Who knew which unlucky soul had fallen victim to him? The Golden Sword Scepter and pile of books he should’ve been carrying were nowhere to be seen. Instead, a ring belonging to Gladis had appeared on his finger.

No matter how many people were outside, they were still just commoners who knew a few third-rate spells.

He silently recited the flying spell, and transparent wings carried Carlisle high into the sky in an instant. The gale below blew him away from the Holy Land, toward the center of Ayideen.

Of course, the crowd wasn’t going to let him leave so easily. Recalling the spells they’d learned at the academy, they watched his flight path and unleashed a furious attack.

Lightning, boulders, fireballs…

Carlisle had clearly underestimated the crowd’s fighting strength. After an intimate encounter with a rock the size of a washbasin, he lost his balance in midair and came crashing down.

Half the crowd clamored toward the place where he’d fallen, hoping to capture him and claim the reward. Sherry took the opportunity to blend in with them and slip out of Candlelight Sanctuary.

“Liya looks a little angry. She probably went to catch him too.”

“Serves him right! He harassed the Saintess and stole a cleric’s robe. He’s got what’s coming to him!”

A hint of cute indignation showed on her adorable face. That way, the busybodies would think she was going to catch the bastard who’d harassed her.

It was so easy to fool a crowd of onlookers.

She walked with the crowd for a while, then used the city-state map in her head to take increasingly quieter streets, until she reached one with hardly anyone around.

She wanted to find Ackerman and get some answers about the explosion at the Holy Land.

When he’d said he would cause a disturbance, she’d thought he meant something simple: send a few people in disguise to draw the guards’ attention so she could sneak into Morse’s basement.

But it looked like Ackerman had planned this well in advance.

Of course, it might not have been his doing at all. She’d find out the truth when she saw him.

There were fewer pedestrians than usual on the way to the church. The explosion at Candlelight Sanctuary had stirred up countless people’s curiosity, making it easy for Sherry to approach the church.

But just as she was about to step onto the stairs, a pair of hands tapped her on the shoulders twice.

Sherry shuddered and hurriedly turned around.

Carlisle stood before her, covered in dust.

“I’ve been poisoned.” Before she could say a word, he explained his situation.

Sherry tilted her head, still too surprised to recover. “What kind of poison?”

“A Witch’s poison.”

“Huh?” Only then did she realize what Carlisle meant.

He’d taken a couple of sniffs of the potion’s stench, and this idiot had probably decided he’d been poisoned again.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen to my body, but if I pass out, could you look after me for a while? You’re the only person I know in this city.” Carlisle looked a little pitiful, like a puppy someone had heartlessly abandoned.

He was pretty good at acting, too. He just usually solved problems with his fists, so he didn’t get much use out of it.

But that wasn’t what Sherry cared about right now.

“Have you been following me this whole time?”

“Only for a little while. I noticed you were taking streets with hardly anyone around, so I followed you.”

So he really had been following her! And the worst part was, she hadn’t even noticed!

That was terrifying! If this guy ever tried something funny, all it would take was one blow to the back of her head and she’d be out cold!

As someone who’d once been a man, she knew exactly how attractive she was! And Carlisle was the kind of lecher who’d groped her the first time they met…

…Oh, right. He’d been castrated. Never mind.

But the potion’s effects were only temporary. She’d have to find the right moment to give him another dose of [No Heirs].

She wasn’t an evil Witch. This was justice!

Either way, Carlisle’s behavior proved he was a full-blown stalker. For the safety of the young women in the city-state, giving him a dose of [No Heirs] was absolutely necessary!

Of course, to maintain her Saintess persona, she kept her expression perfectly calm.

She glanced at Carlisle’s finger and changed the subject.

“That ring you’re wearing isn’t yours.”

Carlisle clapped a hand over the ring and asked in surprise, “You can tell that too?”

“You weren’t wearing it the last time we met.”

“You sure pay close attention…”

How could she not? His ring was still with her.

The things she’d returned to Carlisle earlier weren’t worth any money. She still had all the truly valuable collectibles.

She’d sell them after she found Ackerman!

“I only took a dead scholar’s ring because it was inconvenient to carry my things around. Don’t worry, I’m not a bad person. I’d never rob anyone.” Carlisle lied without batting an eye.

The first half was true. The second half was a lie. In Sherry’s eyes, his skin was thick enough to withstand a battering ram.

“You broke into a church and stole a cleric’s robe, and…” Perhaps she was too embarrassed to say the rest. She paused, then glared at Carlisle. “And you’re not a bad person?”

“…There were reasons for all of that. If you’re willing to listen, I’ll tell you the story of that despicable Witch and prove my innocence.” The young Knight of the Round Table patted his chest, as if he meant to swear on his honor.

“No need. I don’t want to hear it.” Sherry cut him off at once. She didn’t want to hear his story at all.

After all, she was the despicable Witch he was talking about.

She didn’t even have to think about it to know he’d embellish the story and make her look bad.

“What a shame. I’m sure that if you heard my story, you’d come to despise Witches, those deceitful creatures. There’s a reason they rarely show themselves to the world. Their filthy, underhanded tricks are bound to stir up public outrage sooner or later!”

“All right, are you really poisoned?” She decided to change the subject again. If they kept talking, she might not be able to resist poisoning him.

He was bad-mouthing her to her face, and she couldn’t even talk back. Sherry had never suffered such an indignity in her life.

“I think so. The Witch’s potion smelled like someone’s vomit after it’d been fermenting for days…”

“You don’t have to describe it in such detail!” Carlisle’s words made her feel a little sick.

So what if it smelled bad? What was all this nonsense about vomit? She really wanted to pour the potion down his throat!

“You’re poisoned and want me to look after you… is that it?” Sherry murmured. Maybe it was because she was angry, but another strange idea for revenge had popped into her little head.

When someone crossed her, she got even on the spot!

“You’re wanted now. You can’t stay just anywhere.” She looked straight into Carlisle’s eyes, her own gaze tinged with shyness and timidity. Her hands clasped tightly in front of her cleric’s robe, as if she were nervous.

“Yeah, I know…”

“So, come to my room.”

Sherry blinked, a faint blush coloring her fair cheeks.