Chapter 505: Act 253 – The Witch King’s Mark
The flames danced, and the charcoal occasionally crackled, dimming the light for a moment. In the tomb passage, light and shadow intertwine as Little Romaine sat alone by the fire, her small face glowing bright red. For some time, she watched in fascination as the sparks rose towards the ceiling in the warm air, her sparkling eyes moving up and down, animatedly.
An hour had passed since the tomb collapsed, and the wizards had spent at least half an hour clearing a vent to finally have the conditions to light a fire. The Business Lady had threaded the grave moss into strings with an iron rod—God knows why she carried such things; in any case, Brendel knew that she could always pull a complete set of outdoor supplies from her little leather bag, from flint to sewing kits. The flames crackled as they roasted the grave moss. This material served as a divination agent for witches in the Amber Sword (Perception +2, lasts 10 minutes), resembling gray lichens, although Romaine stubbornly insisted it was mushrooms.
In short, if the Business Lady said it was a mushroom, then it was indeed a mushroom.
Charles felt too embarrassed to mention that the future lady of the lord had burned two gold coins, so he pretended not to notice; otherwise, the best outcome would be an invitation to eat grave moss. Our wizard did not believe his physical constitution and resistance to poison were superior to that of his lord, so he decisively declined.
However, like others, Charles was puzzled. His lord had publicly announced his relationship with Miss Romaine, but the two did not seem like a couple; this was quite perplexing, considering it was normal for the nobles of Vaunte to have spouses by the age of fifteen. People like Brendel, at his age, who had yet to marry, were not rare but practically nonexistent.
Of course, Charles occasionally harbored mischievous doubts, questioning whether his lord had any issues in that regard. In fact, being a knowledgeable Highland wizard, he was well aware of some ancient herbal formulas. Yet, he wouldn’t dare bring this up in front of Brendel; he had a smart instinct that if he did, he would end up locked in some small dark room.
Thus, for some time now, both he and the others referred to Miss Romaine as the lord’s fiancée; however, this unmarried status had lasted for over a year, and while Brendel might not have noticed, it appeared quite odd to outsiders. After careful thought, Charles decided he should find a subtle way to bring it up to his lord, or it could lead to trouble.
The burnt smell of grave moss was reminiscent of roasted shoes. This peculiar odor wafted through the cave, and remarkably, the others managed to collectively pretend they had not noticed. Charles, holding a drawing just completed by an apprentice, looked seriously at the collapsed area of the tomb; the excavation efforts were not progressing smoothly, and the power of magic was not as strong as imagined. The key issue was not merely digging a passage but preventing the sand and stones above from continuing to fall.
To use magical powers to support a section of mountain nearly fifty meters long was beyond what Charles believed he could do. Fortunately, the people outside had already contacted Medisa, and once the Silver Elf princess and the vampire cross-dresser arrived, it would only be a matter of time before the passage was cleared.
But at that moment, Little Romaine suddenly felt a slight tremor beneath her feet in the tomb passage.
She looked up curiously at the others, but it seemed no one apart from her had noticed; however, Charles, seeing the Business Lady raise her head, couldn’t help but shiver. He steeled himself and approached to ask, “Is something wrong, Miss Romaine?”
Romaine tilted her head to look at him, pausing for a moment, her bright eyes seeming to ask: Did you hear something? But Charles obviously lacked the ability to read minds, so he couldn’t figure out what the Business Lady was up to. Puzzled, he looked at Romaine, who blinked and changed the subject, asking, “Is Brendel okay?”
“Lord is still below, rest assured, he’s safe and won’t get into trouble,” Charles replied respectfully, fearing that if the Business Lady took offense or was too pleased, he might be treated to grave moss. But given Martha above, it seemed that Little Romaine cherished her roasted “mushrooms” and intended not to share any of the roasted grave moss—she was determined to give it all to Brendel, so she said, “Then nothing’s wrong, thank you.”
Charles wiped a cold sweat off and silently prayed for his lord, wishing that Lady Martha above would grant his great master unparalleled resistance to toxins, or else tonight would not be pleasant for him. Charles couldn’t help but imagine, if Romaine kindly offered Brendel these grave moss, would his lord choose to eat? Or would he choose to eat?
Thinking of this made him unable to suppress a somewhat malicious chuckle that nearly caused him internal injury.
Unbeknownst to Charles, after the Business Lady finished speaking, she turned her attention back to the few sparks. However, Little Romaine had her hands neatly on her leather bag, actually lifting her chin to look at a girl sitting across the campfire from her.
The girl appeared only a year or two older, yet her expression was gentle, looking at Romaine as if seeing her own child. When she saw Romaine earnestly offer her a string of roasted grave moss, she couldn’t help but smile ruefully. “Sorry, little sister, I don’t like eating this sort of thing.”
“It seems they can’t see you,” the Business Lady remarked, glancing at Charles. She wasn’t a fool; on the contrary, she possessed considerable wisdom. Since that night in the refugee camp, Brendel had understood this, but to outsiders, this Business Lady merely seemed a quirky yet relatively agreeable person.
This was her secret with Brendel; Freya knew a little bit, and Antinna more or less guessed something.
The girl nodded, “Because only you can see me; even that person’s heir below cannot.”
“Are you talking about Brendel?” Romaine asked.
“That young man is called Brendel? Thank you for telling me his name.”
“If you plan to harm him, I won’t speak with you,” Romaine declared solemnly.
The girl was left speechless.
“I won’t, it’s just to say thank you. I’ve always wanted to hear about what’s happening outside. Moreover, he brought you here; I can only be grateful to him.”
“Then why can only I see you?” the Business Lady asked out of curiosity.
“Because the same blood flows through you as it does through me,” the girl replied, tilting her head to carefully observe Romaine. It was evident she quite liked this girl from Buche, her eyes revealing satisfaction. After a moment of thought, Romaine raised her little brows. “The same blood flows through me as you? Does this mean you are my mother?”
The girl once again smiled wryly.
“Of course not,” she said, “If we are talking about it, I should be your grandmother’s grandmother’s grandmother…” She suddenly stopped, realizing she was being influenced by the other, and her way of speaking became muddled. Unable to help but shake her head in exasperation, she said, “Alright, no more joking. Do you know what kind of power you possess? I think you should have grasped some by now, right?”
“I know,” Romaine nodded. “A dwarf told me that I am a sorceress because I am naturally capable of using magic.”
“Oh?”
The girl looked curiously at Romaine. “You are not a sorceress; you are a witch, and a natural-born witch. You carry the bloodline of the Fate Witches. Your natal constellation is the Maiden of the Harp; however, after today, it will not be so. After today, your natal constellation will be the Witch King’s Seat—”
“Romaine didn’t understand too well, but that dwarf clearly said I was a sorceress.” The Business Lady thought for a moment. “And I think ‘sorceress’ sounds more powerful.”
……
Before the era of gold, the first generation of the Witch King, the creator of the thirteen witch bloodlines, spouse of the Dark Dragon Odin—she, in her lifetime, rarely met an opponent and did not believe that there was anyone who could defeat her. But until today, this Ice Queen had to admit that there were some people in this world that she could not defeat. What does it mean to say, “I think ‘sorceress’ sounds more powerful”? If one of her thirteen subordinates in her lifetime had dared to speak to her like this, she might have cast a spell to sweep that person into the Ice Maze to suffer for all eternity.
But now, she was much more tempered; besides, she truly might not be able to act harshly in front of her descendants, especially since time was already running short. To meet a true heir before her power approached extinction was already a fortuitous occurrence.
The first generation Witch King, left with no choice, had to coax, “Rest assured, even if you accept my legacy, you can still retain the powers of a sorceress.” The girl wanted to bang her head against the wall nearby. This was clearly the innate spell-casting ability of Fate Witches, yet she had to call it the power of a sorceress, and she couldn’t refute it—after all, sorceresses were the sworn enemies of witches! What was she even saying!? If not for her desire to maintain her image, this legendary Witch King would have nearly burst into tears.
To personally bestow the qualification of being a Witch King, something countless people could only dream of, she had to coax and lie to a little girl; this was truly “a fall from grace.”
Romaine considered carefully.
As a merchant, she had to be shrewd. However, in the end, perhaps feeling it was a gain with no loss, she cautiously nodded.
“Good child,” the Witch King said wearily, her initial novelty at seeing her descendant after countless years entirely vanished. She reached out and tapped Romaine’s forehead, causing a flood of knowledge to rush into her mind.
“I am nearly out of power now, so I can’t provide you with more help, but the knowledge I give you will surely assist you greatly one day.” The girl sighed, “Perhaps due to the unseen hand of fate, you just happen to be a Fate Witch; this knowledge will gradually manifest its effects as you grow, but the key is to remember that the Witch King’s Mark I give you is the only sign to unlock the treasures of the Witch Kingdom. One day you will unite the thirteen bloodlines, and this mark will play a significant role. Do you understand?”
Romaine felt dizzy, cradling her head, nodding in a dazed manner.
Seeing her like this made the girl sigh. Her only successor turned out to be in such a state; she momentarily didn’t know if this was a blessing or a curse. But regardless of right or wrong, the first generation Witch King did not want to stay here a moment longer. She feared this little girl would unexpectedly put her in a bind, and she felt her limited dignity could not withstand such vexation.
She withdrew her finger, which lingered for just a moment before disappearing into the tomb.
Leaving Romaine looking left and right, momentarily still unclear about what had just happened.
……(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com); your support is my greatest motivation.)
