Guinevere had no idea how to handle a child.

She had given birth to William, but that was all – the raising was entirely left to wet nurses and nannies.

Although she had decided to raise Larisa herself, there were limits to what Guinevere considered appropriate from the start.

“First, feed her well and fatten her up. She’s too skinny to be of any use. I’ll come back to check in a month.”

‘Once she reaches a normal weight, we can start teaching her something.’

Spending money and checking periodically – Guinevere thought that was enough for a child to grow well.

In fact, William had never caused any problems or given her trouble until his marriage, so Guinevere had never once thought there might be an issue with her parenting style.

Guinevere handed Larisa over to the maid and turned away, her cloak fluttering.

The maids kept their heads bowed until Guinevere disappeared at the end of the corridor. Larisa also lowered her head, following the maids’ lead.

The maid holding Larisa’s hand confirmed that Guinevere had gone and let out a deep breath. Then, noticing the child watching her, she asked:

“Hey. So your name is… Larisa, right? I’m Daisy.”

“Hello, Sister Daisy.”

“Do you know why Lady Rodante wants you to be fattened up?”

“…No.”

Larisa’s eyes began to glisten with anxiety. The other maids smacked Daisy on the back, not knowing what to do.

“Why are you asking that?”

“Ouch, I’m just curious.”

“You’re making the child cry.”

“No, it’s just… Do you like candy?”

As Daisy pulled out a candy she secretly ate when her energy was low at work, Larisa’s eyes widened and she nodded.

She had tried it once before when a kind lady bought her flowers and gave her candy. It was small but very sweet and made her happy.

The maids brought Larisa, whose tears had dried up, into the room and sat her on a chair, busying themselves with various arrangements.

Larisa kept trying to get up to help, but they insisted it was their job and pushed her back into the chair, handing her a storybook.

Larisa couldn’t read at all, but she was quickly captivated by the colorful pictures.

If not for her anxiety and tension about the unfamiliar place, and her habit of always watching others’ reactions, she would have been completely absorbed in the storybook.

Larisa opened the book to cover her face and eavesdropped on the maids whispering among themselves.

“Let’s not get too attached since we don’t know what will happen to her.”

Those words frightened her, but Larisa pretended not to hear and held back.

‘Was Mother deceived?’

Realistically, it seemed more plausible that her mother had been tricked into leaving her daughter in a potentially dangerous place than that the Great Witch Guinevere Rodante was her mother’s friend.

‘What should I do?’

Larisa was terrified, but the carriage journey, her first, had been so tiring that she fell asleep as soon as the maids lowered her into the warm bath water.

William came looking for Larisa just as she had been taken out of the tub and moved to the bed.

Daisy, who had remained alone after the other maids left, bowed her head politely.

“Is she sleeping?”

“Yes, young master.”

“I came to fetch her for dinner since she didn’t come…”

“Shall I wake her?”

“No.”

William hesitated for a moment before asking:

“By the way, did Mother say anything?”

‘Like about her and me being engaged or getting married or something…’

William had been constantly worried about his mother’s words that she would marry him to Larisa.

At first, he had dismissed it as a joke, but his mother, Guinevere Rodante, had never once joked in front of her son.

Even when she said something that sounded like a joke, it always turned out to be true or she had the ability to make it true, so as time passed, he became increasingly suspicious.

Seeing William’s troubled expression, Daisy’s face also darkened.

“She… She said to fatten her up. That she’s useless as she is now…”

Daisy shuddered, imagining something frightening. William frowned at the sight.

“Don’t worry, she’s not going to eat her.”

“Pardon?”

“All those stories about Mother eating people are lies.”

“Ah, yes! Ha! I’m sorry.”

Daisy bowed her head repeatedly in surprise.

Then Larisa, who had been pretending to sleep since William arrived, suddenly sat up.

“Is… is that true?”

William was taken aback but thought it was more important to comfort the frightened child, so he nodded.

“Yes. Why would she eat people when she has all sorts of delicacies?”

“Isn’t it to gather magical power by eating newborn babies’ hearts?”

“The magical power in hearts is greater in adults than in newborns. It would be better to eat a hunched old lady. And you don’t have any magical power to begin with.”

“I don’t?”

“That’s right.”

This was a fact William had confirmed by asking Guinevere multiple times. Larisa had no talent for magic.

‘Then why did she bring her here? Is she really planning to marry us?’

Adolescent William pondered as he looked at the little Larisa who was sniffling. She was so small that he could take her in at a glance, a complete baby.

“Then why did she bring me here?”

William couldn’t ignore Larisa’s teary eyes, but he couldn’t bring himself to answer her question either.

“Well… I don’t know either.”

“If she’s not going to eat me, why does she want me fattened up? She said she’d check in a month.”

“Who knows? Maybe some kind of experiment?”

William, who often had blood drawn for his mother’s experiments, said without much thought. In contrast, Larisa and Daisy’s faces turned pale.

‘I see. I’m a lab rat.’

Unaware of Larisa’s thoughts, William smiled brightly and said:

“Anyway, since you’re awake, let’s go eat.”

Larisa wasn’t in the mood to eat, but she trudged along to the dining room following William’s lead. Then she gaped in amazement at the spread that made her forget everything.

“Um, would you like to sit here?”

Larisa sat in the chair William pulled out for her, but she had no idea where to start. After hesitating, she asked in a small voice:

“Can I eat too?”

“That’s why it’s all laid out.”

William said casually, but Larisa just swallowed hard and couldn’t bring herself to touch anything.

The beautifully decorated dishes seemed like they shouldn’t be touched by a dirty little mouse like her.

Finally, William, unable to watch any longer, started putting various things on Larisa’s plate.

“You need to eat a lot more.”

Because you’re so tiny. William busily served the poor little girl, cutting her meat, picking out salad, and attending to her needs.

Larisa, moved by the juiciness of the meat she was tasting for the first time, stuffed herself until her stomach was bulging.

So of course, she got a stomachache.

“My tummy hurts.”

“What?”

“Ow, ow, ow…”

William, who had been walking ahead, turned around to look down at the little girl who had sat down.

“It, it hurts so much.”

He was in the process of taking her back to her room because she said she didn’t know the way.

She ate well, so why is she suddenly in pain? William crouched down next to Larisa in confusion.

“What’s wrong? Do you need to use the bathroom?”

“No… It hurts here. It hurts.”

As Larisa clutched her stomach and collapsed to the side, William’s face turned pale.

“Little one, are you okay?”

“It hurts, it hurts, Mommy, it hurts”

Larisa could only say that it hurt. She had never felt such pain in her life. She was scared and wanted her mother.

Larisa went limp in William’s arms, tears streaming down her face. William quickly ran down the corridor, laid Larisa in her room, and went to call a doctor. Until then, Larisa cried for her mother.

“It’s indigestion.”

The doctor said, pushing up his monocle.

“I’ll prescribe some medicine. Tell the maid to come get it.”

“…Thank you, Doctor Frosch.”

“And don’t call me for such trivial matters in the future. I’m a busy person.”

With that, he immediately packed up his doctor’s bag and left the room. His cold attitude was enough to intimidate even Larisa, who was in too much pain to think straight.

Larisa, feeling a bit better after lying down for a while, whispered in a very small voice:

“I’m sorry because of me.”

“…Tch, whether it’s trivial or serious, I’d be the doctor if I could tell the difference. Right?”

William kicked at the empty floor for no reason.

“That’s right. The doctor must be stupid.”

“If he doesn’t like being called for things like this, he shouldn’t be our family doctor.”

“Right. He must be very well-fed.”

“Where did you learn to talk like that?”

“Everyone uses it, don’t they? It’s what you say to people who complain about their work being hard. They can complain because their stomachs are full, even though they’d starve if they didn’t work.”

William chuckled.

“You’re right. It’s because his stomach is full.”

No one thought of William as the heir to this household.

Guinevere Rodante was a witch who had lived for over 100 years and was still so young and beautiful that no one knew how much longer she would live.

The son who was outside the Great Witch’s interest was now seen as little more than Guinevere’s expensive ornament.

‘I’m sure Mother’s precious magical tools are treated more preciously than I am.’

William smiled bitterly.

Feeling something on his knee, he looked down to see Larisa, lying in bed, reaching out her tiny hand to pat his knee.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.”

William felt a lump in his throat but quickly stood up, trying not to show it.

“You need to take your medicine, so I’ll tell that maid from earlier… I should get going now.”

“Are you leaving?”

“I have to. It’s almost bedtime…”

“Can I see you again tomorrow?”

“Of course. Do you know how to get to that dining room from earlier?”

“No, I don’t…”

“Then I’ll come to get you for breakfast tomorrow morning.”

William hesitated before saying goodbye.

“Sleep well.”

“Sleep well, William.”