Succubus Ailin

"The Dean has returned to Aretuza. I will take over the rescue of Hen Gedimidis from you."

Her black hair was neatly styled in a bun at the nape of her neck. Philippa Ehrhardt wore a men's short jacket, leggings, and high boots similar in style to those worn during the day, only in a bright red color. Her black onyx jewelry was deeply embedded in that white hue, making her striking and extremely aggressive.

As soon as the Sorceress entered the reception room, she seized the initiative to speak.

"I don't recall us agreeing to a rescue during the day; I thought it was still a matter for discussion." Ailin frowned.

"So you're planning to refuse?" Philippa Ehrhardt wasn't angry at being refuted; she looked at him with her beautiful eyes.

Ailin hadn't spoken yet.

Suddenly, out of the blue, Philippa Ehrert said, "Dean Tissaia de Veris should be in Aretuza by now, ready to persuade those old fogies."

"Persuade what?" Vesemir asked, frowning.

Philippa Ehrert's rosy lips curled slightly, revealing a charming smile, "Of course, we want to sue Berendil Rogrides before Ban Ad and the Rissberg Civil Conglomerate can..."

"By the way... you guys don't know Berendil Rogrides, do you?"

Ailin raised an eyebrow. "A black acorn emblem with gold diagonal stripes?"

"That's right," Philippa Ehrert raised her smooth eyebrows. "This is the family crest of Berendir Rogrides. He was a noble sorcerer who broke away from the Roglides family, and like me, he was a member of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers Intermediate Council."

"Of course, what really prompted the Dean to take action now is not the male wizard, but his background."

"The Roglides family is a true behemoth."

"Although only Berendil Rogrides has been promoted to the Brotherhood of Sorcerers Intermediate Council Brotherhood of Sorcerers, while the others are all in the Lower Council, there are a total of five council members in the Lower Council..."

"Six sorcerers?" Vesemir interrupted, his brows furrowed. "How could the Roglides family have so many sorcerers?"

Sorceress are born infertile, while male wizards are slightly better at fertility, but only with a tiny, very small chance, especially when they first enter the realm of magic.

There are probably only two or three out of a hundred male wizards.

Moreover, the probability of a male wizard giving birth to a sorcerer with a normal human woman is actually about the same as the probability of two ordinary people giving birth to a sorcerer, not much higher.

Magical talent is very difficult to pass on.

Therefore, it is simply unbelievable that a family could have six sorcerers.

Philippa Ehrert curled her lip in mockery and said disdainfully, "No family can defy the laws of magic, and the Rogrides are no exception."

"Adopted sons. The Rodriguez family conducts magical talent tests within their territory and has adopted quite a few sons."

"These adopted sons, in turn, used the influence of the Roglides family to Brotherhood of Sorcerers."

"But magic is fair; wealth cannot buy talent. Even with the best efforts of an entire family, one can only develop within a lower-level council."

Perhaps noticing the group of people hesitated to speak, she paused and explained:

"Although Berendil Rogrides is a member of the Intermediate Council like me, he is almost two hundred years old and was only promoted a few years ago. With his talent, he is almost at the end of his life."

"In addition, I also learned this afternoon that there are many problems with the achievements that led to the promotion of Berendil Rogrides and other male wizards in the Roglides family."

"Of course, even so, one mid-level councilor and five low-level councilors still wield considerable power within the Brotherhood of Sorcerers."

"Moreover, some of the general affairs of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers are usually handled by a member of the lower council. Relatively speaking, in terms of actual power and control in the secular world, the lower council may even surpass the middle and upper councils in some aspects."

Vesemir and Dante, the two witchers, nodded in agreement.

Seeing that Ailin seemed a little confused, Vesemir explained, "The Brotherhood of Sorcerers Supreme Council has only five members, who have the highest authority, but they all have their own forces to manage, such as Ban Ade Academy, Aretuza Academy, and the Rissberg Civil Conglomerate. They generally don't concern themselves with the internal affairs of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers."

"The Advanced Council responsible for evaluating the achievements of sorcerers, revising internal laws, conducting internal sorcerer trials, and so on."

"The Intermediate Council is responsible for inspecting sorcerer organizations, monitoring internal irregularities, and handling diplomatic relations with the northern nations..."

"As for the lower-level council..."

Vesemir paused, glanced at Philba Ehrhardt, hesitated for a few seconds, and said, "Besides those talented sorcerers, the lower-level council skips them when they take up positions in various academies or are promoted. It seems that other sorcerers do everything."

"I get it, it's just doing odd jobs..." Ailin thought to himself.

Simply put, aside from the Supreme Council, they are all regional warlords.

Advanced Council work in offices, Intermediate Council work in the field, and junior council members do odd jobs.

Simple and straightforward.

"That's right," Philippa Ehite nodded. "Most of the merchant guilds affiliated with the Brotherhood of Sorcerers are also supervised by a low-level council, and those guilds have close ties with the nobles of various countries in the Northern Continent."

"Therefore, although it may sound like they don't have much power, the lower-level council actually has quite a lot of authority and responsibility."

"More importantly, the Roglides family has a duke, an Earl, three Viscount, and many barons and knights, with influence spanning Kedwen, Riedania, and Ard..."

"With both factors combined, the Roglides family is very powerful, extremely powerful, in both the secular world and the Brotherhood of Sorcerers."

Philippa Ehrert looked at Ailin.

The three witchers fell silent at that moment.

A duke, an Earl, and three Viscount —in the secular world, this would be considered top-tier in any kingdom, enough to wield considerable noble power that could influence the monarchy.

Although Tissaia de Veres probably didn't care, and it was also for the sake of order, she still owed a great debt of gratitude.

But Rogrides... I think I've heard that name Ailin.

"The School of the Wolf does owe Ms. Tissaia de Veres a great favor, but rescuing Henry Gedimidis..." Vesemir shook his head, "It's too dangerous. I can't think of any chance of survival. It's practically sending him to his death for no reason."

Philippa Ehrert remained unfazed, seemingly having anticipated these words.

"Ailin," she said with a smile to the silent Witcher, "Although I don't know why the Dean thinks you can rescue Speaker Hen Gedimidis, it's definitely not to send you to your death."

"After all, I'll be going with you."

"What?!" Several witchers and Lyra exclaimed in surprise.

Philippa Ehrert then noticed that there was another person in the drawing room.

She looked at the wary expression on the girl in the priest's robe, then at Ailin, and asked with interest, "Who are you?"

The girl who was standing next to Ianna looked like a little kitten whose territory had been invaded, speaking in a childish voice and baring her teeth.

"I am Lyra, Meritellie's servant." Lyra puffed out her chest and answered expressionlessly.

Philippa Ehrhardt's gaze moved down two hand spans from Lyra's face, and she smiled as she replied, "Philippa Ehrhardt, Inspector Warlock of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers."

"You said you're going too?" Ailin interrupted the two women's conversation, bringing the topic back on track.

"Of course!" Philippa Ehrert said, "Without me, you wouldn't be able to find your way in. Only I know the secret information."

"Furthermore, the upright male wizards of Ban Ade Academy will only believe me, not a witcher."

"So..."

Philippa Ehrhardt's gaze swept over everyone in the drawing room, and a slight smile played on her lips:

"Do you still think this is suicide?"

"I wouldn't risk my life without being sure, and Aretuza wouldn't send a member of the Warlock Brotherhood of Sorcerers Intermediate Council, a man of exceptional talent, to inspect warlock adventures."

"Does it really have to be Ailin?" Dante interjected. "Vesemir and I, both of us can go in his place..."

Philippa Ehrhardt shook her head. "I naturally think the two masters of the School of the Wolf are more reliable, but the Dean seems to value Ailin more. Before leaving, she emphasized to me that this operation would only involve him and me..."

"Two people."

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, when she said "two people," Philippa Ehrert gave Lyra a half-smile.

Lyra remained expressionless, her right hand clenched into a fist behind her back.

"I've never worked with you before," Ailin paused for a few seconds, "Are you sure we can cooperate in such a dangerous environment, instead of becoming obstacles for each other?"

Francesca's lesson was profound.

Now, Ailin no longer has the same bias towards the characters from the original work that she had when she first transmigrated.

What if Philippa Ehrhardt becomes a royal advisor, regent, founder of the Conclave of Sorceresses, or the behind-the-scenes manipulator of the Witcher world's politics in the future?

The current Philippa Ehrhardt is just like Francesca was back then— Sorceress with some talent who has just graduated from Aretuza, nothing more.

"Are you worried that I'll hold you back?"

Philippa Ehrhardt paused for a moment, then smiled.

She held her swan-like, snow-white, long neck high, her smile fading, and said proudly:

"Coincidentally, I have the same doubts."

"This operation concerns the future of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers and the Northern Continent. Although the Dean certainly wouldn't send me a useless man, I've never seen you take action before."

"Fortunately, the Dean and the Brotherhood of Sorcerers both need time to gather intelligence and contact their inside contacts. I think you also need time to give the school time to handle the aftermath..."

"So I will stay by your side from now on. We have plenty of time to get to know each other, get used to each other, and learn how to cooperate."

Ailin and Vesemir exchanged a glance, and Vesemir nodded slightly.

then.

Ailin thought for a moment and said, "Tomorrow, we will return to Kaer Morhen."

"As long as you don't mind having one more person, I can come along. I also have a way to contact the Dean," Philippa Ehrert nodded slightly. "I've been curious about that first Greater Griffin that was tamed by humans for a long time."

It's not surprising that Lady Vesemir has a lovebird, and that Philippa Ehrert and Tissaia de Veres have their own communication gadgets.

However, thinking of the Greater Griffin would soon be fully devoted to incubating its cubs, Ailin pondered and said:

"The Greater Griffin can only send us back. For some reason, we won't be able to summon it again for a long time to come."

"If rescuing Henry Gedimidis requires Greater Griffin..."

He shrugged.

The Greater Griffin can no longer be summoned... Philippa Ehrert frowned upon hearing this and said, "Not even in an emergency?"

After a moment's thought, Ailin replied truthfully, "The Greater Griffin needs to incubate the eggs. I'm not sure if she will still respond to my call when the time comes."

"Hatching eggs?!" Philippa Ehrhardt's eyes lit up instantly, and she quickly asked, "Can we have one of the hatchling Greater Griffin? I can pay for it!"

Ailin glanced at Vesemir and gave an awkward laugh, "Sorry, there aren't even enough cubs for us to go around."

"Okay..." Philippa Ehrert was a little disappointed.

What a help a warlock would have to an obedient griffin.

After encountering danger and enemies, she can effortlessly unleash spells from above and below in the sky.

Using a bunch of brutes who only know how to fight in close combat as mounts is an absolute waste.

However, since the Greater Griffin was Ailin's property, Ailin could give it to whomever he wanted, and Philippa Ehrhardt had no reason to forcibly take it.

but...

Philippa Ehrert glanced at Lyra, who was listening to High Priest Ianna speak with her head down.

Perhaps it's not really impossible to get one.

"I will explain the situation to the dean," Philippa Ehrhardt said, "But I don't think it will have a big impact, it's just that leaving Ben Ade will cause a lot more trouble."

"It's good that it doesn't affect anything." Ailin nodded.

After the business was settled, the reception room fell silent for a moment.

At this moment.

"Ailin".

Ianna, who had been silently watching the two sides reach an agreement as a witness, suddenly spoke up.

"Mother Ianna?" Ailin looked over in the direction of the voice.

"After you've finished dealing with Ban Ad, don't forget to go back to Arland," Ianna said.

"Oh...okay..." Ailin paused for a moment, nodded subconsciously, and then asked curiously, "Does Duke Mason have any other requests?"

"Your memory is so bad!" Ianna scolded, frowning. "You were in a hurry to return to the school and to save Nahen Gedimidis. It was indeed urgent, so I didn't say anything."

"After you've done these two things, won't you still have time to perform the Child of Prophecy ritual?"

The Child of Prophecy ritual ... Philippa Ehrert covered her mouth in surprise upon hearing this.

She thought that after the public trial of Riedania nobleman Evans that afternoon, the matter had tacitly come to an end.

After all, the Temple of Melitele shouldn't have accepted a witcher who was hated by so many forces as its holy son.

She looked at Ailin, who was frowning, and she had never stared at a witcher so intently.

She was very curious.

What kind of magic does this witcher possess?