The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch - Chapter 258

Windsor Palace, underground collection room.

“You’re insane…”

On the floor, blood flowed. A shattered pair of goggles lay scattered on the ground.

On the cold operating table, a tall, thin figure was tied down. Her limbs had been completely severed. Blood continuously flowed down the grooves of the operating table towards the blood trough at the bottom.

“Lafayette… I treated you like a true mother… I thought we were on the same side… But you lied to me, Lafayette.”

A feminine voice echoed from the side.

Forte reached out a bloody finger and gently wiped away a drop of blood from his face, but this only left a large smear of crimson on his face.

Combined with his face, which was now covered in strange symbols, and his almost morbid gaze, it gave off a spine-chilling sense of horror.

“I told you… I don’t know any Keyman…”

On the operating table, Lafayette’s voice gradually weakened. She looked at the madman-like man with fear on her face. Flesh buds wriggled at the severed points of her arms, helping to seal her wounds.

“No~”

Forte smiled and shook his head. His eyebrows were lowered. He looked down at Lafayette lying in the pool of blood and slowly said, “I know everything… You cannot hide it from me…”

“Do you recognize her?”

Forte seemed to think of something. He slowly took out half a bloody human face with hair from the cloth bag at his waist and held it up to Lafayette.

Lafayette gasped heavily. She tried hard to recognize the appearance of the human skin, but there was no clear match in her mind.

“I don’t recognize her… Who is she?”

Lafayette’s tone had a hint of helplessness now. “I truly don’t recognize her…”

Forte’s face turned cold. The smile on his face also disappeared. He flung the bloody human skin onto the operating table and said coldly, “Then you better think hard yourself.”

With that, Forte turned and left the underground collection room, walking along the dark corridor towards the first floor.

Lafayette genuinely seemed to know nothing…

Was she only swayed by that “Keyman” later?

Or perhaps… the person who borrowed the “Keyman’s” identity?

The Keyman’s corpse handed over by the Deton Group was highly corrupted by potion. It had been so eroded by the potion that its original appearance was completely unrecognizable. Even if someone from the Society of Merriment came over, it would be unlikely they could identify who it was.

Originally, he had no intention of starting the investigation from the fake corpse held by the Deton Group. He also didn’t want to offend the Deton Group and challenge their damned luck.

But now, the situation had reached an extremely critical point. He had to go all out and use every means necessary… Three rewinds, and he didn’t even know who the other party was… This kind of frustration was something he had never experienced before.

Just as he reached the hall, a musician in a suit walked up to Forte and reported in a low voice, “Your Excellency Forte, we have learned from Lucy Silva’s subordinates that she has been frequenting the Deton Member Hotel recently. This unusual behavior only started after she returned from Berren City.”

“Prepare the horses.”

Forte’s face was cold. He quickly walked towards the door.

…

Deton Member Hotel, luxury suite.

Ciel looked through the window at the cavalry units gradually gathering in the street below, forming ranks.

A faint buzzing sounded in her mind, like the low notes of a piano. Ciel turned her head and exchanged glances with Avena. Neither of them was unfamiliar with this sound.

It was Echo Scan, Tier 4 “Illusion Conductor.”

It was Forte.

It was only the third rewind, yet Forte’s reaction was truly too fast… It was only the 17th now. In every previous simulation, Forte had been completely inactive in the first few days.

But this time, Forte had almost found Ciel within a few hours, and had also sealed off almost all of Ciel’s avenues for seeking help.

Originally, Ciel had only used the Keyman’s name to control the Chaos Squad and mislead the higher-ups of the Society of Merriment, making them believe that the Keyman was not dead.

Utilizing Lucy also brought Ciel a lot of convenience, but Lucy’s strong connection to the Keyman, as Ciel had expected, became a breakthrough point.

It was highly likely that Forte had no evidence at all. But he didn’t need evidence. Possessing rewind, he could, just like Ciel did in the simulation, kill everyone and everything, forcing the evidence out through bloody means.

This time, Forte was truly desperate.

Ciel took a deep breath. She directly pulled the curtains shut. By the desk, she wrote a paragraph of text in the notebook with her quill pen.

【Help me stall Forte. Don’t let him find me.】

【At least ten minutes.】

Ciel turned and showed the notepaper to Avena and Tara.

Stall… Forte?

Tier 4 “Illusion Conductor”?

Although Forte had not yet appeared, and might not even appear within ten minutes, just this text alone was enough to make one feel suffocated.

But Avena and Tara did not speak. They just looked at Ciel and nodded.

Avena was also waiting.

As long as Charles could arrive, she would be confident in having Charles stall Forte for ten minutes… Although she didn’t know what ten minutes would do, Avena chose to trust Ciel.

If there was no other way, she would also keep her promise from just now.

Even if she turned into a puddle of blood, as long as she could help Ciel delay the enemy’s steps even a little, then she hadn’t failed the promise she made to Ciel before, the promise that she would not retreat when danger arose.