As Chession walked through the verdant forest, holding Gremory's hand, Charlie followed them.
Charlie was in a bad mood. He wanted to somehow tell Chession about the witch's identity.
'I should take her to the Lake of Purification and drown her there. If a witch falls in there, she will feel a burning pain.'
But that witch. She's really just looking around the forest. Like any other human who's entering the green forest for the first time.
"Wow, it's pretty..."
When a spirit bird or butterfly passes by, she even makes way for them so that they don't bump into her and get hurt. A normal witch would grab them and eat them, or burn them for fun.
She even walks carefully so as not to step on the grass growing from the ground. Chession, even that guy is stomping on the grass.
...Charlie looked down at his feet for no reason. It seemed like he was stepping on about ten flowers. Charlie carefully placed his front paws together for no reason. So as not to step on the flowers.
'Huh. If she's a witch, then that's all an act. She's probably trying to fool the Archduke by pretending to be innocent and eat his soul.'
At that moment, something caught his eye. A white snake was slowly creeping towards the witch.
The white snake cannot stand the presence of evil in the forest. It seems that it sensed an evil aura and was about to attack the witch.
Kyaaak! A white snake jumped in and bit the witch's ankle.
Charlie was looking forward to how that witch would react. If she tried to kill the white snake, he would immediately attack her or drive her out of here. Or he could just drag her into the Lake of Purification and drown her.
But the witch.
"What?"
She looked at the snake dangling from her ankle, then looked at Charlie.
"Your snake looks hungry. What does it eat? Blood?"
"..."
"Whatever it is, feed it some."
Then she carefully removed the snake from around her ankle. The white snake was startled by the unexpected situation and quickly ran towards Charlie.
Chession took out a handkerchief and made a fuss.
"Oh my goodness, Mori! Doesn't it hurt? His teeth are so long! Charlie, is that a poisonous snake?"
...Dori dori.
There is, but the poison won't work on her. She's a witch. So it's the same as not having any poison.
"Hey! Mori, sit down for a moment."
Chession sat Gremory down on the floor and tied a handkerchief around her ankles.
"It tickles."
"Just hold on a little longer."
Watching that, Charlie hesitated several times over whether he should just leave or not. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed like those two were just on a date.
Charlie got angry at the white snake for no reason.
'Why are you making me see such an ugly sight again?'
'I'm sorry. I didn't know they would do that.'
The white snake coiled and hissed.
Chession reached out to Gremory and helped him up.
"Can you walk?"
"Yeah, that's fine. I want to look around some more."
And Gremory.
"That snake was pretty earlier, too."
Whatever Charlie's thoughts, her eyes were still sparkling.
Charlie declared his surrender by slapping his forelegs with his dry face. No matter how he looked at it, that witch seemed different from ordinary witches. He could only sense evil magic, and he could not feel any of the murderous intent or malice that comes from bad things.
Finally arrived at the center of the green forest.
There was a vast lake there. The black lake at midnight reflected the Milky Way in the sky like a mirror.
Chession asked Charlie as he took Gremory closer to the lake.
"Charlie, can I put Morrie's ankle in here?"
Dori Dori. Charlie shook his head. The moment you dip, your lover will suffer from burning pain.
"As expected, you don't give away the treasures of the forest very often. I understand. I will respect your wishes."
So the two of them finished their tour and left. Charlie scratched his head as he looked at the backs of the couple in amazement. A love between a witch who lives off of human misfortune and a human, how could such a thing come true?
Chession Ethel, that guy really has a strange life.
***
'Yeah, where in the world are there witches?'
Chession, who felt relieved, calmly continued his meal in front of Gremory, who was munching on raw meat. Their northern snowfield warrior seemed to like today's meal, as she even munched on the goat ribs.
As she wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth after being proven not to be a witch, Chession brought up a work-related topic.
"Mori, I have something I need to leave to you."
"What is it?"
Gremory answered while gulping down the goat blood for dessert.
"As you know, there is a convent near our Archduke's residence. When I first brought you here, the people who treated you and cared for you were also nuns."
"I know. I remember."
"According to the nuns, they seem to see something like a ghost every night. It seems like intruders are coming and going. Can you take care of them? After all, since it's a convent, the nuns feel uncomfortable if male knights are living there."
"Yes, I'll do it."
Gremory felt strange. A witch was told to enter a convent that avoided evil and approached purity and humility, and commit murder. Anyway, she did it because the landlord told her to.
"But why does that guy have to go to a convent? There's more food to eat in the mansion than in the convent. No, there are more people to target."
"I'm not sure why. I have some guesses, but nothing definitive."
"What do you think?"
"The patients in our territory depend more on the healing power of the nuns than the healers. If the convent is attacked, our territory will completely lose a place to treat the sick and wounded."
"So if someone attacks the convent and spreads the plague to the Archduke, we're out of luck?"
"Yes."
"Then we must guard the convent."
Gremory immediately got up from her seat and headed towards the convent. Who would dare to disturb her treasured place?
She knew the location of the convent because she had seen it in advance while walking with Anna.
The convent she arrived at. The abbess walked out and bowed her head to Mori, as if she had already spoken to Chession. The young nuns followed her and bowed their heads.
"Hello, I am Christina, the superior of the Lucnell Convent."
"Yes."
"?"
"Yeah, nice to meet you."
The abbess's expression hardened at Gremory's informal speech.
"...You are unique. just like I heard."
Whether it was unusual or not, Gremory scanned Christina while leaning on her knees.
For a nun, she was a woman with a dark and dirty heart. It was uncomfortable to even look at her.
'She's so different from the nuns I know. How did she become the Mother Superior?'
Christina scolded Gremory, wondering if she didn't like the wicked look in her eyes.
"Wouldn't it be more appropriate to use formal language in situations like this, Miss Mori?"
"Why?"
"Yes?"
"Why should I use polite language to a dirty abbess who is neither poor nor pure?"
"...What on earth are you talking about, haha."
"How much money did you embezzle to make the nuns look so pathetic? And all the younger nuns are skinny and withered, but you have a big belly. Is that a beer belly?"
Christina, who had been hit ten times for carelessly touching someone, was still not in her right mind. When she heard the young nuns giggling behind her, her face turned red as if it was going to burst.
"Everyone, can't you be quiet!"
"I won't do it."
Gremory read the darkness in the abbess's heart. She had not come to attack the abbess from the beginning, but she had no choice but to strip Christina of all her strength because of 'other possibilities'.
Gremory pushed her way through the nuns and headed towards Christina's room. Since she could read the darkness of her heart, she knew right away where her room was.
"Wait a minute! Where are you going?"
"Your room."
"Wait a minute! Please wait a minute!"
The fat abbess couldn't keep up with the nimble Gremory. Kicked open the abbess' locked room, Gremory saw the gold bracelet and ruby necklace inside. There were also bottles of alcohol scattered here and there on the floor. In addition, a shirt and underwear that clearly belonged to a man were strewn about on the bed.
"What the nuns saw wasn't an intruder or a ghost, but the abbess's lover."
The Mother Superior ran away with a bright red face. Gremory tasted the shame and darkness she exuded.
Sigh. Christina's shame was tasteless.
And the young nuns surrounded Gremory without paying any attention to the abbess or anything like that.
"Wow! Miss Mori is the best! How on earth did you know?"
"Because I'm a witch."
"You act like you know everything. Are you a sorcerer with the power of foresight?"
"I said I'm a witch."
"Miss Mori has magical powers, like a witch!"
"Thanks to you, I was able to kick out the evil abbess! Thank you, Miss Mori!"
When she tells them she's a witch, they don't even listen. It's because the people of this empire don't believe in the existence of witches, even a little bit.
Anyway, as numerous compliments reached her ears, the corners of Gremory's mouth twitched slightly.
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