Chapter 56: The Grand Witch’s Commission

Since Tia had been grounded, she had been quite idle within the manor.

Fortunately, the Witch Council issued a new commission during this time.

**[COMMISSION: UNSEAL THE WITCH SEAL ON THE HEART GEM]**

**[CLIENT: COUNCILOR ROSE]**

**[REWARD: 3 MAGIC CRYSTALS AND A ONE-TIME ASSISTANCE FROM COUNCILOR ROSE]**

The internal hierarchy of the Witch Council was divided into five ranks.

The first rank consisted of external personnel, the second rank was regular cadres, the third rank was core members, the fourth rank was councilors, and the fifth rank was the legendary Empress.

Councilors were the true high-ranking officials within the Witch Council.

When the Empress did not appear, they were the rulers of the council, and every councilor was a world-renowned Grand Witch.

Obviously, the councilor codenamed Rose was one of them.

What Tia cared about even more was the reward for the commission.

The three magic crystals were actually just a bonus.

The most important part of the reward was the one-time assistance from a Grand Witch.

With such an opportunity, she would finally have a sense of security within Hela City.

There was no helping it; she had recently discovered that the waters of Hela City were incredibly deep.

The Bronze Rank strength that could once dominate many towns was not worth mentioning here.

Not only were there those Silver Grade experimental subject monsters, but there was also the inscrutable East Commander, Parker, as well as her own Earl Harris, who seemed to have a strong desire for control yet appeared utterly ordinary.

‘If I still believe my Count is an ordinary person, I’m the truly stupid one.’

To be able to make Parker, who could one-shot Silver Grade monsters, his subordinate — Earl Harris’s methods were far beyond her imagination.

Perhaps everything he showed now was just a disguise.

Therefore, she had to improve herself as much as possible before he realized she was not his real daughter, so she would no longer fear their strength.

Thinking of this, she looked at the content of the commission.

‘The Heart Gem?’

Wasn’t that the gem she had stolen before?

a series of twists and turns, had it ended up in the hands of the Grand Witch, Rose?

However, it was no wonder no other Witches had accepted this commission.

After all, unsealing a Witch Seal on a Witch Gem was no easy task.

Legend had it that it was basically impossible without the strength of a Grand Witch.

But Tia was different; she had Eros Energy.

With a simple confession, the Heart Gem would open its heart to her.

As for why she hadn’t done so back then, it was mainly because the cost-benefit ratio was too low.

No one knew what kind of changes would occur to the Heart Gem once the Witch Seal was undone.

To think she could obtain the power of a Witch and overthrow the Empire was nothing but a delusion.

In all likelihood, she would obtain some secrets regarding the Heart Gem’s owner.

If she were even more unfortunate, she might be killed by a trap magic hidden within the gem.

She didn’t know about others, but if she were to die, she would certainly set a trap within her own Witch Gem.

That way, whoever took her Witch Gem would fall for it.

*Hee-hee.*

With that thought, Tia accepted the commission.

Even if there really was a problem with the Heart Gem, the one in trouble wouldn’t be her, but the Grand Witch.

All she needed to do was unseal the gem.

Moreover, this commission was very easy.

After accepting it, she only had to wait quietly.

When the time came, the Grand Witch, Rose, would come to this city to meet her.

Now, what she had to do was sleep and wait for Councilor Rose’s arrival…

***

Late at night, the Earl Harris Manor fell into a deep silence.

Lying in bed, Tia did not fall asleep.

She lay on her side on the soft velvet bed, her eyelids lowered and her breathing steady.

However, in the darkness, her eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly.

She heard it.

It was very faint, so faint that it was nearly drowned out by the sound of her own breathing.

But the sound definitely existed.

In a corner of the first floor, vaguely, it sounded like something was moving or perhaps whispering in a low voice.

These sounds traveled along the walls and lingered by her ears.

Tia opened her eyes.

She couldn’t sleep anyway, so she picked up the lantern by her bedside.

With a light flick of her finger, a pale yellow glow lit up within the lampshade.

She threw on her velvet coat and walked toward the first floor.

The closer she got to the first floor, the clearer the sounds became.

Finally, when she arrived at the storage room on one side of the main hall’s corridor, the sounds gradually vanished.

The storage room was a place the servants often visited; she had almost never set foot in it before.

Reaching out to grasp the doorknob, she gave it a light push.

*Creeeak — *

Accompanied by the sound of rusted hinges, the light from the lantern instantly illuminated the room.

A few miscellaneous items were piled together, covered by a layer of white dust cloths, giving off an inexplicably eerie feeling.

Beside the clutter, the area was empty, but a seemingly ordinary wooden floorboard was a few centimeters higher than the others.

One wouldn’t notice it without looking closely, but that small discrepancy was exceptionally striking in this dust-covered storage room.

Tia approached and crouched down.

Her fingertips touched the edge of the floorboard, and she lifted it slightly.

The board rose easily.

Beneath it was a bottomless darkness.

A narrow stone staircase wound downward toward an unknown place.

Air surged up from below — cold, damp, and carrying a certain decaying, ancient scent.

If nothing was amiss, those sounds were coming from inside.

‘A basement?’

She had never heard of a basement existing in Harris Manor.

When she had asked the servants before, they had all shaken their heads in denial…

Tia’s fingers tightened slightly around the lantern.

She sensed it. On the first few steps of the stone staircase, there was a magic seal emitting a terrifying amount of Magic Power, blocking her entry.

However, if she was willing, she could use Eros Energy to unseal it.

But… should she really go inside?

What lies at the end of these stairs?!

She felt that whatever lay ahead was extremely dangerous.

“It is late at night. What are you doing here?”

At that moment, a voice devoid of any warmth suddenly rang out from behind her.

Tia’s entire body froze.

The lantern’s light flickered violently, casting panicked shadows against the wall.

She slowly turned around.

Earl Harris stood at the entrance of the storage room, holding his cane.

He was dressed in a dark noble uniform, clearly having not yet prepared for sleep.

His dark eyes, under the weak glow of the lantern, were filled with a chilling coldness that made it hard to breathe.

At this moment, he seemed exceptionally cold.

After a moment of hesitation, Tia stammered, “Fa… Father, I…”

Earl Harris did not speak.

His gaze bypassed Tia and fell upon the overturned wooden floorboard.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he walked into the storage room, came to the front of the stairs, and used his cane to press the board back down.

Then, he looked at Tia and said coldly, “I told you when you were young — is a storage room like this a place you should be coming to?”