Chapter 24: You must have suffered a lot of grievances.

Somewhere in the skies of Huanglong Kingdom floated a massive garden.

The Sky Garden.

Also known as the Witch’s Citadel, the witches’ headquarters.

A garden brimming with flowers, it held a pavilion seating seven.

A black cat lounged lazily on a black-and-pink seat.

“Yawn~”

The black cat stretched, leaping onto the table.

“Felice, they’re not here yet?”

“Your Highness, Miss Greedy said she ran into some trouble on the way and had a spat with Miss Pride.”

“In plain terms, they’re fighting, right?”

“As expected, Your Highness, you nailed it.”

Felice scooped up the black cat—Her Highness—and stroked her fur, gazing at the slowly drifting clouds.

Two black dots pierced the clouds, speeding toward them. They’d arrived.

“Your Highness, they’re here.”

“Good, let’s take our seats.”

Felice set the black cat back on the black-and-pink seat, symbolizing the “Lust” authority.

She sat on a black-and-brown seat, representing “Sloth.”

Greedy landed with Pride in the Sky Garden.

“Sorry, hit a snag on the way.”

Greedy smiled faintly, pulling Pride to her seat.

A pure black throne, symbolizing “Pride.”

Greedy sat beside her on a black-and-blue seat.

“No worries. A little tiff between friends, I get it.”

The black cat spoke human words, surprising Pride.

But the next second, Pride huffed indignantly.

“We’re not friends!”

“Alright, not friends then.”

The black cat didn’t mind Pride’s words. She cared more about whether the pastries were ready.

These were the finest human-world pastries, painstakingly acquired by Felice at her request.

She’d planned to enjoy them alone, but Greedy recently found a Pride candidate.

So, Lust hosted this Witch’s Tea Party to share her treats.

“Felice, hurry, bring my pastries! I can’t wait!”

The black cat’s eyes gleamed, licking her paw.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Felice stepped away to fetch Eiffel’s—Her Highness’s—pastries.

Meanwhile, Greedy introduced the group to Pride.

“Pride, see that chubby black cat?” Greedy waved, her magic gently lifting the cat into her arms. “That’s the Lust Witch, our leader.”

“You can call her Your Highness, Lust Witch, Black Cat, or Miss Eiffel.”

“The cute maid who left is Her Highness’s personal maid, holding the ‘Sloth’ authority, the Sloth Witch.”

“You can call her Miss Maid, Sloth Witch, or Miss Felice.”

Greedy introduced Lust and Sloth to Pride.

Their names suggested they weren’t locals.

Noticing Pride’s confusion, the black cat hopped off the table, sauntered over, and leaped into her lap.

“As you suspect, Felice and I aren’t from here. We come from another world, what you call the Demon Realm.”

The Demon Realm!

Little White’s home?

“Little White?” The black cat tilted her head in Pride’s lap. “You mean that ugly white ferret?”

Ugly… white ferret…

Pride’s mouth twitched. This black cat was blunt.

She thought Little White was cute.

“Anything against me is trash, no arguments.”

The black cat raised her head, her voice tinged with haughty pride.

Tap tap tap.

Felice’s black high heels clicked crisply on the stone path.

All three turned to her.

Felice carried an ordinary white tray with colorful cupcakes.

Even from meters away, Pride could smell their aroma.

“Try these! I went through so much to get the world’s rarest cupcakes!”

Eiffel eagerly grabbed a strawberry one, retreating to her seat to savor it.

Felice smiled helplessly at the black cat.

She’d done all the work; Eiffel just gave the order.

But as long as Her Highness was happy.

They enjoyed the delicious cupcakes, chatting about magical girls.

“So you’re Iris!” Eiffel said, cream on her lips as Felice wiped it off. “Why’d you quit being a magical girl to become a witch? Wasn’t it fun?”

The question stirred Pride’s heart.

“I didn’t quit. They wouldn’t let me continue.”

Her voice was calm, but Eiffel sensed the sadness in it.

Eiffel stopped eating, hopped down, and transformed into a round-faced, adorable Lolita girl.

“Big Sister Pride, you must’ve suffered a lot, huh?”

Eiffel held Pride’s cold hand, her big eyes full of concern.

Pride looked at Eiffel, the Lust Witch.

Her heart ached.

She’d risked her life for everyone, only to be scorned in the end.

“Big Sister Pride, I’ve got tea, you’ve got stories. Let’s make this Tea Party’s theme ‘stories’!”

Eiffel bounced excitedly, flopping onto Pride’s lap, swinging her legs with a cute smile.

Hoping her innocent charm could soothe Pride’s pain.

“Okay.”

Pride gave a faint smile. Maybe sharing would help.

She recounted her journey from becoming a magical girl to sitting here with three witches, eating cupcakes and sipping sweet floral tea.

“Those people were awful, blaming you for their mistakes!”

“Don’t hold it against Big Sister Greedy—she’s really nice!”

“Right, Big Sister Greedy?”

Greedy’s smile stiffened. If they hadn’t just fought, she might’ve agreed.

But now…

“Hmph, I know how ‘nice’ she is.”

Though Greedy left when the pollution entity appeared, to Pride, she was still a bad woman!

Pride’s words carried a spark of tension, alarming Felice. She quickly scooped up Eiffel.

“Your Highness, angry human women are terrifying. To avoid collateral damage, let’s eat cupcakes over here.”

“Fine.”