The Red Witch - Chapter 14
And so Kiara and Ael’s night dragged on and on. It was still dark when Kiara woke up, exhausted and groggy with sleep.
“Has the sun not risen, or is it just overcast?’
Kiara, just waking up, gazed blankly toward the window. Through the slight gap in the curtains, all she could see was the pitch-black landscape outside.
“It’s still night…”
She cxcked her head in confusion. Perhaps she’d slept straight through the day from sheer exhaustion and was only now waking again to nightfall.
That must be it.
Accepting it easily, she nodded to herself. The candles, burned down to stubs before, had been replaced with fresh new ones. Someone must’ve come in while she slept, and yet she hadn’t noticed at all.
‘How long am I supposed to keep those curtains drawn like that?’
She eyed the heavy curtains with a hint of annoyance. Her room sat on the farthest edge of the royal castle, in a tower once abandoned and never meant for anyone to live in.
So remote was it that the only thing visible through the window was the moat and the castle wall, and even those rarely saw a soul pass by. Still, her windows were always shrouded with thick drapes — because people feared locking eyes with the Red Witch.
It was a bit stifling, but the curtains had their benefits. The solitary tower faced north and was perpetually cold, and those thick drapes did block some of the drafts.
Still, it seemed Raelin had always been annoyed by them.
‘Even though I’m right here beside Lady Kiara every day, safe and sound, that’s still what they all think. Unbelievable.’
Every morning, Raelin would come into Kiara’s room, grumble those same words, and then fling the curtains open with all her might like she was striking down an enemy. Just like she had on the morning of the wedding.
“…The wedding…”
Kiara murmured to herself.
Right, they were supposed to be married.
Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen a trace of sunlight since she’d put on the veil that morning. Her gaze drifted back toward the heavy curtain still drawn over the window.
‘They said the curse would be lifted… once the marriage was consummated.’
Then maybe it was finally okay to open the curtains?
Until now, she’d avoided the window entirely, afraid of accidentally locking eyes with someone outside. But maybe today she could finally look out at the world again. The thought made her heart flutter with nervous excitement.
But the flutter lasted only a moment. She soon sighed and puffed out her cheeks in a pout.
‘…He wasn’t a king. He wasn’t even supposed to be my groom in the first place.’
Kiara hesitated for a moment, then an old song lyric came drifting back to her mind.
Something about the first drop of blood… and the last.
If that was true—
‘As long as he’s a Grandilgale… then that should be enough, right?’
Ael had clearly introduced himself as Grandilgale. His black hair and red eyes made her a little suspicious, but still.
Whether it was that Grandilgale or this Grandilgale — either way, she’d spent the night with one.
‘And very thoroughly at that.’
Kiara nodded to herself as the memories rushed in, all sticky moans and whispered pleas flooding her mind in an instant.
Her face flushed red, and she muttered with embarrassment,
“E-either way… the curse should be lifted now… right?”
Whatever the truth, the thought that she might finally be able to see the world outside her window made it impossible to wait any longer.
Just a little peek. Just a little… There might not be anyone outside.
Kiara tried to rise from the bed, but as soon as she lifted herself, she collapsed face-first onto the sheets.
“M-my legs…”
They wouldn’t move.
Kiara looked like she might cry.
Well, to be more accurate, her legs could move, but there wasn’t a single ounce of strength in them. And it wasn’t just her legs. Her hips ached, her thighs trembled uncontrollably, and below that… a peculiar soreness throbbed — not quite pain, not quite sting, just strange tingling.
In other words, there wasn’t a single part of her body below the waist that felt intact.
To be fair, the upper half wasn’t doing much better. Her chest was a bit sore, and here and there her skin had turned blotchy red. Still, it was tolerable. As long as she didn’t look, she could pretend it was fine.
Maybe it was the lingering ache, but her eyes welled up with tears.
‘He left me like this… a complete mess…’
Why did she suddenly feel so miserable?
Was it because it was her first time with a man? Surely not. If anything, Kiara had been counting down the days to the wedding for weeks now. All for one reason: the hope of breaking the curse.
So was it because the man hadn’t been the one she originally expected?
No… that wasn’t it either. Whether it was that Grandilgale or this Grandilgale — it hadn’t really mattered to her.
As long as the curse could be broken.
As long as she could walk outside freely.
As long as she could see the world beyond the window.
But there had been no wedding. And she had no way of knowing whether the curse had truly broken or not. All she knew was that she was left alone in this dim, silent room.
Just like before.
