Chapter 89

The Red Rose Dawn Society… despite its grand name, was in reality an armed group controlled by Isabel and some executives.

Warriors and mercenaries fascinated by witches’ power and coveting its convenience became their puppets.

Witches deceived by sweet words about witches needing to unite their strengths were treated like slaves by the true witches.

They were mobilizing all their personnel to pass through one of the tribe’s gates.

Naturally, the guards inspecting them should have thoroughly examined them, but…

“Pass… through.”

“Thank you.”

The guard’s pupils were widely dilated, staring into space. He couldn’t question anything about the beings he was inspecting.

Ellen, the leopard beastkin, flashed a smile at the guard who made eye contact with her as she moved away from the gate.

Isabel looked at her with disdain. To think a future noble of the new world would sell smiles so easily.

“A woman who will become a noble in the future shouldn’t smile easily. Smiles are for when giving rewards and when truly happy…”

“Our esteemed Grand Witch, unfortunately, I’ve lived a life far from stories of nobility and dignity. Expecting me to understand such things seems too unreasonable.”

Ellen mocked Isabel and ignored her demands.

For Ellen, who had grown up on rough streets all her life, talk of nobility and dignity didn’t resonate at all.

Ellen tapped one side of her face and said:

“I don’t care if you’re a fallen noble or a madwoman with delusions of grandeur. I’m not curious about why you wear that mask either.”

Grind.

Isabel glared at Ellen, grinding her teeth. However, she couldn’t ‘educate’ Ellen like the other witches.

Born as a snow leopard beastkin, famous for being pretty among beastkin, and the most popular among them, Ellen was a witch with the power to enchant people.

Right now, more than half of the Red Rose Dawn Society’s followers were no different from her puppets.

If she tried to educate her, this organization that hadn’t even properly taken root would collapse instantly.

“Let’s not mind as long as we each perform our roles well. Okay?”

Ellen, confident that Isabel couldn’t discard her, boldly made demands of Isabel.

Isabel quietly glared at Ellen before turning her gaze away. Though there was a need to show Ellen the superiority of power someday, now was not the time to fight.

As Isabel got into her luxurious carriage, suppressing her anger, the Red Rose Dawn Society slowly began to move.

It was time to head towards the forest.

---

The followers of the Red Rose Dawn Society were either puppets enchanted by Ellen or those coveting witches’ power.

While the puppets were hazy-minded and felt ecstasy only in following Ellen’s orders…

“Damn, was the forest always this gloomy?”

“It’s unpleasant how everything looks the same in all directions.”

Those who came to leech off witches’ power at least had heads to judge the situation.

The forest full of ominous darkness and cold that even quilted clothes couldn’t block.

The atmosphere that felt like ghosts might jump out at any moment was unsettling even for followers who were experienced mercenaries.

A follower with a mercenary background, Mars, took out tobacco from his breast pocket and lit his pipe. He felt the need to relax his extremely tense mind.

Mike, a follower with a hunter background, frowned and scolded him.

“Are you crazy? What if the enemies discover the smell or light?”

Mike’s point was quite valid.

The flame burning the tobacco was very small and weak, but it gave off light, and the smell was acrid enough for beasts to notice immediately.

However, Mars frowned at Mike’s warning and strongly refused.

“You’re talking nonsense. Are you saying we can’t even smoke in this damn forest? And did we come to this forest for battle?”

Other followers nodded at Mars’ complaint. Without tobacco or alcohol in this cursed forest, they felt they might go crazy with anxiety.

Mike looked at their hazy eyes and held his tongue.

Unlike Mike, who could hide for hours under the soil for hunting, he realized that most followers didn’t have that level of patience.

As Mike backed down, Mars snickered and pointed ahead with his pipe.

“Don’t worry too much. Those empty carts will be taken out before we are anyway.”

‘Empty carts’ was a derogatory term the followers used for the puppets.

Unlike those waiting at the border, unwilling to enter the ominous forest, they had already entered deep into the forest.

Though well-dressed and armed with good weapons, they just stood blankly waiting for orders except when eating or sleeping…

“Stupid bastards. Just bewitched by a woman… Gack!?”

Mars dropped his pipe and grabbed his neck. But he could do nothing about the arrow that had already penetrated.

As his body collapsed with a thud, the followers around him felt their hearts sink.

Who on earth shot the arrow?

“My, are you jealous that my puppets are more gallant than you?”

“E-Ellen-nim!”

“No! This is just Mars spouting nonsense on his own!”

The owners of the arrow were the twin knights escorting Ellen.

Though Ellen approached with a smile, the followers hastily made excuses and prostrated themselves. There was no loyalty to protest for someone who died from running his mouth.

The twin knights, Dylan and Cole, despised them.

“Not a trace of honor to be found.”

“What did you expect from guys who mock a woman behind her back.”

The twin knights pushed aside the followers with a shout, and soon after, the carriage carrying Isabel arrived near the forest.

As Isabel got off the carriage, she saw the kneeling followers and asked the twin knights:

“What’s this about?”

“They’re worms caught insulting Ellen-nim. We’ll dispose of them right away.”

Swish.

As the two knights drew their swords, the followers trembled in fear.

Isabel looked at the followers for a moment, then raised her hand to stop the knights.

“Wait. There’s something we need to do right away, and reducing the number of soldiers would be foolish.”

“That means…”

The twin knights looked at each other with bewildered expressions. They immediately understood the hidden meaning in Isabel’s words.

Though they came to this forest to persuade the Forest Witch… it was clear Isabel intended to kill the Forest Witch if persuasion failed on her desired terms.

The twins’ bewilderment wasn’t because they disliked attacking a witch.

Their minds couldn’t imagine why they would choose to fight an enemy as well-established as the Forest Witch.

“Do we really have to fight? From what we’ve heard, it hasn’t been many years since the forest and its surroundings were unified.”

“And someone who has stably grasped power in such a short time is unlikely to be easily dealt with.”

The twins had quite rich experience serving under nobles.

Naturally, they often encountered the actions and plans of nobles by their side, and through this, they well understood how difficult power was to control.

Why else would nobles desperately try to solidify their legitimacy by bringing up bloodlines or divine selection?

Isabel glared viciously at the knights as they showed reluctance to fight.

“Did you think I don’t know such things? I’m telling you to prepare so we can escape if negotiations fail.”

Isabel was arrogant and self-righteous, but not completely stupid.

This was the opponent’s home ground, so why would she recklessly attack them?

Even Isabel, who wanted to burn Skadi to death, wasn’t so lacking in judgment.

The twin knights finally understood and ordered the followers to check their weapons.

As they started busily moving one by one, Isabel approached the nearest tree and brought her palm close to it.

Whoosh!

“Hey. Didn’t you make the fire too big? If we’re not careful, it might spread to the surroundings.”

Ellen asked Isabel with a worried expression.

Isabel was puzzled by Ellen’s cautious attitude.

“Since when did beastkin worry about forests? Or do you have elves among your relatives?”

“Unfortunately, none of my ancestors had relations with those tree-huggers.”

Of course, Ellen wasn’t worried about the forest burning.

If she was the type to care about such things, would she have been using people as puppets in the first place?

What Ellen was worried about was that the fire might spread to the surroundings and provoke the Forest Witch.

“Not an entirely wrong thought.”

“What? You knew and still did this?”

“Yes. Sometimes rude behavior can be helpful in negotiations.”

Whether in negotiations or threats, once you start losing momentum, you have no choice but to be led by the other party.

Isabel had no intention of being led, even if she had to do the leading.

… Of course, she couldn’t deny that personal resentment towards Skadi was included.

Now they just had to wait for the Forest Witch to come after seeing the smoke…

At that moment, a cold wind swept like a storm from deep within the forest. Isabel reflexively raised flames and glared into the forest.

A huge shadow walking out of the dense darkness.

Isabel clicked her tongue as she immediately guessed the identity of the shadow.

“What do you see?”

“It seems only her slave has come. Ellen, pull your dolls back.”

At Isabel’s instruction, Ellen clapped her hands to send orders to her puppets.

As the puppets uniformly retreated, the followers gripped their weapons tightly and looked at the forest.

They muttered as they watched Wendigo gradually revealing himself.

“Is, is that a giant?”

“Its head is bone, isn’t it an undead?”

“You idiots. Didn’t you hear anything on your way here? It’s not a monster or undead, but a spirit.”

The muttering followers frowned at the news of a spirit.

If witches were recently emerging troublemakers, weren’t spirits disasters passed down from ancient times?

Wendigo inwardly grumbled as he saw the distorted faces visible even from afar.

‘They’re not afraid of the ones next to them, but they’re afraid of me?’

However, Wendigo wasn’t dejected. It was a good sign that the enemies were trembling in fear.

Wendigo ignored the gazes of the enemies and slowly walked towards Isabel.

---

Wendigo was dumbfounded as he looked at the followers blocking his path.

“Since when did we start conversations with spears and swords at the forefront?”

Wendigo pointed at the followers glaring at him with hazy eyes and asked Isabel.

Ellen’s puppets were blocking Wendigo’s way, brandishing spears and swords.

To find constructive points of agreement, it’s common sense to first show mutual respect, but…

“Has there ever been anyone in the world who talked to spirits without spears and swords? At least as far as I know, there hasn’t been.”

Isabel spoke to Wendigo as if asking about something obvious.

Wendigo resented his ability to detect lies in others. He couldn’t sense even a bit of falsehood in the joke she just made.

‘I’d rather witches take all the infamy of spirits… No, that wouldn’t be good. Skadi was a witch too.’

While Wendigo was having idle thoughts, Isabel gave orders with the help of a subordinate witch.

Then, one witch stepped forward and used her ability.

Her ability was clairvoyance, imbued with the power to see through objects and discern their essence.

In case the opponent was lying in ambush so they could retreat immediately, the witch began to examine the surroundings using her special ability.

She thoroughly examined the surroundings and reported to Isabel with the help of another witch.

‘… There are no additional personnel immediately visible.’

If so, that meant the spirit before their eyes was the only envoy sent by the Forest Witch…

‘Observe the spirit. If you find even one weakness, I’ll greatly reward you.’

One can’t let an unexpectedly arrived opportunity slip by.

Having quickly prepared a new plan in her mind, Isabel ordered the clairvoyant witch.

The clairvoyant witch smiled confidently and strongly drew out her power.

The opponent had come right up close, so if she exerted her power now, she could instantly discover the opponent’s weaknesses and various information!

… However, there was one thing the witches hadn’t anticipated.

“Aaaaargh!!!”

The moment the witch made eye contact with Wendigo, her blood vessels ruptured and blood tears flowed from her eyes.

Unable to handle the information forcing its way into her brain, the clairvoyant witch collapsed, vomiting blood.

“… Did you perhaps try something?”

Wendigo stared intently at the collapsed witch for a moment, then asked Isabel.

Logically, vomiting blood and collapsing wasn’t a common occurrence.

“……”

Isabel couldn’t answer.

Deceiving the opponent wasn’t shameful at all, but…

Who would have thought such a foolish thing would happen before the conversation even started!

‘Useless woman!’

Isabel blamed her incompetent subordinate and glared at Wendigo.