Silent Witch

Book 14: Chapter 3: A Common Tragedy

After finishing his meal with Emanuel, Felix gazed out the window of the carriage taking him back to Serendipia Academy.

So far, everything was going perfectly.

Emanuel Darwin, the Jeweled Magician, had been won over to his side. All that remained was to poison Duke Crockford, and Felix would take the throne as soon as he graduated.

Duke Crockford was Felix's greatest patron, but he had already secured the support of Baron Grimton, Count Moran, Count Ashent, and Marquis Baldia through his connections in the entertainment district. Even if Duke Crockford were to die suddenly, they would support Felix.

Just a little longer

For him, the throne was not the finish line but the starting point. The day he died, leaving behind a legacy as a wise king would be his true destination.

Until then, he could not afford to rest no matter the cost.

Felix took his pocket watch out of his pocket to check the time. It was just past noon. He would probably arrive at the academy around dusk.

He had already submitted a request to leave the academy, so he could return to his dormitory, but he had some documents he wanted to organize in the student council room.

Felix instructed the coachman to take him to the school building instead of his dorm and then leaned back and closed his eyes.

He still had plenty of time before they reached the academy. He might as well take a nap.

At some point, it started to rain outside.

The sound of rain, the sound of the wheels, and the slight swaying of the carriage lulled the half-asleep Felix into a familiar dream.

What appeared behind his closed eyelids was a scene from the first time he had ever ridden in a carriage. Of course, the first carriage he had ridden in was not nearly as elegant as this one.

Isaac Walker was the son of a doctor in a small town in the eastern part of the Ridill Kingdom.

His father was a gentle and kind man, beloved by the townspeople. His mother was beautiful and known for her cooking. He had a younger brother, Colin, who was not yet a year old. Isaac, who had just turned six, and his three family members made up a perfectly ordinary, happy family.

Even now, Isaac could clearly remember the day that ordinary happiness was shattered.

It was the day of the annual festival.

He had gone to the festival with his father, mother, and little brother, and he was delighted when they bought him a skewer of venison. As he gobbled up the skewer, getting his hands and mouth all greasy, his father would smile wryly and wipe his mouth with a handkerchief.

"Isaac, it's better to hold the skewer horizontally, not vertically."

"Okay."

Isaac held the skewer horizontally, as his father had told him, and looked up at his little brother in his mother's arms.

"The skewer is really good. Do you want some, Colin?"

"*chuckles*, it's still too early for Colin to have a skewer."

Isaac was a little disappointed that he couldn't act like a big brother to his little brother, but he promised himself that he would share his skewers with him once he got a little bigger.

Just then, the sound of a bell rang out in the distance. The sound of the bell, which had nothing to do with the festival, was a signal of an emergency.

Clang, clang, rang out the violent sound, accompanied by someone's screams.

"A dragon! A swarm of dragons is attacking the town!!"

The town, which had been filled with laughter until just a moment ago, was suddenly filled with screams and chaos as people ran for their lives.

"Come here!"

His father grabbed Isaac's hand, and his mother held baby Colin tightly as they ran.

The skewer fell out of Isaac's hand, and someone stepped on it, crushing it instantly.

The town was attacked by a swarm of earth dragons. They were flightless, but their scales were tough, and they were fast. To make matters worse, they were incredibly ferocious when they were in a pack. The town's resident guards were no match for them.

The town, which had no significant military force, was quickly overrun, and many people were killed.

From that day on, Isaac and his family lived in a shelter on the outskirts of town, but since his father was a doctor, he went to the front lines to treat the wounded.

"Dad, will you be okay? There are still dragons out there, right?"

Isaac's father told him, in a gentle voice, that most of the dragons had moved outside of the town.

Even so, there were still a few dragons that had gotten separated from the pack and remained in the town. What's more, the dragon knights from the royal capital had not yet arrived.

"Dad, don't go. It's dangerous."

"Even if it's dangerous, as a doctor, I must go there. If there are people who are injured, I have to go."

His father patted his son's head with his large hand and said with a gentle smile, "Isaac, will you protect your mother and Colin while I'm gone?"

Isaac fought back tears and nodded firmly.

"Yes, I will. I can do it. Because I'm a big brother."

"Good boy."

His father laughed heartily and left the shelter, the hem of his white coat billowing behind him.

The next day, his father was crushed to death under a collapsed building.

Isaac's mother was devastated by his father's death, but she quickly packed their belongings and prepared to leave town for the sake of her sons.

People were swarming the stagecoaches, all pushing and shoving to get on first. Isaac and his mother were only able to board a coach after waiting in line for two days.

The coach they finally boarded was a cramped wagon with no seats, and people were packed in like sardines. The middle-aged man sitting next to Isaac kept bumping his elbow into Isaac's head as he moved his arm even slightly, causing him pain.

As Isaac sat there, he fought back tears as he thought about his father.

He really wanted to burst into tears. But he was a big brother. He had to protect his mother and brother, so he couldn't cry here.

But perhaps because he had absorbed the anxiety of those around him, or perhaps because he was hungry, baby Colin, who was in his mother's arms, began to cry.

"Oh, Colin, what's wrong? Are you hungry? I'm so sorry, just be patient a little longer."

His mother tried her best to comfort Colin, but his thin, sobbing voice gradually grew louder. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before he started to cry uncontrollably.

Isaac took out a handkerchief from his pocket, twisted it up into a ball, and pulled hard on the end.

"Look, Colin. It's a bunny."

He moved the makeshift bunny puppet around near Colin, and Colin's attention shifted to it.

Colin reached out his tiny hand to the bunny puppet and giggled.

After entertaining his brother for a while, Isaac kissed Colin's cheek with the bunny puppet.

"What should I make next? A flower? Or a cat?"

Colin moved his drooling mouth and repeated, "Hooose."

"You want a horse? Hmm, that's a bit difficultjust wait a moment."

As Isaac tried to make a horse out of the handkerchief, the horses suddenly let out a loud neigh, and the carriage shook violently.

Someone on the edge of the tilting carriage screamed and cursed as they were crushed, but a ferocious roar drowned out their cries.

Everyone there knew what that roar meant.

"A dragonnnnnn!!!!"

The moment someone screamed, the carriage shook violently and overturned. A dragon's tail had swept the carriage sideways.

The people inside the carriage tumbled over each other and screamed. Some of them were crushed and died instantly, their necks twisted at strange angles or blood pouring from their headsincluding Isaac's mother.

"Mom, Mom!!"

His mother, who had embraced and shielded Isaac and Colin, was bleeding from her head. Her ankle was also swollen and turning black.

Even so, his mother did not utter a single word of complaint and pushed Colin towards Isaac.

"Take Colin and run away."

"Mom, you too"

"I can't, my legdoesn't movehurry"

Isaac hugged Colin and felt lost. Isaac was a smart and sensible child, but he was still only six years old, at an age when he still wanted to be spoiled.

For a young boy who had just lost his father, the option of abandoning his mother and running away was too cruel.

"No, no, no, no"

As Isaac sobbed in his arms, Colin began to cry loudly.

That's when a large hole appeared in the carriage.

A dragon had thrust its sharp claws into the carriage.

Isaac watched as the tip of the giant claw was thrust into his mother's body without hesitation.

In that instant, he moved his legs before he could think.

Turning his back on his mother's corpse, he hugged his little brother and jumped out of the overturned carriage.

The scene outside the carriage was a nightmare. Three earth dragons surrounded the carriage. Blood splattered everywhere as the creatures, covered in brown scales, swung their claws haphazardly.

People were being crushed underfoot by their legs, which were thicker than logs.

"Uwa, uwa, uwa, ow, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"

Isaac tried to escape through the gap between the dragons. But the dragons mercilessly swung their claws at the young boy.

Isaac narrowly dodged them, but the tip of a dragon's claw gouged the right half of his face.

"Uwaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!"

He was in excruciating pain, and he couldn't open his eyes, blood dripping down and staining his little brother's face.

"Ahhhh, wahhhh, uwaaaaaaaaaahhhh!"

As Isaac screamed and hugged his brother, a dragon's tail struck him hard in the back.

And with that, Isaac lost consciousness.

Raindrops fell on Isaac's bloodstained skin as he lay there. The rain washed away the stench of death and blood that hung in the air.

"Colin Colin"

Isaac desperately held on to his fading consciousness and held his little brother to his chest.

He stretched out his short arms to keep Colin from getting wet, even just a little bit.

"I'll protect you I'm your big brother"

He heard the sound of hooves in the distance. And not just one. It must be the dragon knights. The dragon knights had come to their rescue.

He heard the voices of adults above him.

"What a horrible sight"

"I heard it was the work of earth dragons but earth dragons aren't supposed to live in this area?"

"They're probably dragons from the empire that crossed the border."

"This is hopeless there are no survivors wait, there's a voice coming from over there!"

The knights heard Isaac's faint voice and quickly helped him up.

Now he would be saved. He had managed to protect his little brother, Isaac thought hazily.

"The older brother is barely alive"

"But, the younger brother is"

That's when Isaac finally realized.

His little brother's body in his arms was cold. His cries had stopped a long time ago.

There was no way that his young brother could have survived for days, left out in the open.