“…A witch, you say?”
“Yeah. Where should I even start… First—”
Eve’s story began, shocking those who were astounded by her confession of being a witch.
As her long, winding tale flowed from her lips, the others could only listen with dazed expressions, grappling with an unbelievable truth.
How could the revered teacher and benefactor they all admired be a witch?
How on earth were they supposed to accept this fact?
In fact, how were they supposed to believe her words at all?
“For 400 years, I disguised my identity while living as a teacher and an illusion mage at the Academy.”
The silence among the crowd endured until Eve finished her story.
Once the story wrapped up simply, it was hard for them to readily believe it.
What they had just heard was simply too unbelievable, too hard to accept.
Perhaps that was why one man finally broke the lingering silence and asked Eve directly.
“If what Ms. Eve says is true… that means you are… you’re Lady Luna, aren’t you?”
The man’s eyes were filled with confusion as he asked this.
Luna was the name of the legendary figure said to be the predecessor in the lineage of illusion mages, known to be Eve’s mentor.
He had been told countless times by the elders in his family to never forget the gratitude they owed to the one who helped them during their tough times, Lady Luna, who prevented their household from falling apart.
This was precisely why he had always maintained a friendly attitude towards Eve, who was normally Luna’s disciple. If Eve’s story was true, then she was the very person who had helped his family.
Thus, he had no choice but to confirm the truth, and seeing his reaction, Eve smiled gently and asked,
“Aren’t you Philip’s descendant?”
“…How do you know?”
The man was taken aback by the sudden mention of his great-grandfather’s name, and Eve replied with a nostalgic smile.
“If you’re asking whether I was the one who helped that child, who had lost everything in an accident and was about to give up, then yes. I am Luna, the one who helped Philip.”
As she murmured this, Eve snapped her fingers.
In an instant, her appearance changed, causing the man to gasp.
The person standing before him looked exactly like the woman in the framed picture that had always hung in his home, reminding him to never forget her kindness.
While Eve observed the man’s reaction, she turned to the others who bore similar expressions and spoke up.
“You all might find this hard to believe. But everyone you’re imagining in your heads— they are all me.”
Eve, embodying the golden-haired woman, spoke again.
“I am Maya.”
Transforming once more into the brown-haired woman, the preceding illusion mage.
“I am Yuria.”
Now appearing as the black-haired Yuria from even earlier times.
“And Abigail.”
Lastly, she took on the form of the legendary hero Aegis, the Great Magus Violé Nighthart, who protected humanity from the Witch of Gluttony.
Realization struck the listeners; the person before them was not just any figure but a pillar of legendary history.
The shock of discovering that their revered figure was indeed a witch made them tremble.
How could someone they admired actually be a witch?
Struggling to accept the reality, someone shook their head in denial, proclaiming,
“But… if they are the same person, how could they participate in the succession ceremony simultaneously…!”
The illusion mage Abigail’s magic was passed down through one individual at a time, so the successor was always announced publicly during the succession ceremony.
It was a ceremony that required the participation of both teacher and disciple, and if what she said was true, it raised the question of how one person could exist in two places at once.
Eve answered this question quite easily.
“As you all know, deceiving others is my specialty.”
“With a trick like this.”
She created an illusion of herself beside her.
So convincing was the illusion that she could act as if there were two of her present, without sparking any suspicion that it was all just one person’s magic.
Showing evidence through such an example, Eve turned to the crowd and asked,
“So, can you believe me a little more now?”
At her question, several people gasped in disbelief.
Could it truly be that her words were real?
That all those famed illusion mages were actually just one person?
They all understood the history well.
They knew exactly how many good deeds Eve, her mentor, had accomplished for the people.
If all those accomplishments belonged to Eve alone, it meant that for 400 years, she had tirelessly worked for the betterment of humanity.
According to their education, witches were enemies of humanity, an inconceivable contradiction against the newly introduced fact led to chaos.
People generally prefer order over confusion, and the easiest way to silence that confusion was,
“How can we believe what you— a witch— has said?”
It was slightly irrational but also a clear denial of the new reality.
This could be termed a minority opinion, but in the end, it felt like there was a hostility towards believing the words of a witch.
However, Eve merely smiled bitterly at such a response she had grown accustomed to receiving from those she had helped.
Given how well she understood humanity’s antipathy towards witches, she wasn’t hurt by it.
But even if she could endure this, one person could not tolerate it.
“…Everything she said is true. I will vouch for her.”
Mark Aegis stepped forward, defending Eve.
“Mark…”
Eve tried to hold him back by tugging at his cloak, signaling for him not to intervene, but Mark shook his head, insisting.
“As you heard from her story, my ancestor, the Great Hero Aegis, made a contract with her. And that contract has been passed down through the generations in the Aegis family. As the current contract holder, I assure you that there is no falsehood in her words; she is a witch on humanity’s side.”
Aegis had made a pact with Eve.
And that contract had successfully been handed down through generations in the Aegis family, along with the position of the headmaster at Aegis Academy.
The role of headmaster was the best position for concealing Eve’s secret since she worked as a teacher at the Academy.
That was why the headmaster of Aegis Academy was always hereditary.
Yet now, that carefully guarded secret had been revealed so overtly.
Now, Mark had only one thing left to protect.
Eve’s dream to live on as a teacher.
He vowed to ensure that one thing remained intact.
At Mark’s statement, the audience member who had directed the initial question towards Eve inquired hesitantly.
“So… does this mean everything she said is truly the case?”
“That’s right. Or are you implying that you don’t believe Aegis’ name either, because I’m in collusion with a witch? If so, I’d take real offense to that…”
“N-no… that’s not what I meant!!”
Seeing the person shrink under Mark’s slight intimidation brought about a surprising level of amusement for him.
Perhaps, it was because of such foolishness that he dared speak ill of Eve.
If only he could think in a more rational manner, he’d see that she was someone who deserved no such slight due to her identity as a witch.
While Mark mulled over this, another voice arose, expressing confusion.
“…I don’t quite get it. If what Ms. Eve said is true, then why has she been hiding this all along? No matter what, given what she’s done… people shouldn’t necessarily think poorly of her.”
“Sadly, there are plenty of people in the world who can’t be rational when it comes to witches, like this guy.”
Mark replied, glaring at the person he’d just been speaking of.
How hard Eve had been working all this time for people like him.
The only human who truly knew the life Eve had lived was Mark, and he couldn’t suppress his anger at how those people treated her like that.
However, ironically, Mark could understand why people acted as they did.
He knew that the man who questioned how he could trust a witch had recently lost his family because of a witch.
And Mark’s anger stemmed from the fact that Eve, who was like family to him, was being treated that way.
When precious ones were involved, it was easy for people to lose their rationality, and sadly, there were many who had lost loved ones due to witches.
That was why Eve had kept her identity a secret for so long, and now she unveiled it due to a student’s predicament.
Still, Mark found comfort in knowing that she wasn’t entirely in a bad situation.
“Well, anyway, that means everything the teacher said is true. I can’t believe Ms. Eve is a witch…”
“Turns out, there can be good witches after all…”
After hearing Eve’s explanation, many in the audience looked at her with bewildered, yet favorable eyes.
What made this possible was the wealth of good deeds she had accumulated over a long time.
The majority of her amassed wealth was donated to help those in need and to honor the heroes who had died while protecting the world.
Her efforts helped lift those in pain and nurtured many students into becoming worthy heroes.
Even though she had grown weak, having exhausted most of her strength in defeating the Witch of Gluttony, she still smiled, saying she had enough strength to keep being a teacher.
Thus, the existence of Eve was seen not as a witch but as a teacher or benefactor.
Despite accomplishing such remarkable feats, Eve looked at the crowd as if those accolades were of no importance.
“Hey, everyone? More importantly, is there any chance you could give Scarlett a chance?”
It was clear that her primary concern was solely for the student in distress.
As she stayed consistent in that regard, the people chuckled and nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, sure. If Ms. Eve is saying that much, then I’m okay with it.”
“To be honest, I never thought of her as completely bad from the start.”
With this sentiment, the people in the conference room could lean towards giving Scarlett another chance.
However, one major problem still loomed.
“We don’t mind, but you know we can’t do anything if the citizens oppose it, right?”
“Yeah… It can’t be helped. We just have to try persuading them as best as we can. Still, if you agree, we can at least offer Evande a minimal chance.”
Eve donned a bittersweet smile while responding to the inquiry.
That was a matter of course.
Scarlett’s story had already spread widely among the citizens, and if they tried to re-accept her into the city, they would likely face fierce opposition.
Of course, if the Central Committee rejected it from the start, Scarlett wouldn’t even have a chance to return to the city, hence Eve’s willingness to openly reveal her identity to persuade them.
But Mark was aware of the truth.
It would be difficult for Scarlett Evande to seize the opportunity presented to her.
After all, Scarlett was unlike Eve.
Eve had spent a long time building a good reputation, so revealing her identity as a witch would garner less hostility. But not Scarlett.
In fact, she was infamous among the citizens as the witch who had harmed Yoon Si-woo.
Still, Mark hoped for good fortune for Scarlett.
Not only because he thought well of her, but primarily because he didn’t want to see Eve sad.
*
After sending Sylvia away, I walked for quite a while until I finally reached the city’s outskirts as night fell.
“Lady Scarlett!”
Just then, as if waiting for me, Sylvia flew past the barrier, shining brightly.
I cautiously asked her as she landed next to me.
“So… what do you think…?”
“Ah, well…”
Seeing Sylvia’s grim expression hinted that things weren’t looking too hopeful.
After all, how could they easily allow a witch into the city?
I wore a bittersweet smile thinking about it when Sylvia suddenly exclaimed with flustered excitement.
“Well, the meeting itself went really well! The citizens’ reaction might be a bit of an issue, but… I’ll do my best to handle that! We have a formidable legal team that could scare even demons into fleeing—”
Offering encouragement with a bright voice, I smiled gently and held Sylvia’s hand.
To this, Sylvia murmured something, seemingly choked up.
“…They said to wait until tomorrow morning. Everything… will be alright, Lady Scarlett.”
“Yeah. Thanks, Sylvia.”
“…”
And so, the night passed and morning broke.
Through the rising sun, the city gates opened.
And beyond the opened gates stood
“…”
heroes with rigid expressions, waiting for us.
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