To His Hell and Back
Chapter 296: Witch’s Whimsy

Chapter 296: Witch’s Whimsy

Her flawless smile appeared undeterred but her knuckles had turned into balled fists. She took a while to think as if she didn’t recall the name and finally spoke up, "I think she was called Alice."

"Alice, and she hails from Aceiala Kingdom far beyond the sea?" Raven asked again and the queen nodded.

"But why are you curious? She questioned raven who was noting down the information in his head.

"I suppose it’s because someone I know has lives in Acieala for long enough to be called his own hometown. I remember it has always been in between other kingdoms war."

"That’s why she’s extremely proficient in healing the King. She’s more learned than anyone in Versailles," answered the queen proudly but Raven tilted his head.

"However they’re known to only have humans as their citizens thus I wonder if the doctor- Alice was it? Is really knowledgeable regarding the King."

Narrowing her eyes queen Morganas smile turned pressuring, "You are questioning my choices, Raven? MY choices?"

Raven gulped but managed his cool, "That was what the crown prince had wanted to know as he is worried and wish to help you by showing another doctor that he knows of."

"Unnecessary! Alice has long learned abroad and no one else would know better about vampires than her. She was the one who had helped the King turned me into a vampire, so his worry is unnecessary!"

Raven frowned at the queens insistent and only now he was sure that the true reason why Cassius had told him to ask about the doctor was this— because he knew that the queen was adamant in her choice of doctor and that was enough to rouse their suspicion.

Raven bowed his head and turned to leave. Once he was far enough did he turn to one of his men following behind him and passed the new command, "Look into Alice."

"Alice... the new doctor, sir?"

Raven nods and the guard seemed to have a lot of questions running down his mind but knew that asking was the least of their concern.

As his men left, Raven himself retreated to his office and quickly penned a new letter to the ministers of the castle. In it was a warning: "The questionable doctor."

Meanwhile queen Morgana was still on the edge of her seat, gripping to the armrest angrily until she had ripped the cushion of it.

Without a hint of footsteps or whisper, a woman appeared right beside her. The woman’s footsteps were impossible to detect as though she had been there the entire time, one with the darkness or the room. She then walked toward Morgana and reached out her hand to snap her finger.

"WAH!" Morgana yelled in surprise and turned to see the smiling face of a younger woman. The woman’s red lips and her eye catching green eyes beamed between the darkness and when she smiled it wasn’t out or malice or one that make others turn tense, rather it was a smile that made one feels charmed but cursed at the same time.

"Why so tense Morgana?" Alice asked. Her deep maroon hair slipped from her thin shoulder and her when she leaned forward, she looked more fragile than Morgana herself. But Morgana knew that what Alice could do was something so frightening that even she doesn’t dare to make her an enemy.

"He seems to know that you are a witch too," Morgana schooled her tone to seem as proud and confident as Alice. But Alice gave her a long winded hum.

"And so?"

Morgana slapped the chair and looked at her, "Do you not understand?! He knows that you exist! Now our plan is ruined!"

"The plan never once mattered on deceiving him. If that was the plan, that crown prince would never be aware of my existence till his death at all— ever, for eternity," Alice whispered with a yawn. "What about the girl?"

Morgana clicked her tongue, "Are you really sure that monster will be the key in killing Cassius?"

Laughing Alice turned to her with a small nod, "More than certain. Have I ever been wrong?"

No. But how could Morgana bet on her life by just Alice’s words? Unlike Alice, she has more to lose and Alice has always been such a whimsical soul who wouldn’t hesitate in ditching the last person she was with if they have proven to be of no more use.

"Then out with it and put that monster to work! Let her kill him quickly so the throne could be passed to me!" Queen Morgana demanded in anger and for a moment she could see how Alice’s smile hung and turn faint into something akin to annoyance, like a human who was looking down at the ants gathered under their feet.

She picked the smile back and walked around with a hum, "You are being too hasty Morgana and what does haste bring to you? Nothing more than problems. You don’t want to risk it so trust me and wait, monsters need to be awoken from their sleep for them to run amok and go crazy. Only then could we use her properly and cast her aside when we need as well."

"I don’t believe that Cassius would die in the hand of a girl," Morgana whispered. "That monster’s only strength is their immortal body but not her physical power."

"You would be surprised then," Alice gently placed her hands on Morgana’s shoulders and hummed, "I’ll even give you the front seat to watch that monster losing her mind. It will be so fun, I promise you."

Seeing how Morgana was still not swayed, Alice humphed and walked away, "You don’t trust me even when I told you that baby of yours was going to be a girl. You told me that I was wrong and the doctors knew better than me, but when the baby arrives you run first to me, asking to get rid of her—"

"STOP! BE QUIET!" Morgana yelled and frantically tried to cover her mouth but Alice stepped aside. "If someone overhears that-"

"Oh no one will Morgana, you are such a worrywart!" Alice danced around happily in the room, "for now you should pretend as though nothing is wrong. I’ll continue moving your dearest husband around and make him fall or cough so his illness is known to even the rats in the castle. Stay always beside him and care for him, make it known to everyone that even when he was ill, even when he pushes aside everyone, he will always choose you to stay beside him— how romantic. So romantic that I promise you everyone would never suspect you of anything. Even if they did—"

Morgana narrowed her eyes, "even if they did?" She pressed and saw Alice giggling.

"They will die before they could speak."

And sure enough the next morning Alice’s words came true upon the castle castle’s gate.

The dangling feet of a soldier was left unnoticed by the gardener that morning but the maid who had been ordered to bring out the boxes from a guest’s carriage felt a drop of liquid on her face.

Thinking it was rain, the maid brushes the incident aside, thinking that it didn’t matter much to her even if it did rain considering how the task won’t take all her time.

But again another drop fell and another one. Then the servant walked out from the carriage only to frown upon seeing the maid’s face.

"You shouldn’t be working when you are sick. My mistress will hit you if she found out about this."

"Sick? I am not sick," answered the maid. "I just look paler in the morning."

"Don’t try to lie. Your nose is bleeding."

"Bleeding?" The maid finally pulled her hand to her face, wiping away the liquid she felt on her chin. She then felt another drop falling to her chin and cupped her hand under it only to see blood has dripped on her face, not the rain.

Shivers ran down her spine as she slowly lifted her neck to look at what actually was above her. When she saw the dangling shoes and the blood, then finding the face of Raven that was in horror slashes across his head into halves, the maid let out a sharp scream, loud enough that it had alerted everyone nearby as they gasp and hurl in horror.

By the afternoon, Cassius was told by Renard who had came for a visit of Raven’s death.

"That confirms it." Cassius said with little concern. He had warned Raven to be careful or to run away if there was a problem. Though it seems that his warning didn’t truly come to achievement.

"We found traces of him writing a certain letter. There was pen marks and parchment with scribbles but the letter itself was nowhere to be found. If it was... destroyed then we can’t guess in details what he had found."

"But we could guess enough," answered Cassius. He then looked at his hand and hummed, seemed that his power— the child called Bubbly— was correct.

A witch has sided with Morgana. A troublesome witch.