Clang!
The teacup on the tea tray in Miss Lorraine's hand fell to the floor just as she pushed open the door. Lightning continued to strike above Arcadia City, making Adele Isabella, now watched by all the Great Witches, seem even more imposing than in the past.
Thunder drowned out voices, so for a moment no one spoke. Only the stunned Miss Lorraine and the maids hurriedly cleaned up the tea set that had just fallen.
Adele sternly studied everyone's expressions. The Witches were intimidated by her expression, anxiously wondering when she had arrived. Everyone's thoughts were as tangled as whirlpools in the abyss, and even Angelina, who was not in the room, looked up toward the upper floor because of those complicated, chaotic emotions.
Once the thunder had completely faded, Adele's stern expression vanished and was replaced by confusion:
"Why are your expressions so strange? Why are you all so shocked to see me here?"
Vanessa, who had just been wondering whether she and Sivie together could restrain Adele, hurriedly said:
"Madam Speaker, we simply did not expect you to appear here."
Only then did the others belatedly begin speaking as well. Adele stepped into the study and looked over the nine Witches present:
"I'm the one who finds this strange. Why are all of you here? I remembered that Galina's great-niece was coming here to study with Wei Ge today, so I thought I would come and see how things were going."
Galina pressed her lips together before cautiously asking:
"Madam Speaker, did you just arrive?"
"Of course not. I arrived over an hour ago."
Everyone's hearts leaped into their throats.
"But when I had just approached Grey Rock Pass, I sensed that something was wrong. The expansion of the Mystic Lock forced me to take a detour,