“—You are going to stay with him!?”

Klavier was absolutely gobsmacked.

No wonder, because what the witch had just said contradict everything he had known about her as a person. Ever since their first meeting, all kinds of the witch’s attitudes pointed to her being a pushover.

“Why, I have even offered a way out! ...You, do you think I’m incapable?” Klavier asked in astonishment.

“No, it’s not like that.” The witch looked deep in thought. “At a glance, what you offered sounds like a solution—but it doesn’t actually solve anything.”

The witch’s sharp gaze penetrated him. It’d be lying if he were to say he didn’t stagger at all.

“If Romeo were to be sent here, I dread to think what might come afterwards—or, to be precise, what Julius might do.”

“If he’s such a dangerous fellow, I don’t see any point of keeping him around—...”

“As a result of him trying his damnedest to deliver his friend to safety, free from the clutch of the evil witch, Julius came here.”

“You do realize that you’re the witch in question, right?”

“If I were to accept your offer, I’d be reducing his effort into nothing. That just doesn’t sit well with me. Therefore, I’m planning to ensure his return to the church using my own way.”

“W-what’s this, you’re that close with him, already? Could it be, you actually have hots for him?”

“...It’s nothing like that.”

“Then? I don’t think that oh-so-lofty church templar will just turn over and become your partner in crime. Why are you willing to go so far for him?”

“The truth is...” The witch looked straight into his eyes. It was only then did he realize the severity in her gaze.

Amidst the deafening silent, the witch’s voice echoed.

“That man—Julius Visconti—is cursed.”