The Tyrant Empress is Obsessed with Me

45 – Forest of the Witch

The witch’s crystal ball.

It was an item confiscated from a witch by Ascal during his time as a supervisor when he was cracking down on illegal street vendors.

It had been left boldly in his office as evidence of embezzlement for a long time, but surprisingly, no one paid any attention to it.

In the end, the crystal ball became a mere decoration.

He even thought about disposing of it.

But as it suited the office quite well as a decoration, Ascal kept the crystal ball.

Having completely forgotten about it, Ascal recalled the existence of the crystal ball after seeing Unryong suddenly appear and perform divination.

– Is it true that the empire will fall?

– …What a ridiculous person. Let’s try divination once.

– I will renew our alliance with the empire! I, 🝲🝪🝨🝠, who brings rain and clouds, will protect the empire for the next thousand years!

What on earth did Unryong see?

Show me what you saw as well.

Of course, it is impossible to perform divination with a crystal ball unless one is a witch.

However, Ascal was confident.

It was because he had just purchased and studied ＜How to Perform Divination with a Crystal Ball for Children＞ from the market yesterday.

In fact, Ascal didn’t really believe in divination. But what could he do when Unryong suddenly appeared from the sky and performed divination with a crystal ball?

＜The pictures make it easy to follow!＞

1. Wipe the crystal ball clean.

2. Focus your mind and think of the question you want to ask the crystal ball, then say it out loud.

3. If the answer is yes, the crystal ball will turn blue; if no, the crystal ball will turn red.

4. For more complicated advanced lessons, come to the Forest of the Witch and ask Elenia!

Author: Elenia

Editor: Elenia

You’ve got nothing to lose. Ascal meticulously wiped the crystal ball according to the instructions in the book. Having been neglected for so long, the once clean cloth turned pitch black.

uuung!

“Damn, that’s surprising!”

I got so excited that I accidentally spoke in dialect.

It’s like venting the accumulated displeasure that had been neglected so far, a sudden vibration.

Anyway, it means that the crystal orb is working fine.

Ascal concentrated his mind according to the process described in the book.

“Will the empire not perish while I’m alive?”

The orb instantly turned blue.

It was so blue that I wanted to wear blue light blocking glasses.

“……”

Ascal sat down, hesitating.

From No ble mt L dot c om

In the end, Ascal, who was cross-checked by the cloud dragon and the crystal orb, fell to the ground.

Does the empire not really come to ruin?

Then what have I been doing all this time?

It was a shock as if I realized that I thought I had been a ginseng all this time, but it was actually a sweet potato.

But there are still questions left.

“Can I quit my job now?”

The short three-second gap.

The crystal orb, which had been blue, turned into a cruel reddish color.

“Will I be able to enjoy the fruits of my job in the future?”

It didn’t budge.

Is this broken, by any chance?

“Is it true that Ria’s real identity is the third princess of the empire, Yulia, and she entered the evaluation department for some hidden purpose?”

The crystal orb turned blue again.

“Can I… escape from the empire?”

Jjang!-

Suddenly, the crystal orb cracked in half, and its color changed to a murky grayish tone.

Ascal desperately shook the crystal orb and asked questions, but the crystal orb (aged 3), had reached the end of its life without any response.

“A precious guest has arrived!”

“A guest has arrived!”

Cute little girls in tall hats spun around Ascal. But one mustn’t be fooled by their appearance. A witch who has lived for hundreds of years is inside them after all.

That’s right.

On his day off, Ascal went to find the Witch’s Forest as described in “How to Tell Fortunes with Crystal Beads for Children.”

How did he find out about the location of the Witch’s Forest, which is kept secret as top confidential information?

It was simply in the book. It was even drawn with an easy-to-understand map.

“My name is Ascal. I came to find Elenia.”

“You’ve come for the Great Witch!”

“The Great Witch?”

With great amusement, the little witches danced away into the distance. Then they signaled to Ascal from afar.

“It’s this way!”

“It’s this way!”

Ascal walked towards where the little witches were, puzzled. At that moment, the seemingly empty swamp suddenly transformed into a flower garden.

And right in the center of the flower garden, there was a cottage.

“Just go over there! Tell Elenia we guided you!”

“We’ll be praised!”

“Thank you.”

Ascal walked up the steps of the cottage.

When he opened the door of the cottage, there sat a beautiful witch with long, wavy black hair on a wooden chair.

“It’s been a while. My lord.”

“…It’s been a while? We’re meeting for the first time.”

“Please, have a seat. You must have questions.”

Filled with curiosity, Ascal sat on a chair across from her.

“Is this the book you wrote?”

Ascal placed the “How to Tell Fortunes with Crystal Beads for Children” on the table. The witch’s eyes narrowed as she smiled.

“Yes, it is. It’s a book I wrote as a playful hobby. I never thought it would reach your hands. It must be fate.”

“Are the contents of the book fake?”

“No, they are indeed effective. It’s just that it was only possible due to your overflowing energy, Ascal.”

Ascal narrowed his eyes.

It was strange that she already knows his name and the witch. He was certain she looked familiar.

“But when I asked the question, the crystal bead shattered. I’d like to ask if there is any post-management or insurance coverage due to your false information.”

“……The crystal ball is broken?”

The great witch, Elenia, opened her eyes wide.

Ascal unwrapped the cloth he had brought. Inside it were two pieces of a broken crystal ball.

“How can this be… My heart’s crystal ball breaking… Such a thing should be impossible…”

“‘My’ heart’s crystal ball?”

Ascal’s suspicion deepened.

As Ascal stared intently at Elenia, she turned her head away.

“I-it’s difficult if you suddenly stare at me like that.”

“They say you shouldn’t trust a witch’s age. Are you by any chance the illegal peddler from back then?”

“I-I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Ascal whispered.

“Yulia.”

“eeek!”

“Caught her. The culprit.”

Was it not enough to set up an illegal stall in the empire, and then donate such a defective ball and come all the way to this far-off witch’s forest? Truly a despicable crime.

“P-please, not that name… I’ll tell you anything you want.”

“Then tell me how I can escape this empire.”

“Alright, I understand.”

Elenia fetched another crystal ball from the corner of her hut. The sight of her bending her waist while doing so looked very pitiful.

“I’ll divine how Ascal can escape from the empire.”

“Do it quickly.”

“eeek!”

The ball cracked. Elenia, who had observed the future in the ball, screamed again.

Desperately, she held the ball tight and whispered an incantation. Cold sweat trickled down her forehead.

“Why, why are you doing this?”

“Do you have to escape the empire? Can’t you just stay?”

“Then show me what happens if I stay.”

Elenia muttered incantations again.

Once again, the future was revealed in the crystal ball.

Elenia spoke calmly.

“Just escape.”

“What on earth did you see?”

The future is not absolute.

The future can change with even the smallest variables. However, the more skilled the witch, the more likely they could see a more probable future.

Elenia focused her mind and found the only way for Ascal to escape.

“Save the Emperor.”

“How?”

“I’m not sure about that. But it’s clear that the longer the Emperor lives, the higher the possibility of your escape.”

Save the Emperor.

This old man who could die today or tomorrow?

What power do I have?

“Do you happen to know how to make some kind of elixir of immortality? I have some money.”

“If there was such a thing, I would have drunk it first. I’ve already given the Emperor an incredibly valuable potion every time… Oops. Please pretend you didn’t hear that.”

“That’s suspicious.”

Elenia broke into a cold sweat.

“Is that enough help?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Then, goodbye. Nobleman.”

“Speaking of which, those little witches told me to tell them that they were the ones who guided me.”

“Those kids…”

Elenia suddenly had a look as if recalling the past, staring into the distance.

Ascal left the hut, thinking that she needed some time alone.

‘Save the Emperor…the Emperor…’

Even if the empire did not fall, countless high-ranking officials of the empire had been deposed and executed until now.

Like the spies who entered Zurat Prison.

He didn’t know when he might be in the same position.

Thinking about various things, he saw the little witches from earlier.

The little witches were feeding Fer, whom they had briefly placed in front of them, and laughing.

“Was the consultation helpful?”

“Did it help?”

“The service was satisfying, and the consultant was friendly.”

The smaller of the little witches picked a flower and handed it to Ascal. It felt like eating meat at a barbecue restaurant and getting menthol candy as a treat.

“Come again next time!”

“Come again!”

It was a journey with a harvest of its own.

Ascal left the Witch’s Forest satisfied.

Serena chewed on her fingers.

No matter how you looked at it, Ascal Devre was a big fish that got away.

Had she done her best? Yes. She tried to capture Ascal constantly in between her busy schedule. She even participated in the duel.

But what was the cause of her failure?

The Crown Prince and Yulia had already approached Ascal before she did.

She was one step late this time.

“Sigh…”

It is late when it’s late.

Accept the defeat.

She still had Count Gaios and Earl Telio. If she captured them, she could form a reasonably large faction. Next, she would reluctantly form an alliance with Yulia and keep the Crown Prince in check……

And Ascal Devre.

He only looked decent on the outside, but there was no doubt that there was very little substance beneath. Just looking at him, he seemed to have no substance and would cause trouble while flailing here and there.

“A workaholic, a dry person who doesn’t know art. Do you even know what art is? Even I hate a boring guy like you.”

He was a failure, not just as a subordinate but also as a member of the opposite s*x.

Serena nodded as if to convince herself.

It was three days ago when Serena discovered that Ascal was the Prince of the Night.