Become their wicked yet gentle lord.

Hetia's guard took out a map, looked at it, and nodded to her.

"That's right, there is a Stone Mountain Village."

He paused for a moment, then said softly, "There's a small lake nearby where we can water our horses..."

Hetia glared at the guard.

Although these four were his subordinates sent by His Highness and were loyal, they were far too ignorant.

In Hetia's eyes, these were all excuses; they just wanted to rest and couldn't distinguish between what was important and what wasn't!

The guard, who had been glared at, gave a wry smile.

The man could hold on, but the horse was truly nearing its end. Hetia didn't care whether the horse lived or died, but for them, the warhorse was the cavalryman's second life.

Hetia took the map and glanced at it. The location of Stone Mountain Village was in a different direction from that of Linhu Town, which meant that she would be delayed by a day.

He carried a mission from the princess, and the situation was extremely tense both in the capital and on the frontier.

Besides, these two girls in front of me are quite suspicious...

Even if I'm wrong, it's just a small village, nothing compared to Her Highness the Princess's grand cause!

Just as Hetia was making her judgment, a voice she disliked came from inside.

"Ah~ dear sister~ are you planning to just stand by and watch me die?"

Chapter 14 The Witch's Powers... A Slightly More Serious Side

Hetia looked at him with disgust, not even glancing at the freckled face that was walking towards her with a lewd expression. When the latter saw Xia Ya, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

When he was a lackey of a real noble young master, none of the girls he played with were as exceptional as this. Now that he's a young master himself, he's suddenly encountered one.

"Shishan Village belongs to Linhu Town and is also the fiefdom of our Tartu family. Sister, aren't you being incredibly irresponsible?"

"Tsk!" Hetia was annoyed by his voice.

"Could it be... the lord?"

Upon hearing what the freckled-faced man said, Kenny exclaimed and stood up.

“That’s right~ Protecting your people is the duty of a noble.” The freckled-faced man spoke with righteous indignation, but his eyes never left Xia Ya. The twenty cavalrymen looked as if they had swallowed flies.

The poor girl, who knows what she'll face...

"Am I right, sister? Don't you always talk about the glory of knights?"

"Ha!" Hetia ignored the mockery and pulled on the reins to leave, while the freckled man watched her beautiful back with a mixture of jealousy and lust in his eyes.

"Go ahead and be a hero if you want. Haven't your brand-new blades seen any blood yet?"

Hetia mocked the others and gave orders to her servants.

"Let's catch up with our supply truck and let them show off!"

“No! We have to go with Hetia.” The Viscountess finally spoke up, making Hetia’s expression even more disgusted.

"Just let me take a few people..."

"No way! What if you get hurt! They're just a bunch of lowly people! If you want those two girls, take them with you!"

She didn't care at all about saying that in front of everyone, as if the two girls weren't people, but objects.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the argument. Hetia, looking disgusted, cracked her whip, wanting to leave as quickly as possible. (The last two lines appear to be unrelated and possibly machine-generated text.)

No one noticed the faint glimmer of pale purple light in Kenny's eyes.

"Humming—Humming, humming, humming..."

Hetia's horse was in pain, but it hadn't gone far when it let out a painful neigh and collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

The guard who had previously hinted at spending the night in Shishan Village sighed.

He knows...

"Get up! Damn it!" No matter how much Hetia whipped the horse, it wouldn't get up, and the other horses in the caravan were also listless, seemingly lamenting their tragic fate together.

"There's no other way. It seems we can only go and kill those bandits and rest in Shishan Village..."

The freckled-faced woman smiled, and the Viscountess nodded in agreement.

It would be even better for them if Hetia stopped.

Shishan Village was in complete disarray. Courtyard gates were pushed open, shelves were scattered on the ground, and the entire village was deserted. Only a few corpses testified to the tragedy that had occurred...

"Grandma! Grandma! Where are you?!"

Kani cried out loudly, rummaging through the corpse on the ground, while Xia remained blank, the poor girl seemingly unable to comprehend what had happened.

Even the four guards couldn't help but complain about Hetia in their hearts at this moment.

"Go water the horses." Hetia frowned at the sight, turned her head away as if to avoid it, and gave the order to her subordinates.

"My sweet child..."

Suddenly, an old woman excitedly emerged from the woods behind the village, her hands trembling as she used her cane. Then, one villager after another popped up like groundhogs.

"That's wonderful, my child..."

The sight of the old woman holding her granddaughters in her arms was somewhat comforting.

The other villagers stared blankly at the cavalrymen before them, like zombies, as if the nobles were more terrifying than the bandits.

They were lucky. The bandits chasing the two sisters saw the cavalry and hurriedly went back to report, so the bandits fled in panic, and the villagers who were hiding in the back mountains escaped with their lives.

This isn't such a bad ending, is it?

The village chief came out to express his gratitude, the freckled-faced man and the soldiers were smug, the viscountess did not show up because she did not want to see the ragged villagers, and Hetia seemed to have lost some of her prestige.

The bandits have become increasingly audacious lately! Not only in this small village, but also reportedly in the vicinity of Linhu Town, where a militia has been stationed.

But now things are different! The noble lord has arrived! And justice has been served!

The group was basking in the village chief's incessant praise, and it seemed that coming to this remote and impoverished place wasn't so bad after all. But Hetia quickly poured cold water on their enthusiasm.

She declined the villagers' warm hospitality and went to a distant lake to graze her horses and set up camp.

Why choose to suffer when you have good fortune to enjoy? Perhaps she was too ashamed to accept it, but as soon as she left, the Viscountess insisted on following, much to the chagrin of the cavalrymen and the freckled-faced man.

"Have those two girls bring some wine and meat! My son saved their lives!"

As the Viscountess spoke, the freckled face finally perked up, the village chief bowed and scraped, while Carney looked uneasy.

The cavalrymen fell silent, their previous heroic spirit vanished completely.

Some people turned their gaze to Hetia, hoping for the first time that she would step forward and say something, but she turned and walked away, as if nothing had happened to her...

Some people turned their gaze to Hetia, hoping for the first time that she would step forward and say something, but she turned and walked away, as if nothing had happened to her...

Well, what else can we do...?

The group looked at the black-haired girl, who remained as still as a beautiful sculpture, her black eyes simply watching them, as if nothing concerned her.

From this perspective, it's probably better if he's an idiot...

Around the campfire, the cavalrymen roasted livestock slaughtered by the villagers and drank cheap beer. The long-lost joy quickly made them forget their troubles, and they drank beer and sang songs.

Even Hetia, who was camping alone, did not refuse the beer offered by her subordinates. As if escaping reality, she gulped it down, the foamy beer flowing from her lips and down her neck, wetting the towering armor on her chest. The rounded breastplate gleamed beautifully in the firelight.

Kani was grilling meat, while Xia Ya poured wine for the freckled-faced man with a blank expression, completely unaware of the gazes directed at her.

As the alcohol took effect, some people's sense of morality faded, and they even started thinking that the beautiful younger sister belonged to the young master, while the unremarkable older sister...

bang... bang...

With that thought in mind, they all fell into a deep sleep.

The entire camp fell silent, save for the crackling of the campfire...

"So, do you believe me now?"

Kanie, or rather Kania, shrugged at her 'sister,' then snapped her fingers, her face blurring and shifting before regaining her stunning beauty.

'Xia Ya' went to the water's edge and vigorously washed her face, transforming into a handsome young man with a face that was eight parts similar to the original, but clearly a boy.

"Why am I the one playing the 'bait'?"

Ryuka ripped the ribbon off her head and glared coldly at Kania.

"I don't want to be stared at, except for you, of course~ How does it feel?"

"I want to kill you." Ryuka chuckled.

This woman! She spent half a day enthusiastically applying women's makeup, and then used magic to transform herself into an ordinary village girl!

If you have such methods, why bother with makeup?

Ryuka realized that she had been tricked by Kania.

As a descendant of a cruel witch, Kania's abilities are primarily related to control, seduction, desire, deception, and torture.

[Charm] can not only control people who are weaker and simple-minded than her, such as bandits, villagers, and horses, but can also change people's cognition to a certain extent.

Kania's control over the number of people and their strength is still limited. If she had the strength of the Primordial Witch, she wouldn't need things like slave scrolls. And her growth path is also very enviable.

Making you stronger simply by having sex! Or any other act that arouses desire—in short, anything that satisfies a witch's nature will make her magic stronger and stronger…

Of course, it's easy for witches to learn spells from the magic system, but they are better at using their innate abilities. However, Kania has not yet been exposed to formal magic training. Even among cruel witches, the talents of their offspring are all kinds of strange and wonderful.

Kania is... showing signs of her ancestor's influence?

"I was asking about your impressions of them," Kania said, pointing to the cavalry on the ground. "After observing them up close for a day, do you think what I said was true or false?"

"This mother and son do fit the scumbag stories you mentioned, but what surprised me was Hetia." Ryuga's gaze fell on the unconscious female knight in the distance.

"I thought she would be better, after all, your intelligence said she had an inspiring upbringing, was brave and loyal..."

Disappointed?

"No, I feel much more comfortable on the contrary. If she were good enough, I'm afraid I would hesitate."

Ryuka pouted.

Chapter 15 Actors, Audience, Actors

"Being inspiring and loyal doesn't necessarily mean someone is a good person, besides..."

"Stop lecturing me, neither of us are exactly saints." Ryuka interrupted Kania, getting straight to the point. "Let's get started."

"Okay, let's get started."

What follows is the final act.

As soon as dawn breaks, the drunken cavalrymen will find themselves surrounded by the corpses of bandits.

Apart from Hetia, the strongest among them, the others were all drunk and encountered another group of bandits fleeing from Linhu Town, their lives hanging by a thread.

But a young hunter secretly behind them intervened, joining forces with Hetia to defeat the bandits and rescue the forest ranger's daughter who had been kidnapped by them.

Unfortunately, the Viscountess, her son, and several cavalrymen who were known for their misdeeds perished in the chaos.

Of course, all of this came from their new lord, Hetia Tartu.

But at this moment, Ryuka and Kania made no move in the night wind.

"Why haven't you made a move yet?"

Why aren't you doing anything?

The two looked at each other and tilted their heads simultaneously.

"?"

"?"

A deathly silence...

Ryuka spoke first: "You made the plan. I only agreed to help you carry it out. If any unexpected conflicts occur, I'll be responsible for the fighting. Of course, you'll be the one to kill!"

Kania retorted confidently, "No, no, no~ The territory is our shared benefit, but I helped you recruit a female slave knight, and I even provided the scroll, so of course it's your turn to do it."

Good heavens, this is what they've been waiting for! Liu Xia's lips twitched. This cunning woman! She wouldn't sell me out one day, would she?

"I'm a lady, how could I be asked to do something like this?"

"Lady? The corpses in Shishan Village, what about those bandits disguised as villagers? I thought they were disguised, but they are real dead people."