Witch Taming System

The only time Lancel had ever witnessed that name—no, that figure—was during whatever vision Nyarlathotep had forced upon him. A woman who, for some reason, bore an uncanny resemblance to Leticia.

"Merlin..."

"Mhm." Countess Gretelle nodded. "A witch far more legendary than the First Grand Witch. I’ve never seen her myself, but my Master once told me that her magic was something no witch should ever attempt."

"She’s... real?"

"Huh?" Countess Gretelle blinked. "Oh, of course she is. Have you heard of her?"

"She’s... immortalized in a novel."

"A novel..." Gretelle let out a small breath, considering it for a moment. "Ah, that piece of rubbish meant to fictionalize the founding of Brinte, I presume. Don’t take any of that at face value. Barely anything written there is accurate."

"...."

"For one, it paints Merlin as the Grand Witch, which isn’t true. Newer generations don’t even know her name anymore. But if you ask witches of the previous generation, you’ll hear the same answer every time."

Her expression darkened into a frown.

"That Merlin was a traitor."

"A traitor?" Fiore asked. "I’m ashamed to admit it, but I’ve never heard of her either, Master."

"It’s not something widely discussed," Countess Gretelle said. "Merlin was the first witch to defect from Riviere... and side with humans."

"And that human was...?" Lancel prompted.

"Ygraine de Bois," Gretelle replied. "Though, since you’ve read that novel, you’d probably recognize her better as Artorius’s mother, Ygraine Pendragon."

She paused briefly, gathering her thoughts.

"From what my Master told me, Ygraine was considered an entity that the witches of that era wanted dead. I can’t disclose the reason. That much remains confidential. But Merlin chose to side with her instead. She took the girl and fled, raising her as her own."

Gretelle exhaled softly, then shook her head.

"I’m getting off track. In any case, your magic seems to resemble Merlin’s."

While she had never met the witch herself, Countess Gretelle had once taken a deep interest in Merlin’s unconventional magic during her youth.

Because of that, she could speak with confidence about the similarities she was now seeing in Lancel.

"Countess Gretelle," Lancel began. "About Artorius... are you, by any chance, familiar with his knight, Lancelot?"

"Lancelot...?" She tilted her head slightly. "I can’t say I am. What I do know, however, is that he had some rather peculiar ties to witches."

"...How familiar are you with Brinte’s history?"

"My, aren’t you curious." Countess Gretelle smiled faintly. "Is that where your name comes from? Lancel... Lancelot? That’s quite amusing."

She let out a soft chuckle before continuing.

"I have read the novel. And if I had to guess, you’re referring to the affair he supposedly had with Artorius’s wife, aren’t you?"

In the fables surrounding King Artorius, it was often said that his most trusted knight, his right hand, the greatest among them, Lancelot, had engaged in an illicit affair with Queen Guinevere.

It was a story frequently cited as the beginning of the downfall of his empire, Camelot.

"...It’s not true, I guess?" Countess Gretelle tilted her head, tapping her chin lightly. "I mean... Guinevere was Lancelot’s little sister."

"Huh?"

"Eh?"

Lancel and Fiore reacted at the same time.

If the truth was what she said, then the narrative of an affair felt quite disturbing.

Countess Gretelle simply shrugged.

"I told you, it’s just nonsense written to make the novel sell. Unfortunately, since no one bothered to correct it over the years, it’s now accepted as fact."

She took a small sip of her tea.

"Well, it’s not really Riviere’s concern anyway."

Lancel took a moment to process everything. If the legend of King Artorius truly had some basis in reality, then what exactly had he witnessed back then?

That vision... had he really been transported to the era of Camelot?

"And what about Merlin?" Lancel asked. "She should still be out there somewhere, right?"

Countess Gretelle slowly lowered her teacup.

"She’s dead."

"...."

* * *

After a few days, Lancel left the Gretelle mansion and returned to Faust’s house.

"Ah, back so soon?" Faust said. "I was starting to enjoy the peace and quiet around here."

"Should I leave, then?"

"...Come in."

Lancel stepped inside and was immediately surprised by the difference.

"Wow."

Faust seemed to have renovated the place. Back then, it had resembled a large storage house. Now, it actually looked like a proper, refined residence.

It still wasn’t as extravagant as Countess Gretelle’s mansion, despite Faust being a Count-level witch herself, but even so, it was a place Lancel knew he would never be able to afford in his entire life.

"Have you finished recovering?" she asked.

"Yeah. You really went all out on the place."

Lancel glanced around, taking in the changes.

"I didn’t want you comparing my home to Countess Gretelle’s," Faust said. "You should know, I’m a first-generation Count. Meanwhile, Countess Gretelle inherited everything from her predecessor."

Lancel blinked at the sudden explanation.

Had Faust always been this insecure?

He already knew she was wealthy. It was just that... she chose to live frugally.

"...I wasn’t comparing," Lancel said. "It just looks better. That’s all."

Faust paused for a moment, then turned her gaze away.

"...Of course it does. I had to fix it. It was a mess before."

"...?"

After settling in and setting his things aside, Lancel sat down on the brand-new sofa. It felt... familiar. Almost identical to the one back in Countess Gretelle’s mansion, just newer and cleaner.

He didn’t comment on it.

It wasn’t hard to guess. That brief visit must have lit a fuse in Faust, enough for her to make changes to her own home.

In any case, Lancel spoke up.

"By the way... I’ve made some interesting progress. Want to see?"

"Sure."

Normally, Faust would’ve brushed him off or told him to wait. But this time, she immediately dropped whatever she was doing and sat down right in front of him.

"Show me."

"...?"

Even that was strange.

Still, Lancel didn’t question it and extended a hand.

"It looks like I’ve developed some kind of... strange magic."

"Already?" Faust raised an eyebrow. "Alright. Do it."