…
Outside Helia’s Castle, Helia Ashenborn returned from her short trip to the Witch Union Bank, a bank with powerful backing and is founded across all seven witch kingdoms.
“Lord Helia!” Hester Thornton called as she rushed over after spotting Helia Ashenborn in a timely manner.
Nevertheless, Hester Thornton’s urgency startled Helia Ashenborn as the latter raised an eyebrow.
“What’s gotten you all flustered, Hester? Did something big happen in my short absence from the castle?” Helia Ashenborn inquired with narrowed eyes.
However, Hester Thornton quickly shook her head.
“Not so much as something big happened, but I’ve learned something very important, and it requires your immediate attention, Lord Helia.”
Shortly after, Hester Thornton recounted to Helia Ashenborn everything she learned about the antimagic spores from Vaan in the infirmary.
“Is that true? How did Sir Vahn figure out Cyrena’s condition is related to the Curse of the Purple Umbala?” Helia Ashenborn asked with surprise.
“I’m not sure too sure either, Lord Helia. I missed out on the entire process of Teacher Cadieux’s diagnosis. However, he was holding a syringe needle with Young Lady Cyrena’s blood,” Hester Thornton answered before suddenly shaking her head the next moment.
“Sir Vahn didn’t mention anything about the antimagic spores coming from Red Goblin Mountains?” Helia Ashenborn unhurriedly asked with a sharp look.
Hester Thornton was taken aback by the question.
“Why would the antimagic spores come from Red Goblin Mountains, Lord Helia? Wasn’t the curse spread by the Plant-type Abomination in Sunpeak Town that transformed three years ago?” Hester Thornton wondered with a confused look.
“Oh… About that… Since the antimagic spores are airborne, they could have spread over Red Goblin Mountains before spreading to us. After all, the mountain winds blow in our city’s direction…” Helia Ashenborn coughed and said, “Anyway, you are right. We should impose sanctions on travelers from Sunpeak Town.”
“However, we will work on that later. Where is Sir Vahn now, Hester?” Helia Ashenborn asked.
“It wasn’t long before I left the infirmary. Thus, if they haven’t moved elsewhere, Teacher Cadieux and Young Lady Cyrena should still be in the infirmary,” Hester Thornton replied after a short pause.
“I see,” Helia Ashenborn nodded before saying, “I will have to trouble you to go back and call Sir Vahn to the Great Hall. I would like to speak to him again.”
“Of course, Lord Helia,” Hester Thornton obeyed with a bow.
…
Sometime later, Vaan received word of Helia Ashenborn’s summoning from Hester Thornton as he was leaving the infirmary with Cyrena Ashenborn.
“That was quite fast,” Vaan casually commented before handing the syringe needle to Cyrena Ashenborn, “I will leave this in your care until I return, Cyrena.”
“Yes, Teacher,” Cyrena Ashenborn accepted the syringe needle containing her blood obediently.
Nevertheless, her eyes glinted with some disappointment and annoyance.
Although Cyrena Ashenborn was a little grateful to her mother for finding her such an incredible teacher, she also knew it wasn’t out of consideration for her plight.
Her mother was simply using her to test her teacher’s ability. And since her teacher’s ability was confirmed to be the real deal, her mother has been taking away her precious learning time.
Cyrena Ashenborn knew her mother didn’t place any importance on her education at all; she only cared about the benefits the Ashenborn Household could gain from her teacher’s knowledge.
Darkness started to sprout in Cyrena Ashenborn’s heart.
After learning about the cause of her inability, Cyrena Ashenborn began to wonder what was the purpose of staying in such a heartless family. She didn’t receive any love; she only received scorn and humiliation.
‘Why should I continue to stay in this cold castle? If I hadn’t lived in this castle, would I have accumulated the antimagic spores that resulted in my inability to use magic? If I could follow Teacher, I would learn a lot and be happier too,’ Cyrena Ashenborn thought.
…
…
…
Meanwhile, Vaan followed Hester Thornton and returned to the Great Hall to meet Helia Ashenborn once again.
“I apologize for you calling you over again, Sir Vahn. However, what you learned about antimagic spores is too important for me to ignore. Not only does it concern the welfare of everyone in this castle, but it also concerns everyone else’s lives in the city,” Helia Ashenborn spoke.
However, under Vaan’s observation, Helia Ashenborn didn’t seem concerned for anyone at all. Not the people living in the castle nor everyone else living in the city.
If anything, Helia Ashenborn was only concerned about herself.
Nevertheless, Vaan played along and asked, “I’d be happy to help where I can, but what do you need from me exactly, Lord Helia? I’m just one person. You can’t expect me to stop every traveler passing through Sunpeak Town to reach Redpine City, right?”
Even Helia Ashenborn, the lord of Redpine City, couldn’t stop all travelers from entering her city—not unless she was prepared to face the repercussion of offending various people who come to trade in her city. It would hurt her city’s economy.
Of course, that wasn’t something Vaan could say.
“No, you can’t stop travelers from entering the city. However, you were able to find out about the Curse of the Purple Umbala very easily,” Helia Ashenborn seriously stated before asking, “As such, I wanted to ask you – how confident are you in curing the Curse of the Purple Umbala, Sir Vahn?”
“That’s hard to say when I have yet to ascertain the difficulty of the task. All I can say is that finding a solution to a problem we already know is easier than finding a solution to a problem we don’t know.”
Shortly after saying that, Vaan decided to probe Helia Ashenborn, “That being said, Lord Helia seems to be especially concerned—or should I say anxious?”
Vaan also casually glanced at Helia Ashenborn’s hands, which were covered by silk gloves. His simple action told Helia Ashenborn that he knew something was wrong with her hands.
Helia Ashenborn’s gaze sharpened when she looked at Vaan. But after a moment, she sighed and waved her hand, dismissing all the servants from the Great Hall, including Hester Thornton.
Within moments, only Helia Ashenborn and Vaan were left in the Great Hall.
“Since you noticed it, I won’t hide it from you, Sir Vahn,” Helia Ashenborn started to remove her silk gloves.