She Is Not a Witch

Angus’s voice gradually grew faint, intermittent. After finishing his own story, his eyes slowly began to close.

“Do you regret it?” the girl asked.

“I regret not protecting Eileen well enough.”

“Do you want revenge?”

“I’ve thought about it, but unfortunately, I’m no longer capable. Revenge is something only one can do themselves to get the greatest consolation. Forcing such dark emotions onto others—she would be very disappointed.”

“She?”

“Yes, Eileen’s mother, my eternal love. She wouldn’t want me to become someone with a dark heart, because she was the type who, even when hurt, wouldn’t become someone who hurts others.”

“Not becoming evil because of others’ evil towards you?”

“Yes, that’s what fascinated me about her back then—her gentle, kind, yet strong character.”

“If others treat me badly, using underhanded means, I would retaliate, I would punish them, but I wouldn’t stoop to their level. That’s my pride as a person.”

“And that’s the most beautiful quality I learned from Eileen’s mother. I had hoped to teach it to Eileen too, but alas, I can no longer do so…”

Angus’s voice gradually faded, finally falling silent.

Loranhil stood up, looking at the man who had fallen into eternal sleep. After a long moment of reflection, she softly said:

“May you have a beautiful dream.”

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Vegar Commercial Alliance, near Lake Kempe.

Several luxurious carriages moved along the road, flanked by squads of mounted riders. They wore steel armor, carried long swords and shields, with crossbows slung on their backs—about a hundred men in total. The riders’ shields and the sides of the carriages bore the night-blooming cereus emblem, representing their affiliation with the Carithes Merchant Association.

Loranhil sat in an elaborately decorated carriage, gazing out at the distant, calm, and beautiful lake surface where some birds flew by.

“Where are we now?” she asked.

“This is Lake Kempe. We should reach Kempe Town by tonight to stay over. It’s Agdelin Merchant Association’s territory, so it will be very safe,” the head maid replied.

“Agdelin?”

“Yes, the Agdelin Merchant Association mainly deals in fisheries, olives, river mussels, pearls, jewelry, and furniture. They’re our commercial allies and have collaborated on many projects with us, so they’re trustworthy.”

“I see…”

Loranhil looked out the window. As the carriage moved forward, a vast expanse of verdant forest came into view. Densely packed trees with light green foliage exuded vibrant colors in the sunlight.

On both sides of the road were neatly arranged olive groves, stretching as far as the eye could see. The fresh scent of the trees wafted through the air on the summer breeze.

“These are all Agdelin family’s olive trees. They mainly use them for oil pressing, occasionally cutting down some old trees for furniture or selling them to us for shipbuilding,” Chelsea, the head maid, explained, seeing Loranhil’s interest in the olives.

“They’re quite appealing. Does our association have any business in this area?”

“Our Carithes Merchant Association mainly deals in timber, citrus fruits, cotton textiles, spices, and shipbuilding.”

After entering Vegar Commercial Alliance territory, the old butler Ceres quickly contacted nearby Carithes branch offices and gathered armed forces from nearby cities and towns. This included over 100 fully armed riders, more than 40 shield and crossbow infantry, and some support personnel, totaling about 160 people.

Only with Loranhil under such layered protection did the old butler feel at ease to continue the journey.

Over these days in the carriage, the girl listened to Chelsea and Ceres explain the specific situation of the association while contemplating how to handle subsequent issues upon reaching Hoplanor.

Once she officially inherited the Carithes Merchant Association in Hoplanor, with the protection and assistance of the association’s forces, many problems would become easier to solve.

However, the question remained: would there be more attacks along the way? What if the enemy was determined to eliminate all heirs of the Carithes Merchant Association before giving up?

Loranhil had tried consulting the system, learning that using supernatural powers to protect herself now would also be considered a violation. Since she had taken on the identity of Angus’s daughter, as long as this identity lived, it would bring wealth. Thus, using supernatural powers to protect herself would be considered profiting from it. Unless she abandoned this identity and started over.

This meant that if Loranhil faced a deadly situation where she had to intervene, the mission would fail, and the wealth given by Angus would no longer be recognized by the system. She would then have to find other ways to complete the task.

However, this didn’t mean that Loranhil would complete the task just by inheriting Angus’s property. The mission was to earn, not just possess. In other words, Loranhil had to use the capital given by Angus to earn 100,000 gold coins to qualify. But if she mismanaged along the way, she could lose even more money, moving further from the goal of completing the mission.

Based on Angus’s will and her recent understanding, Angus’s total accumulated wealth over more than a decade amounted to about 280,000 gold coins, much of which was in real estate. The actual liquid funds were only 20,000-30,000 gold coins, which couldn’t be used arbitrarily as they were needed to handle various emergencies.

“Young Miss, Kempe Town is just ahead,” came the voice of the old butler Ceres from the front.

“Alright.”

After some negotiation by the advance party, the city gate guards cleared the way, allowing the large group to enter.

“Miss Lacey, after entering the city, according to previous etiquette and tradition, we should pay a visit to the Agdelin family.”

“Did Angus have frequent dealings with them?”

“The master and the current head of the Agdelin family are very good friends. They once went on a risky business venture to the Southern Islands together.”

“I understand. After we rest in the city for a while, we’ll visit the Agdelin family.”

As the Carithes Merchant Association’s caravan slowly entered the city, several guards in green robes hurried to report the situation to the city lord’s mansion.

Inside the city lord’s mansion, a gray-based banner hung in the great hall, imprinted with green olive and shell patterns, representing the Agdelin family.

A middle-aged man wearing glasses sat at the desk writing letters when a knock came at the door.

“Enter.”

“Lord Jelinc, the Carithes Merchant Association’s caravan has entered the city today.”

“Mm, I see. Angus should be coming over later. Prepare the banquet.”

The middle-aged man continued writing, not paying much attention. He and Angus were old friends who met often, so there was no need for formalities.

“But sir, it’s not Master Angus who’s come. It’s said to be his daughter, Lacey. And Master Angus was attacked on the way here and has passed away,” the aide said hesitantly.

“What!” The middle-aged man’s pen veered, leaving an ink stain. He stood up in shock.

“Angus is dead?”

“Yes, sir,” the aide repeated.

“Only his daughter survived?”

“That’s what we’ve heard.”

The middle-aged man began pacing the room, then instructed the aide:

“Make tonight’s banquet more grand. Then call Rachel over; she should be about the same age as Angus’s daughter and will be easier to get along with. Then go invite Angus’s daughter to our home as a guest.”

“Yes, sir.” The aide then left the room.

Jelinc looked out at the sky approaching dusk and said in a low voice:

“You’ve left just like that, Angus… so suddenly.”