Chapter 1153 – #276_Prologue

#1147

One.
Masquerade Suite, Waltz No. 1.

This song, composed by Aram Khachaturian after much effort, suffered the unfortunate event that the performance was shortened due to Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union at the time of its premiere, but it remains an exaggeration to say that it is still the most loved symphony in Russia.

A beautiful melody full of whirling melancholy and sadness flows from an old gramophone and decorates a witch’s table.

There may be only one guest, but on a table covered with a tablecloth whiter than bone, there are enough delicately plated dishes to feed 20 people.
Even that was left over after the host in front of us ate half of it.

“…”

On the contrary, Finn, who had not even once lifted his fork and knife after eating, looked at the host.

Eyes and hair that are a deep purple color, like a violet just before it withers.

Orcelia Limos, an old witch who recently joined Hexennacht at the invitation of Qliphoth and the ‘Witch of Proverbs’ who has become a poster girl for the hardliners.

Orselia carefully ate her meal with restrained and calm movements.
It went beyond the realm of luxury of simply eating or enjoying the taste of food and even seemed like a significant ritual act.

“Why don’t you lift it a little? “I deliberately prepared generously.”
“It’s okay.”

Orselia, who had just chewed a T-bone steak dripping with blood, chewing on the bone, gave off a unique atmosphere.

She had a unique atmosphere that even Finn, who had worked as Lydia’s secretary for a long time and met many witches, had never seen before.

While she felt unmotivated, like an extreme nihilist, she was filled with uncontrollable desires, like a greedy opportunist.
The brutality of a tyrant, the kindness of a saint, the uncontrollable barbarism and the ordered dignity.

Many other elements are mixed into one body called Orselia.

She said, “I invited everyone and even cooked for them…” . “Wouldn’t it be rude not to take a bite?”

Orselia’s pressure was directed at Finn.

This meeting was arranged at Finn’s request.

The attack on Las Vengadoras and Shin Si-woo, which Finn persuaded the sisters to create, ended in a huge failure with three-quarters of the participants flying away.

As a result, the top of Solidus was collapsing in real time.

In a situation where she has already lost her leader and a large number of executives have disappeared or died, the feat that her mother built with her hands is crumbling like a sand castle before her eyes.

Revenge becomes increasingly distant, and the sisters who initially followed Finn gradually turn their backs on him.
Most likely, the Werpanas who had sortied before were lured away by him.

Still, Finn wanted revenge.

Even if I had to hand my mother’s empire into the hands of hardliners, I could be satisfied as long as I could cut off my enemy’s head.

Therefore, they wanted to make a deal in exchange for handing over the top of Solidus, which was about to collapse anyway, to Orselia.

In that case, it would be pointless to bother going against her feelings.

Finn reluctantly lifted his hand and grabbed a knife and fork, slicing the meat and putting it into his mouth.
Orselia is staring at Finn with curious eyes.

“… Whoop.”

Finn barely swallowed back his nausea as he felt the soft texture of the meat being crushed between his teeth, the juices and blood drops rolling on his tongue.

“The most compelling evidence of the natural order lies in none other than the law of predation.”

The reason Finn refused to serve her Orselia was not because he was overwhelmed by Orselia’s intimidation or because he thought she had done something strange with her food.

However, it was a fairly intuitive reason.

“This law of the strong ruling the weak is an essential truth of the natural world. The strong survive and prosper, while the weak are sacrificed and become prey, becoming the basis for new life.
In this way, predation can be seen as the world’s primordial drama and the clearest evidence of superiority or inferiority among species, right?”

Orcelia laughed.

In the sly smile that confirms his superiority as he looks at the frowning Finn, the mischievous playfulness swirls around like oil on the surface of the water.

“How about this? How does it feel to be reborn as the greatest species above the cruel order of this world?”

The witch of Proverbs has ‘devoured’ countless witches.
This table is a barbaric logic that can only be described as crazy, packaged with the refined aesthetic sense of cooking.

How many witches would Qliphoth have provided to fill this large table?

“… “This is the worst.”

Orselia spread the foie gras smoothly on top of her rye bread, paying no heed to Finn’s honest review.
To be exact, it would be ‘something’ that could be considered foie gras.

“Anyway, I’m not really interested, but I came to see you. “I’ll listen.”

Finn desperately told him the offer he had prepared.

Now is not the time for Solidus and Qliphoth to be at odds.
A real danger is just around the corner.
Hexennacht must unite as one body and wage war against Gehenna to prevent further infringement of its sovereignty, and condemn Shin Si-woo as an example.

Now the witch will be reborn as the law of the world.
It is time to revive the ambitions of Hexennacht’s early days.

Let you incite the hardliners to start a war.

In return, I will give all of Solidus to Qliphoth, especially Orselia.
It can be roughly summarized as follows.

During the explanation, Orcelia devoured bone marrow roasted whole on its bones, all the meat on its unique backbone, thinly sliced ​​black pudding, and even a pinkish pâté as a bonus. I ate it up.

Now, all that remained on the table was an empty plate with traces of sauce on it.

“You came all the way here just to make such a suggestion. She said she was Lydia’s secretary, so she made time for it, but she did something stupid. “Your brain is small, so I don’t think there’s much to eat.”

Orcelia wiped her mouth with a napkin and sold the pin with a grin.

The definition of ‘old witch’ itself is nothing special.
Any witch who has not been passed down for more than a thousand years is an old witch.

However, if you collect the implied meanings within them, you can see why they are objects of reverence even to public officials.

The fact that there has been no succession for a thousand years means that the person has outstanding abilities.
It also means that she was a ruthless warrior who fought through the times before Gehenna was established, that is, when there was no order in witch society.
Lastly, if Duke Erelim is excluded, it means that he is a potential hero who rejected the order of Gehenna or Duke Kether.

That’s why Finn didn’t expect such a sharp rejection.

“Why? Didn’t you accept Qliphoth’s offer because you too were ambitious? “I’m sure the reason Qliphoth invited you wasn’t to enjoy good food.”
“Ah, those idiots? “Thanks to you, I am very happy.”

“If you refuse, I will go to the ‘Nightmare Witch’ next.”
“I see. “If I leave the Solidus top alone, it will melt sweetly and end up in my mouth, so I just don’t want to go through all the trouble to get my share.”

Orselia smiled elegantly as she calmly accepted the dessert served to her.

“War with Gehenna at this point? Nobody wants it, right? “Qliphoth, what difference will it make if I come forward while these cowards are making a fuss?”
“…”
“The Witch of Gold is dead, the Duke of the neighboring town has reached the 25th rank, and his overall morale and power are inferior. “In a time like this, it would be foolish to start a reckless war just because you want one more piece of cake.”

Orselia was speaking.

The game is over.
With Lydia’s death, the era in which Hexennacht could compete with Gehenna for prowess came to an end.

“All this city can do is to bow its neck like a coward and enjoy limited freedom as it has done so far. All I can do is be more comfortable and enjoy the food. I understand your desire to avenge your former boss, but…
No matter who you go to, you will get the same answer. Or, will we find a game changer that will change this whole situation?”

Orselia flicked her spoon and pointed toward her door.
It’s a gesture that can be interpreted as a sign to get out since there’s nothing more to do.

Despite the humiliating welcome, Finn returned to Lydia’s studio without being able to utter a word.

Actually, I know.
What Orselia said was right every word, and Finn had also predicted it to some extent.

The last hope was dashed by cold, cold ridicule.
The reality I faced was not much different from my mother’s cold office.

“Who is this.”

An unbelievable person appeared in front of Finn, who was looking at the office with eyes filled with memories and bitterness.

“Finn, how have you been?”

Bright blonde hair cut short around the shoulders and golden eyes that resemble pure gold.
White wrist gloves like the symbol.

This is my mother, Lydia, whom I longed to see again.

However, Finn was a realist, and he was not one to be swayed by the delusions of vague optimism.

Her mother is dead.
There is no such thing as coming back.

In that case, the identity of the witch who covered up her mother’s skin before her eyes was obvious.

“The Witch of Whispers.”
“You’re being so cold… “Are you a little upset?”
“Shut up.”

Lilith, the Witch of Whispers.

She is an old witch with unpredictable danger, just like Orselia, whom we met a little while ago.
In the face of the devil who brought inevitable destruction to all witches, Finn was on high alert, but soon felt nothing but futility.

The Witch of Whispers will inevitably bring catastrophe in the end, but she has nothing left for Finn anyway.
Perhaps Lilith may be the last demon Finn can contract with.

“Don’t worry. Very, very rarely, I came here with good intentions. “I’m not going to do anything special, but I just want to let you know what you didn’t realize.”

Lilith, imitating Lydia, shrugged her shoulders and walked over to the wall.
When she tore off her picture frame, her safe was visible behind it.

Finn was also aware of the existence of a secret safe in Lydia’s workshop.
However, since it was a magical barrier that required a very thorough authentication system, it was left as is.

If Lydia creates a key with her unique magic and does not open it through the proper procedures, she will immediately incinerate its contents.

-Click

However, Lilith opened the safe as if it was completely natural.

“Ruler. Hurry. “Here is the game changer you are looking for.”

Then it disappears, as if telling Finn to look at the contents.
He literally disappeared all of a sudden.

Finn checked his mother’s secret safe with his trembling hands.

“Haha…”

And then I was sure.

“Ahahahaha!!!!”

The true legacy that Lydia Magnus left behind was here.