Chapter 150
Chapter 150
The door to the Witch’s hut swung open at the sound.
Nemesis stood at the entrance, casting a cool glance at Tu Nan before crouching down to look at Little Red Riding Hood.
Her voice held a gentleness that was worlds apart from how she treated Tu Nan.
“Little Red Riding Hood is here?” Nemesis said with a beaming smile. “Are you going to see Grandmother again?”
Little Red Riding Hood nodded vigorously, her cheeks flushed pink. “Witch Sister, I missed you.”
“Where have you been all this time?” Nemesis asked. “You haven’t visited in a very long while.”
“I went to the Fairy Tale Hospital,” Little Red Riding Hood replied. “There were very, very bad people there. Luckily, there was Tu-”
“Uh…” Tu Nan hastily interrupted her. “Ms. Nemesis, I’m sorry for the intrusion. Do you remember me? My name is Judy; we’ve met before.”
Little Red Riding Hood glanced back at her. She was a clever child and understood immediately.
Sister Tu Nan’s name right now was Judy.
“Luckily, Sister Judy helped me escape,” she said, pointing at Tu Nan. “Otherwise, I would never have seen Witch Sister or Grandmother again.”
Nemesis looked at Tu Nan with a hint of surprise.
She patted Little Red Riding Hood’s head and stood up. “The wind is strong outside. Come in and talk.”
In the center of the hut, a large cauldron was bubbling with a steaming sweet soup, emitting a fragrant aroma.
Nemesis handed Little Red Riding Hood a cup of hot milk. Little Red Riding Hood took it naturally, took a sip, and wore a satisfied expression.
After finishing the milk, she let out a yawn. Suddenly feeling extremely drowsy, she unknowingly fell asleep leaning against the table.
“What have you come to see me for?” Nemesis finally asked.
Her attitude toward Tu Nan and Little Red Riding Hood was night and day. Since Tu Nan had entered the house, Nemesis had hardly given her a direct look, let alone a cup of hot milk.
Tu Nan had long been psychologically prepared for this and didn’t mind.
“I have a piece of information that you might be interested in,” she began.
Nemesis gave her a lazy look, waiting for her to continue.
“News of Aphro,” Tu Nan added.
A cloud passed over Nemesis’s features. She paused, then let out a scoff. “Is everyone using news of Aphro to deceive me now?”
“I am not deceiving you,” Tu Nan said sincerely. “But I must admit, I don’t have absolute certainty.”
Nemesis stared at her intently for a moment before asking, “How do you know? Did Maria tell you?”
Tu Nan couldn’t give away Xu Duoyi; Xu Duoyi’s identity was very useful with the Witch, so she tacitly accepted Nemesis’s assumption.
“She actually told you about this?” Nemesis was somewhat surprised. She scrutinized Tu Nan from head to toe. “It seems she truly trusts you.”
“Yes, Maria does trust me very much,” Tu Nan said. “I came here because of the deal she made with you.”
“I have already lent Monica to her,” Nemesis said with dissatisfaction.
Tu Nan looked at her with a smile.
Everyone knew that Monica was merely Nemesis’s informant.
Her smile made Nemesis a bit displeased. The two locked eyes until Nemesis finally stated her position. “Until there is actual news, I cannot trust her.”
It was a paradox.
Maria couldn’t directly tell Nemesis news of Aphro because she feared Nemesis would burn bridges once the goal was achieved, and Nemesis harbored the exact same concern.
The best solution would be for both of them to eat the apple, but for Nemesis, the idea of remaining loyal to Maria from then on was an even greater impossibility.
And so, matters reached a stalemate.
Tu Nan, however, felt that the Witch and Maria’s positions were not necessarily opposed.
Under the influence of the Church, witches had become notorious, serving as symbols of evil. The Church’s prestige and status among commoners even subtly surpassed that of the royal power.
Given Maria’s temperament, she was bound to move against the Church eventually, and that would be the time for them to cooperate.
Furthermore, when it came down to it, Maria had fled her arranged marriage and come to the forest originally. It was the Forest Witch who had taken her in, yet Maria had left without saying goodbye and had even stolen Nemesis’s apple.
It was no wonder Nemesis didn’t trust her.
Under this premise, doing Nemesis a favor to earn her trust was the most important step.
“I can tell you who I suspect,” Tu Nan said softly. “But if you truly want to confirm her identity, I’ll need your help.”
“Additionally, if you really do find Aphro, could you please help Maria ascend to the Throne?”
Nemesis’s nails unconsciously dug into her palms.
“Fine.” She looked up at Tu Nan, her expression unreadable. “If you can truly lead me to Aphro, I can help Maria take the Throne. This is my promise.”
A promise from the Forest Witch was worth trusting.
“I suspect that the Queen is Aphro.”
“The Queen…” Nemesis frowned slightly. “Why do you say that?”
“When did Aphro disappear?” Tu Nan asked.
“Twenty years ago,” Nemesis said with certainty. “She didn’t just vanish; she stole my Magic Mirror as well.”
After Maria was born, her mother died from complications during childbirth. That same year, the King married a new Queen.
Though Tu Nan hadn’t asked Maria her age, she appeared to be around twenty.
In that case, the timeline matched up.
Not to mention the Queen’s Magic Mirror.
Anyone who had read “Snow White” would have a deep impression of that mirror.
“Do you hate Aphro so much just because she stole your Magic Mirror?” Tu Nan hesitated for a moment. “If the Queen really is Aphro, will you… kill her?”
Nemesis froze.
A momentary look of vacancy appeared in her eyes, as if she had fallen into some distant memory, but she quickly snapped out of it and gave Tu Nan an unfriendly glare.
“That is none of your business.”
Tu Nan sighed softly. “Right now, this is just a guess. Only by finding the Magic Mirror can we truly confirm whether the Queen is Aphro or not.”
“If you are willing to go and confirm it yourself, that would obviously be best,” Tu Nan suggested. “It would save a lot of trouble.”
Nemesis shook her head. “Witches can sense one another. The moment I get close, she will definitely run. That is why I haven’t been able to find her all these years.”
“Then I’ll just have to do it on your behalf.” Tu Nan wasn’t surprised; she was already used to being a busy “worker bee.”
“The Queen’s status is special, and her bedroom won’t be easy to enter. My time is limited. Besides, I don’t know what kind of things a witch might set up in her room…”
Tu Nan winked at Nemesis, dropping a heavy hint.