Silent Witch-I Heard There Was A Prophecy That I’d Die At Eight 4

"What do you mean you won't die until you're eight…"

The child knew her own prophecy. Lody's heart ached at the fact that a mere three-year-old understood such a grim truth. He was only six himself. Hearing that he would die soon would hurt him deeply.

"Yeah, dat’s wight! I no die, right? Not 'til I'm eight?"

"Ah, no, I mean… they said you'd die when you turn eight, but do you even know what dying means?"

Seeing Thenesis's blank stare as she stated she wouldn't die until she was eight, Lody couldn't help but ask if she understood the meaning of death.

"Hmm? Dat means I no see Papa, and Mama, and me dee bwuddah anymore. And ebwy-body else in dis house. Oh, and I no can talk to dem anymore eider."

Thenesis explained with her own childlike understanding. But as Lody, the butler, and the apprentice trio listened, they all gasped, struck anew by the weight of her words.

"You… you really understand?"

"’Cuz dat’s what my sewvants sayed!"

Lody's throat was parched and stinging as he struggled to force out the words. Thenesis, meanwhile, beamed at the apprentice trio, even striking a smug pose, as if to say, "Aren't I amazing?" Sewvants meant "servants." She puffed out her chest, claiming she understood everything the trio had been discussing.

"It's as you said! You can't see or talk to anyone anymore! What if you get hurt and die too soon?!"

It's all her fault that Father and Mother won't even look at me anymore, Lody thought. Yet he didn't wish for her to get hurt and die early. Still, he was incredibly frustrated.

Raising his voice, Lody confronted Thenesis. But she only tilted her head with a blank look.

"But… de pwo-fhet sayed I die at eight. So I no die ‘befowe' den, wight?"

Lody stammered, "Huh?" The butler and apprentice trio shared his bewilderment. What is she even talking about?

"De pwo-fhet man sayed I die at eight. If dat's twue, den I no die befowe I big eight. So even if I jump off de bed, and hop down de stairs, and climb up on de woof and fall… I no die, wight?"

Everyone except Thenesis pondered her words,

The prophet man said I'll die at eight. If that's true, then I won't die before I turn eight. So even if I jump off the bed, hop down the stairs, climb onto the roof and fall… I won't die, right?

That's what Thenesis was saying.

"No, you'll die! You'll definitely die if you fall from the roof!"

After a beat of silence, the butler's face paled. Could it be that the Young Lady, who we thought believed she only needed to live until eight because the Duke and Duchess died at that age and paid her little attention, has grown into a child with such aggressive ideas?

If I were told I was going to die at eight, I'd probably cry, throw a tantrum, or sink into despair, the butler thought, imagining himself in her shoes. That's why he'd lazily assumed the Young Lady would react similarly, making her troublesome to deal with.

Yet here she was, thinking so aggressively, or perhaps so positively? His expectations were completely wrong, which confused him and he blurted out it without thinking. …He thought to himself that he was saying something that sounded like someone calmly admonishing her, considering he had never tried to get involved with her at all.

Wait a minute, her dress is torn. A torn dress… Could she have already done something reckless? Now that he thought about it, she had mentioned "jump off the bed" earlier. Jump off the bed?!

The butler glanced between the bed and the torn dress before turning his gaze to the apprentice trio. When they all averted their eyes, avoiding his gaze, he knew his suspicions were correct.

"M-My Lady! Please don't do anything so dangerous as jumping out of bed! What if you get hurt?!"

"But… I no die, wight? ’Sides, my sewvants is jus' ’pwentices, wight? Dat's what you sayed, Mr. Butt-ler! You finked it's okay ’cause I gonna die anyway? I hearded de ’pwentices talking 'bout it and I membered!"

The butler instinctively scolded her, but Thenesis pointed out that he had thought it would be fine to leave her to the apprentice, since she was going to die anyway, and he choked. That's right. He had decided to leave Thenesis alone, so what was he saying now? The butler hung his head, humiliated that a three-year-old child had exposed his foolishness. Even if he's just the butler of the ducal house… Even if the Young Lady is prophesied to die at eight… That was no excuse for treating her with such neglect.

If any other servant had made such a mistake, they would have been forced to start from scratch.

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