Chapter 2038: Bribery

Although Miss Belindel was somewhat puzzled by their strange attitudes, she didn't pay it much mind:

"Then it's settled, let him stay and operate in the Moonbay area. Once the current matters are over, I'll decide whether to inform the others. But speaking of Megan, she really is a lucky girl. That ancestor of hers who surpassed the thirteenth ring left everything to her—assets that other ring sorcerers couldn't accumulate in several hundred years."

"Look at you, Bella. Isn't your Count title also inherited from your ancestors?"

Miss Sylvia pointed this out, and the Great Witch of Fate didn't deny it:

"I'm just a little envious. She used the Green Lake matter to advance to the twelfth tier. I've noticed she's changed a lot recently—not only has she become more cheerful, she's also willing to communicate with us. I even feel she seems to have become prettier... Earlier, when the Speaker announced to us that Megan and Audrey were one body with two souls, I was truly startled."

"No need to envy her—you can advance to the twelfth tier too. Look at me, stuck at the eleventh tier for so many years, didn't I also advance recently?"

Miss Benanis said, then handed her two notebooks:

"One is my notes on advancement, it might be useful to you. The other is one I asked Megan for—one of her ancestor's astrology notebooks. I think this will be useful to you. We know you don't have much of a relationship with Megan, but fortunately we got to know her well during the Green Lake incident."

Miss Belindel stood up again, took the two notebooks in surprise, and wanted to express her thanks, but was interrupted by Miss Sylvia:

"My goods have officially started being stocked in Virendre. Bella, your family has business in Moonbay too, right? How about it, interested in distributing those fabrics? Margaret's reach doesn't extend to Moonbay for now—you know how wary the locals in Moonbay are toward the capital's nobility. Rather than letting other partners benefit, we might as well work directly with you."

As she spoke, she also handed her several slender boxes, which had been sitting beside her seat:

"These are samples. You can give them to the young ladies and noblewomen you know in the Moonbay area first, as early promotion. We'll discuss the actual cooperation next week. Oh, in the bottommost box is a gift for you—it's the best-quality finished product I've made so far: one pair black, one pair white, one pair nude. Haven't you always wanted them?"

Her left pinky finger twirled the hair by her ear as she said this with a smile.

Miss Belindel accepted those things and looked at the two of them in confusion:

"Would you count this as bribing me?"

"If you think so, you can refuse these gifts."

Miss Belindel immediately shook her head—even without these "gifts," she wouldn't report that man:

"Why would I refuse? Listen, in two months, I will definitely report this matter to the others. But if that Mr. can help me, I can also consider speaking up for you."

"Yes, yes, fate really is fair."

Miss Sylvia said. Miss Belindel gave a soft hum, then didn't forget to thank them—she had always been very polite. It was only when she cheerfully hugged those things and said goodbye to the two of them that she thought again about the "Butterfly" matter. She wanted to ask about it, but didn't know whether they already knew.

This isn't a dice story collection—memories can't be erased afterward. So to protect "John Watson's" privacy, she decided not to ask.

So Miss Belindel happily passed through the fog gate behind the seat and returned to Moonbay City. Miss Benanis and Miss Sylvia at the table exchanged a glance, then simultaneously smiled.

They didn't leave in a hurry, but waited a moment. Soon, the fog gate behind the "Balance" seat opened, and Miss Jia Lin Na poked her head in to look. Seeing only the two of them left, and Miss Sylvia giving her an "all clear" gesture, the Duchess turned and left again, and soon returned with Xia De.

"Looks like your conversation went quite well. You worked hard this time."

The returning Miss Jia Lin Na said, taking her seat. Xia De's left hand was in his pocket, gripping Miss Adele Isabella's lady's pocket watch. After a glance at the Speaker's seat, his right hand pressed on the tabletop as he stood beside the red-haired witch:

"It was my fault that troubled you this time. Just now, Miss Belindel—didn't she suspect anything?"

"What trouble is that? This was fun. But Bella was easier to talk to than we expected. She seemed to just be trying to scare us, wanting to know the truth. And I guarantee she would never have imagined you'd have any connection to Miss Jia Lin Na."

Miss Sylvia described the earlier conversation with a smile:

"Bella being so easy to talk to today is probably related to this afternoon's events. You showed your worth, and she seems to have taken quite a liking to you. Let me tell you, Bella is a very upright person—you helped her, and she absolutely won't harm you... Speaking of which, what is she planning to do recently? Why would she lack manpower on her own turf?"

The other two didn't really know either, but this wasn't today's focus.

Miss Benanis summarized:

"Then next, we'll follow Xia De's plan and let him cooperate with Bella in Moonbay City for a while. He's temporarily my follower. Once we confirm Bella absolutely won't report Xia De, we'll tell her about Xia De and the others. This shouldn't be difficult, right?"

Miss Jia Lin Na nodded:

"What's difficult about it? Xia De arrived in Moonbay less than half a week ago and already successfully approached Bella and gained her basic goodwill. I feel that charming Bella might take him no more than a month or two. Back then, how long did it take him to meet you and make you feel favorably toward him?"

Miss Sylvia and Miss Benanis recalled the past and both laughed.

"I'm still right here, don't tease me so casually."

Xia De, standing beside the Duchess, said. But the Great Witch of Balance paid no heed to his complaints, merely pinching his leg with the hand hidden beneath the tabletop:

"Alright, alright, today's matters are temporarily concluded. Be careful when you act on your own in the Moonbay area. Whatever she's asking you to help with is definitely no small matter."

After saying that, she turned to ask Miss Benanis and Miss Sylvia:

"How's the plague in Virendre? If not for this, the Golden Dawn Opera Troupe would have already arrived in Tobesk, right?"

"The plague is mainly spreading in the lower city district, but because the Church controlled it in time, it's already past the full outbreak period."

Miss Benanis said rather gloomily:

"If not for this, we'd already be in Tobesk."

Miss Sylvia knew a bit more:

"The control measures within Virendre city haven't all been lifted yet. The most important issue with this sudden plague is that the transmission method still can't be determined. Air, water, parasites, blood—seemingly any can transmit it, but laboratory observation shows that none of these methods spread that quickly... I heard sporadic cases have appeared in the Moonbay area too. I'm not worried about Xia De catching the plague, but he should still be careful."

"Yes, with no one around to look after you, you have to take care of yourself."

The beautiful opera actress looked at Xia De with worry:

"Who asked the man we fancy to always love going off on all sorts of adventures?"

During this visit to the Witches' Council, the pocket watch in Xia De's hand showed no abnormalities. Because he was worried about being discovered, he and Miss Jia Lin Na didn't linger long at the Council. After chatting a few more words with the two Great Witches, they departed separately.

Returning from the Council to the second floor of Number Six Saint Delan Square, the home lit by gas lamps was still warm and cozy. Xia De sat down on the sofa, and little Xiao Miya darted out from somewhere, nimbly leaping onto his lap and lying down.

"Look at you—clearly you're my man, yet now you're publicly declaring yourself Benanis's follower. I'm truly heartbroken."

The witch who sat down beside him said this deliberately, staring at Xia De with wide eyes on purpose, and only laughed after he kissed the corner of her lips.

"Compared to you all, Miss Belindel's reaction to my appearance was clearly stronger. If we hadn't 'cooperated' this afternoon, she probably would have reacted even more strongly."

"If every witch could accept your existence, then the Witches' Council would be far too abnormal. Don't underestimate the witches' conservative tendencies. The ones you know are just... charmed by you."

The Duchess commented, waving her hand to tell Miss Miss Difa beside her not to bother pouring tea:

"But Bella is easy to deal with. Speaking of which, you still don't know her exact identity, do you? I mean her identity in real life. She's the current generation's Countess of the Belindel family, very prestigious in the Moonbay area, one of the few local bigwigs who can directly influence Moonbay City. Her divination skills all come from her teacher, the previous generation's Great Witch of Fate."

She briefly recounted the past story:

"Many years ago, the previous generation's Great Witch of Fate passed through Moonbay City and unexpectedly came into contact with the Belindel family. Later, some things happened that I don't know about. The Belindel family paid the price of that generation's Count being seriously injured and the Countess dying, and helped her greatly. So she took in Bella Belindel, who had just awakened at the time, as a follower, and later she became an apprentice."

Then the conversation naturally drifted to the topic of age:

"That was twenty years ago, wasn't it? Although Bella Belindel only took the seat of Great Witch five years ago, she's actually two years older than me."

But judging by her appearance, Young Lady Berendel's age was about the same as Luvia's, making her a fairly young female count. However, Xia De wisely did not voice the doubts in his heart, and instead asked:

"Five years ago? The previous generation's Great Witch of Fate—what happened to her?"