The Witch’s Final Lesson
Three years later. A dark night. In the dead of night, when everything was sound asleep, the Dranice Estate was enveloped in silence. Yet, there were those who moved within that stillness.
Swish—thud.
They vaulted over the massive walls and slipped into the mansion like shadows. Their movements were agile, leaving not a single footfall behind. They were the elite agents of the assassin guild, "Black Snake."
They were famous for assassinating any target, provided the price was right. To them, only the amount of money mattered; the identity of the target was irrelevant.
However, even they could not hide their tension regarding this particular contract. It was only natural, for the target was the infamous witch, "Iolet Dranice."
Over the past three years, countless assassins had attempted to kill the witch, but none had succeeded.
Even more frightening was the fact that not a single one of those assassins had survived, leaving everyone in the dark about how she managed to thwart them.
Normally, one would refuse such an ominous job. But the payout was simply too high. If they succeeded in this one mission, every member of the Black Snake could retire and live in luxury for the rest of their lives.
Thus, the Black Snake had made every possible preparation, intending to make this their final job.
Moving with more caution than ever before, the Black Snake agents reached the annex where Iolet resided. One of them pulled a white bell from his pocket and shook it in the air.
Ting—
At that moment, an intangible wave rippled outward, dissolving the security magic cast over the mansion. It was the magic item "Bell of Rest," a rare treasure the Black Snake had kept tucked away.
Its effect was to nullify all magic within a certain radius upon a single ring. While it came with a one-year cooldown, the guild was willing to spare nothing for this contract.
Confirming that the security magic had been successfully lifted, the assassins picked the lock of the annex and slipped inside.
The annex was shrouded in darkness, all its lights extinguished. With practiced steps, the assassins navigated the gloom, heading toward the second-floor room where Iolet stayed. But at that moment—
“That’s a lovely sound, isn’t it?”
“!”
Whoosh!
Startled by the sudden voice, the assassins recoiled, instantly putting distance between themselves and the speaker.
In the middle of the dark hallway, where even moonlight couldn't reach, a girl stood, leaning on an old cane. With long, waist-length white hair, a curvaceous figure, and a beautiful face that held a mysterious air, the Black Snake assassins immediately recognized who she was.
Iolet’s maid, Gladia. The witch’s closest confidante, who was always by her side.
Thump—
Gladia slowly raised her hand and tapped the floor lightly with her cane. She then looked at the assassins with a gentle smile.
“Guests at such an hour… how terribly ill-mannered of you. I’m afraid my lady has already retired for the evening.”
As she spoke, Gladia smiled softly. She was far too composed, even with the Black Snake assassins standing right before her. Seeing this, the leader of the Black Snake heightened his guard and signaled his subordinates with a subtle glance.
‘Rush in all at once and finish her.’
Simultaneous with the leader’s signal, the attack began. The leader hurled dozens of hidden weapons at Gladia—all coated in a lethal poison that would kill instantly with even a graze. His subordinates also surged toward her from all sides.
Clang—! A sharp metallic sound echoed through the hallway.
“Huh…?”
The leader doubted his own eyes. Gladia, who should have been riddled with projectiles and collapsed, had somehow slipped past his subordinates and was standing right in front of him. In her hand, she now held a sharp sword drawn from her cane.
‘Since when—?!’
The moment the leader gasped in shock, his subordinates collapsed in unison, as if on cue, blood spraying from their bodies.
The leader instinctively threw himself backward, realizing with a primal dread that this was a level of skill they could not handle. He had suspected the witch’s maid wouldn't be an ordinary person, but this went beyond all reason.
Even while reeling from the shock of Gladia’s ability, the leader didn't stop. He threw more hidden weapons at her while scattering a smoke bomb on the floor. He intended to retreat and regroup. But—
“You’re slow.”
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
The weapons flying toward Gladia were swatted away in vain. As she swung her blade, the wind pressure dispersed the smoke with ridiculous ease.
She accelerated explosively and swung her sword at the leader. He felt the blade approaching his throat with terrifying clarity—the moment of unavoidable death.
In that state of extreme tension, where time felt as if it had stretched, just as the sword was about to touch his neck—
Flash—!
A blinding light erupted from the leader’s chest. At the same time, his body turned into a cluster of light and reappeared behind the reach of Gladia’s blade. It was the activation of the second magic item he had brought for this mission: "Fairy’s Wings." It was a one-time survival artifact that forcibly teleported the user to safety right before a fatal blow.
However, even the power of the treasure couldn't completely deflect Gladia’s strike. Red blood trickled from a wound on the leader’s neck that he hadn't been able to avoid.
Realizing the Fairy’s Wings had been triggered, the leader reacted immediately. He threw every explosive he carried toward Gladia. ‘Glad I brought these just in case!’ They were items ill-suited for an assassin, for whom stealth was life, but he had packed them as a contingency.
Gladia reacted by instantly slicing through the flying explosives, but the thick smoke that erupted in that moment enveloped her. While the guild’s special toxic smoke bomb held her back, the leader ran past her without hesitation toward Iolet’s room on the second floor.
‘I just need to succeed in assassinating Iolet…!’
He didn't care if he died by that monster’s hand afterward. If the mission payout was secured, a massive sum would be delivered to his remaining comrades in the guild. It wouldn't be a death in vain.
With desperate resolve, the leader sprinted up the stairs, kicked open Iolet’s door, and lunged inside. But what awaited him beyond the door was not a bedroom with a defenseless girl. It was a pitch-black darkness that hid everything from view.
The leader stopped in his tracks, unnerved by the unnatural darkness. The moment he thought the void filling his vision looked like the maw of a giant beast—
Crunch.
With the sound of something hard being chewed and swallowed, the leader’s consciousness was snuffed out.
***
I waved my hand lightly, dispersing the toxic smoke that filled the hallway. The situation seemed mostly resolved, but I didn't sheath my sword just yet. I still needed to check with my own eyes that Iolet was alright.
I arrived in front of Iolet’s room on the second floor with a leisurely gait. On the floor in front of the door, only a dagger dropped by the assassin lay abandoned. The ownerless weapon was silent, as if no one had ever been there to begin with. I nudged the weapon aside with my foot and knocked lightly.
Tap, tap.
“My Lady~ I’m coming in~!”
Bang!
I didn't wait for an answer and threw the door open. Inside, Iolet was lying in bed, looking at me with dissatisfied eyes as if nothing had happened. Hmm. As expected, not a single scratch on her. As expected of the Iolet mk.42 I raised with all my heart and soul. Her performance is truly reliable.
Confirming she was safe, I sheathed my sword back into my cane. My vision was immediately swallowed by darkness, but I didn't care and sat down in the chair next to her bed as usual. However, I could sense a hint of dissatisfaction from her… was she angry that I just burst in?
“You…! You let that trash go on purpose earlier, didn't you!”
Ah, she caught me offloading the grunt work.
“My apologies, My Lady. I didn't expect them to bring two treasures with them. Thanks to that, I’ve disturbed your precious sleep.”
I bowed my head with a feigned, oily apology.
“Don’t lie! There’s no way you’d let trash like that slip by! You were testing me again, weren't you, and sent them this way on purpose!!”
This girl—she’s come to know me too well over these three years. But the more this happens, the more I have to act confident. I placed a hand over my heart and spoke in the voice of the world’s most loyal servant.
“That is a misunderstanding, My Lady. I merely believed that if it were our noble Lady, you would chew up an assassin or two even in your sleep. My judgment was not wrong, after all. That elegance you displayed, disposing of pests while sleeping—it was a magnificent sight that will go down in imperial history.”
“Elegance, my foot! Wipe the spit off your mouth before you lie! You lazy bum!”
Ah, where did that easily fooled Iolet from three years ago go? Iolet threw a tantrum, thumping her blankets. After a while, she seemed to calm down, panting as she caught her breath.
“Now, now, are you calm, My Lady? If you get too worked up, you won't have any energy for tomorrow’s academy entrance ceremony. Besides, if you stay up any later, you might oversleep.”
“You—if you had just done your job properly, I’d be asleep already! Honestly… you get more shameless by the day.”
Iolet clicked her tongue, but she pulled the blanket up over her head. Her grumbling voice was laced with annoyance, but underneath it lay a firm trust in me.
The past three years. I ‘raised’ Iolet, and she was reborn as a perfect witch according to my ‘nurturing.’
Iolet, who had been buried under her blanket, lowered it and asked in a low voice.
“Who was the trash that came this time?”
“An assassin guild called the Black Snake. They are famous for doing anything for money.”
“Hmph, they must have been pretty desperate, seeing as they’re resorting to people like that.”
Iolet’s voice was filled with clear contempt. The girl who used to tremble at the mere mention of her siblings three years ago was gone.
“They must be anxious because they know they won't be able to touch you once you enter the academy.”
In truth, I already knew who had sent the Black Snake. It was obviously Iolet’s siblings. They had attempted countless assassinations over the last three years, only to fail every single time. Today was their last chance.
Over the last three years, Iolet and I had thoroughly cut off their limbs. They were currently in a state where they were barely hanging on. If Iolet entered the academy in such a situation, it would be the end of everything.
Sending assassins to the academy was unthinkable under imperial law, and the moment Iolet returned after completing her academy course to officially inherit the Dranice family, their lifelines would be severed completely.
The housecleaning of the Dranice family was now almost complete. All that remained was to leave this estate and head for the Stella Academy, the center of all stories.
I tucked the blanket in carefully around Iolet, who was lying in bed, and gently stroked her hair. Iolet didn't reject my touch and stayed still, accepting the caress.
We had spent three long years together, crossing the thresholds of life and death. It was inevitable that I would grow fond of this brat in many ways.
“Sleep well, my sun. I will come to fetch you in the morning.”
“……Shut up, turn off the light.”
Leaving behind her mumbling response from under the blanket, I left the room.
‘The preparations are complete.’
Tomorrow, we finally head to the academy. Iolet Dranice, a supporting character in the original work. Now, she is the Empire’s ‘Witch,’ whom no one can treat lightly, and the best blue-chip stock I have painstakingly raised.
The original protagonists waiting there, and the twisted fates. My heart already began to race, wondering what kind of light Iolet would shine upon that grand stage.