Lady Anna of Mowish did not particularly appreciate such words of loyalty; instead, she sized up the woman behind him: "Wizard, here in The Capital, Lord Vanter, you are aware you have violated a royal taboo, are you not?"
"Yes, my lady, as humble as I am, I only ask for your leniency. My nephew has fallen gravely ill; she came seeking medicine," the middle-aged man pleaded, and had outsiders witnessed his pitiable entreaty, they wouldn’t have recognized him as the head of the Vanter family—for in their minds, this man never showed such debasement.
"My lady, kill him. I’ve already activated the recording bug; you can kill off the entire Vanter family without giving the Nobles or the Church any leverage against us," Lady Anna’s Head Maid suggested in the shadows of the alley, her vertical pupils befitting a chitinous creature brimming with the purest intent to kill.
"Lena, this is not the Forest Sea, nor is it the underworld. Killing the head of the Vanter family and his witch sister won’t cause any trouble, indeed; we just need to submit their bodies. The Nobles and the Church would probably have to grit their teeth and even express approval... But why, Lord Vanter’s loyalty is evident to all, isn’t it?" Lady Anna said with a smile, elongating her mouth and narrowing her eyes like a predator, as she pulled a head from her Spatial Bag and tossed it at the feet of the witch before her: "You have a good brother. Take it and disappear quickly. I have mercy... but others may not."
Looking at the ugly head of the Chaos Prince at her feet, the younger daughter of the Vanter family picked it up. She looked up at the elf before her: "I will remember this favor."
"Go now, you are a witch, and I am a Mage; our paths will not, and cannot, cross again... And remember, the Curse that afflicts your child is due to your reckless consumption of Witch’s Magic Potions. This time, the head of the Chaos Prince may let the Lord of Justice heal him, but if you want him to follow in the way of a witch, he will only have a dead end," Lady Anna explained, stepping back: "Leave now, daughter of the Vanter family, someone is coming."
The woman finally nodded, opened a teleportation gate, and walked through without looking back.
When the teleportation gate disappeared, a Mage pushed open a secret door in the wall. He surveyed the alley and then noticed those present: "Good evening, my lady, ma’am, and sir. As an on-duty Mage, I must warn you, teleportation gates are forbidden in The Capital. Please come with me to make a record."
The head of the Vanter family looked at Lady Anna as if begging for mercy, who took out a small book from her pocket. Her Head Maid took it and handed it to the Mage.
With just a glance at the cover, the Mage shook his head: "Lady Anna, I’ll write a full report on this incident and tell His Majesty every detail."
"That would be best. Is there anything else?" Lady Anna turned to the mage with a hint of impatience in her eyes.
The Mage looked back at Magrubb of the Vanter family: "Sir, shall I call the guards?"
Lena, beside him, smiled and shook her head, her arm’s tender shoots forming into spikes, already lingering at the back of the Mage’s head.
However, her mistress gave a delicate shake of her head, prompting Lena to retract the spikes. She then gave a whistle to the rat girls peeking from behind the street corner, and they immediately withdrew.
"No need, I am Magrubb of the Vanter family. I had a small misunderstanding with Lady Anna’s Head Maid, and now the misunderstanding is cleared," he said.
"Alright then, as you will," the Mage said, before retreating back through the secret door.
"Lena, relay these discoveries to our Earl Vanter, so he understands the crisis his family is facing," Lady Anna instructed and then headed towards the mouth of the alley: "Oh, and don’t forget to bill Earl Vanter for the head, 7500 pieces, a friendly and final price."
"Thank you, my lady," this time the Vanter family head expressed his gratitude to the departing lady with sincere earnestness.
Lena relayed the entire story candidly to the man before her, taking from him an explicitly valued silver card from the Goddess of Harvest Bank—a fixed value withdrawal certificate that read 8000, indicating that Mr. Vanter was indeed generous.
"Miss Lena." As Lena was about to leave, a voice from behind made her stop. She turned to look at the man standing in the shadows, waiting for his follow-up.
"If I hadn’t discovered all this, would you have killed Cohen and his accomplices?" The man awaited an answer.
"Why would you think that?" Lena’s face was full of curiosity and surprise.
"Because I feel that my wayward son could only have thought of such a plan if he had pushed beyond Lady Anna’s tolerance. Malin Gest is a child she acknowledges, and His Majesty has given no indication of seeking a suitor for Princess Faye, so it seems her fate is set. Cohen and his cohorts would have certainly died for their folly... But," the middle-aged man sighed deeply, "I thought that if you were the executioner, you would grant them a swift death." After saying this, the head of the Vanter family ultimately bowed his head.