"What are you two laughing at? He isn't—"
Too much had happened that night, and Claire Reinhart was thoroughly confused. Waves churned beneath the sea cliff, the howling winter wind swept along the shore, and she instinctively curled up in Shade's arms for a sense of security. Shade continued treating her wounds as he softly explained on behalf of the two laughing Great Witches:
"They're teasing you. I've known these two Great Witches for a long time, and we're close. Miss Reinhart, you don't need to worry that my existence will be reported to the Council. Sorry for hiding it from you before. When I met you today, I wasn't sure what your attitude toward me was either."
As he said this, Shade felt an indescribable sense of exhilaration. After so long, he finally had the chance to say those words himself:
"Yes, we've known each other for a long time. He was the one who sent us the message tonight, letting us know you were on this island."
Vanessa looked down at Claire Reinhart. She was not petty, but even someone as good-tempered as her would be angry if tonight's events had been interrupted:
"This man actually belongs to the nun. He only got to know us through her. For the nun's sake, and because he helped us, we didn't report him, and we're on fairly good terms with him. When something happened to you tonight, he told us there might be a witch on this island, so we had him bring us here to find you. Just look at the state you're in, tsk tsk~ Keep this handsome gentleman's secret with us."
Sylvia continued to suppress her laughter:
"Don't tell the other ten. This is our shared secret."
The Sun's Great Witch's first thought was not that they