Witch – Chapter 41- The Two Witches (21)

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Venetia had been growing more vibrant since the harvest season. The rumors that the festival might not be held had completely vanished, and the entire city was now fully immersed in preparations for the festivities.

Even the Laplace family was rarely seen outside of meal times, as the Marquis’ residence was flooded day and night with officials and workers busy with festival-related tasks.

I, too, was caught up in the hustle and bustle.

After a relaxing bath in warm water, I finished getting ready and stood in front of the mirror to admire my reflection.

Maintaining the appearance of a 19-year-old meant my skin remained firm, with no wrinkles or sagging, but it still required consistent care. Self-maintenance was a basic necessity.

In my past life, I hadn’t cared much for self-love, but in this life, I had taken meticulous care of myself, and the results were evident in the mirror.

“Estelle, is it okay to be this beautiful?”

They say that if you tell yourself you’re beautiful while looking in the mirror, you’ll actually become beautiful. Well, they weren’t wrong.

At this rate, if I meet the main characters, won’t they just fall for me?

Just as I was about to drift into such delusions, I snapped out of it and lightly slapped my cheeks a couple of times.

Let’s not cross the line.

I was feeling a bit giddy at the thought of meeting a friend after so long. Though calling her a friend might be a stretch, given the 400-year age gap… but a friend is a friend, right?

Will Beryl still be the same?

She wouldn’t try to tear me apart the moment we meet, would she?

Beryl had a particular complex about her chest, and if she saw anyone—or anything—with a large chest, she’d have the urge to tear it apart. It was a nasty habit.

The first time we fought, it was because of her chest.

Thinking back on the stories about her chest…

There was a time when she believed the baseless rumor that eating the chest of a female minotaur would make her own chest grow, so she obsessively devoured minotaur meat…

Thanks to her, minotaurs almost became an endangered species, though she probably didn’t realize it.

Should I wear a compression bandage?

I slightly lowered my head and gently cupped my chest, which was so prominent that I couldn’t even see my feet.

Did it get a bit bigger…?

Living with Josie seemed to have made my chest grow a bit more than before.

I’m definitely going to get torn apart.

Please save me, my chest…

My chest was pleading with me.

Don’t worry.

I’ve prepared for this day.

A single cup of the love potion I had stored in my inventory would make all of Beryl’s worries and complexes from the past 500 years a distant memory.

I felt a bit sorry for Beryl, but I still had things to do before meeting her.

Leaving my room, I walked to the far end of the male guest quarters and opened the door to the room where Leo was sleeping soundly. I grabbed his ear and yanked.

“Wake up, you thief!!”

“Aaaah!!!”

“Leo, are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?”

“Yes… I’m fine.”

Even as we walked out of the Marquis’ residence, Josie’s concern didn’t waver.

She kept glancing at Leo’s red, swollen ear with worry, then shot me a resentful look.

“Mom, you’re being too mean to Leo!”

“If Leo had woken up earlier, this wouldn’t have happened. How can he be of any use if he’s so lazy? And outside, you should call me ‘sister,’ not ‘mom.’”

Josie, realizing her slip of the tongue, gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. She glanced around nervously, then sighed in relief when she saw no one nearby.

“Anyway, some people just have a hard time waking up in the morning. And Leo would’ve woken up if you’d been gentler. Right?”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

Yeah, right.

I remembered how Josie had spent an hour trying to wake Leo up when we were at home.

Ugh. Whose fault is this?

This wasn’t the time to take Leo’s side. I needed someone to take my side.

The closeness between the two of them made me uncomfortable. If they got any closer, they’d probably start holding hands.

In my mind, Angel Estelle and Devil Estelle appeared, whispering in my ears.

‘Kill him.’

The devil was straightforward and blunt, as expected. And the angel?

‘Supporting Josie’s love is also part of being a mother. But I can’t entrust my daughter to such an unreliable man. Kill him.’

Hey, if even the angel says to kill him, what am I supposed to do?

Unless I remodel him to my liking, neither the angel nor the devil is of much help.

“By the way, where are we going now?”

Leo asked, gently rubbing his swollen ear.

“We’re here.”

We arrived in front of the second-largest building in Venetia after the Marquis’ residence. In fantasy, adventure is key, and the starting point of any adventurer is, of course, the Adventurers’ Guild.

Despite the early hour, a line of adventurers had already formed, bustling about to accept quests.

Leo kept yawning, seemingly oblivious to the subtle glances I gave him. I was the fool for expecting anything.

Let’s see how long he keeps this up.

Entering the guild, I found it much more crowded than I had expected. Most people were gathered around the quest board, but the application area was empty, as no one was submitting quests this early.

“Sister… people are staring at us…”

Josie whispered nervously, noticing the stares as soon as we entered.

“It’s fine. They’re just extras anyway.”

“Extras?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

Looking around, I didn’t see anyone who seemed relevant to the original story. In fact, when I made eye contact with anyone, they quickly looked away.

“Hello. Is there something you need help with?”

The receptionist, stretching as if to shake off sleepiness, quickly straightened up when she saw us approaching the counter.

“Yes. I’d like to make a request.”

Unlike the usual method of posting quests for any adventurer to accept, this was a system where you could specifically name the person you wanted to hire.

Depending on who you named, the cost could vary greatly, but money wasn’t an issue. I had plenty of gold and treasures from raiding dungeons. With this much, I could probably buy a country.

“The cost may vary significantly depending on the person you name and the quest details. Is that okay?”

“Yes, it’s fine. There’s a Stella-ranked adventurer named Nicks, right? I’d like to request him.”

“Please wait a moment…!”

I subtly showed her the pouch of gold coins hidden in my robe, and she hurried upstairs.

It’s no wonder she was flustered. Trying to hire a Stella-ranked adventurer with money was unheard of.

Moreover, given that Venetia was currently under threat from monsters, this wasn’t something the receptionist could decide on her own.

“Stella-ranked adventurers really are something else.”

“I wonder how Nicks is doing.”

While Josie and Leo chatted about Nicks, the receptionist returned.

“Please follow me to the office on the second floor, furthest to the right!”

It seemed rare for clients to receive special treatment, as the adventurers’ eyes followed us briefly before we were led upstairs to the office.

“If I had known Lady Estelle was visiting, I would’ve prepared better. I apologize for the poor reception.”

“Hello, Emily. Don’t worry about it. We didn’t expect to see you either.”

“Thank you for your understanding. Please, have a seat.”

I had expected to meet the guild master, but it was Emily who greeted us.

It seemed Marquis Eric hadn’t been lying—Emily held a fairly high position in the Adventurers’ Guild.

“I won’t take up too much of your time, so let’s get straight to the point. You requested a named quest for Stella-ranked Nicks, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right. I even made a promise with Nicks beforehand. He’s not taking any quests right now, is he?”

The condition for helping with the harvest issue was that Nicks would fulfill his promise. Now it was his turn to keep his word.

Nicks’ performance in the dungeon was more than enough to qualify him as Leo’s teacher, and I doubted I could find a better mentor in Venetia.

No matter what, Leo needed to get stronger to protect Josie in case of any unforeseen situations. There would surely come a time when I couldn’t protect Josie alone.

“Hmm… I wondered why he wasn’t taking any quests. So that’s the reason. Receptionist Marie called Nicks when I came up, so he should be here soon.”

“You seem quite close with Nicks.”

Emily’s tone wasn’t what you’d expect when dealing with a Stella-ranked adventurer.

Even the guild master would bow to a Stella-ranked adventurer, but Emily seemed indifferent.

“Oh, I didn’t mention it. Nicks and I are childhood friends. Please feel free to use him as you see fit.”

Emily’s cheerful expression as she spoke of Nicks was almost chilling.

A noble lady and an adventurer as childhood friends?

As my mind began spinning tales of Emily and Nicks’ past, the sound of footsteps quickly approached from behind the door.

“Emily~!!!! Why did you call me like this? Do you need something? I had a promise, but if it’s for you, I don’t mind!”

Nicks, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, was as talkative as ever. The only difference was the way he looked at Emily—it was unmistakably the gaze of a boy in love. It was like watching an obedient puppy, completely oblivious to our presence.

So the person he likes is Emily?

I recalled Derrick saying that Emily’s type was Leo.

“Oh, really? I called you because of that promise. I hate men who don’t keep their promises more than anything in the world.”

Compared to Leo, Nicks was scrawny and didn’t seem to catch Emily’s eye at all.

“Actually, I came to keep my promise. A man should keep his word once he makes a promise!”

No wonder Emily handled Nicks so effortlessly.

Lucent