The crackling of fire filled my ears, while smoke hindered both my breathing and sight. Despite this, my gaze continued to concentrate on a silhouette.

The person I did all this for was coming, standing in this inferno with no fear, his hair dancing with the tempos winds.

Truly, he who was once called a demon has grown up to become a hero. While I, a child raised in nobility, with the highest pedigree, have set this world ablaze.

Perhaps after this day, the name Elia shall be recorded in history as the name of the most detested witch known to man.

~~~~~~~~~~

Disgusting was his appearance, as was his personality. He spoke crudely and had a manner that no gentleman would dare emulate, and yet, I found myself interested in him. Many would say that I was foolish, or perhaps hopeless. Either way, my childish self wanted to bring this slum child to come to the manor. If all went well, I could have taken the boy in to become an indentured servant.

Father flatly dismissed my request.

And so, the disgusting boy, who hailed from who knows where, was cast out from the manor. All the while spreading curses as he was forced out.

"Shitty nobles you lot! Go rub ya selves with pig shit and bathe in cat piss, ya son's a bitches! Why don't ya?! Go to hell! Go to hell I say!"

That child is lucky that I paid off the servants. Who knows what would have happened if father heard of his curses? After all, insulting a noble is punishable by death.

Sadly, mother dearest, who learned of what I tried to bring home was not pleased. Her entire face scrunched up, almost as though she had dined on an entire sour lemon. To tell the truth, she looked rather inelegant, boorish even. It truly is of no wonder as to why father does not love her, she is simply too unpleasant.

"My child, reflect upon this incident properly. The child that you tried to bring into this manor is a filthy little thing. Be wary of him, the appearance he holds could be a trick to manipulate good children like you. I warn you now my child, don't ever do this again."

And that was what mother said.

But I have never been an obedient child.

Later that night, with attire I bought from a servant boy, I found a little rat hiding in an abandoned building. The rat was filthy, and he stank to high heaven, making me wish I could send a servant off to bathe him.

"Hey girl, why the hell are ya here? Ha... Go back to ya home and die off, ya piece of shit. I tell ya! Go back!" The boy said as he threw a rock at me. He missed though.

I wanted to tell the boy that I was male... But decided not to.

Why didn't I tell him the truth?

Perhaps it was because of the first time I saw the child.

I was sitting in a carriage with a maid who also doubled as my father's paramour. This should be a sign of my father wanting my approval of his affair. But why? I was a child of only twelve years, and wanting my acceptance shouldn't be a concern. Maybe there was more to it? I couldn't be bothered to think about it though. So I only looked out the carriage window and gazed upon the people.

It was then that I saw him.

Black raven hair. Dirty attire. An angered expression.

I locked eyes with that child, and I felt my heart skip a beat. Much like when a hunter is approached by a ferocious beast.

"Melissa," I said softly. "Who is that boy?"

Melissa looked out the carriage window to where my gaze fell upon, but the expression that came upon her countenance was something I did not expect.

"A slum child, young master?"

The maid radiated both disgust and confusion, but what I was looking for wasn't there.

~~~~~~~~~~

Crackle. Crackle.

The fire burned brightly, causing the bodies surrounding me to burn and turn into charcoal. But that wasn't unexpected, I knew what I was doing.

Focusing my mind, I used my remaining mana to connect myself with my servant. Long-range communication magic was something only masters could use. So of course, I, a warlock born through strong emotion should be able to use such magic.

"Milady witch, we have completed things on our side. Have you finished on your end?" My servant, Millis, asked blankly. I have always known him to be like that.

"The hero is approaching me... So I'm almost done."

"I shall wait for you milady witch. Please be careful."

"Of course."

The wind howled viciously, while the hero's figure approached me apprehensively, almost as though he was waiting for something. I didn't know what that was.

As I was trying to get up, blood spilled from my lips, and my legs trembled under my meager weight. I had used too much mana, pushing myself further may result in my death. But at this point, did that matter?

~~~~~~~~~~

"Young master, I beg of you to forgive me, please," Melissa said coldly. Strangely enough, the girl was quite calm in the face of danger. "I was in the wrong young master. Please spare me." It was too bad that she crossed a line with my mother. A shame indeed.

"You may be father's lover Melissa, but my mother is still father's wife, you went too far when you provoked mother when she barely tolerated you."

"Please young master... I'm with child."

Her words flustered me greatly, but at the same time, I wasn't too surprised. I had already suspected that Melissa was pregnant. This was simply because pregnancy could explain the strange occurrences around the manor.

Mother, who suddenly decided to call me 'my child'. Father, who made Melissa my maid. And the appearance of the raven-haired boy.

All of this was because of Melissa's pregnancy.

I gazed into the eyes of this sinful woman, looking for any compelling reasons as to why I should spare her. There were none.

If Melissa gave birth to a girl I could let her live, but if the child was male, there was no way I could be merciful. As it would be best to get rid of any potential problems quickly. This was probably why mother didn't object to Melissa becoming my maid. At the very least, my mother knew me well.

Even if I was only twelve years old, I was already known as a competent heir for the dukedom.

Melissa had kneeled before me, making sure her gaze was to the floor, never peering up into my eyes. I could see why father liked her.

He liked submissive women.

"Be quick."

The maid, whose eyes were to the floor panicked for a second. She had no idea what the young master was talking about. All she knew was that she had felt a terrible foreboding. Not knowing what to do, Melissa answered like a typical servant of the dukedom.

"Your will shall be done, young master."

"Your will shall be done, young master."

What? Somebody else answered with her?

Melissa looked up and saw a butler aiming a knife at her throat! In her fright, the maid was unable to dodge, causing her throat to be cut. Knowing that she was going to die, Melissa tried to scream, but a ball of cloth was shoved into her mouth as soon as she opened it.

The butler then stabbed at her neck in multiple places, making the poor maid struggle as hard as she could before she stopped moving. Surprisingly, the maid was still alive. Her heart continued to beat, and her body was still warm. Though the poor maid won't be staying alive for long.

"Did you learn anything young master?"

"Yes. I learned where to stab. Now hurry and make an alibi. I'll get White to deal with the body."

"Your will shall be done, young master."

~~~~~~~~~~

Down the streets and through the slums, I walked towards an abandoned building. I came to find the child loved by the color of ravens, the black that demons adore. I found the boy in tattered attire and thought about the first time I saw him. Such a child was born cursed, and such a child shall stay cursed for the rest of his life. And so, a question arose from the pits of my cold heart. How was a cursed child able to enter the dukedom?

With this question in mind, I searched and searched till I found my answer. Mother had brought the child in. She wanted Melissa to be cursed by the child.

Oh! Such is the jealousy of a woman in love!

But honestly, what a boring scenario. And here I thought that something exciting would happen.

Now knowing the truth, I sighed disappointedly. I had thought that the appearance of a demon would be something amazing, but all I learned was that he was hired by my mother to curse some maid girl. Wasn't this story too mundane? I hope that in the future, the mother will be able to think of something more elaborate.

"Child," I said coldly. "My mother called you to this territory, right?"

The boy's expression changed from one of annoyance to indifference. Making me wonder why the child ever cursed Melissa. And yes, the maid was cursed.

I, who was talented in magic sensed something ominous coming from the girl as soon as she became my maid, but since I noticed she was afflicted with a curse that only affected her... I just let it be. But when the time to kill Mellissa came, the curse did not disappear. Instead, it got stronger.

I was quite excited seeing such a thing for the first time. Yet, despite the joy I felt, I was alarmed by the strength of the curse. Its magnitude told me that the spell caster must have at least been of high rank, or a demon's alphaster.

A demon's alphaster, so to say, would be those who have willingly sold themselves to a high-ranking demon —not much else is known about them.

I gazed at the boy once again and saw he looked upon me with not only an unconcerned expression, he gave me a gaze which asked me why I was inquiring of the obvious.

That look stung my pride, so I had to explain.

"I just asked to confirm, after all, it doesn't hurt to double-check one's information. If I may, can I ask you something else?"

The boy still did not reply. But the look the child gave me changed into something indecipherable.

"Even if you've received permission from the duchess to stay in the dukedom, the people living here would have a problem with it. So how did you avoid getting kicked out? Father didn't even order your execution when he saw your appearance, and the servants who dragged you out of the manor did not flinch when they kicked you out. Perhaps you have—"

A long black spear appeared in front of my face, right between my eyes, hurriedly trying to stab me.

Seeing that his master was almost going to get killed, my butler pulled me harshly and brought my body into his arms, carrying me out of the abandoned building. Sadly, the spear seemed intent on killing me, as it followed the two of us outside.

It was too bad that my butler was incredibly skilled, if not, the boy would have certainly killed me.

Once again, the spear charged towards me, but this time I was prepared.

I'll have to neutralize this pesky spear.

"—devour it, oh flames, leave nothing unscathed in your path. Hellfire!"

Flaring blue flames sprang forth from my hand, devouring the spear into nothing. Causing me to vomit out blood.

"Young master," My butler whispered, he surely is a keen fellow. "Use this."

He took out a black handkerchief, then placed it on my lips.

"Thank you," I said with a wry smile. "You truly are an amazing butler."

"I thank you for the compliment young master." He responded with.

Glancing back at the abandoned building, I saw the boy shuffling out. It looked as if he was the one who suffered an attack and not me, as his mouth and eyes were spilling blood.

"I can't believe your alive." He said coldly.

"Me too!" I said happily, as I got out of my butler's embrace. "It's a good thing that my butler is quite the fast one."

The boy sighed as he wiped the blood flowing from his lips, while I arranged my clothing.

"Hey lady, what do you want?" The boy asked menacingly.

I didn't answer, instead, I smiled lightly while making sure the boy could see my face.

He looked quite scared, but he soon noticed how he looked and quickly changed into a more indifferent expression.

I then began to slowly walk towards the boy, each step holding strong intent. And when I reached my destination, I took the boy's hand and placed a black handkerchief on it.

"It smells of blood."

"It's a noble's blood, so be honored."

"Just tell me what you want... Don't be so roundabout with it."

"Well if you insist —Come here."

My butler, knowing that I was calling him, came to my side with a small box in his hands. Taking the box from him, I opened it in front of the black-haired boy.

"...The maid's hair? The curse I shared is gone? How?"

As explained before, the boy was likely a demon's alphaster, someone who dared to betray the gods and serve demons. So of course, these blasphemers would surely pay a high price for their sins.

"I removed it. I hope you are pleased, and if you want... I can do more." I said as I shoved the opened box into the boy's hands.

Demon's alphasters will only be able to use cursed magic, as stipulated by our most beloved Goddess, but this was just the tip of the iceberg. Alphasters' themselves had a curse —it was a curse of death. The most despicable of curses, and a curse only the Goddess herself could remove. However, that didn't mean that an alphaster's life was forfeit. As long as the blasphemous thing found someone to share the curse with them... well, they would be able to live for a while longer. It wasn't a permanent fix, but it could extend an alphaster's life momentarily.

Hope glowed in the young boy's eyes as he stared at me. He was without love, without respect, and without honor. But in my eyes, this boy was quite amusing, therefore, I wanted to have him serve me.

The boy bowed and lowered his head to the pavement, dropping the box but not the black handkerchief.

'He has tact.' I thought.

"Young lady... If you would be so kind, could you please help me?" He pleaded solemnly, his countenance mimicking that of a loyal servant.

I grinned at the sight but remembered my manners, and covered my grin with my gloved hands, at the same time noticing the red blotches on them.

Perhaps, even though this meeting wasn't all that amazing. A day will come when I will be satisfied. And for that day, I am willing to take in even a demon.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Witch, are you satisfied now?" The hero asked in a mocking tone, it was something that I kind of liked to hear.

"Not really oh hero, I still want to do more after this."

"You are sicker than even the demons. How the hell did I ever get stuck serving you?"

"You should be grateful, I've made you a hero and soon to be a king."

"You aren't even going to die."

"So?"

"There's no use talking to you."

"Haha! If that's what you think, then go ahead. I am open and waiting to be pierced by your sword."

"If you insist." The hero said as he grinned.

That boy, now a man, raised his sword and pierced me at my heart, causing me to vomit out more blood. I staggered slightly before losing to blood loss and laying down on the burnt ground, the hero's sword already having been pulled out. I glanced to the boy's eyes, which looked golden to others and black only to me.

It was an amazing feeling, having a huge secret that others will never know of.

"I've never seen you so weak." The hero said softly as he sat down near my head. He even brushed away a few stray hairs from my face.

"This body is just..." I had lost too much strength, making me pause in my speech before continuing. "A puppet, so don't worry too much."

The hero smiled weirdly. It was a smile I had never seen before.

I felt suspicious.

"But it's still a puppet that can feel physical touch and is very sensitive."

"So? What is yo—"

The hero touched my inner thigh and kept moving higher.

I blushed.

"Milady witch, I hope we can have a more... In-depth conversation later. Perhaps after your death?"

My eyes widened in shock after I heard his words, but that was all I did in response when usually, I would have bashed his head in.

My control over the puppet was loosening, meaning I couldn't even move right now.

"See you later, my lord." He said solemnly, as though what he was doing wasn't something I would scorn him for, as if it was something I would pr—

I saw the man before me grin excitedly, even daring to wink at me after what he had done!

By the Goddess, he was playing with me! The bastard dared to play such a terrible joke!

When I get my hands on him, I'll—

"Hahaha! I've never seen you flustered before, milady witch!"

When I get my hands on you, I'll strangle you to death! To. Death!

He laughed again.

I died.