Chapter 242: Snow White’s Stepmother

Faced with Jon's barrage of questions, the old witch simply shook her head. "To tell the truth, I don't know exactly what this thing is. But after studying it for so long, I have uncovered a few secrets."

She took the black stone from Jon and inspected it, continuing in a low voice. "My name is Grimhilde. I was once a witch. I left the forest to assassinate Snow White and pretended to fall in love with the former king, that tyrant, becoming his new queen."

Jon's eyes widened in shock. "Wait, you're that queen? The evil stepmother from Snow White?"

In hindsight, Jon should have guessed it. After all, how could a classic fairy tale like Snow White exist without the infamous stepmother queen?

In the original tale, the wicked queen transformed into an old witch and used a poisoned apple to kill Snow White, only to be defeated by the prince, whose kiss revived the princess.

But now, it was clear things weren't nearly so simple. If anything, Jon felt that Grimhilde wasn't nearly as evil as the original story suggested. On the contrary, Snow White and her so-called Prince Kirk reeked of guilt and sin.

Grimhilde didn't deny it. She simply carried on. "To kill Snow White, I had to kill the king first, claim the throne, and become queen. But her popularity in the kingdom made her nearly untouchable. The only viable option was assassination."

"So I sent assassins. But she used her enchantment magic to beguile them, even the city guards were charmed. She escaped beyond the borders into the deep forest. I hired hunters and soldiers to track her down."

"And they got enchanted too, right?" Jon cut in. "Seriously, you never thought to handle it yourself? Everyone you send gets hypnotized."

"Silence!" Grimhilde snapped. "At the time, I didn't know her charm was a magical ability. Her magic leaves no trace. I only realized the truth much later."

"Alright, continue," Jon said, leaning against the wall.

"That wretch fled to a neighboring duchy and seduced the prince there, now King Kirk. His army defeated mine, and I was imprisoned here."

Jon had several questions. "So what is Snow White exactly? Human? Witch? Monster? And why are you studying the black stone? And... what the hell happened to your body?"

"One question at a time!" Grimhilde snapped again. "Let me finish. First, Snow White is human. Despite looking like a monster, she's a normal human being. But she has a unique... gift."

In this world, there were no people with skin as dark as Snow White's. To most, she resembled a creature more than a person.

"A gift?" Jon echoed.

"Yes. When she was a child, she got that stone from a stranger. The stone awakened her gift, a power of enchantment that leaves no magical residue. Even witches and mages can't detect it. But it doesn't work on witches."

"She grew up being ridiculed for her not looking like her parents, but this gift flipped her fate upside down. Her entire life became a carefully crafted lie. And to maintain it, she's willing to do anything. That's why she hunts witches relentlessly. That's why I tried to kill her."

Jon frowned. "So why are you locked up here, studying the stone? Why are other witches and cursed beings imprisoned too?"

Grimhilde sighed. "I knew I was finished. I paid the price for leaving the forest too long. My beauty faded, and I transformed into what you see now, an old witch."

Jon thought to himself, So she used to be beautiful... figures. Most witches I've met were. But Grimhilde's current appearance was downright disturbing.

"Still, to avenge my sisters and stop that menace, I accepted the cost. I disguised myself as a poor old woman selling apples and approached Snow White. She had to keep up appearances, pretending to love the common folk even though she despised them. She ate the apple."

"She didn't know I had cursed it with a deadly spell. It put her into a deep sleep. I was about to follow up with an even deadlier curse when that damned prince found me and locked me away."

"That black stone saved her, broke the curse. It acted like it had a will of its own. I don't know what it is, but it seems to have chosen Snow White as its master and has helped her ever since."

"I thought they'd execute me. I was ready. At least I'd be reunited with my sisters. But no, that damn prince locked me at the top of this tower and forced me to study the black stone. He wanted..."

Her voice trembled with fury.

"Because of my skill with curses, shown in that apple, they wanted me to develop a higher-level anti-magic curse."

"Higher-level?" Jon asked.

"Yes. The original anti-magic spell Snow White uses was refined from this stone. But she wants more, a curse powerful enough to wipe out witches completely."

Jon looked her over again. "And what about your... appearance?"

Grimhilde gave a dry laugh. "You mean my centipede body, spider legs, and mantis claws? Oh, those were my doing."

Jon was shocked. "You did that to yourself?!"

"That bastard king wanted me to experiment on other witches. But I would never harm my kind. So I experimented on myself. This... is the result."

She looked down at her monstrous form. Despite its grotesqueness, her words carried strength, sacrifice, and sorrow.

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