Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who's the Witch of Fate’s Great Call - Chapter 20
The only reason Vylon granted the witch queen so many maids was surely to keep her under surveillance.
“Just wait and see. Once he completely trusts me, I’ll betray that foolish belief of his.”
Kalynia chuckled to herself, imagining the shock Vylon would feel then. Even as she laughed, she felt proud of herself, thinking her behavior truly befitting of a witch.
After quickly finishing the contraception potion, she then began brewing other types of potions—starting with a digestive aid and even a cold remedy. These were medicines people would like and need.
Though Kalynia wasn’t very skilled in magic or curses, she had confidence in her potions. Effective medicine meant money, and she was practically the one earning most of the living expenses for her seven sisters.
Kalynia rang the bell to summon Harriette again.
“I was a bit bored, so I made some potions. Do you think there might be people in the castle who’d want them?”
“People who would want potions, Your Majesty?”
“Anyone is fine. Distribute these as potions from the queen to everyone!”
No one would find potions this good anywhere else. Kalynia’s voice rose with excitement.
* * *
Allowing Kalynia to use the queen’s chambers left Vylon with mixed emotions. The queen’s chambers—once used by his late mother—stirred complex feelings within him.
He had wished no one would ever touch that room. But lately, he had found himself indifferent to such things.
‘It’s an empty room anyway, and since she is the queen, it’s not an unreasonable request for her to want the queen’s chambers.’
Having concluded as much, Vylon reflected that the word ‘queen’ left a peculiar taste in his mouth.
Queen. Queen Kalynia. The witch queen.
Although he was the one who proposed marriage to her, it was indeed a strange combination.
Grimdelwald, defeated by Snow White and sentenced to execution, had cast a terrible curse before her death. It was a curse so powerful and cruel that it was impossible to escape.
“O fair and radiant Snow White, any human who shares thy blood shall be forever spurned by the one whom their heart doth cherish!”
True to her title as the great witch, Grimdelwald had mercilessly targeted the child in Snow White’s womb rather than Snow White herself, who had protested that she should curse her instead.
“Hahaha! May thee live eternally in remorse, beholding thy child’s sorrow, and knowing all is wrought by thine own hand!”
Grimdelwald cackled and never retracted her curse—not even as she disappeared in execution.
Thus was born Snow White’s son, Vylon’s father the late king, who was utterly despised by every woman.
“I apologize sorry, Your Majesty. I don’t think I can bring myself to love you!”
The moment the late king showed interest in a woman, they would flee immediately. It was said that just seeing his face was enough to make them feel a nauseating urge to escape.
This curse even extended to his mother, Snow White.
“I’m sorry, my son. Because of me…”
She felt deeply guilty, believing the curse was her fault. She had tried hard to overcome it but was unable to even meet her son’s gaze properly until her death.
Either break the curse, or abandon love.
The late king, standing at the cusp of marriageable age, finally met his destined princess.
“But I love Your Majesty just fine.”
“You… you love me? Is that really true?”
“Doesn’t this mean that my love has broken the curse? Or… are you saying that Your Majesty doesn’t see me as a woman at all?”
The princess, a lively woman, sometimes teased the embarrassed king and sometimes comforted him as their love grew. Her becoming the queen was the natural course, and soon, the fruit of their love was born.
That fruit was none other than Vylon. Yet, the strength of that woman’s love, which had managed to overcome even the great witch’s curse, reached its limit here.
“I’m so sorry, Your Majesty. I can’t endure the nausea, just… please, take your face away for a moment… ugh…!”
At first, they thought it was just morning sickness and wondered if she was pregnant again.
But it wasn’t pregnancy, and even after the royal physicians performed precise examinations, they couldn’t identify the cause of her symptoms.
In desperation, the late king turned to the mirror and asked why the queen was so ill. The intelligent mirror, which only spoke the truth, replied—
“Her Majesty now bears a curse twice over.”
“A curse twice over! Grimdelwald is dead. How can the curse grow stronger?”
The late king protested.
“Grimdelwald’s curse targets any human who shares the blood of Snow White. Prince Vylon has inherited the same curse as you, Your Majesty, so the curse’s power has doubled.”
It was then the late king realized he hadn’t completely escaped the curse. Unlike him, however, his wife refused to give up.
“I can love you both. I was once a princess, so… agh, a princess could…”
Though her face had turned pale, and she was struggling to hold back the nausea, she declared as much. The late king, deeply worried for her, suggested that she live apart from the prince to weaken the curse slightly.
