Otaku Witch-Chapter 1843 - 950: The War of the Ladies (Part 2)
"Sorry, Auntie, the matter of the Plane War might need to be delayed for a while. There's something going on in the Golden Country, and I have to go to the Dragon Kingdom first."
She apologized sincerely.
After all, the development of the Whaling Golden Contract in the Mechanical Wilderness is no longer just her business. It's now a big collaborative project, and the two Madames have been preparing all along, but now she's going to have to delay the project, which is really hard to justify.
Fortunately, the two Madames didn't mind the Homebody Witch's apology.
After all, if before they were merely pure business partners, now, in their eyes, Dorothy is the heir apparent and future son-in-law.
We're all family now, so naturally, we wouldn't get upset over such trivial matters.
Moreover, Golden Country?
The two Madames exchanged a glance, actually having a pretty good idea of what's going on. They themselves are not proper stars after all. Being celebrities and idols is just their cover identity. In reality, they are the rulers of the underground world of Night City and the heads of Witch World's intelligence system.
There's no need to investigate. Just think about Miss Phantom Thief's livestream before and the recent return of the Little Princess to Golden Country, coupled with the situation in Golden Country, and the general picture becomes clear enough.
Alas, Golden Country, such an ancient and prosperous family, unlike their House of Aphrodite, which is basically a small family with solo lineage, is not easy to speak to.
The larger the family, the more rules there are. The more people, the more troubles arise, and things that were originally quite simple get complicated because of all the people involved.
Even for the mistress of Golden Country, who serves as the head of the family and is the Venerable Sage, it's impossible to do whatever she pleases. Instead, she has to adhere to the rules even more, binding her own hands and feet, being unable to act freely.
Golden Country is a commercial alliance; if there were no absolute binding contracts or rules, given the nature of merchants pursuing profits, Golden Country wouldn't have been able to maintain its continuity and stability, and would have fallen apart long ago.
Merchants value credibility, yet merchants also don't value credibility.
Despite having guessed the scenario, the two Madames each pulled out a spellbook to verify a bit further, whereupon Night City's pervasive and inescapable intelligence network soon delivered the news to them.
Just as they predicted, after Golden Country's Little Princess Mia returned not long ago, she experienced a fierce clash with the Elders' Council, nearly causing an internal conflict in Golden Country. It was only due to the intervention of the Goddess of Wealth that both sides refrained from further escalation.
How the matter was ultimately resolved remains a secret of Golden Country, even Night City's spies find it hard to grasp detailed intelligence for the time being. Only the fact that the Golden Princess hasn't been seen outside for days is known.
She's probably under confinement.
Thinking of Dorothy's close relationship with Miss Mia, the two Madames naturally understand why this child wants to make a trip to Dragon Kingdom.
Though their prospective son-in-law is running around for another woman, which is hardly good news for the two prospective mothers-in-law, in a different scenario, a hot-tempered mother-in-law would have gotten angry by now.
However, Eliza and Iris aren't just anyone—one's a Fox Spirit, the other's a Succubus. Naturally, they wouldn't stoop to such a low standard.
Whoever heard of a Fox Spirit and Succubus worrying about being outmatched by another, that would be laughed at by their kin for a lack of confidence.
Take it easy. If Dorothy can be so earnest for that Miss Mia now, then surely she would be this attentive when their own daughters encounter troubles.
This is a good kid who values relationships.
The Madames' gaze toward Dorothy is filled with even more gentleness.
Moreover, this incident with Golden Country isn't a bad thing for them; in contrast, it's an opportunity.
Short-sighted and stupid mothers-in-law may be thinking of tearing the lovebirds apart, yet wise and farsighted mothers-in-law are already preparing to lend a helping hand in times of need, going all out.
Thinking of their two embarrassing daughters' insensitivity in matters of affection, Eliza and Iris, being mothers, decided they must pay more attention and provide robust support for their daughters in the future.
Yes, palace intrigue, or rather, love wars, has never been solely the affairs of the young. Nowadays, everything's about teamwork, when mixing, you have to consider the forces. This is family rivalry. Even if Princess Mia is crazily carrying herself, from the looks of it, her aides are all dragging her down.
Hehe, well then, we'll be direct.
Although in terms of family power, the House of Aphrodite has some gap with Golden Country, but in this invisible war, even if the other side's parents are Sages, the two Madames are still undeterred.
This is the basic quality of professionals.
"It's okay, having more prep time is not necessarily a bad thing. We were actually worried about being rushed before."
Eliza shook her head and softly reassured the guilty future son-in-law.
Beside her, Succubus Madam Iris reached out with a heart-shaped token to give Dorothy.
"Things on the Golden Country side aren't easy, for one alone it's a struggle, so take Madeline and Audrey with you. Though they're still a bit inexperienced, they can at least lend a hand, and here's my token. If needed, you can seek help from any opera house in Dragon Kingdom; they'll do everything to assist you."
Dorothy, seeing this, was truly moved.
"I mustn't, Auntie, I mustn't. This is my own affair; how could I drag you into it; it's not right."
She also felt embarrassed to truly accept the token.
Though Succubus Madam didn't spell it out, she also knew this token would summon the secret networks they painstakingly planted in Dragon Kingdom over the years.
Now is the Era of the Demon Lord, and indeed the Madames have the right to monitor the world on behalf of Lord Demon King, but Witch World isn't your typical feudal monarchy. Under the realm rule, private domains are inviolable.
Those Minor Lords might have no choice but to endure, but like the large Witch Territory of Dragon Kingdom which has produced Witch Kings, it's much harder to infiltrate. They surely wouldn't want their madams to be watched.
So Auntie Iris's gesture is truly generous, as those successfully infiltrated secret networks into Dragon Kingdom have extreme value.
The main point is that once this thing activates, there's a risk of exposure, which if mishandled, could erase years of their arrangement.
Something so important, and aunties are willing to give it to her; she appreciates the kind intentions, but it's indeed too precious to accept.
She should be offering compensation for delaying the plan, how could she accept advantages.
"Dorothy, I'll teach you one final thing, don't let your trivial pride or dignity hinder what's important, repay us twice afterwards if you're afraid of owing favors, rather than outright reject what might aid you."
Succubus Madam, who often teased the Homebody Witch, is rarely serious at this moment, speaking earnestly.
Dorothy was stunned and thoughtful.
She no longer resisted, accepting the token directly from Iris's hand.
"Thank you, Auntie, I will remember this lesson."
She solemnly expressed gratitude to the two Aunties.
"Uh huh, no more ceremonies, just go, go! Young ones ought to fight for love, with love, nothing can hold you back."
Madame Nine-tailed chuckled with her hand over her mouth.
The Homebody Witch's face flushed red instantly, starting to explain that she and Senior Mia are innocent, it's friendship, not love, while babbling things about family, bonds, which is hard to understand.
Yet the two Madames just observed her like veterans, wearing merry grins on their nation-toppling beautiful faces.
This embarrassed Dorothy, making it impossible for her to stay longer, causing her to flee awkwardly. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
Hmm, she still needs to ponder how to return home with style later.
.... Homebody Witch contemplates ....
