What Witch? This Alchemist is Breaking Bad!

No, that’s not right.

What was I even thinking just now?

After a brief moment of bewilderment, Weiss regained a little of her rationality.

“When you say I would continue accepting your protection forever… what exactly do you mean by that?” Weiss cautiously asked.

“You can no longer return to the Church now. Not only that, you’ll also become wanted, and the people trying to frame you haven’t completely given up either. You need a place to stay. For my own reasons, I’ll continue hiding and protecting you.” Leon carefully explained. “But if we’re going one step further…”

“One step further?” Weiss grew nervous again.

“If you want to know the deeper details, then you need to understand that once you learn certain things, there’s no backing out anymore. You’ll need to become one of us, follow me, and work for me. Of course, I’ll also provide corresponding treatment. You can continue your research. Rather, I very much hope you continue your own research. I’ll support you with my resources, but your research must also be used for my sake.” Leon continued.

The fact that Weiss Rogers had achieved major breakthroughs in only a few months based on Rena’s medicine was enough to prove her research capabilities. Talent like this was absolutely worth recruiting, especially now that he had already mentally prepared himself to become enemies with the Earl. Weiss’s abilities were critically important.

Weiss blinked expressionlessly and asked for confirmation.

“So, what you mean is… you want me to work for you?”

“Yes. Isn’t that what we’ve been discussing?” Leon raised an eyebrow.

“……” Weiss fell silent as her mind gradually cooled down.

After a long while, she supported her forehead and let out a soft sigh.

As expected, it was like this.

Rather, it could only be like this.

How had her thoughts strayed so absurdly in that moment? And earlier, the way she had hugged Leon’s discarded clothes to seek comfort—thinking about it carefully, that simply was not like her usual self at all. It could not even be considered normal behavior.

Weiss could not help but feel intensely ashamed of her earlier conduct.

Was it because Leon had saved her, causing her to develop a sense of dependence amid panic under these circumstances? Or had the intimate contact during the blood-drinking awakened a faint awareness of him as a man?

It was all simply too foolish.

Now that she calmed down and thought rationally, she actually knew very little about the real Leon. She did not even understand Leon’s true purpose in rescuing her. Leon also had ties to Bishop Beckett, the one who framed her. Then there was the secret of how Leon could become a Witch…

One could say she knew absolutely nothing about this man’s true nature.

And now, after drinking the other party’s Cursed Blood and placing even her life in his hands, she was still entertaining wild fantasies under these circumstances?

“Sorry for suddenly forcing you to make a decision under circumstances like these, but I have my own concerns as well.” Leon interpreted Weiss’s reaction as distress and patiently waited for her to think.

Weiss took a deep breath and adjusted her mindset, thoroughly discarding all those impractical and chaotic thoughts while freezing over her heart.

From now on, she would view Leon and the conditions Leon proposed through the lens of the absolute rationality she used in research.

After calming down, she understood the passive position she faced before Leon. However, she was not entirely without leverage.

That leverage was Leon’s reason for saving her.

Earlier, she had not been able to understand it for a while, and for one fleeting instant she had even mistakenly believed Leon risked himself purely for her sake.

Now that she abandoned that notion, the greatest possibility she could think of was still the medicine for Saltification Disease. That was the only condition tying her life and Leon’s interests together among all the intersections between them.

She once believed Sally Hesh could not possibly have been important enough to Leon for him to risk so much rescuing someone from the Church’s pursuit.

But now that she knew Leon’s Blessing was Cursed Blood, she arrived at a new line of thought.

Cursed Blood was actually an extremely rare Blessing. Thinking carefully, the fact that Leon and Sally—two connected individuals—both possessed the same rare Blessing was simply too coincidental.

In the case files, when Sally surrendered herself, she only demonstrated Cursed Blood once. At that time, the Cursed Blood had been contained inside a test tube, and Leon had also been present.

If that blood had actually belonged to Leon, then Sally’s surrender contained hidden circumstances. It might even have been orchestrated entirely by Leon.

If so, then the relationship between Sally Hesh and Leon was probably far more complicated than it appeared. Perhaps to Leon, Sally truly was someone worth risking everything to save.

“Before I answer, I want to confirm something. Was there hidden truth behind Sally Hesh’s surrender? The reason you risked yourself to save me was actually because you needed the medicine I developed to save her?” Weiss stared directly into Leon’s eyes as she questioned him.

She actually reached this conclusion immediately…

Leon could not help but straighten his expression. He also sensed that Weiss’s aura seemed to have changed somewhat.

“Yes. I need your medicine to save Mrs. Hesh, and you also want to complete this research. Our interests align in this matter.” Leon answered.

“You obtained your rank through Bishop Beckett’s recommendation, so you actually have some sort of connection to the mastermind who framed me. It could be cooperation, or perhaps a subordinate relationship. The reason you refuse to tell me the mastermind’s identity is because it involves your own secrets.

You betrayed him and rescued me for the sake of obtaining medicine capable of saving Sally Hesh?” Weiss had already begun gradually piecing everything together.

“Yes. Your guesses are very accurate.” Leon smiled helplessly. “So you can see now that our positions align. That mastermind cannot tolerate any form of betrayal. If necessary, you and I will have to join forces against him. That’s why I hope you’ll accept my invitation.”

“If I accept your invitation, then you’ll tell me the mastermind’s name?” Weiss confirmed with Leon.

“Yes. But at the same time, I’ll also have certain requirements regarding your work.” Leon answered.

“There’s something I don’t understand. You could actually force me directly through the Cursed Blood to work for you. There’s no need for you to reveal information to me at all. So why ask for my opinion?” Weiss calmly asked.

“I believe fear isn’t the best motivation to drive someone. Weiss, before all this happened, both of us had our own secrets. But the relationship we previously had wasn’t fake. I believe that for us, cooperation built upon a foundation of trust is certainly better than simple coercion.” Leon answered seriously.

Weiss remained silent for a while before nodding.

“That does make sense.”

“Then what’s your answer?” Leon asked seriously.

“Since our interests align, I accept your conditions.” Weiss replied just as seriously.

Through rational consideration, she saw her own situation clearly. Right now, aside from seeking refuge with Leon, she really had nowhere better to go.

Only by establishing a cooperative relationship and working for Leon would she possess value to Leon beyond simply formulating the special medicine. Otherwise, once Sally Hesh recovered, she would no longer have any use to Leon.

“Very good. Welcome aboard.” Leon smiled.

“Then now, can you tell me the mastermind’s name?” Weiss asked.

“Don’t be impatient. Before that, we first need to solve the problem in front of us. We need to find a way to leave the Southeastern Major Diocese first. After that, we can discuss this matter.” Leon said.

Weiss thought for a moment before understanding what Leon meant.

“The diocese is still under lockdown right now?”

The Church still had not found either her and the mysterious werewolf who rescued her, nor the Witch suspected of framing her. Naturally, they would temporarily seal off the diocese and prohibit movement in or out.

But that kind of lockdown could not continue indefinitely. The Holy Spirit Festival had gathered tens of thousands of outsiders within the diocese. If they remained sealed off for several more days, massive chaos would erupt. In fact, civilians had already begun gathering near the city gates out of panic.

Furthermore, many official Church personnel from surrounding counties had also gathered in the diocese. If they were all forced to remain here indefinitely, facilities of the local Churches would likely cease functioning altogether.

“Actually, after the Church released the announcement, the city gates were reopened and people were allowed to leave. The problem is that all outgoing carriages and luggage are being searched, including those belonging to Church personnel. I went to observe personally. Many bishops and knights from the Secret God Church are stationed there. If someone is hidden inside a carriage, they won’t escape detection.” Leon seriously explained the situation.

Bishop Beckett once told him that the Secret God’s foundational Blessing granted a degree of clairvoyant perception. This perception differed from both vision and hearing. It was a vague instinct that allowed a Transcendent to form a rough outline and structure of surrounding objects within their mind.

This blurry perception still made it difficult to determine precisely what objects were inside a carriage. However, living beings—especially humans—appeared drastically different from ordinary items under such detection.

If a person was hidden inside a carriage, they would absolutely be discovered.

Under these circumstances, quietly smuggling Weiss—whom the Church was desperately searching for—out of the city was extremely difficult.

Knights were also conducting intense patrols both atop and around the city walls, making it unrealistic to scale them as well.

How to secretly transport something across the border unnoticed was now their primary problem.

“I actually do have an idea.” After pondering for a moment, Weiss came up with a plan. “You can use your Cursed Blood to petrify me while I keep my face covered, then use paint to repair the color differences and disguise me as a statue. We can purchase some artistic sculptures from an art museum and transport me out together with them.”

“If we do that… are you really alright with it?” Leon looked at Weiss somewhat astonished.

“The essence of Cursed Blood is stripping away vitality and temporarily returning life to some sort of pure material state. This is very similar to the principles behind Saltification Disease. After petrification from the curse, the surface texture of the body is almost indistinguishable from a sculpture.

I know that as long as the degree is controlled properly, a certain level of petrification from Cursed Blood is not fatal and can be reversed. I trust you wouldn’t go so far as to endanger my life.” Weiss calmly analyzed.

“But…” Leon revealed a trace of hesitation.

“I’m not bothered by it myself, so what exactly are you hesitating about? As long as we can achieve our objective and the risks remain controllable, all other minor details can be set aside.” Weiss said expressionlessly.

After mentally simulating the plan, she determined it was feasible and the risks remained within controllable limits. Therefore, it was worth considering.

Right now, she was approaching the issue with absolute rationality. This was how Weiss Rogers ought to be.

Hearing this, Leon gradually withdrew the hesitation from his face and nodded.

“Alright then. Since you’ve already prepared yourself for this, I naturally have no reason to retreat either. However, at the very least, when we place you in the carriage, we should still cover you with a white cloth.”

“Mm, that’s true.” Weiss nodded calmly. “After all…”

At this point, she suddenly paused.

A certain “minor detail” that her absolutely rational thinking had subconsciously skipped over earlier resurfaced because of Leon’s reminder.

Right.

After all, clothing could not petrify along with the body.

And if she were disguising herself as a sculpture, then naturally… it would be best not to wear clothes.

The instant that realization surfaced, a crack suddenly appeared in the frozen heart Weiss had worked so hard to seal away.