What Witch? This Alchemist is Breaking Bad!

Hearing Sally’s response, Leon voiced another of his concerns: “But I think Melissa probably wouldn’t agree.”

If not for Melissa’s desperate insistence, Sally would never have held on until now.

Based on Leon’s understanding of Melissa, she would definitely not agree to such a deal.

Leon could not even imagine how Melissa would look at him once she learned of his true identity and intentions.

Yet this matter ultimately could not bypass Melissa.

Melissa knew that Rena was providing treatment to Sally.

Without Melissa’s consent and cooperation, this plan could not be carried out.

“I will persuade that child,” Sally said.

She had long anticipated that Leon would bring this up.

Leon still wanted to say something, but Sally added another sentence: “I will definitely persuade her!”

Leon was somewhat surprised.

Sally’s resolve to accept the deal seemed firmer than he had imagined.

As if she had noticed his surprise, Sally let out a soft chuckle.

“I am not afraid of death, Mr. Leon. Rather, I stopped wanting to live a long time ago. Every day in this world after falling ill has been torment for me. If not for that child’s insistence, I should have left long ago. I have accommodated her for far too long…”

As she spoke, Sally turned to look out the window.

“I actually considered many ways to repay the debt. Even selling my body and dignity, I would have been willing. Unfortunately, my illness did not give me that chance. Now, I can finally die with dignity. This time, I will not compromise.”

For Sally, continuously burdening her daughter was actually more painful than death.

The biggest reason she had forced herself to hold on until now was that she wanted to think of one more way out for Melissa.

Now, the deal Leon offered was, to her, the last opportunity fate had left her to preserve her dignity as a mother and leave.

She would not let go of it.

“Thank you, Mrs. Hesh,” Leon said softly.

“You don’t owe me anything.” Sally shook her head and looked at Leon.

“Mr. Leon, allow me to ask—if I didn’t agree, were you planning to turn yourself in?”

Seeing Leon as he was now, Sally could see the shadow of her late husband.

She could vaguely guess what choice Leon would make.

“…” Leon remained silent for a long time.

In the end, he said nothing and simply nodded.

He had promised Rena that, if absolutely necessary, he would take responsibility for this matter himself.

“That money—you would still leave it to us, wouldn’t you?” Sally continued.

This time, Leon did not speak.

If he turned himself in, he would surely die.

Even if Rena, as a Witch, survived, she would never gain freedom.

His money would become meaningless and might even be confiscated by the Church.

In fact, no matter what, the money would ultimately still be left to them to repay the debt.

For Leon, who was already prepared to give up everything, this was the most meaningful use for it.

As for the rest, he no longer cared.

For the sake of concluding the deal, Leon did not say this to Sally, but she could still discern a hint of it.

“Don’t worry. No matter what, I will still do as you said. I don’t want Melissa and myself to keep living on the charity of others. That way, between us—and between me and that Witch miss—we will owe nothing anymore. Is that acceptable?” Sally said seriously.

To Sally, dignity did not only mean fulfilling her responsibility as a mother; it also meant repaying the kindness of others.

Now, she no longer had to survive by parasitizing on others’ goodwill.

She could leave without owing anyone anything.

For the first time, Leon felt such deep respect for this sickly woman.

He nodded solemnly.

“I will look after Melissa properly.”

At those words, hesitation suddenly appeared on Sally’s face.

After quite a while, she spoke with some reluctance: “Mr. Leon, I have no other intentions… but if you truly have even a little regard for what I am doing, then aside from leaving the money to Melissa, could I ask you to avoid having any further contact with her as much as possible? Please.”

Leon froze, left speechless.

He could not refute Sally’s concern.

Even if she trusted that he would look after Melissa wholeheartedly, he was ultimately a criminal.

Any association with him carried risks.

Taking Leon’s reaction as tacit agreement, Sally continued, “Tell me what I need to do.”

As the former leading actress of the troupe, the Witch in this script would be the final role she performed.

…

In the interrogation room, Sally was handcuffed to a fixed iron chair against the wall.

Aaron and Bishop Beckett stood side by side in front of her, keeping some distance.

Having already witnessed the power of the “Witch” when she wielded Cursed Blood, they naturally remained wary.

Leon stood stiffly to the side, seemingly as a guard.

Ordinarily, someone who had ties to Sally would not have been suitable to remain in such an interrogation, but Sally had requested that Leon be present before she would give a complete confession.

Aaron and Bishop Beckett ultimately chose to agree.

They discussed it among themselves and questioned Leon privately first, before beginning to listen to Sally’s testimony.

“…So, what you mean is that the reason you became a Witch was because Henry Potter selected you, used your family’s debt to coerce you into accepting the ritual to become a Witch, and then had you produce Mana for him?” Bishop Beckett confirmed with Sally.

“Yes,” Sally replied.

“According to the timeline you provided, you were already suffering from Saltification Disease at the time. Why would he choose a woman who was not long for this world?” Bishop Beckett raised a doubt.

“I don’t know. Perhaps he just wanted to try, or perhaps he had chosen others before and failed. Or maybe only someone like me, who didn’t have long to live, would agree to something that might end with being burned at the stake.

“Besides repaying the debt, they gave me some Magical Potion formulas, saying they might be useful for Saltification Disease, and told me to research them myself. Later, they discovered that I had value and began helping me research Special Medicine, trying to prolong my life.

“In any case, last year I participated in the ritual as they instructed and became a Witch. After that, I continuously produced Mana for them. I heard them say that, as cover, they referred to me as their supplier under the name Fenrir,” Sally said.

“According to Inquisitor Set’s testimony, he lived in your home, and you had a daughter who took care of you. How did you manage to work?” Bishop Beckett continued.

“The house next door had long been taken by Potter due to the debt. They set up a Workshop for me in that house’s cellar. It was separated from our cellar by just one wall. They dug a lockable hidden door and covered it with clutter. At intervals, they would deliver potions refined from Magical Beasts to the Workshop. I only needed to go there at those times to complete the Mana extraction.

“At home, I always pretended to be bedridden. Mr. Leon worked almost from morning to night every day and wouldn’t casually enter my room. My daughter had part-time work every day. I only needed to choose the right timing to work,” Sally answered.

Over the past three days, Leon had made many preparations.

Given Sally’s condition, it was impossible for her to complete too many procedures.

But having handled the breeding grounds together with Rena, Leon actually knew that Magical Beast breeding, slaughter, and potion extraction did not necessarily have to be handled by a Witch—doing so was simply more convenient.

The only indispensable part that required a Witch’s power was the final step: Mana extraction.

“So, the tools you used, including the altar, were all in the cellar of the empty house next door?” Aaron caught the key point.

“Yes. You can find the evidence if you go now, along with the medicine I researched to treat Saltification Disease,” Sally nodded.

Bishop Beckett immediately left the interrogation room, summoned personnel, and began ordering them to search for evidence.

Once Moilai’s Altar was found and filed, this case would have decisive evidence sufficient to close it!

Aaron remained where he was and looked at Leon.

“Inquisitor Set, did you really… not notice anything at all?”

Leon was about to answer when Sally spoke first.

“Sir, I heard from my daughter that you also visited my home, didn’t you? At that time, did you have any suspicions?”

“…No,” Aaron replied.

At the time, seeing Melissa, he felt only sympathy.

Even if he had seen the bedridden Sally, it would have been impossible for him to suddenly suspect that this woman was a Witch.

He would only have felt even more sympathy.

It was no wonder Leon had never harbored suspicion.

Such pitiable circumstances were like a layer of camouflage.

No one would suspect that she was the Witch capable of producing Mana worth a million.

“So, you were using Inquisitor Set’s sympathy all along?” Aaron asked, looking at Sally.

“Sir, both my illness and my debt were real. May I ask in what way I used him?” Sally retorted.

Aaron was left speechless.

After a moment, he continued, “By your account, you were only responsible for producing Mana. All other procedures were handled by Henry Potter’s people? As for where the Magical Beasts were bred, you knew nothing at all?”

“They didn’t need me to know,” Sally shook her head.

“The purity of the Mana Potter possessed kept increasing. Do you have any idea why?” Aaron asked.

“I don’t know. The purity of the Mana did increase—it seemed the raw materials changed—but they didn’t tell me the reason. However, before that, there was something I noticed,” Sally said.

“What was it?”

“They had me refine and purify the venom of a Magical Beast called a Cockatrice according to a formula. After activating it with Mana, they conducted animal experiments. After that venom was taken away, the purity of Mana extracted from the raw materials began to rise sharply,” Sally said.

Hearing this, Aaron fell into deep thought.

So, was it to preserve his market that Henry Potter took the risk of opening a Workshop inside the Labyrinth?

How did Potter know the location of the Labyrinth entrance? Could it really be related to Caron?

According to former Captain Martin’s testimony, Caron had always laundered goods through an informant, who was a cadre under Potter.

When Caron disappeared, that man vanished as well.

Caron’s corpse was confirmed to have been poisoned by Cockatrice venom.

So Caron and Potter colluded to run a breeding operation inside the Labyrinth, then, for some reason, fell out, and Potter chose to assassinate Caron with poison?

Leon quietly observed the changes in Aaron’s expression from the side.

In his script, all issues aside from the Witch were pushed onto Henry Potter—including opening the breeding grounds in the Labyrinth and killing Caron.

After all, he was a dead man who could no longer speak.

For Leon, it was not necessary to provide a complete truth.

The truth would be pieced together by Aaron and the others themselves.

He only needed to make the suspicion against Rena as a Witch insufficient and shake the investigation warrant—that would be enough.

The door to the interrogation room opened again.

Bishop Beckett entered with a grave expression and leaned close to Aaron, whispering, “Sir, just as she said—we found the evidence.”