Witch Taming System

Lancel wanted to run away.

Even after everything that had happened, just meeting Angelica’s eyes was enough to fill him with fear, triggering something inside him like a form of PTSD of some sort.

"Lancel."

Lancel swallowed hard, grabbed what he needed from the shelf, and quickly turned around.

He tried to ignore her completely, pretending she didn’t exist.

"I see you’ve adjusted."

"...."

Lancel paused.

That same chilling voice that used to order him around like a dog echoed in his ears, dragging up memories he had tried to forget.

Being chained in her basement, taken out for walks on a leash, humiliated in front of several apprentice witches, all while she watched with that cold, indifferent gaze, as if treating him like an animal was perfectly normal behavior.

Angelica took something from the shelf, examined it for a moment, and continued speaking.

"How does it feel living as a sinner while pretending to be innocent?"

Lancel clenched his fists. "I told you before... I didn’t kill Leticia."

"You were the reason she died, anyway. Who is to blame if not you?"

"...."

Lancel kept walking. There was no point in talking to this crazy woman. He had told her the same story again and again, but every time, Angelica simply let the words go in one ear and out the other.

"Lancelot."

"...."

"That’s your real name, isn’t it?"

"It’s not."

"Am I mistaken?"

Angelica picked up several more items from the shelves and placed them into her basket.

"I suppose this is the first time I’m telling you this. But Leticia seems to have been smitten by you. I discovered one of her journals filled with your name. Lancel. Lancelot. Lancel. Lancelot. As if she were trying to summon you."

"...."

Lancel narrowed his eyes and turned to face her. This was the first time he was hearing about any of this.

While he had long suspected that Leticia had known him before he ever knew her, there had never been any way to confirm it.

"What are you talking about?"

"You tell me, Lancel. What did you do to my daughter?"

"...."

Lancel had known this fact long before meeting Angelica. She was the one who had adopted Leticia, clothed her, fed her, and raised her.

He could understand a mother’s grief after losing her daughter, but Angelica’s reaction toward him was excessive for a man who had done nothing wrong.

"Even I don’t know..." Lancel muttered. "I want to know... Just what did Leticia see in me? Why was someone like me worthy of her sacrifice when I’ve done nothing for her at all...?"

"That’s right," Angelica replied coldly. "Live with that guilt. Live on knowing you killed my daughter, you unworthy man."

"I really can’t understand you... You crazy bitch..."

Despite how strong he had become these days, Lancel was certain he would never be able to touch even a single strand of Angelica’s hair.

...But that was only with his current strength.

If he could form a contract with Angelica... if he could bind her with Chains of Dominion... he could finally pay her back for all the torment she had put him through.

[Contract Capacity : 3 / 3]

However, the contract capacity was already full, and he had no idea whether it would ever increase or how to make it do so.

It was a shame, but Lancel tried not to dwell on it. After all, these contracts had tied him to his new relationships.

———!

At that moment, something flickered at the edge of his screen.

────────────

[Special Objective]

────────────

[Condition:]

∎ Reach Level 10.

[Reward:]

∎ Contract Capacity: +3

∎ Chains of Dominion +Upgrade

────────────

"...."

This was it. A hint, a clue to even greater power over these witches. Lancel felt truly grateful to whichever deity had blessed him with this unknown power.

"And how’s your magic studies going?"

"...?"

Lancel’s brows rose slightly at Angelica’s sudden question.

"You don’t have to pretend. I’ve known all this time. The mana that was slowly accumulating inside your body. You think I wouldn’t notice after all the experiments I did on you?"

"Then weren’t you afraid?"

"Afraid that you’d escape? No. I was much more intrigued by whatever it was that you could do. Would you overcome your adversity, or be swallowed by it?"

"Crazy bitch..."

Lancel still couldn’t figure out why she hadn’t snitched on him. But right now, he didn’t want to provoke her any further. Angelica clearly held the upper hand.

That being said, Lancel grabbed the things he needed and left the shop, feeling deeply frustrated.

"...."

Meanwhile, Angelica felt the air leave her lungs as sweat dripped down her forehead.

"Outer God..."

She had tried to provoke him, hoping that in his rage, Lancel would reveal the Outer God hidden deep inside him. That same strange entity she had tried to cultivate, without realizing at the time that it might actually be an Outer God.

If it had revealed itself, she would have done a huge favor to the City. But the more she spoke to him, the more it seemed like Lancel was holding back.

Moreover, Angelica was still uncertain whether she had been mistaken back then, or if the Outer God had already left his system. Even until now, that same signature she had felt the first time she met him had more or less disappeared.

"Haa... this is annoying..."

In truth, Angelica harbored no real hatred for Lancel. At first she did, but as more time passed, she had come to realize that perhaps this man really had done no harm to Leticia.

However, when she discovered the sudden birth of mana inside his body, Angelica couldn’t resist keeping him to herself.

She experimented on him and tried to accelerate the foreign energy growing within him.

After all, no witch could ever resist uncovering the unknown.

If anything, Faust was the odd one for never even attempting to dissect him. Instead, she treated him as if he were a potential apprentice witch.

And perhaps... that was where Angelica had been mistaken.

What if she hadn’t been blinded by rage back then?

What if she had done things differently?

"...."

There was no use pondering on it now.

Lancel wasn’t her problem anymore.