Chapter 957: The Minnow, the Tiger, and the Swan

Time returned to a few minutes earlier.

At the banquet.

Sophilia skillfully responded to the many guests who approached her to greet her.

Everyone admitted to this banquet hall was at least a Title-ranked Witch, all major figures in the Witch world.

For most, it was a dream come true to have these powerful figures come to them voluntarily—this signaled not only a massive expansion of one’s network but also proved one’s immense potential and boundless future.

Amid clinking glasses and laughter, guests lavished praise on the White Witch for her exceptional talent and formidable strength, congratulating her on winning the Junior Duel Championship; some even brought up their own student council chairmanship during their time at the Witch Academy.

Yet, after just a few sentences, these VIPs inevitably steered the conversation toward the Young Lady and Star Industries.

Clearly, this was their true purpose in approaching her.

The White Witch had anticipated this all along.

Having served as student council chair for so long at the Witch Academy, her social skills were fully maxed out; she had long mastered the art of speaking differently to different people.

She could see through the true intentions of these old foxes at a glance.

Ha, if it were only about her, the title of Junior Duel Champion might draw a few investors eager to curry favor—but not nearly this many all at once.

What truly drew these lofty figures were only two things.

One: she was awarded the championship by Long Wang himself—the reclusive Dragon King, who had vanished for tens of thousands of years, had reappeared—and his first act was to present her with the trophy, naturally drawing the attention of those with ulterior motives.

Although Long Wang was present in the hall, only the Sages and a handful of top-tier elders dared approach him to greet him; no one else dared step forward.

They simply weren’t qualified yet.

So if they couldn’t approach Long Wang directly, they could at least approach her—the young woman favored by Long Wang.

After all, it was just a greeting, a gesture of goodwill—no loss, only gain. Why not?

The second reason was because of the Young Lady.

The Young Lady had always been famous, though previously for her infamy; but since Star Industries was founded, everything had changed.

Most of these VIPs were well-informed, especially the Dragon Witches, who had learned through various channels about Star Industries’ progress—knowing they had likely completed a legendary warship, and that the Young Lady had even persuaded the famed Witch of the Woods to join them.

Whether it was the legendary warship or the Witch of the Woods, both were immensely profitable; thus, the once-feared Young Lady had now become highly sought-after, and everyone wanted to establish some connection with her.

Unfortunately, the Young Lady had remained by Long Wang’s side throughout the banquet, so no one dared approach her—thus, they settled for the next best thing: the Star Industries executives.

Ah, the adult world ultimately boils down to interests.

Sophilia secretly glanced at her sisters and saw they too were surrounded.

Mia-senpai was fine—this Golden Princess had far superior social skills even to Sophilia’s, handling the crowd effortlessly; she even struck several major deals and sealed cooperation agreements with wealthy merchants while chatting merrily.

But the other sisters were faring poorly.

Take Alice and Audrey, for instance.

The former had no grasp of adult socializing; she found the strangers surrounding her noisy and irritating.

The latter had begun trembling uncontrollably—her social anxiety had fully kicked in.

Fortunately, Madeline stayed close to the two young witches, using her succubus powers to shield them from the crowd.

Ah, the Young Lady had truly become a new aristocrat in the Witch world.

The White Witch sighed inwardly, then turned her gaze toward the center of the banquet hall.

There, Long Wang was conversing with the unexpected guests.

Sophilia felt conflicted about these latecomers—aside from Mamen, the other three were connected to her.

In Lucyfer’s timeline, the Pride Demon Lord Lucifer had been her godfather; it was his protection that allowed Lucyfer to grow, eventually becoming the second-in-command of the Pride faction, enjoying the same status as the Crown Prince, a future candidate for Pride Demon Lord.

Though these were events from another timeline, after fusing with Lucyfer, the White Witch had inevitably absorbed some influence from this embodiment of fate.

And the two guests from Heaven…

Gabriel, the Radiant Lord—no need to explain; she was her biological mother.

And the other…

Hmm, also her mother.

Though it was her mother from a past life.

Even though the figure wore a mask and concealed her identity, Sophilia recognized her instantly.

The Divine King.

Recalling the memories of the former Holy Son, Messia, awakened from the Gray Divine Sword, the White Witch’s emotions grew tangled again.

Messia had spent her entire life seeking her mother’s approval—but never received it.

And now, the cold Divine King had gone out of her way to disguise herself for the Young Lady’s birthday banquet.

The disparity in treatment…

Of course, there was no right or wrong here—both Messia’s origin and Sophilia’s own were merely mistakes.

They were both beings who should never have been born.

They were born from others’ delusions; whether the Radiant Lord or the Divine King, both were victims too—denying their own Niezhong was only natural.

Sophilia had long accepted this; she felt no jealousy or hatred, only a faint pang of sadness.

Moreover, her circumstances were far better than Messia’s.

At least, Mother Gabriel had already acknowledged her as a daughter—when the Radiant Lord entered, the very first thing she did was smile warmly at her, clearly holding her in her heart.

And though the Divine King still refused to acknowledge her as a daughter, she had once told Sophilia to call her “sister” in the Underworld—that was already a rare gesture of closeness and acceptance.

And she was no longer the lonely Messia; she had found her home—she had her Master, she had the Young Lady, and she was already happy enough. She needed nothing more.

Thus, the White Witch turned her gaze away from these powerful figures, searching instead for a familiar silhouette.

But…

Not there.

Where was the Young Lady? Where had she gone?

Sophilia froze, then frowned slightly.

Seriously? This is your own birthday banquet, everyone’s enjoying the feast, and you—the guest of honor—have vanished?

The White Witch was simultaneously annoyed and amused.

But as she smiled, her lone lock of hair suddenly twitched—and a sudden unease gripped her, as if something terrible was about to happen to her.

It was a warning from fate.

Was it related to the Young Lady?

Sophilia wasn’t sure.

After all, the Young Lady was a fate-insulated being—Sophilia could not perceive her destiny.

But the warning was directed at her—her own crisis—and yet she could not tell who was causing it.

Of course, this itself was an answer—if someone else had triggered it, she would have sensed their identity to some degree; the complete absence of clues was itself a clue.

The world is all white—only you are black. Who else could that conspicuous black be?

Instantly, Sophilia smiled at the guests before her.

“Excuse me, everyone, I’ll just go freshen up.”

She wasn’t actually going to reapply makeup—her face was already perfectly adorned, stunningly beautiful.

But witches no longer needed to relieve themselves, so she couldn’t use the excuse of going to the restroom; “freshening up” was the conventional phrase to indicate she needed to step away briefly.

The guest she’d been speaking with immediately understood—after all, they were all seasoned veterans.

Some smiled and raised their glasses in farewell, moving on to speak with others; others raised an eyebrow, thinking this young angelic witch was growing arrogant, riding too hard on favoritism.

But Sophilia clearly had no time to care about their thoughts.

Though she had intended to help the Young Lady cultivate these connections, the growing unease in her chest had stolen her appetite for it.

She hurried to the banquet hall’s entrance, but before stepping out, she turned back to look inside.

Everyone was immersed in the feast, each engaged in their own conversations—this banquet seemed to possess a strange magic, drawing everyone in, even Long Wang, the Divine King, the Radiant Lord, and the two Demon Lords.

Was this normal?

The White Witch involuntarily shivered.

This was clearly abnormal—but who could possibly do this?

As Sophilia stood stunned and puzzled…

She suddenly noticed Gabriel’s gaze fixed on her—and the Radiant Lord winked.

“Foolish girl, what are you staring at? Hurry up, or you’ll be crying soon.”

Her mother’s voice echoed in her ear.

Ah—this wasn’t a hint from fate anymore; it was a direct order.

The White Witch hesitated no longer. She stepped out of the banquet hall—and instantly, her white hair turned gray, half-black, half-white, twelve wings unfurled behind her, and she vanished from sight.

The next instant, she appeared in the Empress’s Palace, standing before the Young Lady’s door.

She knocked, then waited three seconds.

Silence from within—no one was there.

Had the Young Lady not returned to her room?

Sophilia thought so.

But the next second, her instinct rejected the possibility.

She knew the Young Lady well—this woman wasn’t the type to wander aimlessly; she preferred staying alone in her room, browsing the Magic Web or studying arcane knowledge.

But if the Young Lady were truly inside, she would have opened the door immediately—not left Sophilia waiting three seconds in silence.

This was definitely trouble.

The Gray Witch confirmed it—and without hesitation, she kicked the door open with a powerful blow.

Fortunately, the door wasn’t sealed by any strange magic; she opened it easily and rushed inside.

Then.

When the two disheveled figures entangled on the bed appeared before her, Sophie’s pupils shrank sharply, and the worry and urgency on her face slowly turned cold.

Her gaze gradually sharpened—this supreme magic eye truly could kill with a glance.

Hmph, no wonder fate warned her. She thought it was something serious, but it was just that the miss had received too many hats for her coming-of-age ceremony and decided to share one with her.

Dorothy felt she had dreamed a beautiful dream.

In her dream, Senior Fan had finally decided to honor that long-overdue bet—she wore a sexy, alluring cat-eared maid outfit, and even had a fluffy real cat tail dangling from her rear.

The future Fourth Queen was naturally an unparalleled beauty, possessing royal grace—but now this future supreme monarch blushed, gazing shyly at her, eyes soft and tender as water.

Though embarrassed, Senior Fan still forced herself to endure the shame, raising her hands like cat paws beside her head, letting her long tail curl forward to rub against her own palms.

“Meow, I’m your personal maid Fan, Master—you’re back! Would you like to bathe first, eat first, or…”

“Meow~~~”

Senior Fan let out a seductive cat meow.

Mom, are you testing me with this dream?

What normal little witch could withstand this trial?

Dorothy admitted she couldn’t.

In reality, she’d have to pretend to be a proper gentleman and respect the purity of their sisterly bond—but this was a dream! Who could hold back in a dream?

So she let out a roar and lunged forward.

Hehehe, you little greedy cat, let me feed you well.

That was her plan.

But the dream’s unfolding didn’t match her expectations at all.

She expected a little kitten, but the moment she pounced, it suddenly turned into a giant tiger—now it was unclear who was feeding whom.

Dorothy was instantly flipped onto the bed, while the tiger senior sat astride her waist, grinning with a sly, triumphant smile.

“Hehehe, Qian Bao, the best hunters always appear as prey. Now you’re mine.”

The tiger immediately bit down on her prey’s neck, savoring the sweet fragrance.

Dorothy: “.”

Come on, in reality I’m meek enough—why in a dream do I still have to submit to strength?

The house witch couldn’t take this humiliation—she immediately struck back.

Even though her neck was bitten, she stubbornly reached out and grabbed the cat-maid’s tail.

Instantly, the big cat shuddered and went limp.

Hehe, indeed, most creatures with tails have their weakness there.

But this tigress was truly hard to handle—even with her vital point seized, she still clamped down on Dorothy’s neck.

Damn, it’s so ticklish.

But today she must subdue this tigress—so she fought back fiercely, wrestling violently with this traitorous cat-maid.

Clothes tore, tiger fur flew everywhere.

Unfortunately, human defense couldn’t match a tiger’s—Dorothy’s armor was soon completely destroyed, showing a major CG break, while the cat-maid suffered only minor damage.

Without armor’s protection, she was about to be devoured by this fearsome tigress, and Dorothy slowly slipped into disadvantage.

The terrifying cat-maid stopped biting her neck and began tearing at her chest, as if seeking tastier, more tender parts.

But as a holder of the Unyielding Warrior Soul, the house witch would never surrender.

Tigers can bite—can’t humans bite tigers?

She immediately counterattacked, sinking her teeth into the tigress’s shoulder.

Alas, willpower couldn’t bridge the gap in power—her defeat was merely a matter of time.

Ruined. I just wanted to pet a cat, and now I’m literally feeding myself to a tiger.

But in this moment of despair, she suddenly felt a familiar cold gaze—and heard a familiar mocking voice.

“Tsk. My miss, you always brag about how strong you are, yelling you’ll make me pay—so is this all you’ve got?”

“Forgive me, but you look absolutely pathetic right now.”

“Then again, pathetic creatures can’t beat cats. Getting eaten by one is only natural. I had too high expectations of you.”

Dorothy: “.”

Damn, can I really take this?

“Sophie, I’ve endured you long enough. Today we settle this once and for all. So what if I’m pathetic? Even a pathetic creature can eat swan meat.”

The house witch exploded in rage.

This fury instantly swallowed the lust.

She opened her eyes, glaring furiously at that hateful housekeeper.

Dorothy raged—