Exiled Prince: I'm the Unexpected Extra in the Novel-Chapter 138: The Witches’ Butterfly[2]

"Cassian... You have a beautiful name." Eula’s voice echoed with a soft timbre in the room, accompanied by her elegant movement as she placed the cup on the table.

There was a glint in her red eyes when she heard Cassian’s name. "Who gave you this name?"

Cassian stopped his finger tracing the rim of the cup.

This question took him back for a moment to that stormy night, his mother’s tears, and that last moment she held him. A mix of sudden longing and bitterness rising within him reflected in his voice.

"My mother," he said briefly. "She gave it."

"Your mother?" Eula paused for a moment. The calm expression on her face cracked for a second, her eyebrows raised slightly. But this astonishment gave way to that controlled smile again within seconds.

"How nice," she said, her voice taking on that big-sisterly affection again. "Here, the person who names all of us is our eldest sister, Olivia."

She pointed to the empty chair with her hand, as if pointing to someone unseen.

"You actually met sister Olivia. The day we kidnapp... I mean, the day we brought you to our village, the girl holding your hand in the forest."

That moment came alive in Cassian’s mind. The fingers of a cold, pure white hand had interlocked with his own.

That touch had felt like a poison seeping into his skin, that strange magic shutting down his consciousness, breaking his will...

And at that moment, with an instinctive defense, he had tried to summon the Chaos Flames. The Chaos Flames should have burned the woman to ashes.

But now, judging by the comfort of the witches sitting opposite him... He had failed.

Just then, Elina finished her tea and got up from the table.

"Ivy," she said, "Help me serve the food. Before the soup gets cold."

Ivy stretched exaggeratedly in her chair, spreading her arms wide and pouting. "Ehh! Why me? I was chatting with our prince! Let Roxy do it!" she whined.

But meeting Elina’s piercing gaze, she grumbled and stood up. "Okay okay, I’m coming. Dictator cook."

This daily bustle of the girls fueled the questions in Cassian’s mind even more. This ordinariness, this comfort... Was it all a mask?

"Why did you kidnap me?" Cassian asked, his voice harder and more demanding this time. "What is your goal?"

Eula leaned forward slightly as if she hadn’t heard the question, as if making small talk. "Did you like the tea?" she asked, with sincere curiosity in her eyes.

Cassian cast a cold look, showing he had no intention of playing along. "No," he said clearly. "I didn’t like it. It tastes... like soil."

A slight embarrassment appeared on Eula’s face. Her cheeks turned pink. "Apologies for that," she said, her voice in an apologetic tone.

"In our current location, most plants can’t withstand the cold. So we brew tea from the resilient wild herbs we find, from roots we dig out from under the frozen ground. It might taste a bit bitter, I know."

"Where is this place?" Cassian asked, not missing the opportunity. "Where are we?"

Eula smiled. "This is the North, of course," she said, as if talking about the most beautiful place on earth. "Don’t worry, you are still within the borders of Frosthelm. Just... in a slightly more secluded, safer corner."

Hearing he was in Frosthelm, Cassian felt the tension in his shoulders ease somewhat.

At least he hadn’t been dragged to an unknown region or dimension. This was good news for escape plans.

Meanwhile, Ivy and Elina returned with trays in their hands.

A bowl of thick soup, steaming with large chunks of meat and root vegetables floating in it, was placed in front of Cassian.

The others were served in turn.

Eula turned to Cassian again. "I don’t know if it suits your taste," she said worriedly. "I hope you like it. Everything from Elina’s hand is delicious."

When the food was placed on the table and everyone picked up their spoons and started eating, a strange peace prevailed in the room.

The sound of spoons, the crackling of the fire, and occasional murmurs of satisfaction... Cassian was extremely uncomfortable with this unnerving peace.

Worse, the blood flowing in his veins felt an unexplained affinity towards these girls.

As if... as if he came from the same essence as them. This feeling was like a stone sitting in his stomach.

Elina was casting furtive, curious glances at Cassian.

Noticing this, Eula sighed slightly and put down her spoon. "My prince," she said, her voice so natural and respectful that Cassian flinched. "Please, can you share your thoughts on the food with us? Elina was very meticulous when choosing ingredients while preparing the food, she especially hoped you would like it."

Elina’s cheeks instantly turned beet red. Her eyes widened in panic. "Sister Eula!!!!" she shouted, her voice cracking. "You promised not to say that!"

Cassian looked at the girl’s flustered state. ’Seriously,’ he thought, ’what is the deal with these girls? Why do they address me as ’our prince’? And why do they act as if they value me so much, as if they have known me for years?’

In a real sense, they had only just met, which couldn’t even be called meeting.

Still, he decided to play by the rules of this strange game. For now.

"The food is very good," he said, keeping his voice as neutral as possible.

Elina’s eyes shone like stars at this simple praise. Bowing her head, using her hair as a curtain for her face, she murmured in a shy voice, "Thank you..."

Cassian took another sip of his soup, felt the hot liquid pass down his throat, put down his spoon, and got straight to the point.

"Why do you call me ’my prince’?"

With this question, all movement at the table stopped. Eula paused her meal, Elina put down her knife. Only the sound of the fire in the fireplace could be heard.

It was Ivy, restless as always, who answered. Her eyes were shining with excitement.

"Because you are our prince!" she said enthusiastically. "The one chosen by Sister Lilith... The last hope of the witches... The one who will save us from this darkness! It’s you!"

"Save you?" Cassian frowned.

Cassian gritted his teeth. Muscles in his jaw twitched. ’What nonsense are these girls spouting?’ he thought to himself.

’What blessing, what chosen one?! I was born with a curse! Dying because of this curse was my fate! If I had never met Dr. Aris, if I hadn’t fallen into that laboratory, I would have been dead long ago.’

Anger swelled inside him. He was about to open his mouth, to put an end to this nonsense, to spew his hatred, when the room door burst open with a loud noise.

BAM!

Snowflakes swirled inside along with a sharp, icy gust of air.

At the door stood a white-haired, red-eyed girl, out of breath. She immediately turned around and forced the door shut, leaving the howling wind outside.

In the crooked basket woven from dried plant stalks she held, there were a few earthy and puny carrots.

The girl immediately put the basket down and brought her trembling hands to her mouth, huffing onto her fingers. Her fingertips were crimson, almost purple from the brutal cold outside.

The girl turned to those sitting at the table. There was great guilt and panic in her eyes.

"I’m sorry!!!" she said, her voice cracked from the cold. "I couldn’t find more carrots! "

Eula got up from her seat with a mother’s affection. She quickly went to the girl, took her ice-cold hands between her own warm palms, and started rubbing them.

"Sister," she said in a soft voice. "I told you we could make the meal without carrots. Why do you push yourself in this weather?"

The girl slumped her shoulders, her lips pouted. "But... I thought it would be tastier with carrots. "

Eula smiled. "It’s okay, come on, warm up a bit. Move to the table, I’ll serve you food. The food is ready anyway, we were waiting for you."

As the girl walked towards the table, shuffling her feet in a weary and tired manner, she raised her head and...

Her eyes widened.

She saw the stranger in the room, the white-haired boy sitting in the armchair.

"Wuaaaah! He’s awaaaaake!" she screamed.

The other girls giggled at her sudden and exaggerated reaction.

The girl started running towards Cassian as if she had forgotten all her fatigue in an instant. But her excitement tripped her up; she stumbled, almost crashing into the table and falling, but regained her balance at the last moment and composed herself.

Now she stood right in front of Cassian. Her face was still flushed from the cold, her cheeks rosy. Unmelted snowflakes still shone in her messy, tangled white hair, and those red eyes... those eyes resembled Cassian’s so much that he felt like he was looking into a mirror.

The girl stammered with excitement:

"I-I... I am Olivia!"

Cassian didn’t know how to react seeing this clumsy, strange girl who resembled his twin. That feeling of ’familiarity’ inside him peaked with this girl. This resemblance... was not just physical.

Maintaining his expressionless demeanor, Cassian replied in a flat tone:

"I am Cassian."

Eula intervened with a steaming bowl in her hand. "Sister Olivia, come on, save the introductions for the meal. Eat your soup before it gets cold."

Olivia tore her eyes away from Cassian with difficulty, said "Okay okay," and went to her place and sat down.

Meanwhile, Eula started drying Olivia’s wet hair with a soft towel she had picked up.

Olivia leaned her head towards Eula like a cat seeking affection and purred. Her eyes were closed, a peaceful expression on her face.

Seeing Cassian watching this scene with astonishment, Ivy whispered:

"And that is the person we mentioned just now... Our eldest sister, Olivia."

Even when Olivia started eating her meal, her gaze was constantly on Cassian. While bringing her spoon to her mouth, her eyes got stuck on Cassian and...

"Ah!" she groaned. She had involuntarily bitten her tongue. "It hurt..."

Roxy shook her head and spoke: "Focus on your food, sister. Our prince isn’t running away, after all, he is with us from now on. You can’t eat because you keep looking at him."

Meals were eaten in this strange, warm, yet tense atmosphere. When Cassian finished his plate, the girls quickly cleared the table.

Stretching her arms up, Ivy called out to Cassian who was still sitting tensely at the table:

"Hey! Since the meal is over... Let’s tour the village! Let me show you around!"

Olivia, who was warming up by the fire, jumped up as soon as she heard this.

"Me too! I’m coming with you too!"

"No way!" Ivy snapped with childish jealousy. "I asked first! You were resting!"

"But I was going to ask too!! I was just waiting to warm up!" Olivia objected.

Roxy intervened while opening her book again: "Ivy, stop messing with Olivia. She is the eldest, show some respect."

"Tch," Ivy made a sound, but didn’t object.

With an air of victory, Olivia immediately ran to the bedroom. When she returned, she had a thick, coarsely woven wool coat in her hand.

"You can wear this," she said, handing the coat to Cassian. "It’s very cold outside, you’ll freeze in those thin things."

Cassian reached out hesitantly and took the coat. When he put it on, it was a bit big for him, but the inside was soft and it warmed his body instantly.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

Olivia smiled. Then, with a very natural movement, she extended her hand. She tried to slip her fingers between Cassian’s, to hold his hand. Just like she did in that forest.

But at that moment...

The trauma of that moment, that fainting feeling, that helplessness revived in Cassian’s mind. His body acted faster than his mind. With a reflexive defense mechanism, he swung his hand quickly.

SLAP!

Cassian’s hand slapped Olivia’s hand hard. The sound of the slap echoed like a whip in the small room.

A deep, icy, and tense silence fell upon the room.