The Virtuous Dark Witch

Chapter 16

The main hall on the first floor was silent. Alexander and Thea descended the stairs, nodding politely at Merlyn. He even helped Elara adjust the tiara on her head, praising her generously. “Beautiful.”

Elara looked up, about to say thank you, when he added, "I'm referring to the tiara." Elara's smile didn't fade. "Thank you." The tiara was part of her too.

Thea, hooked around Alexander's arm, scanned the guests. Sure enough, she found the person she wanted to see in a corner. When that person sensed her gaze, they looked up slightly, showing no embarrassment—just a proper smile before bowing their head again.

Her hand tightened. Thea looked away, ignoring Alexander's unpleasant expression. Her eyes passed over her sister and landed on Sophia Larissa, standing in the center of the hall. She smiled faintly. "I thought the High Priestess of the Light Witches would be busy lately. I didn't expect you to have time to come to Anastas City."

"The Dessey Witches haven't left the West Sea Forest in nearly ten years—and yet you've all gathered in Anastas City for little Prince Adair?" Sophia Larissa walked forward slowly, leaning on her Light Scepter. She stopped to the left of Merlyn, raised her left hand to her chest, and bowed to Alexander. "Earl Alexander. Long time no see."

"Hmph," Thea let out a cold snort, sneering. "If he knew Poppy Larissa was carrying a Twin Witch, I don't think he'd want to see you here right now."

As soon as she said this, the hall erupted in whispers. Even Alexander Stirling's expression changed as he looked at Merlyn.

In Larissa, Poppy's sister, panicked for a moment, but quickly composed herself. She then angrily shouted. "Thea Dessey, watch your words! Poppy may be on bad terms with Merlyn, but you can't make up such malicious lies to defend your sister."

"Is it a lie?" Thea refused to back down. "You and Sophia Larissa both know the truth."

Sophia Larissa, who had been named, could no longer remain silent. But instead of addressing Thea, she turned directly to Merlyn. "What do you think?"

Everyone's gaze immediately focused on Merlyn, who was wearing a purple dress.

Merlyn smiled, turning to look back at Sophia Larissa. "Ten thousand years ago, the Larissa Clan merged twins to gain power—and as a result, the West Sea Forest lost its powerful ruler."

"Ten thousand years later, whether the child in Poppy Larissa's belly is a Twin Witch or not has nothing to do with the West Sea Forest. The Dessey Witches have made one bad deal—we won't make a second." Merlyn looked into Sophia Larissa's clear eyes. "Are you satisfied with this answer?"

The more she said, the more confused everyone became. After all, no one wanted to become a puppet whose mind was controlled.

Listening to the growing murmurs, Sophia Larissa felt impatient but still spoke. "It's been ten thousand years. Today, I think it's necessary to reiterate."

"The Larissa Clan has never used the power bestowed by Apollo to merge twins for the sake of power. The birth of the Twin Witch is a test from Apollo. Misfortune…”

"Who are you fooling?" Thea felt nauseous listening to this ethereal voice, enhanced by Witch Power. "Apollo's test is not for your Larissa Clan—it's for us Dessey Witches. Otherwise, if the Twin Witch was born into the Larissa Clan, why did our Dessey ancestor, the West Sea Witch Ancestor, die?

For ten thousand years, the Larissa Clan had never admitted their crimes, always attributing the birth of the Twin Witch to a divine test. But as descendants of the West Sea Witch Ancestor, no one knew the true origin of the Twin Witch better than the Dessey Witches. That was why Poppy had come to her sister.

Merlyn lowered her eyes. "Probably because she meddled in other people's business."

Her words hung in the air, and the entire castle fell silent. After a long time, Sophia Larissa suddenly raised her Light Scepter high, lifted her head, and spoke again. "I swear to Apollo—Poppy Larissa's child is absolutely not a Twin Witch."

As soon as she finished speaking, she tightened her grip on the scepter and slammed it heavily on the ground. With a loud boom, a powerful surge of Light Witch Power erupted from the scepter, shooting straight at Thea.

Merlyn had been prepared. As soon as Sophia Larissa attacked, she pulled Thea and Elara back. With a wave of her right hand, a simple, glowing dagger appeared in front of them, colliding with the powerful Light Witch Power. There was another loud boom, and the entire castle trembled three times. The Light Witch Power was repelled, echoing back.

Ah…

The Rozin people screamed. The Andros and Werewolves dodged in a hurry. Sophia Larissa couldn't stop her momentum and was hit by the echoing Light Witch Power. Her veil fell to the ground, her face as pale as a sheet, all color drained. Even so, her eyes remained fixed on the dagger floating steadily in front of Merlyn.

"Thea is young and speaks without restraint. Why does High Priestess Sophia Larissa insist on arguing with her?" Merlyn stretched out her right hand, and the dagger automatically returned to her palm.

Sophia ground her teeth. "Holy Crow Spirit Dagger?"

Watching the powerful silver lines on the dagger fade away, she was even more certain. There was no mistake—this was one of Selah Dessey's signature weapons, the Holy Crow Spirit Dagger.

Holy Crow Spirit Dagger… Holy Crow Spirit Dagger…

As the Light Witch Power dissipated, whispers erupted again. Even Alexander was stunned. He looked at the simple dagger in Merlyn's hand, which had lost its glow and silver lines, and twitched his lips—but no smile came.

The Holy Crow Spirit Dagger, one of the famous weapons of the Dark Witch Ancestor of the West Sea. According to his father, Selah Dessey had traveled the continent with this dagger and a Demon-Hiding Snake Staff. Since the origin of Mal Continent, Selah Dessey could be called one of the most powerful witches in history.

The other "one" was the Twin Witch Progenitor from the Larissa Clan. But even though Selah Dessey had died from the Twin Holy Spirit Curse, no one would argue that she was weaker than the Twin Witch Progenitor. Seeing it today, the rumors were not exaggerated at all.

Merlyn looked down at the dagger in her hand. Before this trip, because it involved the Moon Glow, her mother had asked her to retrieve it from the ancient tomb. She hadn't expected it to really come in handy. Admiration filled her eyes—even though the West Sea Witch Ancestor was gone, she still protected them.

"Ugh," Sophia Larissa struggled to suppress the chaotic Witch Power in her meridians. She must not fall now. She gripped her Light Scepter tightly, forced a faint smile, raised her numb left hand to her chest, and bowed. "It is the greatest honor of my life to experience the power of the West Sea Witch Ancestor."

Tears glistened in Thea's eyes. "Light Witches really love putting gold on their faces. The Holy Crow Spirit Dagger is just a personal item of the West Sea Witch Ancestor. So High Priestess Sophia—you only experienced the Witch Power contained in the Holy Crow Spirit Dagger."

The people of the Larissa Clan were not worthy of mentioning the West Sea Witch Ancestor—they were all sinners.

"It's almost time. We shouldn't keep little Adair waiting."

Alexander Stirling spoke up at the right moment, ending the conflict between the Larissa Clan and the Dessey Witches. The outcome was clear. He glanced at Rocky Anastas, who was holding the swaddle with a dark expression. He presumably had received the warning from the West Sea Forest.

Selah Dessey had been dead for ten thousand years, but she had left behind more than a hundred dark weapons like the Holy Crow Spirit Dagger. Moreover, every generation of Dessey Witches had been extremely powerful, and almost all loved forging various ingenious dark weapons—weapons they did not sell… or rather, could not sell… or perhaps many people wanted to buy them, but… he didn't know how to put it.

After ten thousand years, the entire West Sea Forest had become a f*******n land. Once, a Werewolf tribe tried to seize it, but unfortunately, they never came out after entering—and the Dessey Witches remained active.

Seeing is believing. Haina Mullin, hiding among a group of Rozin people, calmed her frightened heart, comforted her daughter leaning beside her, and smiled gently at the powerful, beautiful woman. The Dessey Witches had won this round.

Conflicts between the Dessey Witches and the Larissa Clan had never stopped—they fought every time they met. But large-scale clashes like today were rare. It seemed the rumors about the Twin Witch were ten to one true.

Elara, who had been well-protected, was in a bad mood. She had been shocked since her mother had taken out the Holy Crow Spirit Dagger.

Glowing faintly with dark light, covered in powerful silver lines—the Holy Crow Spirit Dagger was exactly like the dagger that had appeared in her dream. But she was certain she had never seen the Holy Crow Spirit Dagger before.

Who was the shadow holding the Holy Crow Spirit Dagger and committing suicide in her dream? The West Sea Witch Ancestor, or… Elara stared at her mother's back, her heart aching dull.

Rocky Anastas' mood was similar to Elara's. Sophia Larissa was the Light Witch he had invited to baptize Adair. But the fight just now had cast a thick shadow over the upcoming baptism ceremony. Even so, he couldn't replace Sophia at the last minute.

"Thank you for your hard work, High Priestess Sophia Larissa." His attitude was no longer as warm as before. Rocky Anastas turned and walked to the baptismal platform with the swaddle in his arms.

Seeing this, the corners of Sophia Larissa's mouth twitched slightly. She glanced at Merlyn, Thea, and Elara, then followed him onto the platform.

"Sister," Thea was about to speak, but Merlyn raised her hand to stop her, whispering. "The fight is over for today. The Larissa Clan will never admit that Poppy is carrying a Twin Witch."

Thea clenched her hands tightly at her sides, staring angrily at the old witch washing her hands on the baptismal platform.

What bothered her now was whether there was already cooperation between the Light Witches and Anastas City. Merlyn twisted the lines on the Holy Crow Spirit Dagger with her fingers. "Stop mentioning the Twin Witch. When Poppy came to me, the twins had already merged successfully. We can't detect whether the fetus is a Twin Witch or a normal child."

That was the key to Sophia Larissa's audacity.

"She just swore to Apollo," Thea watched the baptism ceremony with red eyes.

Merlyn let out a cold laugh. "She swore that Poppy's child is absolutely not a Twin Witch." Coldness filled her eyes. "A Twin Witch has two souls. Without two souls, it's naturally not a Twin Witch." This confirmed her earlier guess.

"What?" Thea looked at her sister, her eyes wide with disbelief. “They…”

"No need to be so surprised," Merlyn gripped the Holy Crow Spirit Dagger tightly—the very weapon the West Sea Witch Ancestor had used to erase one of the Twin Witch's souls. "As I said before—the Dessey Witches won't make another bad deal."

The sound of a baby crying pulled Elara back to her senses. She looked at the baptismal platform. Sophia Larissa was muttering something, lifted Adair—wearing the black mandala Moon Glow—from the swaddle, and placed him in the so-called Holy Water for baptism, driving away evil, filth, misfortune, and more.

The baptism ceremony ended in less than five minutes. Rocky Anastas took back the whimpering Adair. "Thank you all for your prayers." Now, please enjoy the feast prepared by Anastas City to the fullest."

Melodious music played. After refusing an invitation from a beautiful Andros woman, Alexander Stirling walked toward Elara and the others.

Thea was in a bad mood and had no desire to talk to him. She turned her head, making her refusal clear.

"Don't you think dancing the opening dance with me would be wonderful?" Alexander passed Merlyn, leaning close to Thea and whispering. "When will you change your habit of using and discarding people?"

"So you know I have that habit," Thea crossed her arms, lifting her chin to look at Alexander. "Don't you think you're no longer useful?"

Elara, standing beside Thea, looked up at the two of them. Had they forgotten there were two other people in this corner?

Alexander shrugged, looking down at the little one standing nearby with an amorous smile. "Would you like to be my dance partner tonight?"

"Your smile is charming, but putting that aside," Elara couldn't help but complain. "Don't you think our heights are really suitable for dancing together?"

"Pfft," Thea laughed, pulling Elara into her arms and gently pinching her soft cheek. "Wait here for a while. Auntie will dance with him, and then I'll take you to eat."

Elara didn't refuse. She reached out and tugged at the corner of Alexander's shirt. "Before you dance, let's talk about the Blood Rose glazed cards."

"I just gave you five," Alexander held Thea's hand, feeling good—but he hadn't forgotten what the little one had done earlier.

"That wasn't a gift—it was payment for answering your question," Elara looked at the uncooperative Andros earl. "Otherwise, let's talk about the Andros you locked by the window."

Alexander looked up at Thea, who looked amused. He suddenly felt like he had fallen into a deep hole. He bowed his head in defeat. "Whenever you come to Andrea Capital, I'll give you as many glazed cards as you want." They weren't anything valuable anyway. He pressed the tiara on her head down slightly. "What's so great about these things, anyway?"

"You're not a woman," Elara let go of his shirt. "You'll never understand the deep bond between women and gems, or gold."