Witch Training Manual: My Water Magic Is Wrong

Wayne looked away and continued mixing potions.

The panel reappeared.

[Kingdom of Wiggins - Queen - Character Information - Supplement]

[Name: Evelyn Heinrich. Age: Thirty. Status: Queen of Wiggins, wife of King Antep III. Before marriage, she was the eldest daughter of the Duke of Heinrich of the Northern Continent.]

She married into the Wiggins royal family at the age of twenty. At that time, Antep III was still a prince, his magical talent already evident, as were his intellectual disabilities. Her father, Duke Heinrich, opposed the marriage for a simple reason: he didn't believe a fool could bring his daughter happiness. But she insisted on marrying him. Her reason was also simple: she didn't want to stay in the North Continent; it was too cold there.

[Personality: shrewd, pragmatic, and patient. She spent ten years transforming herself from an unappreciated foreign princess into the true ruler of the Kingdom of Wiggins. The king listened to her, the ministers listened to the king, and the church… while not entirely devoted to her, dared not openly oppose her. Ten years later, few of those who thought she was a puppet still stand in court.]

[Note: She is your father Lynch's distant cousin. This is an open secret among the upper echelons of the Wiggins Kingdom. Marquis Lynch's rise from a minor border noble to his current position is inseparable from this blood relationship. Lynch played a significant role behind the scenes in securing this relocation order.]

[Note 2: She knows you exist. To be precise, she knows Marquis Lynch has a son who is a priest in Frostshire. She doesn't have any particular opinion of you; she neither wants to win you over nor suppress you. A priest in a small border town isn't worth her time. Unless you come to her yourself.]

Wayne's hand paused for a moment.

The queen was his father's distant cousin.

He really didn't know about this relationship.

It wasn't that he didn't know, but that he hadn't thought about it that way. In his mind, Marquis Lynch was just a sycophantic minor nobleman, a scoundrel who sold his son to curry favor with the Pope. Now that he thought about it, he probably climbed to the position of marquis not just because of his shamelessness.

He went through this information in his mind, then stood up and put the bottles and jars on the table back on the shelf.

Hena disappeared two days ago.

That morning, Wayne knocked on her door, but no one answered. He pushed the door open and saw the blankets neatly folded, the pillows arranged in perfect order, and a note on the table. The note simply read: "Human, I'm going out to run some errands. I'll be back soon—Hena."

Wayne read the line twice.

Getting things done? What could a demon who's just turned into a human possibly do?

It wasn't until today, when he discovered that two-thirds of the money bag he hid under his bed was missing, that he realized the seriousness of the problem. He counted it again and again, confirming that he hadn't misremembered—one hundred gold coins were missing, fifty silver coins were missing, but not a single copper coin was missing.

Wayne leaned back in his chair.

One hundred gold coins.

How long did it take him, a priest, to save up this little bit of wealth without eating or drinking? Meanwhile, Hena just disappeared with a note, and all her money was gone.

If Wayne hadn't known that Hena was an abyssal demon, he would have suspected that he had been scammed.

But he just happened to understand her.

Moreover, it's a deep, thorough understanding.

Wayne retied the money pouch and placed it on his waist.

Forget it.

I imagine she also had an alcoholic father, a crybaby mother, a younger brother who was studying, and a hardworking woman.

Consider it... a donation to charity.

Wilford arrived that afternoon.

He wore a navy blue long coat with a silver brooch at the collar, and his hair was wiped with water and lay flat against his scalp.

"Sir, have you heard?" Wilford's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement.

"A relocation order?"

"Yes! The relocation order!" Wilford plopped down on a stone bench, hands on his knees, leaning forward. "My lord, people from the capital will be here next month. Special personnel will organize the relocation, the church will be responsible for the resettlement, and the kingdom will provide the money and manpower. We don't need to worry about anything, we just need to follow along."

Wayne looked at him.

"Are you happy?"

"Of course I'm happy!" Wilford's voice rose a half octave. "My lord, you don't know, all these years as mayor, what I feared most was the arrival of the people from St. Hilde. If they wanted to capture the witch, and I refused, I would be defying St. Hilde. If I gave in, I would be letting down the people of Frosttown. I was caught in the middle."

"Now it's all right. The people from St. Hilde won't dare come anymore, the Millennium Purple Sun is coming, and Frost Town is moving. As for me, the mayor, every day I serve is one less day I have left, and when it's over, I won't have to serve anymore." Wilford leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh. "To be honest, I'm actually a little reluctant to let it go."

He paused for a moment, his gaze falling on the direction of the church's foyer.

"I've lived here most of my life. I could walk through every alleyway with my eyes closed. I know which bakery in town has the best bread, which tavern has the purest rye, and which tailor makes the best clothes. If I moved to the capital, I wouldn't know anyone or anything, and I wouldn't even know where to buy things."

Wayne reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

"Always look on the bright side of things."

Wilford looked up.

"for example?"

Wien paused.

"For example, you also have a wonderful daughter?"

He really didn't dare mention Ace. Wilford's son, in every way, was still a bit too extraordinary. He chased Leon all the way to the Witch Cult, was slapped awake, and then went into a slump for a few days. Recently, he heard that he ran away from home again, probably to follow in Leon/Lena's footsteps.

Wilford's sigh grew louder.

"Don't even mention it."

His shoulders slumped, and he looked as if something was pressing down on him, transforming him from a spirited mayor into a middle-aged man burdened by family chores.

"Your Excellency, what sins have I committed in this life? My son is useless, but my daughter is capable. But what good is her capability? She's a woman. In the Kingdom of Wiggins, no matter how capable a woman is, she can't turn the tide."

Wayne looked at him.

"Sophie is a good girl."

"Yes, Sophie is a good girl." Wilford's voice was muffled. "She's been sensible since she was little, and no one has to worry about her. She studies harder than Ace, is more reliable than Ace, and even her manners are better than Ace's. But I can't just hand over this family business to her, can I?"

Wilford continued.

"After all, she'll eventually get married. Once she's married, she'll belong to someone else's family. As for the other one..." He didn't finish his sentence, waving his hand, "Never mind, let's not talk about him."

Wayne poured him a glass of water.

Children and grandchildren have their own blessings.

Wilford shook his head with a wry smile:

"Good fortune? It's a blessing if he doesn't drive me crazy."

Wayne picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"Perhaps what he is going through now is not necessarily a bad thing for him."

Wilford turned his head to look at him.

"What does Your Excellency mean?"

"People have to go through things to grow up." Wayne put down his teacup, his gaze falling on the flowerbed in the corner of the yard. "Some people wake up after being slapped by life, while others have to be slapped many times. It's hard to say which one Ace will be right now."

Wilford was quite helpless.

"Well, let's hope so!"