Chapter 2529

The witch lowered her head to look at her own outstretched hands, then looked up and asked:

"I am becoming more and more curious about him. Can you tell me where exactly you found this student of yours?

Why has a person like him remained unknown all this time? Do you know what he did today?"

Miss Danister smiled and squinted at her:

"You will have to ask about his background yourself; I am not a girl who leaks other people's secrets in private.

However, it seems you get along very well, and the investigation is progressing quickly. This is a very good start. If you still want to go out and investigate with Xia De in the future, you can tell me at any time."

"I will... but why do I need to tell you when I go out to investigate with him?"

The gentle and sorrowful witch asked, and the eighteen-year-old girl pointed to herself:

"Because I am Xia De's teacher."

After finishing, she paused, then whispered a warning:

"Xia De has a peculiar magic, Flora. For the sake of our friendship, I want to give you a warning: don't get too close to him; he is very good at attracting people."

But the great witch of death did not hear the underlying meaning, thinking only that the other party was warning her not to try to deceive the young man:

"I won't lure your student away; I am just very curious about him... Since you won't tell me his background, can you tell me about his past life? How did he grow up, and what kind of stories has he had?"

Miss Danister smiled and shook her head:

"You have to ask him yourself. Be careful, Flora; I'm not joking. Don't be too curious about him."

The witch on the sofa had by now transformed back into an owl; the energy cost of maintaining her human form was simply too great:

"Then what about you, Danister? Do you know all his secrets? And you said not to let me get too close to him, so how are you doing it yourself?"

All Miss Owl received was a mysterious smile from the red-haired girl.

(Little Mia is running...)

News of the eighth Chosen One had appeared. Miss Winslett, having no interest in this, originally did not intend to notify the Council immediately, but she had been persuaded by Xia De while they were resting in the woods that afternoon, and she agreed to notify the Council to prepare in advance.

It just so happened that today was Sunday, and there was a routine meeting of the 【Witch Council】 that evening. Thus, the great witch of death, who had not attended a meeting in over ten days, finally appeared at the Council that night and explained the matter of the 【Tree Hole Society】 and the Time Chosen One at the meeting.

The gossiping witches each had different thoughts, but based on previous experiences, the Witch Council decided for the time being not to take any action, only letting Flora Winslett, who was active in the Vesta woodland, conduct reconnaissance, and waiting until local conflicts or problems manifested before acting collectively.

Because it involved the matter of the Chosen One, the meeting that day lasted from 6:30 until nearly 9:00 in the evening.

The ladies, who had to hold a meeting at night despite it being the weekend, mostly appeared exhausted—though, of course, more than half of it was feigned in the hope that the meeting would end sooner.

Because of this, when Adele Isabella, sitting in that most magnificent and tall high-backed chair, announced the end of the meeting, they immediately smiled to bid farewell to the Speaker and then quickly dispersed.

"Flora, stay behind; I have some things to discuss with you."

The blonde lady, organizing the notebook at her side, said without looking up. The gray-black-haired witch nodded gently, thinking only that the Speaker wanted to give her some instructions privately due to the special nature of "Time."

Galina, sitting on the other side of the round table, had originally intended to get up and leave, but upon hearing this, she lingered in her chair, flipping through the materials about "Dragon Island" at her side.

Vanessa and Aurora, who had just stood up while talking, both noticed her actions. The two exchanged a glance, said nothing, and left through the fog doors behind their chairs.

"Galina, do you still have something to do?"

Soon, only the three of them remained at the huge round table illuminated by the inexplicable light from above. The blonde witch, having organized the documents and materials at her side, turned to ask the Duchess; the tear mole at the corner of her eye was not very conspicuous in this slightly dim environment.

The beautiful Duchess brushed back her hair:

"I have some things I want to discuss with Flora. About... didn't Diana just give birth? She wants to invite Flora to Tobesk to paint an oil portrait of her and her two children."

As she spoke, she also looked at the artist lady:

"Didn't you also paint a portrait for the Queen of the Southern Kingdom? Diana heard about that painting from Princess Lei Qianya, who had been to the Cold Spring Palace. Oh, Princess Lei Qianya is my grand-niece. In any case, Diana wants one now too."

"You know, what I am best at painting are nude portraits of noble ladies."

The gray-black-haired witch said, holding a fountain pen in her right hand and gesturing with a delicate finger, looking completely at ease:

"I like to pursue the nature of the wild and innocent beauty. As for more normal oil paintings... Tobesk is too far; let's skip it this time."

"The kind Diana wants you to paint is the one where they are wearing clothes."

The Duchess smiled; she had actually just found an excuse to stay behind:

"Since you refused, that is truly a pity. I will leave first; you two continue your chat."

As she spoke, she pretended to stand up, and then, as expected, was stopped by the Speaker, Miss Isabella. Her golden eyes swept over her:

"Galina, since you have stayed, don't leave yet. Have you sensed Flora's abnormality today?"

The great witch of death felt a start in her heart, then gave the Duchess a look; Xia De had said he had told Galina about the matter.

The Duchess nodded slowly and sat back down, but had no intention of covering for Miss Winslett:

"Of course I sensed Flora's abnormality. Her soul and body are now severely unbalanced, and she can only barely maintain herself by relying on current transformation magic. Speaker, have you discovered it too?"

"I still have the right to know whether the witch entering the Council is in human form or owl form. Within the Council, I can see through any transformation magic and illusions."

Her golden eyes seemed to glow as she asked with great concern:

"Flora, what has happened to you?"

"Wait, what owl?"

The somewhat mischievous Duchess asked this deliberately, even putting on a look of surprise.

Miss Winslett, however, had already pursed her lips and lowered her head. No one urged her, and it was a long time before she looked up and said:

"I encountered some things and was cursed into an owl."

Galina looked at her with concern—though in reality, she was staring at her to see if she would mention Xia De. But things were somewhat unexpected, as the great witch of death didn't even mention that cupboard:

"I accidentally traveled to 1763 and discovered a newspaper from 1852 in that era. By the time I returned to the present, the curse had already taken root in my soul. I am looking for a solution, and that is how I stumbled upon the 【Tree Hole Society】."

Galina looked at Speaker Isabella again, and the latter said solemnly:

"A time curse."

Both the red-haired and gray-black-haired witches felt slightly surprised; the term "time curse" had not been mentioned in the previous account:

"You know about the time curse?"

"Yes. Flora, is the content of the curse just turning you into an owl?"

"There is also a drop in rank. In human form, I can barely maintain the Tenth Tier; in owl form, I am only at the Seventh Tier."

The great witch of time frowned:

"That is indeed a very troublesome curse. I am currently with Megan, containing an Angel-level relic in the north of the Old Continent.

How about this: next Wednesday, I will go to Vesta City alone to check your situation and experiment with several methods of breaking the curse. If that still doesn't work, besides you finding a way yourself in Creekwood Town, we can only wait until Megan and I get our hands on that relic."

Adele Isabella hesitated for a moment before saying the name of the Angel-level relic:

"【Lament of the Redeemer】, an open-air hot spring. Bathing in it can wash away one's sins and clear the curses born from sin. Now, this relic has gone out of control locally; its area has expanded to the size of a small lake. The endless 'sin' attracts flesh and blood to sink into the lake, then gives birth to monsters of sin."

"Currently, three derivative creatures of the Angel-level relic—Sin Angels—have appeared. Although I am leaving temporarily without bringing my followers, it will still put considerable pressure on Megan, so I can only stay in Creekwood Town for one day."

"That's fine, but that relic..."

Flora Winslett knew the negative characteristics of that relic.

"I know. Once that relic is used, the identity of the 'Redeemer' will make it very difficult for you to commit evil acts in the general sense from then on, otherwise you will be consumed by flames and your flesh will deform. Unless it is a last resort, I will not let you use it. Flora, do you have confidence in finding a way to break the curse in Creekwood Town?"

Thinking of Danister and her handsome, miraculous apprentice, the witch nodded gently:

"No problem, there has already been some progress. And there is also a lady whose identity is inconvenient to disclose who was cursed along with me; her rank is even higher than mine. If you come to see me, I can introduce her to you."

"That's good. I will arrive in Creekwood Town next Wednesday; tell me your address."

While Miss Winslett was writing down the address, the blonde witch asked the Duchess, who had a thoughtful expression:

"Galina, in the Yodel Palace incident at the beginning of this month, did no one with a time curse appear?"

The red-haired witch immediately shook her head:

"The time loop at the beginning of the month? No. Afterward, I did not find any traces of the suspected Unknowable-level relic 【Time of Retrospection】. I am somewhat suspicious of whether the incident that time was truly caused by the effects of that relic."

Adele Isabella shook her head:

"Although Flora says the story of the eighth Chosen One will unfold in Creekwood Town, do not let your guard down while watching Yodel Palace. I suspect that the story of the eighth Chosen One actually began with that incident at the beginning of the month; that event was not simple."

Galina agreed, her eyes looking at the familiar pocket watch placed on Speaker Isabella's notebook; she had seen this in Xia De's hands not long ago:

"Could it be that next Wednesday will be the first meeting between Xia De and Miss Isabella?"