Chapter 2: The Return of the Witch
“Liri, what are you doing?”
Startled by a voice that suddenly pierced her ears, Liriope flinched and snapped back to awareness.
“Why are you spacing out like that? Are you sick?”
Her violet eyes, previously clouded with confusion, sparkled with light. Her breath, which had stopped unconsciously, filled her lungs once more.
Liriope felt blood flowing back into her paralyzed limbs, slowly closing her dry eyes and then opening them again.
‘What is this? Why am I here…?’
The first thing that caught her attention was the light of a jewel-encrusted chandelier.
On the table before her stood an ornate vase, a metal candelabrum, and an assortment of sweets that children loved.
Liriope’s stunned eyes flickered in disbelief.
How did this happen?
She was certain she had been in the dark forest under heavy rain, but the scene had suddenly shifted to a warm, brightly lit room.
“Come on, Liri! What’s wrong with you? Don’t you hear me? Look at me.”
But the surprise didn’t end there.
Before Liriope could fully grasp reality, she felt a sudden warmth touch her cheek.
She turned her head in shock, driven by a strangely familiar voice and touch.
“…Calliona?”
A stunned voice escaped her parted lips.
In her field of vision appeared the face of a young girl, her expression tinged with worry.
Ebony black hair and deep violet eyes like ripe grapes.
Her sharp features were slightly softened, her thin face still carrying traces of childhood, but the girl’s face was all too familiar to Liriope.
And it was only natural, for the girl was none other than Calliona.
But something was strange.
Calliona… she was definitely dead…
Liriope still vividly remembered the chilling sensation of touching her cold body with her fingertips.
So how could Calliona be here, in this childish form, standing before her eyes?
“Ah… am I dreaming right now?”
“What? A dream?”
Calliona let out a light laugh at Liriope’s dazed muttering, as if she had lost all sense of reality.
“Well, it might feel like a dream with all this amazing food. When was the last time we ate something this delicious? But you get stomachaches easily, so don’t rush. Eat the warm soup slowly so you don’t get sick.”
Calliona playfully pinched Liriope’s nose, then returned to her meal.
A gentle smile spread across young Calliona’s face as she sliced toasted pastries and spread butter on them.
The two sisters weren’t alone in the spacious dining hall.
The atmosphere was lively with children eagerly devouring the delicious food.
Liriope was so absorbed in watching Calliona’s profile that she didn’t notice anything else.
She didn’t know if she was dreaming or if she had arrived in paradise, but seeing her dead sister breathing and alive before her was a miracle in itself.
“Goodness, look at these two girls eating!”
But unfortunately, Liriope’s emotional moment didn’t last long.
“Hah, you’d think they were princesses from somewhere. Just a couple of orphans from the slums, acting all refined!”
Suddenly, an unknown boy sitting across the table sneered loudly and violently threw a piece of pastry he was eating.
By bad luck, the pastry landed in the bowl of soup in front of Liriope, causing a mess.
“Liri! Are you okay? Boy, what do you think you’re doing?”
In an instant, Liriope felt something strangely familiar as Calliona grabbed her hand and scolded the boy across from them.
The boy, who looked about fourteen, roughly the same age as Calliona, had red hair and didn’t flinch as he mocked the sisters.
“So high and mighty! Everyone’s busy filling their stomachs, but one of you is sipping vegetable soup all prim like a noble, and the other’s eating a piece of bread while holding a fork and knife so pretentiously! Hah, looks like you two haven’t had enough yet!”
“And what’s it to you how we eat?”
“How’s it not my business? Your annoying behavior is killing my appetite!”
The boy grabbed a fresh loaf of bread with his bare hands and tore into it messily, deliberately making a show of it.
Calliona seemed irritated by his actions but ignored him, not wanting to continue the argument, and checked on Liriope.
“Liri, give me your hand. Look, it’s red!”
Liriope silently watched as Calliona carefully wiped her hand, splashed with soup, with a napkin.
“It looks like you got a slight burn. Does it hurt? Wait, I’ll cool it with cold water.”
‘My sister… she’s caring for me? My sister… she’s treating me kindly, like before.’
Suddenly, an overwhelming wave of longing swept over Liriope, and her eyes reddened.
“Seriously? You’re crying because a few drops of soup splashed on you?”
“Liri’s skin is sensitive! Look, you caused it to turn red!”
“Hahaha! It doesn’t even look that bad, you’re just exaggerating!”
But the boy seemed to feel a twinge of worry and guilt, as he stole a quick glance at Liriope.
Calliona glared at him sharply.
But… what was this?
This situation, this conversation.
Liriope felt, as she had before, a strange sense of familiarity, as if she had experienced this moment before.
“Boss, ignore these girls and eat fast! The others are gobbling everything up, there’s only a bit of the meat-stuffed bread left!”
Even the voices of the boys sitting next to the red-haired boy, urging him on, stirred a vague memory in Liriope’s mind.
“It’s fine, they say there’s going to be something called a reception ceremony soon. They say it’ll be grand, so eat moderately now.”
“Reception ceremony? Boss, what’s that?”
“Didn’t you hear what the person who brought us here said? I don’t know exactly, but it sounds like some kind of welcome celebration. Maybe they’re excited because someone like me, a future great wizard, has joined the Northern Magic Tower!”
In that moment, as if cold water had been poured over her, Liriope’s face froze.
The reception ceremony.
The Northern Magic Tower.
Words she couldn’t ignore came from the boy’s mouth.
“Hah, a clueless kid like you has the qualifications to enter the Magic Tower? Impossible! They’ll realize their mistake and kick you out soon enough!”
“What? Who said that? I was the boss of our neighborhood! I was the smartest and the most famous!”
“Smartest? Someone playing neighborhood boss at your age sounds childish!”
“A game? Take that back right now!”
As young Calliona and the boy bickered, Liriope quickly raised her head to survey the surroundings.
It didn’t take long before a chill ran down her arms and her neck stiffened.
The room’s decor was eerily familiar. This place was the dining hall in the outer part of the Northern Magic Tower, where Liriope had been expelled.
This was the place designated to welcome new guests to the tower.
Liriope had only seen this place once in her life, the day she entered the tower holding Calliona’s hand, but that memory was still vivid in her mind.
How could she forget? She had recalled this day over and over, regretting it her entire life.
‘No… we have to get out of here immediately.’
There was no time to think further. Liriope stood up quickly and pulled Calliona.
