That's not how you use a witch!

Chapter 29 Vance's Change

"I have never seen a lord treat witches like this before—Brother Ronan is different from those scoundrels who only use witches as tools. He has always respected Miss Madonna's wishes and feelings, which is why Miss Madonna is so powerful and serves him wholeheartedly. In my opinion, this is the right principle!"

Whether it was out of genuine feeling or because he was drunk, Grant said a lot in one breath.

As he was being led back to his bedroom to sleep, he patted Vance's shoulder forcefully.

"Father, why don't you follow Brother Ronan's example and change the way you treat Lilith? If karma truly exists in this world as the Church claims, then the good deeds you sow now will surely bear fruit at some point!"

Vance dragged him to the bed without a word: "What do you know, you little brat? Mountain Territory isn't Thorn Territory. If you copy it completely, you'll run into trouble. If the pastor in the church finds out, the best outcome for me is that they'll nag me to death."

However, Grant did not respond—he had already started snoring.

This kid can get drunk from just one bottle of wine. It seems that becoming a knight hasn't improved his terrible alcohol tolerance... Vance left the room with a helpless smile, but remained silent for a long time after gently closing the door.

Then, as if making a decision, the elderly viscount nodded, the hesitation in his eyes replaced by resolve.

"I've gambled wrong my whole life, so what's one more time... I just hope this time I'll bet right!"

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That evening, Lilith, who was resting in the basement, received an order to be summoned by the lord.

"Do you...do you want to see me?"

Her first reaction was panic; no lord would summon a witch without a reason. Except in situations requiring battle or protection, witches were usually kept under strict guard, and their magical powers were sealed by the lord through a contract.

The current situation clearly doesn't fit the bill—that is, I must have done something wrong to anger her master?

Lilith thought anxiously, after all, she was not a qualified witch.

A light rain was falling outside the window, which reminded her of a similarly drizzly night more than three years ago.

Before coming to serve in the Mountain Territory, she spent a few years in the East and South, but without exception, all the lords who had contracted with her chose to "return" her, citing her clumsiness and weak character.

According to church law, being dissolved from one's contract more than three times is a dereliction of duty, punishable by having words tattooed on one's face and three pieces of flesh cut off. Fortunately, Vance was traveling in the South at the time and, upon learning of her plight, bought her at a low price, thus sparing her from punishment.

Of course, Lilith knew that Vance wasn't doing this out of sympathy, but simply because of the cost-effectiveness.

For the past three years since the contract was made, Vance has treated her strictly in accordance with the witch contract guidelines promulgated by the church, without exception for a single day.

Lilith had no complaints; in fact, she was very grateful—compared to some lords who abused witches for amusement or were even more cruel, Vance, who adhered to the rules, was already very merciful. So she tried her best to do everything perfectly and make as few mistakes as possible.

"master……"

Upon seeing Vance, Lilith timidly bowed.

She thought: If I've really made a mistake, I'll apologize sincerely! Even if I get whipped a few times, it's nothing, as long as he doesn't break off the contract with me in a fit of anger, or tattoo words on my face...

"You've arrived."

Vance glanced at him, but surprisingly, his voice didn't sound angry.

"Um, could you take a look at this room?"

Vance coughed lightly and pointed to the door beside him.

Lilith pushed open the door in disbelief: what came into view was a spacious and clean bedroom, with bedding on the bed. Although there was not much decoration, the warm beige walls looked very comfortable.

She looked at the elderly viscount in astonishment.

"From now on, you can sleep here. Don't sleep in the basement anymore; it's really hard to sleep there."

Seeing that Lilith remained silent, Vance immediately coughed loudly. "What I mean is, how can you serve me if you can't sleep well? Besides, the basement is so far away, it's inconvenient. If you rest here, I can come whenever I call. Do you understand?"

"Yes, thank you, sir..."

Lilith nodded repeatedly, but her eyes suddenly reddened. "I'm sorry, Master, I lost my composure again. I'm such a terrible witch..."

Vance waved his hand and left silently.

Lilith sat on the edge of the bed, tears streaming down her face like a tap being turned on.

A few minutes later, the rain and crying subsided, and she noticed a white and purple rose that had somehow appeared from the half-open window, its flower spikes swaying in the breeze.

……

[Current Witch: Medallion]

[Status value: 69%]

[Cumulative purification amount: 1501/1500]

[Stage Target (1500) Completed]

[Additional privileges unlocked: Assault Protocol - Bloodbath]

[Agreement Details: Both the contractor and the contract partner gain a 1% bonus to all attributes when entering combat. This bonus increases by an additional 1% for each additional Assault Agreement. Upon exiting combat, the bonus gradually resets to zero over 24 hours.]

[Remaining upgrade nodes: 2000/3000/5000]

That morning, Ronan saw the latest message from the system as soon as he opened his eyes.

He was actually a little surprised. It took him more than half a month to reach the 500 to 1000 node, and that was with the added stimulation of the Battle of Fulong Valley. He didn't expect that it would only take less than two weeks to go from 1000 to 1500.

The effect of increasing status values ​​is immediate!

This is because Madale's daily use of magic temporarily increases the pollution level; otherwise, the progress could have been even faster.

Of course, in the long run, this is beneficial for pollution control, just like moderate exercise may make you tired in the short term, but it can increase your physical fitness in the long run.

Unfortunately, no new memos were unlocked this time, so Ronan can only look forward to next time.

At the same time, he also received the first draft of the teaching plan submitted by the literary duo—after returning from visiting relatives in the mountain territory, Grant seemed to have suddenly become enlightened, dragging Howard to work on his desk for a whole day and night, even forgetting to eat.

Even Ronan was amazed: If only the online novel authors he followed in his past life were this dedicated to their work!

He was very satisfied with the first draft submitted by the two: the teaching plan basically covered his ideas. Although some details still had the lingering influence of aristocratic thinking and some content was too literary, the overall merits outweighed the flaws.

Ronan's willingness to bet five pence suggests that Vance was undoubtedly behind him, offering advice and strategies.

However, the ups and downs of fate may be constant; before Ronan could make his final revisions, bad news arrived one after another—

"What's wrong with you?"

Ronan spotted Scarlett flying towards him in her swift-like form from afar. When she landed in the office and transformed back into human form, the shocking scar on her abdomen came into view.

Bart paused for a moment, instinctively placing his hand on his sword: a strange witch had barged into the lord's office; he, the chief knight, could not remain indifferent.

Seeing Ronan step forward to help the other person up, he quickly realized what was happening. Although he didn't know the specifics, he immediately closed the doors and windows to prevent bystanders from witnessing the scene.

Maddie frowned slightly—although she appeared nonchalant when she won the sparring match, she was clearly well aware of what it meant to have injured Scarlett like this.

"We encountered rebels."

Scarlett quickly recounted what had happened to Ronan:

Upon arriving at the pre-arranged meeting place, Scarlett discovered that her two sisters were nowhere to be found. For the Witch's Eye, a secret organization ostracized by the Church and various nations, being late was an absolutely unacceptable blunder.

Realizing something was wrong, she immediately flew back along the route and, sure enough, found the two sisters fighting against rebel forces in the Falling Star Forest on the edge of the North.

After Scarlett joined the battle, the three witches of the Witch's Eye finally shook off the rebels' pursuit. However, Scarlett also paid the price of injury when facing the powerful rebel witches.

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