His words entered Laila’s mind and slipped out like sand. Too many things happened at once, making it difficult to accept them one by one, step by step.

“So you’re saying Karshu Haliwell was a doppelganger.”

Laila unconsciously addressed him politely, not even realizing she was doing so.

But this sensation was somehow familiar… It was similar to the feeling of being unconditionally drawn to Eustar when she first met him, unable to refuse or resist.

A small, delicate breath echoed quietly in the foggy forest. It was Laila’s breath. As if she had fallen in the middle of a snow-filled valley, white breath continuously poured out of her mouth. However, she wasn’t cold.

“What are you?”

At Laila’s question, the man’s black eyebrows moved slightly. Strangely, that small movement was very human-like.

“Are you asking for my name?”

Laila shook her head vigorously, hugging herself with her arms.

“Name, identity. Anything will do. I mean, explain yourself to me. I can’t comprehend you. Your very existence.”

“Foolish one.”

Laila glared at him with wide eyes. However, when she met the red eyes that looked just like hers, which she hadn’t seen since her mother died, her heart fluttered strangely once again.

He said:

“I am the most terrible nightmare that appears in human legends. I am also the one who taught human wizards the astrology of falling stars, and the one who wields anger, pride, and knowledge. I am the one who taught the first witch the properties of all plants and jewels. I am the right hand of the one who can summon all demons. My name is Badin.”

His tone was very rhythmical, sounding as if he was reciting a song or poem. According to old legends, exceptional minstrels used to carry small jars containing demons, using them by tempting the demons with promises of release if they taught beautiful poems or songs.

Laila decided to engrave his name and everything he said into her mind. Whether she told Eustar about this or not, she shouldn’t miss a single thing he was saying.

“Why… did you appear here? You are…”

Laila paused for a moment and swallowed hard. It was a painful movement, as if a stone was stuck in her throat.

“A demon.”

“That’s right.”

The demon, Badin’s answer was so indifferent and calm. Just like when he twitched his eyebrows, that appearance also seemed very similar to a human.

Laila recalled the appearance of the Decepter she had seen only once. Originally, humans cannot see the true form of demons. Her mother said that if one sees it, their eyes would immediately go blind and their ears would burn.

Even the appearance Badin showed to Laila wasn’t his true essence. He had only revealed a very small part close to his essence… and in the case of the Decepter, it had taken on a completely human form. However, Badin and the Decepter felt so different.

Laila asked again:

“Why is a demon wandering around on earth?”

“Demons originally wander the earth, Laila Kristrad. They have forms you can’t imagine. The stronger and higher-ranking the demon, the more indistinguishable they are from humans, so no one notices.”

It was a fact she didn’t really want to know. Laila closed her eyes tightly and opened them, slapping both her cheeks to try to come to her senses.

Then Badin continued:

“The reason I came here could be said to be a kind of paternal love.”

For a moment, Laila stared at him blankly with an incredulous expression.

“Paternal love?”

“That’s right.”

“What on earth are you talking about? You being my… father, it’s so absurd that it doesn’t even register in my ears. My father was a nameless wanderer. All witches give birth that way. We don’t need to promise love or emotional exchange like ordinary humans do.”

Badin nodded with a disinterested look. Well, he would already know everything Laila had said.

If he really told the truth, that is, if Badin really created the first witch, he would know everything about witches inside and out.

Badin remained silent for a moment, then looked straight at Laila.

“Your mother, and many of your ancestors. Have you ever thought about why those witches only give birth to daughters… And why those daughters are invariably born as witches?”

Laila’s lips pressed firmly into a line. Badin continued in a tone that seemed to mock her, or as if a father was truly scolding his daughter’s pathetic behavior.

“Even the purest first beast and the first tree lose their original form over time as generations and blood mix. If, as you say, your ancestors had chosen human men just for mating, could the witch lineage have continued until now?”

His last words shook and stirred Laila’s entire body like an ancient fearful prophecy. At the same time, one certainty, a possibility she had never imagined before, froze her mind.

A sound like a groan escaped from Laila’s trembling lips.

“Surely not. You… all those nameless humans…”

Badin lowered his chin slightly and stared at Laila. His ruby-like red eyes, as if they had crushed a thousand rose petals and sucked in their souls, flashed unusually.

“Your mother was a very intelligent witch. She recognized my identity as soon as she saw me. At that time, I was in the form of a muddy and straw-covered idiot shepherd, but she willingly invited me into the house.”

—Should I call you father? Or should I call you my husband-to-be?

Laila couldn’t believe Badin’s words. It was hard to imagine that her mother, who was taciturn and calm, and only delved into herself, had said such things.

“This can’t be true.”

Badin was now silently looking at Laila. What he had said, the unbelievable facts, were spinning and spinning in Laila’s mind… It felt like it was going to turn into mush. A headache and nausea rose simultaneously.

“It’s disgusting.”

Laila barely managed to spit out a word. In fact, she wanted to criticize him with more precise and explicit words, but something inside her was once again twisting her tongue.

Badin said:

“It might be so from a human perspective.”

“I’m human too!”

As she shouted, tears burst from Laila’s eyes. Without even thinking of wiping away the tears streaming down her cheeks, Laila bent over, gasping and sobbing.

Badin looked down at her, but there was nothing that could be called affection in his gaze. It was closer to looking at a creature. Like when humans look at insects, coldly judging that they have no purpose or thought.

“With that black hair and red eyes, are you saying you’re the same as ordinary humans?”

Laila, who had been gasping, raised her head. Badin’s finger touched her red cheek, wet with tears. She thought it would be cold and unpleasant, but surprisingly it wasn’t. However, that not-so-alien sensation made Laila shrink even more.

“Do you know why a witch’s hair is black? The first witch, her hair was originally the color of the evening star rising late in the evening. It shimmered like a river of honey under the sunlight, shining brightly golden. But the moment she gave her body and soul to me, her soul burned due to great pain and even stronger pleasure. Thus, her hair turned black, and her eyes, filled with flames, turned red. That is the mark of a witch.”

Laila had to listen to his words without moving. Tears flowed incessantly from her unfocused eyes, but even that seemed to be unfelt now.

Badin continued:

“You should take pride in that fact, Laila Kristrad. Don’t try to fit yourself into the mold created by humans.”

Laila’s lips trembled. She swallowed her sobs in a small voice and then snapped in a choked voice.

“It’s my choice, my life. Don’t interfere.”

“The human male by your side. Is it because of him?”

“His name is Eustar. And don’t refer to him like an animal.”

Laila’s eyes flashed with anger. However, Badin only gave a faint, almost invisible smile as he stepped away from her and changed the subject.

“The Decepter that has contracted with him is a very famous and cunning trickster even among demons.”

“So there are such things even among demons, it seems?”

It was meant to be a mocking remark, but there wasn’t much strength in Laila’s voice.

Badin said:

“You don’t need to try to break that contract. It was made to be unbreakable, without loopholes, and it’s a contract involving blood relations. If a third party carelessly interferes, things are likely to get complicated.”

Laila frowned, not understanding.

“Blood relations?”

Badin, with his hands behind his back, slightly raised his chin. In that posture, amusingly—or eerily—he looked like a high-ranking nobleman that could easily be seen anywhere in the royal palace of Sierow. If he had been mixed in at a place like Ord’s birthday celebration, Laila would never have noticed.

“The royalty of this country are generally born with foolish desires. Thus, they continued to make irreversible choices. The human you call Eustar is the same. His blood relatives are the same. Although entangled and intertwined, fate cannot be changed. So it’s better not to think about interfering with the Decepter’s contract.”

It was then. Beyond the thick fog, from the direction of the Haliwell mansion, a loud explosion-like sound was heard. The moment Laila turned her head, Badin said:

“Let’s meet again.”

When Laila turned her gaze back, Badin had already disappeared. Not only that, but the fog that had been so thick that she couldn’t see an inch in front of her had also completely cleared.

She looked at Karshu’s corpse, no, the broken pieces of the doppelganger left in the place where Badin had disappeared, and then collapsed on the spot. She couldn’t bear it anymore. It was her limit.