Tangled By Fate

Zinnia had to wait a month to find out something that she wasn't expecting.

She found out because Max was acting suspiciously. For two days, he didn't sleep right after he was done with his work.

He took a bath and then went to the first floor. Then, he covered all the windows with black curtains.

Because of his actions, Zinnia couldn't see what was happening inside the house.

She waited two hours but the curtains didn't open. Almost three hours later, the curtains finally opened.

Max acted like nothing had happened and went to sleep. The next day, he did the same thing.

This time, Zinnia used the opportunity to enter his house. She wanted to find out what was happening behind the curtains.

She used the second-floor bedroom window to go inside. She checked the surroundings. No one was there.

'I don't know what's happening downstairs. But if I get caught, I'll be sure to take him back with me.'

Taking a deep breath, she prepared her weapon and headed to the first floor.

The first floor was completely dark because the black curtains blocked the sunlight from appearing.

The darkness didn't bother her. She was so used to this kind of thing that her eyes became sharper than an owl.

There was no sound of movement. No one was talking either.

Zinnia furrowed her eyebrows. 'Why is there no sound? He isn't meditating, is he? Where did he go then?'

She moved from the kitchen to the dining room but no one was there either. Afterward, she walked toward the living room and stopped there.

At first, she thought she was imagining things.

In the living room, in front of the fireplace, there was a circle drawn with white chalk on the floor. Inside the circle, there was a star with six cones. Six candles were placed in each cone.

The candle fire wasn't normal. It was a purple-colored fire.

And, this wasn't the first time for Zinnia to see this. She knew what was going on very well.

'Witches…' she thought. 'I never thought he could be part of this. This is Utahill where magic shouldn't take place.'

Tsk, she clicked her tongue in annoyance. For now, Max was nowhere at sight.

'Did he use magic to go somewhere or did he use any hidden place?' Zinnia already checked if there was a basement before she came but found nothing.

'If he is in any way related to Arthur's face changing, I have to destroy everything,' Zinnia decided.

Later, the next day Max was going to perform the same ritual. Zinnia caught him red-handed.

'I didn't know our friendly bar owner was a part of the witches," she grabbed him from behind and commented. "I'd love to find out how you managed to do it inside the Holy City."

Max froze on the spot. 'Damn it! When did she come? Why did I not notice? Did I let my guard down?'

He tried to move but Zinnia's sword was placed on his neck. "Careful, don't move so much. You might lose your neck."

Not being able to see who it was but the voice seemed to be familiar, Max became nervous. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Who I am isn't important. But what I want… I can tell you that. I want to know so many things. And you have to answer them one by one." Zinnia pressed her sword against his neck.

Max raised his hands, quick to surrender. "Please don't hurt me. I'm harmless."

"Oh? I'll decide that." Zinnia didn't budge. "Now tell me, how did you manage to perform witchcraft in the Holy City?"

Max snickered. "Heh, this is nothing nowadays. This so-called Holy City is corrupted. When the pillar of the city is missing, what will be there to protect it?"

"Pillar? The Saint is still alive," Zinnia commented.

Max shrugged. "Who is worried about the Saint? After the blessed child appeared, she was non-existent."

Zinnia knew that there was a fake blessed child kept in the palace. She mentioned, "But the blessed child is in the palace. How can you still use witchcraft?"

Max replied, "Did you think that fake can be the real? Then I'd be damned."

"That one was fake?!" Zinnia furrowed her eyebrows. 'How does he know that it is fake?' she wondered. "Who is the real one then?"

Max told her, "There is another woman. She was in the city but then suddenly vanished. I don't know what happened to her after that. she was simply gone."

"What's her name? What does she look like?" Zinnia pressed for an answer.

"Her… her name is veronica. She has long silver hair and a unique pair of green eyes. Her appearance is so uncommon that she is quick to be noticed."

"Oh yeah? Why did I not see her even once then? What else do you know about her?"

'Is she here for the blessed child? What's her intention?' Max pondered. 'I can't tell her any more than this. What if I get killed after I tell what I know?'

"Answer!" Zinnia blade grazed his skin.

"She is married to the Master of the Magic Tower. I haven't seen it with my own two eyes though. Someone else told me. She has exactly the same appearance as the Veronica I know. Once she disappeared, I was able to use my magic. No one was alerted. Nothing happened to me either." Max quickly blurted out everything.

'I had a feeling that he knew.' Zinnia's lips twitched. "Who told you about her wedding? If she was married to a powerful guy, why didn't she seek revenge?"

"I was wondering that too. But it can happen because the Master of the Magic Tower doesn't care about much or she hasn't told him about it yet. Maybe she didn't have the chance to tell him." Max subconsciously grinned.

"And why so?" Zinnia asked. When she saw him hesitating, she tilted her blade to leave a red mark on him.

Realizing that she was serious about hurting him, he answered, "It's just she saw him flirting with other women and left crying. Maybe they will never meet each other again after that."

Zinnia narrowed her eyes. 'Does this guy really not know about the fake Arthur or is he just faking it?'

"Look, I have no interest in you and your Veronica. All I want to know is one thing. It's about the Master of the Magic Tower and his bride. The one who told you about his wedding, he must know more detailed information, right? I want to talk to him."

'I see, she is after the Master of the Magic Tower. This is nothing new but I can't let my guard down just yet,' Max thought.

"I can help you to meet that person but you have to pay a certain amount if you want any information. Look lady, I know you are desperate but we are running a job here. Please try to understand. I'm sure we will be able to fill in all the information you need," he told her.

"I have money." Zinnia shoved her money pouch at him. "Guide me to your place."

Max observed how heavy the pouch was. He opened it and found gold coins. His attitude completely changed after that, "Please, madam, come with me. The journey might become a bit rough."

Afterward, he used his witchcraft knowledge to take her to their hidden base.

It was just as she thought. All the information brokers were witches. Both male and female. The one who got the news of Arthur's marriage was a man.

The man handed over some papers to Zinnia. "This is all I know for now. The recent news came just a month ago. Master Arthur's wife arrived at the tower."

"I see." Zinnia checked all the contents. 'Someone is selling news outside the Magic Tower. What an audacity. I will have to find out about them soon.'

"Is there anything else you want to know?" the man asked.

Zinnia lowered her voice and stated, "Yes, did you know that there was a fake Arthur in the capital of Utahill while the real Arthur was working somewhere else?"

The man was taken aback. "Why do you think there was a fake Arthur in the capital?"

Zinnia told him, "That's because the real Arthur was hanging out with his subordinates while the fake one was playing with women in the red-light district."

"This is news to me. I didn't hear it before." The man nervously fixed his glasses.

Zinnia had already figured it out. She seductively smiled at him. "I've already paid enough money to get all the information I need. Now tell me what you know."

After a pause, she added, "You might get something more than just my money." She lowered her eyes, indicating her body.

The man's eyes lowered and looked at her cleavage. He gulped. Licking his lips like a pervert, he told her, "Actually, I know a group of people.. They are gathering people to make the fake Master of the Magic Tower."