As soon as she stepped out the door, Aurora’s gaze met Leonora’s, who stood outside with her arms crossed.
It seemed she’d been waiting outside the entire time, and upon seeing the two emerge, she walked over.
Beatrice didn’t spare her a single glance, gliding past her slowly on her broom.
“It’s time to go, Aurora.”
“Yes, Master.”
With that reply, she walked past Leonora.
“Wait!”
Her wrist was grabbed again—Aurora had lost count of how many times her wrist had been seized today. In the past, she had always been the one to stubbornly grab Leonora’s hand.
“What is it now, Miss Leonora?”
She turned her head, and in her dim, lifeless eyes, Leonora’s teary gaze was reflected.
If it had been the old Aurora, she would have felt sorry and tried to comfort her. But now, she knew all her kindness was tainted with a curse, with harm; any goodwill she offered would only turn into deeper pain for others. So she must not comfort her, must not show kindness—she had to be more ruthless, more indifferent…
Aurora’s eyes grew even duller.
“You said you were going back—where are you going?!”
“This is your real home!”
Aurora tried to pull her hand free, but this time she couldn’t easily break away.
Leonora’s grip on her wrist was even tighter than before.
She was truly afraid—afraid that if she let go, she would never see the person before her again.
Aurora sighed and said, “Have you forgotten? You’re the one who wanted me to leave.”
“I was only obeying your last order, that’s all.”
“That was before. That order doesn’t count!”
“Now I’m ordering you again—come home with me, right now, immediately!”
Such an unreasonable attitude even made Beatrice, who had been silently watching from behind, feel a twinge of anger. When she was Leonora’s age, she’d had a temper too, but at least she spoke with some sense. This was her first time seeing such a headstrong, unreasonable little girl, who even ignored her presence and tried to snatch her maid away right in front of her.
A wave of irritation flared up in her chest…
Looks like I’ll have to break through her defenses a bit.
Thinking this, Beatrice reached out toward Aurora.
In the next instant, a red chain appeared in her hand, and at the other end of the chain was Aurora’s slender neck.
Still troubled by Leonora’s unreasonable behavior, Aurora suddenly felt a sharp pain at her neck.
A surge of red electricity traveled from the chain around her neck, coursing through Aurora’s entire body.
Leonora’s hand, still holding Aurora’s wrist, was also struck by that red current, the numbing pain causing her grip to weaken.
Seeing her finally let go, Beatrice yanked the chain hard, pulling Aurora into her own embrace.
“Damn it, what is this?”
Finally recovering from the pain, Leonora looked up and immediately noticed the red chain around Aurora’s neck.
She recognized this chain—it was the Familiars’ Red Chain that only appeared after forming a familiar contract.
“Why… do you have that on you?”
She followed the chain to its other end and saw that it was being held by the witch standing beside Aurora.
Her fiery red eyes narrowed in an instant. She drew the wooden training longsword from her waist, angrily pointing it at Beatrice.
“Damn witch, what have you done to Aurora?!”
It had to be this witch, using some evil magic to make Aurora obey her every word. As long as she killed this witch, Aurora would surely come back to her side—she just had to kill this witch…
In Beatrice’s arms, Aurora tried to speak, but the words caught in her throat, unable to come out no matter how she tried.
“Shut your mouth. I’ll teach this brat a lesson,” Beatrice whispered coldly in her ear.
Only then did Aurora realize that Beatrice had used the Mute Command on her again, rendering her unable to speak.
“Damn witch, go to hell!”
Leonora pushed off hard with her feet, leaping forward, her wooden sword aglow with orange light as she swung it at Beatrice.
Before she could reach Beatrice, she felt something sticky wrap around her ankle.
“What the—?!”
Looking down in midair, Leonora saw a slender purple tentacle coiled around her ankle.
The tentacle flicked its tip, flinging Leonora, sword and all, straight into a nearby hedge.
She crashed headfirst into the neatly trimmed bushes, leaving a gaping, ugly hole, and her sword landed far away on the ground.
“Heh. Overestimating yourself.”
Apparently not yet satisfied, Beatrice called out toward the bushes, “Didn’t you get into the Knight Academy? Is this all you’ve got?”
“Damn it…”
Leonora slowly crawled out of the hedge, a bloody scratch now marking her face, and her once-clean pink dress was smeared with dirt.
Seeing her sword lying in the distance, Leonora made no move to retrieve it.
She shut her eyes tightly and began to chant an incantation.
A red light appeared around her, gathering in her hands.
The dazzling red glow grew brighter and brighter in her palms. Suddenly, a spark flashed, and then a fierce flame burst forth in her grasp.
She gripped the roaring fire, and in the next moment, it took the shape of a longsword in her hand.
“Oh~ So you had this much in you after all.”
Beatrice seemed a little surprised, but her gaze remained mocking.
“Take this—Fire of Karma!”
She swung fiercely toward Beatrice, sending a blazing torrent of fire surging forward.
Fire of Karma. Only now did Beatrice realize this move—even though she’d played with this spell to death herself—had such a miniature version, which was rather novel to her.
‘Snap.’
She flicked her fingers lightly, and instantly a massive fireball appeared, swallowing up Leonora’s flame and making it part of the larger blaze.
If she weren’t worried about damaging the town, she could have played with the fire even more.
“How… how is that possible?”
“Enough. This is boring. Playing with a brat like you is a waste—I’d rather go study some new magic.”
With that, she turned to leave with Aurora.
“Stop right there! Give Aurora back to me!”
“Tch.”
Seeing Leonora still hadn’t given up, Beatrice decided to go all out.
She turned around, lifted Aurora’s chin, and kissed her right in front of Leonora.