Mystery: But the Witch's Path

As usual, the sky over Backlund was still foggy today.

Altair was still asleep when he realized something was wrong; he was already bound by Vivian's spider silk.

Looking at the smiling woman by the bedside, Altair felt helpless and thought to himself, "Is this all the fuss that's happening right after I come back? Is it really necessary?"

When Altair couldn't break free no matter how hard he tried, he could only beg for mercy, saying, "Vivian, please let me go, okay?"

Standing by the bed, Vivian refused outright, "That won't do. I didn't expect you to do something so big in less than half a month since I left."

"And your body is much more honest than your mouth."

As Vivian spoke, she teased Altair with spider silk.

"No, don't touch there."

The friction from this gauze is really uncomfortable!

"Beg me."

She chuckled softly, her voice low but with a magnetic huskiness, the last syllable rising slightly, like a hook tugging at one's curiosity.

.........

"It seems you've grown quite a bit in the two weeks I was away."

.........

"What did you just give me to eat?"

"Of course we should eat it."

..........

"That's enough, let's end it here."

"No, not at all."

.........

Vivian traced her name with her finger, and Altair said on his chest, "I'm troubling you again this time, helping me complete the 'role-play'."

Upon hearing this, Altair rolled his eyes at her.

Vivian stood up and, controlling her spider silk, dressed herself while saying, "I have some bad news for you. The Witch Cult knows about you."

"However, there has been no notification regarding your follow-up arrangements at this time."

Vivian's deep breath finally put Altair's mind at ease. He stood up and smiled, saying, "What can they do to me now? If it were when my father had just passed away, I would be afraid, but now, unless the Witch Cult sends out a 'demigod'..."

Vivian turned to Altair and smiled, saying, "It seems you've grown up, little one. Indeed, as you said, they are also troubled by this matter."

"You are now an earl of the Kingdom of Loen, the grandniece of a demigod, and the largest shareholder of the new industrial park in Backlund. If something were to happen to you now, even George III wouldn't be able to clean up their mess."

"Therefore, there is a very high probability that they will cooperate with you later."

After quickly getting dressed, Altair hugged Vivian from behind and said, "Let's talk about this later. After all, we can't decide what they do."

"And you? Why were you gone for half a month this time? Didn't you say it was something simple?"

Vivian turned to Altair and said, "I can't tell you that."

After Vivian finished speaking, her face turned gloomy, and she asked, "How come I don't remember giving you the 'Instigator' potion recipe?"

Altair was quite embarrassed at this moment. He thought he could get away with it, but seeing Vivian's current state, he realized he had been overthinking things. He said helplessly...

"After you left, I started playing the role of 'assassin'. By the time the potion was fully digested, you still hadn't returned. Luckily, I had the 'Instigator' potion recipe at home, so I had no choice but to advance on my own."

Vivian jokingly said with a smile, "Judging from your recent actions, it seems you've almost finished digesting your 'Instigator' potion."

"However, I still suggest you slow down. I should have told you that the 'Witch Cult' has recently been looking for people who can advance quickly, and I don't think that's a good thing."

"And are you ready to be a 'woman'?"

..........

It was almost noon when Altair and Vivian finally went downstairs for lunch.

Of all the people in the manor, only Hahn was familiar with Vivian; Freya, Vera, and Irene didn't know her at all. Her emergence from Altair's room shocked the three of them.

While eating, Vivian asked, "Are those three the maids Hahn found for you?"

Altair didn't choose to hide anything about this. Before she returned, he had already informed her through the "Magic Mirror Communication" that his household had gained a female housekeeper and two personal maids. Besides, there was no way to hide it, since there were three living people involved.

"That's right, these three are them. I should have introduced them to you before. The one with outstanding temperament is 'Freya,' the one with a cold personality is 'Eileen,' and the one next to her who looks cute is 'Vera.'"

Vivian began to fiercely cut the steak on her plate with her knife until the plate made a sound, then she stopped and said, "It seems Hahn has quite a problem with me."

Altair immediately put down his cutlery and looked at Vivian, fearing she might do something outrageous and cause an accident.

After a long while, Vivian finally sighed.

"Never mind, what he did wasn't wrong."

He then turned to Altair and said directly, "Let's continue eating!"

Only after seeing that Vivian had calmed down did Altair pick up his knife and continue eating.

He was genuinely frightened by her outburst. Vivian had just unleashed her emotions! Don't let her kindness fool you into letting your guard down; she's a real witch!

...........

After seeing Vivian off, Freya and the others, still frightened, gathered around and asked, "Count Altair, who was that person just now? Her attitude and expression towards us were terrifying."

After listening to the three of them, Altair pondered for a moment before replying directly, "Countess Altair's wife is not in a good mood. Be careful when you encounter her in the future."

Watching Altair disappear into the distance, Vera muttered a complaint, "What a joke, Count Altair is lying. She's clearly a woman just like us, what kind of lady is she? She's just making fun of us again."

Vera's complaints went unanswered by either of them. Altair's words, and the sounds coming from the room this morning when they were about to wake her, were good evidence of that.

After Freya and Irene finished thinking, they both looked at Vera and thought, "It's true what Altair said, being an 'optimist' is a good thing."

The two then exchanged a glance, their eyes seemingly sparking with rage, rolled their eyes at each other, and left the spot.

When Vera saw the two leaving, she realized that they weren't complaining with her about Altair's actions as they usually did.

After the two left, Vera could only slink after them.

.........

In the afternoon, Altair came out of his study and saw Vera playing with the "Black Panther" by herself. He immediately asked, "Vera, where is the others?"

Vera shuddered when she heard the voice behind her. She patted her chest, turned around, and said, "Count Altair, I don't know what my sister and Freya are doing. They're not playing with me today."

Vera's words didn't make Altair realize anything was wrong. Instead, he stared straight at the corner of her mouth and said, "Don't always steal 'Black Panther's' snacks. Didn't I give you 10 pounds? You can buy some better ones yourself."

Upon hearing Altair's words, Vera immediately turned around, wiped the crumbs from the corner of her mouth, and said, "The real reason is that 'Backlund Pet Care Company' made these cookies so delicious."

The biscuits Vera was referring to were pet biscuits made with flour, vegetables, meat, and water.

Altair himself had never eaten it, but it smelled delicious.

In this day and age, ordinary people find even sour-tasting "dark bread" delicious, let alone high-end pet food made with better ingredients.