A gleaming message blinked before the eyes of the witch.
[SYSTEM: Unexpected savage witness appeared! Its verbal attack is super effective! Reputation dropped!]
Zanthia figuratively rolled her eyes at the system and gave a long, deep sigh.
Ha, Ha. You think you're very funny, System, don't you? This is not a situation for joking. A poor and adorable witch is now being accused by a resentful teenager. How cruel are you?
There was not any other message to show? Maybe something more productive? What a ruthless system!
But the truth is that what Fiona had done was not as unexpected for the witch as the system believed. Since Zanthia saw the arrogant heiress of the Percy present there in the court she knew that at some point that girl was going to cause her problems.
Her suspicions increased when she saw Fiona sitting in a chair on the side of the room where the supporters of the Montes family were gathered. Why was that girl there? What was her relationship with them?
Yes, Zanthia remained on guard from the beginning. But the problem was that she had underestimated the delicate blonde teenager. She did not expect that insidious and cruel heiress of the Percy to target her so directly in that aggressive way.
Her words had been like the cannons of a pirate fleet firing suddenly in the darkness of the night against an over trusting galleon.
Surprising! Devastating!
And now, everyone in the room had their eyes fixed on her.
The prejudice towards witches was firmly rooted in the mentality of religious people. This was because, although the Scarlet Empire had been somewhat modernized in the last two centuries, the position of the Church was still very strong.
The gods and their representatives, the bishops of the cathedrals, did not like to have competition in the business of souls. So they tended to place in the pantheon of the damned every witch who dared to perform unauthorized soul practices. It was done in order to purposely scare the common folk and convinced that rogue witches were on the same level as devils and demons.
Of course, that was stupid. A talented witch could kick the ass of a demon any day of the week and twice on Sundays at the time of the masses. But the devils were more difficult.
They were complete bastards.
Like the witches, the devils had their own protective organization. They called it the Association of Reasonable Exchanges. This organization was very similar to the Association of Horrors that witches had. The main difference was that devils were better managers. And perverse evildoers, of course. But mainly it was their management skills what mattered most.
The Association of Exchanges provided its members with free advertising, exclusive discounts on merchandise, double pay on holidays and vacations in coastal cities with paradisiacal beaches.
Yes, the devils were lucky bastards. The witches envied them a lot.
But all these things did not matter much now that the young witch was at the center of the storm.
As it was previously mentioned, everyone was staring at her. The lord magistrate Louis Phillips and his secretary, the guards, the father and mother of the dead boy, the rest of the relatives and supporters of the Montes clan, and Fiona herself, all glaring at Zanthia accusingly. Even Pedro and Roberto Gomez looked at her a little nervously.
Surely, someone with a heart less strong than her would have become very nervous already. So nervous indeed that this person would have believed that even the objects in the room had accusing eyes. Yes, the pressure was so great in this complicated situation that the young witch almost had the impression that the benches, the chairs, the walls and the windows also had eyes that stared at her.
Well, maybe not the windows. Well thought, that would be ridiculous. A window could never look at anyone fixedly. No, the only thing a window could do would actually be winking a little, whether it was moved by the current of air coming from outside or perhaps with the help of a charitable person who would raise and lower the blinds a couple of times.
So definitely the windows did not stare at her. But the walls, well, everyone knew that the walls could be real bastards sometimes.
Either way, the young witch could not take too long to give the answer or everyone would think she was trying to hide something. Something like five other dead people who were killed by poisoning, for example.
At that moment Zanthia saw another blinking message in front of her eyes.
[SYSTEM: the host should be careful with her answer. WARNING: Fiona's verbal attack could result in a critical blow to the reputation of the store. Friendly Advice: It is recommended that the host respond with kindness and try to distract the attention of the public.]
Finally, the system said something productive. It was good advice. In such a situation, the best thing a normal person could do would be to give a kind response that would clear up suspicions. Something that could awoke the sympathy of the people. Something that could convince the public to give her their support.
The system was right. It was definitely what a normal person should do in that problematic situation. But the truth is that Zanthia was not a normal person. So this is what she said:
"Dear Fiona! Glad to see you! I had not recognized you all dressed in black. That color looks so good on you! Much better than that horrible formal dress you wore the last time we saw each other! I think you should have used this dress before. And tell me, how is your handsome brother? Were those Penance Nightmares that I sold him useful? Is he going to visit me again soon?"
Yes, Zanthia gave that disrespectful girl the answer she deserved. To hell with appearances! Fiona deserved to taste a little of her own medicine!
Upon hearing her answer, all the people present had a different reaction. Roberto Gomez, who knew the witch's hurtful tongue, sighed as if he had expected a similar response from the beginning. His son Pedro seemed confused. The magistrate frowned and his suspicions increased. The magistrate's secretary remained immutable. The Montes faction seemed disgruntled at the suggestion that the mourning clothes looked good on Fiona. And what was that nonsense about that she should have used the black dress before? Would it be a threat?
Even the system had a strange reaction.
[SYSTEM: the response has had an unexpected effect on the listeners. The change in reputation is impossible to calculate at this time. Waiting for the collection of additional data before trying to analyze again. ]
But the one that had the greatest reaction of all was Fiona Percy. The blonde teen stepped back and cringed as if she had been physically hit. Fiona had a pale face as if she had seen something that others could not see. The teenager was shaking with fear. The truth is that the Nightmares of Penance that her brother used in her had taken its toll. So much that they had brought her close to the point of permanent mental damage.
Undoubtedly, this was because the Nightmare of Penance forced the possessed person to feel the same as all his victims had felt before. And Fiona had done many evil things in her life to achieve the position she had now. Things that even her brother was not aware of.
Probably, Zanthia's response had awakened Fiona's memories, causing the Nightmare of Penance to go into action once more.
"Are you mocking us? How can you be so insensitive? " asked Miguel Montes.
"I do not know what you're talking about, Mr. Montes. But I apologize if my words offended you and your wife in any way, "Zanthia replied, not wanting to confront him too.
In truth, the dead boy had got bad luck. Even if he was not a good person, he did not deserve to die that way. Zanthia had originally had the idea of paying out of her own pocket the cost of the resurrection spell to revive the boy, once she managed to get the court to exonerate the girl named Opal.
Thinking of that, the witch suddenly remembered the other dead people killed by poisoning and wondered if perhaps she could get the Bishop to make a price for the amount. Who knows? Maybe the cathedral had some kind of promotion offer for customers who are big spenders?
Or so Zanthia hoped, since the resurrection spells were probably among the most expensive services. Hmmm ... would they give her a courtesy gift for her purchase?
Perhaps a candle, a stamp or one of those miniatures of the gods so beautiful that the nuns had. But, with her bad luck, the witch would not be surprised at all if the courtesy gift ended up being a calendar with sensual images of the Bishop.
However, the Montes' words seemed to suggest that something was preventing the resurrection spell from having an effect. That was very disturbing, since only very powerful entities, at least by human standards, were capable of doing such a thing. Zanthia tried to think of a possible culprit but she thought too many possibilities. I needed more information.
"Witch Zanthia, I realized that you have avoided answering the question. Are you able to catch someone's soul and entrap it? I really would like to know," said the magistrate's secretary.
As expected in that kind of person, the secretary Thomas Brand was the only one who had not been distracted by Zanthia's response. He had adequate control of the statements in his stenographic notebooks and had meticulously recorded every word since the beginning of the hearing.
Brand usually did not say a word but when he spoke it was to avoid that his boss, the lord magistrate Louis Philips, overlooked the important things. As on this occasion.
*BAM! BAM!*
"Witch Zanthia, answer the question," the man in the wig ordered, striking twice the stand with his gavel .
"Of course, magistrate. Yes, a witch who owns a store of horrors should have enough power to trap a person's soul. Of course someone would have to pay the appropriate price. What would no longer be so probable is that a common witch would have the ability to block a divine resurrection spell performed by the Lord Bishop. That would require a magical power that is beyond the reach of most witches."
"But not from beyond your reach?"
"Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows? I would have to do the test to be sure. But I do not work for free so the interested party would have to pay my fees, of course. "
"That makes you suspicious of being an accomplice of the girl. Are you willing to voluntarily confront a Truthteller? " inquired the magistrate menacingly.
Actually, magistrate Louis Philippe was an imposing man with a powerful voice. He had a lot of experience and the dignity of his investiture inspired respect in the many people who saw him. When he threatened a defendant, most of the time that person was broken under pressure.
But unfortunately, at this particular moment, it did not inspire much respect.
The guilt of that was entirely of the wig, which had slipped down his face in the moment that he moved forward to see the accused better, and suddenly covered his eyes and almost half of his face. Everyone could see that the magistrate had a bright bald spot.
There were some giggles and nervous coughs. The magistrate's secretary helped his boss to put on the wig again and he made sure that this time it was firmly held. Zanthia waited patiently for them to finish before answering:
"Of course I am willing, sir. In fact, I think it would be the best to clear the suspicions as soon as possible. "
"In that case, bring the Truthteller and his escort. I want to get to the bottom of this matter. "
The magistrate's secretary and one of the guards went to the door of the room. Before they reached it, it suddenly opened.