“I told you not to show up with that face.”

“Hehe, why? Does it upset you?”

“That’s my face, you witch.”

“Ha, ‘my face’?”

Julian glared at the witch without hiding her animosity, but she met his gaze as if she found it amusing.

“That’s funny. You think you’re actually the princess? You’re just playing royalty, thanks to my power.”

“Shut up.”

She warned softly, fearing someone might hear them.

“Change that face, now.”

Looking at a face identical to her own felt like conversing with her own dead soul. 

It was unsettling, like being one step closer to death.

“Ordering people around when you’re dying.”

The witch’s words contradicted her actions as she swept her hand from her chin to her forehead, changing her face as Julian had demanded.

“How’s this face? Feel like talking now?”

Red hair, green eyes, and a teardrop mark below the right eye. It was the face of Iva, someone she loathed even more.

Julian clenched her lips harder.

“This is the face of the person you hate most right now.”

As Julian’s face twisted in disgust, the witch cheerfully added an explanation.

“How many lifetimes will it take for you to like this person?”

“Not happening.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure.”

The witch teased her, picking one of her ear in an obnoxious way.

Julian wanted to drive her out that very moment, but she felt too weak, as if she was about to collapse.

“Why are you here all of a sudden? You wouldn’t show up when I called for you before.”

“I’m here because it looks like you’re really going to die this time. To fulfill our promise.”

The witch moved closer to Julian, who was lying on the bed, lifting her chin with her forefinger to meet her eyes.

“Half of your life, that is.”

The witch licked her lips as if staring at a dealicious meal.

Julian mustered the strength to raise her hand and swat her finger away.

“Don’t joke around. I’m not dead yet. Our deal is for after I die.”

“Hehehe.”

The witch took a step back, laughing slyly.

“How much life do I have left?”

“Do you really want to know? It’ll just make you sad.”

“Tell me if I have enough left to cast another curse.”

Julian brought up the matter of another curse, despite her fading eyes and a heart that had turned almost pitch black, to the point where the red of the blood was no longer visible.

The witch doubled over with laughter, clutching her stomach like a child. Julian scowled deeper, as if the real Iva was mocking her.

“Hahaha! You’re so reckless; it makes you even more enticing.”

“Cut the crap and answer me.”

“Twice.”

“What?”

“You have enough life left to cast two more curses, but they can’t be major ones.”

“How major are we talking?”

“Hmm, maybe enough to make someone trip and crack their forehead?”

“Be specific.”

At her commanding tone, the witch dropped the corners of her mouth and grabbed Julian’s face with one hand.

With her incredible strength, an involuntary grunt escaped her lips.

“It means you can’t kill the woman with the face you despise so much in one go.”

Hearing her say this with Iva’s face felt even more like mockery, fueling her rage.

“Why?”

“Didn’t I tell you from the start? I don’t do the whole killing people thing.”

“Because you can’t afford to lose your life?”

“Yeah, I’m in it for the fun, not for stupid risks that involve losing my life.”

“But you’re taking my life.”

“Even though you knew that, you still made a deal with me, you foolish human.”

The witch smirked arrogantly. Julian stared back at her without yielding.

“So you’re saying, if not instantly, I could kill her slowly?”

The witch pushed Julian’s face away with a look of disdain.

“Of all the humans I’ve met, I’ve never seen one as greedy as you.”

“Enough. Cast the curse.”

“Here?”

The witch glanced briefly toward the bedroom door, asking if it would be fine to cast the curse here without raising their voices, in case someone might hear.

It obviously wasn’t fine, so Julian struggled to her feet. She then pulled out a small pouch hidden beneath the bed.

She poured the red powder from the pouch into a cup of water on the bedside table.

As the clear water turned a dark red, Julian began to gulp it down.

“You really are fighting to stay alive.”

The witch waited until Julian had drained the cup.

“Head to the forest.” 

Julian said, wiping her red-tinged lips.

“Ha ha, ever the willful princess.”

The witch chuckled and snapped her fingers, glancing once more toward the bedroom door. A slight breeze blew, and both vanished.

“W-What the hell…”

However, someone had been listening to every word.

It was Claude, who had to report on Julian’s condition to Emperor Adhvan every day.

He had planned to administer medicine instead of the maid today, but when he heard an unfamiliar voice, he didn’t enter, instead pressing his ear to the door.

Then he heard the unfamiliar words.

“A curse? And something about lives? And a princess who was ‘playing royality’…?”

When no more voices came from the bedroom, Claude slowly opened the door and walked in.

No one had come out, but the bedroom was completely empty. Baffled by the impossible event, Claude took a few deep breaths before exiting the room again.

He couldn’t leave any signs that he had been there.

“Julian, just who the hell are you?” 

It was the moment Claude’s suspicions about her were confirmed.