Greta looked Cecily up and down and laughed at her daughter’s utter shock.
“Cecily, my dear, you’ve grown even more darling.”
“Wh-Why are you here, mom?”
“Well... Hold on—you’re bleeding. What happened?” Greta said, her expression growing concerned.
“A noble lady who was under a terrible delusion stamped on me.”
“I see! Well, in that case...” Greta pulled a bottle out of a pocket in a flash. “Close your eyes just a second, Cecily.”
“O-Okay.”
The request was sudden, but Cecily wouldn’t turn down an order from her mother. Greta opened the bottle and sprinkled some green powder over Cecily’s head. Everyone watching was visibly confused, but Cecily began to notice a change taking place.
“The pain and the throbbing in my head... It’s going away!”
A ripple of whispers passed through the onlookers.
“What was that?” Zeke asked.
“It’s a medicine that can completely fix you up if someone stamps on your head.”
“That seems rather niche... Hold on, it might actually be useful when taking on some magical beasts.”
Zeke and Greta seemed to be having a friendly conversation.
I see. The person Zeke said I could trust was actually mom.
All the same, Cecily wondered where and when the two of them had met. Cecily looked away from her mother and noticed Charlotte staring intensely at Greta, with her hands clutched tightly together.
“I know this was said earlier, but seeing you both together, I can really tell that you are Cecily’s mother. Although, it’s strange—you have the same red eyes, but Greta’s enchanting allure is a weapon that Cecily totally lacks.”
Cecily was a bit taken aback by Charlotte’s rude comment, but it wasn’t as if she could deny it. Greta, on the other hand, never one to miss a compliment, gave a bewitching smile.
“I’m honored, Princess Charlotte. If Your Royal Highness so wishes...I can impart some of this power to you.”
“Really?! You’d teach me such enchanting tricks?”
Greta chuckled. “If you manage to master this womanly weapon, then your having the title of the most beautiful woman in the kingdom will be a true understatement.”
As Cecily watched her mother speak with Charlotte, a group of knights arrived. Among them were Alphonse and Cyril. It seemed like they had finished locking away Nora and her two subordinates.
“Now then, back to the matter at hand,” Zeke said. He cleared his throat and turned to face Cecily. “Cecily, I encountered Greta on a restocking break at a village on the way back from our mission.”
Zeke gave a simple explanation of what had happened. While the Celestial Knight Brigade were restocking their supplies, Greta—who was nearby—had called out to Zeke and asked him to take her to the Snowflower Palace, where Cecily was.
“Wait—how did you know where I was, mom?”
Had she used some kind of potion that allowed her to track Cecily’s movements? What Greta said next surprised Cecily.
“Rolo told me. He has been using a simple spell in order to give me periodic updates on your well-being. I realized that I couldn’t leave you in such dire straits, so I came racing from the village to help.”
“Wait a second—Rolo told you? But he’s just a cat.”
Rolo had returned to the scene riding on Cyril’s shoulder, but now he was walking around Greta’s ankles, pressing his head into her legs.
“Listen, Cecily. Witches don’t own your regular, run-of-the-mill black cats, you know. Rolo belongs to a species of magical beast that can use magic.”
“Rolo’s a magical beast?!”
Cecily’s eyes shot to Rolo, but he didn’t even register her gaze.
“But he only meows at me!”
“That’s because you’re still an immature witch, Cecily.”
Cecily couldn’t help but feel a sting of pain at how matter-of-factly Greta said this.
So, does that mean Rolo has understood everything I’ve said until now, and has only been acting the part of a cat?
As Cecily processed this new information, Greta stared firmly at Cecily.
“I knew you were an introverted girl, but to think you’d spend almost an entire year living alone deep in the woods like that...”
Cecily could only let out a sad groan in response. Her bright idea of not journeying the world and simply whiling away her two years of exile had been known to Greta since the start. She fidgeted anxiously.
“Th-There was a good reason for that...”
“Yes, yes, I’m sure. More importantly, Rolo tells me that you made a love potion.”
Cecily froze up.
“A love potion?”
“What’s she talking about?”
The knights shared glances, murmuring amongst themselves. Ignoring them completely, Greta nodded with satisfaction.
“You were so against the idea of love potions, saying that they were immoral, yet you still made one yourself. That’s my daughter for you.”
Subjected to such embarrassment in front of everyone, Cecily couldn’t stay silent a moment longer.
“Stop that now, mom!”
Cecily leapt at her mother to restrain her, but found herself in Greta’s clutches instead.
“So, who’s the lucky man you fed the love potion to? Tell your mom! I want to hear all about your romantic stories, daughter dear!”
“Ow, ow, ow! Mercy! Mercy!”
“Cecily!” Zeke approached Cecily, whose wrists were clutched in Greta’s tight grip. “Mother, please stop that. Can’t you see Cecily’s in pain?”
“Yes, yes, but... Hold on, did you say ‘mother’?”
Greta loosened her grip as she stared at Zeke. Slipping free, the frightened Cecily allowed Zeke to take her into his safe embrace.
“It’s okay now, Cecily. I’ll protect you.”
Cecily began to whimper, without a care as to who was watching. Zeke held her tenderly. Meanwhile, Greta gazed at the pair with a strange look in her eye.
“Hmm...”
Greta’s eyes narrowed as she continued to stare at the pair. Her gaze was so unwavering that even the sniffling Cecily could ignore it no longer. Or maybe it would have been more accurate to say that she was starting to feel a flush of embarrassment as she came back to her senses. After all, being affectionate with your lover in front of your own mother was an act that required some guts. To be fair, though, her mother was the same woman who unabashedly acted lovey-dovey with her husband in front of Cecily.