After the incident ended, Dorothea had to face suspicious glances from the Donnengarten side.

The wife who was unable to speak through her tears, the overflowing spirits, being with Rapunzel who had escaped—or so it was made to appear—from the tower.

To those unaware of the full context, she seemed the most suspicious at this point.

Dorothea wasn’t unaware that she would be suspected if she deliberately displayed her abilities.

That was why she had summoned spirits to her room to make it look like someone was there, or had Sophia pretend to investigate elsewhere to draw attention, in preparation for this.

However, plans often went awry when put into practice.

From the moment the dwarf noticed their tailing, the possibility of “quietly resolving things without others knowing” had gone out the window, and after that, it was just momentum.

The part where action preceded thought in urgent situations truly made the knight a perfect match for his master—though she would vehemently deny it.

Fortunately, Dorothea wasn’t thrown in jail with burly men interrogating her.

If an ordinary adventurer or traveler had been suspected of necromancy and threatening the lord’s wife simultaneously, they would have been thrown in jail regardless of the truth, but Dorothea was neither a simple adventurer nor a traveler.

To express it in a noble’s verbose style, she was a companion of “Lady Adelaide von Lennart, heir candidate of Friedel domain, member of the Lion Duke’s bloodline, individual event winner of the Thracus martial arts tournament—as the champion was disqualified—representative instructor of the Lennart dojo Tik-Tok branch, and guest of the lord of Donnengarten”.

This was why the soldiers’ attitude had to be cautious, no matter how suspicious she seemed.

To their “polite request for situation explanation”, Dorothea simply answered, “Ask the wife.”

And the wife, who had finally stopped crying and calmed down—

***

[The ‘Tin Knight’ evaluates that seeing how she spilled everything cleanly, Dorothea’s threats must have been effective!]

“What threats? Someone listening might think I told her to make up stories.”

About half a day after the incident ended.

The atmosphere in the domain could only be described as that of a house of mourning.

Although no one had physically died, the “circumstances so far” revealed by the wife’s own mouth were enough to shock and terrify people.

It couldn’t be helped when it was revealed that the domain’s kind and wise mistress was actually a villainess who had been sacrificing other orphans to protect her own daughter.

Adelaide cautiously asked, “What will happen to the lord’s wife now? Will she perhaps be exiled…?”

Sophia answered, “Well, I don’t think that’s likely. For one thing, the lord actively shielded her.”

The lord seemed quite shocked to learn that his wife had used a mage’s power to win his heart, but that was all.

“Even if the catalyst was external intervention, the years we’ve spent together aren’t a lie. My love remains unchanged!”

In one sense, it was a foolish statement, and in another sense, it was a manly declaration.

Those among the retainers who thought the former wore sour expressions, while those who thought the latter had tears in their eyes, making the distinction quite easy.

Above all, since the lord himself declared that he wouldn’t hold her responsible for the charm magic, it became somewhat ambiguous to condemn the aftermath as well.

“Even so, to have made contracts with an unknown mage for over a decade and quietly offered sacrifices, isn’t that evil deed too excessive?”

“It wasn’t for any other reason, but to protect the young lady, wasn’t it? That should be taken into account.”

“All the children sacrificed were orphans. If the lady hadn’t taken them in, they would have died soon anyway, so I’m not sure if it’s such a great sin.”

“To begin with, there are quite a few among the retainers who favor the wife. Those without much connection to her are mostly soldiers or knights, but they in turn find it difficult to speak up when the lord, the object of their loyalty, is shielding her.”

“The nobles and retainers might think so, but wouldn’t the domain’s people think differently?”

“They’ll be careful not to let the story spread from the top. If it gets out of hand, it won’t end with just the lord’s wife, but could spread into a scandal for the entire family. The legitimacy of the heir would also be shaken.”

After saying this, Sophia turned her gaze to Dorothea.

“Of course, it would all end if Dorothea said one word to the wife to ‘spill everything to the domain’s people.’ Are you going to do that?”

“Why would I?” Dorothea answered as if uninterested.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ is shocked!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists that for a definitive cathartic ending, they should cut off the wife’s head and hang it on a pole!]

“You’re talking nonsense.”

Dorothea had no particular intention of settling grudges with the wife.

The wife had agreed to pay proper “compensation”, and she hadn’t particularly pointed a knife at them.

“Well, I’m not going to protect her either, so if you decide to spread this story in the village, I won’t stop you. The retainers won’t lay hands on you while we’re staying here, either. What do you want to do?”

The girl, Rapunzel, who received Dorothea’s gaze, flinched.

Her hair, which had been cut haphazardly for the escape drama, had somehow grown back to her waist.

“Um… it’s okay. Honestly, I don’t think the villagers would believe me, anyway. Even if they did believe me, if you ask if I have the passion for it, not really.”

“You’re being quite broad-minded.”

“No, to be honest, I just don’t want to get involved with this domain ever again.”

“Is that so?”

Dorothea tilted her head as if somewhat difficult to understand, but soon seemed to accept it and moved on.

Rapunzel was already branded as a witch within Donnengarten, and having lost her attachment to this place, she planned to move elsewhere with the party.

Although she occasionally spaced out after hearing the news of her brother’s death, she was intelligent and quick-witted, so she wasn’t a bad temporary companion.

With Rapunzel settling her position like this, in the end, only the Tin Knight was left rampaging with dissatisfaction.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists that a fiery conclusion is necessary to realize justice!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that with just one order, he’ll go and sweep everything away!]

At the Tin Knight’s fervent appeal, Dorothea stared at him blankly.

“You, all that talk about justice is just an excuse.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ protests his innocence!]

“Really? You’re not just trying to create another battle because you’re disappointed you couldn’t have an escape drama in a collapsing tower or a brawl against a super dwarf fused with the tower?”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ acknowledges the witch’s judgment, saying that upon reflection, even sinners should have a chance for repentance!]

The Tin Knight quickly flipped his palm.

His true intentions were truly transparent.

Dorothea considered throwing a few more barbs at him, but decided against it.

After all, in her opinion, the wife’s future wasn’t very bright.

Certainly, the incident wouldn’t escalate to the point where she was branded as a witch by people and tied to a stake.

But the retainers would definitely feel uncomfortable around her, and even though the lord was shielding her now, it was uncertain how long that feeling would last.

Little by little, like a tree being eaten away by insects, the wife’s authority and influence would inevitably disappear.

No, before that, she might go mad from the “daughters” who visited every night and whispered in her ear.

Among the more than ten bride candidates taken by the dwarf, Dorothea found three.

All of them had committed suicide out of despair over their situation.

She didn’t know what happened to the other surviving daughters, but just having the souls of the three she found clinging to her would surely be tremendously stressful for the wife.

It might be merciful to kill her quickly, but as she said earlier, Dorothea had neither the obligation nor the interest to go that far.

After all, she had many other things to worry about right now.

…Dark land, bright land, king and minister, conquest war aiming for territory?

Dorothea was an intellectual.

It was no mere self-praise, but an objective fact.

To begin with, magic itself was a field that couldn’t be properly used without cultivation or knowledge.

It wasn’t for nothing that terms like “study” or “school” were used.

But even for Dorothea, the information in the “dwarf’s” memories was utterly unfamiliar.

If she hadn’t directly experienced it through the Chalice of Tuberose, she might not have believed such things actually existed.

No, is it decided that they actually existed? After all, even the dwarf didn’t directly experience the war, he just heard about it from adults. But setting aside the war, just the fact that there’s another land is problematic.

Moreover, it wasn’t just land and countries, but “bright land”. In other words, there were beings somewhere coveting the place where Dorothea and others lived.

This is giving me a headache.

Dorothea frowned.

The scale of the information alone was headache-inducing, but trying to dismiss it as unrelated to her felt too unsettling given its content.

If there was any consolation, there were at least clues for obtaining additional information.

The Kingdom of Heaven and the Four Great Witches.

The Kingdom of Heaven was hiding information about the “dark land”, and the Four Great Witches whom even the Kingdom of Heaven hesitated to touch, were likely to know related content.

Dorothea pondered for a moment, then went into her room and started writing a letter.

It seemed necessary to send greetings to her teacher after a long time.

***

On the day of departure from Donnengarten.

There was no grand farewell procession of people regretting the party’s departure.

The lord himself briefly showed his face, and enough people gathered to not be rude when guests were leaving, but just that much.

People’s faces were tinged with subtle fear and a desperate wish for them to leave quickly, and the party didn’t feel hurt by this.

After all, regardless of the victims, from the perspective of those unrelated to the tower, what they had done was simply stirring up trouble in the domain and leaving.

Since they had anticipated all this, this wasn’t the least bit surprising. w

However, there was one unexpected situation.

“I’ve caused you so much trouble. I’m sorry. And thank you for preventing my mother from committing further sins.”

The lord’s wife’s daughter.

The heir of Donnengarten and the central figure of this incident, yet the most peripheral, had come to see off Dorothea’s party.

And not together with others, but alone, finding them when the party had reached the edge of the domain.

“This isn’t much, but it’s a token of gratitude. It can’t compare to the wrongs committed, but please accept it.”

“Hmm.”

“Ah, yes.”

Dorothea, with a slightly dubious face, and Rapunzel, in a dumbfounded state, each accepted two jewel boxes offered by the girl.

While it didn’t matter much to Dorothea, who had absorbed the Wicked Wtch of the West’s wealth, it was enough treasure to make Rapunzel take a deep breath after briefly checking the contents.

Considering the not-so-large scale of Donnengarten and the girl’s position as a mere heir, it wasn’t hard to guess that this was practically her entire fortune.

Dorothea asked quizzically, “You don’t particularly have anything to apologize to me for, do you? The same goes for gratitude. If it’s payment for dealing with the mage, I’ve already received something else, and besides, from your perspective, I’m more of an enemy than a benefactor, aren’t I?”

The heir, whose name they didn’t even know, shook her head.

“My mother committed those evil deeds for my sake. I bear responsibility too. I haven’t been able to persuade my father and the retainers yet, but later I will reveal all the facts. And I will erect a memorial for the sacrificed victims.”

“…You’re making trouble for yourself.”

“If you ever come back here, could I ask you to appease the spirits?”

Dorothea asked incredulously, “You’ve heard my story, right? Asking a necromancer to perform a memorial service?”

“Aren’t souls your specialty?”

“Well, that’s true, but still.”

“Of course, if you’re uncomfortable with it, you don’t have to force yourself.”

Dorothea stroked her hair that had fallen over her shoulder, as if pondering.

Then, shrugging her shoulders lightly, she answered, “Well, if I happen to stop by someday.”

“Thank you.”

The girl bowed deeply, and only after repeatedly apologizing to Rapunzel several times did she let them go.

In the departing carriage, the Tin Knight spoke to Dorothea.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks how it feels to have future work lined up!]

“Are you teasing me now?”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says it’s not bad to secure stable work for your later years!]

With trivial chatter and an additional temporary companion loaded in the cargo compartment, the carriage moved forward.

Once again, towards a new travel destination.

***

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