Enya gave a quick once-over before putting away the two “gifts,” and at that moment, Antiros had already turned and walked away.
In the empty space before her, a carriage materialized from thin air, and the witch lady stopped at the door of the carriage.
She turned around and gave Enya a faint smile.
Her delicate, adorable face rarely showed emotion, but there was clearly a trace of happiness in that smile.
“I’ll contact you when the time comes.”
“……”
Was that a way of telling her to wait for the notification?
Although Enya felt a bit dissatisfied with Antiros for using her in this matter, in the end, she could only helplessly nod in agreement.
Enya was used to being put through the wringer by her own master.
Asking Antiros for help did indeed make the problem easier to solve, but the process wouldn’t get any easier—it might even become more complicated.
The carriage door opened by itself.
Antiros’s petite figure floated up, the witch lady clad in a black Gothic dress, and she said a few more words to Enya.
“Vivienne plans to establish a navigation hub in Redwood City. If you really have nothing else to do, you could try managing this place, or even the entire Northern States.”
“Oh, right, Vivienne will be coming to Redwood City, probably in about seven days.”
“?!”
The black carriage rolled forward, then vanished as it dematerialized.
Vivienne was coming again?
Redwood City’s territory was long and narrow.
To the north and south were the Westwind Empire and the Northern Mountains; to the east and west were Whitestone City and Salty Wind City, respectively.
To reach the Northern Continent, one either had to cross the barrier of the Northern Mountains or set out by sea.
Salty Wind City happened to be coastal and maintained good relations with the Empire.
Redwood City’s geographic location was awkward; it was practically a buffer zone between the Westwind Empire and the Northern Mountains, with little other strategic value.
Logically, if Vivienne wanted to return to the Westwind Empire, going straight from Salty Wind City would be best.
Her coming to Redwood City had to be for some reason…
So what was it for?
Estelle?
That possibility couldn’t be ruled out.
If so, Enya had to be even more careful not to reveal her identity in front of Estelle, or Vivienne might catch her red-handed.
But on second thought, the “lie” had been significantly enhanced by Antiros, and its effect was much better than before—getting seen through was unlikely.
“If Vivienne intends to take Estelle away…”
Estelle’s childhood experiences were too similar to Enya’s own.
Although she never had to worry about food or clothing, she had no freedom and was not loved.
Thinking of the wounds on Estelle’s body earlier, Enya couldn’t help but feel heartache.
The reason she pampered and cherished Rosily so much was precisely because she herself had never experienced that as a child.
So she gave her daughter love doubly, as a form of compensation for herself.
“If Vivienne only cares about her career…”
“Then I absolutely cannot let her take Estelle away. Estelle is my blood, after all. If I don’t look out for her, who else will?”
Pendrak, who had been silent for a long while, finally spoke.
“Great Witch…”
“What, you know Antiros?”
Enya wasn’t surprised.
Whether it was Antiros or Pendrak, they were both old-timers, so it was only natural they would know each other’s names and titles.
Pendrak didn’t answer the question.
Seeing her remain silent, Enya didn’t press further and instead stepped out from the corner to look at Rosily, who was sitting with a bespectacled girl.
Her daughter seemed to be comforting the girl, who had been frightened by the magical puppet controlled by Antiros.
“That’s Elqi, right?”
Enya watched from afar for a while.
After confirming her daughter hadn’t done anything inappropriate, she finally felt at ease and left the school.
The silver-haired girl suddenly sat upright from the bed.
“Huff…”
She breathed heavily, her pale golden eyes glancing at the scene before her.
This was no longer the dim underground cavern…
It was a modest-sized room, not luxuriously decorated but made as cozy as possible to feel like home.
Estelle turned her head slightly and saw a slender silver-haired figure.
Her eyes instantly widened, and she almost instinctively called out.
“Mother?”
The silver-haired figure, originally sewing with a needle and thread, froze in place upon hearing Estelle’s voice.
She turned to look at the silver-haired girl sitting on the bed.
This lady was beautiful, graceful, and also had long silver hair, but her eyes were a clear sky-blue.
The lady and Estelle looked at each other.
Estelle’s face showed no trace of disappointment but quietly lowered her eyelids, as if she never really hoped for anything.
“Estelle, you’re finally awake?!”
Milly, who had been napping beside the bed, was startled by Estelle’s movement.
Seeing the silver-haired girl awake, she immediately rushed over and tightly hugged Estelle.
Estelle blinked, shaking off the haze of just waking up.
She remembered some things from before she lost consciousness.
An armored person killed that demon.
She was so amazing…
“I wish I could be that strong.”
“What?”
Estelle’s soft murmur made Milly loosen her embrace.
She noticed the girl’s gaze wasn’t on her but instead followed it to the beautiful silver-haired lady standing nearby.
Milly glanced back and forth between them.
They looked somewhat alike, but not exactly.
After all, they both just had silver hair.
Did that really mean they were related?
“This is Lady Phil. She’s an alchemist. The mysterious person who saved us entrusted us to Lady Phil’s care.”
Milly introduced Enya to Estelle.
However, she only revealed the façade of Phil’s identity.
Enya looked at Estelle sitting on the bed, and a sudden urge to hug this little one overwhelmed her—but she forced herself to hold back.
Estelle stared blankly at Enya and nodded slightly.
“My name is Estelle.”
Enya looked at her, while she seemed to be gazing into empty space.
Milly noticed the atmosphere stiffening and was about to say something when Estelle suddenly spoke.
“Lady Phil, do you know that armored person?”
“…”
“I want to see her.”
“I don’t know…” Enya’s words made Estelle’s eyes quickly dim, but then Enya changed the subject.
“She should come back again. You can wait here for her.”
“Okay… okay…”
Enya moved closer and sat beside the bed, directly wrapping Estelle’s slender body in an embrace.
The girl did not resist this sudden hug.
The soft, fragrant, and tender embrace filled with affection was a kind of warmth she had never experienced before, making her reluctant to break free from this stranger’s arms.
So strange—this feeling was truly strange…
Enya’s hand stroked through the silky silver hair, down her back, and over her waist.
“Child, may I hold you?”
“Mm…”
Estelle’s voice was unusually gentle, which made Milly, the goddess officer standing nearby, widen her eyes in surprise and think to herself:
Could Lady Phil and Estelle really not be mother and daughter?