The Cornflower Witch Chapter 173

“Karl, do you remember the potion recipe the teacher mentioned yesterday?”

A girl with thin, purple hair walked in front, clad in a fitted black wizard’s robe, emanating youthful vitality and beauty.

“I still remember, it was three months of sage, a gecko’s tail, and the stem juice of purple moon herbs.” Karl was only fifteen at the time, while the girl opposite him was seventeen and a little taller than him.

“That’s right, you remember it very well.” The girl turned her head,

What they said after that, Karl no longer remembered. The only impression left was the girl’s carefree smile in the scattered sunlight, and the faint scent carried on the wind.

The girl with thin, purple hair was named Luna, a beautiful name said to be associated with the ancient moon.

She was the most talented among the teacher’s apprentices, and a figure Karl aspired to then—beautiful in appearance, knowledgeable, occasionally teasing him, the youngest apprentice, but also extra teaching him some things.

The teacher was once a very powerful wizard, but due to injuries and old age, his body gradually weakened. Later, he taught them less and less, and they had to begin self-study.

Many of the apprentices taught by the teacher then started to worry about their future prospects. Some gradually left to find other wizards as teachers.

In the end, only Karl and Luna remained by the teacher’s side.

“Why don’t you leave, Karl?” That day, Luna, having just washed her hair, sat by the window enjoying the evening breeze, suddenly asked Karl, who was also studying in the room.

“I…” He didn’t know how to answer. In fact, the only reason he stayed was because Luna hadn’t left yet.

He loved the purple-haired girl before him, like chasing the bright moon at night; it was a fantasy he yearned for but couldn’t reach, and an urge he couldn’t abandon deep down.

“I know!” The girl suddenly thought of something, raised a finger, and smiled at him. “You must care if the teacher left any powerful secret methods, right?”

At that time, he didn’t know how to answer, so he just went along with it and admitted it.

“But I didn’t expect Karl to be interested in this secret method too.” The girl’s fingers were slender, and her pale purple nails stretched in the night wind, beautiful and subtly alluring.

“The Black Serpent of Telyria-Lucia, it is said, was refined by the Witch Lucia from ‘Telyria’s Black Serpent.’ Transcendent beings of both the ‘Dead Ember’ and ‘Nightmare’ aspects can learn it.” She described the rare secret method passed down by their teacher.

“It just so happens that I’m studying the ‘Nightmare’ aspect, and Karl is the ‘Dead Ember’ aspect.” She rested her chin slightly on one hand, her eyes scanning Karl in the room.

“What a wonderful coincidence~” Her teasing gaze made Karl unable to meet her eyes, and he lowered his head.

Afterward, the two cared for their ailing teacher, staying in the increasingly quiet wizard’s manor, each studying from books. Occasionally, Luna would invite Karl to dinner and inquire about his study progress.

In Karl’s eyes at that time, she was probably the best senior sister and object of admiration.

However, that beautiful scene ended one day.

The teacher died. This was not unexpected; he had been very ill and could pass away at any time. What was unexpected was that Karl saw Luna remove the teacher’s head and dissolve the flesh and blood, leaving only the black skull.

“Ah, is that Karl? Sorry, did I scare you?” Even doing something so terrifying, Luna’s expression was as normal as ever, joking with Karl.

“You know, learning ‘Telyria-Lucia’s Black Serpent’ requires the skull of a powerful creature to serve as a casting medium. There’s nothing to be done, there’s no better material than the teacher.”

That was the first time Karl felt fear towards Luna. This fear didn’t come from her cruel actions, but from her perfectly natural expression, completely unconcerned.

He understood that wizards were cold and ruthless people, but he had never truly experienced this cold-blooded trait until that day, which made him thoroughly doubt if his choice was correct.

“People who often deal with death eventually become numb,” he didn’t know who said this, but that day he felt it more deeply than ever before.

After that, he didn’t dare to see Luna much, and she was busy studying the secret method, having no time to look for him. Until one day, his senior sister knocked on his door again.

Standing outside, bathed in moonlight, the purple-haired girl was still beautiful, making his heart waver, but Luna’s subsequent words brought him back to reality.

“I’m sorry, Karl, that secret method is still too difficult,” she said, looking to the side, her fingers running through her hair, smoothing the purple strands ruffled by the evening breeze.

“I probably still need your help.”

“What kind of help do you need?” Karl had a bad feeling.

“It probably requires the ability you’re learning. You’re the only other apprentice who has studied ‘Telyria-Lucia’s Black Serpent,’ right?” Her fingers twisted behind her back.

“This secret method requires simultaneously wielding two aspects. I can only control the ‘Nightmare’ part for now, so I still need your help.”

“I see.” Karl felt a little relieved.

“How can I help you, Senior Sister?”

“It’s simple, just cooperate with my spellcasting.”

For the next month, he lived with Luna again, in the teacher’s former manor.

Unfortunately, even with his assistance, Luna still couldn’t master that secret method. Perhaps its difficulty was too high, something they couldn’t grasp at that time.

Finally, Luna chose to give up, and Karl breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m going to leave here and go to Elysium. That’s where Witch Lucia came from, and there are many witch organizations there now. I should be able to find a way to learn the secret method.” One day, Luna bade him farewell, telling Karl not to worry.

“Goodbye, Senior Sister Luna.”

“Mhm, goodbye, little foolish Karl, *giggle*.” The girl’s laughter again reminded Karl of his past admiration, but her words quickly broke that reverie.

“Actually, I wanted to kill you then, Karl,” Luna said, a carry-on bag in one hand, her back to him, reminiscing.

“Karl, you’re too foolish. Some things are too precious, and they make people resort to any means necessary.”

“But, I held back then. After all, Karl, I brought you out as my junior brother. If I killed you, it would be hard to find such a good helper again.”

“Learning the teacher’s inherited secret method, too, was stuck for a long time. I was extremely annoyed, actually, wondering if I should use you as a sacrifice.”

“You know, there are some cruel methods that can extract an enemy’s abilities, and it just so happens I know one.”

“Ah, I finally couldn’t help but say it. The teacher used to say I had a bit of a nasty personality.” On her raised face, her bright eyes held a bewitching charm.

“Farewell, Karl, no need to miss me.”

“Oh, by the way, if you still truly like me, then please take good care of that little cat for me. It probably dislikes me, and I can never manage to raise it well.”

And so, amidst Karl’s complex emotions, the girl’s silhouette slowly disappeared into the night street, and the two never saw each other again.