What witch? The Deadly Pharmacist!

After all the other students left the lecture hall, Melissa handed the assignment to an older nun.

"Thank you." The nun took the assignment. "Have you been keeping up in class lately? Is there anything you don't understand?"

"Not at the moment," Melissa gently shook her head.

“You can come to my office anytime you don’t understand anything. You’ve been studying very hard, but you’ve fallen behind quite a bit before. Although the coursework may be a bit demanding, I think you should still have a chance to get into the district church school in a year,” the nun said gently.

"Yes, I will try my best. Thank you, Granny." Melissa thanked her earnestly.

Among the twenty-five children in this reformatory, Melissa felt that she was the most special.

First of all, she was sent to the reformatory only because her mother was convicted of blasphemy by the court as a witch.

The other people's parents were mostly convicted of engaging in illegal transactions prohibited by the church—similar to Leon's case, except they weren't charged with apostasy, so their cases weren't as serious.

Only two students were slightly different; their fathers appeared to be inquisitors at the Inquisition, who were reportedly arrested for dereliction of duty.

Logically speaking, in the eyes of the acting officer here, she should be the one whose family background is closest to the word "heretic".

But she could sense that she was the most cared for here. The nanny in charge of the place was very patient with her and would ask her from time to time if she had encountered any difficulties recently.

To be honest, she's actually doing quite well here, at least much more easily than when she used to work all day and have to go home to take care of her mother.

At this moment, the old doorman walked quickly to the lecture hall door, glanced at the children lined up outside, looked inside, first bowed to the nun, and then called out to Melissa, "Melissa Hersh, you have a visitor."

A few minutes later, a bewildered Melissa was led to the visiting room near the gatehouse.

When Melissa saw Leon sitting in the visiting room, her eyes widened in surprise.

The visiting room in the reformatory wasn't separated by a fence; it only had a table and two chairs, nothing else.

The acting doorman would usually stay in the visiting room to wait, but Leon turned to look at the old doorman and whispered to him, "Could we talk alone?" The old man then gestured for ten minutes, closed the door, and left.

Leon, after all, held some authority in the local inquisition of heretics within the church, and could still show some respect to the ordinary magistrates there, not to mention that he had given them a box of good quality tobacco when he arrived.

“Melissa,” Leon stood up and said in as calm a tone as possible, “I’ve come to see you.”

Melissa stared at Leon for a long time, then finally hummed in agreement, walked over and sat down in the seat opposite Leon, keeping her head down and saying nothing.

The atmosphere was a bit stiff, but in Leon's opinion, it was still within the normal range. This was much better than turning away with a cold face and refusing the meeting the moment they met.

Since Melissa sat down, at least she was willing to listen to him.

"I visited your mother the day before yesterday. You should have already heard about the verdict. There are some new developments I'd like to tell you..."

Leon organized his thoughts and then began to explain, in a voice only the two of them could hear, how he had gained power through certain transactions, allowing him to secretly take care of Selene and administer drugs to her.

When it was mentioned that the current medication could help Selena maintain her condition, Melissa immediately looked up and gave Leon a questioning look.

Leon saw hope again in Melissa's eyes, just as he had when he brought Lena to treat Selene.

He nodded to Melissa, then lowered his gaze, trying to find the right words in his mind.

“Melissa, to be honest, I can’t give you a definite guarantee. But right now, I still want to try to save your mother. I have some plans, although I can’t explain them to you in detail right now…” He hesitated for a moment, then laughed self-deprecatingly, “Okay, I might not be very convincing to you anymore, but…”

He raised his face as he spoke, then suddenly stopped.

He noticed that Melissa was staring at him with wide, unwavering eyes, tears streaming down her face and dripping onto the table.

“Melissa?” Leon looked at Melissa in astonishment.

Chapter 119 Becoming an Important Person to Brother Leon

He had only spoken halfway when Melissa suddenly burst into tears, something Leon hadn't expected.

Melissa seemed to only then come to her senses, realizing that her eyes and face were wet, and hurriedly raised her hand to wipe them with her sleeve.

"I'm fine!" Melissa kept wiping away her tears. "Strange, what happened to me..."

Hearing what Leon said, she didn't know why, but her nose tingled and tears started streaming down her face.

Leon could only sit there silently, waiting for Melissa to calm down. After a while, Melissa finally wiped away her tears and looked at Leon, saying, "Mom's condition has stabilized, which means... she won't die, right?"

The church did not sentence Selene to death. If the medicine could keep Selene alive, then theoretically, Selene would at least be safe from death.

“We can’t say that too definitively,” Leon replied cautiously. “We’re just stabilizing her condition at the current level. She still has many health problems and complications could arise at any time, so we still need to find a way to develop a drug that can reverse her condition.”

"Furthermore, your mother's detention period is five years. During these five years, she can remain in Hamel. After five years, she should be transferred to another institution. That way, I won't be able to secretly administer medication to her anymore. Keeping her alive with medication while she's in custody might arouse suspicion from the church."

The court sentenced Selene to only five years, mainly because Selene was nearing the end of her life. If Selene had lived for a long time while in custody, people would have become suspicious.

“What should we do then…” Melissa became worried again.

“I already have a plan for this,” Leon said, lowering his voice to a whisper. “I will get your mother out of prison before her detention period ends!”

"Is this even possible?" Melissa's eyes widened, somewhat incredulous.

That day, when Sally left home to turn herself in at the Inquisition, she was already mentally prepared to never see her mother again.

“Through my dealings with those people, I’ve already become the deputy director of the Inquisition. If nothing unexpected happens, I’ll also become the director. Once the conditions are right, I can put my plan into action. Melissa, I will do my utmost in this matter,” Leon said earnestly.

"What do I need to do?" Melissa asked softly.

“Just focus on your studies here. Don’t mention what I said to anyone, and don’t mention it in your letters to your mother either; your letters might be censored. Then, just wait,” Leon instructed. He paused slightly, looking at Melissa and asking, “Melissa, can you do that?”

Melissa looked back into Leon's eyes and sensed his determination, which stirred something within her.

Without much hesitation, she nodded vigorously.

At that moment, she felt an urge to cry again, so she quickly lowered her head and blinked repeatedly, finally managing to hold back her tears.

She finally realized that her tears were not from sadness, but from joy, because her mother had a chance to be saved, and at the same time, her "Brother Leon" had returned!

When Leon and Selena explained the truth to her, she was shocked like never before.

She knew she liked Leon, liked him very much. To her, Leon had always been like a hero who saved them, like a prince in a fairy tale!

But on that day she learned the true nature of her brother Leon: Leon was a criminal who had persuaded her mother to buy her mother's life in a deal.

She never spoke to Leon again after that. She didn't know how to face Leon, and she didn't know what kind of feelings she should have for him.

Resentment, or disappointment? Something seemed off, and for many nights, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

And now, Leon has returned to save them once again.

She burst into tears of joy. It turned out that her brother Leon had never changed; he was still her hero!

"Thank you for still believing in me." Leon felt a great weight lifted off his shoulders.

Melissa finally calmed her urge to cry, raised her head again, and whispered, "Since you already had a plan, why did you only come to see me now?"

After calming down, she even felt a little resentful towards Leon.

It has been half a year since she entered the reformatory, and Leon has not come to see her, only occasionally sending her some things.

If she had known Leon's thoughts sooner, at least she wouldn't have had to endure this torment for so long.

“The plan hadn’t even started yet, and I was worried that if I told you too early, it would disappoint you if something went wrong. Also, I was afraid you would still resent me. When I came here, I was prepared for you not to see me,” Leon replied somewhat apologetically. “I’m sorry, Melissa.”

“Fool…” Melissa looked away and muttered in a voice only she could hear.

"Huh?" Leon didn't hear clearly.

Melissa shook her head: "I've never blamed you, Leon. Mother's illness, our debts, none of it is your fault. On the contrary, it's you, and..."

As she spoke, the image of Bishop Leona... or rather, Miss Witch Leona's face flashed into her mind, and she suddenly felt a pang of pain in her heart.

“On the contrary, it was you and Miss Lena who helped us the whole time, and it was Mom’s decision to accept the conditions in the end. I didn’t actually do anything,” Melissa said softly.

“You’ve been incredibly strong to get through all this. Oh, and today is your birthday. I ordered a cake and they said it could be shared with the children here at dinner. I also have a gift for you. I didn’t wrap anything because everything brought in here needs to be inspected.”

Leon took out the gift he had prepared: a box of pretty hair clips, along with a comb and a small mirror. Since it wasn't appropriate to give extravagant gifts in the reformatory, he tried to choose something suitable for a girl.

Melissa's hair is still growing very fast. Almost a year and a half has passed since she sold her hair last year, and she has grown it to more than 20 centimeters long.

Melissa stared blankly at the open makeup box, took it, and gently held it in her arms for a while before looking at Leon: "Thank you, Brother Leon."

“If you need anything, contact me anytime. I’ve already told the doorman that you just need to give him the letter and tell him to deliver it to Leon Seth, and he will mail it directly to me.” Leon said, taking out his pocket watch and glancing at it. It was almost visiting hours. “It’s about time. I should go.”

"Brother Leon, when will you come again next time?" Melissa looked at Leon with reluctance.

“I have to go out of town to take an exam, and I might not be back for a few days. I’ll prepare your mother’s medicine in advance. If nothing unexpected happens, I’ll come to see you again next week,” Leon replied.

“Okay, I’ll be waiting for you.” Melissa’s eyes shone as she looked at Leon.

"Then I'll be going." Leon stood up with a smile. This meeting had somewhat eased his mind.

“Hmm…” Melissa also stood up, then suddenly remembered something, and her expression changed slightly.

She opened her mouth as if to call out to Leon, but then hesitated.

"What's wrong?" Leon noticed the change in her expression and asked.

Melissa quickly shook her head and forced a smile: "It's nothing, it's just... don't forget."

At this moment, the old gatekeeper walked in and nodded to Leon: "Sir, it's time."

“Okay.” Leon nodded in response, then waved to Melissa. “Take care.”

"Goodbye, Brother Leon." Melissa waved as well.

As she watched Leon turn and walk out the door, her eyes involuntarily turned melancholy.

Just a moment ago, she actually had something she wanted to ask Leon—about Lena.

She had always wanted to know what the relationship was between Leon and Lena, and this feeling became even more urgent after meeting Leon again.

But she didn't ask in the end, not so much because she didn't have enough time, but because she was afraid to ask.

She vaguely knew the answer: Leon had confessed to her and her mother, and traded almost all his money with them in order to rescue Lena. It goes without saying how important Lena was to him.

Just thinking about it makes her feel like her heart is being squeezed tight.

Leon helped them in the past out of compassion, but now he is going all out because he feels responsible for his mother's choice to make a sacrifice at a crucial moment.

But what is she to Leon?

Throughout the entire process, whether it was saving her mother or helping her brother Leon, she actually accomplished nothing, which left her feeling deeply powerless.

To Leon, she was a hero, a prince in a story, an incredibly important person. But how important could she be to Leon?

She knew very well that she was not a princess at all; to Leon, she was probably just like a younger sister at best.

She didn't want to hear that answer, so in the end she didn't dare ask anything.

Melissa said goodbye to the old doorman and headed towards the dining hall.

If you want to become an important person to Leon, you must be like Miss Lena, become someone useful to him, or even... indispensable!

What if she also became a witch?

The thought flashed through her mind, but she quickly realized it was unrealistic.

No, neither Mom nor Leon would agree.

Moreover, Melissa really lacked the confidence to become a witch as powerful as Lena.

Suddenly, she remembered something her grandmother had said in class: "Your study here is a blessing from the church. To show that God's mercy is equal for all of you, students who perform exceptionally well here can be recommended to the district church's college, where you can have the opportunity to hold positions in the church..."

Leon's brother works in the church and also in a dangerous profession. Will he need another person who also works in the church to help him?

Thinking of this, Melissa silently hugged the jewelry box in her hands tighter.

Chapter 120 The Emperor's Illegitimate Son

Several days later, in the southeastern diocese of the Empire, at the St. Orlando Cathedral.

Led by a priest, Leon entered a small room for rest.

He came here to take the general knowledge test for obtaining a church rank, which is, in short, a formal written exam administered by the church. This test is held twice a year in the seven dioceses of the empire.

Just as Bishop Beckett had arranged, he arrested the informant, used judicial transactions to uncover key clues, and helped the church successfully seize millions of assets, making a great contribution. Then, with Bishop Beckett's recommendation, it was no surprise that he won the assessment spot.

"Please wait here. When the exam begins, someone will escort you to the examination hall." The acting officer finished speaking and bowed to Leon.

"Thank you." Leon watched the acting officer leave the room and glanced around the rest area.

Tea and snacks were laid out on the small tea table in the lounge. Two people, a man and a woman, were already waiting inside before he arrived. They were about the same age as him. The man wore a custom-made monk's robe over his shirt, while the woman wore the formal attire usually worn by apprentice knights. They seemed to be having a pleasant conversation before Leon came in.

As soon as Leon arrived, they stood up and met his gaze.