Hate Me, Miss Witch!

Sylvia had a long, long dream.

In that dream, she was not the only daughter of a grand duke, but just a member of countless ordinary civilian families in the capital.

And her mother has not died either.

On a winter night, the family happily sat around the fire and enjoyed dinner.

The aroma of the food lingered in her nose, and the fire gave off a warm wave of heat, adding a bit of warmth to her originally cold body.

Sylvia was somewhat unconsciously indulged in it.

Ever since the bronze cross deep in her soul first rebelled and her mother left him, Sylvia has never slept peacefully again.

Even if he managed to fall asleep, he would always be awakened by nightmares at midnight.

It could be said that this was the first time in the past ten years that she had slept so peacefully, as if she had forgotten all her worries.

Sylvia's consciousness was awakened from the deep darkness little by little, and her memory was gradually revived.

However, as the previous memories became clearer, Sylvia felt her heart become colder.

Just now, I actually fell asleep without any precautions, letting go of all my guard...

That thing on the bronze cross that was already prone to going berserk and lost the restraint of my will just now...

She could no longer imagine what she was about to face——

The dark shadows all over the body, the rotting flesh and blood, the lives lost in the pollution and wailing.

Also, that one that comes right in front of you.

There was no way for her to hide her malice.

However--

When she turned her spirit to the bronze cross deep in her heart, there was no scene of losing control and running wild as Sylvia expected.

The pitch-black shadow hovered over the twisted figure bound by the bronze cross, rising and falling quietly.

Even under Sylvia's full suppression, those dark shadows have never been so peaceful as they are now.

It was as if he also fell asleep with Sylvia.

…

"There are some annoying things. The more you think about them, the more you will be stuck in a dead end."

"So there's an old saying where I come from."

"That's it - that's it for now, let's eat first."

A familiar voice sounded in Sylvia's ears.

She opened her eyes and looked around, and realized that the warmth she had felt in her sleep was not an illusion.

The young man who wanted to pull him to jump into the sea had built a bonfire with branches and dead leaves on the coast at some point, with two skewers of sizzling grilled fish hanging above it.

With the crackling sound of firewood burning, this small bonfire drove away the coldness and loneliness of winter nights.

The other party stood up, handed one of the grilled fish skewers to Sylvia, and put the other skewer to her mouth.

But soon, a look of disgust appeared on his face, and he put the grilled fish aside.

"I know that those wilderness survival programs are all lies. Grilled fish without barbecue seasonings is not for people to eat. Next time, I have to ask Shining to prepare some seasoning jars in the space pocket."

"Silver, I'll leave these to you."

"嘤嘤嘤~ (Master, you created it yourself to look up at the stars, you'd better solve it yourself.)"

On the boy's shoulder, a small ferret raised its long furry tail, rejecting its owner's blame-shifting behavior with an elegant demeanor.

Sylvia looked at the man and the mink who were pushing the blame with each other in front of her, and said softly: "Is that your pet beast?"

"Well, my first pet beast."

"so good."

A hint of envy flashed through Sylvia's purple eyes: "My father said that most low-level pet beasts cannot bear the abnormality deep in my soul, and making a contract with me is equivalent to committing suicide."

"I don't know if I will ever have the chance to become a beast master in this life."

"There will be."

The other party answered quickly, as if he was not making a guess, but stating a certain fact.

"One day, you will become a more powerful beast master than your father."

"Yeah?"

Sylvia smiled lightly.

Although the other party's words were very unrealistic, she didn't know why, but she was willing to believe the other party's far-fetched predictions.

There was a moment of silence.

The flames flickered on and off, illuminating the dark night.

After a long time, Sylvia spoke softly: "Just now... why did you jump into the sea?"

"Of course it's to save you."

Sylvia smoothed her messy long hair: "Are there any rescuers like you? Drag the rescuer to jump into the sea together?"

"Because you can't stop someone who is dedicated to death. If you miss this time, there will always be another time."

"Only by truly facing death can we understand the true meaning of life."

After struggling with the little ferret on his shoulder for a long time to no avail, the boy finally ate the grilled fish with a grimace and said while eating: "Of course, the so-called saving you is actually a false proposition."

"The guy in your body will not let his host really die. If my guess is correct, you are also a very rare carrier for Him."

"It's just that living like that...is actually no different from the walking dead."

Sylvia noticed the hidden meaning in the young man's words, and also thought of the other person's previous question in the deep sea: "Do you know my true identity? Then you actually dare to contact me?"

"I know. I also know that many people are as afraid of the only daughter of Grand Duke Cang Ting as a tiger or a wolf. They would like to stay away from every gathering."

"But, so what?"

The other party's answer was very casual: "If you live your whole life under the gaze and public opinion of others, how hard it will be... I simply can't imagine it."

He threw aside the finished skewers in his hand and leaned against a stone with satisfaction: "There is a law in my hometown that if a mentally ill person commits a crime during the onset of his illness, his crime will be pardoned."

"Of course, this law has many controversies and is not perfect, but I think its original intention is not wrong -"

“Forgive those who are kind and punish those who do evil.”

"So, I guess - you who carry that power are not inherently evil."

"Whether you are good or evil is not determined by your origin, but by the choices you make."

The...choice I made...

Sylvia repeated the other party's words in her mind.

There was a long silence on the coast, and the two of them sat around the fire and baked their clothes. Only the firewood pile was still burning and crackling.

After an unknown amount of time, vague human voices were heard in the distance.

After all, Sylvia is the only daughter of a grand duke. Although she is not very popular, the factions within the family who are loyal to the grand duke cannot ignore her safety.

After discovering that Sylvia had run away from home, they quickly sent someone to look for her.

"Well, see you next time."

"If those tongue-tied people find out that the princess is wet and alone with a strange man at the beach in the middle of the night, there may be many more rumors."

The young man stood up and shook his windbreaker, which had been dried by the fire.

Sylvia hesitated for a moment, and then said hastily: "Can you tell me your name?"

"Char."

"Char Egut."

"Three months older than you, even though he is an adopted member of the family with a foreign surname..."

"But in terms of age—"

"You can also call me, brother Xia Ya."

"Oh, right...I almost forgot."

The young man paused slightly, came to Sylvia, and straightened her long chestnut hair that was blown away by the cold wind.

Then, she pinned a crystal hairpin to the end of her hair.

"Happy birthday, Sylvia."

…

When Sylvia came back to her senses, the young man was gone.

She stretched out her hand and gently touched the hairpin on her forehead. There was still a faint warmth on the hairpin made of amethyst.

This was the first birthday gift she received after her mother passed away.

She originally wanted to end her life on the last winter night before she became an adult.

But now it seems that this seventeenth birthday...

She was really happy.

"Char...brother."

Reciting this somewhat unfamiliar name softly, Sylvia picked up the already cold grilled fish next to her.

She took a shallow sip and smiled unconsciously:

"It's really not very tasty."