During their conversation just now, Shade had been thinking about the Witches. In the end, he decided he could not simply pretend he knew nothing. At the very least, he needed to find out what their attitude truly was.
He cleared his throat, asking the maid who had already reached the door to wait, then looked at the Duchess behind the desk:
"Miss Galina, there is actually one more thing I wanted to discuss. Recently, I learned some strange historical stories from the Library of Saint Byron's."
"About what?"
"About... Witches."
From the corner of his eye, he saw Tifa the maid standing before the door, completely blocking the exit. For a moment, Shade doubted whether it was right to bring this up now. But rather than cooperate while constantly suspecting one another until their conflict erupted someday, it was better to make things clear from the start.
Besides, with divinity currently accompanying him, if she truly intended to make trouble for him, Shade certainly would not be the unlucky one.
"Witches... Detective, what do you want to discuss?"
She looked at Shade.
"I learned a piece of common knowledge from books. While the Witches of the Fifth Epoch gained immense power, they were also burdened by curses."
The Black-Haired Maid frowned at Shade, then looked somewhat helplessly at Miss Galina.
The Duchess's expression remained perfectly natural.
"I see. Go on."
Her voice was very soft.
Shade also looked at the Great Witch of the Witch Council, speaking while gauging her expression.
"Witches cannot bear children, and they possess an indescribable aversion to men. Direct physical contact greatly intensifies that aversion. That would also explain why no records mention the Witch Emperors leaving behind descendants."
He paused slightly, only continuing after confirming that her emotions remained normal.
"I also learned