The witch did not recognize the badge radiating heat. She just narrowed her eyes and looked at the emblem belonging to the Duchess on the badge:
"Earlier there was a rumor in Tobesk that the Duchess of Saradir had a man who could stay overnight at her manor."
Leicia glanced at Shade.
"I originally thought it was just a rumor, but I didn't expect it to be true."
Although he was a little surprised that the other party recognized him directly, Xia De was not panicked. He had already thought about what he should do if he really had to face the witch:
"Ma'am, can you please let go of my hand?"
Anyway, he was sure that Xivi Aurora had no intention of killing him directly.
"Mr. Hamilton, are you really a man? Or, what are you?"
The witch asked softly, getting closer and closer to Shade, and Shade could even count the number of her eyebrows.
“Ahem~”
Leicia suddenly coughed:
"Ms. Aurora, I don't know what the hell you're doing, but please don't embarrass my... friend."
The witch turned to look at the princess:
"Friend... Oh, Your Highness, I admit that I am a ring wizard, so please tell me, is he a man? If you give me the answer, then I can agree to the deal you proposed tonight, all deals."
The witch's obsession with the curse is much stronger than her business.
"Shad is of course a man."
Leicia said, tilting her head slightly upward to reveal her fair neck. Although she guessed that Miss Aurora was also a witch from Miss Carina's identity, she didn't understand the meaning of this question because she didn't know about the witch's curse.
"Of course it's a man? It seems that you haven't done anything yet..."
The witch thought about it, and shifted her gaze back to Shade, then moved it down very impolitely, just like Miss Carina did at the beginning. Shade narrowed his eyes, then disappeared out of thin air and appeared next to the sofa behind the witch. He had already prepared the materials for the spell.
"Ma'am, that's not polite."
Shade shook his head and said:
"Space movement... Raglai's space jump."
The witch said the name of this magic, then looked down at the palm of her hand:
"Interesting. Really interesting."
She laughed a few times, then shook her head and sat back on the sofa. Leicia then sat down as well, and both ladies looked at Shad standing there, so Shad sat next to Leicia.
"Have you slept with Carina?"
This was another rather impolite question, and Lecia also frowned and looked at Shade.
"Of course not."
Xia De immediately shook his head:
"That's really rude, ma'am. I thought you were a well-educated lady. Miss Carina and I are just partners."
Thinking of the badge on his neck and the kiss on his forehead, he added:
“It’s a deep partnership.”
"So she is so sure that you are not affected by the curse... or is she so sure that you are really human?"
Xiwei Aurora asked inquiringly.
"If I am not a human being, what else can I be? A person made of stone?"
Xia De asked back, and then gave another example:
"I once escaped from that fishbone pirate ship..."
Miss Aurora looked at him suddenly, her eyes no longer filled with helplessness and confusion, but with vigilance. She came to Coldwater Harbor to find the second chosen one who escaped from the Fishbone Pirate Ship.
The wind outside the window was very loud, and Xia De's thoughts were very clear:
"But I haven't been tainted by any damn mermaid curse, so maybe I'm the kind of person who is immune to curses. Ringwitch masters always have their own unique abilities. Ma'am, what's with that look in your eyes?"
"You once... escaped from the Bone Pirate Ship."
"Yes."
Xia De knew what she was thinking of, and he succeeded. The witch was no longer obsessed with what he was, but was attracted by the news of the second chosen one.
"Lecia, take the maid somewhere else first. I have something to discuss with this lady. The ringmaster's affairs are not for you to listen to."
Although the tone was a little commanding, the princess still stood up. She knew that Shade had many secrets, so she was not surprised.
"Ms. Aurora, Shade is my friend."
The princess said to the witch before leaving with her maid.
After the door was closed, Xivi Aurora squinted at Shade again, with a dangerous look in her golden pupils.
"Ms. Carina told me about the second chosen one."
Shade said, meeting her gaze.
"She even told you this?"
The witch's voice was very soft.
"Of course, but I'm probably not the kind of person chosen by fate."
"How are you going to prove it?"
"No need to prove it, because I am indeed not. The second chosen one is related to darkness, and I don't have any special powers related to darkness."
The witch didn't say anything, and Shade smiled:
"I am a student at St. Byron's. Just before entering the manor, I met our vice-principal, Mr. Sanchez, and used my special ability..."
Point to your ear:
"... ... I learned some very interesting things. Madam, aren't you curious why there happened to be a group of Nature Church ring sorcerers at your banquet?"
"What do you know?"
“I have friends in church.”
That's true.
"The Church of Nature received a letter from the Thirteenth Ring Warlock, the Godcaller, three days or two days ago."
The witch looked down, which was the direction of the second floor.
"Of course I don't know the content of the letter, but considering that there happened to be a team of ring sorcerers from the Church of Nature at this banquet, and two professors from Saint Byrons happened to be nearby, and they talked about something related to darkness. Miss Witch, guess why the professors came here? Was it just because this was an important ritual node?"
In fact, the two professors appeared here originally because of a ritual node.
"You mean..."
The witch pondered, and Shade showed a satisfied smile. The other party did not doubt the source of his information at all:
"Yes, I was originally resting in Sofia's mansion. I came here in the rain because I was really worried about Leicia. Although I am not her lover, she is really my friend. But the intelligence I got unexpectedly made my operation more valuable. I overheard the news, and I didn't even have time to tell Miss Carina. I think she would be interested in my intelligence."
"What level of sorcerer are you?"
The witch suddenly asked, and Shade hesitated:
"Second ring. However, I officially took office as a ring mage a month and a half ago."
"Promoted to the second ring in one month... I think I understand why Jialina wants to keep you around. You are indeed very capable."
Having said that, Xiwei Aurora would not worry about Shade's identity for the time being. After all, the chosen one was much more important than him.
"So, Mr. Hamilton, who is the other party?"
She asked again.
"Sorry ma'am, I don't know either."
In fact, no one knew better than Xia De. Seeing that the witch wanted to ask more, Xia De added:
"However, I did hear some interesting rumors. Although they are just rumors, I have already got confirmation from the professors."
"It's okay. What's the news?"
"There is a demon in the second chosen one."
"demon?"
She asked in surprise:
"A demon of a different race, or..."
"A terrible thing left over from the Third Age."
Xia De answered softly. He didn't want to talk too much about such weird things.
"Oh my God."
Miss Aurora leaned back slightly with a serious expression on her face. She didn't speak for a long time and no one knew what she was thinking.
The Witch Council is trying to win over female candidates, but they will definitely not accept male candidates, so the goals of the Witch Council and Shade are actually the same, and there is no conflict of interest between the two.
This is why Shad revealed this information to Miss Aurora. Although the divination showed that Darkness would go to Tobisk, if the witch could seriously injure Darkness in Coldwater Port, just as Shad seriously injured the Silver-Eyed Man in Lakeview Manor, then Shad, Luvia and Iluna would be able to better handle the follow-up matters of the second chosen one in Tobisk City.
"From the church's attitude, the second chosen one is here. So what are you going to do?"
Xia De asked cautiously:
"Do you need my help?"
"No, I don't need you."
She shook her head, frowning:
"If there really is a demon in the other person, then you, a second-level person, cannot deal with it. It's dangerous, very dangerous... Hamilton, I still doubt what you are. The witch's curse will not go wrong. But you are Carina's person, and you gave me very critical information. I will not let you get into trouble with me."
"Then I want to go to the wine cellar under the manor to see those fishmen. I wonder if you can help?"
She didn't ask the witch to go with her because the witch probably didn't want to bother with those ugly things. Besides, she had to go find trouble with Darkness now, and she didn't have time to explore the wine cellar with Shade.
Miss Aurora thought for a moment, took off the gold ring in her hand and handed it to Xia De:
"The sage-level relic, the ancient witch's golden ring, right one, can enhance the power of the ring wizard. The negative property is... Judging from your expression, Karina lent you her necklace?"
"Yes."
Xia De looked at the ring in surprise, took it carefully, and put it on his hand. He gently touched the ring surface, and a sense of power surged up. This ring was very similar to the ring he saw in a historical truth (the Witch War at the end of the Fifth Epoch) when the witch entered the white fog and summoned the Witch Council.
So he asked tentatively:
"Could it be that this is a complete set of relics? If a single piece is sage-grade, then what is the rating of the entire set?"
"I can't tell you this. This is a secret of the parliament."
The witch shook her head with a faint smile on her face:
"But there are thirteen items, one for each person. Six rings, two earrings, a necklace, a hair ornament, two bracelets, and a button."
Now Shade was sure that these things were the keys to the Witch Council. But having the keys was not enough, he also needed to find the White Mist Gate to the Witch Council so that he could enter the Witch Council like the witches. Therefore, Xiwei Aurora was relieved to give the ring to Shade.
Now that I think about it, the thirteen witches probably often meet there to share information, so Miss Aurora said that she had communicated with Miss Carina who was far away in Tobesk yesterday.
"That's all right. But aren't you interested in how I got here from Tobesk?"
"It's not worth asking whether you are a man or not, or whether you are the second chosen one. Thaumaturgy? Relics? No, no, it's not important."
She said, shaking her head and her long, wavy brown hair swayed along with it.
The witch sighed, stood up and prepared to leave, but after thinking for a moment, she said to Shade very seriously:
"Anyway, your information helped me. Mr. Hamilton, I still care whether you are a man or not, but from today on, you can be considered a friend of the Aurora family."