"I don't have a patron, Your Excellency," the Witch Mother replied.
"Humans in this world are still young to magic. It's impossible for you to know Ancient Magic unless a great patron taught you, Witch," Lord Narvim coolly stated before adding, "Don't take this Lord for a fool."
"Not a fool, but more narrow-minded than I thought," the Witch Mother boldly replied before saying, "Having a powerful patron isn't the only way I can know about Ancient Magic, Your Excellency."
"Oh? Then, why don't you enlighten this Lord?" Lord Narvim casually suggested.
"Only if you promise to let these two off with Contract Magic," the Witch Mother stated before adding, "If you can do that, I'll be willing to tell you how I know Ancient Magic, Your Excellency."
"Impossible," Lord Narvim rejected. "This Lord is still considering whether this Lord should spare all of you; don't take it as this Lord has already agreed. As far as this Lord is concerned, you could be an enemy of this Lord's tribe."
"I can assure you that we are not your enemy. I can even swear it under Contract Magic. We are no one's enemy but those who threaten our livelihood. Thus, unless you want us to be your enemy, we are not," the Witch Mother declared.
"Then, swear it under Contract Magic," Lord Narvim urged, still in doubt.
Thus, the Witch Mother had no choice but to use Contract Magic on herself and swear that she was not his enemy.
"If what I said was untruthful, I will suffer the consequence of breaking the promise to speak the truth," the Witch Mother declared at the end of her oath.
A short while later, nothing happened to her, proving she was speaking the truth. Thus, the dragon lord decided to trust her.
"Alright. You've gained my trust," Lord Narvim declared shortly after.
Afterward, he used Contract Magic and made a promise not to pursue the two black witches, Claudette and Opalina, beside the Witch Mother in exchange for her to reveal her information.
However, once the contract was in effect, the Witch Mother didn't reveal the origin of her Ancient Magic knowledge immediately.
She didn't want the other Fallen Witches to hear about it. She deemed it wasn't the time for them to learn more about her.
Thus, the Witch Mother dismissed everyone after Lord Narvim used Contract Magic on the entire Black Witch Society and had everyone keep silent on his dragon tribe's existence in exchange for not wiping their memories.
The black chains on the dragon lord's body were long removed as it was no longer needed.
They were able to come to a mutual understanding.
"Witch Mother…" Claudette uttered, feeling concerned about the Witch Mother's safety.
"Leave us," the Witch Mother dismissed her in a firm tone. "I will handle this situation by myself. None of you are needed."
"Understood, Witch Mother."
Sometime later, the Witch Mother was left alone with the dragon lord. No other Fallen Witches were around to disturb or eavesdrop on them.
"Now, can you tell this Lord where you learned about Ancient Magic?" Lord Narvim asked.
"I've learned it myself, Your Excellency," the Witch Mother replied before adding, "You might not believe it, but that is indeed the truth."
Without any surprise, the dragon lord quickly denied the claim. However, the contract wasn't broken, implying the Witch Mother was also speaking the truth.
Thus, the dragon lord gave it some more thought before his eyes widened with surprise.
"You're a Reincarnator," Lord Narvim concluded before adding, "And not just any Reincarnator; you've retained memories of your past life. You must have been someone especially powerful. Just who exactly are you?"
"I wonder if you've heard about the seven Calamity Witches from the Nightmare Realm?" the Witch Mother casually asked, but Lord Narvim's expression changed drastically upon hearing it.
"Have this Lord heard about it? There's no way this Lord hasn't heard about them," Lord Narvim reacted significantly, proving he was well aware of them.
"The Nightmare Realm is situated right next to the Gehenna Realm, and the seven Calamity Witches are the rulers of that realm. But even those the seven Calamity Witches are realm rulers like the seven Great Devils, they can't even be compared in the same breath."
"The seven Calamity Witches are Rank 7 beings! Don't tell you are…" Lord Narvim glanced at the Witch Mother with shock, guessing she was one of the seven Calamity Witches.
However, the Witch Mother quickly denied it.
"Hahaha, no. I am not one of the seven Calamity Witches," the Witch Mother stated. But before Lord Narvim could calm down, she continued, "I was only one of the Storm Calamity Witch's close retainer."
'Only…' Lord Narvim's lips twitched.
As a Rank 7 being, the Storm Calamity Witch's close retainers would be Rank 6 beings at least and no weaker than Rank 5.
And yet, he had been referring to himself as Lord in front of such a person.
"You don't need to change your manner of speech for me, Your Excellency." The Witch Mother knew what he was thinking and said, "Right now, you are indeed stronger than my former peak. Thus, it's only right that I should be the one to treat you with more respect."
"Even so, how did one of the Storm Calamity Witch's close retainer end up reincarnating in this world?" Lord Narvim wondered before guessing, "Did Nightmare start a Realm War and lose?"
"What your tongue, dragon," the Witch Mother warned as her eyes glinted coldly, causing Lord Narvim's expression to stiffen slightly from the pressure.
Even though the Witch Mother no longer possessed the strength of her past life, she was still someone who stood on a higher level of existence than the dragon lord.
Thus, Lord Narvim was slightly intimidated by her cold gaze.
"There's no way Milady would lose to anyone. I simply chose to enter the cycle of reincarnation of my own volition. Only a foolish realm ruler would wage a Realm War against Nightmare. And if Nightmare were to wage one, they would be absolutely certain of their victory."
Nevertheless, the dragon lord was baffled by her answer.
"Since when was it easy to reincarnate? And with intact memories, no less? But, more importantly, why would anyone willingly kill themselves?" Lord Narvim frowned with doubt.
"Curious?" The Witch Mother smiled before casually saying, "Well, I don't mind telling you. But what can you offer me in exchange for the information?"