The Tyrant’s Guardian is an Evil Witch
Chapter 2

The emperors over the generations had been similar, each lacking conscience and manipulating my achievements to their own tastes. Consequently, public opinion of me differed from moment to moment—people revered me, feared me, or hated me, depending on the political climate. The attitude of the emperor’s men earlier seemed to indicate that nowadays I was reviled.

“Whose unscrupulous idea was this?”

While it was shameless, the emperor’s decision to select me as guardian was quite reasonable. For generations, offspring within the royal family had been rare. In the first place, any child with royal blood—illegitimate or not—was treated with the highest respect. Therefore, the guardian of such a child had to be of noble status. That person also had to be free of ulterior motives.

Although I was only a figurehead, I was an archduchess. I also did not have any interest in politics, so I would not cause problems later. The emperor had known I might refuse, so he had sent the child to me without asking. He had always been meticulous.

I gazed at the child, whose head was bowed like he had done something wrong. There was another reason the emperor had chosen me—he was secretly hoping that his illegitimate child would die in Belos. I could tell from the indifferent letter that he did not expect me to look after the child properly. And a neglected child surviving to adulthood in Belos would be something like a miracle.

Perhaps the protagonist growing up to be a reprobate was a form of revenge for how his father had abandoned him. While I couldn’t care less if the emperor lived or died, I didn’t want to be swept into the mess and get killed in the process. What was I to do? On one hand, I couldn’t dismiss the emperor’s decree. But accepting the child made me anxious.

“I’m sorry…” the child said, almost inaudibly.

His voice was so quiet, I wouldn’t have understood him if it weren’t for the movement of his lips. Like an idiot, I stared at him.

What is he apologizing for?

There was a moment of awkward silence before the child spoke again.

“I know you’re in a predicament because I came so suddenly… I’m sorry. It’s okay if you send me back.”

“What?”

Of course, he wasn’t wrong. However, for some reason, I felt caught off guard. Was this something a child should have to say? In two hundred years, I had not seen any young “things.” In Belos—save for the monsters—there weren’t many living things that flourished. Even supernatural beings with high survival instincts only reproduced enough to continue their species, so it was difficult to find even a caterpillar, let alone a human child.

While I had met many children in my past life, even that was too hazy and difficult to recall. All I had left was the abstract impression of something small, cheerful, and loveable. And yet, the child in front of me looked as tired and sad as an old man. The young boy, who was so obviously scared, seemed nothing like the tyrant who would cause a revolt or the reprobate who would kill his father.

Between the future that was yet to come and the confusing present, there was one thing I knew for sure—without my help, this child would not be able to grow up properly, physically or mentally. My logical side told me to kill the child without question. I could tell the emperor that he had died due to the harsh environment, and that would be the end of it. That would also fulfill the emperor’s wish.

However, despite the two hundred years that had passed, it seemed I was still a human being, not a witch. Although killing the child would be as easy as swatting a fly, my hand did not move. Had the child been impudent, I would have shaken off the pangs of pity, but I could not disregard the child in front of me, who looked so much like a puppy lost in the rain—even if this puppy was fated to become the beast that would kill me.

If I raised the child well, wasn’t there a chance the future could change? Although he might not have the best personality, couldn’t I raise him to be a respectable human being? After a few coughs, I opened my mouth to tell the child that I was not inconvenienced and that he had nothing to worry about.

“How ridiculous. Do I look like someone who would be inconvenienced by a child like you?”

Suddenly, for some reason, tears started forming in his purple eyes. I was taken aback.

What am I supposed to do in this situation? I-I need to comfort him…!

“Where would you go? As if you have anywhere else to go.”

My attempt at comfort was of no use, merely forcing more tears from the boy’s eyes and causing his small shoulders to shake.

Oh, dear. Is this the wrong way to do it?

“Wh-why are you crying? Stop your tears at once!”

Whatever it is, it’s my fault. Please don’t cry!

As if summoned by my voice, Edmund came into the sitting room. He stared at me in astonishment.

“Your Highness! How could you bring a child to tears?”

“He just started crying by himself… I didn’t do anything.”

Feeling wronged, I tried making excuses, but Edmund looked doubtful.

“I see. Of course, you didn’t do anything. But Your Highness, you can strike fear in children even if you don’t do anything.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you truly not know? Please take a look at your reflection.”

Following Edmund’s words, I looked in the mirror. There I saw features carved from ice, delicate and cold, along with a slender figure and long, white hair that framed ice-blue eyes. My appearance was exactly the way the Snow Queen was described in fairy tales. Even though I was over four hundred years old, the nature of being a witch meant that I looked as young as twenty.

“Is there a problem? All I can see is that I am beautiful.”

When the original Clete was active in the early years of the empire, her name had been used as a descriptor for beautiful women. Similarly, when I first took over Clete’s body, I was so shocked by her beauty that I spent all my time looking into a mirror. Even now, long after her name had become a legend, her beauty was constantly being recreated by artists.

Pleased to see there was nothing wrong with my appearance, I turned to Edmund.

“Is your eyesight getting worse in your old age? Or have you become senile?”

“Neither is the case, Your Highness.”

“As if that’s true. I suppose you’ve completely forgotten how you clung to me and tearfully confessed your love when you were younger?”

Unaffected by the strong attack, the butler only snorted. The bashful young man who could not look directly at my face had grown into a white-haired old man, unfazed by anything I said.

“That was because I was young. And I did not mean in terms of beauty. What kind of child wouldn’t be terrified after seeing your unfriendly face, Your Highness?”

With that, Edmund picked up the child and began to console him.

“No more crying. A smile is more suited to your lovely face than tears.”

It was completely different from the way he’d gone up against the emperor’s men earlier—Edmund softly coaxed the child as if he were his grandson. Despite his obstinate personality, the old butler seemed to have a soft side. In fact, in the original novel, it was because of Edmund’s care that Alpen was able to survive the bitter cold.

However, that care stopped once the butler died. Edmund could never guess that the child in his arms was fated to kill his guardian. With a complicated expression, I looked at the child sniffling in my butler’s arms. He kept glancing at me with teary eyes, quickly turning away once our eyes met.

“Why would His Majesty the Emperor send such a precious prince out here? Not to mention, the journey here is rather treacherous,” Edmund asked.

“He wants me to become the child’s guardian.”

“Excuse me?”

The butler looked at me, appalled. He was so shocked he almost dropped the child.

“You can’t be serious! How could you raise a child in this freezing place? While it would be all right inside the castle because of magic, it’s not like we can keep him locked up! Not to mention, why on earth did His Majesty think Your Highness was trustworthy enough to request this of you?”

This bastard…

Much to my annoyance, I couldn’t refute him. After all, I knew my position quite well. In both my previous life and my current one, I was not the kind of person who could be called nurturing. Even a cactus, supposedly easy to look after, had shriveled up and died in my care.

“That child is illegit— I mean… It’s because he can’t be put on the royal family register.”

No matter how young he was, gossiping about his legitimacy in front of him seemed like the wrong thing to do, so I fudged my words a little.

“Even if that’s the case…”

Edmund, who had understood my meaning, let out a deep sigh. It seemed like he had also realized the emperor’s intentions. He gazed at the child, his eyes filled with sympathy.

“How pitiful. I’m worried whether such a young person can safely grow up here.”

“He won’t die as long as he’s looked after properly.”

The problem was what kind of person he would grow up to become.

“As it seems like he’s finished crying, prepare a suitable room for him.”

“All right.”

“Oh. Wait.”

Edmund, who had been about to leave with the child, turned to look at me.

“Make sure his room is warm. They say young children catch colds easily.”

***

A second letter had arrived from the emperor. I threw it into the fireplace without a second thought. It had been ages since I’d sent a letter telling the emperor of the child’s safe arrival, but he had only responded now. Even if the royal magicians lacked the skills they had before, ten days should have been enough for delivery.

The letter, which had probably been sent late on purpose, only contained a short thanks. There weren’t even any perfunctory questions about the child’s wellbeing, or his health in such a cold place. The emperor didn’t seem to care about his child’s future, content to have sent him away out of sight. I shuddered at his heartlessness.

What a despicable man.

He deserved to be killed by his son.

After there were no more traces left of the letter, I teleported to the small workshop attached to the castle to make recuperation potions and scrolls. In Belos, which was barren in many ways, potions and magic scrolls were necessities. One of my most important duties was to make them and give them out to the few residents who lived here. If I neglected my duties in any way, Belos would become a land of the dead, filled only with monsters.

After quite some time making potions, I looked up and realized the sun was on its way down. In the evening, I had to check the letters sent by Belos’ various tribes and take care of all sorts of documents. Before heading to my office, I dropped by Edmund’s room to deliver a potion specially made to relieve stiff shoulder joints. However, I was unable to accomplish my goal. Since I had suddenly appeared out of thin air, the child—who had been sliding around on the ice floor like he was skating—slammed into me.