The Devil's Cursed Witch

After enjoying tea with the elves, Ember spent the rest of her day inside her study, memorizing the runic characters with familiar ease, once in a while snacking on desserts or coming out on the balcony to get fresh air.

Though she liked studying, she could not help but feel restless since she's been told to stay put not of her own volition. She felt caged, like her world was limited to this southwest wing of the palace, and could not wait for these few days to pass till her bleeding stopped and she was allowed to go out wherever she wanted.

She looked at the last page of the runic language book in front of her. She had finished the entire book in a span of two days. Her servants were amazed by her speed, and even she herself felt surprised at how fast she learned its contents.

'Why do I feel like I already knew this and reading it is like just revising it? Have I ever read this language before? I don't recall Gaia ever teaching me this language...Reya mentioned this was the language used thousands of years ago by the entire continent and is probably forgotten by humans after several generations have passed...But why does it seem easy to me? I have memorized the symbols and the grammar rules with no problems, and as long as I've learned a word once, I can recall it without effort. Is it normal to feel like that after reading this book? Or am I as smart as Reya and Clio say but I was simply not aware of it?'

She then once again looked at the runic symbols written in the book. 'But no matter how much I think, I am sure I have never read a book like this before. It is too expensive for commoners to buy books, so Gaia only gave me very few books which I left back in the cave. I know them all by heart...'

She sighed and almost pulled her hair trying to remember anything, but there was no result.

Late in the night, Ember was still feeling restless. She could not sleep and sat up in her bed. She thought of calling for Reya or Clio, but remembered that they had already retired to their rooms to sleep. As her assigned maidservants, they were given rooms in the same wing as hers so that they could easily attend to Ember's needs whenever she needed them. She only needed to call for them, but Ember felt it was rude to disturb them just because she couldn't sleep.

"What should I do? I can't seem to fall asleep." She walked around her chamber and then remembered something. "Right, since I have learned this kingdom's language, now I can read that magic book, but..."

Her mind recalled her embarrassing clumsiness whenever that red-eyed man was around.

"...I can't dare face His Majesty to ask for that book. I better borrow it myself when he is not around. This can be a good time. Most of the servants in the palace are sent out, so I can easily sneak inside the King's study."

The more she thought about it, the more convinced she was of her plan. With a determined expression, she wore her shoes and walked towards her door with soft footsteps.

'Elves have sharp hearing,' she remembered as she slowly pushed open her door and took a peek at the dimly lit hallway. 'I must not wake them up.'

'Reya and Clio mentioned their rooms are those to the left across mine. Good thing I'm not passing in front of their doors,' she said in relief as stepped into the empty hallway. With her heart skipping nervously, she quietly closed the door behind her and walked with slow footsteps. The King's study was located on the ground floor while she was on the top floor--it would take a lot of effort for her to reach her destination without making any sounds.

'It's fine, I can make it there,' she thought. Before descending the staircase, she peeked at the opposite side of the palace, the wing that belonged to the King.

'He must be sleeping as well. I don't have to worry,' she tried to cheer herself to distract her from backing out. Slowly, she climbed down the staircase, walking with the help of the moon outside the windows. Since it was nighttime, none of the oil lamps were lit, but luckily, there was light coming from the decorative sun orbs hung on the stone walls, but they were placed at intervals.

It took her a long time to reach the study as it was a huge palace and she was walking carefully to not get caught. Surprisingly, not a single person was outside. It made her remember the first time she tried to run away from this palace, no servant was also around to stop her, but somehow, the King had caught her and brought her back.

'At last!'

Ember felt proud as she stood in front of the door of the study. As she looked at the door, she hesitated for a second, knowing that it was wrong to intrude, but in the end, her resolve won over her guilt.

'Please forgive me Your Majesty for sneaking into your study. It's just that I cannot wait to learn magic. I want to be able to protect myself and learning magic is the only way.'

Ember was aware of her situation--she was nothing but a girl with nothing to her name. Her entire life, she had been helpless by herself and relied on her nanny to survive. Before, Gaia had been protecting her and now she's gone, it seemed like the King had replaced that role.

'I don't want to be anyone's responsibility now. I will become independent. When I have the means to protect myself, I can finally do what I've always dreamed of doing--to travel around and explore the world.'

Ember slowly opened the door of the study, and as expected, it was empty. Strangely, the lamps were still burning, keeping the visibility inside the study high, and though confused, she didn't bother to think more about why the lamps were still on.

She looked at the elegant desk carved out of redwood that took up the largest space of the study and the large armchair behind it which was empty, much to her relief, but as she was about to let out a relieved sigh, she smelled something.

'What is this strong scent? Did someone spill perfume on the carpet here?'

With a wrinkled nose, she quietly entered the study and walked toward the bookshelves. She remembered from which shelf Erlos had pulled out that book from. It didn't take her much time to reach in front of that shelf that was as tall as the ceiling.

'It should be around here...' It was a thick book with a unique cover and letters and it didn't take her time to find it. It was on the shelf two rows above her. 'Found it!'

A small smile of triumph appeared on her lips and she reached up to pull that book while tiptoeing. Just as she grabbed the spine of the book and pulled it--

"What are you doing here?"