Brown hair, and that dagger…
Even as a young girl, Ai’er would never mistake her.
Yes, this was the maid who served Elena—Miss Anna.
‘What… what exactly is going on?’
After the System suddenly said, **[I will tell you the truth]**, Ai’er had transformed into a ghost-like entity without a physical form, appearing in this world from 9 years ago.
By now, she could roughly understand that the death of Elena’s mother was certainly the result of Sirius’s interference…
‘But why would Miss Anna…’
Why would Miss Anna appear in this village where Sirius had set a trap to obstruct Serena?
At that moment, a chill crawled up Ai’er’s spine.
—
“Thank you for your gift, Miss Anna. You can just leave the items here. But do not step any further forward!”
At the sight of that dagger, the attendants and the surrounding knights grew tense.
It was common for hunters to carry knives, but to get so close to Serena, who held the high status of Duchess, even an innocent-looking young girl was a threat—
“Madam?!”
Serena did not care about her subordinates’ worries. She simply walked toward the girl, drawn by her smile.
“Madam, please!”
Serena took the waterskin the girl handed her. Although it was somewhat heavy, it contained a soothing fragrance.
“Anna, where are your parents?”
“Are you referring to the village chief, Madam? I am the village chief now. My father and mother passed away 10 years ago.”
10 years ago.
Serena froze for a moment. She looked into the girl’s eyes but saw no sadness, only a profound stillness.
It was a calmness that suggested a lack of desire, as if she no longer had any attachment to the things of this world.
One who possessed such a gaze was either a sage who had transcended the world, a devout believer who had dedicated their life to the gods—or someone seeking death.
As for 10 years ago…
“It is exactly what you are thinking, Madam.”
Without warning, Anna tilted her head slightly and took half a step back.
“My parents died in the Monster Tide 10 years ago. I still remember it clearly—that night, even though we were huddled inside our house, they were still torn to shreds by magic beasts that suddenly lunged out from the forest. Blood splashed onto my face. I still remember how that scalding blood felt so bone-chillingly cold!”
“Lady Serena! Get back!!”
The knights and armed attendants immediately rushed in front of Serena. The moment the cold glint of their blades was drawn, Serena’s personal maid grabbed her mistress’s hand, trying to pull her toward the safety of the carriage.
In that instant, more and more villagers appeared from all directions.
The crowd formed a massive circle, surrounding Serena’s convoy in layers.
“Madam, please rest assured. We will not do anything to you!”
Anna cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone.
She shouted, seemingly completely indifferent to the knights’ blades or the consequences of her actions.
“We are all people who lost our families in the last Monster Tide—people with nothing left to lose. Our request is simple! Just hand over the Signature Book, and we will let you leave!”
The Signature Book.
Why would this young girl know about the Signature Book?
Even though she had been busy traveling for this matter, even within the noble circles of the Duchy, only a few people knew of it. How could a girl from a border village—
In that moment, Serena realized something.
‘Sirius… is this your doing?’
With a cold sneer, Serena opened the carriage door again, but she secretly held one hand open, slowly gathering Mana within it.
Ignoring her maid’s attempts to stop her, Serena walked toward the Knight Commander, who was currently shouting at the crowd.
“Listen well, you commoners! This is the convoy of the Duchess of White. Maliciously obstructing the Duchess’s convoy is an offense punishable by the execution of three generations under Imperial law! If you do not retreat immediately—Madam?! Why are you…”
“Let me handle this.”
Serena gently patted the Knight Commander’s shoulder armor. She looked through the gap opened by the knights and attendants at the still-smiling Anna.
The girl before her looked to be about 18 or 19. When her parents died 10 years ago, she would have been the same age as her own Elena.
After a moment of silence, Serena spoke calmly.
“What do you intend to do with the Signature Book in my hands?”
“To answer the noble Duchess, we are going to burn it, of course. The Witch of the Duchy must pay the price for the Monster Tide she attracted, must she not?”
The price.
Yes… a price. People always had to pay a price for what they had done.
But what heinous thing had her daughter actually done? Even a girl from a border village held such hostility toward her daughter…
Anna continued to smile, but it was a smile directed toward her deceased parents.
Looking into Anna’s eyes again, Serena saw fire and resentment—identical to the people surrounding the convoy.
Serena recognized that look.
It was a look of loathing for the Monster Tide, a look of helplessness in the face of disaster.
Perhaps in the eyes of these citizens of the Duchy, they were unable to take revenge on the irresistible Monster Tide, so they could only believe the rumors. They chose to believe that this natural disaster could be blamed on a “Witch,” projecting all their hatred onto a “substitute” they could actually fight against.
“But even if you burn the Signature Book, what can you achieve?”
“We can achieve nothing more, of course. Neither the Empire nor the Duchy will let us go; no noble likes people who resist. There is only a dead end ahead of us. But we do not care.”
As her voice fell, Anna took a step forward.
Following her lead, everyone surrounding the convoy took a step forward as well.
“Anyone who dares approach further will be killed without mercy!!”
At the Knight Commander’s final ultimatum, the crowd paused momentarily.
But it was only a brief hesitation.
They looked at one another, and then, starting from someone unknown, a person began to laugh.
That laughter was like a fire, quickly spreading through the entire crowd. It was silent, yet it eventually condensed into the curled lips of those who were prepared to die.
They were not afraid of death; they were seeking it.
“We really can’t do much, Madam. But we have nothing left. Burning this Signature Book is our final act of resistance—and then we will all die. But there is no need to trouble the nobles to do it. We will do it ourselves. Just… like this.”
The moment Anna finished speaking, she pulled out a bottle of Purple Potion from behind her.
Serena’s eyes widened. That exquisite glass bottle was definitely not something that circulated among commoners.
And the emblem engraved on that glass bottle made Serena’s eyes widen even further—
Double snakes entwining a cone-shaped scepter, with the seven stars symbolizing the Empire’s rule printed behind the pattern.
It was the mark of the Imperial Medical Academy.
Behind Sirius… was the Empire?!
That was impossible! If that were the case, then none of this made sense; if that were the case, then why did Sirius say those things to her yesterday?
“Madam, you surely do not recognize this medicine. The noble who gave it to me told me that this is a drug capable of attracting every magic beast within 100 miles like they’ve gone mad! It is a vital experimental product, the only one of its kind in the entire Empire! If you are unwilling to hand over the Signature Book, this is the only path we can take.”
Anna slowly raised the potion bottle, holding it high above her head, reaching the limit of her arm’s span—
The Purple Potion sloshed inside the glass, reflecting an eerie color under the sunlight.
The girl before Serena was now like a crazed fanatic, holding her “sacred fire” high, ready to burn everything in sight.
“Though you are the mother of the Witch, you are also the wife of the Hero—so, noble Madam, please make a choice! Will you let us, yourself, and that Signature Book in your hand face destruction together under the fangs and claws of magic beasts? Or will you hand over that piece of paper to serve as a funeral offering for those of us who already died in the past? Madam, we will give you 10 seconds.”