Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 887 The hidden truth

What kind of question is that... I thought she would ask something like "Have you ever been in love?" Judging from Triss's expression, she must have thought the same...

Angel frowned slightly and searched his mind, but had no impression of this name.

But since Sherman mentioned the "former" captain of the palace guards, we can guess that this Earl Mason Dille is the "predecessor" of Viscount Stratford, or even directly took over the other's job.

But what does this have to do with Sherman?
Angel looked at Viscount Stratford, who replied calmly:
"Yes, before I became the captain of the palace guard, he led the royal guards to protect the safety of the palace, and I was his deputy."

"Eight years ago, he was stripped of his title and fiefdom and executed on the spot for participating in a rebellion. Is this true?"

Sherman seemed to already know the answer to the first question and continued to ask without any hesitation.

"Of course it's fake," Stratford struggled a little, but soon calmed down and answered Sherman's question, "In fact, he discovered the king's secret and tried to leave the palace to inform the three major churches. He was executed on the spot after being discovered... Afterwards, the royal family cleared out some members of his family and spared those outside, as well as the direct children and women. It was also a recognition of the contributions made by the Dill family to the royal family for generations... And I took over his position and continued to serve His Majesty the King."

"Were you involved in Mason Dill's death?"

Sherman asked next.

"No, a member of the royal guard reported his treason, and a royal demigod personally intercepted and controlled him, making him not utter a word until he was hanged... But I don't know who it was, and no one dared to ask."

Stratford replied slowly.

Sherman, who was standing in front of him, nodded grimly, glanced at Angel and Triss, and seeing that they did not move, he looked at Stratford, took a deep breath, and asked:
"What was the secret that led to his silencing?"

"I don't know either," the captain of the palace guards shook his head, looking a little confused. "It seems to involve the contract signed between the royal family and the three major churches many years ago. I guess... that is..."

When he said this, his expression became somewhat painful, as if the answer to this question was buried deep in his memory and locked by someone.

Angel's virtual personality in the ocean of consciousness also felt that the island belonging to Stratford was shaking. Even the parts that she had modified became unstable. She quickly said:

"Okay, you don't need to answer this question."

Stratford's forehead was covered with sweat below his high hairline, and his expression was somewhat ferocious. After hearing Angel's instructions, he took a few deep breaths before coming to his senses, and then collapsed on the ground, as if all his strength had been exhausted by the struggle and hesitation at that moment.

Angel ignored him and looked at Sherman and asked:

"Who is Mason Dill to you?"

"He is Miss Xiou's father. I have heard her talk about the rebellion eight years ago and the court conspiracy that caused most of the Dill family to be killed or injured. They had to escape from Backlund under an assumed name. I am afraid that only Stratford knows about this, so I took this opportunity to ask him questions... Xiou is my best friend, and I have to do something for her."

Sherman murmured, the questions and answers just now seemed to make her realize that her friend's road to revenge would not be so smooth, so she looked a little depressed.

Hugh Dilcha, the short bounty hunter, Miss Judgment of the Tarot Club... Dil, Dilcha, it turns out that her last name was a disguise...

Angel nodded in understanding.

Triss smiled sarcastically at the side:
"I didn't expect you to care about your friend. I hope she won't let you down and go and die beyond her ability."

After that, she looked at Angel and said in a more formal tone:
"Have you finished asking all the questions? I'll be responsible for destroying the body."

"Be quick."

Angel replied, taking a few steps back.

Both of them ignored the slightly confused and nervous expression of the woman in front of them, but under the effect of "hypnosis", they believed in her very much. Therefore, Stratford, who was still sitting in the middle of the living room without moving, seemed as if he was already a dead man.

After a moment, the cursed black flames completely annihilated his spirit and body, leaving only a handful of ashes as Stratford falling into the full-length mirror in the corner of the wall, drifting away in the "mirror world", and flying into the distance along different mirror passages.

His painful and desperate wails seemed to still echo in the living room, but because of the effect of "secrecy", no one knew about it, just like Mason Dill who died unjustly eight years ago, and Prince Edessak who became a scapegoat in the great smog.

"This should delay the time it takes for the royal family and the military to find him, but he will eventually be discovered... You'd better leave Backlund for a while and come back after the storm has passed."

Looking at the living room which had become much cleaner, Angel said to Triss who had a melancholy look on her face, as if she was still immersed in the fire and screams just now.

"No, I can't leave," Triss shook her head, her unfocused eyes returning to Angel's face, "The forces are complicated, and Backlund, where the 'Witch Cult' dares not act recklessly, is the safest place for me. Besides...something big should happen soon, right? For example, the actions of the royal family, the responses of the three major churches, and..." "The 'Black Emperor'?"

When Triss said this word, an inexplicable smile appeared on her face, which made Angel feel somewhat familiar.

She actually knew? No... Triss didn't show any sign of knowing about these conspiracies before. Did she get the answer from the information that the "Great Smog" incident was caused by George III? Even Klein and I got the "Black Emperor" deification ritual from Mr. Fool, and then analyzed information from many sources, especially the matter of the nine mausoleums. If Catalina hadn't said that George III was excavating nine ruins for some reason, I wouldn't have guessed it...

Angel stared at Triss and asked:
"Even if you deliberately collect intelligence and know that George III used the Great Smog to cover up the number of missing people, excavated relics and prepared ceremonies, and knew about the various reforms he had carried out in the past decade, without the corresponding mystical knowledge, without mastering the promotion ceremony, and without understanding the secret history, it is difficult to guess the truth. So... who is your source of information?"

By asking this question, she was acknowledging that George III was trying to promote the "Black Emperor".

This is because Triss, who has been promoted to a demigod and is full of hatred for the king, also has the hope of becoming a help in stopping this incident!
"As you said, most of the information is public. Of course, to identify them, you need the corresponding knowledge. For example, the 'Black Emperor' needs nine mausoleums, and the 'Blood Emperor' Alistair Tudor of the Fourth Epoch also tried to meet the conditions of the ritual before becoming a god, and built nine mausoleums. Combined with George III's actions in excavating the ruins, the answer is obvious... and the one who gave me this knowledge... is the 'Original Witch'."

Triss replied in a brisk tone, with that same smile from before appearing on her face again.

Angel immediately remembered the source of this familiar feeling: she had seen Triss, who was wearing a sapphire ring, showing the same smile at a dinner party hosted by Prince Edessak!
Tsk, after she was promoted to demigod, she would not be getting closer to the so-called "God's descent vessel"? I haven't asked her how she solved the problem of the "Despair" witch's ritual. Could it be that the "Original Witch" also provided some help?
Angel frowned, and then thought of another thing:

Since the "Original Witch" has already provided substantial help to Triss, why did the "White Saint" receive the task of finding Triss? If she just prayed to the gods she believed in, wouldn't she immediately know where Triss was and know that Triss had become a god's favored one?
Unless, as the legend goes, the "Original Witch" really fell into a deep sleep at the end of the Fourth Epoch, causing the command within the "Witch Sect" to be chaotic, with everyone doing their own thing, and even as Catalina said, the positions of believers and gods are not necessarily the same?
Or maybe, this evil god himself, because of his poor condition, issued contradictory orders, making his subordinates run around in a panic and at a loss as to what to do?

Putting aside these doubts in his mind, Angel nodded.

"Yes, I speculate that many of George III's plots and conspiracies are related to the Black Emperor," she glanced at the confused Sherman and continued, "Since you know the risks and still want to achieve your goal of revenge and destroy the Black Emperor's rituals, you must obey orders and not act on your own and expose our existence."

She was still a little hesitant about whether to let Triss join her "small group". After all, the gods of the "Witch Sect" stood behind them. If she was not careful, she might face the attack of the secret sect with many angels. It would be difficult for her to protect herself, let alone stop George III.

But at this time when the attitudes of the three major churches are unclear, the combat power of every demigod is precious and worth fighting for!
Hearing her words, Triss's smile became even brighter. After becoming a demigod, her even more attractive "charm" made Angel unable to control himself.

"Of course, as long as I can help to make the high and mighty Majesty feel better, I am willing to obey any arrangement of the Golden Queen."

She lifted her skirt, bowed slightly and saluted.

----

On the streets of the East District, Hugh Dilcher was running fast in a knight's training uniform with a hooded cloak covering his hair and face.

She had already run around the nearby streets several times. As far as she could remember, the apartment Sherman rented was clearly here, but she looked around and wandered back and forth, but couldn't find her target.

It was as if the building where the apartment was located was taken away and hidden by someone, and other buildings reasonably covered up the vacant space so that no one could find any fault.

Suddenly, standing in the deserted alley, Xio felt a cold touch passing through her body, and in less than a second, everything returned to normal, making her almost think she was hallucinating.

But as this feeling appeared, the building she had been looking for for a long time appeared before her, as if it had always been here before, but had been ignored by her.

Strange... She didn't think too much about it. She rushed up to the second floor in two steps and stopped beside a two-bedroom apartment. She held her breath and listened to the noise inside. She punched the door lock hard, pushed open the door with a loud bang, and entered the spacious but slightly dull living room.

In the room, Sherman, wearing a conservatively designed dress with her long brown hair tied behind her head, stood by the window, facing the door with a calm expression, as if she had been waiting for her to appear.

"Sherman, you are here..." Xio murmured, looking around, but did not find any trace of Viscount Stratford. "I thought you were going to break up with Stratford today, but I didn't expect you to... kidnap him. You should be a wanted criminal now. MI9 will not let you go..."

As she spoke, she looked a little hesitant, swallowed some of her angry words, took a deep breath, and then asked:

"Where is Stratford? If you plan to deal with him, can you let me ask a few questions... simple questions that won't cause any trouble to your actions."

She clenched her fists involuntarily, revealing her nervousness.

"Viscount Stratford is dead and his body has left this world. MI9 will not find him. The blood I left at the scene and my fake identity will lead them to various plausible clues, making them run around in a hurry..."

Sherman said in a soft voice, her mouth corners turned up, her eyes narrowed, and her slightly round face looked innocent and cute, which made Xio's heart beat fast.

"As for the question you asked, I have already asked it for you...Xiu, your father's death does indeed hide a shocking secret!"

(End of this chapter)