Chapter 77: The Weight of Two Paths

In Maplewood City, at Liddell Manor, the three witches once again gathered around the tea table, deep in discussion.

“Truthfully, I personally don’t agree with you taking on tasks from both sides,” Duchess Liddell stated, crossing her arms across the tea table.

“Our current mission already carries considerable risk. If you add more suspicious activities, I fear it will draw the attention of the Church. More critically, that killer is a Blessed of the Eighth Rank of the Abyss, aren’t they? They’re not someone you can easily handle.”

“According to Mad Hatter’s deductions, he should have already advanced to the Seventh Rank,” Alice Liddell replied, holding her teacup. “Mad Hatter isn’t asking me to apprehend the criminal, but merely to use my divination to track their movements.”

“Executing them is Mad Hatter’s task. I wouldn’t be foolish enough to confront an opponent who requires a life-or-death struggle.”

According to Mad Hatter, the ritual for a ‘Sorcerer’ to advance to the Seventh Rank of the Abyss involves executing a murderer. The killer in question, who personally assassinated the nobles responsible for their family’s demise, met the conditions for this ritual.

The materials required for advancement were a mixture of human souls and the spiritual essence of a specific demonic beast. However, this material could also be substituted with the soul of a Seventh-Rank Blessed, harvested personally by the advancing individual.

It was likely for this very reason that the killer had reaped the soul of their own mentor.

It was almost certain that the killer was already a Seventh-Rank ‘Sorcerer.’ Although Alice Liddell was also a Seventh-Rank ‘Spellcaster’ among witches, she would be no match in a direct confrontation. Not to mention, Blessed of the Abyss possessed the trump card of self-sacrifice to forcibly boost their combat power.

Such a formidable foe was best left to a powerhouse like Mad Hatter.

“It sounds like the risk is indeed manageable, but…” Duchess Liddell still harbored reservations.

“I personally don’t want to let such a criminal go unpunished,” Alice Liddell said with a serious expression. “Once vengeance is abused, it simply becomes an excuse. If one indiscriminately slaughters the innocent like that, what differentiates them from the scoundrels who oppress others?”

“If you’re not involved in the direct apprehension, then it should be fine,” Queen Isola offered, taking a sip of her tea. “But remember not to attempt any contact with the enemy.”

“Otherwise, His Majesty will worry herself to death,” Duchess Liddell added.

“Can Queen Isola locate that person directly through divination?” Alice Liddell inquired.

As a Third-Rank individual, Queen Isola’s divinatory powers were surely far superior to her own.

“No,” Queen Isola replied succinctly. “I cannot divine targets completely unrelated to myself.”

“Eh?” Alice Liddell was quite surprised.

“It seems I need to give you a proper lesson,” Duchess Liddell said, shaking her head. “Successful divination and premonitions have fundamental conditions. Divination must begin with the diviner’s own fate, extending outward to seek threads of destiny related to themselves.”

“If the target’s threads of destiny have no intersection with the diviner’s own, then the future cannot be directly divined. Your destiny and His Majesty’s already have a deep intersection, which is why His Majesty can divine your future, but that killer has no intersection with His Majesty whatsoever.”

“If he has direct contact with you in the future, I might be able to divine relevant results by targeting you. However, we must strenuously avoid such a future. This means that even if divined, it cannot be used to ascertain his future movements. Conversely, if he has no contact with you, I cannot divine it.”

Queen Isola elaborated.

“Then does that mean I also can’t help Mad Hatter divine the person’s whereabouts?” Alice Liddell blinked.

“Not necessarily. You could ask him to give you something related to that person as a medium; there’s a certain probability of divining a result,” Duchess Liddell answered. “The killer murdered his own teacher, so it should be possible to divine through an heirloom found on the teacher’s person at the time of their death.”

“If you truly cannot divine it, don’t force it, and do not attempt to contact that killer. If you divine that you will have contact with that fellow, you must put all your effort into avoiding it. Your safety must be your first priority.”

Queen Isola stared into Alice Liddell’s eyes. “While a sense of justice is commendable, you must also act within your capabilities.”

Alice Liddell nodded silently.

At this moment, Duchess Liddell cleared her throat, speaking with a loaded meaning: “Divined futures, if not subjected to external interference, are essentially fated to come true. To avoid them, one must actively take action. Wouldn’t you agree, Your Majesty?”

Queen Isola shot her a glance but did not respond.

Duchess Liddell thought to herself, ‘This foolish sovereign is truly determined to wash her hands of it and let nature take its course, without considering who will regret it later.’

‘It seems this matter, after all, can only rely on me.’

“We’re leaving for the Imperial City in a few days. Speaking of which, what kind of person is that friend of yours at the Sacred Hall Academy?” Duchess Liddell asked, feigning curiosity as she brought up the topic. “Where are they from? What’s their family background? Are they a student of the Ivory Tower?”

Alice Liddell, who had been about to drink her tea, paused her movement.

‘This string of questions… is she running a background check, or trying to set me up?’

However, since Duchess Liddell had asked, she roughly recounted what she knew.

“The adopted daughter of that Northern Duke? Oh my, this is truly… something,” Duchess Liddell murmured, stroking her chin. “According to the intelligence I’ve gathered, Duke Alençon appears to be a Fourth-Rank ‘Radiant Lord’ Paladin.”

“Is that considered very powerful?” Alice Liddell asked casually.

Most people highly praised Duke Alençon of the North based on his past military achievements in resisting barbarians, while Patra focused on the individual’s rank.

Alice Liddell didn’t have a strong concept of the Fourth Rank’s power, partly because she had encountered divine-rank individuals like Queen Isola early on, and partly because her own advancement speed far surpassed ordinary people.

“You must understand that to advance to the First to Third Divine Ranks, one must integrate specific holy relics, and the number of slots for each class is extremely limited. Therefore, the ceiling for most Blessed is the Fourth Rank. Reaching this stage basically means one can be considered a top-tier powerhouse in this world; the leading generals of most nations are roughly at this level,” Duchess Liddell explained.

“I see,” Alice Liddell nodded.

‘Does that mean Mad Hatter is the same?’

Meanwhile, Queen Isola listened to their conversation, her focus entirely different.

From Alice Liddell’s tone and choice of words, it sounded as though her relationship with Jeanne Decker had a considerably friendly and amicable atmosphere. Moreover, the young woman named Jeanne Decker possessed excellent, noble character and integrity; even if she were drunk, she shouldn’t do something so… nearly coercive to a close friend.

‘So what exactly would need to happen for it to turn out as the premonition suggested?’

“Your friend has become a proper Paladin, and is highly regarded by that Northern Duke. They will likely become a high-ranking official in the Church or the Knight Order in the future,” Duchess Liddell suddenly shifted the topic. “You need to be careful about this.”

“About what?” Alice Liddell didn’t immediately understand.

“You’ve already become a witch, a follower of the Abyss, and you serve as our spy and a member of the Tea Party… do I need to remind you further?” Duchess Liddell looked at Alice Liddell with a serious expression. “I assume you wouldn’t be foolish enough to reveal your identity to her, and I won’t stop you from fulfilling your personal promises, but at the very least, you cannot get too close to her—not just for your own sake, but for hers as well!”

“That being said… indeed,” Alice Liddell quickly understood, then lowered her eyes with a touch of melancholy. “It’s no longer possible to be like before.”

She was now an apostate as deemed by the Church, while Jeanne Decker was a Paladin sanctioned by the Church. If they grew too close, it would be detrimental to both of them.

Duchess Liddell inwardly let out a cunning chuckle: ‘Perfect! This will significantly delay the progression of their relationship.’

Queen Isola looked at Alice Liddell’s crestfallen expression, unsure how to offer comfort.

But at that moment, she suddenly realized something.

‘That’s right! It’s precisely because of this that their relationship will become completely different from the past!’

‘A witch and a Paladin who were once friends, suppressed emotions, conflicting identities, a twisted relationship… it wouldn’t be impossible for it to evolve into what the premonition showed!’

“Speaking of which, I still have things to buy,” Alice Liddell suddenly stood up.

“You have enough money on you, I assume?” Duchess Liddell asked thoughtfully.

Alice Liddell nodded and left the inner room.

“Your Majesty, how did I do?” Duchess Liddell immediately looked at Queen Isola with an expectant, meritorious expression.

However, Queen Isola responded with a resentful tone: “Why did you meddle?”

“Ah?” Duchess Liddell froze.

‘Why is she angry instead!?’

“Never mind, it’s nothing!” Queen Isola’s face darkened, and she also rose and left.

‘I’ve already decided to prioritize the grand task of restoring the kingdom. How can I let my emotions be swayed by such matters?’ Queen Isola thought, trying hard to calm her feelings.

Duchess Liddell watched Queen Isola’s retreating back, falling into deep thought.

‘Could it be… she actually has a cuckold fetish?’