The Head of the Florenst Family hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn’t answer. The two of them climbed the spiral staircase. Their footsteps were heavy and slow, like the final calm before a storm. Sherry didn’t know what would happen next, but she was prepared for the worst. That old geezer surely knew about her conversation with Enise.
In the study, the Baron pointed directly at the chair she usually sat in. “Sit.”
Sherry glanced around with her peripheral vision. It seemed it was just the two of them, but in reality, danger lurked everywhere.
“Look at this.”
The Head of the Florenst Family pushed a face-down document toward Sherry. While keeping her gaze locked on him, she picked up the document to read it.
It was an order from the Head. About the prison cell. Sherry’s fingers tightened on the paper.
“End imprisonment, convert to disposal subject.”
When she saw those words, Sherry felt the air around her freeze.
‘No, I must stay calm.’
She forced herself to remain steady and looked at the second document. It was a communication record. The conversation between her and Enise was recorded on it perfectly. After finishing it, Sherry slapped the document down on the table and looked the Head of the Florenst Family in the eye without speaking.
“Turn back before it’s too late. The First Prince is whom the people desire, the future of the Kingdom.”
“In what capacity are you advising me? As the Head of the Florenst Family? Or as my father?”
“The capacity doesn’t matter. I hope you don’t go astray and collude with a Witch like Enise.”
“What do you mean by ‘going astray’? And what do you mean by ‘collude’? Enise has never hurt anyone. Why are you so defensive against her?”
“She is a Witch. Witches should be strictly controlled; it’s as simple as that. The family took her in and trained her so that she would become a tool for the family. When she can no longer be a tool, there is only one outcome. Everything is for the sake of order.”
“Enise isn’t a tool! She’s only twenty, about the same age as me! She has an infinite future!”
“She can have a future, and that is to continue to sell her life for this family!” Baron Fronst’s voice rose involuntarily. “I am advising you for the last time: turn back, join the faction of His Highness the First Prince, and dedicate your youth to the family and the Kingdom!”
“What exactly do you see me as? A tool to sell my life?” Sherry’s anger was reaching its limit. She slammed her hand on the desk and stood up, glaring at the old man. “Where did you take Enise?”
“Since you are her accomplice, I naturally won’t tell you.”
Baron Fronst also stood up. His movements were very slow, and mana began to flow around him. “Last warning, Sherry Flenst. Turn back, and I can overlook your actions.”
“I’ll also ask you one last question.” Sherry looked up, her gaze becoming colder. “What do you think is the reason I dared to come back after talking to Enise?”
“You… you—!!!”
As if realizing something, Baron Fronst struck first, drawing his magic wand and aiming a Mana Lock at Sherry.
“Do it! Restrain her!”
A clattering sound rang out. In an instant, numerous fully armed guards appeared in the room. They lunged at Sherry together, pinning her to the ground in a second. At the same time, a man walked in through the door. He was dressed in black formal wear, with eyes as sharp as a hawk’s.
“Sherry Flenst, you are suspected of conspiring to seize power. You are now under arrest.”
Sherry looked up toward the voice. She knew this man—the Monitor. To be precise, the Witch Monitor, responsible for controlling all Witches in the territory.
“Even you’ve come,” she sneered.
“Yes, Miss Flenst. I learned that Enise has created something that allegedly deviates from the rules, so I must secure it first.”
Hearing this, Sherry felt her body turn cold. “Securing” was a euphemism. It didn’t mean locking her somewhere she could never escape; it meant making her—vanish.
“Sherry, from this moment on, you are stripped of the Flenst name. My relationship as your father ends here!” Baron Fronst’s words were decisive and cold, devoid of any emotion.
“Hahahaha.”
However, Sherry only let out a laugh like a villain. “Old geezer, did you really think such measly tricks could catch me?”
The guards pinning her down suddenly lost their balance and fell to the ground, piling on top of one another. When they regained their senses, only a pile of fine snow remained where Sherry had been.
“Where is she!”
“I don’t know!”
“Find her!”
Baron Fronst roared. The servants scrambled to search the room, but at that moment, he felt a chill on his neck. A dagger made of ice was pressed against his throat.
Sherry was floating in mid-air using Ice Magic. Her eyes were filled with killing intent, and an ominous blue light glowed in her pupils.
“You, you unfilial girl—”
Baron Fronst cursed while trembling, but Sherry only said coldly, “Tell me, where did you take Enise?”
“Bah! You traitorous thing! Don’t think I’ll—ack, ack, ack—!!!”
The stinging pain in his neck scared him out of his wits. As a Magician, he could naturally perceive the killing intent of a combatant. She was serious.
“Traitorous thing, who taught you this magic?”
“You don’t deserve to know His name.” Sherry looked ahead coldly, her eyes finally locking with the hawk-like eyes of the Monitor.
“Do you realize what you’re doing?” the Monitor’s cold voice carried a trace of killing intent. “This is treason!”
“It’s just a difference in political stance. From my perspective, you people are the ones committing treason!” Sherry bit back sharply.
“You!!!”
The Monitor was utterly enraged. Just as he was about to draw his sword, a cold gaze pierced straight into his soul!
“Ugh, ugh…”
After a few symbolic struggles, he stood still like a marionette.
“You came here today to admire the flowers in House Frozenster’s Glass Greenhouse during winter. Sherry Flenst received you, and you had a very pleasant conversation. You declined the invitation to House Frozenster’s banquet and left the territory at dusk. You never entered the mansion, and you know absolutely nothing about what happened today. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“After you return, report to the Kingdom that the Head of the Florenst Family passed away due to illness. Go.”
“As you command.”
The Monitor left the room like a puppet, walked out of the mansion, boarded his carriage, and drove away.
“Old geezer, the news of your death from illness will soon spread throughout the Kingdom. Any last words?”
Sherry kicked the old man aside and stood in the center of the study, indifferent to everything.
“Don’t, don’t kill me…”
While Baron Fronst was pleading for mercy, a guard behind him slowly rose, preparing to sneak attack Sherry from behind!
“Die, traitor—”
*Whoosh—*
The axe swung down, but in front of him were only snowflakes.
“You old man, your hands aren’t very clean either.”
Sherry’s voice sounded from behind him. With a gentle tap, the man who tried to ambush her turned into a pile of white snow. Not even a corpse remained.
“I will give you all a chance.” Sherry continued to look down on everyone in the room. “Her Highness the Second Princess Rubia needs some loyal soldiers. If you are willing to swear fealty to her, I can spare your lives.”
“No, no problem! we’ll swear fealty!” One of the guards immediately dropped his weapon and performed a knight’s salute, ready to swear loyalty. He was just a man working for a paycheck; why risk his life?
“I swear to forever serve Her Highness the Second Princess Rubia. I am willing to be her sword and the shield that protects her body. I shall never regret it!”
But as the words of the oath ended, he looked as if his soul had been sucked away, turning into a marionette that didn’t move an inch.
“Very good. What about the rest of you?” Sherry stood with her hands on her hips, her head held high, looking down at the soldiers on the floor.
“You, you—”
Everyone could see that once they swore the oath, they would become soulless puppets controlled by someone else! Who would want that?
“If you don’t agree, I will execute you all as traitors.”
“Damn it! we’re dead either way! I’m taking this woman down with me!” One of the guards lunged, raising his weapon toward Sherry’s neck.
But Sherry only curled her lips. With a single glare, the man became a marionette, just like the others.
“I was joking. I didn’t want your lives. Princess Rubia lacks brave and skilled soldiers; you must serve her. Of course, given that many of you are just idling about, I need to give you a little ‘incentive.'”
Everywhere Sherry’s gaze fell, the soldiers turned into soulless puppets. She did a quick count: twenty-seven people, no more, no less—exactly the number of private soldiers House Frozenster possessed. Now that she held military power, she was the one in charge of the family.
Sherry turned back to look at the terrified old geezer. His eyes were full of fear, and his lips trembled as if he wanted to plead for mercy, but he couldn’t speak a single word.
“Now, can you tell me the whereabouts of Sister Enise? Oh, right, you can’t speak anymore.”
Sherry’s eyes narrowed, and a memory turned into a green light, entering her mind.
“I see.” She picked up the communication crystal. “Cybelle, Enise is being held in the workers’ dormitory at the North Mountain Mine. They plan to leave her there to die. You don’t have to worry about an ambush.”
“Understood.” The communication ended.
Sherry grabbed the unconscious Baron Fronst and threw him from the third-floor staircase. Then, she instantly teleported to the first floor. Before he could hit the ground and turn into a mess, she gave him a gentle kick to cushion his fall.
“All maids and the butler, gather in the main hall immediately! I am issuing an order in the name of the Head of the Florenst Family!”
The butler and maids emerged trembling from various dark corners, their bodies shaking like leaves.
“You are innocent, so I don’t want to do anything to you.” With a wave of her hand, a snowball small enough to swallow appeared in front of each person. “Eat this. You will sleep for three hours, and when you wake up, you will forget everything that happened here. Afterward, your work in House Frozenster will continue as usual.”
“Thank you…”
They knew this was a form of protection. They whispered their thanks and swallowed the snowballs. Soon, the main hall was filled with sleeping servants.
“All right, let’s see…”