When he opened his eyes, it was a dim evening.

Outside the window by his head, he could see the red setting sun. Above the mountain foothills where the sun had already more than half set, the sunset was deepening into an ultramarine blue.

Even though the sun hadn’t fully set yet, looking at the stars already floating in the opposite sky, Isaac thought with a blank mind, ‘Where is the moon……’ Seeing that the moon wasn’t visible through this wide glass window that took up an entire wall, he figured it must be in the opposite sky. The stars that had hurriedly risen in the moonless sky sparkled brightly, as if they owned the world.

Blinking his eyes and staring blankly out the window, he suddenly turned his gaze. The curtain neatly tied by the window looked somehow familiar. When was it that I looked at that elegant, solid-colored curtain and thought the color was very pretty? The answer suddenly struck Isaac’s hazy mind like a thunderbolt.

It was the detached palace in Heilen. In the prince’s bedroom.

“——!”

Isaac kicked off the blanket and sprang up without realizing it. Looking around in bewilderment, there was no mistake. It was the detached palace in Heilen. Furthermore, he was lying smack in the middle of the prince’s bedroom, on the prince’s bed.

‘What is going on? Why am I lying here? If I get caught doing this, I’ll be in massive trouble. Let’s see, since when, and how did I end up lying here……’

「YOU’RE AWAKE!」

「HE’S AWAKE!」

Suddenly, *Nyaaang!* A loud, wailing cat’s meow rang out. At the same time, three large shadows pounced on Isaac all at once, giving him no time to dodge.

Hitting him in the back of the head, the back of the neck, and his stomach as if burying themselves into him, Isaac involuntarily curled his body with a “Ugh!” from the impact. But whether he did or not, the three hung onto Isaac and made a fuss.

「We thought Manbang-ie would never wake up again!」

「We thought you would never wake up for the rest of your life!」

「UWAAAH, MANBANG-IE!!」

They massaged Isaac with their front and hind paws and even licked him vigorously with their tongues. Isaac looked around at them in bewilderment amid the cheering of the three cats. ‘Why are these guys doing something they normally wouldn’t? Well, first of all, they’re heavy, so let’s take down the one sitting on the back of my head,’ he thought, reaching his arm back.

A sharp pain shot through his heart. In an instant, his breath hitched and he hunched his shoulders; at the same time, that pain brought his memories rushing back.

That was right.

He had been dragged by Roberni’s gang to the abandoned warehouse in the mountains. He had encountered Roberni there, and then——his heart had been pierced by a curse sent by the witch.

*Crack,* the feeling of something breaking and scattering inside his heart. The sensation of something burning pitch-black in his eyes and turning to ashes.

Now, Isaac would no longer be able to see the witch.

「We licked every nook and cranny clean, but because the hole was so big and the outside healed first, the inside probably hasn’t fully healed yet. It will hurt a bit until it completely heals.」

「I was wondering if he was just sleeping and not waking up because the inside wasn’t healed properly, and I was worried, what if he just sleeps and can’t get up for the rest of his life.」

「Uwaaah, Manbang-ie!!」

The three of them were vigorously licking and massaging Isaac with all their paws again. Isaac, who had been quietly clutching his heart, carefully let go as the pain subsided. As long as he didn’t move suddenly, it didn’t hurt that much. Hearing that even with these cats licking him he hadn’t fully healed, he must have been severely injured that day.

Indeed, Isaac himself had thought he might just die as he lost consciousness. No, he had thought he was definitely going to die. He hadn’t expected to be able to wake up like this.

“…….”

Turning his gaze, at the foot of the bed, goat meat was piled up like a mountain on a wide plate. Next to it was a dish of wine. Both remained untouched, exactly as they had been served.

“You guys, were you worried?”

Isaac quietly raised his hand and stroked the three of them one by one. As he scratched behind their ears, the three purred as if feeling good and chattered in their cat voices.

「On the outside, your body looked completely healed and you were breathing, but you kept not waking up, so we thought maybe something went wrong when you were bitten by Alikisa’s curse.」

「Besides, the Cornucopia climbed on top of you and poured vital energy into you for days and nights without resting, but you still wouldn’t wake up.」

“……H-he did?”

After hearing that, his groin did feel somewhat numb and throbbing. He just thought it was because he was hurt so much that day…….

「Of course. He kept feeding you top and bottom. You ate everything he gave you, but you just wouldn’t wake up.」

“…….”

Somehow his mouth also felt sticky and tasted a bit metallic, and he didn’t know if it was just his imagination. Isaac unnecessarily wiped his empty mouth.

“How long did I sleep for you to say that?”

「A week.」

At the cats’ words, Isaac shut his mouth in shock.

A whole week.

“I did feel like I slept for a bit long, but…….”

He hadn’t expected to be unconscious for that long. ‘Even when I previously lost consciousness after scrying Alikisa, I woke up after three days,’ Isaac thought, before realizing his condition was completely different this time. Considering he saw her while in a near-death state, maybe he should consider it fortunate he woke up after just a week.

“A week…………..Uh,”

Isaac, who was counting the days to see what date it would be if it had been a week, froze.

A week.

The night Isaac was captured by Roberni, when he saw the witch, a waning half-moon was reflecting on the pond.

Turning his gaze out the window, Isaac checked the sky again. In the ultramarine sky where the sun had almost completely set, more stars than before were shining even more dazzlingly. Only the stars.

“Is today the new moon?”

When Isaac looked up at the starry sky and asked in shock, the cats rolled their eyes and nodded.

“Today is…… the day the Grand Banquet is held?”

The cats nodded again. Isaac stared blankly at the cats, then looked back at the sky and slumped his shoulders.

It was today. At midnight tonight, all the witches in the human world would gather to hold the Grand Banquet. Gathering at the place where Alikisa is.

But Isaac could no longer see Alikisa. He could no longer know where she was or what she was doing. Even though the day of the Grand Banquet had finally arrived.

As he was staring blankly at the stars shining like masters in the moonless sky, the door opened.

The prince, who was walking in, stopped for a moment upon seeing that Isaac had awakened and was sitting up in bed. Standing still just before the door, he fixed his piercing gaze on Isaac as though trying to confirm something. Isaac couldn’t help but blink in astonishment when he saw how sharply gaunt and hollowed-out the prince’s face had become in just a matter of days. Right, it’s the new moon, so his physical condition must be terrible. But to be this gaunt. Like someone who, over all those days, hadn’t slept or eaten properly at all.

“Are you awake?”

The prince asked as he closed the door and came in. Even so, he didn’t take his eyes off Isaac. As if Isaac might disappear in that short moment he looked away.

“Yes…….Um, I woke up and found myself lying here…….”

Occupying the prince’s bed so brazenly felt incredibly presumptuous and made him anxious, so he brought it up, but the prince didn’t seem to care. Without a word, he went to a chair beside the bed and sat down.

For a while, there were no words. The prince just silently looked at Isaac. Meeting those eyes, not knowing what he was thinking, Isaac also remained silent. Come to think of it, this person also seemed to have been bitten deeply in the shoulder by the vengeful spirit…… but he looked perfectly fine.

“I wondered if you weren’t going to wake up.”

At some point, the prince suddenly said. Hearing that low muttering, Isaac rubbed the back of his neck and mumbled, “But I woke up…….” Perhaps because his face was gaunt, he looked even more desolate. The atmosphere felt like Isaac should apologize for waking up. Then suddenly,

“……The pond……! Alikisa’s body is——.”

At the memory suddenly flashing through his mind, Isaac shot his head up. The sudden tension making his body stiff caused his heart to twinge again, and he grimaced with an “Ugh,” hunching his shoulders. Seeing Isaac like that, it seemed the prince briefly furrowed his brow.

“I found it. The large rock with tree roots anchored to it. I dug underneath it and found a tunnel leading to the pond.”

“Then,”

“But the witch’s body wasn’t in the pond. There were traces of something being pulled out from the water, though.”

“——.”

They were a step too late.

As soon as she realized that she had revealed the pond to Isaac, the witch must have felt threatened and pulled her body out. However, she couldn’t keep the body out in the open for long while the curse relentlessly tracked it. She must have hidden it again somewhere.

“After that, the witch’s tracks were cut off. I deployed soldiers to every clustered village, and no news of a whole village being eaten has come in.”

“……. And since that wizard died, she shouldn’t be able to reside in that body anymore…….”

At the prince’s words, Isaac furrowed his brow and stroked his chin.

She couldn’t have gathered enough vital energy, so she wouldn’t have been able to return to her original body. Yet, it would be difficult to quickly find another place to hide her body away from the relentless pursuit of the curse without anyone knowing, so the body was probably kept somewhere not far from her. A place to keep it temporarily and safely until she gathered enough vital energy to shake off the curse. And she…….

“Who did she possess?”

Isaac muttered unconsciously. It would have been difficult to find a new body suitable for a witch to reside in and make a contract with in the meantime.

“Another witch she was close with……? Did she possess a beast? A cat or something…….”

Isaac, who had been staring blankly at the cats enjoying a feast with wine and goat meat on the plate, suddenly muttered. The cats, who he thought were entirely focused on eating, pricked up their ears and glared.

「We aren’t possessed!」

「This is our original body!」

「It’s our elegant, beautiful, and noble body!」

「We are not cats!」

These guys who look and act exactly like cats are saying they aren’t cats…….’ Isaac stared at them with his eyes blatantly narrowed.

「And do you think a witch can possess just anyone? Because the magic wavelength has to match perfectly, she can’t possess a human who can’t use magic at all, she can’t possess another witch of the same kin, and it’s the same for beasts.」

「At least beasts are born closer to nature than humans, so most have a little bit of magic wavelength, but she would never possess a beast.」

“Why? Afraid her behavior would resemble the beast’s?”

When he muttered, “I saw you guys making biscuits perfectly earlier,” tthe cats hissed, puffed up the fur along their backs, and flew into a rage. Yeah, yeah, that right there is unmistakably a cat.

「Beasts can’t speak, so they can’t chant spells!」

「What are you supposed to do possessing something that can’t even chant spells? You’re likely to get trapped in that body and never be able to come out!」

「You might use a beast as a familiar, but call us crazy to possess it with our main spirit? If you do that and no one pulls you out, you have to live as that beast for the rest of your life!」

「That’s why we are not cats!」

Seeing them puff up even their tail fur like a fan, those cats must be quite angry. Isaac waved his hand perfunctorily, “Yeah, yeah.” Several more hisses of ‘We are not!!’ were heard, but in the meantime, they got busy eating *chap-chap-chap* again.

After watching the cats for a while, Isaac quietly lifted his gaze to look at the prince.

“I can no longer see the witch.”

At the heavy words, the prince didn’t answer. He merely looked at Isaac in silence.

“If I could see the witch, I might be able to know where the Grand Banquet will be held and who she has possessed…… It’s the most crucial time, but I’m of no help.”

“Just when I thought I was barely becoming useful,” Isaac murmured like a sigh and dropped his gaze. Even his heart sank heavily.

Suddenly, the prince stood up from his seat. He strode swiftly over to the bed and sat down beside him, then roughly reached out, yanked Isaac close, and frantically sank his teeth into his lips. The searing, numbing sensation of that violent, biting kiss had now become utterly familiar to him. The metallic tang of fresh blood swiftly spread throughout his mouth.

The prince sucked his lips hard. Hearing the sound of blood flowing down his throat, Isaac thought, ‘Ah, there’s still this left.’

Come to think of it, the sun was setting on the day of the new moon. Now is the time when the prince’s——the cursed royals’ agony begins. Others would fall into sleep through a contract with a wizard, but the prince, who had been feeling that terrible agony fully every new moon night, was now escaping that agony by drinking Isaac’s blood every new moon.

“I’m glad I’m at least useful for this.”

When Isaac murmured softly under his breath, the prince abruptly stopped the kiss. Then, as if sudden anger surged up, he bit into Isaac’s neck.

“Usefulness, ——Because, of something like that, I,”

A low voice seemed to brush against his ear. But the rough tone spat out through his teeth faded at the end and couldn’t be heard properly.

The prince bit Isaac’s neck again. But there was no sign of him trying to swallow blood. The blood naturally flowing in was going down his throat, but the prince was just indiscriminately biting Isaac’s neck, cheeks, and lips. As if he wanted to swallow him whole, it was rough, like whatever he had suppressed all this time was erupting.

Just then.

Almost simultaneously with a knock on the door, it opened.

A man wearing light armor stepped into the room. An unfamiliar smell, a mix of dirt dust and blood, rushed in.

Even hearing that clear presence, the prince didn’t look back. Uncaring of who had entered, he sucked Isaac’s lips. He only pulled his head away after the shoulder held in his fierce grip creaked, making Isaac let out a short “Uhm,”. He was still firmly holding Isaac’s shoulder, but the strength quickly drained from his grip.

The prince, who was still looking down at Isaac with fierce eyes, only then slowly lowered his hand, as if briefly releasing something he had no intention of letting go of, when the man standing rigidly by the door greeted, “I have returned.”

Isaac, massaging his throbbing shoulder, looked at the man in light armor. He hadn’t recognized him at a glance just seeing him in armor, but he recognized him upon hearing his voice. It was Rihan. As if he had just returned from a battlefield, dark, dried blood was plastered here and there on his armor, but he himself didn’t seem hurt.

Giving a light nod of greeting to Isaac, he immediately turned to the prince and bowed deeply from the waist. And he held out a pitch-black bundle he was holding in his hand.

Isaac studied the rather large and heavy-looking bundle with curiosity before frowning. The black cloth wrapping the bundle was wet underneath. Drops of liquid slowly seeped out and fell with a *drip,* as if a sticky liquid had pooled inside. Its color was dark red.

The prince, taking the bundle, untied the knot, and the stench of blood spread throughout the room. The moment he realized what was inside the bundle, Isaac closed his mouth.

It contained a human head. A severed head with a horribly contorted face—it belonged to Roberni.

“Throw it in the dog pen.”

The prince, looking down at the head indifferently, tossed it carelessly onto the floor. Hitting the floor with a thud, the head rolled a couple of times before stopping.

Right then, a heavy set of footsteps approached rapidly from outside the door. The footsteps that came running hurriedly stopped in front of the bedroom, and soon a knocking sound was heard.

“Prince Kyan, it’s Hector. I have an urgent message to deliver.”

The voice, clearly laced with anxiety, belonged to the administrator.

When the prince looked back at Rihan, Rihan opened the door. The administrator, rushing in, froze upon seeing him. The administrator, scanning the man wearing the border region’s light armor with a strangely furrowed brow, subsequently twitched his eyebrow upon seeing Isaac sitting blankly on the prince’s bed, and only then directed his gaze to the prince who was looking at him indifferently. Meeting the prince’s eyes, the administrator wiped the cold sweat forming on his forehead and bowed at the waist.

“Prince Kyan, an urgent communication has just arrived from the capital. It’s news that the border soldiers have invaded the capital and are beheading people. The Royal Guard and the City Guard tried to stop them, but they were helpless, and they say hundreds of heads are piling up in the grand plaza.”

The administrator spoke while nervously glancing sideways at Rihan, who was wearing blood-stained light armor.

“Because it is so sudden, we haven’t been able to contact the commander of the border soldiers yet, but considering news has been coming in lately that the border soldiers’ movements have been unusual, we cannot rule out the possibility that they harbor treasonous intentions. Therefore, the communication requests Prince Kyan to return to the capital as soon as possible…… HUH.”

The administrator, who had been speaking while sweating cold sweat, suddenly gasped for breath and stopped talking. His gaze was fixed on the severed head rolling in the corner of the floor.

“Th-Th-This, this is,”

“The dead are all members of Roberni’s faction. Tell them there is no need to worry about treason. And that I will return soon.”

The prince spoke nonchalantly. The administrator, with wide eyes, stared at Roberni’s head and stuttered.

“H-How could this happen……, for Roberni to die……, if this man dies so suddenly, avoiding chaos for a while will be impossible……. If the other organizations that were suppressed by this man begin stepping up to expand their power…….”

“No need to leave them. Wipe them out too. ——Rihan.”

When the prince directed his gaze to Rihan, Rihan immediately bowed his head and replied shortly, “As you wish.” The administrator looked back and forth between the soldier and the prince with a pale face.

“They were going to disappear originally. It’s just been brought forward.”

The prince spoke calmly, and the administrator, who had been breaking out in a cold sweat, looked at the prince, corrected his expression as if steadying his mind, and bowed his head. “I will follow your command.” The trembling voice had somewhat subsided. Indeed, one who had worked in the palace their whole life and grown old there knew well when to speak up and when not to.

Isaac felt the back of his neck stiffen with tension as he listened to their conversation.

If it was this person, he would surely achieve whatever he desired. He wasn’t someone who would do something foolish, or something with no chance of winning, or someone who couldn’t handle the aftermath of what he started. So in the end, everything would undoubtedly be accomplished according to his plan, but it was undeniable that it made onlookers sweat.

Who else would be able to eliminate a giant like Roberni – someone whose mere death could throw tens of thousands into chaos – in a single breath like this? Moreover, to sweep away his entire faction and even the seeds of unrest that would stem from it, without any warning, in one swift motion.

‘When he returns to the capital, this person will have to forgo sleep for a while and wade through a mountain of work……’ Isaac thought, massaging his stiff neck.

The administrator, who had raised his deeply bowed head to the prince, looked at Isaac. Looking at Isaac with eyes that clearly had a lot to say, seemingly agonizing over what to do, he finally opened his mouth as if he made a decision.

“Since that person seems to have woken up, according to protocol, I will arrange for his escort to the capital,”

“Hector.”

The administrator’s words were cut off mid-sentence.

That low call was so cold it made the administrator stiffen his face in an instant and grow tense, and even Rihan standing next to him straightened his posture, creating an icy atmosphere.

The prince cast a glance at the administrator. Cold sweat broke out on the forehead of the administrator meeting that cold gaze.

“I have been in a bad mood all week.”

“——.”

“It seems to have barely improved a little now, so I think it would be good for your sake to stop here.”

The administrator looked at the prince without a single movement, frozen stiff as he was. Eventually, he slowly bowed his head and muttered with trembling lips, “Y-yes, Y-your Highness”

He shouldn’t forget. He was a person who could draw his sword on anyone, at any time. The administrator’s head might have been rolling next to Roberni’s head right then.

The administrator bowed deeply once more and retreated from the room, and for a while after he left, silence flowed in the room. The prince let his gaze drift over Roberni’s severed head, his expression utterly indifferent, before turning to Rihan.

“How many are left here?”

“About half remain.”

At Rihan’s answer, the prince nodded.

“That’s enough. Stand by.”

That was it. Rihan, realizing the prince had ended the conversation, bowed his head and left the room. Isaac silently watched Rihan carrying out Roberni’s head exactly at the prince’s subtle gesture.

On the day the witch’s curse was unleashed in the whirlwind, Isaac thought he caught a brief glimpse of Roberni’s back as he ran away in terror the moment the transparent snake bit his heart. But he didn’t have the luxury to keep it in his memory and had forgotten about it; he never expected to see him again in such a state. To think that the end of a man who commanded the era with cruel and merciless evil deeds, monopolizing people’s resentment, would turn out like that.

……But still, he was quite a figure, yet you just chopped him off so easily. Since it’s Roberni, the aftermath will be huge. It’ll be uproar for a while, but since you’re not someone who does things he can’t handle, it’s fine.

Letting out a sigh and turning his gaze, Isaac locked eyes right with the prince who was looking at him. It seemed he had been looking for a while. Because that gaze was heavily settled, Isaac subconsciously hunched his shoulders and spoke.

Come to think of it, he had just said he had been in a bad mood for a while. Seeing Rihan and the administrator also observing the prince’s mood as soon as they entered the room, it seemed the atmosphere was quite unusual while Isaac was lying down. Even now, the prince’s expressionless face was chilling. Isaac felt like his gaze would pierce right through him.

What is he thinking? The silence flowing quietly in the room where only the two of them remained grew heavier and heavier.

“I heard you continued to share your vital energy with me during that time…… Thank you.”

It wasn’t a topic he particularly wanted to bring up, but Isaac opened his mouth, thinking it would be better than this silence on thin ice. However, Kyan didn’t say a word. He just kept looking at Isaac.

“I thought I might die……, but thanks to you, I survived.”

Isaac thanked him once more. Only then did the prince show a reaction. He faintly raised an eyebrow and spoke.

“Did you think you would die?”

“Yes?”

When Isaac asked back, momentarily not understanding what he meant, Kyan spoke coldly.

“Seeing the witch in that state, you must have thought you would die.”

Isaac blinked a few times before realizing he was referring to what had happened in the abandoned warehouse. When his entire body was pierced by Roberni and he was lying bloody, he had seen the witch.

Isaac looked blankly at Kyan and scratched his neck. Finding that cold gaze hard to bear, he slightly lowered his eyes.

“…… I thought I was going to die.”

That was true. His energy to press his eyes against the blood puddle was disappearing. Even so, no, precisely because of that, he thought he had to do it.

“Since I might not be able to help you anymore, I thought I had to look one last time at least.”

As Isaac murmured, Kyan looked at him coldly and raised the corners of his mouth. His voice dropped a bit lower.

“Even though you knew you could survive, you also knew that if you did that, you’d be even more likely to die?”

“Because I didn’t know what would happen.”

He could have lived. But he also truly could have died. No, it was only because he was incredibly lucky that he was awake now; if even one thing had gone wrong, Isaac might have been buried under the dirt by now. That was exactly why he felt he had to do whatever he could.

Kyan stared intently at Isaac. His blue eyes were incredibly deep. So deep and cold they almost looked black. Intense enough to make Isaac’s heart ache with tension.

“A week.”

Kyan opened his mouth.

“I didn’t know if you would wake up or not. The cats, unlike their usual selves, didn’t eat anything and just watched you. I thought perhaps you might never wake up.”

Isaac turned his gaze from Kyan to look at the cats. The cats, who had been deliciously eating the goat meat, glanced at Isaac with their large eyes as if realizing they were being talked about, but feigned ignorance and continued to be absorbed in their meal. Isaac watched them quietly before turning his head back to the prince. ‘I see. I really could have died.’

“During that time, I did nothing. I didn’t eat, didn’t sleep. I didn’t really feel like doing so either.”

Kyan tilted his head slightly. His finger, which had been pressing lazily against his temple, trailed down to his chest.

“Here——no, right here, it felt like a hard knot had formed, and it wouldn’t go down. It was an incredibly unpleasant feeling. To the point where I couldn’t do anything. That feeling never faded. Not for a single moment.”

A frown formed on the prince’s brow as he spoke slowly, as if he couldn’t find the exact words to express it.

“I didn’t realize that just sitting back and waiting for something without any way to help made time pass so slowly.”

Kyan, who muttered as if talking to himself, closed his mouth. A faint tension was visible in his jaw.

Isaac stared at Kyan as if to pierce him. ‘He…… Did he wait for me to wake up?’

“……I woke up, but now I can’t be of any help to you.”

He could no longer see the witch. He could no longer track her. Isaac murmured gloomily and dropped his gaze. Perhaps the prince really had been waiting for Isaac to wake up. But waking up was ultimately useless now.

Suddenly, Kyan’s gaze as he watched Isaac grew fierce. A terrifyingly deep blue gaze stared fixedly at him.

Kyan reached out and roughly grabbed Isaac’s hair.

“Do not make me angry, witch.”

The chillingly sharp voice came dangerously close. Gripping Isaac’s hair even tighter as if he might snap his neck right then and there, Kyan stared straight into Isaac’s eyes from right in front of him.

“I don’t care if you have those eyes or not. I just have to find another way. However,”

The words seeping low through his teeth were laced with anger. No, with some other emotions that had been suppressed alongside the anger.

“I told you clearly. Just like your eyes, your life is also mine. The moment your breath stops must be the moment I desire it to stop——I told you that. Have you forgotten.”

Pitch-black eyes. Isaac couldn’t even blink as he stared into the emotions swirling within them.

“Never let this happen again.”

Kyan spoke lowly. His voice was as darkly submerged as those pitch-black eyes. As if he had been in terrible agony. As if, for the very first time, he had feared something.

“——.”

Isaac suddenly found it difficult to look him in the eye and dropped his gaze.

‘I wish he wouldn’t do this. I feel like I’m going to misunderstand. I feel like I’m going to keep having foolish thoughts.’

However,

“Yes.”

Isaac obediently nodded.

Either way was fine. Whether it was a misunderstanding or whatever reason. He hated seeing this person make such a face. He didn’t want to make him wear such an unfamiliar face that looked so pained.

Kyan, who had been staring piercingly at Isaac, seemed to suddenly whisper, “come here.” But because their lips crashed together so quickly, he wasn’t sure if he really heard the whisper. Perhaps he only whispered it against his lips.

‘Is he drinking blood?’ Isaac gazed up at the moonless night sky over the prince’s shoulder and parted his lips slightly. On new moons, even after drinking enough blood to offset the curse, the prince would often bite Isaac as if enjoying the taste.

However, Kyan didn’t bite Isaac. He didn’t bite his tongue, nor his lips. He just intertwined their tongues just like that. Slowly, but forcefully. The grip on Isaac’s hair tightened. As if he would never let go.

He wasn’t sucking blood. But Isaac too, could no longer see the witch, so he wasn’t drinking vital energy from his tongue either. They just overlapped their lips and tasted each other’s tongues, lips, and body heat.

It felt incredibly unfamiliar. Even though they had already overlapped lips hundreds, thousands of times.

At some point, the prince inhaled a low, deep breath. As if the knot that had formed inside him was finally loosening a little. The arm holding Isaac tightened, pulling him in close.

He felt strange. Isaac suddenly wondered what kind of face the prince was making. But because their lips were locked, he couldn’t see. After a moment of hesitation, he hugged Kyan’s back. ‘Is this okay?’ he wondered, resting his hands lightly on the prince’s back and waiting; seeing no sign of reprimand, he hugged him a bit tighter. At that, the prince’s arm holding Isaac tightened even more, and only then did Isaac comfortably hug the prince back tightly. And as he did, he suddenly felt a bit sad.

‘It would have been nice if I wasn’t a witch.’

If so, he might have been able to think obediently. That maybe this person held him in his heart just a little bit. In these tightly embracing arms, he might have been able to indulge in such vain imaginations. 

‘If I wasn’t the witch that this person despises so much.’

‘It would be nice if I could find the tinderbox and become a complete human.’

That thought suddenly struck him.

Even if that wouldn’t change things drastically, he would at least be able to escape this person’s fundamental hatred.

‘If only I could find the tinderbox.’

“…….”

But now, he could no longer offer any useful help. Isaac’s heart suddenly grew heavy. Today is the Grand Banquet of Witches.

The sky had lost even its sunset glow and was beginning to be dyed in full night colors. In a few hours, at midnight, the Grand Banquet of Witches, returning after 7 years, would be held. Yet they didn’t know where the banquet was being held, nor where Alikisa was. He couldn’t see her either. They had barely managed to tail her this far.

They have to catch Alikisa. If not, who knows how many more people she will kill. What should he do. How——.

As Isaac clenched his jaw and took a deep breath,

「But is it okay to fill our stomachs in advance like this? There will probably be lots to eat there too, shouldn’t we save some room in our stomachs?」

「If we go there, they’ll probably just serve tasteless human forearm meat anyway. Don’t you remember last time? Serving up skinny ribs from old humans and wine that tasted like it was watered down?」

「True that. When there’s high-quality goat meat and wine like this, we need to eat well while we can.」

「Even though the Cornucopia is so poor that he often skips dinner and has to fill his stomach with Manbang-ie’s blood, I guess he at least knows how to treat noble beings like us. How commendable.」

「Still, I object, over my dead body,」 the three cats chattering in cat voices while burying their noses in the goat meat plate suddenly caught Isaac’s eye. The *chap-chap-chap* chewing sounds never ceased, and before he knew it, the mountain of meat and wine had dwindled by half.

Oh right, come to think of it, these cats who enjoyed goat meat and liked wine were also witches.

“……You guys must be going somewhere nice tonight……?”

Quietly pushing the prince back and slipping out of his embrace, Isaac approached the cats, slowly dragging out the end of his sentence. The cats, entirely focused on their plates, answered without even looking at him.

「It’s not nice. It’s not fun, it’s boring, and there’s not much to eat. We just go because we have to.」

「Our situation is different from a half-blood who can’t even get into a place like that.」

“…….”

‘These guys always have to add one extra word…….’ Isaac, who approached them stealthily while lying on his stomach on the bed, snatched them by the scruffs of their necks while they were still busy emptying the plates.

“Where are you going.”

「Let go. You don’t mess with a tiger while it’s eating.」

「Once we finish chewing the meat currently in our mouths, we might just chew on your tasteless forearm meat.」

The cats glared at Isaac with narrowed triangular eyes as they chewed the goat meat thoroughly, and Isaac also narrowed his eyes into triangles as he looked at the cats.

“Today is the new moon, right.”

「So what.」

“I still have three wishes left. It wouldn’t be bad to use one of them to lock three cats in a pepper shaker—”

Isaac stopped mid-sentence. His thoughts reached what he had forgotten until now……. ‘The tinderbox…….Oh my god, the tinderbox.’

Before Isaac, who was blinking blankly, could regain his senses, the cats hissed *Khaak* and bared their claws, scratching Isaac’s forearm.

「To try and torment such small and lovely cats!」

「Wicked! We condemn the evil witch!」

As he put the buzzing, claw-swinging guys back down on the floor, Isaac let out a hollow laugh, “Hah.”

Why had he forgotten?

Today is the new moon. He could use the tinderbox.

“Right……, I could make a wish.”

Isaac muttered to himself. The cats rolled their wide eyes and looked suspiciously at Isaac.

“Could you take me to Alikisa.”

「No.」

As soon as Isaac spoke to the cats, the answer came back immediately. Isaac’s expression vanished.

“Why? I just have to make a wish.”

「You don’t have the tinderbox. It’s not a complete tinderbox yet. With just the flint, we can’t grant a wish related to an opponent whose magical power is stronger than the user’s.」

「If that worked, you could have just asked us to catch Alikisa and bring her to you, are you stupid? Dummy Manbang-ie,」 the cats put their heads together and gossiped. Come to think of it, that was true……, Isaac stared blankly at the cats before crossing his arms.

“Then take me to the Grand Banquet of Witches.”

「…….」

“Why. It’s practically the same thing anyway, but I didn’t explicitly mention Alikisa. Can’t you even do that?”

When Isaac was about to glare at them, thinking ‘What kind of wishes can you grant if you can’t even do that, it’s meaningless,’ the cats, looking somewhat displeased, wrinkled their noses and rolled their eyes before saying, 「It is possible, but…….」

「There is a barrier set up around the Grand Banquet so humans can’t enter. It might be fine if you were alone, but if you plan to go with the Cornucopia, he reeks of human scent so he won’t be able to get in.」

“……How do you break that barrier.”

「You can’t break it from the outside. It’s hard to break from the inside too, though.」

Isaac thought for a moment before saying.

“Then my second wish will be to erase the human scent.”

The cats didn’t say anything. They rolled their eyes with an even more displeased look. Their noses were so wrinkled that one would think they were originally a wrinkled breed.

「We will grant it if you really want.」

「If you reeally want it, we have to grant it, but.」

After hesitating for a long time, the cats finally spoke up in a very reluctant, meowing tone.

「Witches are cruel and merciless.」

「If you’re caught, they’ll tear you to shreds and kill you.」

「If they get excited, even a half-blood might be in danger.」

The three of them, chiming in one by one, said.

「Why don’t you make a different wish.」

Isaac looked down quietly at the three cats.

He didn’t know exactly what the Grand Banquet of Witches was like, but it didn’t seem to be a very peaceful or gentle place. It could be highly dangerous.

However.

“No, that would be good.”

Isaac shook his head and asserted firmly.

They have to catch Alikisa. If they lost her now, there was no telling if that cunning witch would hide away somewhere forever, or reclaim her body and commit even more uncontrollable acts. This might be the last chance.

The cats purred in extreme dissatisfaction and displeasure, but in the end, they had no choice but to follow Isaac’s will. Because Isaac possessed the tinderbox.