Witch Training Manual: My Water Magic Is Wrong

The evening light slanted in through the window.

Dora stood at the door of the examination room, holding a bulging paper bag in her hand, its contents unknown. Her glasses were askew on the bridge of her nose, and her gaze swept around the corridor behind the lenses to make sure no one was watching before she raised her hand and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Wayne's voice came from inside.

Dora pushed the door open and closed it behind her. She stood behind the door, not immediately moving forward, her finger pausing on the latch before finally locking it.

Wayne sat behind the examination table, a book in his hand, turned to a page in the middle. He looked up, glanced at Dora, and then at the paper package in her hand.

"What is that?"

"Cream puffs," Dora's voice wasn't loud, but it was clear. "I made them. I learned how."

She placed the paper package on the examination table, untied the hemp rope, and unfolded the package to reveal six golden cream puffs inside, which gleamed enticingly in the candlelight.

Wayne picked one up and took a bite.

"tasty."

Dora smiled slightly.

She sat down beside the examination bed, her hands on her knees, sitting very properly, like someone who had come to see a doctor.

"Mr. Wayne."

"Um."

"My curse has gotten worse lately."

Wayne looked at her.

"Where does it hurt?"

Dora drew a circle on her knee with her finger.

"I feel uncomfortable everywhere."

She paused, then added.

"Especially at night. I can't sleep, I toss and turn, and my mind keeps wandering to things I shouldn't be thinking about."

Wayne closed the scroll and placed it on the table.

"What kind of things shouldn't be thought about?"

Dora's ears turned red, but she didn't lower her head or look away; she just stared at Wayne.

"It's...the kind that's related to you."

"Hmm, take your clothes off, let me see."

……

In the front hall, Vera was standing behind the counter, ladling water for the townspeople who came to collect their medicine. Emma and Ella sat on chairs in the corner, swinging their legs back and forth, looking utterly bored.

Emma held a piece of candy in her hand, unwrapped it, and stuffed it into her mouth, her cheeks puffing out.

"elder sister."

"Um."

"Is Dora like Mayfair?"

Ella's fingers paused for a moment.

"The same thing?"

"They received the same treatment."

Ella was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Um."

Emma rolled the candy in her mouth from left to right, then back again: "Are they making a baby?"

Ella was shocked, but she didn't speak loudly.

"Who told you that?"

"I overheard Lisa and Vera talking," Emma said, pretending to know a lot. "Lisa said that making a baby requires two people, a man and a woman, locked in a room with the door closed and the curtains drawn, so that no one can see them."

She paused.

"Isn't this how it is with the master and those women who come for treatment? Locked in the examination room, door closed, curtains drawn. What are they doing if not making babies?"

Ella opened her mouth several times; from Emma's perspective, this logic did indeed hold true.

"That's not making a baby."

Ella tried to hide it.

"What is that?"

"That's... treatment."

Why is the treatment center closed?

"Because...because the treatment requires quiet."

"Then why do you need to keep the curtains drawn?"

"Because...because you can't be disturbed during treatment."

Emma tilted her head and glanced at Ella.

"Sister, your face is red."

"Not popular."

"It's become famous."

"Not popular."

Emma stared at Ella's face for a couple of moments, then chewed the candy in her mouth and swallowed it. "Sister, I'm not a child anymore. You don't need to hide everything from me."

Ella's lips moved slightly.

"I know how making a baby works."

Ella's voice was full of wonder.

"What...what do you know?"

"I know that you can have a baby just by kissing," Emma said confidently. "Lisa said that when two people kiss, mouth to mouth, tongue to tongue, a baby will come out of the woman's belly."

Ella opened her mouth, then closed it again.

She wanted to say "that's not how it is," but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

She didn't know how to explain the real process of "making a baby" to her sister. She herself had only learned a little bit from eavesdropping and peeping.

"elder sister."

"Um."

"Have you ever kissed your owner?"

Ella's ears turned bright red.

"No...no."

"Really not?"

"Really, no."

Emma stared at her for a couple of breaths.

"oh."

"Sister." Emma's voice suddenly softened.

"Um?"

"I want to kiss my master."

Ella nearly dropped the book in her hand.

"What did you say?"

"I want to kiss my master," Emma repeated, her tone more serious than before. "I want to have a child with my master."

Ella looked at her sister's serious face.

"Do you...do you know what you're saying?"

"I know." Emma took the candy wrapper out from under her legs and refolded it. "I love my master, and my master loves me too. I want to be with my master, and I want to have children with him. What's wrong with that?"

Ella remained silent.

There's nothing wrong with that.

In terms of verbal expression, she even felt that her younger sister was much braver than herself. She never dared to say "I want" directly; she would only test the waters with actions and wait in silence.

Another townsman entered through the front door, and Vera peeked out from behind the counter and greeted him. The man went over, scooped out the medicine, and the copper coins jingled as they fell into the wooden tray.

Business as usual.

But Ella's heartbeat is irregular.

In the examination room.

Half an hour has passed.

The cure for the curse was successful.

Dora's cursed petals were originally pink, but now they are redder. This is not a sign that the curse has worsened; it is a normal phenomenon resulting from the treatment.

"Okay," Wayne said.

Dora's face turned a little red.

She opened her eyes, stared at the ceiling for a couple of moments, then slowly sat up. She reached for her glasses from the bedside table and put them on, and the world went from blurry to clear.

She let out a long sigh and said.

"Thank you, Mr. Wayne."

"You're welcome."

Dora got out of bed, stood on the floor, and tested her legs. They weren't weak; much better than last time.

Dora stood by the bed, smoothing out the wrinkles in her dress. Her fingers ran over the fabric several times.

"Mr. Wayne."

"Um."

"There's one more thing..."

Wayne looked at her.

"What is it?"

Dora's fingers moved off her skirt, clenched at her side, then relaxed. Her voice finally escaped her throat.

"The other members of the cult... also wish to ask you to treat them."

Wayne didn't say anything.

Dora thought he was hesitating, so she quickly added a sentence.

"It's not free. They'll pay you. The cult doesn't have much money, but they can scrape together some. Or they can use something else to pay for it—potions, materials, intelligence, anything."

Wayne walked to the window, his back to her.

"It's not about the money."

Dora was taken aback.

"What is that?"

Wayne turned around and looked at her.

Are you sure they need treatment?

Dora blushed.

She did not answer.

But she knew what Wayne was asking.