Surviving as a Witch in a World that Hunts Heretics-Chapter 32 : Chapter 32

Volume 2, Chapter 1. Lady Yemi Ai
“Mm... the second day already...”
Blinking at the sunlight slipping through the gap in the curtains, Stano Banson drowsily opened his eyes and sat up from the bed.
Last night, after his connection with Leticia had been cut off, he had tossed and turned, mulling over his next move.
He had secretly used Leticia’s body to hide a piece of iron, and then, using her sight, carefully observed the surrounding environment, drafting an initial escape route.
Don’t be fooled by the fact he was still just a kid—he had always studied diligently. As the eldest son of the Banson family, destined to inherit the title in the future, Stano had received a fine education from childhood. And because his father was a general, he had also gained plenty of unconventional knowledge.
“Ah... it’s a pity I have no talent for divine arts at all. Otherwise, there must have been better ways.”
Ever since escaping that city, the face of his uncle had remained etched in his mind.
He was afraid his uncle was no longer in this world.
Whenever he thought of this, his heart would ache sharply. That uncle who had loved him, who always thought of the family and the nation, who, although he could never outshine his father, still worked tirelessly in his own way—was gone.
“Uncle, the thing you entrusted to me, I will definitely bring it through.”
Silently thinking this, Stano sensed the faintly established connection. While keeping just enough awareness to sustain his basic daily life, he quietly turned his sight far away.
There, his little bamboo pole was being detained by a strange woman.
“Damnable wretch...”
If this were his nation, within the Banson family’s domain, this woman—he would have surely condemned her as a Heretic and sent her to the Fire Execution!
To dare obstruct him...
Very well, let her tangle with Leticia for a little while longer. Soon, she too would be devoured by this forest.
...
And so, ten whole days passed.
Stano still had not been able to put his plan into motion.
“Why!”
When no one was around, he let loose his emotions freely, sweeping the objects from the desk onto the ground. “Why is this?!”
Why could he no longer control the little bamboo pole’s body as freely as before?!
Since the day he resolved to carry out his escape plan, Stano noticed some slight change in his link with Leticia.
No longer could he take over her at will. His consciousness felt trapped inside an invisible cage, while Leticia’s body had become a quagmire.
“What did you do?!”
He had once demanded this of Leticia.
“What do you mean, what did I do???”
But all he got was her bewildered reply.
He dared not press further, fearing to expose something. Thus, he could only sulk.
Why on earth was this happening...
He kept pondering that question, so much so that he didn’t even notice when Leticia asked him, “Can you also see the things here at night?”
As for Leticia, over those ten days, the wounds on her neck had mostly healed, leaving only some scars.
Although the Lady in Black nagged that letting a girl’s skin scar was a great taboo, Leticia still did not think of herself as a proper girl.
After all, in her past life she had lived twenty years as a man. For her, carrying past memories, to easily accept her current gender was still quite a challenge.
Her relationship with the Lady in Black hadn’t progressed much, but at least they now knew each other’s names.
The Lady in Black—Yemi Ai Saint Rig. Quite a... well, distinctive name. After telling it to Leticia, Yemi Ai insisted she must never call it aloud, as though there was some taboo.
Leticia didn’t mind; most of her attention was already fixed on her supposed “wedding dress” constitution as a Demon Maid.
So-called wedding dress—that was what Yemi Ai had mentioned in the story of the king and the duke’s daughter, as well as in the connection between Leticia and Stano. It was something created by demonic power, a dark miracle comparable to the Church’s divine miracles.
Among Heretics, the death rate of wedding dresses was the highest. Not only did they risk being ed by those connected to them, but they themselves were carefully tailored by demons—garments meant to plunge humanity into corruption.
They were merely a second chance, offered to their linked partners.
Incidentally, those linked partners did not distinguish by gender; both men and women could appear.
So far, there have never been any exceptions.
“Do you know of the Kingdom of Danba?”
Unfamiliar with that name, Leticia shook her head. Yemi Ai’s laugh was low and hoarse, like the cawing of a crow feeding on carrion: “The queen of that kingdom was also a wedding dress. Hehehehe... The funniest part is, that woman who put on the wedding dress had completely forgotten her past. She already believes herself to be the queen of the Kingdom of Danba.”
To this day, no one has discovered it.
“Why does Lady know so much? And what kind of Witch is Lady?”
To Leticia’s question, Yemi Ai would never answer.
Since their conversations always happened at night, Stano knew nothing about them, and could only stew in impotent rage every day where Leticia couldn’t see him.
“Is it because I’ve also become a Heretic that you haven’t killed me?”
Leticia once asked Yemi Ai about such a thing.
And then, she was whipped with a branch, mocked in an extremely derisive tone: could it be she really thought Yemi Ai was some good person?
And so...
Once again, it was muddled away without clarity.
Her daily etiquette lessons still continued. According to Yemi Ai, if she couldn’t even master such basic techniques, what means would she have to survive in the future?
Leticia really wanted to refute this, but the problem was that any refutation would surely earn her a beating. For her own sake, she could only obediently yield.
After all, if making that foul Witch a bit happier meant she could gain more knowledge about [Heretics], then it was worth it.
“Hey, little brat, what are you dazing out for?”
That rasping, grating voice dragged Leticia out of her chaotic thoughts again. She shook her head, put on a well-practiced gentle smile, and apologized to the Lady in Black before her: “Apologies, Lady, I was distracted.”
“...”
Perhaps because her posture was so proper, Yemi Ai fell silent for a moment and did not make any neurotic violent move. “Be more mindful.”
“Yes, Lady.”
Privately, she still couldn’t help pouting.
“All right, come with me.”
With that, Yemi Ai turned and headed outside.
“Lady, what is it?”
“To the town. There’s something I need to fetch. You will assist me.”
Wait—did she hear that right?
“What are you spacing out for? Do you think you haven’t been beaten enough?”
She could actually go outside?!
Not only Leticia, even the sulking Stano couldn’t help but be shocked.
“Ah, y-yes!”
***
PS: A new map unlocked~And this is also the start of Volume Two~