Viviana Has a Habit of Arriving Early

It was already excessive enough to have one grail knight order involved; is adding another one some kind of extreme challenge?

Of course, Faust wasn't afraid; he was merely complaining.

【"Well... since she is already deeply mired in the witches' feast, she naturally cannot extricate herself. I suspect she won't give up until she achieves her goal. This is actually a good thing. If the Azure Maiden were to back down halfway, how would I seize the authority of 'Great Thunder' for you?"】

Faust frowned. "The main issue is how she can order the grail knights around like they're her own private army."

【"Because they are her private army."】

【"Whether it's fairies or Ladies of the Lake, there are always those who aren't quite honest. They use various means to establish their own private forces. Although most vows don't create a factual subordinate relationship, they can still issue commands through other methods."】

【"Relying on emotions, threats, or even faith—you can basically view them as a cult."】

Good grief, even the fairies have their own fanatical armies! Terrifying.

Faust chuckled. "I haven't been exposed already, have I?"

【"When did you get the illusion that you weren't exposed? The moment you offended the Azure Maiden, she was bound to dig up your background. With the power of a Lady of the Lake, looking into eighteen generations of your ancestors isn't much of a problem."】

【"Furthermore, if your ancestors' remains weren't handled properly, she might even drag them out of their graves to humiliate them and send you a recording of it."】

Oh boy, that's a bit much.

Faust was about to joke when something suddenly occurred to him.

"Wait, I'm not going to get a 'home visit,' am I?"

He didn't really care how he was targeted; since he had stepped onto this path, he had put life and death aside.

However, the Qingxi Kingdom was his personal sanctuary. If his actions led to innocent people in the kingdom suffering, Faust would be beyond furious.

【"Even the Azure Maiden wouldn't resort to such ugly behavior. Besides, don't you still have your teacher and sister?"】

That was true.

Faust felt relieved at those words. He had gone to great lengths to keep Mystoria around precisely as a safeguard. Having an elf martial saint stationed in the royal capital was incredibly reassuring.

But why did Mephistopheles mention his royal sister?

Although Yusewood was a talented warlock, and Faust meant no disrespect to his sister, to be honest, Yusewood couldn't possibly be compared to Master Mystoria.

Just as Faust was about to ask Mephistopheles about his evaluation criteria, Lola saw him lost in thought and mistakenly assumed he was intimidated by the sheer scale of the forces hunting them.

She gently stroked the young man's chin and said, "Don't worry. Although it sounds like the whole world is your enemy, Selena will be fine regardless. She will definitely break through all obstacles to reach me and then... kill me."

"This is the future destined by the curse, and it can never be changed."

"Oh, no! What do you mean by that, Mommy?"

Hearing Lola's certainty about her own death, Faust frowned and looked up.

"After everything that happened, do you still not see it? Selena would rather die than be controlled by the curse! Do you really think just taking me away from her side would give her the resolve for regicide? Don't be ridiculous!"

The elegant queen with black hair and silver eyes let out a faint smile.

"Yes, Selena resisted with her will. To be able to go that far... it's impressive, truly impressive. As expected of her, as expected of my child, my other half."

After a visible moment of pride, the Queen of Midwinter's exquisite and delicate face turned sorrowful again.

"But... the curse will inevitably be fulfilled. There is no possibility of defiance."

Lola's words were filled with heavy pessimism and fatalism; she seemed to have completely given up on struggling or trying, seeking only death.

Faust said, "I don't understand, Lola. As a grand high warlock, are you really this cowardly? Do you not have even a single thought of resisting? Have you just... accepted your fate?"

Lola shook her head and tapped the crown on her forehead with her finger.

"Resist? I don't know how many times it has been tried. It's in history, in my memories. Every generation of 【Snow White】 has tried."

"It's just that... the dragon's curse is simply too powerful. So powerful that there is no way around it. Now that there's a way to lift the curse, I no longer dare to wish for a better future."

Lola's extreme pessimism briefly made Faust think she knew this was a 【witches' feast】 and that resisting meant fighting against the world itself.

But he immediately dismissed the thought.

According to Mephistopheles, a 【witch】 can never awaken from fate; the wheel of destiny would not allow such a thing to happen.

To put it bluntly, those who can awaken are all supporting characters in the script. The wheel of destiny doesn't care if they realize they're being manipulated, as long as they don't cause trouble, they can do whatever they want.

After all, the wheel of destiny isn't some demon that insists on controlling everyone like puppets; it simply operates according to the fundamental logic of the world.

The protagonist of the script, however, is the only one who cannot awaken. As the highest priority script, the protagonist of the 【witches' feast】 is given special attention throughout, from birth to death, with everything planned out clearly.

Lola certainly didn't know about the existence of the 【witches' feast】, but after so many cycles of torment for the Midwinter royal family, even with clouded perception, they should have realized that the "curse" was an absolute mechanism.

Since they couldn't attribute it to "fate," they could only believe the "dragon's power" was too overwhelming to resist.

Faust gazed at the Queen of Midwinter's beautiful face and said, "Is there really no better way? Perhaps that's what you believe, but I came here to change this predetermined situation."

"What lovely sweet talk. But you should save those words for Selena; she would love them."

Lola placed her hands over her lower abdomen and said slowly, "The royal family possesses a magic mirror, a mysterious relic made from a dragon's eye. As long as the magic mirror names the most beautiful being in the kingdom, and that person is 【Snow White】, the curse will inevitably take effect. If even the magic mirror cannot be deceived, how can I believe the dragon's curse can be defeated?"

"The magic mirror, huh..."

Faust thought for a moment and then asked, "What time is it now?"

"It's almost autumn. Why?"

Faust nodded. "Then it's about time... Lola, why don't you ask the magic mirror again?"

Does he really want a personal demonstration? Fine.

Lola didn't want the prince to keep harboring unrealistic fantasies.

So, she summoned the magic mirror and whispered, "Magic mirror, magic mirror, tell me, who is the most beautiful person in this land?"

The floor-length mirror set in an obsidian frame immediately emitted a shrill voice.

"My Queen, you are the most beautiful in this land, but... Sno... Sno... Snow Whi... no, the most beautiful person is Vi... is Vi... is it Your Majesty the Queen? It's... bzzzt—"

To the Queen of Midwinter's immense surprise, the magic mirror, which had been passed down since ancient times, began to falter, with countless static flickers raging across the chaotic surface of the glass.

Ultimately, the magic mirror fell silent, going completely dormant.

"Hahaha!!"

Seeing this, Faust burst into laughter and said, "I knew it. Viviana has a habit of arriving early."