“Click~”
With a crisp snip, the fingernail was trimmed neatly.
“Alexia rejected the Witch Council’s apology?”
The Malice Witch blew on her freshly manicured nails, examining them carefully under the light.
Rosalind knelt at her feet, answering, “Yes.”
“She refused without hesitation?”
The Malice Witch pressed on.
“From her words, it was indeed merciless.”
“Where does she get such arrogance?”
Rosalind fell silent, unsure how to answer.
The Malice Witch slowly lowered her head, her gaze sharp as she stared at the silent Rosalind.
“I’m asking you. Where does she get it?”
At this moment, Rosalind had already closed her eyes, sensing what was about to happen.
The next moment, her body flew backward.
“…Cough.”
Rosalind swallowed the blood in her mouth, suppressing the pain on her face and holding back a cough.
This time, she didn’t hit the wall, but landed in a web of invisible threads, descending gently to the ground.
“Malice Witch, you always torment your subordinates so wantonly. Sooner or later, retribution will find you.”
A silver-haired little girl with closed eyes walked in from outside the door.
Though her eyes were shut, she seemed to know every detail of the room’s layout and everyone within, heading straight for the Malice Witch.
The Malice Witch stood up, tidied her hair, and looked at this uninvited guest with a trace of mockery.
“How I treat my subordinates is none of your business. If you help her now, I’ll punish her again later.”
“Then, I’ll answer your earlier question—because she is the Empress of the Empire.”
“A mere mortal. Wouldn’t it be easier to just kill her? Why make me go through so much trouble?”
The Malice Witch clearly found such methods inefficient.
But the Chief had emphasized—absolutely no killing Alexia by force.
It was best if she ended herself.
“Kill her?”
The Fate Witch murmured in disbelief.
“In the future I foresaw, she became a legend of magic.”
“Do you really think she’s just a powerless woman?”
The Malice Witch’s expression stiffened, disbelief written on her face.
“You mean… she can use magic?”
Anyone who could become a legend in magic must possess extraordinary magical talent.
The Fate Witch nodded.
“The failure of the Apocalypse Witch was obvious. She faced Alexia directly and still lost. Haven’t you ever wondered why?”
The Malice Witch fell into contemplation.
“It seems that useless Elma did have some value after all. At least she helped us uncover this, preventing future plots.”
Listening to the Malice Witch’s words, the Fate Witch’s brow furrowed slightly.
She truly couldn’t stand the Malice Witch’s arrogance.
Especially her constant disdain for lower-ranked witches—it was particularly repulsive.
Yet her Witch Power was needed by the Chief.
Otherwise, she would have scolded her on the spot.
“Malice Witch, you’d best behave yourself for a while. A god has tried to probe your existence. I’ve already blocked it, but it’s powerful. I need to reweave the threads of fate to protect you.”
The Fate Witch had come here just to remind this troublesome woman.
“Whatever. As long as the Empire isn’t destroyed, the Chief won’t let me leave anyway.”
The Malice Witch shrugged, unconcerned.
“There’s one more thing. The Chief asked me to confirm something with you.”
The Fate Witch’s expression grew more serious.
“Did you order the Apocalypse Witch to collude with the Evil God?”
The Malice Witch shook her head outright.
“Am I insane? To get involved with the Evil God? I might be sick in the head, but I’m not brainless!”
Getting involved with the Evil God was undoubtedly the most dangerous thing in this world.
Even disregarding the Witch Council’s interests, thinking of her own safety alone, she would never consider contacting the Evil God.
“Then why did the Apocalypse Witch have the Corruption of the Evil God when facing Alexia?”
If not for the presence of the Evil God’s corruption, the Church of Light would never have been alerted.
This greatly hindered their plan to use Alexia’s death.
“Go ask the Apocalypse Witch yourself! Everyone within the Empire’s borders is influenced by my Witch Power. That’s inevitable. But for her to collude with the Evil God—that was truly beyond my expectations.”
The Fate Witch’s brow furrowed further.
“You only sent her to investigate Alexia?”
The Malice Witch emphasized,“I explicitly ordered her to probe Alexia’s background. I didn’t even instruct her to kill Alexia.”
“If she wanted to kill Alexia, I can understand. It’s a huge achievement—if she succeeded, she might even break free of my control and join the Witch Council as a full member.”
“As for the consequences of failure—the outcome is obvious.”
Upon hearing this, the Fate Witch’s frown deepened.
“You should be able to tell I’m not lying to you.”
The Malice Witch said calmly.
“Even if I wanted to hide something from the Chief, I wouldn’t dare try deceiving you.”
Seeing the Fate Witch lost in thought, the Malice Witch continued.
“Hey, are you suspecting there are other people trying to interfere with this mess of an Empire?”
She couldn’t help but laugh.
“This Empire is livelier than I expected!”
She hadn’t expected there to be more than just the Witch Council at play.
“I am seriously considering that possibility. You know the Chief’s orders—to isolate Alexia, make her completely alone.”
The Fate Witch analyzed.
“But someone wants the Witch Council to surface and become a piece on the chessboard.”
As the Fate Witch looked up at her, the Malice Witch raised both hands first.
“Hey, what’s happening in the Empire has nothing to do with me. If you want to analyze specifics, go find the Chief. Anyway, a simple-minded person like me can’t understand such complicated matters.”
She only needed to obey orders.
Anything else was outside her concern.
The Fate Witch gave the Malice Witch a long, deep look, then turned and walked away.
Just as she was about to open the door, she turned back toward the Malice Witch.
“You really don’t consider changing your personality? Otherwise, one day, you’ll regret today’s actions.”
The Malice Witch laughed a few times.
“If that day comes, it’s my own fault. Besides, subordinates obeying superiors is an iron law of the Witch Council. Have you ever seen me oppose the Chief even once?”
“Whatever she says, I do. I can’t beat her anyway, so what’s there to say?”
“Suit yourself.”
The Fate Witch sighed lightly and walked out.
After the door closed, the Malice Witch crooked a finger at Rosalind.
The latter crawled forward to the Malice Witch’s feet.
“Raise your head. Yes… just like that. Ready? Let’s do it again. The last time doesn’t count.”