A scent reminiscent of winter forests filled the room. No, perhaps it came from the man who owned this room.

The witch Violetta Phantomwood held her breath, her eyes darting around to survey her surroundings. The door was firmly locked, and she couldn’t dash to the window either. The man stood before her like a massive fortress wall, blocking her path.

‘The room is so spacious, yet he has to stand this close?’

Just as Violetta was grumbling internally, the man spoke as if he had read her mind.

“It would be better if you don’t think about escaping.”

A cold, deep voice flowed from his well-defined lips. Violetta tilted her head to properly look up at him. He remained motionless. Behind round silver-rimmed glasses, his gray eyes resembled those of a wolf eyeing its prey.

“If I had intended to escape, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place. You know that, don’t you?”

Violetta extended her hand demonstratively. It was to prove that from the moment she had stepped into this space that belonged only to him, she had erased the option of ‘unauthorized escape.’ If physical strength was lacking, she could have used magic—the fact that not a single magical reaction had occurred from her hands during their minutes-long standoff was evidence of that.

“You said you’re Duke Cayel Frost, right? I’ll stay put, so could you please step back just a little?”

“Don’t try anything. I know what you’re capable of.”

When Violetta squirmed to create some distance, the man applied even more pressure to her arm. Before his wall-like chest could press against her further, she quickly stopped moving.

“Then please get to the point. You called me here, I came, and you told me not to run away, so I’m being obedient.”

“Yes, the point.”

Cayel Frost ran his long, sturdy fingers through his hair. His dense, pitch-black eyebrows formed a deep furrow. Cayel exhaled deeply as if making a major decision, then began unfastening his shirt buttons one by one.

“W-what are you doing?!”

“Look closely at the mark you left.”

His words flew out with considerable potential for misunderstanding. Without giving Violetta time to be surprised, he promptly undid four buttons and flung open the left side of his shirt. Violetta reflexively squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away.

“You need to look properly. Or do you need my help?”

“N-no!”

Whatever help he was offering, it certainly wouldn’t be advantageous for her. So ultimately, Violetta legally examined Cayel’s bare chest.

“This is……”

The moment she properly identified the ‘mark’ Cayel had mentioned, Violetta’s cat-like eyes grew round as a rabbit’s.

A vivid purple seal was clearly engraved below his collarbone. It was the ‘Mark of Curse’ that each witch possessed in different shapes and colors. The meaning of this was clear.

“So it seems?”

When Violetta responded in a trembling voice, the corner of Cayel’s mouth twitched unpleasantly.

“You intend to act as if you know nothing until the end?”

Cayel let out a derisive laugh and leaned forward. Instinctively trying to distance herself from the predator, Violetta attempted to step back. Unfortunately, there wasn’t even half a step of space left behind her. Her spine pressed firmly against the cold wall.

She couldn’t sink into the ground or soar into the sky, so there was only one option left: to make Cayel Frost release her voluntarily. To do that, she had to repeat this fruitless argument again.

“I know it’s hard to believe, but I really don’t know!”

“You never give up, do you? Then let’s stay like this until you remember.”

“No, whether we stay like this or any other way, I don’t remember anything!”

“Do you think that makes any sense?”

“At this point, wouldn’t it be better to just explain everything calmly? Are you saying I really left this mark? I need to know something properly……”

“Yes, it’s because of you! Because of you, every night, I…!”

Cayel bit his lip tightly and glared at Violetta as if he was going mad with frustration. Whatever he was about to say would make his ears turn bright red.

But Violetta was genuinely wronged. She truly couldn’t remember. For the current Violetta, everything before she opened her eyes in ‘this body’ about two months ago might as well not exist.

* * *

It was early in the year with heavy snowfall. On her way home after finishing murderous overtime with the determination that ‘this year will be the one to escape my overdraft and pay off my student loans,’ a bright white light suddenly flashed in the darkness. Before her eyes could adjust to the light, a tall vehicle appeared.

—Screeeeech.

A tearing sound echoed across the road. The car, braking hard, slid helplessly on the frozen road and struck her. Her body, hit by the massive chunk of metal, was lifted into the air before plummeting onto the asphalt. The back of her head felt hot, and her vision flashed.

‘Uh…’

In her flickering vision, she could see the blinking green pedestrian signal light, and the acrid smell of bl＊＊d stung her nose. Her body wouldn’t move.

A film rolled beneath her eyelids, from the most recent past to the distant one. No matter where she went, the background was always a shabby gray, and there were extremely few characters. Most of the dialogue revolved around money worries. Tuition, rent, deposit, loan interest, living expenses… The terms for money that merely passed through her bank account mixed together in her ears.

She hadn’t realized it while living so frantically, but seeing it from a third-person perspective, it was terribly boring and dull.

‘Hospital bills… will they come? If I can’t go to work, living expenses…’

Even lying on the street, she was busy uttering lines appropriate to her role. As she continued to stutter about money worries, suddenly a thought crossed her mind.

‘Huh? Why doesn’t it hurt?’

She should definitely be in pain, but the sensation had faded. The burning pain of shattered bones, the smell of bl＊＊d so thick it made her nauseous, the screams in her ears and the honking from other vehicles on the road—all had disappeared. Only then did she realize what the images that had just flashed before her eyes meant.

‘I’m dying.’

All the worries that had filled her mind vanished. She just felt empty. In days she spent hungry for both money and human connection, she had only harbored two wishes—was this punishment for being greedy? Heaven was too cruel.

‘I couldn’t even save money…’

That was all she could think with her last bit of consciousness. Eventually, her heart, which had been pumping desperately, gave up its duty, and her vision, which had been repeatedly going dark, turned completely black.

—Died so young.

How much time had passed? She regained consciousness with someone’s declaration of death. She felt no pain. More precisely, her “body” felt like it had become the atmosphere itself.

‘Where am I?’

When she opened her eyes in confusion, only two things were visible: darkness without ceiling, floor, or walls, and a strange woman staring intently at her.

—Why did someone so dull-looking have to inhabit my body?

The woman didn’t look Korean. Long, voluminous silver hair, mysterious purple eyes, a cold impression with slightly upturned eye corners, and skin so white and transparent it seemed translucent below—perhaps best described as neurotic beauty, her appearance was absolutely unforgettable once seen.

The woman kept speaking in an unfamiliar foreign language, but somehow she could understand it.

‘I can’t speak.’

She wanted to ask who the woman was since they could communicate, but no matter how hard she tried, her mouth wouldn’t move. It felt like she had forgotten how to move her body altogether.

Yet despite her pathetic fluttering, the silver-haired woman didn’t give her a single glance of sympathy. She seemed to be thinking only about what she wanted to say.

—I’ve had terrible luck, but you’re heaven-sent. Consider it a blessing to be reborn as a great witch.

‘What nonsense is this? I’m already dead, are you mocking me?’

Had she been able to feel her body, she would have frowned deeply.

What was all this about being a witch? Would she gain special abilities as a souvenir from her trip to the afterlife? As she was having such frivolous thoughts, various parts of the silver-haired woman’s body began to scatter like powder. Looking at her disintegrating body, the woman muttered “d＊mn it” under her breath.

—I don’t know when you’ll awaken in that body, but I’ll give you one instruction. Don’t tarnish the honor of the great witch Violetta Phantomwood, and behave properly. And those who made me like this, find them and tear their limbs…

The woman spoke rapidly due to her sense of crisis, but ultimately, before she could finish her last sentence, she scattered into sparkling powder. As if no one had ever been there, only particles of fine light remained.

‘No, just strange talk… ugh.’

An unpleasant dizziness struck. Her vision blurred, followed by repeated blackouts at short intervals. Unlike when she died after being hit by the car, there was no pain. If anything, it felt like a very heavy drowsiness coming over her. It was as if someone was pulling her feet down into the depths of unconsciousness.

‘So who is Violetta Phantomwood anyway? I am…’

Her original name wouldn’t come to mind. Only Violetta Phantomwood, an unusual name even for a foreigner, lingered on the tip of her tongue.

Soon, even her remaining consciousness faded, and complete darkness enveloped her.