Chapter 24: The Witch

Aurora took back what she said earlier—Beatrice hadn’t really matured, not deep down.

Her temper had only grown more explosive.

If this had been the old Beatrice handling the situation, at most she would have beaten the man up.

She wouldn’t have used her innate magic to torture him like this.

Aurora didn’t know why Beatrice was here with Avila, but she could make a reasonable guess—they were probably here to find her.

She needed to leave. Immediately.

With that thought, Aurora looked at the little sprite who had just finished drinking an entire cup of juice.

Smiling softly, she whispered, “All done? Let’s head to the flower shop.”

“Gulu!”

The sprite nodded vigorously.

It fluttered its wings and landed on top of Aurora’s head.

Aurora glanced subtly toward Beatrice.

The witch and Avila were chatting about something while the shop owner was still busy cleaning up the blood on the floor.

The moment the owner’s body blocked Beatrice’s line of sight, Aurora seized the opportunity and slipped out of the restaurant.

“Phew…”

Aurora exhaled deeply.

Her reunions with Lorabelle and Beatrice had both come so suddenly… and both left her feeling awful.

Lorabelle had lost her memories and seemed mentally unstable.

Beatrice had lost both legs and now hovered around on a broom—these were all curses she had brought upon them.

She had no right to appear in front of them again.

“Wu-gah.”

Sensing Aurora’s sinking mood, the little creature moved from her head to her shoulder and gently nuzzled her cheek.

“Thank you… little one.”

Aurora leaned in and rubbed its cheek in return, accepting the comfort.

Heading deeper into the royal capital, the towering silhouette of the palace gradually came into view.

Atop the great castle was a massive blue magic circle.

It was said to be a defensive barrier cast by a genius mage to repel demonkind.

Flanking the castle were two towers with giant dragon statues.

Between them stood the central spire, atop which was a sculpture of the first king—holding a greatsword pointed toward the sky, as if commanding the two dragons to fight for him.

Aurora had never set foot inside the palace, and had rarely even visited the districts near it.

There were simply too many people there. She hated the way some of them leered at her with those filthy eyes.

Still, she’d heard from noble girls who had attended palace banquets that the interior was even more luxurious and dazzling than their own bedrooms.

The little sprite had never seen a structure so enormous before.

Clearly overwhelmed, it curled up in Aurora’s palm, peeking timidly at the castle through the gaps between her fingers.

“We’re here.”

A wave of floral fragrance drifted through the air.

The little creature poked its head out from Aurora’s palm and looked up to see a modest-sized flower shop.

Colorful flowers were arranged outside the storefront.

They came in a variety of shapes and forms—most of them were flowers Aurora had never seen before.

What stood out most were their stamens: some secreted natural perfume, others would glow when touched like little lamps, and a few even emitted a thick magical aura.

“You’re a beautiful lady—why not come in and take a look? We’ve got even more kinds inside.”

Just as Aurora and the little one were curiously examining the flowers one by one, a cheerful, energetic voice called out from the shop’s entrance.

Aurora looked up. It was a girl with blue hair and blue eyes, dressed in a gardener’s outfit still stained with fresh soil.

She held a small trowel in her hand—clearly she’d just finished planting something.

“Sorry, we don’t really have much money with us, so…”

“Oh no, no worries at all! I’m already happy just seeing you enjoy my flowers, haha!”

“Then… thank you.”

Aurora followed the blue-haired girl into the shop.

Inside, the variety of flowers was even more overwhelming—almost dizzying to look at.

The shop was small, and potted plants filled nearly every available space.

Aurora had to step carefully with each move, afraid of crushing one of the lovely blooms.

“Wu-gah!”

The little creature seemed absolutely delighted.

It flitted about the shop, looking here and there, lively and adorable.

“Is that your familiar?” the shopkeeper asked curiously.

A pink sprite like cherry blossoms—she had grown many flowers and seen many flower spirits before, but this was her first time encountering one in cherry blossom pink.

“Ah, not exactly. I guess you could call it… a friend.”

“Ehh~ A friend, huh? You’d better take good care of it. Spirits this pretty are highly sought after—especially by dangerous witches.”

“Dangerous witches…? Why do you say that?”

Even back in the restaurant earlier, Aurora had felt that people seemed to harbor a deep hatred for witches.

That hadn’t always been the case. In the past, witches were respected.

Why had that changed?

Ever since she started working as a maid at the duke’s estate, Aurora had rarely stepped outside.

She barely knew what was going on in the world, and she hadn’t even read the newspapers.

“Why, you ask…? Young lady, you really are a sheltered noble girl, huh?”

The blue-haired girl seemed to assume Aurora was some aristocratic heiress.

How else could she not know about the witches?

“Please, tell me the reason.”

“Well…”

“I’ll tell you!”

Just as the blue-haired girl was about to explain, a crisp, half-childlike voice rang out from behind her.

A green sprite flew out from behind her, planting its hands on its hips as it stood proudly on the girl’s right shoulder.

“Hey! I didn’t tell you to come out, Lan Cao!”

“Ah—sorry, sorry! It’s just that this young lady’s aura felt a little familiar, so I couldn’t help myself, hehe.”

“She is…?”

Seeing Aurora’s slight confusion, the blue-haired girl explained, “This is just my familiar. Like your little friend, it’s a flower sprite.”

“It appeared one day while I was planting flowers. I’m not sure when the spirit of life was sown into it.”

“Ah, not important, not important! More importantly, didn’t you want to know about witches? I’ve got a lot to say about that!”

“Mhm.”

“Miss, do you know about demonic magic? The kind that requires living beings as sacrifices to cast?”

“I do.”

Not only did she know, but she had just fought against cultists using it a few days ago.

“It’s not just humans—many of my kind have been used as materials for demonic spells. I personally witnessed an entire tribe of spirits sacrificed, even the Spirit Queen wasn’t spared. Her heart was sold as a rare material on the black market.”

“The Spirit Queen… But what does that have to do with witches? Weren’t those all cultists?”

“How is it unrelated? Many of those who practice demonic magic are witches. They took advantage of the respect people had for witches, tricked others, and then used them as casting materials for dark rituals.”

“There was a witch executed just recently—for killing her own kin to use them as components.”

“I… see.”

Aurora found it hard to believe.

In her experience, witches were people who traveled the world in pursuit of dreams, who helped others as part of their purpose.

They would never commit such atrocities.

The girl suddenly added, “It’s not like we want to be prejudiced against witches, really. My grandma used to say witches often helped her when she was young… but still—how do we know a witch won’t decide to use you as a ritual ingredient one day, right?”

“I understand…”

After looking around the shop a little more, Aurora finally left with the little creature.

Before they left, the girl gave her a silver-gradient flower, saying it matched Aurora’s hair color.

Coincidentally, it was also Aurora’s favorite flower.

“Hiss…”

“What’s wrong, Lan Cao?”

Inside the shop, as the sprite Lan Cao was helping the girl water flowers, it suddenly let out a strange sound.

“That human just now… wasn’t her name Aurora?”