The entire mosquito net collapsed.
"Don't move!" Sean barked, pressing his body down on the other person. He reached into the bedding to find their arm.
As long as he grabbed the arm, he could ensure they couldn't move.
"Mm..."
"I told you not to move! If you don't want to suffer." Feeling the struggle beneath his feet, Sean shoved his hand straight into the bedding to search. A soft, warm sensation met his touch, and a faint, pleasant scent drifted into his nostrils.
The other person kept struggling, nearly rolling him off as he lay on top of her.
Huh?
Sean felt like he'd touched something hard, like a wooden stick.
And in the middle of that smooth stick, he fumbled upon a pair of warm hands... So the weapon she'd pulled out earlier was a wooden staff.
He hesitated for maybe a second, and then laughter came from under the covers.
"So you were awake after all. Sorry about this, Baron."
He felt the wooden staff lift slightly, and then, from somewhere unknown, a rope shot up and bound him tight!!
Then everything went dark...
...
The lamp was lit again.
He had no idea what time it was now—probably late into the night. The entire baron's household had already turned off their lights.
It was a winter night with heavy snow, so no one would be patrolling at this hour. Sean had even learned from Kalibo that no one patrolled even in the scorching summer.
The town had few people and was relatively safe, so normally there was no need to waste time on guards. Instead, taking turns on night watch left everyone too sleepy during the day to work with any energy.
Sean now thought this was a terrible habit. Starting tomorrow, he'd make those people work—morning runs and night watches, not a single one skipped.
But he had to survive until tomorrow first.
His whole body was tied to a chair, unable to move. He couldn't turn around, so he could only stare straight ahead.
Two desk lamps were lit, and beside them sat the tall witch's hat from earlier—black, its snowflakes long melted, now looking as if it had been soaked in water.
And sitting across from Sean was a girl with disheveled, curly silver-white hair, a high nose bridge, blue eyes, and skin that still looked fair and lovely in the faint candlelight. She seemed around twenty years old, maybe younger—hard to pin down her age, but definitely not old.
Under the firelight, his gaze was drawn to her neck, where a silver necklace hung with a teardrop-shaped bead, matching her appearance well.
But Sean had no time to admire a beauty. She'd used some kind of magic to bind him, and he couldn't break free no matter how he struggled.
"So, little baron. Still like sneaking up on people?" The girl sat across from Sean, occasionally playing with her hair, speaking with a teasing smile.
He looked at the numbers appearing above her head.
An [8000/8000] health bar, along with [4000/4000] mana.
[Neutral] and bearing a [Mocking!] status.
Though her appearance had changed a lot, seeing the health and mana made it clear who she was. His town probably only had one mage like this.
Such high health far exceeded anything in the Taylormian region and was stronger than the knights by his side.
"I just didn't expect a little place like mine to attract a lady like you. It's quite a surprise... I didn't know I had the charm to make a beautiful witch want to ambush me." Sean deliberately said things to provoke her, because if she didn't show her mental state, it was hard for him to control the rhythm of the conversation, especially without knowing her thoughts.
Sure enough, when he said this, a [Angry!] status appeared beside her head.
"Looks like you're tired of living. Perfect! Every man who's insulted me has died. You can join them on the road."
Besides the slightly longer wooden staff in her hand, the girl pulled another magic wand, shorter than an arm's length, from her waist pouch and pointed it at him. Under the candlelight, her captivating eyes drooped slightly. Seeing her about to start casting, Sean quickly continued.
"Is that so? Think it through. Assassinating an imperial noble is a capital offense. You'll face a nationwide manhunt from the empire, and you won't be able to take a step in this country afterward." Sean said.
This was a skill he'd learned from Luke just that day.
Relying on the power of the organization!
Though her health was much higher than his, it wasn't strong enough to contend with the entire nation. Even if his soldiers could face death without flinching, they might still inflict some damage on her.
8000 health—his gun could take off a few hundred points, Danti could chip away some, and then the other soldiers... All theoretical, without considering her counterattacks, but at least he had a way. Let alone the whole country.
And...
The key point was the affinity.
Neutral!
Sean had never figured out how this so-called affinity worked, or what else it did besides representing her attitude toward him. For now, only his townsfolk were friendly toward him, Luke and Danti were respectful, and outsiders started neutral before becoming friendly.
This witch in front of him had gone from cold to neutral, so maybe she wouldn't actually strike. Sean was guessing.
And he was testing how to use his vision by putting himself in harm's way...
"Are you provoking me?"
She lifted her chin slightly, looking at Sean, but the wand pressed against his chest, like a blade at his throat. With a little force, it felt like it might pierce through, yet the affinity above her head didn't change, and besides a bit of [Angry!] status, there was nothing else.
Not bad.
Steady!
This must be the thrill of dancing on a grave—knife at the throat, silently chanting "don't panic, it's fine."
"How would I dare provoke you? And dying at the hands of a beautiful lady like you would be my great honor." Damn, even Sean felt sick saying that, but he had to calm her down.
"Heh~ Smooth talker." She finally withdrew the wand.
So she probably wouldn't actually strike, Sean thought.
"I'm telling the truth... And for a witch like you to come find me so late, you must have something left unsaid from earlier." Feeling it was about right, Sean finally called out her identity.
Instantly, the [Curious!] and [Amused!] statuses returned to her.
"You knew it was me?"
"Not before, but I do now." Sean said.
"Liar. You must have known from the start... You really are different from others, different from other nobles." The girl suddenly said.
She stood up abruptly, picked up the tall witch's hat from the table, and put it on. The black raven perched on her shoulder again, and her tone turned serious.
"I have something I want to discuss with you, Baron Viger."