The Witch Didn't Raise the Tyrant That Way - Chapter 5: The Problem Grew Worse (1)

“Miss, um, this area…”

Hearing Yvette’s hesitant voice trying to dissuade me, I casually turned around to face her.

“You mustn’t go any further.”

“Ah.”

It was only then that I took stock of my surroundings.

‘I’ve wandered too far.’

Right, I’m technically under confinement.

We had ventured close to the boundary of the rear garden, where tall conifer trees stood like walls. The trees, clearly very old, were packed so tightly together that sunlight barely penetrated their canopy, leaving the area beyond shrouded in shadow.

It had been nearly two months since I started living in Kyle’s palace—more than enough time to become familiar with the garden’s geography. Whenever I wandered around examining plants, the maids would usually follow a few steps behind, quietly accompanying me. Today had been no different, but as I enjoyed the softened afternoon sunlight, it seemed I had unknowingly gone too far.

I hadn’t done it intentionally. In shaded areas like this, where even midday sunlight couldn’t easily reach, there were plenty of unfamiliar mushrooms and mosses that caught my eye.

“Isn’t this forest technically part of the palace grounds? I thought it could be considered an extension of the garden.”

“Well, that is true, but…”

I asked out of genuine curiosity, but for some reason, Yvette seemed at a loss, fumbling for a response. The other maids, who had been following behind us, exchanged uneasy glances, their lips moving silently as if hesitant to speak.

What’s this about? Their strange reactions made me tilt my head in confusion.

“That area beyond is technically the grounds of the annex. This forest has long served as the boundary between the inner palace and the annex, so it’s not officially considered part of the garden.”

Yvette, who had been nervously shifting her gaze, finally managed to reply.

“The annex? There was another building here?”

“It was demolished earlier this year.”

“Oh.”

Earlier this year. In other words, if it was a building Kyle went out of his way to demolish after ascending the throne, there could only be one.

‘The place where Kyle spent his childhood.’

When I first arrived at the palace, I had been given a brief introduction to the surrounding areas. The only residential space mentioned was the inner palace where we were currently staying.

That meant the inner palace—where his current bedroom was located—had not been given to Kyle after he lost his mother. Instead, young Kyle had been driven beyond this gloomy forest by his stepmother, who had poisoned his mother, and his half-siblings, who had stolen the luxurious palace he should have inherited.

A dull, oppressive weight pressed down on my chest, as if a heavy stone were lodged beneath my sternum. My heart pounded so fiercely that even my fingertips throbbed, and I reflexively clenched my gloved hands into fists.

I couldn’t help but picture Kyle as a small child, his frail wrists bony and thin, brimming with wariness.

Even ten years ago, when Kyle lived in the annex, this forest must have been just as dark. Judging by the size and age of the trees, it didn’t seem like the sunlight would have reached it back then either. It was the same forest, but a world apart from the one near my home—this one was deep, shadowy, and ominously still. Simply calling it a “cold palace” in passing didn’t do justice to how terrifying and oppressive that space must have been for a young Kyle.

Just how much courage must it have taken for Kyle to return to this royal palace?

‘Do I really have to go back to the royal palace?’

‘I’ve done everything you told me to. I avenged my mother’s death, killed the children of that woman who enjoyed the life that was supposed to be mine, and even claimed the cursed crown from my father.’

I hadn’t wanted to return to that place of horrid memories. Was it my doing that pushed him back there against his will?

‘But Kyle can’t possibly live in the forest forever…’

With those crimson eyes, his striking looks, and his impressive stature—all of which naturally commanded attention—it was clear that he was born of noble blood. Even if he wished to live in hiding, the world would never let him simply slip away unnoticed.

Still… could there have been another way?

“Your Majesty.”

As I was lost in thought, unable to reply to Yvette, the maids suddenly called out in hurried voices. Startled, I turned to see what had caught their attention. To my surprise, Kyle was striding purposefully toward us.

“Lyn.”

Ignoring the presence of the maids entirely, Kyle closed the distance between us in an instant and pulled me into a rough embrace. My cheek pressed firmly against his chest, partially exposed through his slightly open shirt collar. His skin was sticky to the touch, as if he’d been running, and the rich scent of his body filled my nose, making it hard to breathe.

“Why are you here?”

“What? Oh, well, that’s… but what about you—why are you here…?”

I barely managed to stammer a reply, but Kyle didn’t respond right away. Though he was holding me, it seemed his sharp question wasn’t directed at me.

Instead, he was glaring at the maids, clearly displeased. Whether it was because I had wandered into an off-limits part of the garden or because this area bordered the space that held the weight of his tragic past, he was obviously upset.

“Um, no, I was just as surprised.”

Imagining the cold, cutting look Kyle must have given the maids, I quickly raised my voice to intervene.

“You know how fast I walk, right? Remember when we were kids, and you couldn’t keep up with me in our forest?”

“…….”

“Yvette even tried to stop me, telling me to turn back right away, but I saw some fascinating mushrooms over there and couldn’t help myself.”

“Mushrooms caught your attention?”

“Ah, and there were mosses and purple flowers too…”

Finally, Kyle’s grip around me loosened slightly. His gaze seemed to soften, and I could sense the maids letting out a sigh of relief.

Moments later, Kyle gave them a brusque nod of his chin. Understanding his unspoken command, the maids quickly began gathering the mushrooms, moss, and flowers in question, placing them into a basket.

Then, another sharp nod, this time in the direction away from us.

“Well then, we’ll take our leave now.”

Yvette offered a polite bow on behalf of the group before they hurried away. Their retreating footsteps grew fainter until they could no longer be heard.

Kyle didn’t let go of me, though. Not until their presence had entirely faded. His arms loosened only slightly, enough for me to finally lift my head.

“…….”

“…….”

The moment I did, our eyes met. Had he been staring at the top of my head this whole time? Standing in the soft sunlight while tightly embraced by him, I felt a sudden wave of self-consciousness.

Though the sunlight was less harsh now, it was still midsummer, and I convinced myself the warmth in my cheeks was just from the heat. It couldn’t possibly be from the intimacy of the moment. After all, indoors, we had done things far more difficult to describe in words…

Still, I tried to squirm out of his hold, but it was no use.

“Ahem. Why are you here at this hour?”

“Just… I wanted to see you.”

“…….”

Well, it wasn’t like Kyle ever cared about the time of day when coming to see me. The words I forced out to hide my awkwardness now felt utterly pointless.

“Did your head hurt again?”

“Something like that.”

“…….”

Even my carefully thought-out question fizzled out weakly.

It made sense. Kyle found palace life stifling, and I was his only refuge from it.

Perhaps because I had just been thinking about his childhood, every thought seemed to leave me with a heavy heart. Kyle, on the other hand, didn’t seem to feel much of anything as he stared down at me with his usual blank expression. Unable to think of anything else to say, I simply lowered my gaze.

“Lyn.”

Kyle leaned down, and before I knew it, he had scooped me up into his arms. My body tilted back and lifted suddenly into the air, and in my surprise, I reflexively wrapped my arms around his neck. At this closer height, Kyle’s lips curved into a handsome smile.

“Let’s go on a picnic.”

“Huh?”

The direction he started walking toward was the forest—the very one I’d just been warned about. The view around us quickly grew darker, but Kyle moved without hesitation, his long strides confidently cutting through the dense shadows.

Of course, he would be familiar with this place.

“…….”

I didn’t know how to respond. If Yvette hadn’t told me there used to be an annex past this forest, I might have cluelessly grumbled, asking where he was taking me. But knowing the truth, I couldn’t bring myself to complain.

At the same time, I couldn’t acknowledge what I knew. I couldn’t let him know I was aware of his painful past.

‘I’ve never spoken to Kyle about that time in his life.’

I buried my face against his neck, hiding my expression behind the arms wrapped around him, ensuring he couldn’t see what I was feeling.

After a while, the surroundings began to brighten, and the forest ended, opening into a wide, open space. Before I could ask where we were, Kyle spoke.

“This is where the building I used to live in stood. After my mother passed away, I lived here alone. It was for five years—not nearly as long as you spent in your little cabin, but still.”

“…….”

“I thought about leaving the site untouched, but I wanted to build something new here, so I had it torn down.”

Kyle’s voice was calm, as though he had no lingering feelings about those years. It was hard to believe this place, once steeped in painful memories, no longer bothered him.

“Something new?”

“Yeah, I’ve got plans.”

…Well, there was no reason for him to tell me more. I didn’t press him, instead letting my gaze wander over the desolate remains of the annex site.

At the center of an overgrown grassy field, there was a rectangular patch of dirt, likely marking where the building had once stood. True to Kyle’s words, preparations for new construction seemed to be underway, as there were foundation stones scattered across the site.

I didn’t know much about architecture, but judging by the size of the cleared area, the annex couldn’t have been very large. The rectangular space was only about twice the size of my cabin in the forest, at most.

“It used to be a five-story tower. From the inner palace, you could see its pointed roof poking out above the forest. But there weren’t any windows on the upper floors, so I couldn’t look outside even if I wanted to.”

With that, Kyle strode purposefully forward.

He headed toward the opposite side of the annex site, where a crumbling stone wall, overgrown with ivy and moss, stood. The stone wall appeared to have been installed to mark the boundaries of the annex but had since been partially dismantled—this section was all that remained.

Looking more closely, I noticed that remnants of a flower bed were also marked nearby. Within the boundary stones, old bricks lined up in rows, wild bushes and tangled undergrowth had grown unchecked. A small fountain, long dried up, stood not far away, along with scattered flagstones embedded in the ground.

These were the remains of what had once been the garden of the annex.

It seemed likely that no one had properly maintained the annex when Kyle lived here. After he left to stay at my house in the forest, it must have been abandoned entirely. Even after his return to the palace, it hadn’t been cared for. Most of the garden seemed to have been cleared away when the annex was demolished, but for some reason, this section remained.

Though it had a rustic charm, it also felt eerie—a forgotten piece of a neglected garden left behind.

‘If that tall annex building were still here, the lack of sunlight would’ve made it even gloomier.’

While I was surveying the surroundings, Kyle sat down on the edge of the flower bed, leaning his back against the stone wall. Still holding me in his arms, he naturally placed me sideways onto his lap, my hips settling snugly between his legs. Surrounded by the overgrown vegetation, I could feel the soft brush of leaves against my back and calves through my clothes, a ticklish sensation that made me fidget slightly.

Kyle wrapped both arms around me, pulling me close so that my body was pressed against his chest. Though he didn’t unbutton my clothes to bury his face in my skin, he rested his head on the curve of my chest, his shoulders rising and falling slowly as if he were taking in my scent.

It was strange. I no longer made potpourri here, yet Kyle still seemed to hold a special fondness for the scent of my skin.

“…Why did you bring me here all of a sudden?”

“It’s a picnic.”

“Don’t lie.”

At my blunt remark, Kyle let out a low laugh, nuzzling the tip of his nose lightly against the top of my chest, which was pressed against him.

“Just… it reminded me of the past.”

“…….”