Silent Witch

Book 14: Chapter 6: A Necessary Scar

About a year after Isaac came to the Crockford Ducal House, a young boy started visiting the mansion. The boy's name was Elliot Howard. He was the eldest son of the Count of Dursvy and was the same age as Felix, six years old.

Perhaps the Duke of Crockford intended to make Elliot a friend to Felix and use it as a starting point for socializing.

Felix was fond of Isaac, but he had no other friends. So Isaac secretly hoped this would be a good opportunity for Felix to make a friend.

However, this young Elliot turned out to be quite a brat. At first, he showed a polite attitude towards Felix, but as time went on, his attitude became more and more arrogant.

It was clear that Elliot looked down on Felix, who was not good at studying or sports. Yet, in front of adults, he would act amiably and pretend to be close to Felix.

That day, while Elliot was practicing horseback riding with Felix, he laughed at and teased Felix, who couldn't ride a horse by himself and was being supported by Isaac.

"Your Highness, you still can't ride by yourself?"

"Uhhh"

Felix, who was barely able to stay on the horse with Isaac supporting him from behind, trembled and couldn't argue back.

Horses are surprisingly high when you ride them. Felix was probably terrified of being thrown off at any moment.

"Your Highness, it's okay, I'm with you," Isaac said, supporting Felix from behind.

Elliot grinned maliciously. "Haha, you're more like a princess than a prince!"

Felix's face turned red and tears welled up in the corners of his eyes. Isaac glared at Elliot with a cold gaze, but Elliot sneered back at Isaac arrogantly.

"What's with you, servant? If you have something to say, say it."

""

There were plenty of things Isaac wanted to say. But as a servant, Isaac was not allowed to talk back.

Above all, Isaac might have to interact with Elliot in the future as Felix's body doubles. It was undesirable to say or do anything that would remain in Elliot's memory. He should try to be as inconspicuous a servant as possible.

Isaac averted his eyes from Elliot with a snort and rode the horse while supporting Felix. Felix was already struggling just to hold the reins and was in no condition to communicate with the horse.

When Elliot was out of sight, Isaac slowed the horse down, and Felix mumbled, "I'm sorry, Isaac."

"What are you apologizing for?"

"It must be embarrassing for you to have someone like me as your master"

There was no one around, but Felix deliberately called him "Isaac" instead of "Ike".

He was ashamed of his own incompetence not as a friend, but as a master. That kind of seriousness was just like him.

"I have never been ashamed of you, not even once."

It was true that Felix was not good at studying or sports. He was also very shy and couldn't talk properly to people he met for the first time.

Still, Isaac knew that Felix was more hardworking than anyone else. And that he had a kinder heart than anyone else.

"You are my pride and joy as a master," Isaac told him.

Felix mumbled a small "thank you" with a shy smile.

The next day, an incident occurred while Isaac was receiving self-defense training in the backyard.

"Someone! Someone, help me!"

The scream-like voice belonged to Elliot.

Elliot and Felix were supposed to be together right now. Faced with the fact that only Elliot was screaming in such a situation, Isaac ran towards the voice without hesitation.

His whole body turned cold and a chill ran down his spine. It was the same fear he had felt when he lost his family to a dragon invasion.

Please, please let nothing happen to Felix As he prayed and rushed over, what Isaac saw was Felix lying limp, bleeding from his side.

Elliot was sobbing beside him.

"Your Highness Felix!"

Isaac rushed to Felix and checked his injury. A thick, hard wooden branch was stuck deep in Felix's right side. It was hard to believe that it could be stuck in so deep just from falling over.

Isaac glared at Elliot. "What did you do to His Highness Felix?"

"N, no he fell from the tree"

"From the tree?"

Isaac looked up at the tree right next to where Felix had fallen. Indeed, it was a fine, thick tree, just right for climbing. But he couldn't imagine Felix, who was not good at sports, wanting to climb a tree on his own.

Between the branches of the tree, he looked up at, Isaac could see a book peeking out. That alone was enough for the perceptive Isaac to understand the situation.

"You forced him to. If he wanted his book back, he had to climb the tree."

Isaac growled through gritted teeth, and the pressured Elliot turned pale and trembled. He wanted to punch him in the face right now, but getting Felix to a doctor was the priority.

Isaac took off his own jacket and used it to stop the bleeding from Felix's wound, then instructed the gardener who had rushed over after hearing the commotion to call a doctor.

"The treatment is finished," the doctor, who was a resident of this mansion, said as he wiped his hands and spoke to Isaac and the head maid who were watching over Felix at his bedside.

The two of them, who had been taking care of Felix since he was brought in, breathed a sigh of relief and put their hands on their chests. Especially the elderly head maid, Marcy, seemed to have completely loosened her tear glands and was wiping her eyes with her apron.

Isaac finally released the tension in his shoulders, relieved that he hadn't lost someone important to him.

Still, it pained his heart to see Felix in front of him, breathing painfully.

If only I hadn't taken my eyes off him

When Felix was injured, Isaac was undergoing self-defense training on the Duke's orders. There was no reason for him to be blamed.

Even so, Isaac couldn't help but blame himself for his carelessness in overlooking leaving Felix alone with the malicious Elliot.

Fortunately, Felix's injury did not reach his internal organs, and a simple suture surgery was enough. Still, the pulled scar would probably remain for the rest of his life. Just like the scar on Isaac's face.

As Isaac bit his lip while gazing at Felix's sleeping face, the doctor patted him on the shoulder.

"Isaac, can I have a word with you?"

"?"

"I have something important to tell you."

The doctor was a bespectacled man with a slight foreign accent. He was probably in his forties. His quirky gray hair was tied back, and he was tall and slender.

The doctor was also Felix's attending physician, but Isaac didn't know much about him. In fact, he didn't even know his real name. Some people occasionally called him Arthur, but most people called him Doctor or Professor.

None of the mansion's residents, not just Isaac, knew this man's background. Still, this doctor was trusted by the Duke of Crockford, and that alone was enough for the people of the mansion.

When Arthur told him that he had something important to tell him, Isaac was puzzled. If possible, he wanted to stay by Felix's side until he woke up.

Still, Arthur looked serious, so Isaac stood up and bowed his head to the head maid.

"Mrs. Marcy, please take care of His Highness."

"Yes, I understand."

Marcy, the head maid, had apparently lost a young son to illness a long time ago, and she always took care of Felix. She was one of the few allies Felix had in this mansion full of Duke Clockford's supporters.

If it was Marcy, it would be okay to leave Felix to her.

With that in mind, Isaac followed Arthur out of the room.

The place Arthur headed to was the study of the Duke of Crockford.

The Duke was sitting at his desk, working. Even at a time like this, he didn't bother to come and check on Felix. He really hates this man.

The Duke looked up from the papers he had been facing and glanced at Arthur and Isaac.

"What about that condition?"

"Well, we have a bit of a problem," Arthur said.

"That" probably referred to Felix.

Isaac frowned slightly in displeasure, but Arthur didn't seem to mind and spread his arms a little dramatically.

"Your Highness Felix's wound didn't reach his internal organs, but that scar is definitely going to remain I could use my technique to erase the scar, but the Count of Dursvy's family also knows about this accident. This is inconvenient for the replacement'."

At the word "replacement", Isaac couldn't help but stare at Arthur's face. This doctor knew that Isaac was going to become Felix's body double.

On top of that, he was concerned that Felix's scar might cause trouble when they switched places.

Duke Crockford looked at Isaac standing behind Arthur with his pale blue eyes and said without changing his expression, as if it was the natural thing to do, "Then give that one the same scar."

Give Isaac the same scar as Felix, he said dismissively, as if it was the obvious thing to do.

Isaac had been punished by the Duke many times before. When he was late with his assignments because he was too busy taking care of Felix, or as an example to the underperforming Felix, Isaac had been punished several times.

A little while ago, when he secretly brought in an astronomy book for Felix, he was severely whipped on the back. The marks from that whip still remained vividly on Isaac's back.

Eventually, when Isaac switched places with Felix, the scars from the punishment would be erased along with the scar on his face. It was still hard for Isaac to believe, but apparently, in Arthur's hands, scars could be erased like magic.

Hide all unnecessary scars.

Carve the necessary scars with a knife, as much as needed.

That was how Isaac was being remade into "Felix".

He felt like he was gradually being deprived of his sense of self and becoming a mere doll.

Still, Isaac wanted to be by Felix's side. To do that, he had no choice but to obey the Duke.

"I understand."

To Isaac, who answered with dark eyes, Duke Crockford only said, "Good," and went back to his papers.

As if to say he had no further use for him.

Dr. Arthur looked down expressionlessly at Isaac, whose hands and feet were restrained to keep him from struggling and whose mouth was gagged with cloth to keep him from biting his tongue.

There was no sympathy or pity in the eyes behind the round glasses. It was the same look one would give to a lab animal.

As expected of someone who was complicit in the Duke's insane replacement plan, this doctor was probably not quite right in the head either. Or perhaps Isaac himself, who quietly accepted this treatment, was not quite right in the head either.

Still, Isaac could no longer let go of the days he spent with Felix.

Felix had given meaning to Isaac's empty life.

So for the sake of living with Felix, he could endure any kind of treatment.

Arthur pressed the knife he had heated with fire into Isaac's belly. The skin broke with a snap and the flesh tore. The searing pain turned his vision white. The agonized voice was absorbed by the cloth in his mouth, and the muffled scream reached no one.

"That should do it. Next, I'll suture the scar."

Arthur put down the knife and picked up a needle for suturing.

The agony was not over yet. Even after the thread was passed through his skin and clean bandages were wrapped around him, a throbbing pain continued to torment Isaac.

Still, if he thought that this was the pain Felix had also experienced, he could endure it as much as he needed to.

"The treatment is finished. You must not show that scar to anyone else. Of course, not even to His Highness Felix."

Isaac, freed from his restraints, stroked his aching side over the bandage as he breathed heavily, his breath hot.

This is a necessary scar for me to stay by Ark's side.

Little by little, he was being remade.

Little by little, "Isaac" was being destroyed.

Still, if there was a future where he could live with Felix, he was sure he could stay sane.

Ah, I have to go to Ark's place soon. I have to take care of him. He must be lonely

Isaac headed to Felix's room with unsteady steps.

Felix was still asleep. The head maid Marcy, who was attending to him, made a startled face when she saw Isaac.

"What's the matter, Isaac? You look deathly pale. And you're sweating terribly!"

"I'll take over the nursing."

Marcy scolded Isaac, saying, "What are you saying with a face like that!" But when she realized that Isaac would not budge, she sighed with an exasperated look on her face.

"Just for a little while, all right, Isaac?"

"Thank you, very much."

Thanking Marcy, Isaac sat down in the chair beside the bed.

Marcy gave Isaac a concerned look and quietly left the room.

At the sound of the door closing with a thud, Felix's eyelids trembled and slowly lifted.

"Ike?"

Felix, who must still be suffering from the pain, called out to Isaac in a hoarse voice.

Isaac suppressed all his own agony and put on his usual gentle smile.

"That must have hurt. You did well to endure it, Ark."

When he gently stroked Felix's disheveled hair, Felix smiled with a look of relief.

"Yeah."

"I'm here. You should go back to sleep."

"Okay."

Mumbling softly, Felix closed his eyes again. His sleeping face looked a little more peaceful than before.

Looking at that sleeping face, Isaac vowed to himself.

Even if Isaac Walker as an individual was distorted.

Even if he was remade into a doll with a different face than his original one.

This time this time for sure, I'll protect him.

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