The Good Witch of The Lake

The townscape of red bricks looks anything but familiar to her.

The capital is a buzz, but in the end, everyone is occupied with their own business.

Moreover, the way everyone wears colorful and fashionable outfits makes her even more self-conscious. When she was with her grandmother, she wasn't as bothered—but now, she's ashamed for wearing her mother's hand-me-down frock. Again, she's feeling miserable. Her footsteps become heavier.

Too shy to inquire, she looks for the store her grandmother usually frequented by herself. By chance, a conversation comes into her ears—

"—did you hear?! The Witch of the Lake is dead!"

Roze freezes and instantly turns towards the voice.

It appears to come from a snack shop. The smell of something good wafts from inside—she can't see what it is, though.

A red-faced customer sits at an outdoor atable where some other customers—holding big mugs—are talking in a loud voices, as if shouting.

"What—!? For real—!? I've been hearing about that old ma'am since I was a kid—!!"

"She's 200 years old, after all!! And here I thought that she would live for another hundred years…"

They're horribly mistaken. No one can live that long.

Surely you must be talking about my great grandmother, and not my grandmother.

Roze is about to step in and attempt to correct their mistake, but in the next second, she halts—

"—well, either way, isn't this a joyful news?"

She can't believe what she has just heard. It's too unbelievable.

Her heart begins to ache.

"Having a witch in the neighborhood blemishes this entire city's reputation!"

"Exactly! I always warn my children against venturing in to the woods. Who knows what could've happened to them if they did…"

"Now, we can relax! We have nothing to worry about anymore!"

Everyone chats happily. Everyone smiles.

She feels her head spin.

Her vision begins to turn black, and at that point, she wonders how she's still able to stand.

For them to hate her kin this much, to the point they find joy in the death of one…

To realize such a thing for the first time, Roze realizes how sheltered she has been.

Was grandma aware of such malice?

Just thinking about it scares her.

If grandmother knew about it since the start—then, she's been hiding it from me.

All this time, grandmother …had been enduring it all alone…