The White Marriage of the Seamstress and the Ice Count

When Master Conrad embraced me, in an instant I was filled with disgust.

Even with one arm his terrible strength held me down. 

I struggled to escape.

There was a sound outside the barn.

Someone was fighting and then, a sound of someone falling.

The barn door opened violently.

“Sara!”

The one who came in was a breathless Master Alexis.

He looked distraught, completely different from his usual calm and collected self.

The strength holding me down lessened for a moment. 

I took the opportunity to shake off Master Conrad’s hand, and rushed to him in a daze.

“Master Alexis!”

Master Alexis hugged me close, tight and reassuring.

With that, I felt that no matter what, everything would be alright. 

Conrad drew his sword with his left hand.

“What’s with the ‘Ice Count’! Don’t get in my way!”

But Alexis was faster.

He made me fall back, then took out his sword and in a flash, his blade met his opponent’s with a loud, clanging sound.

Then, he thrust the tip of his sword at Master Conrad’s throat with no hesitation.

He spoke in a voice like permafrost, “Never come near my wife again.”

“…Shit! I will remember that!”

Master Conrad rushed out of the barn.

But then, from somewhere flew a black ball, exploding in front of him.

Black smoke and a terrible smell rose up.

What… What happened?

I walked out of the barn, supported by Master Alexis. 

There, I saw both Master Conrad and his servant fainted, heaped on top of each other.

“It seems you made it in time.”

When I looked up, I saw Lady Margaret standing there.

Behind her was Elsie, gathering some of the black balls from earlier into her apron. 

That… Don’t tell me, was that what Lady Margaret has been simmering in a pot before…?

The smell lingering around was identical as that time before.

Hearing the commotion, the neighbors gathered around.

Slowly the shock set in and my legs began to tremble.

Suddenly Master Alexis scooped me up into his arms.

People around us stared at us with open mouths. Among them were some familiar faces, like Ben and Anna.

Ah… So embarrassing!

But Master Alexis paid them no mind. 

He asked Lady Margaret to take care of the rest and like that, we were headed back into the castle.

“M-Master Alexis… I can walk by myself, please put me down…!”

“No,” Master Alexis disregarded my words and continued marching on. 

I could feel his strong arms on my back and under my knees.

My racing heart did not calm down, but the shock did fade. Instead, I was wrapped in a sense of security. 

　✧✧✧

“That was such a disaster, Sara.”

The next day, Lady Margaret visited us at the castle.

I escorted her into the parlor room and we met her with Master Alexis.

According to Lady Margaret, Master Conrad and his servant were arrested and to be tried by the local judge. 

Ben, who was there at the time, offered up his wagon for both Master Conrad and his servant to be rattled off to the town jail. 

She said that I will be asked to testify at a trial at a later date. 

“I’m sorry for forcing you to deal with the aftermath,” Master Alexis apologized.

Margret snorted at this. “Really, now… But since Sara is alright, all’s well that ends well.”

“You were a real help. If you didn’t send that crow to me in time…”

I stared with disbelief at Master Alexis as he said that with his eyes downcast.

Send a crow? What on earth was that about?  

Lady Margaret grinned at me.

“…Since Sara is a member of our family now, we can tell her, can’t we?”

“…I can’t stop you. But please refrain from involving Sara in any unnecessary danger.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Master Alexis turned to me with a face filled with sorrow.

“Sara… My great aunt is a witch.”

My mouth fell half-open.

A… witch?

“A witch… That kind of witch? The one that uses magic and flies?”

“Ohoho, I’m too old to fly now. If I fell down and broke a bone, wouldn’t that be more trouble than it’s worth? At most, I make smoke balls for self-defense and let crows fly on a lookout in the town.”

“After three hundred years of age, she cannot allow herself to be reckless.”

“Three, three hundred…?”

“Alexis, stop joking around with a straight face.”

I looked at Lady Margaret with a question written on my face and she denied it all with a disappointed look.

“I am only seventy-five. Three hundred year old witches only exist in fairy tales.”

“I-I see…”

Even still, her being a witch was enough of a fairy tale. 

Rumor had it that among the upper echelons of nobility, there was a minority of extremely gifted wizards and witches able to use offensive and restorative magic. 

But all through normal life, the chances of meeting such a person were close to zero. The kingdom hid their identities from the public, and the people in question would not openly declare themselves as witches or wizards either.

To think that one of them was right next to me…

Once again, my respect for Lady Margaret grew.

Margaret told me how she rescued me from danger.

“My familiar, a raven, saw you being taken into a barn. Since yesterday I’ve been getting reports of sightings of two unfamiliar men wandering about, so thankfully I redoubled the patrols then. I was informed right away. I borrowed the body of a crow stationed at the castle and informed Alexis of the emergency. It was much faster for Alexis to run from the castle than for me, after all.”

“It was surprising when a raven flew by and suddenly spoke in the great aunt’s voice… But thanks to that, I was able to save Sara. I am grateful for that.”

When Alexis thanked Margaret in an unusually obedient manner, Margaret nodded.

“That’s right. Sara is your cute wife, but she is also my benefactor. I have to protect her no matter what.”

“A… benefactor?”

I blinked in surprise.

Lady Margaret leaned towards me. 

“Yes, Sara. You are our benefactor who lifted the curse from this house.”

“The curse? But I didn’t do a thing…”

“You may not realize it, but I knew it from the first time I saw you. You have a special power. You can put your magic into needles and cast a ‘protection’ spell on the clothes and accessories you make.”

A “protection” spell…

It was the first time I’ve heard about something like that, but at the same time, I felt like the pieces were starting to fit together perfectly.

“So it’s thanks to that magic that the things at the bazaar got so popular and Rosie recovered…?”

“Yes. Your ‘protection’ magic is a powerful ward against injuries and disease. It really is quite strong. However, it is not the kind of magic suitable for a ‘Transfer’, as the magic flows only through a needle to the clothes and accessories.”

As I listened to Lady Margaret, I felt as if a great weight that has been with me since so long has been lifted from my shoulders.   

It wasn’t that I didn’t have any magic power.

It was just being used elsewhere.

Without knowing it, Master Conrad’s scarf protected him and made him into the “Miracle Knight”, and it helped Master Alexis as well. I was able to cure Rosie’s illness, which was thought to be incurable before.

I was so happy that I wasn’t a helpless, useless person that I wanted to cry. 

Lady Margaret sent me a kind smile.

“I may be a witch, but I have my own strengths and weaknesses too. I can use offensive and conjuring magic to create items like the smoke balls, but I cannot use support magic like ‘protection’ magic. I don’t know any other witches or wizards, since the kingdom keeps them a secret and I cannot look for them… The witch who put the curse on our family has long since died, so there was no way to find her and have her curse lifted.”

“…Does the curse persist even though she’s dead?”, I wondered.

Master Alexis next to me answered my question. 

“I guess it must have been a very strong grudge. One hundred years ago, the Middleton family was given the title and land by His Majesty and allowed to live in this castle. However, after the previous owner left, the castle was abandoned, and during that time, a certain witch and her daughter took up residence. One hundred years ago, there were more witches and wizards than now, and their magical power was stronger. The mother and daughter witches were also former nobles, but they had fallen into poverty, and of course they were trespassing there. They had no money and the daughter was so ill that she could not walk. The count at the time forcibly removed the witches who begged to be allowed to stay in the castle at least until the daughter was cured of her illness.”

“Oh…”

“Perhaps the count wanted to set an example by acting so harshly as a new ruler. But shortly thereafter, the witch’s daughter drew her last breath. The witch, who had lost her beloved daughter, resented the count so bitterly that in exchange for her life, she cursed the Middleton family with a disease that would last for generations to come.”

“So that’s how it was…”

It pained me to think how the witch must have felt back then.

But even so, involving the descendants who had no involvement at all was another matter altogether.

I was really glad that the curse was lifted and Rosie was saved.

Lady Margaret drank her tea and set the cup down gently.

“Sara, as a witch, I could see that the curse was tormenting Rosie. It was like a black, ominous smoke that, no matter what I did, just wouldn’t go away. I thought that I would have to sit back and watch her getting weaker and weaker, just like my brother and his wife did… But when you married Alexis and started dressing Rosie in clothes that were filled with the magic of ‘protection’, the curse began to weaken, shrinking smaller and smaller. And that dress with the moon and stars was the deciding blow! That ancient mystical design and the pure crystal strengthened your magic, and the curse that had haunted our family for a hundred years was finally gone! Oh, how I rejoiced!”

Lady Margaret covered my hands with her own and said with a look of gratitude, “Thank you, Sara. My family members will never die because of the curse again. All thanks to you.”

“I’m just glad I could be of help.”

When I said it, a bit embarrassed, Lady Margaret smiled cunningly.

“I owe you a great debt of gratitude. If Alexis ever mistreats you, do not hesitate to tell me. I will pay him back tenfold.”

“I-I don’t think we will need to worry about that!”

“…Great aunt, do you really think I would do such a thing to Sara?” Master Alexis turned to her with a disapproving look in his eyes.

But Lady Margaret was not concerned.

“Ohoho. That reminds me, Alexis has had a crush on Sara for a year now, hasn’t he? I hope I don’t need to worry about that anymore.”

“Great aunt!”

“Well then, I’ll excuse myself. I have a business meeting in town. I’m in a hurry, so you don’t need to see me off.”

Taking Elsie with her, Lady Margaret left the parlor room.

Alexis and I were left all alone.