Medea, struck by the arrow, leaned against the window and stared blankly outside, her breathing growing ragged.
It was a craving that could not be described as mere “beauty”—a longing so intense it felt as though her very soul were being torn out by the roots.
“Ah... aaah...”
Like a sleepwalker, she drifted toward the castle walls.
It was an outing her father had strictly forbidden, yet at this moment, such trivialities did not even occur to her.
Meanwhile, as I walked along a forest path lost in thought, Lady Hecate spoke to me.
[My disciple, the air has changed. A most vile and sweet fragrance has begun to drift through the wind. It seems the Queen of Olympus has thrown a great variable your way.]
Lady Hecate’s languid laughter, hidden within the shadows, tickled my ears.
Puzzled by her words, I suddenly heard something rustling in the nearby brush.
Turning toward the sound, I saw a woman emerge from the shrubs, silver moonlight shattering across her form as she appeared, gasping for air.
The woman who stood before me was, in every sense, not normal.
“Ha... haa...”
Her gaze was locked onto me, unwavering.
Unconsciously, I narrowed my eyes.
“...I’ve never seen your face before.”
But something was wrong.
This was not merely the feeling of facing a stranger.
It was an indescribable, unpleasant sense of dissonance.
I couldn't shake the feeling that someone had “forcibly stitched” this encounter together.
[Heh... you noticed, did you, my disciple?]
As I pondered this, Lady Hecate’s low laugh drifted from the shadows as she watched the scene unfold.
[That girl is not in her right mind. From the look of it, she seems to have been struck by a golden arrow.]
A golden arrow.
An arrow that forces the victim to fall in love with the first person they see.
The instant I heard that, I realized the source of the indescribable feeling I had sensed from her.
Slowly, I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword.
Alert.
It wasn't hostility, but rather... a judgment that this situation was dangerous.
“...Who are you?”
When I asked in a low voice, the woman took another step toward me.
Her eyes were already losing focus, and her breathing grew more frantic.
“...You...”
Then, in a trembling voice, she spoke.
“...You are my...”
The words were strange.
We had clearly just met, yet she spoke as though she had finally found someone she had known for an eternity.
I frowned.
“...I've never seen you before. Do you live in this kingdom?”
At my question, the woman’s body trembled faintly.
“...Yes. That’s right.”
But then...
“And...”
The corners of her lips lifted ever so slightly.
“...I love you. We’ve only just met, but the moment I saw you, I fell in love with you.”
In the stillness of the forest, where moonlight seeped through the branches, her confession sent an alien ripple through the air, shaking the very atmosphere.
“...I’ve only just met you, and I don’t even know who you are.”
At my words, the woman smiled and answered.
“I am Medea, princess of Colchis.”
I was deeply startled.
If it became known that the princess of a nation had made such advances toward a man she had just met, it would undoubtedly lead to a massive headache.
Her eyes were already unfocused, hazy with a dreamlike glaze.
With every ragged breath, the magical energy pouring from her body mingled with the cold night air of Colchis, creating a strange, shimmering heat.
[....My disciple. Look at that girl’s heart. Eros’s arrow has sunk in deep. Right now, to her, you are the law of the world, the very order of existence. How pitiable.]
Lady Hecate’s languid voice drifted from the shadows, but I did not loosen my grip on my sword.
There is no 'disorder' more uncontrollable than emotions forcibly implanted into the soul.
“Love, huh... That’s a rather heavy word to hear upon a first meeting.”
At my low voice, she trembled and looked up at me.
Her shaking hand reached out tentatively as she spoke.
“You may laugh at me... I don’t mind if you think I’ve lost my mind. But the magical energy inside me... my soul... it wants you.”
As I listened to her,
[My disciple, would it be all right if I manifested there for a moment?]
Lady Hecate spoke to me.
Yes, that is fine... but why the sudden need to appear in person?
A brief silence followed, but I ultimately gave my consent.
The moment I agreed, my shadow twisted subtly.
Sshhh.
Darkness spread as though seeping up from the ground, slowly coalescing into a form behind me.
The cold night air instantly grew deeper and heavier.
“...!”
Medea’s body jerked in surprise.
She could not comprehend what was happening, yet she could not resist it.
Her gaze naturally shifted behind me.
And there stood a woman who seemed to be woven from the darkness itself.
Her long hair flowed down like the midnight sky, and her eyes were as deep as the abyss.
Hecate.
Lady Hecate, my teacher and the goddess of witchcraft, looked down at Medea in silence.
“...It’s been a long time.”
A low, resonant voice.
With that single sentence, Medea’s breath stopped completely.
“...Teacher?”
From her lips escaped an unbelievable form of address.
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