Reincarnated as the mother of an otome game's villainess?!

Chapter 38. La Cruz de Santiago.

Lucius explained the situation, omitting information that was irrelevant, and we were allowed to accompany them. We left immediately, only giving time to the witch to say goodbye to her kid. I... I knew that that girl was also a Dragonroot, but she seemed so cute and innocent, I couldn't imagine her becoming like her mother. The witch's expressions were cold and calculating most of the time, but she could change suddenly and mimic natural reactions without any trouble. Truly a double faced individual. There was also a dark aura around her, I could feel the hair on the back of my head rise whenever she got close. But more importantly, there were two horns coming out of her forehead. She was trying to hide them, and they were barely bigger than my little finger, but they were a clear sign that she was not a human.

We went into the ocean and traveled a few hours towards the north, making a very decent speed, and we managed to arrive at a port town before the sunset. We were going to continue traveling through the night, but we needed to get some provisions for the rest of the travel.

—Go with the doctor, I'll stay with the Madame —Lucius said, and I agreed.

We couldn't have her parading around looking like that, after all. We brought what we needed rather quickly, we didn't have the luxury of the time on us. But as we were going back to the port, I heard something that made me stop in my tracks, and by the doctor's expression, he had heard it too. Someone had said the name of Lilith. Without even having to say anything, the doctor and I understood what each other was thinking, and walked towards that person.

It seemed too much of a coincidence that someone would just mention that name just as we were in town. I suspected it was a member of the cult that idolized Lilith, the ones who were suspected of releasing the curse. I was pretty sure that the witch was controlling them from the shadows, but the doctor didn't seem to be aware of that. Even then, he must have realized that if they were indeed a member of the cult, they were following our tracks.

I was gripping the hilt of my sword, ready for a battle, but what we found instead was a bunch of children sitting around a campfire, with an old man sitting in front of all of them. His skin was pretty dark, but his long hair was silvery white. His face was covered by a hood, but his eyes seemed to glow like fire. Maybe that was the reflection of the actual fire in front of him. A crow and a dove were sitting on one of his shoulders.

—It was then that Lilith betrayed her mother, Tiamat, and sided with the great king Marduk, to seal her away and give humanity a chance to live freely in this world. They sealed her deep in the ocean, where she still remains to this day. But Lilith hadn't helped Marduk for the goodness of her heart, she only helped because she fell in love with a human. And when this person started to desire power and raised an army against Marduk, Lilith followed him without a care for how many lives she would take. And when his lover died in the conflict, Lilith fell into despair, and desired to burn the world completely, just as her mother had tried. Before that happened, she discovered she was pregnant, with a child from her late lover, and decided to step down from the conflict —the old man was saying.

That was quite... a unique interpretation of the story, according to the records we have kept in the cathedral, but he wasn't technically lying. The child that prevented Lilith from continuing her rampage was, of course, the first of the Dragonroot, the witch's ancestor.

The old man suddenly raised her gaze, directly at us. No, directly to the doctor.

—All of Tiamat's children are impulsive, they don't care for what we think is right or wrong, only for what belongs to them. Their family, their friends, their possessions. If someone like Lilith were to lose them, they would become a walking disaster. Would any of you be able to contain and control such a maelstrom? —he said, without breaking eye contact with the doctor.

—We need to go —he told me, turning around.

—Did... did you know that person? —I asked him as I followed.

—No. At least I don't think so.

I wasn't satisfied with that answer, but I let it slide for the time being. He wouldn't have said anything if I pushed him more, and we were already arriving at the port at this time. Lucius was waiting outside of the carriage.

—Oh! Good timing, you two! —he said—, Rosanne and I were brainstorming ways in which she could blend a little more, and we came up with a pretty good idea for a costume! No one will suspect a thing.

The door opened, and she came out, wearing the same clothes as me and Lucius, and even covering her head with a mask.

—What is the meaning of this? Are you making a mockery of our traditions?! —I yelled, almost unsheathing my blade.

—Come on, Ingrid, please relax —Lucius said, putting himself between me and the witch —. It was my idea, those clothes are my old spares, and the mask is one that I happened to buy in a carnaval some time ago, it isn't a blessed one.

—Why are you carrying such frivolous things with you!

I took another look at the witch. As he said, the mask didn't have any holy power imbued on it, and even the style didn't match what we use. It was a plain with a mask, with very simple cuts for the mouth and the eyes, each like a crescent moon. Half of the face seemed happy, and half looked sad.

—Fine! For the sake of this mission, I'll allow it. But you are already in hot water, witch! —I said, and pushed her to the side to get into the carriage.

—Well, that's great to hear —she replied—, Maxwell, are you coming?

—Uh? Oh, yeah, let's get going already —the doctor replied, obviously still thinking about what had happened.

I was also curious about the identity of that old man, but thankfully I had taken a good look at his face when he raised it. I sent the mental picture to the rest of the collective, labeling him as a "suspicious individual". If any of my brothers and sisters were to meet up with him, they would stop him to ask about his identity. Doing this left me tired, and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

When I woke up, I could see through the windows of the carriage that the sun had set completely. All I could see was an ocean of darkness, with a few stars as the only lights in the sky. Lucius was snoring, but both the witch and the doctor were awake, murmuring to each other. There was something glowing in her hands, a red thread that connected both of her pointer fingers. As she moved her hands, the thread extended, shrunk, or swung, almost as if it was alive.

—At first I could only materialize a centimeter of it, but I think now I can get it up to 10 centimeters. And I can even control it, to some extent. The weirdest part is that I haven't uploaded it to the world, but it still works. I'll have to check it out with Neil once this is over.

—Hmm, your mana flow is stable even as you use it —the doctor said—, just try not to force it up. Have you thought of a name for it?

—No, not yet. Coming up with the magic formula for it was rather easy compared to coming up with a name.

—Well, it reminds me of Ariadne's thread.

—Yeah, I like how that sounds —the witch said with a warm smile.

It scared me how good of an actress she could be. I would need to keep a close eye on her.