Chapter Forty-Three: Foolish Child, Run Quickly!

After playing around with Apparition for a while, Louis lounged leisurely on the sofa, propping his legs up on the coffee table. Snipping away at his fingernails, he teased Helen, “Ah, I went over to ‘Chatterbox’ this afternoon and spent hours cracking sunflower seeds with the editor-in-chief. Seems I might’ve accidentally left my crystal ball on his desk… Hmm, can’t quite remember.”

Helen stared at him, dumbfounded.

‘Chatterbox’? That was the most gossipy newspaper, the one that just days ago had run a story about ‘Princess Oxicrys’s disciple and the Berliv Goblin family’s little scandal.’

Helen’s face instantly turned pale. The little kitten was about to be blackmailed!

So Louis really was up to no good! Might he actually sell this story to the journalists as gossip? Anyone else might just be bluffing, but with Louis, there was no telling what he might do!

Helen was determined never to confess to washing Louis’s socks and feet. The reporters might not believe it. The readers might not believe it. But people simply enjoyed talking about such things.

“L-L-Louis, what crystal ball are you talking about?” Helen’s lips were trembling.

“Oh, that, hmm~ My legs feel a bit sore.” Louis thumped his legs a couple of times.

Helen hurried over to massage his legs, forcing out a strained smile as she looked at him. “You didn’t really forget your crystal ball there, did you? Your memory is the best, Louis. Otherwise, otherwise…”

“Oh? And what if I did forget it?” Louis looked at her curiously.

“Sister would definitely kill—(‘Hm?’)… Waaa, please, Louis, don’t scare me like that. This joke is too much.” Helen started rubbing her eyes, pouting as she whimpered, “If you keep this up, I’ll never talk to you again.”

Just days before, Helen had been all sunshine and sass, coming up with endless quips to mock Louis. But now, every bit of laughter from those days seemed to have been cried out.

Seeing Helen’s tear-streaked face, Louis couldn’t help but laugh. That was enough for today; progress had to be gradual. Time to build some habits—just look at these two girls, how lazy they’d become! It was about time they did some chores around the house.

Helen, still crying, saw Louis laughing and wanted to punch him hard, but when she raised her fist, she lost her nerve.

“Go fetch a basin of water for my feet, then tidy up the sitting room, do the dishes, and clean up all that mess in your room. Do that, and I’ll let you off for today.”

Helen scampered off, and Louis rolled his eyes.

So she just gave in like that? Shouldn’t she at least put up a fight, resist a little? There was no sense of accomplishment in that! The older one was much more interesting.

As for Oxicrys, she still seemed to believe those two curses were her own doing and even felt quite proud of them.

Once Louis finished washing his own feet, Helen’s mood brightened instantly. She cheerfully fetched the new gray towel Louis had bought from the bathroom for him.

“Louis, when did you learn to Apparate? You’re incredible at it!” Helen asked curiously.

“Because my other teacher is better than yours.” Louis tapped his finger to his forehead.

Helen’s mouth fell open. “Louis, you’re terrible! You did this on purpose! You just wanted to get Sister to wash your feet and socks!”

What a fraud! He was rotten to the core!

“Oh? Looks like you’re the one eager to help your sister wash them?” Louis looked at Helen in surprise. “Seems you two get along quite well.”

“Helen and Sister really do get along,” Helen said, kneading Louis’s legs as she nodded earnestly and slyly. “But I think Sister likes doing it for you.”

Louis was stunned.

So they were fair-weather sisters! No loyalty at all, this little traitor!

“Then don’t forget to remind your sister every day,” Louis patted Helen’s head. “Right?”

Without this little instigator, where would the fun be? How could there be any dueling classes, any more bets? How else would Oxicrys ever call him ‘Master’?

If she didn’t, when term started, classes would be so dull.

Hadn’t Oxicrys said so herself? Even if Louis passed the wizarding exams, he should still attend her classes—preferably as a lecturer or even a professor, coming to listen to her lessons.

Now that would be a real show of status!

“R-Remind Sister?” Helen was dumbstruck.

Louis was just too clever! She was thrilled.

Those two curses only became more unbearable the more they were dwelled upon. Soon enough, Sister would be back, and Helen wouldn’t have to wash any more socks. Hopefully, she’d give Louis a good lesson while she was at it!

“I will, Louis!” Helen nodded solemnly. For a moment, she felt a sense of mission.

Turning away, Helen grinned mischievously to herself. After all, Louis had asked for it; it wasn’t as though she was stirring up trouble on her own.

Sister must be gnashing her teeth over what happened last night, plotting her revenge on Louis. Helen decided to stoke the fire, tell her everything, let her see for herself just how wicked Louis was.

And then she’d tell Sister that Nanny Stia was secretly teaching Louis, so she could prepare and finally get even with him over that annoying bet!

This time, Louis would have to wear a maid’s outfit to clean the dorm and even meow like a little cat!

Otherwise, how could she ever be satisfied?

Aspiring author Helen decided to prepare a few incendiary lines.

That night, after finishing her script and giggling to herself under the covers, Helen still ended up with a pout, squatting in the bathroom, scrubbing Louis’s smelly socks.

It wasn’t out of conscience, nor was Louis forcing her. She just couldn’t bear not to do it.

Luckily, Louis had washed his feet today, or she’d still be fretting about it—but that chore was probably meant for Sister anyway.

Surely, the sister buried in the library doing research was fretting about it too. She’d tried everything, but why were her own curses so potent?

A little pride, a little smugness, a little joy, and a little vexation.

The only thing that seemed to help was Obliviate, but it wasn’t immediate and didn’t really solve the root problem.

Who knew how long she could hold out? After all, Helen, that little imp, would go to the library every day to remind Sister about washing socks and feet, so that spell was useless.

By now, Helen had finished washing the socks and hurried to the sitting room, hoping for some praise. Instead, she saw Louis at the door, putting on his shoes, apparently heading out again.

Helen was a little angry. She’d been so good today, even washed his socks, and Louis hadn’t even noticed!

That scoundrel, boldly slipping out the front door to go gallivanting—he must be heading to the Red Fox’s Den again! That pretty red wand of his had surely come from there!

With Sister away these days, that villain was bound to be out having fun every day!

“Hmph! Just wait, I’ll tell Sister and have her deal with you!”

Clearly, Helen knew all about that ‘place the school doesn’t have’—in fact, she was quite familiar with it. After all, her best friend was none other than Miss Lilith, the proprietor.

The Foxes were a major force in Knockturn Alley, and with this band of sisters, Helen could strut about as she pleased.

But lately, Miss Lilith had told Helen to stay away from Knockturn Alley, because a notorious criminal was on a rampage, committing crimes everywhere. Even the dreaded Voodoo Gang was about to disband.

So many who used to strut about now kept their heads down.

And the one behind it all was none other than restless Louis.

These days, Oxicrys had taught classes for ten days in total; Louis treated the make-up time as rest, but otherwise kept himself busy, mainly researching four-dimensional inversion and practicing in Knockturn Alley.

His magic had already reached the seventh tier, but he still felt something was missing. In the past two weeks, he’d spent a lot of time consulting the magic mirror and experimenting in the alley.

That bizarre Apparition was his latest achievement, the result of combining four-dimensional inversion with another spell—casting both simultaneously.

But he thought he could do even more.

He’d had some new ideas today and was eager to try them out.

As he wandered through Knockturn Alley, Louis suddenly noticed an upside-down giant top hat hanging in the sky—it looked like an intriguing maze.

Such an ‘obvious’ thing was well worth a look.

Inside the maze, he encountered six people. And a cauldron of oil.

At first, Louis thought the five elderly gentlemen and the large woman in a slit witch’s gown and red stockings were frying dough sticks—he was delighted, thinking he’d stumbled upon food from home.

That hefty woman in the red stockings looked every bit the cook.

But what did they say?

That he’d fallen into their trap, entered the maze they’d secretly set up.

Secretly set up… when it was so obvious?

After these words, the wizards raised a hand above their heads, pressed the other to their chests, and performed a noble’s salute with great solemnity. Then, in that dignified atmosphere, the large woman stepped forward and solemnly opened her mouth.

And what did she say?

She declared she had transformed herself into an immortal voodoo doll, so any harm done to her would instead be inflicted on someone else. Thus, she was now invincible. This magic, she said, was devised specifically for the Faceless One—other spells could not touch him.

So these were the little fish from the Voodoo Gang.

“Doll?” Louis scratched his face. “Then why are you so fat? Is business that good?”

At this, the wizards’ faces darkened, and the large woman gave a cold laugh.

“Hmph, such a mouth—you’ll soon find out. We’ve figured out all your spells. This time, you can’t defend yourself.”

As she spoke, the large woman plunged her hand into the cauldron and washed her face with the boiling oil.

“How does it feel? Comfortable?” she asked, grinning savagely.

The other wizards chuckled coldly. One elderly wizard even looked smug, as if the voodoo doll was his masterpiece.

Louis scratched his arm, then his face.

“Feels kind of like a hot spring… that scalding, relaxing sensation…”

“Relaxing? Hmph, you’ll soon see! (‘Don’t—!’)” With that, the large woman leaped into the cauldron, screaming in agony.

Watching her twist and writhe in the oil, Louis closed his eyes in pity. That temperature would be fatal to a normal wizard, but he no longer feared foxfire—what was a bit of oil to him?

Most importantly, Stewart was now in his shadow, so he had the ‘magic mirror’ effect; no matter what form she’d made herself into, she would feel the real pain.

And with such self-tormenting magic, the pain was only doubled.

Seeing the clueless wizards still grinning fiercely, Louis rubbed his face hard.

“Enough, time is precious. Let’s get this over with.”

With that, Louis took a step forward, closing the distance to the cauldron in a blink, scooped the screaming woman out, and, while dodging the wizards’ spells, knocked out one of the annoying ones with a tap of his wand.

Then, from beneath Louis’s robe, a multitude of black serpents erupted like a swarm of bees. A tempest seemed to rise; the magical snakes blotted out the sky.

Watching thousands upon thousands of them rise, the wizards’ mouths fell open.

One elderly wizard suddenly shouted, “Run, you fools!”

…

[What Louis did not know was just what consequences his actions today would unleash!]

[In this world, there are many truly formidable wizards, wizards who could also make others cry out, ‘Run, you fool!’]

[For example, that magician who never believed he could do magic…]

[It seems his ‘Moonshadow Circus’ is about to put on a show in Knockturn Alley!]