sitting on was completely smashed. However, Iris didn’t even pay attention to such a trivial thing, and started to let out a voice that was unstoppable as she took a step towards Chris.

“…Chris, recount the incident in more detail. Without missing a thing, every single thing, right now.”

****

“…Princess So, there is something I want to ask you.”

“What? Whatever I can answer, I’ll give you an answer.”

In response to my answer, old Carol looked at Aria who was lost in meditation over there and asked me a question insinuatingly.

“Aria, what do you think of that child?”

“What do you think?”

“Yes.”

What kind of stupid question is this again? However, old man Karl’s face, who was asking such a question, was frighteningly serious, so I gave him an answer without hesitation.

“She’s a cute girl like the mascot of the Estel Duchy. As a bonus, he has a genius talent for magic. To the point where the old man begged me and asked if he could make me his disciple.”

When I smiled and gave a joking answer, old Carol shook her head from side to side as if denying my words.

“…I don’t think so. Arya does not have a genius for magic.”

“What do you mean? That day, you talked excitedly through the mouth of an old man. They said that Arya must be a genius that only appears once in a hundred years.”

“…yes, it definitely was. At the time, I thought that Aria was a great genius who would leave a mark in the history of magic. After inheriting all my research results, I thought I was the only talented person who could identify the truth beyond that. It’s cheeky.”

After saying that, old man Carol eventually showed a bitter smile on his lips.

“But it wasn’t. I was wrong. That child, Aria, was not a simple existence that could be simply identified with the word ‘genius’. That means that someone like me could neither measure nor cut.”

“…..”

“Your Majesty, do you know that? Those who are commonly called geniuses are those who can learn ten things from it if they teach one thing. However, even such geniuses need to learn something from someone in order to learn something. This is because tracing the process of being from nothing is impossible for a human who lives at least a hundred years.”

“…but not an aria. He already knows a hundred, even though I only taught him one. Enlighten the thousand and apply ten thousand. Only then did I realize. Before returning to the island, Aria had no interest in magic and was just listening to me casually. Nevertheless, to my gnarled eyes, that child looked like a genius.”

After saying that, old man Carol trembled as if he couldn’t stand the chill.

“I am truly afraid. How far will that child go, and where will he reach the end? This old man, even now, can’t stand the fear.”

…For some reason, I felt like I knew what old Carol was worried about. What Carol is worried about is that Arya is worried about becoming like a witch 10 years from now. Although her realm is only third-rate, if she accurately guessed the future that Arya might reach, should she be called a wizard even if she is rotten?

“…therefore?”

“yes?”

“So, does the old man regret taking Arya as his disciple? Rather, do you want to lament that you do not want to be accepted as a disciple?”

Old Carol gently closed her eyes at my question.

“…no. I do not regret, not even for a second, that I made that child my disciple. However, there is only one thing I want to ask the Duke.”

“Request?”

“Yes.”

Saying that, old man Carol looked at the meditating Arya with warm eyes, and then turned his gaze to me.

“If that child goes astray, at that time, I hope that the Duke will stop him. I don’t know why, but I strongly believe that the only person who can fulfill that role is the Duke.”

…Certainly, it was as the old man said. Perhaps 10 years from now, Arya may once again transform into a witch who brings winter to the world. And, it was I who made the decision to save Arya, which could become a huge disaster. So, it was only natural that I should take all the responsibility.

“…don’t let that happen. Arya, I will take responsibility until the end.”

How did you understand what I was saying? At my answer, old Carol smiled quietly.

“…It’s reassuring. Thank you, Little Duke.”