Chapter 1089: You Made The Image Worse

In an unknown place, inside an unknown place, a lady covered in an air of mystery sat on a throne with her face covered with a veil. Only her sharp, wisdom-filled eyes could be seen clearly. Currently, her gaze lay fixed on a witch in purple robes, kneeling in front of her. "Speak," said Florencia, the Queen Mother of Witches. "Here is the evidence, Mother."

a tablet screen made its way towards Florencia. She held it and had a look, an amused smile creeping up on her face. "There indeed seems to be an external force at play. How did you figure it out?"

Hecate looked up at Florencia. "It wasn't difficult. Dragons, especially the War Dragons that are attacking us, are hot-blooded and completely combat oriented. They cannot devise strategies or have the means to smartly avert our traps and capture our territories. With how their nature is, they should've launched a direct attack, but they did not."

"Hm." Florencia's lips curved up. "You're truly my most reliable daughter."

Hecate was a one-of-a-kind genius with a potential far greater than even hers. She would definitely reach Supreme Rank one day and become a threat to Florencia, but the latter wasn't worried.

Florencia was also a genius among geniuses. There was a reason why she was where she was and was revered and respected by her entire race. Given her own potential and experience, even a genius like Hecate would have trouble passing her. On the off chance that Hecate did surpass her, Florencia had the means to suppress her if things went south. Not to mention, Florencia had always treated Hecate kindly, so a chance of rebelling wouldn't come up. "Mother praises me too much." Hecate said in a neutral tone. "It is all due to Mother's teachings."

Florencia nodded in satisfaction. If such an attitude from Hecate continued, she could actually become the next Mother Queen and Florencia could retire from her duties. Florencia would become a Mother Ancestor or All Mother later on and could be more laid back and relaxed. It was to be seen after Hecate's ascension. Florencia gave the tablet a look and then turned to stare at Hecate, her bearings serious. "This states that Scelestus is involved."

Hecate nodded her head and looked up at Florencia. "That's right."

Florencia leaned to the side and supported her face with her fist. "If it's them, then it's going to be troublesome."

"We do not have the means to go against the Dragons and Scelestus combined." Hecate gave her opinion. "Oh, dear." Florencia's lips curved up. "I just said it was going to be troublesome, not difficult or impossible. We are greedy witches, not coward witches. Whether it is Scelestus or Dragons, they need to understand who they are going against."

Hecate got up from her kneeling position as she heard that and stared at Florencia. She sighed and said, "That's the problem, Mother. We are not greedy witches or coward witches, we are simply witches, normal sentient beings who have our own set of personalities."

"Hm?" Florencia felt something amiss. Hecate sighed once again. "In the new era, we've been labeled as greedy by everyone. We should've strived to oppose it and clear such an image, but Mother, you, you made it worse."

Hecate stared right into Florencia's eyes with a hint of pity and sadness. "An apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Your children, the entire Witch race, takes after you, Mother."

The words were heavy, but Hecate had to get them off her chest. Florencia's cheery mood was replaced with an indifferent one. She had an idea as to where this was leading, but did not know why such a good child like Hecate was bringing it up. "Your greed has expanded over billions of Witches and tarnished the image of our race. You've also made an enemy out of the ones you never should've dared to offend. I do not know what will happen from here onwards, but the least I could do was mitigate the consequences of your actions and limit it to yourself. The rest of my sisters would not be affected, but I am sorry..."

Hecate kneeled down and bowed. "...I cannot protect you. This one's not capable enough to undo the damages done by Mother."

Florencia frowned and sat upright. She leaned forwards and stared at Hecate with seriousness, her aura exploding. Hecate felt a strong pressure suppressing her and had blood seep out of her mouth. "I'll pretend this conversation did not happen. Go back to your office and reflect on your actions for the next ten years."

Hecate kept kneeling and did not move.

"Hecate..." Florencia's voice was cold.

"He—"

"—ello!" A melodic voice cut Florencia's words, making her frown. She turned to look at the source and saw a pair of girls walking towards her at a leisurely pace, as if they were having a stroll in a park. The silver-haired among them, who seemed like someone whom Florencia had met before, was the one to speak. She was in red-colored witch robes, and although her figure couldn't be seen properly, anyone would be able to guess that she was a beauty among beauties. Beside her walked a raven-haired witch with an expressionless look on her face. She wore similar red robes too.

The silver-haired walked close to Hecate and gave her a hand. "Get up. You've paid enough respect. It doesn't suit a future leader to submit to such a degree."

Hecate got up on Lith's command and stood on the side. Lith looked up at Florencia and asked with a smile, "Are you perhaps wondering how I got in here?"

Florencia did not answer. She was thinking of that, and felt like crushing the two new girls in the room to oblivion, but refrained herself from doing so. Her intuition told her that these weren't ordinary personalities. Lith walked up the stairs and stood in front of Florencia. He could see her smooth, unblemished face behind her thin veil. While Lith checked her out, Florencia did the same with him. This girl's face looked familiar. Florencia couldn't properly make out how she knew of her. Lith bent down and stared into Florencia's dark eyes with his own bright purple ones. It was this moment. It clicked Florencia.

"You've struck down someone when they were at their lowest. You had the power to be merciful and make things better for others, but you did not do it," Lith said seriously. He was referring to Sylvia's circumstances when speaking. Florencia felt a chill run down her spine as she realized who the person in front was. She could not tell what the person was saying, but whatever was being said definitely meant that she had antagonized the other party. "Your end would've been really bad had it not been for your good relation with Hecate."

Florencia's dark eyes flickered. "I do not know how I have offended the Evure Clan for the young miss of that place to personally pay me a visit."

As Lith heard young miss, his eyebrows twitched. He wanted to clarify he wasn't a girl and transform back to his real self, but that would be even more embarrassing. He dropped the idea and focused on Florencia once again. "You'll know everything soon." Lith said. "Now, I'll give you a choice. You can obediently come with me to where I am taking you or get dragged to the said place like a dog. Make your decision."

Florencia had never come across such disrespect. Had it been anyone else, she would've chopped them into fine pieces the moment they stepped foot into their hall. As it was someone from the Vampire Royal Family, she had to be extremely careful. The Vampire Queen wasn't someone Florencia could go against. She did not have the caliber or the means to pull off such a feat.

Florencia got up from her throne and saw Lith face-to-face. She did not show any hostility and asked, "Am I going to be imprisoned by your clan?"

Lith shook his head. "No. You'll be given orders and made to follow them. If this is considered imprisonment by your definitions, then by all means, yes."

Florencia nodded her head lightly. "Can I get a few hours worth of time before leaving?"

Lith could reject her request and nothing would happen, but he felt that he should give her this chance. No matter where she went, she could not run away. Not to mention, the things that he planned to let her do involved barely having time to get back to the Witch Continent. This was the last time she was going to see her home. "Yes," said Lith and gave her that opportunity. "You have until the next day. Be at the Royal Castle by dawn. Any second late, we'll consider you to have escaped and will hunt you down."

The conditions were harsh, but nothing could be done about it. While dealing with a Supreme Rank entity, one had to pull off such moves otherwise the person in front would never take you seriously. Florencia agreed with the condition and left the room.

Hecate felt a great amount of stress lift off her shoulders and slowly sat down on the ground, letting out a tired sigh. "That was tough. Really tough..."