Another World Witch Training Manual

035. The Truth

"Frank, set up the isolation magic." Sinley put down her teacup and gestured to the surroundings.

"Oh?" Frank raised an eyebrow. "It seems His Highness the Third Prince is quite confident."

"Is your information more valuable than the ins and outs of the Tanstin family affair?"

"That's one reason," Xin Lai nodded. "Secondly, we can't let certain people with ulterior motives overhear this for nothing, right?"

Frank pondered for a moment and thought that this made sense, so he summoned a servant to set up an isolation spell.

A moment later, a pale yellow light curtain, as soft as a veil, enveloped the entire council hall.

Frank looked at the light barrier, a hint of heartache flashing across his face:

"Your Highness, please don't make me lose money... This parchment scroll printed with barrier magic is not cheap."

"What, are you going to put this on my tab?"

"That depends on how valuable the information you provide is. Maybe I'll consider giving you a free meal."

"..."

It's true that no merchant is without guile.

A grand slam of acquaintances, a knife from beginning to end.

After confirming that no one else was around, Xin Lai slowly spoke:

"The eldest daughter of the Tanstin family, the only direct heir—the witch who was just tried a few days ago, Tanstin Eve, is still alive."

"..."

"?"

Frank's mind went blank for a full two seconds, then a look of undisguised shock flashed across his face.

The shock of this news was no less than if the disintegrated Soviet Union had suddenly announced its revival and then threatened to blitzkrieg Germany.

"Are you... sure?" Frank finally dropped his nonchalant demeanor, sat up straight, and stared at Xinlai with a serious gaze. "Or rather, how did you know?"

Eve is still alive; this is no longer as simple as just "judging a witch"...

This means that one of the direct or collateral branches of the Tanstin family will inevitably disappear from this world completely. And the Marquis Tanstin will certainly not let this go easily; it's only a matter of time before he rebels.

If any of the three princes harbors thoughts of usurping the throne... Asgard will either be overthrown or riddled with holes in the flames of war.

This intelligence, which symbolizes whether an era is turbulent, is far more valuable than the details of the Tansten family affair.

Seeing Frank's intrigued expression, Xinlai smiled but didn't continue: "Tell me about the Tanstin family first, and then I'll tell you how I know."

Frank knew perfectly well that Sinlai wouldn't lie about something like this, but he was still somewhat skeptical.

He stared into Xin Lai's calm eyes, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke:

"Alright, since you've shown enough sincerity, I won't hold back either."

"The Marquis Tanstin was the eldest son of the previous head of the Tanstin family. At the age of twenty-five, he took command of the border city defense army, wielding military power and enjoying immense prestige."

"The collateral branch of the Fesalie clan introduced their eldest daughter to him, saying it was to enhance the relationship between the main and collateral branches. Marquis Tanstin agreed and took the eldest daughter with him to the border for training."

"Who knew that the eldest daughter of the Fesari clan was so unruly and arrogant, completely disregarding the Marquis of Tanstin's orders. In her pursuit of military merit, she secretly led troops to attack the Stewich people, only to be captured and brutally murdered by them."

"They've been poisoned?" Sinley looked at Frank in disbelief. "Is it what I think it means...?"

Frank nodded: "An entire camp of Stilwich soldiers spent a wonderful night with that young lady. The next morning, her head was displayed on the gates of the border town."

"..."

Frank did not pause despite the wealth of information in the description, and continued, "Speaking of which, the fact that the young lady of the Fesari clan is responsible for the Stilwich people's frequent harassment of the border is partly due to her."

"But the guards who accompanied her to the border, in an attempt to cover up their mistake, reported to the head of the Fesari family after being sent back that it was Marquis Tanstin's command error that led to the young lady's death."

"From then on, although the Fesari clan nominally remained allied with the Tanstin family, they actually regarded them as enemies. They were constantly plotting how to overthrow the Marquis of Tanstin."

"A few days ago, Eve, the eldest daughter of the Tanstin family, was assassinated while training in the clan."

"The Marquis Tanstin was too far away on the border to return, so he instructed his wife to investigate privately. As expected, it was Lady Fesari who was behind it. Although they failed to kill Eve, they gained leverage over the Tanstin family—"

"Tansteen Eve was exceptionally gifted from a young age, a true prodigy. Her extraordinary talent in magic and her unparalleled aptitude as a wizard drove the Fesari family mad with envy."

"If witchcraft were not forbidden in Asgard, Eve's strength would probably be even greater than that."

"But it was precisely this assassination attempt during training that led the Fesarees to discover something amiss: Eve's magic power would slowly increase during meditation, and the fluctuations in magic power were extremely unstable."

"Without a doubt, this is a sign that she is about to become a witch."

Frank sighed helplessly and shook his head:

"This is the nature of the human heart. One wrong step leads to another. You probably know what happened next: the head of the Fesalie family and the second prince, Simien, joined forces to accuse the Tanstin family of secretly raising a witch. Then, the witch was beheaded, the marquis was sent back, and the lady's whereabouts became unknown..."

Xinlai fell into deep thought.

From beginning to end, it was the Fesalie clan who were secretly plotting. From this perspective, the Fesalie clan did indeed have a way to bring about their own demise.

Moreover, the Fesalie clan has connections with Simien... This might be one of the leverages to bring down Simien, who knows?

The council chamber remained quiet for a while.

Xinlai worked hard to digest the entire intelligence report, extracting information that could be used for his next move.

Frank lit an expensive cigar at some point, and wisps of smoke rose into the air.

"So, Your Highness, what do you say? It's your turn to speak. How did you know?"

He exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, his face appearing and disappearing in the haze: "After all, only well-founded intelligence is worth that price, right?"

Xinlai nodded: "That's easy to guess."

"Speculation?" Frank's brow furrowed suddenly, his tone rising abruptly. "You don't have direct evidence to prove Eve is still alive?"

"Frank, don't rush," Xinlai adjusted her posture and spoke slowly.

"I made a deal with Simeon in private regarding the witch Eve."

"But something unexpected happened in the dungeon that day, you know. I didn't have a chance to do anything, and I couldn't rescue Eve."

"But after the execution, Simeon came to me and asked me for the man."

"Frank, don't play dumb. You know perfectly well what's going on." Xinlai glanced at him indifferently.

"This directly proves one thing: Simeon knew Eve was still alive. He thought I saved her, but actually, none of us know where Eve went..."

"..."

Frank squinted through the smoke, seemingly deep in thought.

All the previous intelligence combined suggested that the two failed to rescue Eve, who died at the execution ground, and that Simeon went specifically to question Xinlai.

However, after Xinlai said that, Eve must still be alive.

After all, Simeon had been setting up this scheme for so long just to capture Eve and use her to blackmail the Marquis of Tansten in exchange for military power.

The question is, where did Eve go?

Although Xinlai had a motive to save her, she had a perfect alibi.

Since Simeon chose to make a deal with Xinlai, it means that he didn't dare to directly take action against Eve and had some reservations. This also eliminates the suspicion that Eve was by Simeon's side.

In other words... the guy who was traveling with Eve was very likely... Lorenz, who had been adventuring with Eve for a long time before?

Having figured this out, Frank nodded in agreement:

"Well, this information of yours has indeed shocked me greatly."

"At the same time, its value certainly far exceeds the truth of the matter," Frank affirmed, then waved his hand.

Several dark-skinned maids, who had been waiting nearby, swayed their sexy hips and pushed a small cart between the two men. The cart was neatly stacked with several boxes of gold.

"This is the difference I'm paying, Your Highness. What do you think?"

Xinlai glanced at the dozen or so chests of gold, her expression indifferent, and shook her head.

"Money can be earned anytime, right?"

Frank, seeing Xinlai's shrewd and calculating demeanor, smiled knowingly.

"Indeed, then tell me, what else would Your Highness like to know?"