Chapter 71
She barely restrained herself from grabbing Fay by the collar and shaking her. Virelda radiated a terrifying aura as she finally let her anger explode.
Only after Fay apologized over and over, bowing her head repeatedly, did Virelda begin to calm down, breathing hard.
“Next time—hah… I won’t care if your head ends up hanging in front of their damned temple!”
“Okay. I’m sorry…”
“You need to understand that if you die, it affects a lot of people. Lady Merga, obviously, and that idiot, and…”
“…You’d worry too.”
Fay added it timidly, watching her expression.
Now that her anger had subsided, Virelda didn’t deny it again. In the eyes that had seemed filled with nothing but fury, there was unmistakable sorrow.
Some people called her cold-blooded. Fay never thought so. Virelda was surprisingly soft-hearted and attentive to others.
Her closest friend. Even now, the friend she cared about the most.
“Virelda… I know you already rejected me once, but… can we make up?”
Fay spoke cautiously. Ironically, on one of the hardest days of her life, when nothing seemed to go right, she felt like she might finally be able to fix something that had remained unresolved for so long.
“I summoned an invoked, but because I wasn’t strong enough, everything went wrong. And I might never be able to summon a proper one again… But I don’t want to live the rest of my life cut off from you.”
“……”
“I won’t do anything reckless anymore. I’ll fight properly and work hard. So… would you be my friend again?”
Fay held out her hand. It trembled, unsure whether it would be accepted.
“What about the necklace? Did you throw it away?”
Virelda’s eyes flicked toward Fay’s neck. It wasn’t visible at the moment. It was unclear whether she had discarded it or whether it had simply been taken by the enemy because it looked valuable.
Fay startled.
“I-it’s at home…”
“So you couldn’t throw it away.”
“I… I need a little more time before I can. B-but! I don’t carry it around anymore.”
She promised she would get rid of it soon. But she couldn’t quite meet Virelda’s eyes when she said it.
Virelda found her frustrating. Still, she had at least taken it off, something she had once treated like a precious treasure. That alone was significant progress.
Maybe it was time to accept the reconciliation—
Before she could decide, Zynie slipped into the conversation.
“You mean the necklace Fay’s father gave her? Why should she throw it away?”
She genuinely didn’t understand. From what she remembered, it had been her father’s keepsake. Like her staff—something left behind by her parents when they were still alive. Of course it would be precious.
Telling her to discard it seemed cruel. And Virelda had no right to demand that. Virelda let out a short scoff. Fay lowered her head like a guilty child.
“Zynie. Do you happen to know the name of the man who gave her that necklace?”
Virelda asked, her voice tight with restrained anger.
“You mean Fay’s father’s name? I don’t know that…”
“It’s the name I used earlier. Andreas.”
So he really exists. That’s why she used that name. She didn’t just make it up at random.
Zynie felt one question answered and another rise immediately.
From the guard’s reaction, Andreas seemed to be someone with authority even over inquisitors. Most likely a high-ranking figure in the temple or a noble in the capital. Given that he could directly issue orders to inquisitors, the former seemed more likely.
But could a high-ranking religious official, one who led the persecution, really have had a witch for a wife and a daughter?
“Ask Fay about it later.”
Virelda said curtly, clearly unwilling to explain further here.
Zynie glanced at Fay and felt a familiar pang of exclusion. At times like this, she found herself resenting Fay a little. Virelda always seemed to know more. And sometimes she even lied to Zynie.
Maybe it was because she was younger. It wasn’t that they openly dismissed her as a child, but moments like this still left her quietly dejected.
When Zynie quieted down, Virelda extended her hand to Fay, who was still slumped.
“Your lover or your invoked, whatever that man is. I want every detail of what happened. Don’t hide a single thing.”
Then I’ll accept your apology.
Fay understood the meaning behind her words.
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