Silent Witch

Book 12: Chapter 17: Vestige

The water spirit Wildean was puzzled. He had finally reached the forest, but the forest was shrouded in a thick fog.

And it was not just a normal fog. It was probably a fog created by a magic spell, containing a lot of mana.

The mana of the fog dulled Wildean's perception ability. He couldn't sense where the magic duel was taking place.

Anyway, I have to hurry and knock down Hubert Dee

It would be easier to move if he transformed into a human, but if he was seen by anyone, it would spell disaster. Wildean navigated the forest in his lizard form.

This order was just a whim of his master. The original purpose was far away.

But his master probably wanted to help a girl named Monica Norton.

Did His Highness take a liking to Miss Monica Norton is it because they resemble each other?

He had such a thought in his mind, but Wildean stopped thinking any further.

It was not appropriate for a contracted spirit like him to step into his master's heart with his dirty feet.

Eventually, when the fog thinned, Wildian spotted two figures ahead. He stuck to a tree in his lizard form and stopped to watch.

That's

One of the two people Wildean found was the teacher of practical magic spells, MacLegan, who was in charge of maintaining the barrier of this magic battle.

MacLegan rubbed his arms as if he were cold and walked while talking to the other person.

"Hubert Dee excelled in magic spells, but his true talent lay in crafting magic tools. The problem is that he was indifferent to that talent and only developed dangerous magic tools that he could use for hunting. He was a troublesome delinquent well, not as much as someone else."

"Hahaha, young blood runs hot, wouldn't you say?"

The one who smiled brightly with his white teeth was one of the Seven Sages, the Barrier Magician Louis Miller.

MacLegan said he would call for help for the barrier reinforcement of this magic duel, and it seemed that the helper was Louis.

It was a very luxurious helper to have one of the Seven Sages, but it was not surprising since his disciple Glenn Dudley was participating in this magic duel.

What was truly surprising was the words that MacLegan uttered afterward.

"So, how are you going to settle this magic duel? You can't make it public that the Silent Witch won by herself, can you?"

"Hubert Dee's magic tool went berserk and self-destructed. Why not make it a draw?"

The Silent Witch intervened in this magic duel!?

That was the magician that Wildean's master revered from the bottom of his heart.

His master had been obsessed with finding the Silent Witch lately. He would look for a girl who had injured her left hand whenever he had time.

Felix probably didn't want to do anything to her when he found her. He just wanted to see her true face. The strong and beautiful witch he admired.

Wildean wanted to fulfill his master's wish as a contracted spirit. So he slid down from the tree to the ground and followed Louis and MacLegan.

"I was surprised when I saw Everett. I pretended not to know, thinking it was a mission."

"Thank you for your consideration, Mr. MacLegan."

"But isn't she incredible? That high-level tracking formula, I have to get her to submit a paper soon and rewriting magic tool? That's brilliant, wouldn't you agree? That would break the pride of her opponents."

"She even rewrote my defensive barrier before. Cracked the dummy formula I spent so much effort on, effortless as you please."

"Did it sting your pride?"

"Hahaha. If there's ever a national barrier rewriting incident in the future, I'll suspect the Silent Witch without a doubt. Yes."

It seemed that these two knew that the Silent Witch was in the academy.

Would they slip up and reveal the identity of the Silent Witch, Wildean wondered as he watched them, but Louis stopped, scanning the surroundings.

They were probably looking for the participants of the magic duel. The magic duel was over, so they came to collect the participants.

"I can't find them. Really, they're troublesome youngsters, making us search in this damn cold. Well, shall we try to find them with a sensing magic?"

At Louis's words, Wildean hurriedly left the place.

If Louis activated the sensing magic, Wildean, a mass of mana and a high-ranking spirit, would be caught by the perception.

I wanted to see the Silent Witch if I could but she's probably already out of the forest

For now, the duel for Monica Norton was settled as a draw. Wildean had no reason to fight Hubert anymore.

Now he had to go back to Felix and report the Silent Witch's involvement.

Monica, who had silenced Hubert, suppressed her urge to carry Cyril and the others to a warm place and hurried out of the forest.

Now that the magic duel was over, someone would surely come to check the scene. Besides, she had been away from the spectator seats for a long time. Returning too late would raise suspicions from Lana and the others.

Employing the same unfamiliar flying magic she'd used before, she returned to the nearby viewing area, but she staggered greatly when she released the magic spell.

Normally, she'd incorporate a magic formula to reduce mana usage of the magic spell, but the mental strain had rendered her incapable.

Moreover, magic spells such as creating fog and flying require constant release of mana for a certain period, so the consumption of mana is inevitably high regardless of the presence or absence of the magic formula.

On top of mana depletion, sleep deprivation, lack of food, and mounting mental fatigue, pushed Monicas body to the brink.

(I have to go back to the spectator seats Lana is worried)

She moved her heavy feet and walked a few steps, then collapsed on the ground with a splash.

(No, I cant continue like this Ill cause trouble again)

Against her will to get up, her consciousness sank deeper and deeper into the darkness. She couldnt even keep her eyes open.

Monica

Someones arm lifted Monicas frail frame.

(Ah Ive caused trouble for someone again)

A tear escaped, tracing a path down her cheek. With dry lips, she mumbled,

Im sorry Im sorry Im sorry for causing trouble

Monica, cold enough to make him shiver, was in his arms again. Her cheeks were hollow, lips dry and cracked.

He had lifted Monica's body before, but she was clearly lighter than before. She must have been unable to eat or sleep properly because of the commotion caused by Hubert Dee.

As Felix walked towards the infirmary, Monica's mouth moved slightly.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry for causing trouble"

It seemed that she was apologizing to someone in her dreams. It must be her habit.

Monica would apologize desperately, as if she had made a terrible mistake, even for trivial things that no one cared much about.

You don't have to worry about it

He closed his eyes slightly, and a memory of his childhood flashed through his mind.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry for always causing troubleEig."

That's what his friend in the memory always said. He cried and shed tears from his clear blue eyes. He sobbed miserably.

The girl in his arms now overlapped with the image of his childhood friend.

She was a crybaby, timid, lacked confidence, and prone to self-blame and yet, she didn't rely on him when it mattered.

"I wish you had relied on me more"

He whispered in a voice that no one could hear, and opened the door of the infirmary. There was no one in the infirmary. The staff must have gone to the scene of the magic duel.

Felix laid Monica on the bed and combed her dry brown hair with his fingertips.

He understood on some levels, why he was obsessed with Monica.

He couldn't help but overlap her with his former friend.

He was convinced of that at Porter's bookstore. Monica's expression when he gave her the book she wanted, her whole body showing joy, overlapped with his childhood friend's.

Back then, nothing mattered more than his friend's happiness, even his own well-being.

Felix's blue eyes shaded and sighed softly. He was aware that he was being too sentimental.

Felix poked Monica's pale skin with his fingertips and muttered in a sulky voice.

"It's your fault for not relying on me."

Monica never relied on him. She never asked for anything. Furthermore, she said, "I'm sorry for causing trouble".

That's why Monica's words and actions stirred the emotions hidden in Felix's heart.

As he pinched Monica's cheeks for a while, he heard a voice from his feet saying "Your Highness". It was his contract spirit, Wildian.

"Hey, good job, Will. Did you finish off Hubert Dee?"

"I'm sorry. When I arrived, Lady Silent Witch had already defeated Hubert Dee"

"Lady Everett?"

Felix was surprised and widened his eyes at the unexpected name.

According to Willdean's report, the Silent Witch who intruded into the magic duel secretly defeated Hubert Dee. Wildean didn't witness the scene directly, but he heard MacLegan and Louis Miller talking about it.

He had a faint suspicion that Louis Miller was connected to the Silent Witch, but MacLegan was unexpected.

He wanted to interrogate him, but that old teacher was good at playing dumb, so he would never spill his mouth.

Lady Everett is certainly in the academy.

He had been secretly investigating a petite female student who had injured her left hand, but he had found no useful information so far.

He suspected that she was disguised as a maid of a lady who attended the academy, but that made the investigation much more difficult. The student council could not grasp the information of the maids, let alone the ladies themselves.

As Felix was thinking about that, Wildean climbed up his leg and settled in his usual pocket, saying.

"But why did the Silent Witch intervene in this magic duel?"

Indeed, if the Silent Witch was hiding her identity for some reason, why did she intrude into the magic duel that could expose her?

As Felix pondered, he looked at Monica sleeping on the bed and opened his eyes wide as a realization dawned on him.

"Could it be that she knew I cared about this girl and helped her behind the scenes?"

He never thought that the girl sleeping in front of him right now was the Silent Witch herself.

He admired the Silent Witch as a hero, and more than that he overlapped Monica with his friend.

The spectator seats buzzed with whispers.

MacLegan explained the magic duel ended abruptly due to poor visibility caused by the fog resulting in an accident where Hubert Dee's magic tool went berserk.

Elliott scratched his cheek with a troubled face in the noisy venue.

"This is bad, His Highness is away from his seat, and Cyril is missing too"

The student council members should be in charge of this situation, but the two top ones were away from their seats.

As Elliott reluctantly got up to go to the podium, Bridget stood up faster and went up to the podium.

"Everyone, please be quiet."

Her clear soprano voice shook the ears of everyone in the venue.

Bridget waited for the students to calm down and pay attention to the podium, and opened her mouth.

"It might be very disappointing that we couldn't see the duel all the way through. But right now, the most important thing is to make sure the students who were involved in the accident are safe."

Bridget's voice was very beautiful, and she spoke well with good articulation and timing. It was a very easy-to-understand way of speaking.

She was also a person who was good at speaking in front of people, like Felix.

"The sun is already setting, so please return to your dorms. The student council will report the details of the incident later."

When Bridget said that, the students scattered in different directions.

The thoughtful Neil quickly moved to guide the students from the back seats to the exit so that people would not concentrate too much at the exit. Bridget watched this and stepped down from the podium.

"Bridget."

Felix came up to her quickly. He seemed to have just returned.

Bridget smiled faintly and slowly turned her face to Felix.

"Did you find Monica Norton?"

"Yeah, she collapsed near the venue, so I took her to the infirmary"

"That must have been hard."

At Felix's words, Lana Colette, who was secretly listening, sighed in relief.

She would surely go to the infirmary to visit her friend Monica Norton later.

"Please refrain from visiting the infirmary, as it will be very busy with the people who fell in the magic duel soon. "

When Bridget said that, Lana frowned dissatisfied.

While glancing at her sideways, Bridget said as if she had just noticed.

"Oh, but there are only four beds in the infirmary If four men are brought in later, there won't be enough beds. Your Highness, if you don't mind, shall I have my servant take Monica Norton to the dormitory?"

"That's right. You're more suitable handling her in the girls' dormitory. I'm sorry, but can I ask you to do that?"

Bridget nodded with a perfect beautiful smile that anyone could see.

"Yes, leave it to me."

The bedding on her cheek felt silky smooth, like the feeling of smooth silk.

It felt just like the bed in the guest room assigned to the Seven Sages during the New Year's ceremony.

"Hmm"

As Monica woke up and realized that she was in an unfamiliar room, she slowly tilted her head.

(What was I doing just now?)

Rubbing her aching head, Monica slowly retraced her memories.

She remembered finishing the battle with Hubert and rushing back to the spectator area. But she couldn't recall anything after that.

"It seems you've woken up."

When Monica turned her gaze to the cool voice, she locked eyes with Bridget, who was seated on the sofa.

Caught off guard by the unexpected individual, Monica became even more bewildered.

"Um can you tell me where am I?"

Her questioning voice was painfully hoarse. As she pressed her aching throat and coughed, Bridget silently handed her a jug of water.

"T-Thank you very much."

Monica carefully tilted the jug of water. The content wasn't just ordinary water; it had the scent of edible flowers and citrus and a faint sweetness to it. It tasted like diluted fruit water, delicious. As Monica moistened her mouth, Bridget watched her drink the water and spoke.

"This is my room, you see."

Monica wondered why she had been made to sleep in Bridget's room. She couldn't understand why she would be arranged in Bridget's private room, let alone in the infirmary or the attic of the dorm.

Before Monica could ask about this, Bridget spoke first.

"I'll just say it straight."

Her fingers covered in lace gloves suddenly tightened around Monica's left wrist. Monica felt a sharp pain in her wrist.

"Aah!?"

Monica groaned involuntarily and dropped the empty water jug.

Bridget put the water jug that fell on the bedding on the side table with a thud. She looked straight at Monica and said in a cold voice.

"Monica Norton, just who exactly are you?"