Witch Monastery
Chapter 383: Charles’s Mistake
Anno didn’t speak—just held him even tighter.
Actually, the night before he’d gone to House Cassalanter’s banquet, Charles had sent her a message asking if she wanted to come along.
But at the time, Anno was still upset. Seeing the Cassalanter name only made her angrier, so she’d refused outright and told him to take someone else.
Unfortunately, since they’d been communicating via Sending Stones, Charles hadn’t picked up on her mood. He’d just assumed she was busy with something else, so he didn’t think much of it and brought Sephera and Theresa instead.
And then the unthinkable happened. This morning, when she heard Vajra’s emergency announcement that last night she’d banished Archdevil Mephistopheles at House Cassalanter, Anno was completely stunned.
Worried sick about her beloved, she’d immediately requested leave, boarded a carriage, found out where he was, and rushed over.
The whole way, Anno’s heart had been in her throat. Even though logic told her that with Laeral Silverhand around, he’d definitely be safe, her emotions still wouldn’t let her imagine that one-in-ten-thousand chance of disaster.
She’d been terrified—until she saw him safe and sound with her own eyes. Only then did her heart finally settle back into place.
And then all the pent-up emotions came flooding out. She couldn’t help but throw her arms around him and cry.
Charles gently patted Anno’s back, comforting her for a long while before finally getting the girl to calm down.
He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away the tear tracks at the corners of her eyes. Seeing her red-rimmed eyes, he couldn’t help but reach out and gently pinch her delicate little nose. "Your face is all tear-stained."
Anno pouted and pinched his side. "That’s because I was worried about you, you jerk. You always make me worry..."
Her voice grew quieter as she spoke, until finally she was almost whispering in his ear, her tone nearly a murmur of affection.
Charles held her small hand and looked at her face, feeling truly wrapped in love, his emotions completely satisfied.
The eastern sun climbed higher, and the daylight was starting to get harsh. Not wanting to waste time at the Mithral Palace gates, Charles took her small hand and turned toward the carriage. "The carriage I came in was destroyed. Darling, can you take me home?"
Anno lowered her head and pouted, thinking it over. She really wasn’t in the mood to go back to Blackstaff Tower to continue training, so she said, "Well... okay then. I did take the day off anyway, so I’ll take you back."
Charles kissed her cheek. Right there in public, Anno’s face immediately turned bright red. Seeing this, Theresa couldn’t help but smile gently, while Sephera’s eyes nearly shot flames with jealousy, her molars grinding audibly as if she wanted to devour Anno alive.
But in the end, she didn’t make a scene. The four of them climbed into the carriage together—Charles and Anno sitting in one row, Theresa and Sephera together, facing each other.
Anno was still in a strange state of relief at his survival, feeling quite uninhibited for the moment. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed close against his shoulder, unwilling to separate from him.
If not for the last shred of rational restraint holding her back, she probably would have given in and started kissing Charles passionately right in front of Theresa and Sephera.
The two whispered sweet nothings while quietly discussing what had happened last night. Knowing what she was worried about, Charles tried to make the whole ordeal sound as calm as possible, focusing colorfully on how he’d gotten Mephistopheles to give him a free bloodline analysis.
But even so, Anno still listened with a worried heart, suddenly gripping his hand tightly from time to time, her eyes full of concern.
In response, Charles could only continue talking while reassuring her not to worry.
Time flew by. In their quiet conversation, the carriage soon arrived at the monastery gates.
The group got out one by one. The driver very consciously and familiarly drove the carriage to a nearby inn—clearly prepared to spend the night there.
Charles and the others didn’t concern themselves with his movements. They first returned to the monastery, assured everyone they were safe, had everyone return to their posts without worrying, then pulled Anno back to his room.
The moment they entered, the two who’d been restraining themselves threw themselves into a passionate kiss right at the door, greedily thrusting their tongues into each other’s mouths, licking and sucking.
Charles wrapped his arms around her slender waist, holding her tender body as he walked toward the bed, then suddenly fell onto it.
He pressed down on her body from above, kissing while reaching out to try to undress her.
"No!"
But just then, Anno suddenly came to her senses, pursed her lips, and pushed him away. "I’m still mad at you—you’re not allowed to touch me!"
Charles froze, then put on a pitiful expression. "Darling, I was wrong. Please forgive me this once?"
Anno still kept her eyes lowered, pretending to be unhappy. "Then tell me—what exactly did you do wrong?"
Charles was stumped. Actually, he had no idea what he’d done wrong. Just moments ago this girl had been perfectly fine and willing to do anything, so how did her mood suddenly change like storm clouds gathering, as if she was furious?
His mind ran through many possibilities, then he picked what seemed the most likely and said cautiously, "I was wrong to be so overconfident. Even knowing House Cassalanter might be colluding with devils and weren’t good people, I still had the nerve to attend their banquet..."
He didn’t dare mention that he’d been carrying Blackstaff Madam’s badge, which made him fearless anywhere in Waterdeep Port, afraid Anno would scold him for being arrogant and get angry again.
However, unexpectedly—though perhaps reasonably—Anno shook her head. "That’s not what I mean. None of us imagined House Cassalanter would be that insane. That’s not your fault."
Saying this, she stared at Charles’s face. "So you really can’t think of what you did wrong?"
Seeing she was also faking anger, Charles held her tight and started tickling her. "I... darling, I honestly didn’t realize. Please tell me, okay? I’ll definitely fix it!"
Anno had wanted to follow her father’s advice and keep him in suspense a little longer, but seeing him like this, she suddenly couldn’t hold back. She reached out and pinched and hit his arm. "Why did you go to that kind of party!"
"Honestly, you jerk—it’s not like I wouldn’t let you... and yet you still had to go fool around with those good-for-nothing types at such a debauched party..."
Her tone carried some grievance, and her forced emotion instantly crumbled. Charles suddenly understood!
Oh, so that’s what this is about!
Right, how did I forget about this!
True, he’d been tricked into going, and in the end he’d even resolved a major problem as an unexpected bonus...
Well, this didn’t require much brainpower anyway. Just tell the truth.
Thinking this, he put on an extremely aggrieved expression. "But I was tricked by that guy Bernard..."
"I had no idea what the true nature of that party was. I thought it was purely art appreciation, so I went with the intention of learning..."
Sorry, Bernard.
But that’s what good friends are for—taking the blame at times like this!
Anno’s expression froze. "You didn’t know?"
"Of course not." Charles lowered his eyes, his tone becoming extremely dejected. "How would I know about these things? I’m just a commoner from South Harbor District. The education I received since childhood was all about how noble and elegant and sacred nobles are."
"I’ve always been ashamed of my low aesthetic standards and hoped to use this opportunity to improve my artistic cultivation, so you wouldn’t look down on me... How was I supposed to know there was that kind of side to it..."
Every word was true, and Anno’s heart immediately softened. She quickly reached out and hugged him. "I’ve never looked down on you, darling. If anything, I look down on those people more—doing nothing productive all day, just using their family’s money for pleasure..."
Seeing his dejected expression, she felt her heart ache. "I’m sorry, darling. I wronged you."
Okay, handled.
Charles secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking Anno really had no schemes—her emotions were written plainly on her face, completely readable at a glance. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
He pressed his face against her cheek again, whispering softly, "One last time, darling?"
Anno closed her eyes, enjoying the wonderful sensation of being close to him, while humming, "No, there’s no reason to break the rule..."
Charles reached out, continuing to undress her while saying, "But I really missed you, darling. From that night until now, you’ve been in my dreams..."
"That... that’s not a good enough reason. Try another..." Anno hummed with her eyes closed.
"Well... I’m about to go into the mountains to manage my territory. We’ll be hundreds of miles apart, and who knows when the next exception will be..."
"Mm... okay then, I guess that’s acceptable."
As she said this, her outer coat had already been completely removed, leaving only a close-fitting gray undershirt beneath.
Charles slipped his hands under her clothing, caressing her toned waist flesh-to-flesh, enjoying the wonderful sensation while gradually moving upward until his fingers touched the soft bra underneath.
He skillfully unfastened the bra clasp on her back, and his large hand slipped inside her bra. His five fingers sank deeply into the soft yet elastic breast flesh, kneading her breasts into various shapes.
Anno’s breathing gradually grew heavier. Whenever Charles’s rough fingers brushed across the nipples at the tips of her breasts, the tingling sensation left her completely entranced.
Having gotten a taste for it, her body began reacting quickly. Her body naturally began to moisten, and her legs involuntarily clamped together, showing her normal physiological desire.
Charles lowered his head, kissing her lips again, his hands leaving her breasts to begin unfastening her lower garments. Anno cooperated with his movements, and piece by piece her clothing was smoothly stripped away. Soon, her small pink triangle panties were also tossed to the side of the bed, and her glistening garden entrance was exposed to the air, waiting for him to enter.
Charles didn’t delay, steadying his thick cock and pushing open the beautiful lips between Anno’s legs. With a thrust of his waist, he slid smoothly inside, burying himself to the hilt.
"Ah..."
Anno’s pink lips opened as she let out a sweet moan. But then her waist also skillfully thrust to meet his impacts. The pleasant sounds of flesh colliding continuously echoed through the room.
...
Meanwhile, at Mithral Palace.
Laeral Silverhand, wearing only a rose-purple nightgown, was sunk into the white soft sofa in the meeting room, reading through the latest magical journal from the magic university.
Before she could finish reading, accompanied by a flash of magical white light, a brown-skinned woman in a proper black mage’s robe with slender curved amber horns atop her head appeared opposite her—none other than Lady Blackstaff Vajra Safahr.
As their relationship had improved, Vajra had gained many privileges. She could now not only freely enter and exit Mithral Palace using magic at any time, but could even directly visit Laeral Silverhand during her rest periods.
"You’re here." Seeing her arrive, Laeral Silverhand had no intention of putting down the book in her hands, speaking very casually as if she wasn’t addressing a capable subordinate reporting for work, but rather facing a close and friendly girlfriend. "Have a seat. I’ve prepared milk for you."
On the small round coffee table in front of her, two cups of milky white milk were giving off steaming heat. Under magical protection, even after twenty-four hours, they wouldn’t lose a bit of temperature.
Vajra wasn’t polite. She sat down opposite Laeral Silverhand, picked up the milk, took a sip, and then said, "Regarding Mephistopheles and those nuns around Lord Charles, I went back and organized the intelligence. I can now give you a detailed report."
Laeral Silverhand nodded slightly. Only then did she finally put down the magical journal in her hands, leaning forward slightly to carefully listen to Vajra’s report. "Good. Charles reported to me this morning. He pushed almost all the blame onto Ammalia Cassalanter, saying Count Cassalanter had good intentions but his wife executed things wrongly..."
"I know he wants to preserve the dignity of the noble class, but I still want to hear your opinion, dear Vajra."
Vajra nodded slightly. "I don’t know who the real decision-maker in House Cassalanter is, or whose orders those evil deeds came from."
"But I can say for certain that all these crimes—including the earlier Cassalanter Grand Theater incident and many related cases, as well as last night’s events—pinning all the blame on House Cassalanter would absolutely not be wrong..."
She then began slowly recounting the various pieces of information Blackstaff Tower had collected earlier, as well as what happened last night from her perspective.
The more Laeral Silverhand listened, the more serious her expression became. She hadn’t expected these people to have committed so many evils behind her back. Finally, she couldn’t help but sigh.
"Let’s hope only this one family has fallen." She made a rather naive comment, then said with waning interest, "Let’s change the subject, Vajra. I mentioned before that we should be generous in rewarding Nigel Charles for his achievements."
Vajra didn’t quite understand why Laeral Silverhand would suddenly change topics. She still didn’t understand this lady’s bias—that she didn’t want to see the noble group fall, no matter what.
She only heard Laeral Silverhand continue, "Especially since, from any perspective, in this investigation and banishment of Mephistopheles, he made truly astounding contributions. Especially what you said—that when facing the archdevil, he actually dared to step forward and banish him."
Laeral finally concluded, "That kind of courage is extremely rare, Vajra. I have a feeling he’ll become a pillar of Waterdeep Port’s future. What do you think?"
Vajra’s train of thought was interrupted, but she didn’t dare complain. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I think so too."
"So..." Suddenly, Laeral Silverhand changed direction. "Last time I asked you to reward him—how did that go?"
Vajra’s breathing hitched. "Well... I gave him my private badge and promised him that if he ran into any trouble, he could call me directly for assistance..."
"I just never expected that the first time he’d use it would be for something this serious..."
Laeral Silverhand looked at her with a half-smile, making Vajra’s heart pound until she couldn’t help but say, "Lady of the City, did I do something wrong?"
Laeral Silverhand sighed. "That’s not a reward—with Charles’s sense of responsibility, he probably took it as a commission, a duty."
Just as Charles had guessed, she began laying out her reasoning. "Look, he must have gotten your contact information and immediately started investigating at full speed. He detected some traces of an archdevil hiding in House Cassalanter, which led to last night’s events."
Vajra was dumbfounded. "Ah... so I actually gave him a burden instead?"
Laeral Silverhand spread her hands. "Judging by the current results, it seems so."
"Vajra, I support you. So you can feel free to promise him some rewards, or rather compensation. What do you think?"
Vajra gently pressed her lips together, then took a deep breath and nodded solemnly. "I understand!"
Laeral Silverhand smiled and nodded. "He should be back at the monastery now. My suggestion is to go take care of this as soon as possible—don’t let our hero grow disheartened."
Vajra nodded. The two then chatted about some other matters. After confirming there was nothing else to discuss, she said "I’ll go right now," then chanted the incantation for Teleport, her body disappearing in a burst of light.
Laeral Silverhand watched her figure dissipate and sighed softly. "Such an impulsive girl."
Then she picked up her spellbook again and continued carefully reading its contents.
She also needed to study harder—otherwise, if one day in the future Vajra’s strength actually surpassed hers, that would be unbearable.
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