141 The Hidden Tracks
Selma Payne’s POV:
“You’re breaking the rules,” I mumbled.
“You can’t do this.”
Aldrich laughed loudly as he hugged me, asking the obvious, “Can’t what?”
“You can’t be so glib with your tongue!”
“Alright, baby, but I want you to know that you don’t have to hide anything from me. No matter how you look, you’re my true love.”
“But these scars are ugly.”
“How can it be ugly? This is the reward of the Moon Goddess, the proof of the bravest warrior. I’m proud of you, Selma.”
“You don’t mind?”
“I swear I won’t.”
We cuddled for a while, and when the bell rang at ten o’clock, Aldrich said, “We have to let the two majesties come. We can’t stop parents from visiting their daughters, can we?”
I washed my face and rinsed my mouth, hoping I didn’t look so haggard.
His parents arrived soon, accompanied by Kara, Tracy, Master Hayley, and Master Kevin.
Surprisingly, my mother didn’t cry this time. Instead, she looked normal and personally took care of my daily needs.
Even though I could still detect a slight tremble in her body.
I knew she was shouldering the responsibility of a Queen and a mother. She had thrown her sorrow to the back of her mind and was doing what she should do.
‘I’m the same.’
I begged my father to tell me about the advanced party.
“Perhaps you can worry about this after your wounds have completely healed,” my father said gently. “Master Hayley said that a quiet environment and a stable state of mind will be more beneficial for you when you fuse with the runes.”
Master Hayley nodded in agreement.
“But if I don’t get news from the advanced party, I’ll keep worrying, and it’ll be even harder for me to heal my wounds.” I acted coquettishly toward my father. “I’m begging you, Father. Please tell me. Just let me have peace of mind so that I can recuperate.”
My father couldn’t stand my coquettishness and had to agree.
“The advanced party will set up three bases in the Rocky Mountains. One at the foot of the mountain, one at the mountainside, and one at the ruins of the witch clan.”
“The Rocky Mountains are so big. Why are there only three bases? Is it a lack of manpower?”
“No, child, that’s not the reason.”
“Then, why? Oh, wait, it’s because of… ?”
“That’s right, Selma. The Rocky Mountains are human territory. A few hundred years ago, witches lived there, but the Rocky Mountains gradually lost their mysteriousness after they left. Humans were the first race to capture this land of no king. They explored, mined, and built research stations here, as well as hotels, sightseeing spots, ski resorts, and so on.”
“The traces of human activity are too frequent, so the advanced party can’t alert the enemy, right?”
“That’s right. Although the human race is divided internally, they are always surprisingly united when fighting against foreign races. They are suspicious of all species not of their race, so we do not need to provoke them. Who will directly reach these humans, and what kind of trouble will it bring?”
“I heard from Aldrich that the advanced party encountered a team from the human church?”
“Yes, they seem to be exploring something in the Rocky Mountains, but they didn’t make contact with them for safety reasons.”
Indeed, there were too many examples in history textbooks. From the sorcerers massacred to the non-human races treated as ‘aliens’ or ‘mutants’ and sent to the dissection table, it showed how much contempt humans had for life.
“How’s Master Mary? ” I asked. “Has she made any progress in her research on the ruins of the witch clan?”
My father replied, “Master Mary has read many ancient books left in the ruins of the witch clan. The good news is that she has found many ancient spells, runes, and magic circles that have never been discovered. Master Hayley will be with you when you set off.”
Master Hayley’s round face turned red.
“But the bad news is…” my father sighed helplessly. ” For the time being, we haven’t found any words or phrases related to the prophetic bloodline or the Eye of Insight. In fact, from the number of houses and the interior decoration, there’s no trace of Mullwica and her daughter living in the ruins of the witch clan.”
“This is impossible!” I exclaimed. “But all the clues and hints point to the Rocky Mountains and the ruins of the witch clan. It can’t be Dorothy’s mother, Adele, and the great demon Leviathan working together to trick us, right?”
“That’s the problem.” My father rubbed his brows. “Between legend and reality, one is false. Since there are no lies, Mullwica and her daughter must have used some way to hide their traces, just like how they hid the devil’s seal.”
