The experience of the unfortunate senior sister is truly pitiable.
A lifetime of guilt.
A lifetime of feeling owed and an irredeemable sadness.
Who could have imagined that, in the end, it was all just Witch Morgan's punishment for her—how thorough a control over the human heart must one have to devise such a cunning scheme!
Isn't it said that Morgan only trains enemy elites? Aren't the books in the library more like records or friends' circles, so can biographies contain lies?
Ian pitied the unfortunate senior sister for three seconds in his heart, of course, he felt the most pitiful was himself... after all, the malicious means by which bad witches punish disobedient students are indeed quite vicious, if he didn't want to end up like the beautiful Empress senior sister, he absolutely couldn't let this petty bad witch catch any small weakness.
Seeing that the Witch was still propping her face and staring at him, Ian immediately chose sides with alertness in his heart.
"Senior sister has committed many evil deeds in her life, and such a punishment is clearly deserved, teacher, your intent is evident as you hope she learns a lesson in her next life."
Ian felt his quick-witted reaction was rather swift.
However.
The Witch lightly raised her eyebrow, "You think I was punishing her? Haha, is it because you learned her Soul Stealing, so you have a certain fondness for her."
It must be said this is quite a tricky angle, isn't it a punishment rather than a reward? Ian couldn't completely comprehend how to respond to this.
"Wasn't it your Soul Stealing?" he could only try to deflect the topic. At this moment, Ian finally understood how easy it was to deal with the girls at Hogwarts.
"I have always studied souls rather than manipulating others' consciousness, it's at most a branch, but for you, learning it temporarily is not bad."
"She really had some talent," the Witch's expression showed a bit of nostalgia as if reminiscing about the past when she was alive.
Hearing this, Ian blinked his eyes and leaned towards the Witch.
"What about me? Do I have talent?"
He wasn't necessarily trying to compare anything, he was just curious whether wizards in the distant past were superior to now or if they followed the evolutionary rules of the times.
"If you can use your little pig brain, learn what I taught you sooner, and fix those guards damaged by bad people, then I'll acknowledge you as my best student," the Witch replied cheerfully, unlike Snape, which made her a lot more likable.
Anyway, Ian felt quite pleased.
"Sustaining the 'activation' attribute for a long time is a challenge, but surely not one too difficult for me," Ian confidently looked at his alchemy skills that were about to upgrade.
"The application of the Transformation Technique is key, as Alchemy and the Transformation Technique are closely related, considering Alchemy initially aimed to touch upon the domain exclusive to divinity."
The Witch yawned.
"Teacher, are you tired? Can a soul feel tired?"
Ian was somewhat surprised.
The Witch looked at him, "I'm just a bit bored, perhaps I've been here for too long, maybe you should bring me some interesting books."
This was an obvious request.
"How about Advanced Dark Arts Unveiled?" Ian thought perhaps there were still some curses he hadn't learned from the book Aurora gave him, maybe he should find time for a trip to Hogwarts Village.
"I want those kinds of books with big plot twists that could help me kill time," the Witch squinted her eyes at Ian, speaking in a tone that was slightly dissatisfied with a cold snort.
"Do you think I'm the kind of Black Witch who likes to study Dark Arts?"
Faced with this clearly bomb-level question, Ian immediately shook his head like a rattle drum.
"I get it, you want to read something like 'Three Wild Men', 'The Overbearing Witch Fell in Love with Me', 'The Hogwarts Headmaster and His Unspoken Men'!"
Ian has always had good comprehension.
The Witch immediately nodded in satisfaction, "Yes, just like that, my apprentice, it's already quite boring staying here, you mustn't malign me like others."
"I don't like studying Dark Arts, I just enjoy teaching others about the Dark Arts, just an interest." The woman didn't seem to realize that this could be more evil than studying Dark Arts.
Ian dared not make further comments.
He immediately engaged in some caring inquiries and well-wishes, but mostly because of the so-called "slander" earlier, the petty Witch Morgan began to seemingly casually assess his progress in studying Alchemy. Fortunately, Ian had never slackened in his research on Alchemy, which prevented Witch Morgan from seizing the opportunity to give him a slight punishment.
"Aren't you curious why I'm obsessed with that mirror only after death?" the Witch suddenly asked unexpectedly, which made Ian, who just finished a test and was silently relieved, freeze in place.
The Witch didn't wait for his answer, like self-questioning, she softly said, "That mirror holds a secret, I think it was not long ago that I truly figured it out."
Her tone carried a few sighs and also some... subtle sadness. For a Witch like Morgan, for Ian to sense this emotion was truly remarkable.
"Is it the secret between life and death?"
Ian's curiosity was piqued.