Chession was distressed as he stood before this beautiful woman who might be a witch. He who had abolished witch-hunting was actually keeping a witch in his home.
'No, it's just my old-age feeling.'
There was a place where a clear answer could be found in this regard. Chession decided to take Mori there.
"Mori, are you really completely okay? Your body is so cold."
"It's okay. Just cover myself with the blanket."
Gremory, who was trying to lift the blanket, was flustered. There was more than one blanket. It was because Chesion had brought a lot of thick blankets.
Gremory liked how cozy her nest had become.
"Thank you for worrying about me. You even gave me lots of blankets."
"I can give you as many blankets as you want. Are you really okay?"
"That's what I said."
"Then can you go somewhere with me tomorrow night? I want to show you something pretty."
"Well, that's what it is."
Gremory liked the pretty scenery of the human world. The cityscape that Chesion had shown her yesterday was also pretty, so she had no doubt that the next scenery he wouId show her would be beautiful as well.
Gremory burrowed into the colorful, cozy blankets. As she tried to sleep with only her face sticking out, she heard Chession's faint laughter.
If that cute and peculiar woman were a real witch, it would be quite absurd.
I don't think that's possible.
***
The next morning, something funny happened.
Isolene appeared, knocking loudly on Gremory's door.
"Mori, come out and look! There's something great to see!"
"What is it?"
"The Crown Prince's concubine has come to see him. She came to complain about the insults she received from His Highness the Grand Duke earlier!"
"!"
It's a snack!
Gremory, who had captured the prey, excitedly ran into the garden with Isolene.
The Crown Prince's mistress, Diana, was kneeling on the bare floor with her long red hair hanging down. The servants crowded around her, murmuring.
"I apologize, Your Highness! Please forgive His Highness the Crown. Prince's rudeness and foolishness, and petition His Majesty the Emperor to revoke His Highness the Crown Prince's decree of confinement!"
Even though Anna came out to see the sights, Chession wasn't there.
Gremory looked out the window of Chession's office. Judging from the curtains drawn, it seemed like he was covering his ears and concentrating on his work.
'This is a perfect match for me.'
Gremory stared at Diana intently. The darkness in her heart began to become clear to Gremory's eyes.
That's right, the darkness in her heart had swelled to its limit. It would self-destruct if she were even slightly touched. She also had a knife hidden in her chest. It was as if she was going to stab him if Chession appeared.
Gremory touched the darkness in Diana's heart. At the same time, Diana began to howl like a madman.
"Ugh! I made a mistake! It's all my fault!"
The people who had gathered around were making a fuss. Isolene also felt uncomfortable and took a step back.
"It's all my fault! I, who know nothing but how to roll my body, dared to seduce His Highness the Crown Prince and bring him into a swamp! So please punish me, and His Highness the Crown Prince, please forgive him!"
Gremory looked deep into the secrets of Diana's heart. Oh, looking at it this way, Diana was a woman who had committed quite a few sins.
"That, and I killed Countess Yurina too! I poisoned that woman because I was concerned that she would catch the Crown Prince's eye! I also killed Lady Siona Magritta!"
As if possessed by an evil spirit, Diana cried and confessed her sins. Black tears mixed with smudged mascara flowed down her face, and her appearance gradually became more and more grotesque.
"I deserve to die, Your Highness! Please kill me!"
And Diana.
"If you don't kill me, I will cut my own throat!"
She took out the knife she had hidden and committed suicide without hesitation.
...The room was enveloped in silence.
It's delicious. Gremory, who was licking her lips, made eye contact with Chession in the office for a moment. Chession, who felt a little startled, closed the curtains again as if he hadn't seen anything.
Gremory left with Isolene without thinking much about it.
***
That night, Chesion took Mori to the New Green Forest.
A forest of fresh green.
Unlike the monsters of the volcano, this is the area where noble and highly intelligent green monsters live.
When Chession was driven out as the Grand Duke, people thought Chession would have quite a headache. In the east, the volcanic monsters would invade every spring, and in the west, the people of the Verdant Forest would bare their teeth. The people of the Verdant Forest did not want humans to settle near their land.
But Chession solved all the problems. He solved the problem of the volcanic monsters that invaded every spring with his innate fighting prowess. And he maintained peace with the intelligent, communicative monsters of the verdant forest through a non-aggression pact.
"The Forest of Verdant Green is made up of only sacred things. When evil things invade, the local monsters chase them away."
Inside the carriage heading to the Verdant Forest, Chession kindly explained to Gremory. The scent of the wet forest wafted in through the open window.
"What is the standard for evil?"
"Typical examples include people with evil intentions. Or, like the monsters of the volcano, they are mindless and aim for other people's lives, or just angry monsters."
"It just means that if they don't like someone, they kick them out."
"They didn't chase them away. I don't know why, but the monsters there have been kind to me since the day I first saw them. Thanks to that, we were able to maintain peace through a non-aggression pact. To keep the pact, I offer fresh fruit to the forest every year."
"If it's a mutual promise, what do they give you?"
"Let me use the lake of purification in the middle of the forest."
"What is that lake?"
"If you go into the lake, you can heal your wounds. Whether they are physical wounds, wounds inflicted by mental magic, or wounds of the soul. It's like a panacea."
Chession thought that the monsters there would be able to tell whether Mori was a witch or not.
Finally, the green forest appeared. What looked like an ordinary forest during the day was radiant with a soft white-green glow at night. The leaves, tree trunks, stumps, soil... and even the feathers of the spirit birds flying in the sky.
"...Wow. It's pretty."
"Come on, hold my hand. It's easy to get lost in all the glamour."
Gremory walked through the forest, holding the hand that Chession offered her.
Clap clap clap.
The feeling of her feet on the moist soil was pleasant.
Chession smiled bitterly as he looked at Gremory, whose eyes sparkled. She had a habit of losing her mind and becoming pure when shown a beautiful view. It was something he had been able to fully grasp just by showing her the city last time.
Could this innocent woman really be a witch?
At that moment, the blue wolves appeared. Chession bowed his head to their leader as usual.
"It's been a while, Charlie."
However.
Krrrrr
The blue wolves surrounding the two people began to bare their teeth.
"Charlie? Oh... I'm late with the introduction. This is 'Mori,' the witch hunt victim I rescued."
The largest of the blue wolves, Chief Charlie, raised his claws and growled. It was unforgivable that a witch could dare to set foot on sacred ground. Chession, that naive bastard, seemed to have already fallen for the witch's charm.
"You don't have to show your teeth like that. Mori is a very kind person. Since Mori came, the atmosphere of the Grand Duke's residence has become more lively, and the spy has been caught. To me, she is a symbol of good luck."
As Chession continued to act like that, Charlie's head started to hurt. The woman next to him was a witch! And she was spewing out black magic that only high-level monsters could sense!
But how does he explain this to that ignorant Grand Duke? If he leaves him alone, he might get in trouble. Charlie doesn't have any obligation to protect him, but he feels uneasy about leaving him alone. Now that that witch has set foot in the Green Forest, the forest could become dangerous.
For the sake of the peace of the Grand Duke's residence and the Forest of Green, Charlie decided to tell that foolish Grand Duke the truth.
He raked the ground with his forepaws. After leveling the ground, he raised his index finger claw and wrote human letters.
"That woman..."
He's written up to here, but it's been so long since he's written anything human-like that it's all crooked.
"That woman. Are you talking about Mori?"
Of course, if he understood, that would be enough. Charlie finished writing.
By the way. How do you write the word 'witch'?
"Beauty."
"Haha! As expected. Charlie, you think our Mori is beautiful! Mori, you are a beauty that even the leader of the monsters acknowledges. It's not easy for ordinary humans to be acknowledged as beautiful by monsters."
"...Yes."
Gremory, who had roughly grasped the situation, snickered at Charlie. Charlie, who was getting hotter, rubbed the writing with the sole of his foot, erased it, and started writing again.
"Mother."
"What is that?"
''Shaman."
"shaman?"
"Mother and Daughter"
"...That's not the kind of relationship we have at all."
Krrrrrrrr!
Charlie, who was very angry, held his head with his front paws and cried in pain.
"I don't know. Just go in."
Hr gave up.
"Thank you!"
And Chession smiled brightly. For Charlie to have let her enter the forest was clear evidence that Mori was not a witch.
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