Lord: I have built a witch's sanctuary.

Chapter 156 The Possibility of Repair

After Lorraine finished speaking, only the crackling sound of burning firewood remained in the hall.

Evelyn stood still, firelight flickering in her purple eyes.

She didn't refute, nor did she turn and leave; she simply let her fingers slowly slide down the edge of the hood and rest against her side.

"You even noticed that."

Evelyn's voice remained cool and aloof, but it lacked the haughty arrogance she had displayed earlier.

She looked at Lorraine, a heavy weariness in her eyes.

Lorraine didn't move, her gaze fixed on the trump card of the Desa family.

"An incomplete ascension ceremony, coupled with haphazard magic guidance."

Lorraine's tone was calm. "Your magic circuit is already riddled with holes. Now, standing here, you have to expend 20% of your energy suppressing the backlash from the circuit just to breathe. How many more times can you attack? Three times? Or four times?"

Evelyn's eyelashes drooped, concealing the emotions in her eyes.

She remained silent for a long time, so long that Victor gripped the hilt of his sword so tightly it creaked, before she finally raised her head again.

"three times."

She readily admitted that her voice was dry and hoarse.

"After three more all-out attacks, my magic circuits will completely collapse, destroying my spirit foundation along with it. At that point, I will no longer be a sixth-tier witch, but a cripple who is even less than a mortal."

Anna stood behind, the pale flame at her fingertips dimming slightly.

She turned her head and glanced at Evelyn a couple more times.

As a fellow witch, she had heard of the torment of having one's magic circuits damaged.

It was like having your blood vessels filled with shards of glass; every time you used your magic, you had to endure excruciating pain.

"Since you know you're a cripple, why did you dare come to Frostwolf City alone?" Lorraine walked back up the steps, sat down in the main seat, and rested his elbows on the armrests.

Evelyn turned around, her gaze passing through the arched windows of the hall to the vast expanse of snow and wind outside.

"I have no other choice."

She tapped the edge of her black robe lightly with her fingertips.

"The Winter Lord ravaged the Northern Territory, and the nobles of the capital didn't dare utter a sound. But you not only killed him, you also excavated a mobile city from the Golden Age on this frozen land."

When the "Tower of Babel" was mentioned, Evelyn's breathing became heavier.

"Now, throughout the entire North, and even the entire Violet Kingdom, who isn't speculating what kind of legacy you unearthed from that ruin? A four-legged steel behemoth capable of shattering the formidable foundation that defeated the Winter Lord—"

She turned her head, her gaze fixed on Lorraine.

"I'm guessing too. I want to know if the Golden Age inheritance you hold contains a complete path to the sixth-order Sound Witch, or—if it contains an ancient secret method to repair the magic circuits."

Lorraine leaned back in her chair, her fingers interlaced in front of her abdomen, her expression calm.

"Does it matter to you whether you have it or not?"

Evelyn paused for a moment, then frowned.

"If not, then your trip today has been in vain." Lorraine spoke slowly, each word clearly enunciated. "But if I do have it, is Camille City prepared to pay the price?"

He leaned forward, his gaze sweeping over the steps and landing on Evelyn in the center of the hall.

"The Desa family has been running Camille City for generations, and their foundation is indeed profound. But as the Desa family's trump card, you should know better than anyone how much a path to the sixth rank of witches without any hidden dangers is really worth."

Lorraine tapped the investiture decree sent from the capital on the table.

"This is not the kind of awakening inheritance that's common among first or second-tier witches; this is sixth-tier. In the entire Violet Kingdom, there are only two publicly known sixth-tier witches. Even if your Desa family were to sell all your possessions, you still couldn't afford this perfect advancement path."

The light in Evelyn's eyes dimmed little by little.

Her originally straight back slumped visibly an inch after hearing those words.

Lorraine is right.

Even if Frostwolf City truly possesses such a heritage, what can the Desa family offer in exchange?

Thirty thousand magic crystals?

That's a joke compared to a sixth-tier inheritance.

To give the entire city of Carmíl, along with her ancestral estate, to Lorraine? Then her original intention of seeking this power to protect her family would be putting the cart before the horse.

She was caught in the middle, trapped in place by family interests and her disabled body.

Evelyn lowered her hands, her nails digging red marks into her palms.

Before she arrived, she had considered using force.

If they can subdue Lorraine and force him to hand over the inheritance, the Desa family can overcome the crisis.

But now, she saw the composure in Lorraine's eyes.

From beginning to end, the young lord showed not a trace of fear.

Evelyn couldn't see through the red-haired witch playing with white fire beside him, the knight wielding a sword, or even the hidden defenses within the lord's mansion.

Moreover, she only has three chances left to make a move.

If the Desa family were to risk their lives in Frostwolf City for a baseless speculation, they would be torn to shreds by the politicians of the capital tomorrow.

Evelyn loosened her clenched fingers, and the veins on the back of her hand gradually disappeared.

"you're right."

Her voice was hoarse, and a deep sense of helplessness was evident in her eyes.

"The Desa family truly cannot afford this price. I was presumptuous today, disturbing the Earl's peace and quiet."

She pulled her hood up again, covering her long golden hair, her purple eyes, and her face filled with despair.

She placed her right hand on her chest, bowed slightly to Lorraine in the main seat, and gave a standard farewell.

Then she turned and walked toward the heavy wooden door of the hall, her leather boots making a dull sound as they stepped on the stone slabs.

One step, two steps.

That silhouette exuded the desolation of a hero at the end of his road.

But she never expected that Lorraine had no intention of letting her leave so easily.

"stop."

Just as Evelyn's hand was about to touch the door knocker, Lorraine's calm voice came from behind her.

Evelyn's leather boots stopped abruptly.

She didn't turn around, but maintained the posture of having her back to the hall, her shoulders under the hood slightly tense.

"Is there anything else you need, Earl of Lorraine? If the document of territorial trusteeship needs to be signed, the Desa family will send someone to deliver it at a later date."

Lorraine sat in the main seat, slowly toying with the decree of investiture.

"What's the rush? If you turn around and beg me again, I might be in a good mood and give you a new path to becoming a witch for free."

These words were spoken lightly, with a hint of teasing.

Evelyn turned around, kneeling, her fingers gripping the hem of her robe, a genuine anger rising in her purple eyes.

"Lorraine Frostwolf".

She addressed him by his first name, omitting even the honorific title of Earl, her voice as cold as the wind on an icy plain.

"While my Desa family may not have the resources to purchase a sixth-tier inheritance, we are not so despicable as to be humiliated like this. If you find it amusing to toy with a half-crippled person, feel free to draw your sword and see if my three attempts can take you down with me!"