Date a Witch: Reborn as the Witch of Lust! (GL)-Chapter 106: Flirt with Heiress; Setting up a trap!

"Mel... I did follow along out of instinct..." Lila hung her head, traversing through the steep slope. "Still... don’t you think this might’ve been too reckless?"

Mel, the one whose impulsiveness had set them on this path, chuckled softly, giving Lila’s head a playful pat.

As Mel and Lila bantered, Rosana eyed behind their group, ire crossing her gaze.

The steep terrain made large groups a liability, demanding tighter formations and careful pacing.

Besides Rosana, Lila, Mel, and Calina, they were accompanied by two other Royal Knights assigned by the Princess. And...

"Keeping your distance, are you?" She smiled at the elf, walking with them at a distance. "Do you fear us to some extent?"

Mel glanced over her shoulder, a little surprised at Rosana’s questioning.

"Oh, of course not." The elf waved off Rosana’s suspicion with a casual wave. "I just wasn’t expecting to be chosen. It’s a little awkward, that’s all."

"Heh..." Rosana’s eyes narrowed in an amused hostility. "How should I interpret your words? Fear for my authority? Or the people here in general?"

"Nothing much." The elf shrugged. "I’m just tagging along as an experience."

"Alright, hold up, everyone."

Sensing how her Partner avoided Rosana’s interrogation, Mel backed up with wobbly steps against the slope, careful not to stumble on large pebbles.

"Even the Princess and the Holy Knight Commander himself told us to get along," Mel smirked at Rosana. "Don’t tell me even a dragoness can’t handle a little diplomacy?"

Rosana blinked at Mel’s tease, the innocent golden eyes shimmering with a ’not-guilty’ look.

With a relieved smirk, she scooped her arm to halt Mel.

"Hic!"

Mel’s head inched away from the tree she almost crashed into, before mumbling. "Thanks."

"Don’t mention it." Rosana released Mel’s arm, noticing the faint blush on Mel’s face. "It’s rare to see you so distracted."

Mel’s words choked her throat as their strides continued again.

"Hehe." Mel tapped her cheeks. "Cute?"

"Very much." Rosana hummed. "Too distracted to defend the elf, that you were negligent?"

A breath caught in Mel’s throat as her eyes curved in mischievousness. "And what if I say I’m jealous of you chatting with a woman other than me?"

The Heiress tilted her head, intrigued by Mel’s little tease, or perhaps further dissuasion to pursue the elf matter further.

She grinned. "I would be surprised, yet I’ve a short attention span that you may find hard to grasp."

"Then I would occupy it again, until it expanded infinitely alone for me."

Mel traced a slow spiral in the air with her finger, her tone mock-serious. "I do like to think myself attractive enough for the tasks."

"That I cannot deny." Rosana nodded, a sneaking thought creeping into her mind.

She lifted her hand and let it trail along Mel’s back, her nail grazing the fabric of her uniform.

The Heiress murmured. "Your beauty can be compared to mine, sculpted, one might say carved by the Goddess herself."

"Oh?" Mel raised a brow. "I thank your praise, though I never would have guessed you would praise my beauty over yours."

"Heh." Rosana chortled. "Just a formality for you and you only, my prey. I always pay respect if others choose the same for me. And..."

Her amused gaze sharpened as it turned behind her once again. "I will return disrespect if that’s what others see fit. Ten times fold."

The Heiress’s glare shook the Royal Knights from behind, their armoured hands lowering their helmets to avoid the Heiress’s bloodlust.

Mel let out a teasing hum, unbothered by the Heiress’s threat to her back. "Thought you were never the type to take things personally?"

"Oh." The Heiress’s voice softened as she shifted to Mel. "It’s the opposite. My once-childish mind finds them an annoyance; now I’m merely tired of it."

Watching how Rosana’s brows twitched, Mel felt a pang of pity in her chest, as Rosana’s hand stayed firm on Mel’s back; quiet, steady, and fiercely protective.

A warm chuckle escaped her lips as Mel gently grasped the arm. "A tired person would never think to protect others like this."

She cupped the Heiress’s wrist and slid over the dress fabric, admiring how Rosana’s lips trembled at the tickly sensation.

Reaching the shoulder, her hand smoothed over to the other side before hugging Rosana, nestling her head beneath her armpit.

More trees surrounded them as they walked, thickening the shade while sunlight glistened along the edges of leaves.

"And I’m glad to be viewed as someone you need to protect, Rosana."

The Heiress’s pupils trembled slightly, her arm dangling loosely against Mel’s back.

Then, with a breath slipping out of her lips, her hand clutched around Mel’s shoulders. "Don’t mention it."

[ Greed realised a sense of nostalgia within your grasp. ]

[ Greed favourability: 51 -> 53 ]

Mel nodded at this progression, fully ignoring the emerald glare from in front of her.

Judging how Lila’s favourability didn’t drop, it was a subtle ’I will see how you explain later’ moment for Mel.

Yet Mel wouldn’t falter. She would merely pamper Lila that much more in return!

"So." Rosana sneezed. "Mind telling me what’s up with that elf?"

Mel’s cheek burrowed into the Heiress. "What’s up with that elf?"

"It was too chaotic last time, but now it was different." Rosana lightly pressed Mel’s cheek between her fingers.

"Your disappearance with the elf, and how the elf has yet to show her magic or abilities. Would you claim ignorance again?"

"Yep!" Mel’s face gleamed. "I was much too unaware of it."

"Then..." "Then..." Rosana’s expression tightened, a flicker of unease crossing her face. "What about those two Royal Knights behind us?"

Mel’s smile didn’t waver as the grass gave way to denser trees, the landscape shifting into woodland.

"Are you... Perhaps feeling discomfort?"

Rosana glanced at Mel, too light to be a glare, yet too heavy to be a glance.

"I’m protecting you, Mel." She uttered. "The entire incident... it wasn’t only Lila who worried for you."

A brief sentiment flickered in Mel’s expression, a brief blush painting her face red.

Yet before her heartfelt gratitude came, Rosana interrogated.

"Those two... are they spies for the enemy we’re about to face?"

A breath hitched in Mel’s throat, before an amazement washed over her slight shock.

"As expected." Mel chuckled. "There’s no hiding from you."

The grassland with clusters of trees stretched across Mel’s vision, and at the corner, her Partner’s notice lay clear.

[ 50m till we reach the Cult’s Headquarters, Mel! ]

Perfect.

The Witch of Lust’s grasp on the Heiress tightened, satisfaction blooming as the Saintess’s and her own plan began to bear fruit.