Chapter 7

Master Crowley burst in first, followed closely by Skylar and Julian.

I looked up in surprise, a flicker of confusion in my eyes, and asked:

“What do you want?”

Master Crowley ignored my question, his gaze fixed on his Tarot cards.

Finally, he looked directly at the cage in my hands.

“Mr. Harrington, the demon is right here!”

Master Crowley looked up, pointed a finger directly at me, and said to Julian.

I froze for a moment, then my face darkened:

“Demon? What demon?”

Skylar feigned an expression of utter shock, covering her mouth, and insinuatingly said:

“Master means… the demon is… is Sister?”

Julian’s face was etched with shock, as if he couldn’t believe his wife of many years would try to harm his child.

Master Crowley said nothing. He lowered his hand, then lifted his leg, intent on approaching me to snatch the cage from my hands.

I instantly reacted, taking a step back.

After dodging Master Crowley’s move, I asked coldly:

“Old man, what do you think you’re doing?”

Master Crowley, having missed, said with a somber face:

“Raising a demon, devouring a child’s noble destiny, endangering lives… I never thought a young woman like you could be so vicious at such a tender age!”

I frowned, refuting him sharply:

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

Skylar, seeing this, instantly panicked.

Feigning fear, she collapsed against Julian.

“Julian, I’m so scared…”

Julian instinctively embraced Skylar, then looked at me.

He then asked Master Crowley:

“Master, what exactly is going on?”

Master Crowley turned to look at Julian, explaining:

“Someone is deliberately cultivating a demon, practicing dark arts, specifically to secretly harm pregnant women and their unborn children.”

“Dark arts?”

Julian was utterly shocked, looking at the cage in my hands in disbelief:

“How could this be…”

Master Crowley continued:

“I have divined your son’s fate; the signs show he has an extraordinary destiny, a reincarnation of a great figure, noble beyond measure.”

He cast a sharp glance at me:

“Someone must have foreseen the child’s destiny and deliberately nurtured a demon to siphon away its fortune and steal its nobility.”

Skylar gripped Julian’s clothes, feigning extreme surprise:

“Siphoning… fortune…”

Master Crowley nodded, looking at the cage in my arms, and continued:

“Once the fortune is consumed by these dark arts, both the pregnant woman and the fetus will perish immediately. At that point, the practitioner of these dark arts will not only gain extraordinary fortune but also extend their lifespan and preserve their youth!”

“Sister, you… how could you…”

Skylar looked at me, feigning terror, while simultaneously stroking her belly:

“The child is innocent…”

I was first dumbfounded, then rage surged through me:

“Utter lies! Everyone knows I am a witch; what’s so strange about me practicing ancient magic?”

Master Crowley scoffed:

“A witch practicing ancient magic is one thing, but you’re raising a demon to harm others! That’s unforgivable!”

I retorted furiously:

“You say I’m raising a demon, so I am? You charlatan, who are you to pretend to be anything but a fraud in front of me!”

Skylar immediately feigned timidity, interjecting:

“But… Sister, why did you say before that the child in my belly was destined not to make it?”

Julian looked at me, shaking his head repeatedly:

“No, it can’t be. I don’t believe… I don’t believe Elara would really do such a thing…”

“If Mr. Harrington doesn’t believe me, this old man has proof!”