A restless summer night.
At the Hanna Orphanage, the children scratched their arms vigorously, frowning at the irritating sound of mosquitoes.
“It itches!”
“Itchy, itchy, itchy!”
“I’m going crazy!”
The ones screaming were the usual younger group: Anne, Marcel, and Emilio.
Their young, sensitive skin was the perfect target for mosquitoes, leaving several bite marks on their arms.
Truthfully, the itching wasn’t that severe. But they exaggerated because their older brother figure, Leo, who was finally on reading duty tonight, would say, “Can’t be helped,” and give them attention.
“You guys really are mosquito magnets. Let me see your arms. I’ll give you some X marks with my nails.”
They couldn’t use the expensive ointment for mere mosquito bites, but Leo was more than willing to take the time to care for them. He examined each arm and pressed his nails into the swollen spots.
Just then,
“Hey, how about this for tonight?”
Bruno appeared, holding a picture book. His cool expression didn’t hint at the mosquitoes’ presence, and he raised an eyebrow at the noisy children.
“All this fuss over a few mosquitoes?”
Leo pouted as he took the book.
“One mosquito can spread diseases, you know. Don’t say stuff like that.”
He admonished his stoic friend, who hadn’t been bitten even once this year.
“You haven’t been bitten at all, have you? Maybe mosquitoes do have preferences.”
“I’ve been rubbing mosquito-repelling herb juice on my clothes. Here, Leo, you should use some too.”
Bruno handed him a small cotton pouch, stained with bluish herb juice. Despite his expressionless face, he seemed smug—a feat in itself.
Seeing this, the children protested loudly.
“That’s unfair, Bruno!”
“Give us some too!”
“Monopoly is bad!”
Leo, who had been sniffing the pouch, grimaced.
“Ew, I can’t use this. It stinks.”
He tossed the pouch to the children.
“It stinks,” he repeated, causing Bruno to freeze.
“It stinks? Haha!”
“Bruno stinks!”
The children giggled.
Anne delivered the final blow, “If Leo won’t use it, we won’t either. Smelly stuff is gross!”
Finally, the reading session began.
“So, today is ‘Hansel and Gretel.’ It’s been a while since I read this.”
“Read it, read it!”
“Hurry, Leo!”
Ignoring Bruno’s silence, the children were delighted.
In the sweltering heat, Leo turned the page and began.
“Once upon a time, there was a loving brother and sister named Hansel and Gretel.”
Their family of four, including their parents, made a living as woodcutters in the forest. However, a famine struck the village, making daily survival difficult. Desperate, their parents considered abandoning the children to reduce the number of mouths to feed—
The heavy opening made the children’s faces cloud over.
Living in an orphanage, many of them had complex backgrounds, often marked by a lack of parental ties.
Orphaned, abandoned, or subjected to step-parent abuse—common themes in fairy tales were sensitive topics for them.
Despite this, they looked forward to storytime. Leo’s storytelling was always lively and filled with engaging lessons.
They also suspected that Leo’s tales differed from the books’ original content.
But this only made them want Leo to read to them more.
Leo noticed the children were quieter than usual after reading about the siblings being abandoned in the forest. He raised his voice slightly.
“Gretel cried softly, realizing they were abandoned. Then Hansel said, ‘Lift your head, my dear sister. Your great brother Hansel has a plan.'”
He added some flair to the dialogue. The children, predictably, perked up, eyes shining.
“What? What?”
Leo nodded and, in his most dramatic voice, continued.
“On the way here, I’ve been dropping white pebbles. We can follow them back home, my little kitten.”
The character’s tone and mannerisms had shifted significantly, but the flexible children cheered for Hansel’s cleverness.
“Hansel is so cool!”
“I’d let Hansel hug me!”
“Hansel is like Leo!”
Feeling proud, Leo’s chest puffed out as he continued reading.
“The parents were surprised to see them back, but a few days later, they abandoned the children again. This time, Hansel was caught off guard and had no pebbles left.”
They tried using white bread crumbs as markers, but hungry birds pecked them away, leaving no trail.
“……”
The children’s faces turned melancholic as Hansel’s cleverness failed.
“Wow… Even Hansel is kind of like Leo in his clumsiness.”
“Maybe it should be ‘Leo and Gretel.'”
The candid children made Leo, who prided himself as their big brother, choke up.
“Sh-shut up! Big brothers aren’t always perfect! Appreciate the effort even if it backfires!”
Being a big brother was tough.
Having lost their way, Hansel and Gretel wandered the forest and eventually followed a sweet smell to a peculiar place.
“They looked up to see a huge gingerbread house.”
The story’s first highlight.
Leo turned the page to describe the house but noticed the picture was worn out.
“Oh no,” he muttered. The children had likely licked the picture of the gingerbread house, imagining it was real.
“What’s the house like?”
“The house!”
“Well…”
Naturally, Emilio and the others were curious.
Leo decided to describe his ideal gingerbread house.
“First, it’s gold-themed—”
“Could you please move past the golden obsession?”
Bruno, now recovered from the earlier incident, interrupted.
Annoyed by the immediate critique, Leo pouted.
“What’s wrong with a dazzling golden palace? The walls, floors, even the fireplace would burn with golden flames!”
“You should describe the layout, size, direction, and age of the property first.”
“Huh? Alright, it’s a 5-bedroom, living room, dining room, kitchen, 2-story house, over 150 square meters, south-facing, and newly built. Happy?”
Incidentally, the west wall, believed to bring wealth, is painted yellow. These are Leo’s ideal property conditions.
“Where’s the candy?”
“It’s been renovated into a solid, comfortable stone house for the aging population. Got a problem with that?”
What a transformation. The once fragile candy house was now a durable, accessible stone building. But it was no longer a fairy tale house.
However, the well-trained children smiled kindly.
“As long as Leo is happy, we’re happy.”
“Yeah. If Leo says it’s a gingerbread house, then it is.”
“Wow, I can smell Leo’s care and the sweet scent of gold from every corner.”
Seeing the children’s reactions, Bruno stepped back.
“…Why are you making the kids worry about you?”
“Huh?”
Leo, who was good at ignoring inconvenient truths, paid no mind to Bruno’s comment.
“Now, Hansel and Gretel enter the house, enjoying the sweet scent. But then, a hoarse voice echoed, ‘Oh my, little guests.'”
The witch had arrived.
The children, wary of being scolded for trespassing, were surprised when the witch welcomed them with feasts. This continued daily.
Gretel grew fond of the witch and helped her, but Hansel grew suspicious and asked the witch about her intentions.
“The witch, in a whisper Hansel couldn’t hear, said, ‘Hmph, I’m fattening you up to eat. This isn’t charity.'”
“She’s just a tsundere.”
“Just a tsundere witch.”
For the practical children of Hanna Orphanage, the witch was good-hearted as long as she fed the children. Better to receive bad intentions with aid than good intentions with nothing. Leo, who had taught them this, also thought, “This witch is something,” and turned the page.
Could he, as a hypothetical cannibal witch, reduce his own food supply to feed children for later consumption? This witch displayed remarkable planning and restraint, making her an excellent strategist.
“When Hansel and Gretel, once thin, became plump, the witch checked their arms. Unable to see well, she felt them to gauge their thickness.”
“She’s holding their hands… The witch loves children.”
“A child-loving witch.”
For the children at Hanna Orphanage, a tsundere witch who fed them was good enough. Thus, they continued to listen to the story with wide eyes.
To the children, who now saw everything through the lens of their perfect, kind-hearted perceptions, the witch’s every action seemed charming.
Yet, at this point, Gretel began to suspect the witch. Quickly, she handed her a chicken bone.
Believing the children were still thin, the witch lamented, “Goodness, what’s this! Eat more, eat more, and grow fatter.”
“The witch is such a worrywart,” Gretel commented.
“The witch is so kind!” the children beamed.
However, Gretel’s suspicions only deepened. Convinced that they would be eaten once they were sufficiently fat, she came up with a plan. One day, when the witch told her to check the oven, she decided to use this opportunity to turn the tables and burn the witch instead.
“‘Grandmother, how do I check the fire in the oven?’ asked Gretel. The witch, annoyed, replied, ‘You silly child, you just lean in like this.’ As she stuck half her body into the oven, Gretel quietly extended her hands from behind—”
“Nooooo!”
“Don’t do it, Gretel!”
“She’s just a tsundere witch!”
The children, who had completely sided with the witch, shouted out in unison against Gretel’s intended action.
“Hansel! What is Hansel doing?”
“Stop Gretel, quickly!”
“Don’t let the innocent witch die!”
Leo was taken aback by their fervor.
Unfortunately, on the next page, the witch was burnt, and the siblings acquired the witch’s treasures and returned home.
“Ah… well, the story itself is, you know…” Leo hesitated, emphasizing that it was just a fairy tale as he tried to continue reading. But then, Bruno, who had been silent until now, raised his hand and spoke calmly.
“—Just as Gretel was about to push the witch into the oven, her arms suddenly froze. She thought, ‘Even though the witch has poor eyesight, she has a keen sense of awareness. Why then is she, without noticing my actions, turning her back on me like this?'”
Leo looked up, startled by the sudden shift to a mystery-style narration. He quickly nodded to his childhood friend, Bruno. That brief exchange conveyed everything they needed to understand.
—The witch must not be killed.
Abandoning the storybook, Leo used all his imagination to weave his words.
“At that moment, while peering into the oven, the witch spoke softly. ‘What’s wrong, Gretel? Silly child, just give me a little push, and it’ll be over. This house is yours now,’ she said. Her deep, raspy voice, knowing everything, made Gretel gasp.”
The children held their breath.
The story had suddenly taken on a human suspense aspect, and they were completely engrossed.
“‘Grandmother… you…’ Gretel whispered, trembling, staring at the witch’s back. And then she noticed a cross-shaped birthmark on the back of the witch’s neck, the same as the one she and Hansel had. Gretel remembered her brother’s words: ‘Listen, Gretel. This is a sacred mark that only our family has. As long as we have it, we are bound by blood.’ So—yes, the witch was actually their mother.”
“Eeeeeeeh?!”
The children exclaimed in unison, shocked by the sudden twist.
Yet, Leo smoothly continued, not at all perturbed by his friend’s outlandish development.
“The parents who had abandoned them in the forest were impostors. Their real mother had been searching for her lost children and had been living alone in the house deep in the forest. The witch—no, their mother, worn down by stress, laughed tiredly and said, ‘What are you doing, Gretel? I couldn’t protect you back then. Please, end my foolish existence.'”
“Gretel dropped the knife she was holding, collapsing to the ground. ‘I can’t… I can’t do that…!'”
The method of murder had changed from pushing into the oven to using a knife. But no one was in the mood to nitpick such details. The story’s flow was all that mattered.
Leo solemnly continued.
“At that moment, Hansel appeared from somewhere and gently placed a hand on Gretel’s shoulder. ‘Stop, Gretel. You don’t have to suffer anymore. We can’t change our past, but we have a blank future ahead of us. A perfect future, with our mother.'”
“Hansel swoops in and takes all the good parts!”
“Even though he’s just a lazy slob who got fat from eating too much!”
“He’s so inconsistent!”
The children expressed their disdain for Hansel’s convenient character development but seemed pleased with the overall story.
Leo continued, relieved.
“Thus, Gretel apologized to the witch, their mother, and the three reconciled, deciding to live together. Freed from her stress, their mother regained her youthful beauty, and the siblings found that living in their inherited home was far cheaper than paying inheritance taxes.”
“Even in the world of fairy tales, there’s inheritance tax!”
Marcel muttered quietly, reflecting Leo’s wishful thinking in the climax.
“Without sugar or honey, the house was always filled with the sweet, joyful laughter of the three. People passing by felt as if they had eaten something sweet just from the atmosphere. Eventually, the house came to be known as the ‘Gingerbread House.'”
Leo closed the storybook with a finality, bringing the tale to an end.
“In the depths of the forest, in the little house. The house, filled with sweet and happy memories instead of candy, was always bathed in sunlight, and the cheerful chirping of birds echoed around it.”
“The End.”
The children closed their eyes, soaking in the afterglow, then stood up and applauded, their faces flushed with excitement.
“Bravo! Bravo!”
“Such a poetic ending, it’s perfect!”
“Good for the witch!”
The children continued their enthusiastic cheers for a while.
Then,
“—…Leo?”
Bruno, noticing his unusually quiet friend, furrowed his brows.
“What’s wrong?”
“Huh? Oh… no, it’s just…”
Leo, who had been absentmindedly stroking the cover of the storybook, muttered.
“I never thought of a cross-shaped birthmark like that. It made me wonder if I’ve been secretly hoping to meet my mother someday, even though I don’t really remember her. I guess I was a bit envious, maybe.”
Leo had been found at the orphanage gates with his umbilical cord still attached.
—Usually, at least the naming and baptism would have been done before entrusting a child to an orphanage.
Leo had only a common nickname-like name, unlike anyone else at the orphanage.
“Ha, sorry, I don’t know what I’m saying. Whether there’s a birthmark or not doesn’t change one’s lifetime earnings.”
“Leo, big brother…”
In the heat of the summer, a moment of quiet spread.
But to break it, Emilio suddenly stood up and began scratching Leo’s arm with his nails.
“Ow! What are you doing, Emilio?!”
Leo winced in pain. Emilio then thrust his own arm forward.
“Leo, big brother, we match!”
On Emilio’s small, thin arm, over a mosquito bite, was a cross-shaped mark made by his nails.
—And on Leo’s arm, too.
Understanding Emilio’s intention, both Anne and Marcel quickly extended their arms.
“Yes, we match! Matching cross marks!”
“We’re family, aren’t we!—except for Bruno, though!”
Smiling brightly, the children chorused, “See!” Leo felt his heart warm up.
“You guys…”
It was a heartwarming scene.
But in such moments, Bruno always managed to swoop in and steal the spotlight.
Gazing at his own arm, Bruno suddenly had an idea and spoke up.
“—Leo. There’s a simple way to get a tattoo in Elrand. If you want, we could all get matching ones.”
“Really?”
Leo’s eyes widened.
Like any young man, the idea of aiming to be a pirate king or getting matching tattoos with friends was very enticing—though not as much as money.
“Really? It’s easy?”
“Yes. It can be done by tonight, for free.”
The word “free” piqued Leo’s interest.
—If this goes on, Leo will be taken away tonight.
The children, realizing this, quickly executed an impressive counter-attack.
Emilio gave Anne a quick nod, and Anne immediately slapped Marcel’s butt. Marcel lunged at Leo.
“Leo, big brother!!”
“Ugh!”
With the force of being tackled, Leo let out a muffled cry. But the children pressed their advantage.
“We’re lonely!”
“Seeing Leo, big brother, feeling down made us lonely too!”
“If you don’t stay with us, we can’t sleep tonight!”
It was a straightforward tearful plea.
For Leo, who was much more susceptible to being needed than being pampered, this was the most effective attack. Sure enough, he caved in.
“You guys…”
He turned seriously to Bruno.
“Sorry, Bruno. We’ll do it another time. Tonight, I’ll sleep with these guys.”
“What…?”
Bruno was dumbfounded, while the children mentally celebrated their victory.
Thus, on this night, the younger group achieved a rare complete victory over Bruno.
***
“Thank you! Thank you, everyone!”
While Leo went to fetch pillows, the three children held a brief celebration.
Emilio raised his hands in gratitude, as if addressing a crowd.
Nodding, he began his victory speech.
“This victory is due to our exploiting Leo, big brother’s ‘wants to be relied on more than rely on others’ nature! A complete victory for us!”
“However, there’s still one major challenge left.”
Anne nodded at Emilio’s triumphant proclamation.
“We need to sleep soundly tonight without Leo, big brother, suspecting anything.”
“But isn’t that the hardest part?”
Marcel, scratching his head, voiced his concern.
“But we have to! Otherwise, the hard work of our elite team, which endured the pain of making cross marks and even got hit on the butt, will be in vain!”
Emilio clenched his fists, declaring passionately. “We’ll accomplish it! For the team!”
Anne and Marcel immediately clenched their fists, imitating Emilio.
“Yeah! For the team!”
Thus, Leo’s quiet summer ended peacefully, warmly, and sweetly.
Yet, the night was long.
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The interesting part about Leo’s plot twist is that in the original story, after the Witch dies, Hansel and Gretel return to their parents only to find that their mother (or stepmother) died of an unknown circumstances which means the Witch and the Mother may have acrually been the same person just like Leo said. The story could then be seen as a metaphor for the effect the Mother had on the household ultimately leading to her demise.
With Leo’s revision though, it’s like “Nope, it’s just as sweet on the inside as it is on the outside.” Er, wonder what happened to the Father in this version though…