Rapunzel Is Raised by Her Stepmother

Chapter 11: That thing, what was it called, it's like a dowsing rod. (2)

The ‘Remnant of a Witch’ that appeared in the game—

It didn’t specifically refer to objects that a ‘witch’ had used.

Well, most of the Remnants of a Witch that appeared in the game were things like [A Certain Queen’s Hand Mirror] or [A Witch’s Basket of Sweets], objects that seemed like something a fairy tale witch might have used—

But there were also objects classified as a ‘Remnant of a Witch’ that didn’t seem to have any particular connection to witches, like the [Red Thread of the Moonlit Ice Figure] tied around my pinky finger.

It was just my guess, but maybe the term ‘Remnant of a Witch’ was a general term for objects with unique abilities that appeared in folktales or fairy tales?

Or perhaps, in this world, such objects were believed to have been created by a ‘witch’? I had only played up to Chapter 1 of the game, so I still had no grasp of what kind of world this was.

‘Was there even a witch to begin with? If there was, that’s why they’re called Remnants of a Witch, right? That’s why my hair turns into gold when cut?’

I rolled my eyes slightly and looked at the [Red Thread of the Moonlit Ice Figure] tied around my finger.

[Red Thread of the Moonlit Ice Figure] was the famous ‘Red Thread of Fate’—the one from the tale that said a destined man and woman were invisibly connected by a red thread.

‘Well, there are some differences…’

According to the item description of [Red Thread of the Moonlit Ice Figure] in the game—

There once was a person called the Moonlit Ice Figure in this world, and if that person tied a man and a woman together with this ‘red thread,’ they would inevitably end up together no matter how bad their relationship was.

Even if they were sworn enemies, even if they met on the most precarious of bridges, as long as that person tied them with the red thread, they would inevitably become lovers.

In other words, [Red Thread of the Moonlit Ice Figure] was this world’s ‘hypnosis app’!

Once tied, the couple was bound to be together…!

Basically, it was a thread that cast a kind of hypnosis!

Anyway, the method of using [Red Thread of the Moonlit Ice Figure] in the game was simple. Just use it on a butler or maid chasing after me, and that was it. In that moment, the butler tied to me with the red thread would become my ally and protect me.

The only downside was that, true to being an item that connected a ‘man and a woman,’ its hypnotic effect was weak when used on a maid. So weak, in fact, that it might as well have had no effect at all.

‘When I first used it, I thought, why did they even bother with this level of detail…’

Well, they would protect me from incoming enemies for about a minute, but compared to when it was used on a butler, the difference was stark. That’s why I had always used it exclusively on ‘butlers.’

And now.

The reason I tied the red thread around Dorothea’s finger was extremely simple.

I wanted to raise Dorothea’s favorability, even if I had to use an item like this.

Because Dorothea hated me—hated me far too much.

Hoping that even a little of her disgust toward me would subside, I had tied the red thread before even giving an explanation. If I didn’t do something like this, I had no idea when I’d be locked up in the tower again...

I already knew that the effect between two women was minimal, but even so, I wanted to see even that faint effect. That was why I tied Dorothea’s finger and mine together with the red thread.

But the result...

“You, you crazy...!”

Before I could even finish explaining, she tore off the red thread and, on top of that, shot me a look of pure contempt. A gaze that screamed how utterly disgusting she found me, as if I made her skin crawl.

Honestly, even someone like me would feel hurt at this point.

I had been trying really hard to get closer to Dorothea all this time. I called her ‘Mother’ affectionately, smiled whenever our eyes met, and even offered to help distinguish the Remnants of a Witch.

And yet, all I got in return were cold shoulders and looks of disdain.

She hated me so much that I felt like crying, just a little.

‘...But why isn’t it working? Even in the game, the effect between people of the same gender was only weak, not nonexistent. At the very least, there should be a heart floating over her head for about a minute…’

I rolled my eyes slightly and looked above Dorothea’s head. Of course, unlike in the game, there was no heart floating above her, and her expression of disgust toward me remained unchanged.

‘...Could it be that the effect is working, but she’s pretending it’s not?’

So far, everything I had touched and experienced among the Remnants of a Witch had functioned exactly as they did in the game. Well, it made sense since the game world had become reality.

Just like how the [Thorn Garden Shears] had been truly sharp.

Just like how a fairy really lived inside [A Certain Queen’s Hand Mirror].

So, [Red Thread of the Moonlit Ice Figure] should also trigger ‘hypnosis’ once two people were tied together. That was the unshakable rule I had come to understand in this world.

Which meant that, right now, Dorothea was...

‘Desperately pretending it’s not working?’

To check if Dorothea was just acting like she hadn’t fallen for me, I winked at her.

Blink, blink.

Blink, blink.

But Dorothea only gave me a look as if wondering what the hell I was doing, her expression growing even more irritated.

Was a wink not enough?

I then mimicked finger guns, playfully striking a pose, adding another wink as I aimed my double finger guns at Dorothea. Would she be able to endure this?

Bang, bang!

As I flicked my fingers upward in an adorable gesture, Dorothea made a face like she didn’t care what I was doing—she just found it deeply unpleasant.

Then, forming a circle with her thumb and index finger, she pressed it against my forehead—

Smack!

She flicked my forehead, hard.

“Ahhhk!”

“Where do you get the nerve to pull something like this? What are you doing right now?”

“N-No…! I was just wondering why there was no reaction…!”

“And what exactly am I supposed to do here? Should I be getting angry at your sudden nonsense? Should I be shouting for someone to lock you up in the tower this instant?”

“N-No, that’s not the kind of reaction I was hoping for…”

As I rubbed my stinging forehead, Dorothea let out a long sigh, looking utterly exasperated. No, seriously, why wasn’t it working? Even if only for a short time, the effect should have kicked in.

“…D-Didn’t I look cute to you?”

“What?”

“You know, like… lovable? Maybe like you want to hug me tight? Or at least feel like patting my head? That’s definitely how it’s supposed to be… This is strange… Why isn’t it working…?”

As I rubbed my forehead and tilted my head in confusion, Dorothea untied the red thread from my finger, placed it in her palm, and examined it closely.

“This thread has that kind of effect? Didn’t you say it was a thread that turns people into lovers?”

“Mm… That’s true for opposite genders, but between people of the same gender, the effect isn’t as strong. At most, I should look a little bit cuter to you?”

“…Then it must be fake. Because not even for a single moment have I seen you that way.”

“No!! I’m telling you it’s real!! Can’t you see my hair?! It’s standing on end!!”

I jumped up and down in place, pointing at the crown of my head again. Unlike before when it had been drooping, my hair now stood rigidly upright, even trembling slightly as if quivering in frustration.

“…Your hair shaking like that is certainly strange, but didn’t I tell you? I need more proof than just your hair standing on end. Where is that proof?”

“N-No, I mean… If you just thought I was a little cute, that would be proof—”

“You’re making me repeat myself. I already told you. Not even for a single moment have I ever seen you that way.”

“…! No, but—!”

If she put it like that, honestly, I had no argument.

Flustered, I could only open and close my mouth like a goldfish, and Dorothea stared down at me, as if waiting for me to say something more. What should I do? I never expected the red thread wouldn’t work.

The reason I had sought out this room, where the [Red Thread of the Moonlit Ice Figure] was kept, out of the 13 different Remnants of a Witch in the mansion wasn’t just to raise Dorothea’s favorability.

I had believed that even the brief emotions felt through the red thread would serve as the greatest ‘proof.’ But for some reason, the red thread hadn’t reacted, and Dorothea still looked down at me with the same cold gaze.

Then, if Dorothea didn’t work… what about Sophia?

I turned my head and looked at Sophia.

"Then, Sophia unni-"

"...Sorry, I'm married."

...? Married? Sophia?

No matter how generously one estimated, Sophia looked to be in her early twenties at most. The fact that she was married left me unable to hide my bewilderment. Even for me, making such a request to a married woman was a bit...

Feeling dejected, I muttered in a very small voice.

"...Sophia ahjumma."

"What?! What did you just call me!"

Tsk, she heard it.

In the end, I stepped forward toward Dorothea and began to smooth out her hands. After positioning her hands so that only her pinky fingers were extended, I placed the red thread over both of them and asked.

"...If you tie it yourself, will you come to love yourself? Mom, do you want to try tying it alone?"

"Do you want to be locked up in the tower again like this?"

"...I was just joking."

At the same time, while Sophia and Rapunzel were having their conversation,

Dorothea briefly covered her mouth with her palm and fell into thought.

‘...Remnant of a Witch.’

Dorothea was the last person to believe in the existence of ‘witches.’ To her, witches were nothing more than products of imagination, born from people’s misunderstandings. That was Dorothea’s definition of a ‘witch.’

She didn’t know why Rapunzel’s hair turned golden, but she didn’t think it was because of a witch. She simply assumed there must be a reason she didn’t yet understand.

That was why Dorothea believed there was no such thing as an authentic ‘Remnant of a Witch.’ The remnants her father brought home were nothing but junk, meaningless trash.

At least, that’s what she had thought...

‘...It really was just about a minute.’

A feeling that no longer surfaced even when she looked at the ‘child.’

Rather, every time she saw the child, she felt a surge of anger and irritation, causing Dorothea to furrow her brows.

Forcing herself to feel that emotion had not been a pleasant experience.