Chapter 162: A Chaotic Family

Chapter 162: A Chaotic Family

Seeing Gehrman Sparrow say nothing, Tracy’s heart slowly sank, as though falling into an icy abyss.

Looking at Vice Admiral Ailment, whose expression revealed hints of despair, Klein pulled a note from his pocket. With a flick of his wrist, he sent it flying forward like a playing card.

Whoosh. The note seemed like metal as it cut through a small number of invisible spiderweb threads, split open the translucent ice crystals, and sliced past Tracy’s upper left arm, bringing up a blossoming spray of blood.

The paper’s surface was swiftly dyed crimson. It passed the witch imprisoned in place and spun back into Klein’s hand.

“…” Tracy had originally thought the note was flying toward her throat. She had not expected it to merely target her arm. For a moment, she stood somewhat stunned. Only when Gehrman Sparrow folded the paper and placed it inside an iron cigarette case did she abruptly come to herself and ask, “Your real objective is to find Katarina?”

Klein casually put the iron cigarette case back into his pocket. Without answering, he calmly asked, “Are you her descendant?”

Hearing those words, Tracy, still trapped by ice crystals and spiderweb threads and unable to move, suddenly gave a low laugh.

“Not merely a descendant. I am her child.”

Child… daughter… While Klein inwardly rejoiced that he had not recklessly killed her and alerted White Witch Katarina, he subconsciously analyzed whether Katarina was Maiden of Ailment Tracy’s mother or father.

If Katarina had once been male, she might indeed have been Tracy’s father. The problem was that, at the end of the Fourth Epoch, during the Pale Disaster, she had already been a Sequence 4 demigod. The Assassin pathway’s Sequence 7 Witch stage already changed a man into a woman…

In other words, for Katarina to be Tracy’s father, Tracy would have to be at least thirteen hundred years old. A Sequence 5 Beyonder could not possibly live that long. Even the vast majority of Sequence 4 and Sequence 3 saints could not achieve that!

There was only one answer: Tracy was born from Katarina herself, and within the past few decades… A high-risk pregnancy at over a thousand years old… Klein gently nodded and, without any change in expression, asked in confirmation, “She is your mom?”

Tracy’s expression instantly became somewhat strange.

“No. My mother.”

Klein was about to ask what difference there was between that and “mom,” since the two were essentially the same save for one being more formal and the other more colloquial, when Tracy sneered of her own accord.

“My mom is someone else. She used to be my father.”

…Your witch family is far too chaotic… But that is not a reason to spread disaster to the outside world… Klein used his Clown abilities to control his facial muscles and continued looking at the Maiden of Ailment expressionlessly.

Already caught in a hopeless situation, Tracy now seemed to have given up on herself. Without waiting for Gehrman Sparrow to respond, she sighed, then laughed self-mockingly.

“Perhaps I was a mistake from the moment I was born.

“Abnormal parents, abnormal family relationships, abnormal sect members—they shaped me, and they hurt me. When I was eight, I discovered that the father I had always secretly worshiped as a role model had suddenly turned into a woman. Day by day, she grew more delicate. Day by day, she became better at using her own charm. Later, she even found a male partner and gave birth to a younger brother for me. Can you imagine that feeling?

“After I ran away from home and came to the sea, after years of effort, I finally found a normal self and normal social understanding again. I finally understood what I truly wanted. Then one bottle of potion turned me into a woman as well. Heh. A woman…”

Klein listened quietly to the end and, at the same pace as before, said, “Your instigation ability is quite good.”

“…” Tracy opened her mouth, but in the end she only sighed and gave a complicated smile. “I admit that just now, I was trying to arouse your sympathy. Everyone wants to live. Is there anything wrong with that? But I didn’t say a single false word. Those are all my life experiences.”

She stopped emphasizing her pain and sorrow. After pausing for a moment, she said, “Before you kill me, I want to ask one question. It won’t put you in a difficult position.”

“What is it?” Klein looked at the witch opposite him.

Tracy hesitated for a while before finally asking, “Before you came to assassinate me last time, did Elaine know about it?”

Klein was silent for a moment.

“She did not know what would happen.”

A few traces of light instantly appeared on Tracy’s face.

“Really?”

Without waiting for Gehrman Sparrow to respond, she revealed an extremely complicated expression and said, “Before I die, may I ask one more thing of you? If you can see Elaine again, tell her that I feel guilty about the things that happened in the past, but I do not regret them.”

At this point, Tracy tried to shake her head, but the translucent ice crystals and invisible spiderweb threads restricted her, and she failed.

She could only laugh self-mockingly.

“Forget it. There’s no need to tell her. Let it stay like this.

“You may act now.”

After saying that, Tracy closed her eyes.

After waiting several seconds, she did not feel the pain she had expected. Instead, she heard Gehrman Sparrow say in a low voice, “Say that no one is to disturb you.”

…Tracy was stunned, her heart filled with incomprehension, her expression turning rather confused.

But since she was already facing death, such a small matter was not worth fussing over. She did not think too much and opened her mouth.

“No one is to disturb me.”

No sooner had she said this than the same voice echoed across the Black Death, even louder than before.

The pirates did not develop the slightest doubt. As if obeying some peculiar law, they instinctively avoided the captain’s cabin and continued busying themselves with their own affairs.

Since the captain had said they were not to disturb her, they naturally would not go looking for her for the time being!

At the same time, Tracy saw Gehrman Sparrow remove his top hat, press it to his chest, and give her a slight bow, as though taking his leave.

Then she felt herself become isolated from the entire world. Everything around her was silent. Even that crazy adventurer had vanished.

She had obtained the “undisturbed” environment she wanted.

The Lawyer pathway’s Magnify and Distortion!

The ice layer on Tracy’s body began to melt, but those invisible spiderweb threads still firmly bound her, leaving her incapable of any movement, not even shifting her center of gravity.

And so, she could only stand there like a lifelike wax figure.

“He didn’t kill me…” Tracy stared blankly ahead, for a brief moment almost unable to believe it.

She did not think Gehrman Sparrow had spared her because he pitied her. That crazy adventurer had killed many pirates before and had never shown mercy. Although Tracy did not consider herself a normal witch and had not done too many things that could be called truly witch-like, as a pirate, how could she have avoided doing evil? Whether it was slave trading or plundering ships, she was experienced in both.

Similarly, Tracy did not believe Gehrman Sparrow had been moved by her beauty and life story and lusted after her, because his gaze had been as cold as if he were looking at a dead person.

“There must be some other factor…” Tracy’s thoughts raced as she connected the possibilities from matters involving herself. Very quickly, she reached a judgment. “It should be because my blood relationship with Mother is too close, and witches are all skilled at curses. Once I die, Mother will immediately sense it, discover that something has gone wrong here, and take precautions in advance. That would leave Gehrman Sparrow unable to find his target during his follow-up operation. That’s why he let me live, but also prevented me from contacting anyone…

“Looking at it this way, whether his action against Mother succeeds or fails, he may come back and kill me afterward… If I want to survive, I must save myself before then.”

In her heart, Tracy did not actually possess any especially deep feelings for her mother, Katarina. That Unaging Witch had already lived for more than enough years, and most of the time, she maintained her youthful mindset through relationships with young people. Toward the children she occasionally felt interested enough to give birth to, she was often passionate for a short while and cold for the vast majority of the time.

However, as Tracy grew older, Katarina had evaluated her as becoming more and more like her past self. As a result, Tracy received more affection and help.

Yet Tracy did not want such attention. It had cost her her original sex and left her trapped in inescapable pain.

“Whew… Although I hate her and resent her, I still can’t help relying on her and longing for her to respect my opinions more… I hope—I hope she can escape Gehrman Sparrow’s pursuit…” Tracy began struggling again, attempting to break free of her bindings.

On one hand, she was trying to save herself. On the other, she wanted to notify her mother as soon as possible and make absolutely sure Katarina was wary of Gehrman Sparrow!

Of course, Tracy somewhat doubted whether Gehrman Sparrow, who should only recently have advanced to Sequence 4, could truly threaten her mother, who had survived since the Fourth Epoch and was known as “Unaging.” But she did not rely on luck. Gehrman Sparrow had helpers—most notably that Death Consul, whom even her mother feared!

Thud!

Tracy finally fell onto the floor. She tried to roll toward the desk, but no matter how she struggled, her body could not turn.

The one she was resisting was none other than herself, Distorted and Magnified!

…

Above the gray fog, Klein was already seated in The Fool’s high-backed chair, placing the paper stained with Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy’s blood upon the surface of the mottled long table.

Immediately after, he conjured paper and pen and wrote a divination statement:

“Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy’s mother Katarina’s current location.”

Putting down the fountain pen, Klein held the two sheets of paper, leaned back against his chair, closed his eyes, and quietly repeated the statement he had just written.

After repeating it seven times in succession, he entered a dream and saw, within the gray world, a towering Gothic clock tower emerge.

Around the clock tower, Katarina, dressed in a holy white robe, stood in the shadows of several buildings. Her expression was slightly grave as she examined the surrounding situation, as though searching for something. In midair, the red moon hung high, in the same position Klein had seen before entering the gray fog.

This meant that White Witch Katarina was still in Backlund. She was in the West Borough, pursuing and searching for a certain target.