CHAPTER 04
A newborn baby’s job is to sleep, cry from hunger, nurse, and poop.
I was no exception. After a nap, I woke up absolutely starving. But crying about it, when I carried the ego of a witch who had lived for centuries? It was a bit too undignified.
“Ugh.”
Resigned, I decided to focus on grasping the current situation to distract myself from the hunger. I recalled the contract I made just hours before being born.
Though I now couldn’t move a single limb on my own, I was originally a witch—one of only five in the world. The youngest and last remaining: the Witch of the Center.
The world’s elemental powers once gathered at the four extremes of the land, and from those energies, life formed and gave birth to the witches. Those were my older sisters:
- Teresa, the Witch of the East
- Ares, the Witch of the West
- Dian, the Witch of the South
- Nike, the Witch of the North
And then there was me, the final witch born through the combined power of my sisters. The moment I was born, my so-called father threw me into the mouth of a monster to save his own skin. My sisters saved me and shared their powers with me. That’s how I became Erika, the Witch of the Center.
“My sisters are as good as my parents.”
If not for the Demon King, I would’ve lived happily with them to this day!
“That greedy, wretched bastard!!”
Back when I was a witch, the Demon King was the first to break through the highest level of mana circles, achieving the 12th Circle, and declared he would conquer the world. Apparently, the powerful eventually become consumed by their greed and want to rule everything.
Naturally, gods and other powerful beings stood in his way. And when he couldn’t rule the world, he declared he would destroy it instead.
Beelzebub—that cursed Demon King!
“Couldn’t he just stay the king of the demon realm? Why try to devour all three realms?”
Truly a wicked creature.
My sisters couldn’t bear to watch the world perish, so they gave their lives to stop him.
If only I’d known it would be the last time I saw them. I would’ve stopped them. I would’ve gone with them.
“Even if the world ended, I should’ve stayed with my sisters until the very end!”
With regret consuming me, a suspicious stranger appeared and proposed a deal. I grabbed his outstretched hand without hesitation.
He called himself Nox. A mysterious being surrounded by black aura.
“Only the last remaining witch—you—can free me.”
Many had tried to use the witches’ powers before, but this was the first time I encountered a being of unknown origin. He claimed to be cursed and trapped somewhere and promised that if I freed him, he would send me back in time.
“Back in time?”
My ears perked up. I desperately wanted to save my sisters.
Even though his offer felt shady, if he really could manipulate time, I was willing to risk everything.
“If I can go back to that moment, I’ll save them!”
I needed to verify whether Nox was telling the truth—but I was ready to try anything.
No matter the risk, I wouldn’t hesitate. This was about the four people more precious to me than my own life.
“There’s no room for second thoughts.”
And then there was the bonus: saving the Empress of Dreart as well.
“She was supposed to die giving birth, wasn’t she?”
I was grateful to the mother who risked her life to bring me into the world. I couldn’t ignore her fate.
“My mother, when I was born as Erika, died during childbirth.”
So, I accepted Nox’s offer—to save both the Empress Ariana and my sisters.
Our contract was surprisingly simple:
“He’ll send me to where he’s cursed and trapped by having me be reborn there. I free him. In return, he sends me back to the moment I want.”
And I knew exactly where that was.
“To the moment when my sisters faced Beelzebub.”
If I couldn’t stop them from going, then I would go back and save them.
Honestly, I didn’t believe Nox at first. Bending time and space? That sounded impossible.
But then…
“He really could bend time and space…”
Nox proved it by rebirthing me as Rosiana.
The moment I awoke in the Empress’s womb, I instinctively understood.
Both the Empress and the child she bore were supposed to die.
“So Nox was telling the truth. But to bend time and space… What kind of spirit is he?”
Who—or what—is he?
Regardless, I was truly reborn as Rosiana, transcending space-time in an instant. Which meant… the chances of him sending me to my chosen moment were very high.
“No matter what it takes, I will fulfill this contract—and save my sisters!”
I had to. For myself, too. A witch’s contract stakes one’s entire existence—including their life.
“But where is Nox cursed and trapped?”
He said he sent me to where he’s imprisoned—in this empire, in this timeline. I focused on the voices around me to try and gather clues.
If only I could speak, I would ask. But all I could do was babble.
“I can cry, but I can’t communicate yet.”
Just then, the door opened, and a beautiful, albeit pale, woman walked in.
“Mom!”
My hunger was forgotten as I stretched my arms eagerly toward the Empress.
“Aah, uwu! Aung!”
“Welcome, Mom!”
A sweet, warm scent enveloped me as I was lifted into her arms.
“I could’ve brought the princess to you… Why come all this way yourself, Your Majesty? You’re still unwell.”
The wet nurse looked concerned about the Empress moving so soon after childbirth.
“I’ve rested enough. Gentle walking aids recovery. Besides, I missed our daughter. I’ll feed her myself.”
“Pardon?”
“I swore that if I had a daughter, I’d nurse her myself.”
“You won’t hire a wet nurse?”
“No. I’ll nurse Rosiana myself.”
The nurse helped her sit down, still looking worried.
“So this is what a mother is like.”
Even in her weakened state, her first thought was of her child.
“There’s no way I could be cold to a mother like this.”
Definitely not someone I could treat like a cold tsundere character. I stared at her beautiful smile in a daze.
Surely my mother when I was Erika smiled like this too, just once, as she held me. If only she had lived.
No wonder she hid me with her own body even as monsters attacked.
As I nursed, the warmth of her embrace brought me to tears. My tiny hand gripped her golden hair tightly.
I was grateful to the Empress—my mother—who gave birth to me and survived.
“Oh my. Do you like Mommy’s hair, Rosie? I’m glad. You have golden hair just like mine.”
“Really?!”
I hadn’t seen myself in a mirror yet, so I had no idea what I looked like. But with a beautiful mother and a handsome father, I had no real concerns.
“But what I love most is right here, above your eyebrows.”
As she continued nursing me, the Empress kept caressing my forehead.
“What’s up there?”
I was content, full, and drowsy in her arms. Heaven couldn’t be better than this.
“I’m starting to feel grateful to Nox for this.”
It felt like I was being compensated for all the maternal love I’d never received in my life as Erika.
She kissed my forehead again.
“I love that your eyes look just like his.”
A deep voice suddenly echoed in the room.
I turned toward it to see the Emperor walking in.
Everyone had their heads bowed, suggesting he had arrived earlier but waited until feeding time was over.
“Welcome, Your Majesty. And our two sons as well.”
“Mother!”
“Rosie!”
My brothers rushed over like they hadn’t seen me in years.
“Sheesh.”
They looked so happy—I had to at least greet them. So I turned to my family in my mother’s arms.
“Auu, uung?”
“Hey, you guys came.”
Their smiling faces came into view—my brothers and the Emperor.
“Look, Your Majesty. This part of Rosie looks just like you.”
The Empress’s voice was gentle, sincere, and loving.
“What is above my eyebrows?”
I glanced up at the Emperor’s brows. My vision wasn’t sharp, so I squinted and focused.
“I can’t see… Wait, there!”
Above his left brow were two small black moles, like twin dots.
“Double moles? Kinda unique. But if Mom likes it, I like it too.”
Thanks to her love, I was starting to like my double moles. But then I noticed a wrinkle form between the Emperor’s brows.
“So instead of a wink, I get a burp?”
What was he muttering?
“Give her to me.”
He gently took me from the Empress’s arms.
At that moment—
“BUUURP.”
I let out a huge belch.
“Ah! No!”
My elegant image! Ruined right in front of the Emperor!
I looked up anxiously.
“Are his brows even more wrinkled now…?”
“Oh my! Looks like the princess digested well thanks to His Majesty.”
“Even I couldn’t get her to burp like that. Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The nurse and Empress both smiled gratefully.
As for me? I was frozen in embarrassment.
Then, the Emperor smiled.
“See, boys? I made Rosiana burp for the first time.”
“Wow!”
“That sound was so cute!”
“You’re amazing, Father!”
“What is this madness?”
Was he boasting to his sons about my burp?
And they were praising him for it?
Before I could process the absurdity—
“By the way, Empress, I have someone to introduce to you and Rosiana. Young Lord, come.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
A boy approached.
The moment I saw him, I let out an involuntary gasp.
“Te-Tenebres???”
You… why are you here??
“Did Nox really send me to the past?!”
That boy—it was the young Tenebres, without a doubt.
The Black Mage Tenebres.
My worst enemy.
And the only man I ever loved.
Now standing before me as a child, looking straight into my eyes.
