"Once upon a time there was a small village there, and a barrier. Mother built the place to hold the Warlock of Melancholy, Hector, at bay."
Gojo listened to Betty's explanation and his head was already spinning.
"Your mother is the Witch of Greed, right? So what exactly is this Warlock of Melancholy, that she had to go to all that trouble to handle him?"
"That's a rather long story."
Betty gave a small pout, signaling plainly that now wasn't the moment.
"Lady Beatrice. I hadn't expected to find you away from the Forbidden Library."
Frederica's surprise deepened at the sight of her.
Anyone who'd worked at the mansion knew of her existence, knew she'd been shut up in the Forbidden Library for centuries.
Seeing her standing in a hallway was the sort of thing that stopped a person in their tracks.
"Yes. This one is now my contracted Spirit."
"Who gave you permission to call me 'this one,' you jerk."
Watching the pair bicker, a faint smile touched Frederica's lips.
"Perhaps everyone would care to rest first. I imagine the road has been tiring."
"We can go into the other matters in detail once you're settled."
Gojo nodded. There was no particular hurry.
"This way, please."
Roswaal's mansion was home ground by now.
He slotted into the same room he'd used before, and the others did the same.
Once things were settled, he took a small detour to check on the corridor and study that had suffered during his last stay.
The repairs had held up well. The craftsmanship was good enough that you'd need to look closely to spot where the damage had been.
He wandered back through the halls and made his way to Betty's room to pick up the thread of their earlier conversation.
"Betty~"
"Come on, tell me more about this Sanctuary and the Warlock of Melancholy."
He sauntered in with a grin stretched across his face.
"The way you act really makes a person want to smack you."
She sighed up at him. "Do you want to go fetch the others? I'd rather not repeat myself five times."
"I think we can skip that. Doubt they'd find it all that interesting."
"If they really want to know, I'll fill them in later."
Seeing how confident he was, she finally relented and began to explain.
The Sanctuary, stripped of its mystique, was a testing ground.
It relied on a population of mixed-blood demi-humans to sustain a barrier that could detect the blood of anyone who drew near and identify the half-demi-humans among them. A secondary effect caused anyone not granted passage to lose their way within.
At its core, where the structure of the Cursed Technique was anchored, entry required either half-demi-human blood or a qualification granted by Echidna herself.
Anyone without the right to enter would be injured the moment they forced their way in. The stronger their mana, the worse the damage they'd take.
In Betty's words, the whole place had been built to hold off the Warlock of Melancholy.
As for who exactly the Warlock of Melancholy was.
Only from her account did Gojo learn that centuries ago, the Seven Witches hadn't been alone.
Beyond the seven, there had been the Witch of Vainglory, Pandora, and the Warlock of Melancholy, Hector, who had been scrubbed from most histories.
"In the present age, those bearing Witch Factors are called Sin Archbishops. In that era, because Hector was the only male to possess a Witch Factor, he was called the Warlock instead."
"Roswaal's ancestor, back then, was Mother's student. Already one of the strongest magicians of that age."
"And even he could barely buy time against Hector. Holding him off was nearly impossible."
"The way the current Roswaal talks, his mannerisms, those come straight from the Warlock. Almost identical."
"Don't imagine the Witches of that era were uniformly monstrous in combat. Same as the Sin Archbishops today, some of them simply had unusual abilities."
"Once you understand the shape of what they do, killing them is fairly simple."
"My mother, the Witch of Greed. Her Authority isn't something you can use directly in a fight. Its main expression is the Book of Wisdom. Beyond that, she worked magic similar to what Roswaal does."
"So when the Book foretold the Warlock of Melancholy coming for her, Mother began planning the Sanctuary."
"I see."
It clicked into place.
"The Sanctuary isn't only a home for those demi-humans now. It's also Mother's tomb."
"So what's Roswaal going there for? Can't be just to pay his respects."
"No chance. That man isn't nearly dull enough for that."
Betty shook her head, not even pausing to consider it.
"I haven't spent that much time with him personally, but I've known every Mathers family head through the generations."
"Their personalities are uncannily similar. None of them would bother with something that sentimental."
"So he's hatching another scheme?"
"First he sends Elsa to strike the mansion. Now he slips quietly back to his domain and vanishes into the Sanctuary."
"I doubt anyone besides the man himself knows what he's really planning."
"Still, does it matter? With you and Reinhard in the picture, nothing he does should amount to much."
"You really do have faith in us."
"From what I've seen of you both? Short of the Witch of Envy herself clawing her way back, or something on the level of the Divine Dragon, no Witch or Sin Archbishop is going to threaten you."
"Now I'm almost flattered."
"In that case, let's see what kind of face Roswaal puts on when we arrive."
"If he tries to steer us toward the Sanctuary, something's definitely rotten."
"And Lust is going to come looking for us anyway. Might as well let them run into each other."
A sly glint sharpened the edges of his smile.
"And if that's not enough, you've still got Greed tucked away over there, don't you? I imagine he'd welcome a chance to stretch his legs."
"Roswaal drew the short straw the day he met you."
Imagining Lust and Greed running loose inside the Sanctuary, Betty offered a silent moment of mourning on Roswaal's behalf.
"Your mother's tomb should be safe, though, right? Would be a shame if it got wrecked."
"If it does, what exactly are you and Reinhard good for?"
"Fair point."
"Sigh. Let's hope the man doesn't do anything stupid. Honestly, I can't work out what he's thinking."
"If we don't crack this open or shut it down, Subaru's going to be the only one carrying Emilia through whatever comes next. No telling how ugly that gets."
"If he's the biggest victim in all of this, then you're a close second."
"Why do you say that?"
He turned a puzzled look on her.
"When he dies, he resets. But you're the only other one who keeps the memories."
"At least he's doing it for someone he loves. There's something in that for him. But you? You just keep reliving the same stretch of road over and over..."
His expression darkened. She had a point.
Subaru had a reason to keep grinding his teeth through it. Love made a person willing to pay.
What about him?
"Before we leave, we should finish Roswaal off. Empty his coffers while we're at it. Put a clean end to the whole mess."
"Suit yourself. I never promised his ancestors I'd look after his descendants."
"Good enough for me."
They talked for a while longer, until Frederica's voice came through the door calling them to dinner.
Walking back through the house.
He noticed, with something like amazement, that in the span of a single afternoon, the whole place had transformed.
The dusty, cluttered wreck from that morning was gone. What remained was spotless, orderly.
In the dining room, Frederica and Rem were setting out the meal.
A fine sheen of sweat glistened on Rem's forehead. The mansion's rescue operation had clearly been a two-person job.
They took their seats.
The atmosphere around the table was warm, easy, like old friends at a reunion supper.
Which made Frederica's words at the end of the meal land all the harder. Gojo and Betty exchanged a sharp glance.
"Everyone. I contacted Lord Roswaal via the Conversation Mirror this afternoon to let him know you'd arrived."
"Lord Roswaal is recovering from an injury at the Sanctuary and cannot return at the moment. He would like to invite all of you to join him there."
The two of them held each other's gaze, and in each other's eyes they read the same small, telling flicker.
Exactly what they'd mapped out that afternoon. Roswaal had gone ahead and sent the invitation.
"You wouldn't have had to ask twice. I was going either way."
"I've got things to settle with him in person."
Felt didn't blink. She hadn't come all this way for pleasantries. She'd come for Holy Gold Coins.
"Reinhard's coming too. That's fine, right?"
"Of course."
"Lady Beatrice, what of you?"
"If Felt's going, then naturally we'll go as well."
Betty wrinkled her small nose and kept her voice even, betraying nothing.
"Understood. I'll have breakfast ready for you in the morning."
"Also, Lord Roswaal asked me to pass these along. They're the tokens you'll need to enter the Sanctuary."
She produced a set of small, diamond-shaped crystals and laid one in front of each person at the table.
"Thank you."
The rest of the meal passed without leaving much impression on either Gojo or Betty.
Their strength meant danger wasn't the question.
What gnawed at them was something else. What was Roswaal really setting up? What was the point of all this maneuvering?
After dinner.
Gojo gathered everyone except Emilia in his room and walked them through what he and Betty had pieced together that afternoon.
For Reinhard it was the first time hearing any of it.
As a knight who held himself to a strict code, he found Roswaal's behavior hard to stomach.
"Bastard!"
"What is he even trying to do!"
"Once, twice, fine. But every single time, it's Emilia in the crosshairs!"
Subaru, ever Emilia's loudest champion, was the first to boil over, words ground out through clenched teeth.
"Set the rest aside. Based on everything he's shown us so far..."
"Once he's committed to a plan, he doesn't care who gets caught in the blast."
"Meaning we could end up collateral too. When we reach the Sanctuary tomorrow, keep your guard up."
Gojo swept his eyes over the group as he said it.
"Not too worried, honestly. I've got all of you, don't I?"
Felt leaned back, unbothered, then turned to the Sword Saint. "Reinhard, if I end up in danger, will you kill him?"
"I will protect you. Then I will subdue him and deliver him to the Royal Capital to stand judgment before the Council of Wise Men."
He answered without a wasted word.
"There, see? Not exactly what I asked for, but nothing to lose sleep over."
"Must be nice. If only Reinhard would protect me too."
Gojo twisted in his seat, affecting a coy little pose.
"Ugh. Don't be disgusting."
"Anyway. Betty and I worked out something this afternoon. If Roswaal really is up to something, we give him a little present."
"What kind of present?"
Subaru perked up at once. Anything that involved inconveniencing Roswaal had his full support.
"The Sin Archbishop of Lust is coming for us, right? I figure it's a pretty good opportunity."
"And Betty's still got Greed locked up at her place. Two Sin Archbishops dropping in should be enough of a surprise."
"I'm in!"
Subaru's hand shot up.
"I've heard the Sanctuary is home to a considerable number of demi-humans. If you release those two there..."
Reinhard's brow furrowed and his voice dropped low.
"Not a problem."
"Worst case, we round up the civilians somewhere safe and hand the rest to Roswaal. If anything goes wrong from there, not our concern."
"Besides, Reinhard, your priority is Felt's safety. Can't exactly be running around playing rescuer on top of that, right?"
Gojo delivered the line with a bright smile, and the rest of the room caught up in the same breath.
The present was a decoy.
The real play was borrowing a blade.
With Felt in the picture, she automatically topped Reinhard's priority list. Everything else came second, by a wide margin.
Reinhard met Gojo's look with a tight, rueful smile, then nodded slowly, resigned.
"Yes."
"Lady Felt's safety takes precedence above all else for me."
"Perfect. Then it's decided!"
...
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