The tiny witch from the.., p.1
The Tiny Witch from the Deep Woods: Volume 3, page 1
Table of Contents
Cover
Color Illustrations
Characters
Carmine Continental Map
Book 4: Redford in Danger
Chapter 1: Let’s Go to the Festival
Chapter 2: The Night of the Festival
Chapter 3: Goodbye to Caro
Chapter 4: The Specter That Shatters Peace
Chapter 5: War Against the Plague — The Beginning
Chapter 6: The Nature of the Plague
Chapter 7: Misha’s Regret
Chapter 8: Side Story — Ryne’s Journey
Chapter 9: Ryan and Lalaya
Chapter 10: What Lies Beyond Regret
Chapter 11: Autopsy
Chapter 12: A New Drug
Chapter 13: The One with the Medicine
Chapter 14: War Against the Plague — Conclusion
Chapter 15: Diverging Futures
Chapter 16: A New Beginning
Side Story: A Fun Tea Party
Afterword
Bonus High Res Color Illustrations
About J-Novel Club
Copyright
Book 4: Redford in Danger
Chapter 1: Let’s Go to the Festival
Many years of habit had Misha waking up at the same time as always, sitting up in bed and staring blankly into space.
Though she had left the ball well before it ended, she hadn’t made it to bed until late. As a result, she had slept much less than she was used to, so even though she was awake, her head hadn’t quite started working yet.
After staring into space for a while, she finally forced herself to roll out of bed.
Oh, right—Tia told me that this morning would start late since so many of the servants are off for the holiday.
While the festival was in progress, everyone across the kingdom was celebrating. The staff working at the castle had been split across two shifts, taking turns so that the other half could enjoy the festivities. The festival itself stretched out over two days, so there was ample opportunity for both shifts to celebrate. The ball in the castle had been on the first night, and there wasn’t much in the way of events happening on the second day within the castle itself. Instead, an altar was built on the shore of the lake and a mass would be held at the cathedral, which Ryan and Lalaya were expected to participate in as royalty.
Attendance to the mass was by invite only, so most of the nobility would be sneaking into town to enjoy the festival there or gathering in private parties in their various estates. Misha had been invited to join a party with the staff from the herb garden and had received another invite from the various medical professionals she had become close to here in Redford, but the events of the previous day had been so overwhelming that she turned all of those invitations down, leaving her schedule for the day completely blank.
Okay, I should wash my face.
Once she dragged herself over to the sink, the cold water on her face finally helped snap her into a state of wakefulness. After a bit more work in making herself presentable, she started on the way back to her cabin. The early morning air in the castle garden still held a soft chill and a quiet that made the previous night’s festivities seem like a dream. There were fewer servants and workers moving about than usual, supporting Tia’s claims about the staff being on break.
Tia and Isabella both had the day off today. It was suggested they stagger their time off so that at least one of them would be with her each day, but these plans had all been laid well before Misha came to Redford. Most of all, neither of them had been willing to give up the chance to support Misha on the day of the ball. Their vehement insistence ended up in both of them taking the second day of the festival off.
Enjoying the view of the castle’s flowers slick with the morning mist, Misha began imagining what breakfast would look like today.
I’ve still got some eggs, so maybe those with some dried tomatoes. A plain vegetable soup is probably good too. Oh, but I have to finish those sausages.
She hummed a tune as she walked, her stomach giving a soft rumble to communicate its own impatience.
“Good morning, Ren.”
As Misha opened the door to her cabin, she found Ren on the other side happily wagging his tail and plopping down in front of her in greeting. Although he was still young, he was a wolf, so there were people in the castle who might have been scared of him. Misha had decided not to take him around the castle very often. Ryan had given her permission to bring Ren anywhere, but even someone with as sheltered an upbringing as Misha could understand that walking around the castle with a wolf was abnormal.
Of course, getting rid of Ren was out of the question, so Misha had concocted her plan to move into this cabin with Ren instead. If he couldn’t be in the castle, the two of them could just stay outside, she figured. Misha’s discovery of this cabin on one of her walks had been a great cause for celebration. However, if she were honest, her excuse of being too stressed living surrounded by so many other people wasn’t exactly a lie.
“I’ll make breakfast right away. And just for today, I’ll share some of my sausage with you,” Misha said, rubbing Ren’s fur, which still had the softness of childhood.
Ren’s eyes narrowed happily at the sensation, then he started rubbing his head against her in an obvious invitation to scratch him in his favorite spot. Misha laughed as she obliged, spending some time scratching him behind the ears.
“Okay, be a good boy and behave for a while. I’m starving.” She had only eaten some light snacks the night before, so as a girl who was used to getting three solid meals a day, she was now quite hungry. In order to make them cook a little faster, Misha cut the vegetables for her soup into smaller pieces than usual, and then she threw the sausage in the frying pan alongside her eggs.
“Maybe I’ll have a bit of a bigger breakfast today,” she murmured, her body spinning about the kitchen like it had forgotten how to stop. Once she finished cooking and set breakfast on the table, a knock sounded from her kitchen window.
“Yo. Looks tasty.”
“Oh! Hi, Geord.” Misha looked up in surprise at Geord, leaning sleepily on her windowsill. “You’re here awfully early. What’s wrong?”
As she dashed over to the window in concern, he smiled back at her. “Just on my way home from work. I was doing security last night.”
“I was wondering why I didn’t see you last night. So you were at work the whole time?” Misha’s eyes widened in surprise.
Geord replied with an embarrassed shrug, “Yep. Even though I got a court rank with my position, the other nobles get kind of uncomfortable with me around, so I put myself on security for the first day of the festival.”
He continued explaining over a cup of tea, since Misha decided it made more sense to invite him in than to talk through the window. “But that gives me the whole second day off, so I get a hearty reception from the commoners and those with low rank.”
“Sounds a lot like you,” she commented.
“I saw you last night, by the way. I was hiding in the corner. I was surprised at how good a dancer you are. Your dress was really pretty too.”
Misha’s face flushed a little at the sudden barrage of compliments. “My partners were just that good at leading. Otherwise a beginner like me could never have danced that well.”
“If you say so. I’m a terrible dancer, so I guess the two of us would be awful together.” Geord laughed at Misha’s attempts toward modesty.
Misha’s cheeks puffed out at his obvious teasing. Although she was trying to be modest, she did want to be recognized for how much effort she had put in during practice.
But I know that’s just being pretentious...
“Oh, don’t make that face. I’m sorry. Actually, I came to invite you out to celebrate the festival in town today.” Geord gave a wry grin, poking at Misha’s cheek. Misha instantly switched gears, tilting her head.
“In town?”
“Yep. The town will have festivities all day. There’ll be twice as many shops open, and there will be flowers and lanterns all over. Don’t you wanna see?”
Geord’s description of the town made Misha’s face light up. She had turned down all the invitations she’d received the day before because she’d been stressed out about the ball, so today her schedule was completely free. She was even starting to regret turning down so many of them now that she had been able to sleep and recover from the events of last night. She had no reason to turn Geord down now.
“I want to go! I’d love to see the festival!”
Her enthusiastic response got a similarly bright smile out of Geord. “Got it. I’ll make sure to teach you how to properly enjoy a festival.”
After enjoying a good breakfast, Misha headed to the gate where she had agreed to meet Geord to find him already waiting for her. Having been on his way back from work earlier he had been in his guard’s uniform, but now he was wearing his usual vest over a white shirt and black pants.
“Sorry for making you wait!” Misha said as she dashed over to him. Geord had said he was going to get some exercise in before they met up, so Misha had assumed she’d be here first.
Geord pushed himself upright off the pillar he had been leaning against. “No worries. I just got here too.” He smiled as his leisurely stride matched Misha’s pace perfectly. The fact he was considerate even over something so small brought a smile to Misha’s face.
“Walking together lik e this makes it feel like we’re traveling again.”
“Doesn’t it? But uh...please don’t get into any trouble this time, okay?” Geord muttered, flashing a mischievous smile.
Memories of their journey together flashed through Misha’s mind. “None of it was trouble! They were all wonderful experiences!” she replied proudly, pointedly not matching Geord’s gaze.
In turn, he could only chuckle. “I guess that’s what we’ll call it, then.” He shrugged.
Misha paid his teasing no mind, continuing at the same pace.
The walk from the castle to the lakefront where the festival was being celebrated took them about thirty minutes at that speed. But of course, that kind of distance was next to nothing for Misha, who had grown up in a forest, and she very much enjoyed the stroll through the city, decorated as it was for the festivities.
Ren looked up at the two humans as they walked, confused as to why they were in such good spirits. Normally he was left behind on outings like this, but since it would only be Misha and Geord—and they were just going out for fun—Misha had decided to bring him along. That said, with the crowds they were expecting to run into, they couldn’t let Ren just run free like he usually did. Not everyone was as fond of animals as Misha was, and with Ren’s small size, it was all too easy to imagine him getting lost or trampled among the crowds.
Thus, to ensure everyone knew he was harmless and to prevent him from getting lost, he was on a leash made of rope. Considering how rarely he strayed from Misha’s side in the first place, it wasn’t that much of a bother for the little wolf. He was just excited that he was allowed to accompany them, as indicated by the rapid swishing of his tail while he trotted along beside her.
And so the strange group of man, girl, and beast made their way to the festival grounds, arriving just as the window for breakfast was ending. With business at the various stalls starting to slow down, a number of beautifully decorated festival carts began parading around the area.
The floats were painted in a brilliant blue and embellished with a full rainbow of flowers and ribbons. Each decoration was its own work of art, making just watching the procession an exciting experience.
“This is amazing! Is that decorated with fruit? And that one with dolls! It’s so cute!” Pulling on Geord’s sleeve as she excitedly pointed at each of the floats moving by, Misha seemed very much like a girl her age. Geord, in turn, nodded along with a smile, casually shielding Misha from the movements of the crowd and guiding her along so as not to disrupt its flow.
After some time, once they had come to a place that was a bit less congested with onlookers, Geord handed Misha a cup of fruit-infused water he had purchased behind her back.
“Thank you!” She happily accepted the gift, having worked up quite a thirst with all her excited exclamations so far.
Geord grinned. “My pleasure. Too bad it’s not fizzy this time. I guess you can relax.”
Misha scowled as Geord poked fun at the memory of her first experience of a carbonated beverage, when they had run across each other by chance while walking through the old city and he had offered her a taste of his drink.
“Don’t tease me! I can drink that stuff no problem now!”
“Yeah, yeah. You probably would have been fine if I had given you kids’ stuff from the beginning. Sorry,” he said with a laugh, no shred of an apology in his expression. Instead, he pointed at a passing float. “These floats only come out on the second day of the festival. There are ten of them, and they only come out once in the morning and once at night. We’re lucky we made it in time to see them.”
“Oh, really? I like the different costumes everyone’s wearing too.” The procession of floats quickly had Misha’s undivided attention.
Geord watched over her captivation with a smile. The straightforward way she expressed her curiosity and interest on her face was enough to make the trip worth it for him. His attempts to draw those expressions out of her were the reason their trip back to Redford had taken so long, and why Tris had been so angry with him. He didn’t regret his actions in the least.
Today’s outing was one he hadn’t asked permission for, and so Misha wasn’t attended by any other escort. Geord had decided that since it was a familiar city, nothing untoward would happen. He had left a message back in the castle, though, which he imagined was just about reaching Tris and sending him through the roof right about now.
Come on, don’t you think you’re getting distracted too easily? You’re way too easily sidetracked, Misha.
Misha sipped at her drink, having already completely forgotten Geord’s teasing. He had to hold back a laugh as he enjoyed his own ale.
“They look great at night too, when all those lanterns on them are lit up, but unfortunately I don’t think we’ll be here that late,” Geord said, patting Misha on the head.
She turned back to him with a bright smile. “They’re already beautiful. Thanks for taking me to see them.”
After watching the last of the floats pass by, they walked around visiting a number of the festival stalls. Unlike during other times of the year, the stalls cramming the street now offered plenty of games for passersby, like target practice and ring toss. Occasionally one would catch their interest and they’d stop to win a prize. In particular, Misha had to laugh when Geord was unable to hit the targets with the toy bow they provided him, and he stubbornly insisted on trying over and over. For the first time, she learned how fun it could be to banter over a friend’s failure.
Since Geord was born a commoner, he had many friends around the city, and quite a few people stopped to greet them as they walked. Some of them were even the owners of the stalls they were passing by, and so they handed them free food and drinks as they went or shared alcohol with Geord.
The most surprising encounter was when they met Shydein. Just as he’d said he would, the old captain had found work and started living in the city. Apparently, he was working as a helper at an inn, which had opened a food stall during the festival. They had brought Shydein along to work as something like a bouncer for them, he explained with a laugh as he handed Misha a skewer. He had really acclimated well to Redford, as shown by how many people stopped to talk to him. His ability to carry on conversations with them while still doing business was remarkable. Misha had to laugh at how many people stopped to say, “Wait, you’re charging me for this?!” as he handed them food.
Between all the food, drink, and people, Misha thoroughly enjoyed the festive mood that had settled over the city. Ren was also quite popular with the people, getting scraps of meat tossed his way and pretty little ribbons tied around his neck as they walked. Normally, when Misha had to leave him behind, she left him with the gatekeepers or stables because she felt bad locking him up alone in her cabin. His various opportunities to play in the castle gardens had given him the chance to get used to people, so he was able to keep calm even as numerous strangers reached out to pet him.
On top of that, his training with the castle’s watchdogs seemed to have stuck, as he kept close to Misha’s side at all times, a watchful eye on the crowds around them. When Geord noticed his behavior, he had to praise the little wolf for being a great bodyguard.
The day wore on, and eventually Misha happened to notice a pair of rather familiar-looking young boys.
“Yuu! Teto!” Misha instinctively blurted out as she saw them effortlessly weaving through the crowd. But when they heard her voice, they instantly came to a stop.
“It’s Misha!”
“You came to see the festival!”
The two boys dashed over to her and gave her a big hug.
“Yeah, Geord brought me. You’re here for it too, then? Wait, where’s Anna?” As she ruffled the two boys’ hair, she realized one small figure was missing from the usual crew. Normally there was a little girl following these two everywhere they went.
The two boys shrugged. “She’s waiting somewhere else. There’s too many people here for her.”
“She came to see the floats, but she’s so small that she gets carried away by the crowds. Apparently it tired her out.”
Misha noticed the drinks and bags of sweets the boys were carrying. “Looks like you bought some stuff for her?”
“Aww, what nice older brothers she has,” Geord commented, watching the three kids talking with a smile.
