Witch Hunter Rhapsody

After Viya's death was discovered by a friend she was visiting, the news spread throughout the not-so-large city in three days. People were shocked that this wizard, who rarely appeared in the public eye but was famous, had actually died.

Viya is an eccentric character, or so anyone who knows her would say. In the evening, she would take off her mage's pointed hat and put on a knitted hat to cover her hair, transforming into the kind of woman you could see anywhere in the city, wandering through the city's alleys.

Some say she's preparing to kidnap children for her own experiments, while others say she enjoys thinking while taking walks.

However, these rumors will eventually disappear with Viya's death.

Etherah Hammer wasn't interested in any of this. Wizards and the courtesan who inexplicably appeared at the scene were too far removed from her life. It was only the idle chatter of the guests waiting to retrieve their armor that brought her so many of these stories.

She shook her head, took a deep breath, and tried to banish these thoughts. The day's work was not easy, and the incessant cawing of the crows outside was also irritating.

As the daughter of a renowned armorer in the city, maintaining the armor delivered by customers is her daily task. Of course, Ethera herself enjoys this work. Each set of knight's armor embodies her own understanding of chivalry and identity. The armor of those of high status is magnificent and exquisite, while the armor of those of low status is simple and clean. The glory behind both is equal.

Even though Etherra is no longer a girl who dreams of being a knight, she still gets a lot of thoughts every time she wipes these suits of armor.

Knights, heroes, virtues, oaths...

She carefully removed the helmet from the armor she was maintaining that day, and that was her task. Next came the shoulder armor, breastplate, arm armor… leather straps, leather padding…

The armor is in pretty good condition, without any annoying mud, but just to be on the safe side, it still needs to be brushed carefully with a soft brush.

Ether carefully cleaned the intricate patterns and grooves of the armor, perhaps wasting a bit of time, as even the most complex gold patterns and the deepest joints were free of ordinary grime.

After confirming that there were no clumps of mud, blood scabs, or other solid residues, Ether temporarily stepped away from the armor, mixed the prepared wood ash and warm water together, stirred it evenly, and then picked up a soft linen cloth, dipped it in water, and wiped the surface.

She loved the flame-shaped gilded patterns on the armor; these patterns resembled both flowers and flames.

However, what should have been a gorgeous design appeared somber due to the helmet's style.

Ether looked up at the helmet again. It was a fully enclosed heavy armor helmet with a pair of huge curved bull horns and two sharp, vertical spikes pointing towards the top of the head. The area around the eyes was a narrow, dark slit, sinister and eerie.

This is quite in line with Mr. Vitalius's style.

Etherra still remembers the first time she met Mr. Vitalius.

Vitas had just arrived in Ortham City, and his armor made him quite conspicuous even on the streets where knights often traveled in full gear. When Etherra opened the door to greet him, she was quite startled.

At that time, Vitas's armor was covered with black stains and crimson marks, and through the eye slits, she could see his deep blue eyes, filled with anger and depth, like the sky before sunrise.

Where did Mr. Vitalius come from, knight?

Etherra had asked this question, but Vitas only replied somewhat dejectedly, "Knight? Etherra, I am unworthy to be a knight. I broke my oath, I failed to save my companions, who had sworn allegiance to me..."

At that moment, the sadness on Mr. Vitalius's face seemed to become a mask, and it took a long time for him to return to his usual self.

Ether felt that her question was terrible.

She suddenly heard her father's voice: "Mr. Vitalius! Why are you here so early? Your little girl is cleaning your armor!"

Then came Vitas's usual deep and steady voice.

"Yes, I know. I just didn't have anything else to do today, so I came to check in early."

"Then I'll trouble you to supervise my daughter's work!"

Etherra started to get nervous again. When they first met, she subconsciously judged Mr. Vitalis to be a rugged-looking man based on the style of his armor. However, she didn't realize that he was a rather handsome young man with a noble demeanor until Vitalis took off his helmet. After realizing her mistake and her unwarranted stereotype, she found it difficult to look Vitalis in the eye.

Vitas walked in, his hair casually tied back, wearing a fitted short leather coat and a hooded leather cloak, his hands clasped behind his back, as always.

"Hello, Mr. Vitalius!"

Etherra bowed nervously, seeing how the other ladies expressed their respect.

She cautiously observed Vitas's expression; he wore a polite smile and gave a very courteous reply.

"Don't worry about me. I'm just a lazy bum now. You go back to your work."

Wipe with wood ash water, dry with a coarse cloth, then hand it over to the apprentices to be dried in a dryer, and then bring it back to remove rust and apply oil. This is a process that has been memorized.

But now Aesera felt extremely uncomfortable. She had worked under the watchful eyes of guests before, but Vitas's gaze was completely different.

Should I try to find something to say? But if I do that, won't it seem like I'm not paying attention?

As Etherra was struggling with her decision, she heard Vitas speak first.

"Aisera, you look a little nervous."

"Um... your armor is so exquisite, I'm afraid I'll damage it."

"No need to be so polite. In the end, it's just a suit of armor."

Etherra noticed a hint of sadness on Vitas's face. Knights are always like that; how can one be called a knight without experiencing life and death? We need to change the subject.

"Mr. Vitalius, have you heard about the witch Via?"

"That witch? I heard she's dead."

Vitas's sadness vanished, replaced by curiosity. Ether was pleased with her own wit; sure enough, Mr. Vitas was also interested in such matters.

"So you knew about it too. I heard that a rather famous woman died with her..."

Suddenly, Ether was interrupted by another man.

"Mr. Vitalius! Hello, I am Oram, Oram Scott."

Vitas was completely bewildered, but the man named Oram enthusiastically pulled him along. Left with no other choice, Vitas had to temporarily say goodbye to Aetheran and speak with Oram alone.

"I've always wanted to meet you, Mr. Vitalius. You're quite famous among us now! Oh, and of course, I'm saddened by what has happened."

Vitas's expression shifted, and he asked, "What is there for me to be sad about?"

Orlam was taken aback, then said.

"It's Elizabeth, her death was a real loss for us all... Oh, sorry, you don't want people to know about this, do you?"

Vitas's tone turned serious.

"Were you following me?"

"No, no! I... When I went there last time, I saw you come out of a room. With such a tall and strong figure, I knew it was you. Then I asked and found out that you were also a guest of Elizabeth..."

Orlam sensed something was off and quickly added something.

"Of course, it's a secret, a secret between men."

Vitas's expression was grave. He glanced around; no one had indeed heard the conversation.

He naturally wouldn't mind if others discovered that he went to such a place, but his purpose in getting close to Elizabeth was to assassinate Viya.

If his relationship with Elizabeth were exposed, it would be difficult not to arouse suspicion.

But if it's just a matter of the relationship being exposed... it doesn't really matter.

When did you see it?

"Just three days ago, you must have had a wonderful night, perhaps the last man to spend a night with Elizabeth."

Vitas realized that the person in front of him had witnessed him being with Elizabeth on the day he assassinated Via and recognized him. Just because he didn't realize the connection didn't mean others wouldn't.

What do you want?

"No, Mr. Vitalius, I'm not here to blackmail you; I just want to be your friend."

"Friend...hehe, yes, friend, then Mr. Orlam Scott, please forgive my intrusion, I need to leave for the time being."

"Okay, sure, please go ahead."

Vitas turned around with a serious expression; he needed to shut this guy up completely.

He left the workshop and waited in a nearby alley for Oram to leave. Then, a raven circled overhead.

Vitas followed Oram and found his residence.

On the third street from the left on West Third Road, there's a building with a short pine tree in front of it on the second floor, and a doorman's room on the first floor.

"Gah, gah, Your Excellency Knight, you actually made such a mistake."

A crow mocked Vitas, and this is how he responded:

"Shut up, you bastard."