Chapter 19
Standing on the chessboard, Count Rudin looked around in bewilderment.
“Is this a dream…?”
Even if it was a dream, it was truly bizarre.
Chess pieces floating aimlessly in the air.
A headless teddy bear waddling along.
Broken toy soldiers marching in formation, while dolls with limbs torn off and stuffing spilling out flailed about on a mess of sweet pastries and candies.
Amid the chaotic pandemonium, butterflies of mystical colors fluttered leisurely.
Dazed, he stared at a butterfly before taking a step forward.
Squish—something gave way under his foot.
Looking down, Count Rudin realized he had stepped on an overturned cake.
A mysterious red liquid oozed out from the sticky cake.
“Ugh.”
An inexplicable revulsion surged up, and he clamped his hand over his mouth. Suddenly, the sound of a music box reached his ears.
A music box floated teasingly around his head, with a fairy doll spinning and dancing inside.
The fairy doll, with its broken wings, had a face shaped like a flower, making it grotesquely eerie.
The music box played an upbeat tune filled with dissonant notes that pierced his eardrums painfully.
The more he listened, the more his head throbbed as if it were splitting apart.
The count panted like a dog.
He desperately wanted to wake from the dream.
But the nightmare was only just beginning.
“Hello.”
His eyes widened at the clear, resonant voice.
Flowers began to sprout from the chessboard floor.
Thorny brambles tangled wildly as all sorts of flowers bloomed in full.
And then, emerging from the scattering petals as if blossoming herself—a woman.
Her dazzling golden hair curled and fluttered in the wind, and her red eyes sparkled like rose petals glistening with morning dew.
With her appearance, the air vibrated with floral scents.
The overwhelming fragrance choked his breath.
Count Rudin stared at the woman, entranced.
He had no words in his language to describe her beauty.
Only after his gaze had been completely stolen by her did Count Rudin notice something odd.
She was holding an axe.
An axe with a blade so sharp it was menacing, ill-suited to her pale, delicate hands.
In that moment, Count Rudin realized her identity.
Cold sweat trickled down his spine.
His heart pounded fiercely, as if it might burst.
Stammering, Count Rudin whispered.
“W-witch…?”
Smiling like a flower, the witch Lichesia greeted him.
“Welcome to my illusory realm, Count.”
Then, caressing the axe, she whispered.
“Shall we start by chopping off one finger?”
Perched atop a pile of flowers, Cheshire looked down arrogantly.
She couldn’t help but laugh at Count Rudin’s frantic scrambling across the chessboard.
As her laughter rang out, his desperate run only quickened.
But it was all futile.
This place, created by Cheshire, was the ‘illusory realm.’
A special illusory domain unique to fairies.
Each fairy’s illusory realm manifested differently, often taking the form of natural landscapes like forests, fields, or lakes.
However, Cheshire’s was unique.
Perhaps because she was the daughter of a mad fairy.
With her twisted power, Cheshire’s illusory realm was filled entirely with grotesque things, befitting her reputation as a witch.
Especially abundant were toys and treats that children might love—but all of them were broken.
Still, Cheshire liked her illusory realm.
A domain that moved solely by Cheshire’s will.
Thus, here, she could freely change her appearance as well.
‘It’s been a while since I took on an adult form—feels refreshing, doesn’t it?’
Instead of short, stubby limbs, she stretched out her long arms and legs, feeling utterly satisfied.
Her tongue, no longer short but free, was also quite splendid.
Savoring the feeling of returning to the witch Lichesia, Cheshire wiggled her fingers.
With that, the chess pieces floating in the air crashed down onto the chessboard with booming thuds.
Count Rudin found himself surrounded by chess pieces as large as himself, unable to move an inch.
Trapped by the chess pieces, he was dragged inexorably before Cheshire.
Count Rudin immediately prostrated himself flat on the ground.
“P-please spare me! I have children like rabbits and a wife like a fox!”
As he banged his head on the floor in plea, Cheshire tilted her head.
“I have a brother like a snake and a father too, you know?”
“Pardon?”
Count Rudin, flustered, suddenly realized and asked.
“Then why… have you come for me…?”
It was a natural question.
Lately, the witch had completely vanished from sight.
Her news had cut off entirely, leaving everyone speculating whether she was dead or alive.
And then, out of nowhere, she had suddenly appeared before the utterly unrelated Count Rudin, trapping him in her illusory realm.
It was more than enough to spark his suspicions.
Looking down at the baffled Count Rudin, Cheshire stroked the handle of her axe.
“Count.”
“Yes…?”
“When you happen to crush an ant that’s bitten your finger, what thoughts cross your mind?”
“None at all.”
“Exactly. That’s how it is with me wanting to kill you.”
Cheshire said with a giggle.
“It means there’s no particular reason needed.”
She swung the axe lightly.
The blade thudded into the pile of flowers where she sat.
Then, something like pink paint trickled out.
“Aaaargh!”
Count Rudin screamed as if he himself had been struck by the axe.
Now, tears streamed down his face.
He trembled so violently that it seemed he might soil his pants any moment.
“Please spare me! I beg you, spare me! I’ll do anything. Money or whatever—I’ll give you everything!”
Cheshire pondered for a moment, ignoring the count’s frantic pleas.
Should she kill him quickly, or draw it out slowly? It was a tough choice.
Each option had its own merits and drawbacks, making the decision difficult.
From between the flower petals, thorny brambles wriggled out, announcing their presence.
While all the flowers in the illusory realm were mere illusions, the thorny brambles hidden among them were Cheshire’s cherished pet plants, carefully nurtured.
The brambles tapped gently against the back of Cheshire’s hand.
They seemed bored after so long and eager for something to feed on.
“Hmm… flower food, perhaps?”
She murmured lightly, and Count Rudin rubbed his palms together desperately, wailing for mercy.
He was so noisy that she thought she might need to cut out his tongue first, instead of a finger.
Given his history of speaking harshly to the three Basilian brothers, she particularly wanted to sever his tongue.
It was the moment she raised the axe gleaming high.
Cheshire froze her hand in place.
A wave of power emanated from outside the illusory realm.
It was a force she had encountered once before.
Cheshire immediately leaped down from the flower pile, swinging the axe.
The blade sliced through the air.
The illusory realm shattered like glass, crashing into pieces and scattering away as flower petals.
From amid the petals, Cheshire, returned to her small child form, landed on the floor.
As the illusory realm lifted, the revealed space was Count Rudin’s study.
Still not fully regaining his senses, Count Rudin writhed on the sofa alone, sobbing pleas for mercy.
“Ugh, please, if you spare me… Urgh…”
Cheshire hurriedly slapped a butterfly onto her forehead.
Then, with her short legs, she pattered quickly and hid behind another sofa in the study.
She peeked her head out cautiously.
That was when the lock clattered open.
Followed by the creak of the door swinging wide.
The sound of shoe heels clicking leisurely echoed on the study’s marble floor.
The unhurried footsteps halted in front of Count Rudin, who was thrashing on the sofa.
‘Eek!’
Cheshire let out a silent scream.
She had suspected it from the moment she felt the power’s wave within the illusory realm…
‘It’s Kierne?’
