Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 412 Witch's House
Ilya changed her destination halfway and headed straight for Cedric Thorne's residence. Facing an opponent like Ethan, whose origins were unknown and beyond her control, she had to rely on the strength of the Imperial Army, as well as her former comrade, the Great Sage Sera. Considering the battles they might face, they needed a healing master to provide them with logistical support.

However, when she found Cedric in her home, the commander of the Imperial Army also became strange.

He looked exhausted today, wearing an eye patch on his head and with droopy eyelids, as if he had been undergoing a full day of special training.

"Someone has infiltrated the Simpler family mansion with the intention of assassinating Archduke Escher?"

Cedric slowly repeated Ilya's words, his eyes full of bewilderment, "Your Excellency, if you have so much energy that you don't know where to vent it, please find something meaningful to do, such as helping the Inquisition revise the laws. I think those jobs would be very suitable for you."

As he emphasized yesterday, the Imperial Army and the Archmage's Association are two completely unrelated departments, and he has no interest in that boring hero game. Logically speaking, someone of Ilya's level has no right to tell him what to do.

However, the reality is that Ilya has knocked on his door for two consecutive days around the time he gets off work, especially late at night.

As expected of a pampered noble lady who grew up in the empire, she became a "big star" in the eyes of the common people. She really only has herself on her mind.

“I have ample evidence! A crew member from Gear City escaped from the rebel ranks and identified Ethan as the murderer of Grand Duke Escher’s men. He is very likely also the one who murdered Baron Flint’s family!”

Ilya leaned against the door with one hand, his attitude firm. "Isn't this the duty of the Imperial Army?"

If these charges are upheld, Ethan would undoubtedly become the most vicious criminal in the history of the Silver Empire. Looking back at the criminals whose names have been etched into history, none of them would dare to commit a crime like Ethan, who not only didn't try to escape but also swaggered into a duke's house.

Despite his reluctance, Cedric Thorne had no choice but to put on his sword and leave his house, considering that Ilya had said there was still a tiny bit of possibility.

What if?
Just like last night, no one in the capital could have imagined that someone would dare to beat up Fabius in a restaurant and even break his leg.

Perhaps the Simpler family, after so many years of rampant corruption in the empire, has simply encountered a time when their fortunes have reached their lowest point.

After Cedric joined the team, Ilya felt much more at ease.

Although she disliked Cedric's attitude, his strength as the commander of the Imperial Army was undeniable. If she had to choose someone who could fight Ethan, it would definitely be Cedric.

To ensure everything went smoothly, Ilya also knocked on the door of the Great Sage Sera's house along the way.

Sera was also sleepy-eyed, her hair and clothes were disheveled, and there was a hint of lewdness coming from the other side of the door.

The seemingly holy sage actually has many surprising quirks behind the scenes. This is an unspoken secret among them. Ilya guesses that Sera has probably taken a fancy to one of the boys from the Aid Society and brought him home for "after-school tutoring" again.

After Ilya emphasized the seriousness of the situation, Sera, like Cedric, reluctantly changed into the Great Sage's robes and picked up the staff that had been set aside since the Demon King was defeated.

Her companionship with the hero earned her enough prestige to become the "saint" in the eyes of many. Her maxims represented justice, and the children of the mutual aid society worshipped her, believing every word she said. This made her so happy that she almost forgot about day and night.

As for the other members of the hero's team, they all returned home in glory, just like Hetia.

The unusually red moon in the night sky had disappeared at some point. When Ilya arrived at the mansion of Grand Duke Ash with a heart full of trepidation, her heart was in her throat. Even on the eve of facing the Demon King, she had never been as nervous as she was now.

After all, the Demon King is the embodiment of hatred created by the Empire. Its essence is merely a product of some kind of black magic and summoning magic. It comes from an ancient magic book, written by a misleading author named the Silver Emperor.

In reality, that person was not a king, and there has never been a dynasty ruled by him in history.

No one knows the exact identity of the Silver Emperor. Historians speculate that he may have been a court mage who gave himself such an arrogant name. His only noteworthy achievement was his research and development of "ancient magic," which he somehow discovered.

After understanding the true nature of the Demon King, it is not actually difficult to deal with it. It has never been out of the Empire's control. On the contrary, it has always played a useful role, diverting the Empire's attention and taking the blame for them, becoming the embodiment of being hated and feared by the people.

However, even now, Ilya is unsure what Ethan really is.

"Be ready for a fight."

She whispered a reminder to the listless Sera: Cedric had perfectly fulfilled the hero's past responsibilities in the team, and if an encounter broke out later, all the damage should be borne by Cedric, while they only needed to hide in the shadows and cast spells—this was the hero's team's standard tactic.

Ilya cheered herself up. After all, they had defeated creations made by ancient magic. Could Ethan be more powerful than the Silver Emperor?
She made up her mind, gripped her staff tightly, and entered Grand Duke Escher's mansion.

This place has now become another battleground.

until……

The three were stopped by patrolling guards.

When asked about their purpose, the guards' expressions changed drastically. Their gazes deeply disturbed Ilya—they were the kind of gazes one would give a mentally challenged child, a look she had never experienced before.

However, due to their status as holy mages and nobles, the guards still subtly conveyed that Grand Duchess Ash was perfectly safe, implying that she shouldn't put so much pressure on herself and cause unnecessary speculation.

Such accusations are unforgivable crimes for anyone, and Mr. Ethan is a distinguished guest of the Simpler family. For Ilya, as a Saint Mage, to say those words was rather...unprofessional.

"Cedric, you should understand, right?"

Ilya could only look to Cedric for help, a habitual gesture of hers.

In the past, whenever she sought help from the hero Solan, he would step forward and help her solve her problems.

However, Cedric gave the same look as the guards, "In fact, I don't understand."

He looked around. “You mentioned that Grand Duke Esch may have been murdered, but to my opinion, there are no signs of a struggle here.”

Ilya looked at Sera again, but this time, the Great Sage did not stand firmly on her side as before. Sera was clearly still unhappy because Ilya had spoiled her mood. "No matter what, your deduction is too far-fetched."

"You suspect that Grand Duke Escher was murdered!?"

Upon hearing this, the guards in the manor raised their voices, and a hint of disgust appeared in their eyes as they looked at the mentally challenged child. What they had said before could be taken as the pampered young lady having paranoia, but now she was questioning their serious dereliction of duty as guards of the Simpler family.

How can this Holy Mage be both stupid and wicked?
"We need to confirm the safety of Grand Prince Esh."

Ilya gritted her teeth and defended her ideas. She even secretly hoped that Grand Duke Ash had been killed, so that she could prove that she was the one who was right, and that all those who questioned her were the real fools!

Don't these idiots understand?
While they were putting on their pretense of patrolling, Grand Duke Escher was most likely murdered in his sleep...

Huh?
A few minutes later, when Ilya was led into the manor’s drawing room by the guards, she stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Cedric let out a long sigh, revealing an expression that said, "I knew it."

Grand Duke Esche was not only alive, but also sober. He was sitting opposite Ethan, talking animatedly about something. The atmosphere in the drawing room seemed very harmonious. Even Fabius was in the room, with a smile on his face.

In this room, Ilya saw all the accusations leveled against the crew, including those against the white-haired girl sitting next to Ethan on the sofa.

"Ilya, what are you doing here?"

Faced with Grand Duke Ash's question, Ilya opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word. This was completely different from what she had imagined. Why was Grand Duke Ash still alive, and even chatting amiably with the murderer of his bastard son?
All eyes in the room were now fixed on her, some with confusion, others with schadenfreude.

The guards all adopted a spectator's stance, wondering why Ilya had suddenly barged into the Simpler family manor and said those things. But to them, who had just met Grand Duke Ash and Mr. Ethan, such behavior was no different from that of a clown trying to attract attention.

Cedric stepped forward and added insult to injury for the speechless Illya, "The Holy Mage suspects you were assassinated, and the murderer is this white-haired lady."

"This is Lady Winter, a rather excellent witch in her homeland, and we are talking about her homeland."

Grand Duke Esch changed the subject, his gaze becoming stern. "Ilya, you must have some basis for saying that, right?"

"He's a crew member from Gear City, and he identified Ethan!"

Ilya felt like she was going crazy. Ethan was even giving her an innocent look, and everyone was staring at her in shock, as if she were the only clown in the room.

She's clearly the one closest to the truth!

She was a holy mage of the empire; when had she ever suffered such a humiliating disgrace!
"That's perfect. You all stay here, and I'll call the witness over!"

She was already quite exasperated. She wanted to see what Ethan would say when he confronted the crew. He would definitely make up a lot of lies, but she was sure she could see through the flaws in those lies and expose Ethan's true colors in front of everyone.

She was to keep a close eye on Ethan and not miss his every move.

Ilya asked Sera to bring in the witness; the waiting time must have been agonizing for Ethan.
He probably never dreamed that someone would witness the entire murder and escape from the rebel camp.

However, the reality appears to be quite the opposite.

Ethan readily agreed to Ilya's request for a standoff, and then continued his conversation with Grand Duke Ash as if nothing had happened. They talked about their homeland, about the profession of witches, and about a secluded academy where people sent their children to learn magic...

The atmosphere of the conversation was very harmonious. Even Fabius seemed less aggressive than usual, and his expression was much more peaceful and pleasing to the eye.

About fifteen minutes later, Sera returned with the escaped crew member.

However, after she entered the room, her expression became complicated, and she would occasionally glance at Ilya with a strange look.

"Come here, Grand Duke Esch himself is right here, you can tell me his crimes!"

Ilya's eyes burned with passion, but she was met with a bucket of cold water.

"Whose crime was it?"

The crew members looked bewildered.

“Ethan, and Miss Winter, you accused them of murdering Grand Duke Ash’s men, and you also suspect them of murdering Baron Flint and his family!”

"I didn't, don't make things up!"

The crew member tensed up immediately and quickly clarified to Grand Duke Esch, "I never said that. I just brought some news about the rebels. Most of them fled into the mountains after they dispersed."

"W-what did you say?"

Ilya's lips trembled with anger as she pointed at the crew member, "You didn't say that when you were at the Association!"

"Ilia..."

Sera said, "He wasn't even in the guild. The Imperial Army said he was right under their noses all night and never left... I asked the guild's mages, and they said you looked very tired when you got back, so you must have been asleep."

Hey?
Huh?
Ilya took a half step back, her mind suddenly went blank, and the stares around her made her wish she could disappear into a crack in the ground.

"It must be because Miss Ilya has been working too hard these days, after all, the Empire has been quite turbulent lately."

The only person to stand up for her was Ethan, whom she accused of murder. "It's undeniable that her intentions were good, but she also needs to balance work and rest and not push herself too hard."

Ilya and Ethan stared at each other for a long time. Faced with the undeniable facts, she also began to doubt herself.

Is it...

Is she really mistaken?
"However, I still wish Miss Ilya that you can catch the real culprit soon."

The anticipated final battle ended in such a bizarre way. As Cedric walked out of the Simpler family home, his eyes were filled with impatience.

The facts seem to prove once again that Ilya is a spoiled young lady who has been pampered by those around her. If she knocks on his door again in the middle of the night, he will be met with a closed door.

"Fortunately, Mr. Ethan didn't take your accusation to heart."

Before leaving, Cedric glanced at Ilya, "Otherwise, the scene will definitely be very ugly."

……

After everyone left, the amicable conversation in the reception room came to an end.

"It's getting late."

Winter spoke, and with a few gentle twitches of her index finger, the threads suspending Grand Duke Escher and Fabius began to move.

They control their behavior and their expressions.

Grand Duke Esch wore a smile, as if he had just finished a satisfying conversation, but his eyes remained fixed on Fabius.

That was his child, the sole heir of the Simpler family.

Fabius stared straight ahead, a smile on his face that seemed to never change.

"What a pity, it seems we missed our chance to call for help."

With a light tap of Winter's fingertips, Grand Duke Ash and Fabius sprang into action.

"It's time to turn off the lights."

She reminded Grand Duke Esch, who then stepped out of the drawing room in front of all the guards.

Everyone knew that two distinguished guests had arrived at the Simpler family.

(End of this chapter)