"When will you be returning, Archmistress Faust?"

Mei and Ishtar had come to see them off.

Faust adjusted her gloves, not looking particularly concerned.

"Hard to say. A month, maybe two. We’ll see," Faust said. "I’ve already informed your respective masters that I’ll be away for a while. Just make sure you two behave while I’m gone."

"Yes."

"Yes."

Then, their attention shifted to Lancel, who had been adjusting the supplies inside the carriage and had just stepped out.

The two lowered their heads slightly in greeting before looking back up at him.

"Have a safe journey, Assistant Lancel."

"Please take care of Archmistress Faust, Assistant Lancel."

It had to be said. The two were still hiding their relationship with Lancel from Faust. She absolutely must not know what had been happening behind closed doors.

"Ah, of course."

Lancel scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

Of course, that wasn’t what they truly meant.

What they really wanted to say was ’Don’t lay a hand on Faust while you two are away.’

Not because they cared about Faust in that way, but because they didn’t want Lancel getting any more entangled with other witches.

Knowing Lancel, being alone with Faust on a month-long trip... there was a high chance something might happen.

’Just what do they take me for...?’

Had they already forgotten they were the ones who always pounced on him first?

At that moment, Ishtar leaned in close and whispered.

"Keep your dick safe, Lancel."

Mei followed right after.

"Take care, Lancel. And when you come back... I want you to see me first." She paused, her gaze sharpening into a glare. "I heard what you did with Ishtar last night. I’m not letting that slide."

"...."

Anything but a normal farewell.

Lancel simply nodded before stepping into the carriage, following Faust, who had already taken her seat inside.

He paused for a brief moment, glancing back at the two.

"You girls..."

"...."

"I’ll be back soon."

At that, the two of them smiled, raising their hands in a small wave as they saw him off.

Lancel stepped inside the carriage. Faust was already seated, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at him with a faint, amused smile.

"When did you get so close to those two?"

"Uh...?"

"That’s good," Faust continued, not pressing him further. "It’s important to maintain good relationships with witches, especially with those two. I’ve never taken in apprentices before them, you know? "

"...."

"Someday, in the future, they’ll become connections that could be very useful to you."

Faust turned her attention to the window.

"In any case, shall we go?"

* * *

"I’ve only been gone for a year... has the world really changed this much?!"

Lancel leaned slightly forward, his eyes scanning the road ahead as the carriage rolled on.

What used to be a rough, uneven path filled with dirt, stones, and constant bumps was now smooth, paved, and fully cemented.

"Has Riviere successfully collaborated with Karhold?"

Lancel’s eyes remained fixed on the road ahead as the carriage moved smoothly along the paved path.

Karhold.

A dwarven kingdom known across the continent for its unmatched craftsmanship, trade networks, and infrastructure.

If there was any nation capable of transforming roads this drastically within a single year, it would be them. Their stonework, engineering, and methods were efficient to a degree most human kingdoms couldn’t replicate.

Faust followed his gaze before answering.

"Mhm. Karhold is the reason Riviere is now accessible to most kingdoms."

Routes varied, of course. The safest path was through Karhold, then onward to Humus, yet another empire.

The alternative routes were far less reliable, requiring travelers to cross mountain ranges or pass through dangerous forests where beasts roamed freely.

While Lancel and Faust were confident they could handle such threats, the same couldn’t be said for their supplies.

And that alone made the choice obvious.

They had already covered quite a distance in just three hours. However, since the carriage was powered by magic fuel, there was no need to stop.

"By the way," Lancel said, glancing around, "how are you even controlling the carriage while talking to me this whole time?"

"I have lenses installed all around the exterior of the carriage," Faust replied. "With a bit of mana, I can see through them and control the vehicle without needing to divert my focus."

"I see."

There were definitely layers to this whole concept of magic.

Up until now, everything Lancel had learned had been geared toward combat, but clearly, magic extended far beyond that.

Utility alone opened up an entirely different field.

"Faust, I’ve been meaning to ask... if you’re a first-generation Count, does that mean you didn’t inherit anything from anyone?"

"That’s right."

"Then... you didn’t go through a formal mentorship? Like Fiore and the others?"

Mei and Ishtar were direct children of their respective mentors. Fiore, on the other hand, had been adopted by Countess Gretelle and granted her surname.

In most cases, a witch’s legacy was passed down through those kinds of relationships.

But Faust didn’t seem to have that.

"I did," Faust said. "You’ve already met her."

"I did? Who?"

"Angelica."

"...."

"If things had gone differently," Faust continued, "I would’ve been Faust Eisenreich, heir to her legacy. But... that didn’t happen."

"Is that so..."

Lancel fell silent for a moment.

Ever since seeing that photograph in her room, of Faust and her sister, something had been lingering in his mind.

"If you don’t mind me asking..." he said carefully, "what exactly happened? Why did Angelica kill your sister?"

"...There are things you shouldn’t bring up, Lancel."

He already knew that.

He knew he was stepping into something painful. But he still wanted to know specifically about her sister, Vera Lieber.

"If we’re going to bring her down together..." Lancel continued. "Then I need to understand what I’m dealing with. I need to know what kind of person Angelica Eisenreich really is..."

"...."

The carriage continued to roll forward, the rhythm of its wheels filling the silence between them.

Outside, the scenery passed by in a blur, but inside, the air had grown heavier.

For a moment, Faust simply stared ahead.

"...At one point, Angelica was someone I truly looked up to."

"Hm."

"When she took me in as her apprentice, I was genuinely happy. But then... the first disappointment came. I later found out the reason she accepted me wasn’t entirely because of me, it was because of her connection to my sister, who wasn’t even a witch."

"...."

"At first, it was disheartening," Faust continued. "To realize I was acknowledged not for my talent, but because of a connection. Though... I suppose you can imagine what happened after I discovered I was actually talented."

She let out a small, self-aware chuckle.

"Heh."

Back then, after gaining recognition, Faust had been completely swept up in it. She was on cloud nine, becoming cocky, overconfident, and far too full of herself.

Thinking about it now was almost embarrassing.

"I even got accepted into the Erudition, you know?" she added. "And that was before I had even graduated from being Angelica’s apprentice. Just think about it, an apprentice joining the Erudition."

To put it simply, there had been no one else like her.

Just Faust, and Faust alone.

"Ah... I’m getting off track. Sorry."

Even now, remnants of that old arrogance still lingered within her. Even after three hundred years, a person’s nature didn’t simply disappear.

"Anyway... even now, I don’t know the full details. All I know is that one day, I returned to Riviere... and found my sister dead."

The carriage’s wheels continued to move, filling the silence between her words.

"The thing is... I wouldn’t have known who was responsible if Angelica hadn’t confessed it herself. I came home only to find that my Master, someone I looked up to like an older sister, had caused the death of my real sister."

Faust’s voice remained calm.

"And the worst part is... she didn’t even kill her directly. She could have prevented it. She had every chance to. And yet... she didn’t."

"...."

"Even so, she admitted it was her fault."

Her hand tightened slightly.

"But that doesn’t change anything."

"...."

"My sister was everything to me," Faust said. "And when I asked why, what happened, I was given nothing but silence."

"...."

"I could never forgive her. And that’s fine. She doesn’t try explaining herself, anyway."

Her gaze remained forward.

"Ever since that day, I left Angelica."

Lancel took a moment to process her words.

While it was clear Faust had been left in the dark, Lancel felt as if there was a part of her that still hadn’t completely let go of Angelica.

It wasn’t even a misunderstanding. It was something more complicated than that.

After a brief silence, Lancel spoke.

"Do you think... maybe... Angelica wanted things to turn out this way?"

"...What do you mean?"

"I’m not taking her side," Lancel said. "But from the way you described it... It almost feels like she chose this outcome. Like... having you hate her for the rest of your life was preferable to telling you the truth..."

"...."

It was a thought she had never considered before.