I Supported My Fiancé for 10 Years After He Said, 'Let's Get Married When I Succeed,' but When He Finally Did, He Dumped Me. By the Way, I'm a Witch and Turning 30 Next Year!! - Episode 51
The heat of the Sun’s Hand seemed surprisingly effective against the vines.
Grabbing them firmly and tearing them off with a ripping motion, they crumbled into pieces.
Now was the time. With that thought, I used the leaves in my green fingertips to create vines and restrained Alyssa instead.
“W-What!?”
I wrapped her tightly in vines, just like she had done to me, making sure she couldn’t move.
To prevent her from chanting a spell, I covered her mouth as well.
“Mmm! Mmmmmm!!”
Staring at me with hateful eyes wouldn’t change anything. She had done something that deserved this kind of treatment.
Controlling the vines like a caterpillar, I descended to the ground.
There, I saw Carbuncle, also tightly wrapped in vines.
It had probably been drained of a lot of magic. It was unconscious and completely limp.
“Poor thing.”
I tore the vines apart with the Sun’s Hand and gently held Carbuncle close.
As for Alyssa, I just tossed her aside.
“—!!”
She was glaring at me with furious eyes, as if screaming, “How dare you treat me like this!!” But I wanted her to stay in that caterpillar-like state for a while and reflect on her actions.
“By the way, where’s Merv Maple?”
Even when I called, there was no response.
Maybe Merv was also hanging from the World Tree like I had been?
But I couldn’t see anything that looked like that.
I tried summoning him, but there was no reaction.
“Where are you?”
As I looked around, a magic circle appeared.
“Huh?”
Was it Merv Maple? No, it wasn’t.
What appeared instead was a holy knight clad in silver armor—Ie.
“Ie!?”
“Rei, thank good—”
Just as Ie stepped forward, Alyssa suddenly screamed, “HELP ME!!!!” in a near-hysterical voice.
At some point, the vines covering her mouth had come off.
“You are…!?”
“It’s terrible!! She kidnapped me and brought me to this horrible place!!”
“Wait, what are you talking about!?”
Alyssa, still in her caterpillar-like state, and me.
For someone who had just arrived, it would be hard to understand the situation.
She was using that to her advantage.
Then, one after another, people began appearing from the teleportation magic circle.
The first to arrive was the Cardinal, who was also Ie’s older brother—His Eminence, Claiburg.
He immediately noticed me and shouted, “You!!”
Alyssa wasted no time pleading for his help.
“Your Eminence, please save me! That witch is the one who did this to the World Tree! She plans to use me as a sacrifice to revive the Demon King!”
“What!?”
I was too stunned to speak.
Then Cardinal Claiburg gave an order to the Holy Knights standing by his side.
“Seize her!!!!”
The Holy Knights drew their swords and charged toward me.
“STOP!!”
To my surprise, Ie stepped in front of me and blocked their advance.
“Ie!?”
He stood on my side, even though he didn’t know the full story.
I felt a warmth spread in my chest.
Alyssa must not have expected that.
She quickly shouted again.
“Your Excellency! That woman is a dangerous criminal! She took Carbuncle hostage and committed unspeakable atrocities! She’s not worth protecting!!”
“Whether someone is worth protecting or not is for me to decide. Not you. One thing I can say for certain is that Rei would never do something like this. She is not the culprit!”
“Sir Ie…”
I never knew he trusted me so much.
My heart swelled with emotion.
Ie, standing protectively in front of me, looked incredibly strong and radiant.
Alyssa’s restraints were released by the Holy Knights, and Cardinal Claiburg helped her stand.
Leaning against him, Alyssa put on a weak, fragile act.
“Ie, when did you fall under that witch’s control?”
“That’s a terrible way to put it.”
“It’s obvious. Someone of royal bl00d like you should never be at the mercy of a witch!”
“If you can’t even respect witches, you have no right to live in this kingdom. The peaceful world we live in today wasn’t brought about by the royal family—it was built by the efforts of the witches. I can’t believe you don’t understand that, Brother.”
“Silence!!”
Cardinal Claiburg, clearly enraged, ordered more Holy Knights through the teleportation circle.
A flood of Holy Knights arrived, surrounding us with their swords drawn.
Alyssa cast a worried gaze in our direction—yet the smirk on her lips suggested she was enjoying this.
What a cunning woman.
Still, I had to find a way to fix this situation.
If only Carbuncle were awake, it might have been able to persuade Cardinal Claiburg.
I had been shaking it for a while, but there was no sign of it waking up.
What should I do?
What should I do?
What should I do?
“Ie, you have two choices. Will you die here protecting the witch, or will you hand her over and live?”
“Dying while protecting Rei would be the highest honor.”
“No, stop it, Ie!!”
I had no intention of dying here, but I didn’t want to drag Sir Ie into this.
“I didn’t do this to the World Tree.”
“Then… was it Alyssa von Strolt?”
Ie seemed to understand.
I nodded, confirming it.
“Brother, did you hear that? The one who destroyed the World Tree isn’t Rei—it’s the woman standing next to you.”
“As if I would believe the words of a witch!!”
At last, Cardinal Claiburg gave the final order.
“Capture her! It doesn’t matter if she lives or dies!”