Sorcerer’s Handbook

Chapter 295: Cunning Daughter versus Cold-blooded Mother

“In this wretched den of iniquity, the only gain I’ve had is meeting Aunt.”

“My relationship with Aunt is strong; she’s not the lunatic Qenna is. My original plan was to bring you all to seek refuge with Aunt, and then continue here to desecrate the Divine Master’s schemes.”

“Due to Fanmula’s highly xenophobic nature, as long as we can hide within one Family, not even the Red Caps can touch us. Even if we all made it onto the future Ranking, we could still rest easy here.”

“Fanmula has six major Families, also known as the Six Emblems of Fanmula. The Six Emblems divide the entire city, each with its own administrative body, and they don’t share information between them, providing us opportunities to exploit any Loophole.”

This plan suddenly seemed flawless, but there was a very obvious Loophole, and even Ashe noticed it.

But they did not continue discussing it.

Outside the detention cell, the sound of high-heeled boots echoed.

Creak—

The heavy metal door slowly pushed open, and a pair of sleek legs stepped into the quiet detention room, their crisp tapping sounds as if stepping directly on everyone’s hearts. A tall figure, stunning beauty, and an arrogant demeanor, the Beautiful Elf in a Red Cap appeared in the prisoners’ line of sight, stealing all their colors.

Miss Annan, always calm and composed, seemed to meet her nemesis, completely unable to keep her cool: “When are you letting us out? According to the regulations, without substantial criminal evidence recognized by the Gospel, you can only detain us for a maximum of 48 hours.”

“48 hours?” As if hearing a joke, Qenna Senhaeser chuckled: “Yes, typically it is indeed a maximum of 48 hours, otherwise it would be a legal violation.”

“But…” she leaned forward slightly, looking down closely at her own daughter: “As the Captain of the Red Caps, I can request the Gospel to determine that you have serious criminal suspicions, extending the detention limit to 170 hours.”

“And given that your main activities over the past thirty days were in Azura, coming to Fanmula counts as committing crimes in a different location, which further extends the detention time by 720 hours.”

“I can legally detain you for over a month within the limits allowed by the Gospel,” the Beautiful Elf in the Red Cap said with a cold laugh. “Did you think only you pests knew how to exploit the rules? The Red Caps don’t exploit the rules simply because they disdain to stoop to your level, the level of parasites.”

Annan’s lips twitched as she restrained her anger. “Qenna, I didn’t come here for you, you—”

“But I came for you, you ungrateful wretch.”

Slap!

Before anyone could react, Annan was struck hard across the face. She groaned, falling to the ground as her cheek numbed and she spat out a mouthful of blood before Qenna grabbed her, then—

“Ah!”

Qenna delivered a brutal knee to the girl’s abdomen. Annan felt several of her ribs break, her organs squeezed, barely able to catch her breath!

Annan cried out as she collapsed to the floor, struggling to stand up and raise her handcuffed hands in defense. The Beautiful Elf in the Red Cap, seeing this, showed no mercy and delivered a powerful kick with her high boots!

Boom!

The Magic handcuffs shattered under the force, and Annan was kicked against the wall, her whole body numbed by the impact, her vision a blur of colors, her ears ringing almost to deafness!

“Stop.”

Qenna pulled out a handkerchief, bent down to wipe the blood from the tip of her shoe, ignoring the groaning, blood-spitting Annan. She looked at the only person in the cell daring to speak up, raising an eyebrow. “I remember Heath Ashe. You’re the man from her portrait… Are you her man?”

Ashe covered Lise’s eyes, tasted the Honeyed Blade in his mouth, pondering the best moment to act, and responded, “What, you want me to call you mother-in-law?”

“If you were a comedian, you’d probably make the list,” Qenna commented calmly, pulling out an elegantly designed Handgun, reminiscent of black and white piano keys, from her waist. Ashe instinctively covered Lise’s ears—

Bang!

Buzz——————

The shot bullet struck the wall right beside Ashe’s ear, tearing through his eardrum with a violent crack. The buzzing in his ears echoed in his mind, and although his combat training allowed him to maintain some semblance of sanity, the fear of brushing with death gripped his heart like a claw.

Power? His opponent was a Tri-wings Sorcerer of the Sanctuary.

Status? She represented justice as a Red Cap.

Situation? She was the knife; he was merely the fish on the chopping board!

When his hearing returned, he heard Qenna say coldly, “This is your first warning. I’m not warning you about your disrespect towards me, but about your disrespect towards Patriarch Senhaeser—on this world, aside from the Gospel, no one speaks to the Patriarch Senhaeser in a commanding tone, not even the kings of the earth!”

“Moreover, this is also a reeducation on stupidity. Boy, didn’t you notice that Banjeet hasn’t spoken?”

Ashe glanced towards Banjeet, who had been silent all along.

Yes, the person who cared most about Annan here should be Butler Banjeet, but why hadn’t Banjeet protested even as Annan was beaten so severely? Could it be…

“Because he also knows they are not in the right here,” Qenna sneered. “Don’t be foolishly misled by this wretched girl.”

Ashe, suppressing the fear in his heart, gently pushed away Lise’s hand from his ear, managing only to utter a feeble and pale truism, “Even if you have issues with your daughter, you shouldn’t abuse her like this. She is not your property—”

“Who said I was hitting her as a mother?”

Qenna grabbed Annan by the neck and pressed her against the wall—standing taller than Annan, especially with her high boots—mother and daughter stood face to face, but their eyes showed no warmth, only coldness and resentment.

“Nona has told me all about your plan,” Qenna said coldly. “You came to Fanmula with great fanfare and then revealed your blood relationship with me, making everyone think I was protecting you. Then you secretly joined other Emblem Families. As a result, Senhaeser would have to face the Red Caps, the Firm, the other five major Emblem Families, and the Yisuo Royal Family alone, becoming the target of the entire nation… While you could sit comfortably on the best balcony, watching Senhaeser become the sacrifice in your plan.”

“You said you didn’t want to be my daughter anymore, so why come running back to mommy when you get into trouble? I don’t recall ever teaching you that. Or is this the kind of upbringing you got from Dolan? Hmm?”

Pfft!

Annan spat a mouthful of blood onto Qenna’s face, her voice weak as she said, “You… must not… insult Dolan!”

Qenna glanced at the blood on her cheek with a slight squint in her eyes, her tone unfluctuating: “I am not standing here as your mother or as a Red Cap, but as the Patriarch of Senhaeser, demanding an explanation from you, a traitor who plotted against Senhaeser.”

“I’ll give you three sentences,” she said coldly. “If you can’t convince me, then you will spend two human menstrual cycles here.”

Ashe and the others were stunned—they had no idea about the specifics of Annan’s plan, but Banjeet had not countered Qenna’s testimony, which meant that Annan had indeed planned to use her mother’s Family as a shield. A cunning daughter versus a cold-blooded mother was indeed not a battle they could intervene in.

“After the Weaving Festival… I will join Senhaeser.”

“One.”

“Whether successful or not, I will hand over all of Dolan’s secrets to you, including the loopholes accumulated over centuries, as well as this blasphemous plan woven by generations!”

“Two.”

“That’s it, this is my bottom line!” Annan gritted her teeth. “Hand me over, let everyone know that Senhaeser can’t even protect its own daughter!”

Qenna looked at her, then let go, allowing her to slide down the wall. Then the Beautiful Elf Red Cap pulled a piece of Contract Fabric from her sleeve and unfolded it expertly.

“Sign it.”

Ashe and the others suddenly realized that Annan’s method of controlling employees through contracts, and her mix of intimidation and deceitful rhetoric, might well have been a crucial part of her upbringing.