Chapter 676 – #137_Turning Point
#676
1.
From ancient times, Eastern culture has been a symbol of mystery and luxury.
Since most of the inheritors are witches from Western cultures, this perception also extends to witches.
If you visit the mansion of a wealthy witch, you’ll find that one or two Eastern paintings adorn the walls, and there’s a ‘China Room’ where porcelain is kept separately—all in the same vein.
In that sense, even though it was small in scale, the tea room of Hyangwol Pavilion, boasting a serene charm and scenery, was the perfect place to have a special and mysterious experience.
An aesthetic that seeks harmony with nature, not ostentatious splendor.
A separate world where one can temporarily distance themselves from the secular and realize the abundance within solitude.
Even the quiet and profound artistry that cannot be grasped by mere appearances.
Anyone would want to have tea in such a mysterious tea room, but very few witches bothered to step into Hyangwol Pavilion’s tea room.
This was because there were few witches who had formed a bond with her, and many were wary of Rinne, regardless of whether they were public figures or exiles.
In the public’s perception, the Sword Witch was a tenacious and stubborn person who had to see things through to the end once she got fixated on something, and she was an oddball who had challenged Duke Tiferet several times just for the sake of pursuing strength.
Therefore, the tea room, which no one had entered except Siwoo since moving to Hexennacht.
Before Rinne, who was kneeling without a single flaw, was a guest who had come after a long time.
The owner of the Solidus Merchant Guild, which had been snowballing in power since the appearance of Hexennacht, and a key figure of the moderate faction.
The Gold Witch, ‘Lydia Magnus’.
The sight of Rinne, wearing a kimono and maintaining a rather old-fashioned hairstyle, and Lydia, wearing a sophisticated dress, sitting face to face in the tea room, was reminiscent of a cultural exchange meeting.
“It’s a lovely scent.”
Even at the light praise, Rinne did not respond.
She simply stirred the tea and placed it in front of her.
Lydia, with her splendid golden hair and eyes like her epithet, received the teacup while kneeling, following Rinne’s lead.
She lightly turned the teacup to show respect and drank it in three sips.
Although she might not know the finer details, her overall etiquette was impeccable.
“It’s a wonderful taste… or so I’d like to say, but it’s still astringent for my taste.”
As Lydia put down the teacup with an honest and straightforward critique, Rinne opened her mouth.
“What business do you have?”
“I heard an interesting rumor. After hearing the rumor, I became curious about what you were thinking.”
With those words, Lydia stared intently at Rinne’s face.
Her gaze, as if trying to fathom her intentions or assess her worth, did not shake Rinne’s expressionless mask in the slightest.
Lydia didn’t expect to be able to see through the Sword Witch with just this much.
Isn’t that why she came here directly, since she couldn’t find an answer even after gathering information from all directions and racking her brain?
“I heard you took a male witch as your disciple?”
“That’s right.”
Lydia’s eyes narrowed at Rinne’s admission without a moment’s hesitation.
“What on earth are you thinking?”
“He is my spoils of war.”
“Certainly. But you haven’t forgotten that the purpose of bringing him here is to lure Duke Tiferet, have you?”
“……”
“It’s strange to make a bait your disciple, isn’t it?”
The appearance of Hexennacht was a major turning point in the history of witches.
And great turning points are always followed by various factions and ideologies.
After the prophecy from the prophecy agency that Duke Keter could not move was confirmed,
the early days of Hexennacht’s appearance instilled ambition and aspiration in many public figures.
The oppression and grievances of the past, the absolute being who had restricted their freedom, had disappeared.
In just about half a year, public figures and exiles comparable to Gehenna’s power gathered in one city.
So shouldn’t they retaliate?
To the witches of Gehenna who had hidden in Keter’s shadow and manipulated the world’s order.
To those who had forgotten the duty of witches and were immersed in the complacent ideology of coexistence, oppressing their own kind, shouldn’t they show that the times had changed?
Therefore, the early days of Hexennacht were filled with desires for hegemony and yearnings for war.
It was a natural course of events that the hawkish and radical faction, which had gathered around the remnants of Qliphoth, led the city’s policies.
They used Hexennacht as their base and attacked location points all over the world.
They gathered information to prepare for war and made plans to eliminate Duke Tiferet, who would be the biggest obstacle.
The ‘Rabbit Hunt,’ in which the Whisper Witch and the Sword Witch were deployed, was also a plan that was initiated during that period of upheaval.
The first plan was to kill Duke Tiferet.
If a resolution was impossible, they would use his disciple as bait to lure the Duke to Hexennacht.
No matter how strong the Duke was, he couldn’t handle all the witches in the city alone.
The Duke, blinded by rage and rushing to rescue his disciple, would lose his life at the hands of hundreds of witches, but…
“The situation has changed since before.”
The situation had changed.
As more and more exiles entered Hexennacht, and as a more systematic system took hold, the city of public figures naturally began to ride the tailwind of prosperity.
The abundance given to witches who could not belong to Gehenna.
The accumulated amenities and entertainment facilities, and the safety guaranteed under a systematic order, were enough to calm the witches who had been intoxicated by the excitement of liberation.
The bewilderment that had seeped into their hearts, which had been overflowing with fighting spirit, was…
‘Is there really a need to start a war?’
‘Isn’t it enough to just divide the hegemony as it is?’
‘Isn’t it too early to prepare?’
These were moderate and somewhat lukewarm positions.
Peace and abundance had led them to choose realistic stability instead of emotional anger.
As a result, the moderate faction, led by the Solidus Merchant Guild, newly emerged, and the current fate of Hexennacht was placed on the tense confrontation between the moderate and radical factions.
The radical faction expected that by eliminating Duke Tiferet, the central point of the location points would disappear, and they could eliminate a powerful enemy in advance.
Conversely, the moderate faction viewed that acting rashly would break the peace and potentially provoke the anger of the witches of Gehenna.
Thus, the ‘Rabbit Hunt,’ which would signal the start of the war, was also postponed indefinitely.
In this situation, it was only natural that attention was focused on ‘Shin Siwoo,’ Duke Tiferet’s disciple and bait.
Depending on how he was used, the situation could be controlled regardless of the other side’s intentions.
If the radical faction were to mutilate him and then package it as if it were the will of the entire Hexennacht, and use that to lure Duke Tiferet, war would break out.
Conversely, from the moderate faction’s point of view, they had to prevent such a thing from happening.
In the midst of all this, Rinne, who had not expressed any position and had remained neutral, suddenly took him as her disciple.
It was a confusing choice for both the radical and moderate factions.
A long silence flowed without any questions or answers.
Lydia sighed.
Rinne was the one holding the knife.
It would be meaningless to try to save words and lead a favorable negotiation.
“Okay, I’ll tell you what I want. Hand over Shin Siwoo to our Solidus Merchant Guild.”
“I refuse.”
“I’ll give you a generous reward. First…”
“I said I refuse.”
Lydia closed her mouth.
The first possibility that came to mind when she heard the news of the disciple’s recruitment.
“…Did the other side make the same offer?”
“……”
What if the radical faction had made the same offer as Lydia?
To put it coldly, Rinne had made a very wise choice.
In the midst of the chaos caused by the factional strife, she had subtly taken away the most important figure, putting herself in a position to receive the best concessions from both sides.
Although it was somewhat forced, by taking Shin Siwoo as her ‘disciple,’ she had made it so that she could only hand over his custody by paying a much higher price than when he was simply a bait.
Not only that.
“What do you want?”
“Nothing.”
By not showing any intention to negotiate, she was inducing even more concessions.
Lydia felt a rough sensation on her tongue.
“I’ll be honest. The Solidus Merchant Guild has succeeded in making secret contact with Duke Erelim’s side.”
“……”
“They said that if you hand over Shin Siwoo’s custody, they will push for a peace treaty between Gehenna and Hexennacht on an equal footing. Even if that’s not the case, Duke Erelim doesn’t seem to want a war between witches.”
“……”
“If a compromise is reached through negotiations led by the Solidus Merchant Guild, my position and the guild’s position will become more solid. Even then, I won’t forget your cooperation.”
The number of great witches belonging to the Solidus Merchant Guild is in the double digits.
If they were to use force, there was nothing they couldn’t do.
But no one would willingly try to fight the Sword Witch to the death.
Also, if the Solidus, which claims to be moderate, were to do something that goes against the rules in Hexennacht, their justification would be too weak.
“I have already answered.”
“……”
“I refuse.”
Rinne must be considering even that, raising the stakes.
It was frustrating, but it was truly a commendable piece of work.
“Hah, okay. I’ll stop here for today. I’ll take it as a sign to come back next time with a better compensation plan.”
Lydia, who left the tea room alone without being seen off, gritted her teeth.
She was an opponent who could not be forced by power or deceived by tricks.
She needed a turning point.
A justification that would allow her to escape this situation where she could do nothing.
The hem of her light dress fluttered in the cold winter wind.
