The Sorcerer's Handbook

”In this filthy, suffocating den, the only thing I gained was getting to know my aunt. I’m very close to her. She isn’t a lunatic like Quinna. My original plan was to take you all to her, seek refuge under her protection, and continue our plot to desecrate the Divine Lord from the safety of her estate.”

”Because of Vanmura’s extreme xenophobia, as long as we hide within one of the Great Families, even the Red Hats won’t be able to touch us. Even if we all end up on the future rankings, we could still live here in complete peace.

”Vanmura is ruled by six great families, known as the Six Emblems Families. They have divided the city among themselves. Each maintains its own administrative system, and information rarely flows between them. That gives us the chance to exploit the gaps and slip through the cracks.”

At first glance, the plan sounded solid. But it contained a glaring flaw, one that even Ashe could spot.

Yet, before anyone could speak, the rhythmic clicking of high-heeled boots echoed outside the holding cell.

Creak.

The heavy alloy door groaned open. A pair of long, shapely legs stepped into the silent detention room. The crisp tap-tap of boots struck the floor like a hammer, each step seeming to land directly on the prisoners’ chests.

An elf appeared before them, her presence seemingly draining every trace of color from the room. She was tall, possessed a stunning face, and wore an expression of icy arrogance.

As the Red Hats opened the cells, the beautiful elf stepped inside. She cast a sweeping glance around the room, but said nothing.

At the sight of her, Annan’s composure shattered. She reacted as if she had encountered her natural predator. ”When will you release us? According to the rules, without concrete evidence of a crime recognized by the Book of Gospel, you can only detain us for forty-eight hours.”

Quinna Senheiser let out a soft laugh, as if she had just heard a particularly amusing joke. ”Forty-eight hours? That’s right. Under normal circumstances, that is the legal limit. Anything longer would be a violation of the law.”

She leaned down, bringing her face inches from her own daughter’s. ”But... as the Captain of the Red Hats, I can petition the Book of Gospel to classify you as major criminal suspects, extending your detention to one hundred and seventy hours.

”And since your primary activities over the past thirty days took place in Azura, coming to Vanmura counts as committing crimes across jurisdictions. That extends your stay by another seven hundred and twenty hours.”

The elf sneered. ”Within the limits of the Gospel, I can legally keep you locked away for over a month. Did you think only pests like you knew how to exploit the rules? The Red Hats simply disdain using such tactics. After all, why would we willingly lower ourselves to the level of parasites like you?”

Annan’s lips twitched as she fought to suppress her rage. ”Quinna, I didn’t come here for you. You—”

”But I came for you, you ungrateful wretch.”

Smack!

Before anyone could blink, Annan was struck across the face. She let out a muffled grunt and collapsed, half her face instantly going numb. She had barely spat out a mouthful of blood when Quinna hauled her up again.

”Ah!”

Quinna drove her knee straight into the girl’s abdomen. Annan felt her ribs snap as the air was forced from her lungs; her organs felt compressed, and she struggled to draw a single breath.

Annan cried out, falling back to the floor. She scrambled to stand, raising her shackled hands in a desperate guard, but the Red Cap elf showed no mercy. She unleashed a powerful kick, her high-heeled boot whipping through the air like a blade.

Boom!

The mana-restraining shackles shattered under the force of the blow. Annan was sent flying, slamming hard against the wall. The impact left her body numb, colors exploding across her vision, and a piercing ringing in her ears that bordered on deafness.

”Stop.”

Quinna pulled out a silk handkerchief and bent down to wipe a stray drop of blood from the tip of her boot, utterly ignoring Annan as the girl coughed up blood on the floor. She turned her gaze toward the only cloaked figure in the cell who had dared to speak, raising a slender eyebrow. ”I remember Ashe Heath was the man in her portrait... Are you the one?”

Ashe covered Lys’s eyes, tasting the metallic tang of the Honeyed Tongue Sword in his mouth. While his mind raced to calculate the perfect moment to act, he replied, ”What? Do you want me to call you ’Mother-in-law’?”

”If you became a comedian, you might actually make the rankings,” Quinna said calmly. She drew an elegant handgun from her waist with a design reminiscent of black-and-white piano keys. Instinctively, Ashe covered Lys’s ears.

Bang!

The gunshot was instantaneous and deafening. The bullet slammed into the wall inches from Ashe’s ear, the passing force slicing his skin. The explosion shattered his eardrum, leaving a violent buzzing in his brain. He managed to stay upright through sheer combat instinct, but the cold terror of brushing against death gripped his heart like a claw.

In terms of strength, she was a Three-Winged Sacred Realm sorcerer. In terms of status, she was the embodiment of the Red Caps’ justice. In terms of position? She was the butcher’s blade, and he was merely the meat on the block.

When his hearing finally returned, it was to the sound of Quinna’s icy voice.

”This is your first warning. I am not punishing you for your rudeness toward me, but for your disrespect toward the head of the Senheiser family. In this world, aside from the Gospel itself, no one may speak to the head of the Senheiser family in a commanding tone. No one, not even the Kings of the Earth.”

She paused, her gaze shifting. ”And let this be a lesson for your stupidity. Boy, didn’t you notice that Pankey hasn’t said a single word?”

Ashe froze, his eyes darting to Pankey. The butler had remained utterly silent.

It hit him then. Despite being the one with the deepest bond to Annan, Pankey stood by and watched her being beaten into this state without uttering a single protest. Could it be...

Quinna sneered. ”He is silent because he knows they are in the wrong. Don’t be a fool and let yourself be misled by this wretched girl.”

Ashe forced down the rising tide of fear in his chest as he gently moved his hands away from Lys’s ear. The only words he could muster sounded weak and hollow. ”Even if you and your daughter have conflicts, you shouldn’t abuse her like this. She isn’t your possession—”

”Who said I am beating her as her mother?”

Quinna seized Annan by the neck and slammed her against the wall. Towering over the girl in her high boots, Quinna stared her down at point-blank range. There was not a trace of warmth between them, only a mutual, freezing hatred.

Quinna said coldly, ”Nona has already briefed me on your little plan. You make a grand entrance into Vanmura, then reveal your blood relation to me so the world believes I’m sheltering you. Under that cover, you secretly defect to another Emblem family. The Senheisers would be left to face the Red Hats, the Agency, the other five Emblems, and the Isa imperial family alone. We would become the target of the entire kingdom while you sit in the best balcony seats, watching us burn as the sacrifice for your scheme.”

She tightened her grip. ”Didn’t you say you didn’t want to be my daughter anymore? Then why run back to Mommy to clean up your mess the moment you get into trouble? I don’t recall teaching you to be so pathetic. Or is this simply how the Dolans raised you? Hmm?”

Annan spat a mouthful of blood directly onto Quinna’s face. Pfft!

Her voice was raw, barely holding together. ”You... are not allowed... to insult the Dolans!”

Quinna glanced sideways at the blood sliding past her eye. Her gaze narrowed. With an utterly flat, clinical tone, she said, ”I am not standing here as your mother, nor as a Red Hat. I am here as the head of the Senheiser family, demanding an explanation from a traitor who seeks to destroy her own kin.”

”I will grant you exactly three sentences to make your case. If you fail to convince me, I will make sure you spend two full human cycles in this cell.”

Ashe and the others were stunned. They hadn’t known the full extent of Annan’s plan, but the fact that Pankey hadn’t refuted the accusation was damning. Annan really had intended to use her mother’s house as a human shield. A scheming daughter against a cold-blooded mother, this was a war they could not touch.

Annan gasped. ”After the Woven Festival ends... I will join the Senheisers.”

”One.”

”Whether we succeed or fail, I will hand over every Dolan secret to you, including the loophole manuals accumulated over centuries, and this blasphemous plan woven by generations!”

”Two.”

Annan gritted her teeth, her eyes burning. ”That’s all. That is my bottom line! Hand me over if you want. Let the world see that Quinna Senheiser is too weak to even protect her own daughter!”

Quinna stared at her for a long moment, then abruptly released her grip, letting Annan slide down the wall. The Red Hat elf pulled a Contract Weave Paper from her sleeve and unfolded it with practiced ease. ”Sign it.”

Only then did Ashe and the others realize the truth. Annan’s methods, the way she used contracts to bind subordinates and mixed intimidation with persuasion, were likely an integral part of her upbringing.