The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch - Chapter 261

“You talk. I happen to have something I need to go out for.”

Charles tactfully stood up and left the dining room. However, he was indeed genuinely busy with something.

With Forte dead, Ansu City’s power would undergo a major reshuffle. Those who had followed Forte would be held accountable, while centrists and loyalists like Charles would have the opportunity to seize a large amount of profit.

Charles wanted to use this opportunity to solidify the Roswell family’s position within Ansu’s power circles in one go, so they would no longer be precarious and able to skillfully navigate all sides as they were before.

“Bring her in.”

“Yes, Young Mistress.”

Avena put down her knife and fork, picked up a napkin from the side to wipe the corner of her mouth, then drank a couple of sips of red tea and looked towards the door.

The dining room door was quickly pushed open. A figure with almost half her face wrapped in bandages walked in, limping.

Even with the use of extremely high-quality potions, it was difficult to hide the burns and knife scars on her neck and other exposed skin. It was hard to imagine what kind of torment she had suffered.

“Miss Avena.”

Lucy walked to Avena’s side and said in a somewhat hoarse voice, “I apologize for taking the liberty of disturbing you at this time… May I ask, where is Miss Ciel?”

“I can’t find her either.”

Avena shook her head and said, “If there is any news…”

Before Avena could finish speaking, Lucy’s lips trembled, and her whole person became agitated.

“Miss Avena, you must know where she is. Please tell her… I truly didn’t say anything. It was my subordinates who couldn’t withstand the interrogation and revealed my itinerary… I swear I truly did not betray Miss Ciel!”

Lucy’s expression was somewhat painful. Some intense facial expressions seemed to tear at her wounds. The left half of her face, wrapped in bandages, showed a slight flush.

“I apologize, I really am looking for her.”

Avena stood up, looked up at Lucy, and said, “If I get any news of her, I will inform you.”

Lucy gasped. She raised her hand with a tremble and said:

“The board of directors has postponed the vote on my seat. A group formed by competitors and opponents has slandered me, accusing me of engaging in some kind of transaction with the Society of Merriment using Forte’s investigation as an excuse. Only Miss Ciel can prove my innocence…”

Saying this, Lucy lowered her hand somewhat powerlessly, seemingly resigned to her fate. She said in a low voice, “If… you see her, please tell her… I have a clear conscience.”

With that, Lucy bowed slightly to Avena, then turned and left, looking a little dejected.

Only after Lucy left did Avena slowly sigh.

She took off her glasses and placed them aside. Reaching into her pocket, she took out a gold ring with an emerald gem.

This was something Ciel had left at the hotel and hadn’t had time to take. It was an extremely valuable sealed artifact.

Avena rubbed the gem on the ring, silently watching her own face reflected in the gem.

Ciel… where did you go?

I miss you very much…

…

Southwest of Ansu, near a junction on the south bank. This was an area that had not been fully developed yet. It was not as noisy as the other core areas of Ansu.

Except for the occasional waft of odor from the river before it, it could be considered a rare quiet residential area in Ansu City—of course, excluding those expensive mansions with large gardens.

Inside one of the two-story buildings, a little girl with dark green hair, wearing a maid’s uniform, was cooking something in the kitchen. She looked at the instructions in the cookbook. Standing on her tiptoes, she put in a potato that had been peeled and cut into cubes.

She swore she just wanted to peel off the skin.

Plop——

The cubed potato fell into the pot. The splashing hot water almost spilled onto the maid’s face. A white shadow quickly emerged from the shadow of her chin, directly blocking the hot splashes.

“Phew…”

The girl let out a breath of relief. She raised her hand and wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

Well, cooking is quite simple.

After covering the pot, the girl seemed to remember something and took a deep breath.

It was time.

Her breathing became a little heavy. She walked to the bathroom, almost staggering.

There was a large wooden tub filled with hot water. A few clean towels were draped over the edge of the tub.

“It’s been so many days… It’s time to help Lord Mother Goddess wipe Her body… Uh-huh… yes… helping to maintain the purity of the divine body is also a servant’s proper duty…”

“Yes, duty… Yes, Tara, you were born to do this.”

Thump thump——

The girl puffed out her chest and heavily hammered her little flat chest with her right hand, seemingly trying to encourage herself.

Then, two white shadows emerged from beside her. They lifted the wooden tub and followed behind her, walking upstairs.

Standing in front of the door of what was originally her room, the little girl took a deep breath. She slowly raised her small hand and gently knocked on the wooden door, seemingly afraid of waking the person inside.

“Lord Ciel, I’m coming in.”

Click——

The wooden door was slowly opened. The little girl with dark green hair tiptoed inside.

After controlling the white shadows to slowly put the wooden tub on the floor, looking at the dim room before her, the girl walked to the desk, struck a match, and lit the oil lamp.

The warm light illuminated the entire room. The girl slowly walked to the bedside, lifted the covers a little, and reached out to the bed.

“Lord Ciel, I’ll help you… Huh?”

The girl’s hand met empty air.

Swish——

The curtains were pulled open. Bright sunlight shone into the room. For Ciel, the sunlight was a little too intense, making her have to raise her hand to shield her eyes.

She squinted towards the bedside and saw that familiar figure.

“L-L-Lord… Lord Ciel?!”

Tara’s voice was somewhat stuttering. She quickly lowered her head and said, “You are finally awake!”

At this moment, Ciel calmly felt the buzzing in her mind. She looked at the street and river outside the window and slowly pushed open the window.

A little bit of wind blew in. The cool wind slightly eased Ciel’s mind.

She had a very short dream.