Little Witch’s perspective.
My name was Rufe.
At the time, I was masquerading as a member of the Beast-ear Race, sporting a pair of white cat ears. Because of that, I looked exactly like the Witch Queen, Kirke.
I had recently consumed a Mistletoe Fruit, a vessel for the Witch Queen’s magic. It was a crystal of her power, something we had obtained only after the Alraune defeated her. The moment I swallowed it, I felt a torrent of mana surge through my entire body.
Simultaneously, the Witch’s Mark Kirke had branded me with burned white-hot, and an overflowing power began to pour from the depths of my soul.
“...Is this the Witch Queen’s power?”
It was the first time in my life I had ever felt something so immense. In that moment, it felt as if I could do anything.
However, the transformation triggered by the fruit didn't stop at a mere surge of energy. Suddenly, an abnormality took hold of my body. My limbs grew numb, and I felt as if the very bones in my fingers were stretching.
I was extending—no, I was growing.
It felt as though I was being pulled by invisible hands, my entire frame maturing in seconds. My field of vision rose, and the clothes I wore became suffocatingly tight.
“Am I... growing up?”
A stranger stood in the reflection of the hallway window. She was a white-haired woman with cat ears and the same crimson eyes that I possessed. Strangely, the woman in the glass mirrored my every movement.
“My body really is getting bigger...!”
I looked to be about the same age as the Alraune—perhaps seventeen or eighteen years old. My white hair had grown even longer, the tips now brushing against the floor.
It was bizarre. I was only thirteen. Neither Papa nor Mama had ever mentioned that the transition from childhood to adulthood could happen so violently fast.
“Is this because of the Witch Queen’s power?”
“You absorbed Lady Kirke’s mana and matured?! I never imagined it would go this far...!”
The man with the afro, who had been staring at me with something bordering on worship, let out a cry of shock. Diesel, the animal tamer and a subordinate of the Witch Queen, was visibly shaken as he addressed me.
“Even for a witch, I’ve never seen a body grow from a child to an adult so rapidly!”
Actually, that wasn't true. I had witnessed this very thing many times before.
“The Alraune always grows into an adult like this. It’s not strange at all.”
“No, no, no! It’s definitely strange!”
When the Alraune was in her child form, she often underwent a rapid growth spurt through photosynthesis. Having seen it so often, I didn't think my own transformation was particularly special. I assumed that once this borrowed power ran dry, I would revert to my original self. When the Alraune had grown as large as a mountain, she eventually returned to her normal size after exhausting her energy.
Regardless, my reflection was the spitting image of the Kirke from my memories. Perhaps this was simply the woman I was destined to become.
“Hey, Diesel. Do I really look that much like the Witch Queen right now?”
“Y-Yes, you certainly do! I hate to admit it, but you are the spitting image of my master, Lady Kirke.”
“I see... so that’s it.”
As a child, I had been turned into a witch by Kirke. Now that I had grown into an adult, I looked exactly like her. This didn't just apply to me; it applied to the Alraune as well. When she matured, she became the double of Saint Iris.
But why?
Was the Alraune’s appearance molded to look like Saint Iris, just as mine was made to look like the Witch Queen? The Alraune wasn't Saint Iris herself. No matter how much they looked alike, she was still my Alraune—that would never change.
Still, this incident made me certain of one thing. The Alraune and Saint Iris definitely shared a connection. Much like me and the Witch Queen, they were bound by an inseparable fate.
“Also, I’ve realized something else.”
After absorbing that magic, I felt incredibly strong. Perhaps that was why I suddenly understood the intricacies of the Witch’s Magic as if the knowledge had been hardwired into my brain. Information I had never studied was flowing into my mind.
Because of that, I finally understood his secret.
“I can sense the Witch Queen’s magic inside you, Diesel... Is that the Familiar’s Mark?”
“...I-I’m impressed. You can actually see it?”
“I can. The reason you obey her is because of that mark.”
The Witch’s Mark turned humans into witches, but it only took hold in those with the right potential. Witches used it to expand their numbers. I had been made a witch because Kirke planted that mark on me.
In contrast, Diesel bore a Familiar’s Mark. It was a brand used by witches to control their servants. It was a high-level technique even among the Witch’s Black Magic, something supposedly only the Queen could use. Through that mark, Diesel had become her puppet.
Yet, for some reason, Diesel’s mark was responding to me. Because I was now so close to being Kirke herself, he found himself unable to defy me.
“That’s why you’ve been listening to me this whole time.”
“Even if it goes against my will, I cannot defy the contract with Lady Kirke. Since you are the Witch Queen’s Daughter, I can’t help but feel the urge to serve you.”
“...I’ve told you a dozen times, I’m not her daughter.”
But I had a problem. My body was larger and my magic was stronger, but I lacked a finishing move. If I summoned a storm like the Witch Queen had, I could defeat Diesel, but I would take the Duke’s mansion down with him. I had to neutralize him some other way.
“Hey, Diesel. Why don't you just become my ally?”
“No matter how much you ask, Lady Rufe, I cannot do that. My only master is Lady Kirke.”
It seemed his obedience had its limits. I would have to plant my own Familiar’s Mark on him to truly win him over. Thanks to the magic I'd absorbed, I knew exactly how to do it, but it should have been impossible.
“Are you planning to make me your familiar? It’s no use. I’ve already entered into a contract with Lady Kirke. I can’t serve another witch.”
“So it seems...”
“Besides, as impressive as you are, you can’t perform a Familiar Contract. That is a Witch’s Secret Technique reserved for Lady Kirke alone.”
Robbing someone of their freedom entirely... witches really were terrifying. If ordinary witches ever learned to use the Familiar’s Mark, they would become an even greater threat to humanity.
But if the Witch Queen could do it, then maybe I could, too. I looked exactly like her, after all.
“Tell me, Diesel. What would you do if I actually could use the Familiar’s Mark?”
“...What?”
“I think I can do it.”
The magic from the Mistletoe Fruit that the Alraune had stolen was still inside me. As long as Kirke’s power resided in my body, I could do anything she could. My plan was to form a contract with a familiar and use them to defeat Diesel. It was the only way to end this without destroying the estate.
“But Lady Rufe, have you forgotten? I won't become your familiar. Who exactly do you intend to use?”
“As for a candidate... there’s one right there.”
I turned away from Diesel and dashed down the hallway. I wasn't the only one fighting. To ensure Tulpe’s Proxy could escape to the courtyard, the Lady Knight, Katarina, had stayed behind to hold the line.
“...Katarina-san!”
At the far end of the corridor, Katarina was locked in a desperate struggle with a Strange Urn Golem—a bizarre pot with arms and legs. She was losing. Her sword had been snapped in half, and the golem had her by the head. It was seconds away from crushing her.
“L-Lady Rufe... r-run...”
“I’m not running.”
I wasn't the little girl who hid behind the Alraune anymore. I had overcome countless hardships and grown alongside her. I was stronger now. I could fight on my own.
I partially triggered my Transformation Magic, sprouting white wings from my back. Combining that with the Witch’s Levitation Magic, I soared toward the golem in a low-altitude glide.
“Lady Rufe?!”
“Katarina-san... I’ve got you!”
I collided with the Urn Golem. The moment my hand made contact, I funneled the Witch Queen’s magic into it, branding it with the Familiar’s Mark.
I would turn a foe into a friend. Just as the Alraune did with her Saint Nectar, I would build my own strength by recruiting the enemy.
“Please... become my familiar!”
Next time: Little Witch's First Subordinate - Part 4.