Witches' Forest...
Witch Queen's Palace...
In the throne room, the Witch Queen was calmly sitting on her throne while a velvet mirror hovered before her, summoned with her blood magic.
In the mirror, instead of the Witch Queen's appearance, her runaway daughter Vanessa Enoteca was lazily lying on the couch.
The mirror probes and shows what is happening on the other end without others noticing her.
"____"
Sigh~
Looking at her daughter, who was lying on the couch in a bikini and engulfing herself in alcohol, the Witch Queen's expression darkened.
She had allowed her daughter to leave the Witches' Forest so she could gain experience in the outside world and hone her magic to its full potential, which she had foreseen in her daughter's future.
Even though what she foresaw happening was not accurate and could also change if not handled carefully, it might backfire on the one who tries to play with it.
"____"
What made her more furious was her daughter, who was once very active and always tried to do something, now lying lazily like a pig, more drunk to the point it was very difficult to lift a finger.
She even started contemplating whether sending her daughter out of the Witches' Forest was the right decision, seeing her in this situation.
Grit~
'She will eventually come here... right? I will teach her why I am called the Witch Queen, the mother of all witches.'
With a dark face, looking at her daughter with a kind smile that was not kind at all, and leaking magic aura from her body, the Witch Queen made a mental note.
Vanessa and Yami might think that he rescued her from the clutches of the Witch Queen, who caged Vanessa, but it was all planned and executed by this crafty woman who just wanted her successor to reach her full potential before succeeding her.
If it wasn't for the Witch Queen's power being limited outside the Witches' Forest compared to her strength within,
as the price she paid to create her unbeaten domain,
she would have gone to the Black Bulls' secret base and given some valuable lessons to her now-carefree daughter.
Black Bulls' secret base...
Ahchoo~ Hiccup~
Sniff~ Sniff~
"Why do I feel like someone is scolding me?"
Hiccup~
Suddenly, Vanessa, who was lying on the couch heavily drunk, opened her eyes with difficulty and murmured, sneezing and hiccuping with a little confusion.
Later, she fell back and drifted into her slumber.
Back to the witches' forest...
Sigh~
With a defeated sigh, the witch queen waved her hand, and the scene playing in the mirror shifted. But instead of showing something, it returned to normal, reflecting the witch queen's appearance.
'What is he doing still inside the palace for three whole weeks?'
Seeing her probing had failed, the witch queen cursed in her mind.
After Ben returned from training with Dorothy in the witches' forest, the witch queen took an interest in Ben through the mirror.
Flashback...
At first, she only watched Ben purely for entertainment, as a way to pass the time and escape from her boredom.
But for some reason, she found herself enjoying watching Ben navigate through his problems, his comical reactions, or the stupid decisions he often made.
She was surprised when she discovered that the seemingly foolish boy she watched for enjoyment was a crown prince, soon to be crowned as a king.
The backstory of the former king reminded her of how deceptive and cruel humans could be.
But that was not the real problem.
The real problem arose after Ben was crowned as king and entered the palace—she could no longer probe him.
After trying several times, the witch queen concluded that the palace must have some kind of protective measures that blocked all forms of spying.
"____"
Initially, the witch queen, slightly annoyed, didn't take it seriously.
But as the days passed, she began to grow restless, unable to view Ben any longer.
No matter how much she tried, the witch queen couldn't probe Ben anymore, as he remained inside the castle and had yet to leave it.
Flashback ends...
Blue Rose Secret Base...
Captain's Cabin...
Knock~ knock~
While Charlotte was listening to Sol,
who was reporting about the recent difficulty they were facing in the area they were allocated and responsible for taking the census reading,
their discussion was interrupted by a knock on the door.
The Royal Guards were responsible for the task of collecting the census data of the Clover Kingdom.
They had sent various missions to all the Magic Squads for specific areas to help speed up the process.
"Come in..."
Hearing the knock, Charlotte permitted the Magic Knight to enter the cabin.
Creak~
"Captain, we have received a mission from the king."
Opening the door, Puli entered the captain's cabin with a bright smile and informed Charlotte excitedly.
"____"
"What mission, Puli?"
Hearing it was from the king's palace, with a frown and a little panic in her voice, Charlotte asked Puli to elaborate.
Receiving a direct mission from the king's palace was not an everyday occurrence.
Getting one now, after Ben had been crowned as a king, made her feel worried, thinking Ben might be facing some kind of problem.
Hehe~
"It seems like our esteemed king is going hunting in the Niff Forest, so he has requested..."
Looking at the worried expression on Charlotte's face, Puli giggled teasingly and deliberately slowed down her explanation.
But before she could finish her sentence, the parchment in her hand was snatched by Charlotte, who started reading it intently.
Smile~
After reading the full details of the mission on the parchment, a smile appeared on Charlotte's face.
Cough~ cough~
"Sol... I will be leaving for the palace for an important mission."
With an embarrassed cough, Charlotte informed Sol and strode out of the cabin in a hurry.
Silva Secret Base...
Captain's Cabin...
Inside the captain's cabin, Nozel was looking at his siblings with narrowed eyes while his aura was leaking, making the atmosphere heavy.
"Nebra, why is the mission completion rate for the past weeks so low?"
Nozel loves his siblings very much, especially his younger sister, Noelle.
He would always shower her with love in his mind and feel contented with himself.
He is the symbol of modesty and does not show his overwhelming love for his little sister outwardly.
But when it comes to the squad's business, he is serious, even if it involves his siblings.
He wouldn't let them act as they please and damage their squad's reputation, which their mother protected with her life.
Grit~
"It's him... going on and on about strength... whenever we encounter commoners in order to record the census. This has resulted in our squad's reputation worsening among the public."
When Nebra heard her elder brother's question about the slow rate of mission completion in the past week, she responded with an annoyed face, gritting her teeth.
She started to explain with a helpless look.
After coming in contact with Ben and staying with him in Hage Village, Nebra's view of commoners changed drastically.
She no longer hated or looked down on commoners who had no status or were poorer than her.
But that didn't apply to her idiot brother, who was still the same narcissistic person boasting about himself and his status.
This task is very challenging because, until now, when missions were assigned to them in the Forsaken Realm, they mainly consisted of assassination, capturing, or eliminating criminals, which required minimal contact with commoners.
But now, the census required them to have good interactions with the commoners, directly exposing them to the public.
This made it very difficult for them to have normal discussions while maintaining their typical attitude of looking down on commoners.
"____"
Shiver~
Hearing Nebra's answer, Nozel's face darkened, and his eyes narrowed, sending daggers at Solid, who shuddered under his brother's gaze.
What surprised Nozel was Nebra's change.
For some reason, he felt Nebra had changed for the better and started resembling their mother a little in how she spoke today.
Sigh~
"I've had enough, brother... I need rest. I can't handle this idiot anymore."
With a helpless sigh, Nebra demanded a few days of break to calm her mind from all the problems Solid had caused.
Knock~ knock~
Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the cabin door, breaking the discussion.
After receiving permission, a magic knight entered and gave a letter with the king's seal to Nozel, who immediately frowned, took it, opened the seal, and read the full letter.
"It seems like a security mission for the king, who wants to go on a hunt."
With a calm face, Nozel read the letter aloud so his siblings could hear him, then folded the letter and placed it on his desk.
"Since it's from the king's palace... I... myself..."
Just as Nozel was about to announce that he would personally attend to this mission, he was interrupted by Nebra, who suddenly became energetic.
"Brother... you are the captain and have a lot of work on your shoulders... let me handle it."
With decisive words, Nebra grabbed the folded parchment from the desk and left the cabin with a serious expression on her face, like a dutiful magic knight who prioritized mission completion over everything.
Gulp~
But Solid swore in his mind that he saw a wide smile on his sister's face for a moment before she masked it with a serious expression.
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(Author's POV)
(A/N):
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