The Reborn Witch had a nice 'Tea Time' with the Dragon Queen today
Chapter 91: Blackmail Blooms in Frozen Soil

Chapter 91: Blackmail Blooms in Frozen Soil

"A lot more than you think." Demond raised her brows as she smirked, her confidence in the ashen-eyed dragon’s knowledge not unfounded.

"Yasen," Adrei sighed as Yasen darted her gaze back and forth, unsure who to look at for ease. "If I recall correctly, Coriel once worked with us on the <Witch Formula>. Am I correct?"

"Ah, yes!" Yasen’s shoulder slackened, knowing her ’stalking behaviours’ were not put on a butcher’s platter. "I- we are sorry we couldn’t monitor Coriel for this behaviour, so the relationship between humans and dragons is..."

"I’m concerned about it, but let Alfina handle it. She would know what to do." Adrei seethed her teeth, unknowing she dumped another massive workload onto her kin alongside the news of a Dragon Elder’s betrayal.

A flicker of flame in her irises colasced back her calmness, as Adrei continued. "Be honest with me, however, you didn’t treat Coriel’s behaviour as a necessary ’betrayal’, did you Yasen?"

"...I...I did..." Yasen’s shoulders slackened, her head burrowing. Just as always, the Dragon Queen saw through all, and there was none to hide.

"If I am honest," Yasen gripped the robe tightly, the scale behind it reminding her of her true allegiance. "From the moment we let loose Coriel, big sister, we...we sorta expect something big might happen. Coriel did go too far, but...I am not slightly surprised that we ended up this way..."

"Which is why you were so damn silent when the Queen revealed Coriel is part of this deal, weren’t you?" The Witch groaned. "Honestly, I understand where you’re coming from, having to go against one of your few sisters like that."

"...mm..."

"Which is why..." Demond narrowed her eyes with a smile as she walked up to Yasen. "We’re going to offer a deal to her."

"Eh?!" Yasen’s eyes perked up, a deal was the last thing she expected coming from the Queen’s wife.

"Demond...you..."

"I know, Adrei." The Witch tapped Yasen’s frightened shoulder as she met her husband’s eyes. "Well, technically, it’s not exactly a deal, but isn’t it better to call it that way?"

"...hm..." A similar smirk crept up on Adrei as both of their eyes stared towards the ice stains on the cafe’s window.

They immediately knew what the other was thinking in an instant.

"Um..." Yasen’s eyes stuck themselves towards Alice’s ice, then they widened in a horrific realisation. "Don’t tell me..."

"Anyways, better now than never." Demond patted Yasen’s shoulder with the ’kindest’ smile she could muster. "Contact Coriel with your <Far-seeing Eyes>, Yasen."

-------------

In a frozen forest where no smell of the scientist’s favourite expresso could be found, but rather only the freshly tinglings of Alice’s ice plauged her nostrils, Coriel suddenly stopped as she treached on a frozen bark.

"Hm?" Manasseh frowned as she glanced back, irritation apparent in her slightly raised head. "Hurry up. Our reluctant partnership is based on your cooperation, Dragon Elder."

"I understand. May I apologise." Coriel merely smiled, as her mind drifted to somewhere else, along with where the gusts couldn’t touch upon, and along with where the tickling of mana into her mind comes from.

’It has been a while, Yasen.’

Coriel nodded to particularly no one as she walked, her thoughts relaying through the string of mana, vibrating every syllables like a makeshift telephone.

’Y-yes...sister...’

The scientist chuckled at the scaredy cat’s shuttering tone, her indifferent steady voice attempting in turn to comfort her. ’Do not fret. It is our big sister who told of you to contact me, didn’t she?’

’Ah, yes. Yes...of course!’

The scientist glanced upon the glittery flowers, the beauty in the eternal frozen time matching the asethetic sense that the dragon accumulated for thousands of years.

’Then, what did she wish to tell me? Or perhaps it is her wife that hopes to contact me about her body structure? I can personally ensure I put no faults or traps within the formula.’

Coriel petted the flowers one by one, her hand gliding each of the flower like a mistress of a well-cared garden, if only that care was not for mere fascination rather than love for plants.

’Yes...Big sister and her wife told me t-to offer a deal..."

’A deal?’ Coriel’s finger lingered upon one of the roses, before her brows furrowed at the absolute, catastrophic news that drummed her ear.

’They told you that i-if you don’t want me to tell Alice of your position, right now, tell them everything there is to know about how to heal an Android!’

Her finger completely faltered every bits of her hesitation, as Coriel’s steps halted once again. Her ears stilled, her breath choked, her heartbeats crawled into the lungs even with Manasseh’s glare on the forward, as if trapped within a hell of her own making.

’...how generous.’ Her indifferent tone was now like a human pretending to be a makeshift machine, the slight shiver of her voice was picked up by Yasen.

’Si-sister...just tell them already. Y-you don’t want to...well, become toasted again like that one time you ask what a thereotical ice nuke is, right?’

’...sister...’ Coriel almost shed a tear for her sister’s consideration, and that’s extremely rare for an indifferent scientist that once dreamt about dissecting her own kins and family.

’...across the North of Rouen.’ With a sigh, Coriel began to confess. Fine, variables were forced into her venture with the vampire, but alternatively the witch and the drago could be used to draw out...’her’ instead.

’And pass one of the Undine’s Forgotten Temples, there was the Infinite Dungeon of Soverignheim. You will find there what you seek. I shall speak no more.’

’Wait, sis-’

Coriel heaved as her emerald manas tendrils stretched and plucked out Yasen’s stringed connection with her, before meeting the former vampire merchant’s cautious gaze.

"You’re contacting someone, aren’t you?" Manasseh immediately incquired. She is not one to dodge around things until the very end, especially when it concerns one of her close affiliates.

"It will not be of harm to our journey. You may feel free to suspect otherwise." Coriel shook her head, the slight tremour in her smile betraying her intent, yet never showing too much for the merchant.

"Tch." Manasseh clicked her teeth, assuming there is no possible way the scientist will draw their enemies to their destination, before striding out on her own.

The scientist raised her brows at the Merchant’s loosely response to her own suspicious behaviour, before chortling, as she followed the merchant out to the edge of the frozen forest.

They need not remind themselves again, for 15 years of partnership was enough to tell each other of their tenderness to secrecy, their stubborness to hide behind their speeches.

Therefore, the best way to ’trust’ on each other is to ironically speak as less as possible, lest they drew ires where they could not afford.

And for Coriel...the scientist narrowed her eyes on the back of Manasseh, the slight swaying of her shoulders and her gaze that kept peering behind them, trying to constantly keep the Dragon Elder in check.

Perhaps, you will present to me a different possibility for your kind’s future this time, Manasseh Bloodhound.

The scientist’s smile grew ever wider, for another research hypothesis unfolding before her very eyes, and she remains as the sole witness.

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