Chapter 1634: The Witch

Hearing Xia De's words, Ms. Kaufmann's smile froze; she hadn't expected the man beside this female merchant to speak so bluntly, nor that he was from Carsonrik.

She exchanged a few more pleasantries with Audrey before rising to take her leave, even hinting that Delarion intended to grant the owner of Paradise Island Pharmaceuticals a noble title, provided they supported certain proposals from Delarion.

Audrey made no response, instead cooperating with Xia De to shift the topic, seeing her to the cabin door, then dispatching a maid to escort her ashore.

Only when the yacht pulled away from the dock in the rain did the brown-haired woman smile at Xia De, who followed behind her:

"About your acquaintance in Carsonrik—were you just deliberately saying that?"

"Yes. It was clear you didn't want to get involved in the two countries' troubles. So letting her know that Carsonrik people are now approaching you will make them treat you with greater caution. Paradise Island Pharmaceuticals is large enough; as long as you maintain balance and avoid taking sides, you won't have trouble for now."

Xia De said, and the witch regarded him with curiosity:

"I'm growing more curious by the moment—what exactly is your real profession?"

Xia De thought for a moment:

"If I get the chance next week, I'll tell you my true name and identity."

After all, Miss Jia Lin Na will arrive next week—then there'll be no need to hide things like this.

The witch was surprised, but her face immediately lit up with a smile:

"Very well, then I'll look forward to it. When an important guest arrives next week, I'd also like to be honest with you about some things of mine."

"Meow~"

As they spoke, Mia's fluffy little head suddenly popped out from between Xia De's shirt buttons; upon seeing the unfamiliar woman in the glow of the cabin's gas lamp, she immediately hissed a warning at her:

"Miaow!"

"Dinner's coming soon, don't rush. Besides, she's the one who brought us dinner—not an enemy."

Xia De stroked the little head to soothe her, while Audrey carefully studied the cat:

"This is your cat? She does look beautiful... smaller than I imagined. Do cats like this eat a lot?"

"Yes. I've never seen Mia full."

Actually, when you think about it, she doesn't eat much—just very frequently.

"Then why name her Mia?"

As they turned toward the deeper part of the cabin, Xia De said what he'd said countless times before:

"Actually, she isn't my cat. She's being boarded by a lady whose name I can't reveal. But she pays me ten pounds a month for caring for her, and regularly writes to ask about the cat's condition—even had me take photos with Mia and send them to her."

Xia De felt the witch's gaze upon him growing increasingly strange.

The rain still poured outside, so even aboard the yacht, they couldn't dine on deck while enjoying the view. Audrey regretted this, but Xia De thought the warm, cozy dining room aboard the yacht was quite nice.

It was clear the witch's maids had put real effort into preparing this dinner. A square table held golden candlesticks with spiced candles, and silver and gold vessels brimmed with steaming food. Not as lavish as a formal banquet, but both Xia De and little Mia were thoroughly satisfied—Xia De especially loved the pan-fried cod fillet with red pepper sauce.

As a guest invited to dinner, Xia De had also brought, per social etiquette, a bottle of "Blood Brew" red wine made from grapes as a gift.

"This is excellent—this is the best red wine I've ever tasted. Which winery produced it?"

Indeed, the witch also praised the liquid that glowed like liquid rubies, holding her glass to the candlelight:

"Look at this hue—I'd wager an Artisan was involved in its brewing. Such refined skill is beyond even those self-proclaimed alchemy masters."

Xia De said cautiously, stopping Mia from pawing at the clamshells on the table: "I brewed this myself using sorcery—or perhaps divine magic—connected to a deity associated with 'wine.' But that great one has a terrible temper; on a night like this, dark and stormy, I won't elaborate."

The witch didn't guess he meant an Evil God:

"It seems your adventures before arriving in the Green Lake region were plentiful. An old deity tied to wine... which one could it be?"

As she spoke, she naturally placed her right hand on the table, propping her slightly tilted head with her forearm, her brown eyes fixed on the man and the cat beneath the candlelight.

The rain outside still fell fiercely, yet at this moment she felt a sense of peace. The voice of Megan inside her mocked her for acting like an old woman, eager to find a crutch—but the witch herself mocked another soul, for they were one and the same.

The warm golden light made her drowsy; watching the interaction between the man and the cat across the table, the witch felt a faint drowsiness creep in. The light blurred, and as her eyelids slowly closed, the candle's wick glowed with strange luminescence.

Within the strange glow, the figures across the table—the man and the cat—grew increasingly indistinct. Finally, Xia De and the orange cat dissolved entirely into the glare, and in her illusion, she saw the moon and sun forming a curious pattern.

That pattern filled the knowledge-seeking witch with a long-forgotten sense of obsession, as if it represented the universe's ultimate answer. But fortunately, years of mental fragmentation and soul damage had trained her to recognize when something was wrong. She forced her eyes open again to look at the "sun"—it was clearly the young orange-and-white cat glaring at her.

At Mia's "Meow~," the witch startled, as if struck by a voice beyond naming. She snapped awake from her half-sleep, realizing she had nearly fallen asleep.

And with Mia's "Meow~", the witch was startled, feeling as if something indescribable had roared at her. She abruptly jolted awake from her half-asleep stupor, then realized she had almost fallen asleep just now.

She apologized for her lapse, feeling her entire body burn with heat, as if a current of fire circled within her. Xia De, one hand holding a knife, the other pressing down on Mia, stared at her with curiosity alongside the cat, unsure what had happened.

She apologized for her loss of composure, while feeling her whole body burning unbearably, as if a stream of fire were circulating back and forth within her body. Xia De, holding a dinner knife in one hand and pressing down on the cat with the other, looked at her curiously together with Mia, whose head had been pressed low, wondering what was wrong with her.

She rose and left. Xia De watched her back with suspicion:

"What's wrong with her?"

【Her mental state is better than when you first met her, but she's only recovered about one-fifth so far.】

"She must be exhausted. She's cast spells all day today."

Xia De thought, patted the cat that was pawing at him, and decided to finish the final investigation as soon as possible after dinner.

She claimed she was fixing her makeup, but Audrey returned quickly, her makeup unchanged—clearly not touched up. Of course, Xia De didn't foolishly ask.

After sitting back down, the witch handed her maid a small, teardrop-shaped purple crystal vial, then placed it before Xia De.

The vial was entirely crystal, with a silver metal base and a metal cap threaded for a cord—obviously valuable; Xia De had only seen similar objects in Princess Lei Lei Qianya's and Miss Jia Lin Na's cosmetic boxes. The liquid inside was hard to discern due to the vial's tint.

The bottle was entirely crystal, but it also had a silver metal base and a metal cap for threading a cord through; one could tell at a glance that it was very precious. Xia De had only seen similar objects in Princess Lei Lei Qianya's and Miss Jia Lin Na's cosmetic cases. And the liquid inside the bottle was not easy to distinguish because of the color of the bottle itself.

"This is my blood. You wanted it, didn't you?"

Xia De stared at her in surprise:

"I wanted to test whether your family's bloodline has issues. But you don't even know my true name—do you really trust me enough to give me your blood willingly?"

Xia De asked. The witch gazed at him across the candlelight:

"You mean, you might be a con artist who deceives women?"

"No, I certainly am not..."

"I rarely trust others. But once I do, I don't doubt. Two drops of blood—this means nothing to me. It's the perfect way to finally confirm whether you truly deserve my complete trust."

"I rarely trust others, but once I trust someone, I do not doubt. These are merely two drops of blood; for me, this is no loss at all. Using them to make a final confirmation of whether you truly deserve my complete trust is simply too good an opportunity to pass up."

Xia De understood her meaning, so he put away the vial of blood, thinking he would go to Midhill Fortress for appraisal as soon as possible.

"I'm glad to be subjected to such a trust test. How about I leave behind something valuable as collateral?"

【Given the current environment, this site may shut down at any time; please hurry to migrate to the permanent-operating source-switching app,】

"What's the point of this?"

Audrey asked. Xia De thought for a moment:

"No real point—it's just that I want to show my sincerity."

He didn't say he'd leave his own blood; instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the piece of adamantine ore he'd obtained during the group mission last Thursday night:

"This. It's not very valuable, but if you need to find it in a hurry, it's not easy to come by."

The maid carried the ore to the witch, who glanced at it in surprise:

"First copper mountain, now adamantine—do you run an ore business? Do you happen to have mithril too?"

Xia De choked and quickly explained:

"No, no—I don't deal in ores."

He paused, then added:

"But I do hold shares in a gold mine. As for mithril… I did have some recently, and in considerable quantity, but part of it I gave to a lady to repair her damaged jewelry, and part I used to strengthen my own pendant… Don't look at me like that. Yes, that lady isn't any of the ones I mentioned before—but I'm talking about a nun, a quiet, detached, ascetic nun."

Xia De emphasized. The witch smiled at him:

"It seems you're quite popular with ladies. Very well—this piece of adamantine will stay with me for now. I'll return it once you give me the analysis of my blood."

Xia De nodded, untied his napkin from his chest, and looked out the porthole:

"Still raining. Good—it won't be easy to spot us. It's getting late. Shall we go?"

"Yes, it's getting late."

The witch felt a pang of regret, but she knew the next task couldn't be delayed:

"Let's go."

The ship had been sailing south during dinner, so by the time they prepared to depart, it had clearly reached the vicinity of the entrance to Green Lake.

Since the upcoming activity was so dangerous, Miao Ya obviously couldn't come along. Fortunately, Audrey decided she and Xia De would go alone, with no one else participating, so Xia De wanted to leave Miao Ya in the care of the ship's maids.

After all, Miao Ya allowed Miss Miss Difa to care for her—surely other maids in similar uniforms would be fine too. But Xia De's thinking was too naive: when he tried to have the witch's maid Gill pick up the cat, the cat struggled violently.

Xia De didn't know why this beautiful maid—or any maid on the ship—was unacceptable. He could only attribute it to Miao Ya's unfamiliarity with them, so he turned the cat into a toy and tucked it back into his pocket.

"Your illusion arts can transform living things?"

The witch was astonished to see this.

"Only living beings who fully trust me can be transformed. So far, aside from this pet cat, I haven't found a second living thing that can be transformed. I don't know whether this cat is too trusting—or too wary."

Xia De patted his pocket to confirm he was ready, then gestured to the witch at the cabin entrance.