Within the uncompromising darkness, the witch saw a golden light.

The light, which started as a glimmer, began to encompass its surrounding.

For some reason, the witch felt at ease when looking at it.

The feeling was akin to being tenderly embraced, or being at the side of a precious someone.

Be as it may, the light didn’t lack any temerity. It showed no signs of waning. But it did show signs of going away.

Rather than lurking inside the darkness, she’d rather make the light stay.

Thus, without further ado, she extended both of her arms, and embraced the light.

The moment she did so, she was struck by how warm it was ...and also how heavy it was.

Soon, the light began to struggle ...as nonsensical as it sounded—

—W, what is this!?

Is this strange light actually a mass of magic...!?

Now, doesn’t that make this light highly suspicious...!?

I have to investigate it thoroughly...!!

Regardless, although it had struggled before, it no longer did afterward. In the next moment, she had what could’ve been a demon incarnate pinned under her.

...Huh. It’s surprisingly easy.

To further examine it, the witch brought herself closer to the creature.

...It smells unexpectedly good!

It smelled too good, in fact, that the more she inhaled it, the more she wanted to sink her teeth in—and she was supposed to be the one in danger...

But her conscience be damned, for it was merely a disembodied light.

—Which meant I’m free to dig in...!

It tasted as delicious as she’d expect. She didn’t expect it to be solid tasting, though. At the same time, when she chomped on it, the ‘light’ reacted strongly—as if ...as if it was wincing in pain.

Thus, she decided to bite it more gently.

...Now, why do all of these feel familiar? This smell, and even this sensation...

The witch decided to not concern herself with any of that.

She had long suspected it to be a dream. In a dream, one wasn’t supposed to fuss too much, but to enjoy the experience.

Although it no longer reacted like before, the creature still relentlessly writhed beneath her.

...Ugh, keep calm already, how am I supposed to eat you like this?

When she first saw the light, and caught a whiff of its delicious aroma, she expected that she could suck it in one go.

After discovering that she couldn’t, it still wouldn’t stop her from attempting the same.

It was akin to an addiction. Instead of being quenched, her throat got increasingly parched the more she drank.

She just couldn’t get enough—and it seemed that there was more to come.

The entire time, she was attacking the area that permeated the most scent. But as time passed, she began to get curious.

If I were to bite from different areas, would it taste different?

Which was what she did.

As she continued with her newfound hobby, she could hear some noises.

“—hat are you...? Wait—...”

It was inaudible at first, but grew louder as she changed spots.

“—Uungh, aah...!”

As expected, the taste was more concentrated where it smelled the strongest. However, biting from different areas yield its own fun, too. Kind of like trying varieties of meats from a barbeque party...

“—gentler, please... ahh—”

The witch repositioned herself, and in the process, her knee brushed against something hard.

Her action caused the peculiar light to jolt like never before.

It was a surprise to her as well.

...For a brief moment, the flavor becomes even better...!

To be precise, the taste improved when her knee brushed against it.

Then, the only natural course of action was to keep doing it.

As expected, the taste became more delicious.

I can’t get enough of this...

However, as a result of her action, the light(?) began to madly twist itself.

The noises had increased in volume, as well.

“—Your knee is grinding against my...! I, I can’t, hold on...!”

At some point, it actually felt as if she was trying to contain flowing water with mere hands. However, the richness of the flavor made it worth the hassle.

She didn’t know what took over her.

...More—

It didn’t matter how much she had drunk. Ever since when, her hunger had become insatiable—but she didn’t care. After all, there was more where that came from—and that was all that mattered.

As her thirst grew, so was the intensity of her movements—

—Until finally...

“...Aaghh—!!”

A loud scream rung in her ears, and all of the sudden, light returned into her eyes.

It turned out that she wasn’t enclosed within the darkness, after all.

As her field of vision broadened, a dimly-lit room entered her sight. It seemed familiar, as it should be, but the witch still found herself looking around the room in perplexment.

It was as if she had been jolted awake from an immersive dream.

The only problem was—she was currently crouching. It definitely wasn’t a position one would find themselves waking up to.

Gnawed by tremendously ill foreboding, her heart started thumping incessantly.

A slight noise could be heard.

Because her eyes had traced every corners of the room, she knew it didn’t come from anywhere else but below her.

Once, she had heard from somewhere that at the period of denial, one would avoid looking at the cause.

Most likely, that was exactly what she was doing.

Unable to ignore the repressed voice, which sounded like a muffled plea, the witch gradually turned down.

Loose strands of gold, which scattered like a fallen spool of thread. Ruffled, pure white, shirt akin to a pair of clipped wings. Circles of crimson, which spread to both of his clavicles, neck, and even chest, almost like wildfire.

Then, most important of all, was the glistening of his tears as they trickled down.

The moonlight from the above window cascaded upon him the shadow of the window frame, which appeared like a cross.

Before her, was the direct representation of her sin.

[]

The entire time, it turned out that she had been reenacting her dream in reality.

Perhaps, it was because she was severely lacking in magic. Perhaps, in her sleep, her base instinct was enticed by his scent.

No wonder it tasted very familiar.

Ever since the beginning, she was aware of the similarity. It had been nagging on her mind. Something felt odd. But in the end, the one who ultimately chose to ignore them was still her.

As a result, someone had almost lost his life.

Had his scream failed to reach her ears—she’d surely suck him dry.

So much for being a conscientious witch.

As it was, she was no different from those demons, who prowled inside the woods, waiting for their next prey. From those insufferable, vile, creatures.

The realization struck her hard, and before she knew it, her vision had become hazy.

She struggled to say something, but ended up with nothing, for she knew that sorry wasn’t good enough.

“...Kgh—”

A pitiful sob had escaped from her mouth, but it was soon swallowed by a much louder noise.

A noise of someone rushing towards her.

Of course he’d seize the opportunity—and rightfully so.

The witch immediately became aware of her upcoming demise.

...This is it.

However.

Julius placed both of his hands on her shoulders, steadying her.

“...What’s wrong!? Are you in pain somewhere!?”

Gone was the tearful man from before—as Julius fixated his gaze upon her, his eyes were filled with nothing but concern.

...How can he still worry about me?

Then, it dawned upon her—

—perhaps, he had yet realized the severity of the situation.

“...J-Julius, in my sleep, due to my lack of magic, I’ve absorbed yours!”

All the emotions reflected upon Julius’ face stilled as he took in her words—

—but, only briefly.

“...I see, what of it? Could it be—did something go wrong!? Is that why you are crying!?’

“Huh...?”

The witch was momentarily stunned.

Is he being serious—?!

Everything...! Everything is, and should be, considered as wrong...!

But Julius failed to comprehend that for some reason—

—Regardless, he had a point.

Crying wouldn’t solve anything. As long as the man was still alive and breathing, there was still hope.

Without a moment of hesitation, Ame pulled Julius’ arm.

“We’re going—!”

“Where to...!?” Julius, still incredulous, asked as he got dragged out of the bed.

“To the church!”

Towards her words, Julius immediately put up some resistance.

“In your condition...!? What are you talking about...!? As soon as you stepped there, the magic of Fenrir will make a quick work of you...!!”

“I know that, but...!”

With a slight twisting, he had managed to pull her arms instead.

As Julius drew her closer, she was met with a pair of silver eyes, which gleamed with worry.

“...Now that I think about it, after you’ve ingested my magic, is your body alright?”

His unrelated sequence of questions only agitated her even more.

“It isn’t the time for that...!! For now, we have to go to the church...!!”

“What for—?!”

“Are you seriously asking that?! We have to get you treated right away!! After everything that has happened, who knows what kind of toll your body will take!!”

“...!”

Julius immediately became dazed.

“We need to hurry—!”

The witch exerted more strength, almost causing Julius to fall from the bed. Thank God, for the man was finally on his feet.

However, the man soon found his voice once again.

“...No, it’s unnecessary.”

Of all the times he could’ve been stubborn, he chose that very moment.

Despite Julius’ abject refusal to meet her in the eyes, his tone made it apparent that his decision was final.

In contrast to Julius, who chose to stand his ground, Ame felt as if she was losing her footing.

His life could very well be slipping away at that very moment, and yet he chose to waste those precious seconds doing nothing.

The witch suppressed her anger by gritting her teeth.

“...Fine, then I’ll bring the church here.”

“...What? Hey, where are you—”

—the rest of Julius’ question was drowned by the sound of her rushing footsteps as she barged out of the room.

[]

Outside of the large mansion, the screams of a man and a woman pierced the billowing wind.

“Anicca, you need to calm down and listen...!”

“Like I said, there’s no time for that!”

“Think—once you arrive to the church, what then...!?”

“I, I’ll explain everything to them...!”

“And you’d do that without divulging your true identity how?!”

“I’ll turn myself in if I have to...!”

Precisely at that moment, a pair of strong arms enveloped her. Despite the considerable distance, Julius had somehow managed to overtake her.

“Look at me...!” Julius said firmly as he turned her around.

However, it was clear that he didn’t expect what he was about to see, for his eyes widened almost instantly.

Reflected within his eyes, was the sobbing mess that was the witch.

Large droplets of tears flowed down her cheeks. Her lips were trembling as snivels hampered her words.

In perplexation, Julius asked.

“Are you... crying because of me?”

When she heard that question, her heart, which was originally weeping, suddenly went aflame.

“—Are you stupid—!?  Isn’t it obvious—!? It’s because you’re about to—!! To...!!”

As the witch tried to finish her words, chill ran down her spine. She didn’t want to even consider it, much else say it out loud.

...I’m scared.

“Julius, I don’t want you to die...! I don’t want you to die, so please...!” As she pleadingly spoke to him, both of her hands tugged at his shirt. No, it ‘d be more precise to say that she desperately clung to him so as not to fall.

As she looked up towards him, Ame became appalled.

His eyes were akin to a silver mirror, which reflected her own sorrow. Just like how the moon reflected the light from the sun, his pained expression mirrored that of her own.

...It’s, as if—

“Don’t cry, please...”

—as if his pain is the direct result of my own.

As he spoke to her in a coaxing tone, his thumb diligently wiped her tears. That ever so gentle caress of his, as if he was handling the world’s most precious gem, only wrung even more tears out of her.

“How can I, when you’re about to die...!?”

“As I’ve said before, I’m fine... what can I do to make you believe what I said...?” As Julius asked that question, he sounded truly helpless.

“You’re not fine...!! You’re just refusing to see that...!!”

Towards her outburst, Julius’ expression became more conflicted. With a look of total submission, Julius inhaled and closed his eyes for a few seconds.

Just when she thought he was about to pop a vein—

“—O Heavenly Lord, I, your humble servant, beseech towards the magnanimous Heaven to unleash a mighty wind to let fall the truth!”

—A chant was something she least expected for him to say.

There was a rumble as the forest start to shook. As time passed, the noise grew louder and the surrounding trees began to sway wildly. Although the witch had determined the cause to be magic, a loud crash following the snapping of a branch still made her scream.

“Uwaah...!”

But soon, she was reminded of the pair of arms which kept her afoot.

“Rest assured, no harm will come to you—I’ll make sure of it.”

As the knight firmly declared that, he wore a gallant expression. An expression that one wouldn’t show their mortal enemy, but an ally they had sworn to protect.

However, the witch was too astounded to notice it.

“You... still have enough magic to affect such a large area...?”

Not to mention, to remain tall and proud after casting such a spell...

...Ame couldn’t help but stare at him in astonishment.

"Do you believe me now? I'm alright."

As Julius peered into her eyes, a smile full of reassurance blossomed in his face.

The witch answered amidst the sobbing.

"B-but, to still be able to conjure such a spell, that's impossible, but also, impressive...! Julius, you’re so amazing...!"

"I'm formerly a captain, after all. A power of this margin is only to be expected.”

Julius explained to her matter-of-factly, without any hint of boasting.

Then, it finally occurred to her—

“—...So, you’re... fine?”

“I’m glad we got that cleared up.” Julius remarked with a gleeful smile.

“I, I see... I’m glad, then—”

—After confirming that, the witch abruptly collapsed to the floor, like a puppet with its strings cut.

Before her knees could touch the ground, however, a pair of strong arms steadied her. Kneeling in front of her was none other than the knight templar, whom sported a concerned look.

“What’s wrong?”

“N, no... it’s just, after everything has settled down, my fatigue has returned... uhm—”

—Right when she was about to finish her sentence, her attention was caught by the sight before her.

Because he went after her as soon as she left the room, his whole appearance was still disheveled.

But the most eye-catching of all was the red marks covering his collarbones and neck areas.

Due to worry, her fingertips were drawn towards those markings.

...They look painful—

—Therefore ...why?

Instead of glaring at her with resentment, what was with that concerned gaze of his?

Instead of getting angry at her, what were those kind, reassuring, words?

 

When she gently traced her fingers near his chest, Julius tensed up ever so slightly. It snapped the witch out of her trance.

“I’m sorry...! Does it hurt...!? W-well, obviously...” She immediately retracted her hand.

“No, rather, it tickles...” Julius answered while slightly averting his gaze. Then, he began to button his shirt.

Even if at the present it didn’t hurt, during the proceedings, the opposite must had been true.

“I truly apologize... it must’ve been very painful for you. Even if nothing serious ends up happening, what I did is still terrible. I’m willing to accept the consequences. I’ll follow you to the church if I must.”

Generally speaking, when it came to the witches, the punishments were quite simple. It was either torture, death, or both, with no in-between. After all, being a witch in and on itself was considered a crime.

“I already have a clear understanding of what was happening. You didn’t mean for it to happen. It was an accident.”

Julius, whom must be aware of that, immediately denied the suggestion.

 “...Even if it is, who’d accidentally drain someone else’s magic in their sleep?”

Up until then, she had rarely lived amongst the people. Even if she did, she never committed such an outburst. Although magic came in different flavors, not even once did she crave for them to the point of losing control.

Because of that, she thought that she was better—that she was above those mindless demons.

Nevertheless, Julius appeared, and ultimately proved that she was just the same as them.

Thinking about it shook her to the core. Julius, who experienced it first-hand, must had been more terrified.

Still, he persisted.

“You did it not without a reason. As a magic user, you’ve exhausted almost, if not all, your magic. Your body is instinctively trying to replenish it. If anything, I found it completely understandable.”

...Why is he being so understanding?

His kindness hurt.

At the same time, Ame still felt that he hadn’t fully grasped the whole picture.

"Then, have you ever let your base instinct overtook you, despite fully knowing that it's wrong!?"

"...I—!"

...Huh, just now...?

Momentarily, panic flashed across Julius' eyes.

Perhaps, her words had finally helped him regain his sense.

"—Does that fully justify your action!?"

"...You are right, it doesn't." With a look of resignation, Julius responded. "But, that's not the case, here."

"How is it different!?"

In that instant, Julius shot her a serious look.

"Compared to you, what I did is worse—I took advantage of someone who was vulnerable."

His tone was forlorn, while his expression was guilt-stricken.

...So, what she did is less than that?

She was under the impression that she had done worse the whole time.

"Hadn't I... Attacked you in your sleep?"

She knew how insensitive she sounded, but she just had to know.

"...What?" Julius asked, slightly mystified. "...No, not exactly. When I was about to leave, you suddenly pulled me back."

The knight templar never intended to share a room with her.

No wonder something felt off.

Despite him saying that he’d turn in for the night, his hair was still tied up.

Oh, well. There was something more pressing to focus upon—

“—So, did I overpower you, or did something that cause you to be incapacitated...?”

“...No, nothing like that happened.”

She never expected to win in a hand-to-hand combat against one of the Church’s best hands, much else in her sleep.

...So, the entire time, he was just too shocked to do anything?

No, that’s still a bit...

“T, then, why didn’t you resist...? I, I’m not blaming you or anything!! I’m just curious!!”

“...”

Her question was met with silence as Julius kept staring at her.

In his eyes, a riptide of emotions could be seen. Nevertheless, akin to a current that never reached the coast, his answer never washed ashore.

“I, I mean, under such a circumstance, that’s what usually happen, right? I won’t even blame you if you had kicked me back then, ahahaha... ha.”

“.........................”

Nooo—!

Both his silence and gaze are getting scary—!

“I, I get it! Everyone’s different!”

Finally, Julius let out a short sigh. Then, with an unreadable expression—

“...I’ve prepared myself for it.”

—He delivered the kind of answer that would only incite panic.

‘Prepared himself’...?

What...!?

“J-Julius, be honest with me, just what exactly did I do—!?”

“...”

Again with the silent treatment...

However, to the current witch, his silence was akin to an affirmation.

...Oh, no.

At the back of her throat, she could feel another surge of emotions.

But crying wouldn’t absolve her sin.

“Julius, please, I need to know. No, in order to make up for it, I have to know the extent of my crime. Therefore, I want you to be honest with me.”

She peered straight into his eyes, and that seemed to have an effect, for the knight templar tensed up a bit.

Then, while averting his eyes...

“...You misunderstand.”

“How so??”

“I’m not silent because I’m withholding anything, but because some details are quite... embarrassing to talk about...”

“...Then—! You needn’t go into details—! Just go straight to the point—!”

“...That’s not the point—...alright, fine. What is that you want to know?”

Although he still seemed reluctant, perhaps Julius made some compromises after seeing how desperate she was.

She had a lot of questions—

—but, most importantly...

“...Were you living in terror all this time?”

“Huh?”

“That’s what you meant by ‘preparing yourself.’  Right? You knew this day would come.”

Previously, she decided that as long as she got to live with him, she didn’t mind being hated.

But she realized that she was just being full of herself.

Because—

—what about him?

He, who had made his loathing towards the witches clear, had to live in terror.

In fear that she’d someday reveal her claw, and struck him when he was least aware.

...It must be a living hell—

—and I’m the one who subjected him to it.

“...rry...”

The back of her eyes burned once again. She was about to cry—

“—I’m sorry... I’m truly sorry...!”

No, judging from the trail of hotness on her cheeks, she already did. It was endless, and no matter how much she wiped it with her hands, the big droplets of tears overflowed.

Julius’ resentment towards the witches was no longer unwarranted.

Sbe was utterly deserving of both his cold words and gaze from that day.

“—Don’t cry!”

In a tone that was even more desperate than her, Julius begged.

“I’ll do as you said! I will explain everything to you! Without missing a single detail! ...So, please—don’t cry.”

[]

The knight templar had undergone a sudden change of mind.

If it was her from a few minutes ago, she’d surely appreciate that.

“Thanks, but no thanks... I think I can already figure the rest out...”

After all, what good would that do?

But Julius was insistent for some reason.

“No—! Let me explain how you were mistaken—!”

“I... was mistaken?”

“That’s right, it’s not what you think at all... by my previous statement, I was referring to our sleeping arrangement!”

“What do you mean...?”

When she asked straight to the point, Julius abruptly became speechless. It was as if the words had gotten stuck in his throat.

Regardless, instead of staying silent like before—

“—It’s, as you may know, well... when two of the opposite sex share the same bed...”

—Julius was putting in an enormous effort to proceed with his explanation. Albeit at the end, he still trailed off.

“...When a man and a woman sleep together?”

Overtaken by curiosity, the witch leaned closer, as if that’d somehow hasten his speech.

“...It may lead to something else.”

That’s just too vague...

“W-what ‘something else’?”

“Something that can only result from such an arrangement—moving on, when you pushed me down, I was under the impression that was exactly what was happening.”

Hold on!!

Why do I feel like he purposefully kept that short?

What happened to explaining everything!?

“So, that’s why you didn’t resist?”

“That, ...and also because you’re sick.” As he spoke of the last part, his voice diminished.

“...I see. Who do you think you’re fooling? When a man and a woman sleep together, a predation is expected to occur? Aren’t you just jerking me around, here?”

Or, is there some kind of custom that I wasn’t aware of?

...I rather doubt that.

“After making me blabbers on about such vulgar things, that should be my line—! Also, ‘predation’... that’s putting it too roughly. Besides, no one usually talk about that sort of thing...”

When he heard her remark, Julius looked offended. He may have put his soul on the line with his last explanation.

“I-is that so? Is it some kind of a secret activity?”

“...It can certainly be seen that way.”

“O-okay...”

Gradually, the witch took his words in.                   

Although there were still a few loose ends, the witch understood that he kept silence simply because he wasn’t used to talking about it.

Living with someone else certainly taught you about their way of living and customs...

“T-then, does it hurt? Did I put you through hell?”

Julius answered after mulling for a bit.

“...Only at first. Because of the suddenness, I cried out, and that seemed to ease you... afterwards, I could barely feel any pain.”

“Basically, I was being gentle!?”

“...Sort of.”

“For real!?”

“...I honestly found it unexpected, as well. Despite your apparent thirst for my magic, and also the fact that you were acting subconsciously, you... kept me in mind. Therefore, despite everything that has happened, I can’t find it within myself to condemn you.”

As he spoke, Julius’ eyes were gentle.

Those... are honest eyes.

His transparent line of sight incited no sense of incongruity.

Although it didn’t erase her guilt, she’d be lying if she were to say that it didn’t get alleviated.

“What about your magic? Did I absorb a lot?”

“it’s nothing to be concerned about. I should be able to replenish it after a good night sleep.”

“I... I see...” The witch said between sniffles. “T, then, I’m glad... I’m truly glad!”

“Anicca, look...”

In a voice gentler than ever, Julius commanded.

Thus, she turned around—

—before she realized it, the world around her had shimmered.