WTBHI 101🔐

WTBHI

Chapter 101

That night, in the reception room of the Edel Grand Duchy.

Kenneth was teasing Chesion.

“Your Grace, I didn’t expect this, but you’re surprisingly cute.”

“Be quiet.”

Kenneth smirked with his ridiculously handsome face. After all, during the conversation, he had finally figured out what kind of misunderstanding Chesion had gotten himself into.

“But why is it so cold in the grand duchy? I feel chilly.”

“That’s because there are a lot of ghosts near you.”

“Huh? Ghosts?”

“All the ghosts in the mansion are flocking to you. They want to see your ‘glorious’ face.”

“Ha, haha. I didn’t know you could make such cute jokes, Your Grace.”

“I’m not joking.”

Kenneth glanced around uneasily and rubbed the goosebumps on his arms.

“Well, if witches and demons exist, ghosts aren’t that far-fetched either. But tell me, are the ghosts pretty?”

All the ghosts suddenly turned their attention to Chesion. For the sake of peace in the house, Chesion replied tactfully.

“…Yes.”

“That answer seemed a little slow.”

“I don’t lie about these things.”

“So they must be ugly.”

“Think what you want. But Duke, you might experience sleep paralysis tonight. Seems like the ghosts really like you.”

“Haha, I know you’re just trying to scare me because you don’t like me.”

Just then, Iris flew in through the open window. Having barely escaped the ghost hunter’s porcelain jar, she looked quite disheveled.

Chesion rushed over to her in a panic.

“Iris! What happened to you? Did you run into a witch on your way here?”

Kenneth clicked his tongue at the sight of the grand duke talking to thin air. He wondered whether he was the crazy one, or if it was Chesion.

Dawn came. Kenneth had fallen asleep in the guest room.

Chesion, however, couldn’t sleep. He was waiting for Mori to return.

‘I wonder if Mori’s okay.’

There was no way Gremory would lose to a Wraith who had lost their weapon, but he still couldn’t help worrying. What if she was struggling?

While he stared blankly out the window, a dog suddenly began barking somewhere in the distance. It sounded like a large, aggressive dog.

‘Why would there be barking? There are no dogs in the grand duchy.’

The barking grew louder. Curious, Chesion looked out the window.

And then he saw it—a massive blue wolf-like beast leaping over the mansion wall into the garden.

“Sharly? What’s she doing here?”

Sharly looked furious as she charged across the garden, easily breaking through the guards’ blockade.

She stopped at the front entrance of the mansion and began barking loudly, like she was staging a protest.

The noise woke up the servants, and they started gathering on the first floor. Chesion hurried down as well. As soon as he stepped outside, Sharly barked at him viciously.

“What is going on? Please explain.”

Bark!

Sharly bared her teeth and pointed to something she had written on the ground:

“The lake is contaminated. I knew this would happen. I told you that woman was no good!”

“Oh no… Sharly, calm down. I’ll figure something out.”

“There’s no way to fix it! The forest spirits tried everything and still failed! How do you expect a mere human like you to purify it?! Just give me your arm. That’s the only way the forest beasts will be satisfied!”

Grrr!

Sharly opened her jaws wide and lunged at Chesion. He blocked her teeth with the sheath of a summoned sword.

“Stop this! There has to be a way! Even if I have to use every sacred relic in the duchy to purify it—urgh!”

Sharly’s massive jaws began to twist the sheath. She was losing her mind, and Chesion hesitated, unsure if he should fight back.

Alice, watching nearby, grabbed a broom and whacked Sharly on the head.

“Oh ho ho! What a brute! Do you think biting off an arm will solve anything?”

Grrr! Sharly turned her attention to Alice and charged. Chesion quickly summoned his sword and stood between them.

Sharly stopped in front of the blade, finally calming down.

“You promised to take responsibility if the lake got contaminated. Now give me your arm. And never enter my forest again.”

Alice poked her head out from behind Chesion’s shoulder.

“Can I take a look at the lake? It was contaminated because of Princess Ibelia, who was affected by a witch, right? If the witch’s aura is the cause of the contamination, maybe I can purify it—as a witch myself.”

Bark! Sharly turned her head sharply, clearly displeased. But Alice didn’t back down.

“Oh ho~ think carefully, Sharly. The forest spirits worked endlessly and couldn’t fix it. But maybe I can solve it in one shot?”

…Bark.

Sharly barked meekly. Alice made a good point, and though she hated to admit it after all her rage, she couldn’t deny it made sense. She also didn’t like the idea of entrusting the purification to an evil witch.

“This is your only chance, Sharly. If you keep acting like this, I won’t help you. And you’re not getting our lord’s arm either~ hoho.”

Grrrr… bark…

Sharly let out a long sigh and covered her eyes with her front paws. As much as this irritated her, purifying the lake had to be the priority—even if it meant relying on the witch’s powers.

“If you fail to purify it, I’ll bite off your arm.”

“Try if you can~ hoho.”

Alice smirked and hid behind Chesion. Sharly, now resigned, whimpered while covering her eyes.

To unleash her powers, Alice had to deactivate the sacred barrier for a while. Then, she and Chesion rode swiftly to the Forest of Verdure.

When they arrived at the entrance, angry beasts and spirits growled and glared at them.

Bark! Sharly barked and motioned for them to follow. Alice and Chesion moved through the forest, flanked by hostile creatures.

At last, they reached the purification lake. Its waters, once crystal clear, had turned murky gray.

Alice crouched down and studied the foggy lake closely.

“Hmm, I definitely sense a witch’s aura… but something’s off.”

“What do you mean?”

Chesion leaned closer.

“It feels more like a demon lord’s energy.”

“What? But demon lords are bound to the Demon Realm—they can’t descend to the human world.”

“Demon lords possess all kinds of strange artifacts. They might’ve used one to influence our world.”

Perhaps sensing Alice’s presence, a dark shadow began swimming across the lake. In an instant, the shadow took human form and lunged at Chesion.

Just before it could grab him, Alice intercepted it.

“Aagh! What is this?! Let go!”

It was a fragment of Serietti, who had melted from Ibelia and now had her by the hair.

“Did you forget? No witch in the Demon Realm can match my reflexes~ hoho. Still, you’re awfully weak for a demon lord. Are you just a fragment?”

“None of your business! Let me go! That’s an order!”

Serietti’s avatar struggled in Alice’s grip.

“Nope. If I let you go, you’ll hurt our lord.”

“Damn it! You betrayed me and joined Gremory?! You think you’ll be safe after that?”

“As you can see, I’m perfectly fine. Hoho.”

Chesion approached the raging Serietti.

“I have a question.”

“Shut up and give me Gremory!”

“They say you’ve devoured countless witches already—enough to complete your demon lord ritual. So why are you still going after more witches and targeting Gremory?”

“It’s all because of her!”

Like someone in a frenzy, Serietti muttered in a daze.

“It’s all because of Amelia. If she hadn’t been born as my twin, Father wouldn’t have turned to that body-swapping black magic! I wouldn’t have become a demon lord!”