The Witch Didn't Raise the Tyrant That Way - Chapter 1: This is How I Raised Him (6)

“Seven silver coins and thirteen copper coins? That’s it? You said you sold eleven bundles of mountain root!”

“Can’t be helped,” the herbalist auntie replied with a shrug. “The merchant group that takes goods to Laberk deducts their cut, then the one that delivers to the capital takes theirs, too. Add on the commission fees here and there, and we barely make anything. Oh, and the local lord raised the territory taxes starting this fall.”

“What? Even this tiny backwater village is getting taxed more?”

With a dramatic sigh, I took the small pouch of coins the herbalist handed me and began counting the silver and copper coins one by one. This was the payment for the herbs from Lilithea’s garden, along with dried herbs I’d foraged and prepared.

Since I couldn’t sell the goods myself, I had asked the herbalist to handle it. But with this village being so small, most of the sales went through larger merchant groups. While the dried herbs sometimes made it all the way to the capital, by the time everyone took their cut, I was left with less than a fraction of the actual sale price.

“But hey, who’s that kid?”

“Huh?”

Following the herbalist’s gaze, I turned to where Kyle was standing with his hood pulled up. Although he was wearing one of Lilithea’s old outfits, his short hair and sharp facial features made it clear he was a boy.

“He’s a distant cousin staying with me for a bit,” I replied casually.

“Oh, poor thing. Must’ve lost his mom too, huh?”

Kyle blinked at her comment, seemingly caught off guard. “Lost his mom too,” she said, as if drawing a parallel between Kyle and Lilithea. Now that I thought about it, both of them had witnessed their mothers die right before their eyes.

“Well, you’re a kind-hearted, hardworking girl for a witch. It’s his luck that he ended up with you.”

“Haha,” I chuckled awkwardly.

“Luck, sure. If he’d ended up with the real Lilithea, who knows what kind of torment he’d be going through right now.”

“Oh, by the way, the dried purple cherries you asked for are in. Want them?”

“Yes, please! What about the silverthorn leaves?”

“Of course I got them. You begged me so much last time, didn’t you? They weren’t easy to find.”

“You’re the best!”

“Yep, and they’re two coppers each.”

“…”

Curse this backwater trade network. I grumbled inwardly as I counted out coins again. Selling herbs meant watching my earnings get whittled away by commissions, but buying anything came with a markup ten times what I’d paid in my previous village. These were things I used to forage myself or get dirt cheap!

As I reluctantly started to pull coins from my pouch, the herbalist suddenly spoke up.

“Tell you what—I’ll give them to you for half price.”

“Really?” I stared at her in surprise, thinking for a moment that she looked like an angel.

“Yes, but…” The “angel” leaned in conspiratorially. “That salve you gave me last time.”

Ah, so there’s the catch.

The salve she was referring to was the same one I’d applied to Kyle’s wrist on his first day here. It was something Lilithea had made for her personal use, but I’d given the herbalist a jar as a test gift, wondering if it might sell well in the market.

“Would you consider selling it? I think it’d sell like hotcakes,” she suggested, her eyes lighting up.

“Oh, really? I just made it for personal use. You think it’d be marketable?” I feigned surprise, pretending I hadn’t already been planning to sell it.

If I played coy, I might be able to negotiate better terms later. At least, that was my hope. Hopefully, my bluff wasn’t too obvious.

With the deal settled and my coin pouch lighter, our next stop was the biggest cloth shop in town. The real purpose of today’s trip was to buy Kyle some proper clothes.

“Hm…”

The problem? None of the fabrics impressed me.

Even to my commoner eyes, the quality left much to be desired. While Kyle might not have much of an eye for fashion, he’d definitely notice the stark difference compared to what he’d worn in the palace. These clothes might look decent now, but they’d probably wear out quickly and wrinkle easily.

“Ugh… So disappointing.”

Before Kyle could feel disappointed, I sighed theatrically, setting the tone first. Preemptive grumbling was an art, after all.

“If only there were a proper road straight to the capital, things would be so much better…”

Kyle tilted his head slightly at my remark, listening as I began complaining about the state of transportation in the region. Since he was destined to become the most powerful man in the kingdom someday, I figured I might as well sneak in a bit of lobbying. Not that it’d help for the next ten years, but hey—why not?

“It’s no wonder we get charged double or triple commissions, as the herbalist said earlier. And look at the poor quality of the fabric here. It’s all because transportation is such a nightmare.”

I muttered just loudly enough for Kyle to hear, but not the shopkeeper.

“To get from our village to the capital, you first have to walk two days northwest to Sebil. Then you have to go all the way around the gorge and the Red Forest, which takes ten days to reach Laburk. From there, you finally hit the main trade routes, but even by wagon, it’s still several more days to the capital…”

I turned to Kyle and added sternly, “You hear that?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“That’s why running away isn’t an option. Don’t even think about it, okay?”

“Y-yeah, okay.”

“Unless they build a direct highway from the capital to Gondorf and put a bridge over the gorge, this place is going to stay isolated. Got it?”

“Got it. It’s really far away.”

Kyle’s face grew visibly somber, likely recalling how long it had taken for him to be brought here. Even with the knight’s horse, it must’ve been a grueling journey.

“Southern fruits cost a fortune, herbs lose half their value to fees, and even if that salve sells like crazy, most of the money will be eaten up by commissions. With travel so inconvenient, how am I ever supposed to build a decent reputation?”

I continued grumbling under my breath while absently fingering the coarse fabrics on display. Kyle’s gaze lifted toward me, his crimson eyes wide as if trying to gauge what I was thinking.

“Even this fabric,” I muttered, tugging at a roll of linen. “I bet in Sebil it’s two or three coppers cheaper per yard. But we pay the same taxes as the bigger towns. Totally unfair, right? Still, the lord has to pay the same dues to the crown as other territories, so I guess they have no choice but to tax us more heavily…”

“Hey, you!”

The shopkeeper’s shout cut through my musings, and I turned to see him glaring at me, broom in hand.

“What are you muttering about over there? Are you cursing my shop, you witch?”

“What? No, no!”

I panicked, waving my hands defensively. I couldn’t exactly explain that I’d been pouring out the region’s grievances to the future king! The shopkeeper didn’t seem to care—he raised his broom threateningly.

“Get out of here with your bad luck!”

“Oh, wow! Is this linen muslin?” I exclaimed, pointing at a random roll of fabric to divert his attention.

“…What?”

“We need some clothes made—how about ten outfits? Enough to make a few tunics and pants for him,” I said, gesturing toward Kyle.

Without waiting for a response, I pulled a gold coin from my pouch and slapped it down on the counter. It was from the pouch the knight had left with Kyle, meant for his future expenses when he returned to the capital. I’d hoped to avoid spending it, but it seemed unavoidable for now.

The sight of the gold coin made the shopkeeper freeze, his broom falling limp in his hand.

“If you have any ready-made tunics or pants that might fit him, I’ll take those too,” I added, keeping my tone brisk.

“Well, why didn’t you say so sooner!”

The shopkeeper quickly adjusted his attitude. When I handed over another gold coin, which he bit to verify its authenticity, his mood shifted entirely. Soon, he was eagerly pulling out bolts of fabric, focusing on ones with a high cotton content—probably the best in the shop.

“I’ve got some hand-me-downs my boy used to wear. Kids grow so fast at that age, so they’re barely used. Perfect for rough summer playwear.”

The shopkeeper’s sudden change in attitude didn’t end with just the gold coin. He took a large piece of fabric, big enough to cover Kyle’s upper body front and back, cut a hole in the center for Kyle’s head, and tied a belt around his waist. It resembled a crude shirt of sorts.

“Let’s see… Here, take these pants too. They might be a little loose, but if you tighten the strings, they’ll last a few years. But are you planning to carry all this yourself?”

“No, I’ll leave it at the general store with the rest of my shopping and have them deliver it to the house later.”

“Fair enough. You’ll be taking these clothes now, though?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Enjoying this rare display of hospitality from the cloth merchant, I stepped out onto the main road with Kyle, a modest pile of goods in tow.

By now, the sun was high in the sky. Considering the time we’d spent baking bread, walking to town, and shopping, it was well past noon. My stomach was starting to rumble.

Tempting smells wafted from street vendors selling roasted potatoes and chicken skewers, but I resisted. Sitting down to eat here would only invite trouble—especially with the sharp gazes already following me. I could practically feel the weight of the townspeople’s judgmental stares as we moved through the market.

This is exactly why I hate coming into town.

Even the herbalist, who had been friendly and helpful, subtly kept her distance when she wasn’t engaged in a sale. For shopkeepers I hadn’t dealt with before, like the cloth merchant, their discomfort and suspicion were even more obvious. And the passing glances from townsfolk? Icy.

“A girl who lives alone in the forest.”

“A witch.”

Even after several months in Lilithea’s body, I still hadn’t fully adjusted to the way people treated her. Perhaps that’s why Lilithea had become so isolated in the first place.

“When Kyle gets older, I’ll just send him to do the errands in town.”

If he became a familiar face around here, the villagers might even feel sorry for him, seeing him as a poor boy exploited by a witch. They’d probably be much nicer to him than they were to me.

Finally, I spotted the next destination: the bookstore.

Without a word, I turned sharply into the alley leading to it, and Kyle—carrying some of the shopping bags—followed behind me. He hesitated upon seeing the shop sign, his steps faltering slightly.

“A… bookstore?” he asked, glancing up at me with confusion.

“Didn’t that knight leave you a lot of money? Use it to buy whatever books you want,” I said, gesturing toward my coin pouch to emphasize my point before gently pushing him toward the door.

Books were expensive, but money wasn’t the issue.

If there’s anything in this town that might feel remotely familiar to Kyle, it’d be books.

Kyle had been making earnest attempts to help around the house—probably out of fear of Ibi Auntie—but his talents clearly didn’t lie in cooking or household chores. Not that he needed to be good at them.

Kyle was destined to become a king, and the most important things for him to cultivate were proper education and a sense of morality. He was fated to avenge his mother by eliminating his stepmother and half-siblings, earning him the title of tyrant. My goal was to ensure he stopped there and didn’t turn into a true monster.

The original story mentioned that Kyle had barely received a royal education during his exile in the cold palace. If I could nurture his mind and soul during this period, perhaps he’d emerge stronger and wiser. Even basic cultural and historical books from this small bookstore could serve as stepping stones. As for advanced learning and leadership skills, he’d gain those once he returned to the palace.

And perhaps, by reading, Kyle would come to understand that one day he’d have to leave the forest and rejoin the larger world.

Leaving Kyle to explore the store at his own pace, I pretended to browse as well. Curious to test Lilithea’s knowledge against contemporary scholarship, I headed for the botany section.

“Huh?”

Flipping through the latest plant encyclopedias, I couldn’t help but be unimpressed. The kingdom’s academic knowledge on herbalism seemed hopelessly outdated compared to what Lilithea had already mastered. The so-called “latest” edition was published by the Academy just three years ago, yet its descriptions of regional flora were sparse and lacked detail. The section on medicinal herbs native to this area was laughably incomplete, and even the information about plants from Lilithea’s previous village was subpar.

No wonder herbalism hadn’t advanced—people had spent centuries rejecting witches and their invaluable expertise.

“If I blend commonly known remedies with the unique herbs I know about, I could create products with unmatched potency. Imagine selling those along with my custom potions and salves…”

I was grinning at the thought when I glanced over to check on Kyle. He was browsing the shelves with his mouth slightly open, looking completely absorbed.

Thankfully, our visit to the bookstore went smoothly. The shopkeeper’s sharp gaze lingered on me the entire time, but he didn’t say anything outright. Perhaps he was a fellow book lover who knew better than to ruin the quiet sanctity of a bookstore.

Kyle eventually came over, clutching three books: a kingdom history book, an ancient history book about the continent, and “The Beginner’s Guide to Kingdom Swordsmanship.” The selection was limited, given the store’s size, but it had enough basics to cover what Kyle needed.

“Anything else? If you ask, the shopkeeper might be able to order something for you,” I suggested.

“Yes, I can do that.”

“No, this is enough…”

As soon as Kyle felt the gazes of both the bookstore owner and me fall on him, he lowered his head quickly and fidgeted awkwardly. Well, of course. He probably couldn’t think of a book title off the top of his head, nor did he know exactly what kind of book he wanted to read more.

“Hey, can I just buy my own books?”

“It’s your money.”

That’s what I said, but the truth was, there weren’t any books I wanted to buy for myself. Still, Kyle’s cheeks, which had filled out slightly recently, turned rosy as if I had granted him some grand act of generosity.

Oh no! Reflexively, I scolded him.

“Books and clothes. That’s it. I’m not buying you anything else. And you’re going to work hard to pay me back for the food. Got it?”