Chapter 15: Arcana Magic (2)

"Brother, you are causing trouble again!" The girl who spoke was called Sierra. The tiny, feeble little girl was Derrick's half-sister, who shared the same father as Minerva.

Sierra Sullivan.

She also had crimson locks, although the color was not as fiery and vibrant as the elder. The repulsive father had blazing crimson hair, which was inherited by the two but not by Yulia.

Her hair was only around her neck's length, but her bangs were long enough to create a side ponytail. The cute hairstyle created a fresh image for the young one.

"Sierra, come here," Estelle gestured with her hand.

"Sis- I mean, Lady Estelle!"

"It's only Derrick, why would you feel the need to call me lady?" Estelle chuckled at the girl's antics. "Now, close the door, won't you?" Consoling the toddler's now erratic emotions, Estelle patted her hair and sent her off to lock the door to prevent any further interruptions.

To Sierra, Estelle was both her lady and role model. Although she was only a year short from the silver-haired child, Estelle had already mastered the arts of deceiving people to the utmost degree. The child was pacified by her and obeyed the command.

She had seen Estelle obtain tens or even hundreds of sweets with ease just by attracting pity from the maids and knights. However, after no one was around, her expression immediately changed into that of a blank one!

Un, definitely very formidable! This method of obtaining sweets without any hardships, Sierra also wanted to try!

Unbeknownst to Estelle, the little girl had already admired her for the wrong reasons.

"Brother, how could you cause trouble for Sis Estelle and Sis Minerva?!" After locking the door, she rushed over to Derrick with both arms situated on her hips, puffing her cheeks and hurling out the question.

"Brother, you are so useless!"

"Brother, don't even think of coming home tonight!"

"Brother, your mouth is so dirty, but at least it could be used for giving a heartfelt apology to Sis Minerva! Fast, spit it out!"

Sierra's words were stabbing Derrick, who was already collapsed on the ground and powerless all over.

"S-Sierra..." Feeling sad after his sister didn't take his side, he stretched his arms to touch her, but Minerva's restrictions prevented him from doing so. He fell down pathetically and groaned in pain.

"Hmm? What was that? Why do I hear rotten sounds from somewhere...?"

"Sierra, how could you!" Derrick's tone screamed betrayal and grief.

"Not speaking to rotten sounds. Rotten sounds must be cleansed by apologizing,"

Sierra did not spare her brother a single glance as she ran up to Minerva and hugged her slender legs.

Receiving a head pat from the taller, her face immediately bloomed into a wide smile.

Derrick widened his eyes. He was reluctant.

Reluctant to believe that his little sister would be on such friendly terms with another offspring of that shitty bastard!

Even though Sierra was also someone who contained the blood of the Witches, Sierra was thoroughly innocent! However, this other Witch whose age was unknown, who knows the amount of people she had killed? She even tortured her father for years before letting that measly life fade away!

He also wanted to take revenge, but once he got stronger, he found out that the perpetrator had been killed! Who was he supposed to enact revenge on?

"Derrick, stop thinking about pointless things. Your mother has passed away, your father's whereabouts are unknown. Sierra's father is dead. If you continued to brood on the past, who would take care of Sierra? Even though Minerva can sometimes be.. morally disabled, Sierra still considers her as a close relative, maybe even a mother figure," Estelle approached the knight who still had not gained enough strength to get up yet.

"If you try to distance Minerva from Sierra, you will only be taking away another source of happiness for her. You hate yourself so much for letting Sierra be wronged, why can't you understand that Minerva is doing nothing but making Sierra happier? Does it matter that she is a Witch? All that matters is Sierra's happiness!" Estelle sighed. She was only five years old, but why was she always surrounded by childish adults who would stoop that low to the point of receiving a lecture from a kid!

"Ugh, that-" Derrick gritted his teeth. He knew that Estelle's words held nothing but the truth in it.

"...I'm sorry," he muttered under his breath.

"For what?"

"For.. for blaming you. I know that not every Witch is bad, Sierra is the living proof. But... I can't-"

"Forget it. I won't bully someone weaker than me. Just don't repeat it again," Minerva healed Derrick's fatigue. Although her healing capabilities were not as adept as Estelle or Heine, it was still enough to cover Derrick's condition.

Derrick wordlessly got up and carried Sierra with him to the exit. Sierra struggled a bit, but the elder's strength was not something she could overcome. She could only let herself be obediently carried off while waving goodbye to her two acquaintances.

Click!

The door shut tight.

"Don't let him get to you. He is a good guy, but he just can't separate himself from the past,"

"Yeah, I know. I've been through a lot more, what effects are mere words going to cause?" Minerva scrunched up her nose. It was not something to be proud of, but Minerva stated it like it was obvious.

Witches were despised by most humans indiscriminately, but Minerva knew better.

As someone who had lived for several humans' total lifespan, she would not only meet and experience the bad side of humans, but rather the good side as well.

Her human friends were few, but she treasured every single one of them like they were her family. Even those who had already passed away from aging.

To Minerva, Derrick would only be someone foolish, someone with little knowledge of how the world worked.

Minerva was not crazy. If her now dead opponents were not the one who attacked her first, she would not have to protect herself and end up killing the opposer as a result. Did he seriously believe that Minerva would just kill someone for fun?

"But, Lady Estelle is really impressive, yeah? To be able to lecture someone nearly twenty years older than her..." Sierra muttered.

"Shut it," Estelle coughed, making Minerva break into laughter.

The situation was diffused, there was no longer any need to be stern.

Outside the Clareste Dukedom, Heine's voice rang. "Yulia, the cause of all this, was it Estelle or another person?"

Heine looked at the still tired Yulia Eire in dismay.

"Both sounds like a plausible answer. Either way, it's definitely connected to that little disciple of yours. How frightening," Yulia grinned, her eyes burning with interest despite her words.

"Cease the act. A second time would not be enjoyable, right?" Heine reminded. He sought to follow after her departure, because he knew that something was wrong with her condition. His eyes were sharp.

"...Of course," Yulia nodded, showing her agreement.

"Be careful next time. We are either being watched by the one who favors Estelle, or that there is a System that automatically generates punishment for you. Either way, don't offend her. She's not someone unreasonable, you could befriend her like how Minerva and I did," Heine stretched out his arm to help pull her up. Her strength had all flown out the window after going through the severe pain.

"Yeah," Yulia struggled to get up. Moaning in pain, she bore the uncomfortable feeling and made a space rift. Her figure was soon nowhere to be seen as soon as she entered the gate and left nothing back.

"The Watchers..." After Yulia's disappearance, Heine's mind zoned before he safely came back to the reality.

"..." Heine hesitated. He then also made a space rift to connect to his destination.

On the other side of the world, Yulia smiled as she prepared the final stages of her research, excited in the thoughts of making a breakthrough.

The reason she suffered such a huge drawback was not simply because she opposed the little girl, it was because she did something else under the bus.

While arguing, her power masked itself, stretching its sneaky presence to ponder upon the mystery that is Estelle's seals.

Contrary to her righteous words as to how complex and hard it would be to open Estelle's seal, the first seal was unlocked speedily- done in less than five minutes from the moment her eyes fell upon the little girl.

The content that unfurled beyond her eyes was something unexpected. After she got the results, she started to receive the pain. However, instead of being discouraged, she tried further. Prodding on the second and third seal. It was to no avail, as her magic was blocked off. The pain was already starting to get to her too, so she retreated.

But her blood boiled even further when she thought about the rest of the seals she failed to crack.