The Devil's Cursed Witch novel Chapter 302

While the pair of uncle and nephew were having a friendly conversation amongst themselves, Ember and Erlos finally reached the horse shed. Even after they got on their horses, Ember didn't spare a glance to Morpheus which made him smile wider, but he suppressed his amusement to not provoke her temper.

Cornelia arrived not long after and climbed her horse. Afterwards, their group departed in the same arrangement as they came in, and they headed for the most bustling part of the city, the marketplace.

Ember's green eyes could not help but marvel.

'It's like what I've read in story books!'

In her entire life, Ember had only seen the marketplaces of two cities: the city of the Wood Elves, Ronan, and the city of the White Tigers, Nimer. Both of them were crowded places with many items put out for trade, but neither of them were as neat and as picturesque as the marketplace of Honeyharbor, the city of witches.

'There are so many beautiful women! And their clothes, they all look like pretty dolls!'

It was as if Ember was transported into a human kingdom's capital city and was walking on a luxury street meant for noble ladies.

Everyone in the market was equally stunned to see their group, and upon realizing who was leading them, the people milling about moved in unison to make way for the horses, standing at the sides of the street with their heads lowered. Even the people inside the stalls and shops stopped whatever they were doing to pay respect to them.

It was because not only did their leader visit the marketplace—an act she rarely does since she mostly stayed indoors, studying spells and making potions—but also due to the esteemed guests she had with her.

An unfamiliar young woman rode a white horse side by side with their Head, and to their awe, it was a human girl with the prettiest emerald green eyes one had ever seen.

'The King's mate!'

Even without the mate mark on Ember's neck, it didn't take them time to recognize the only human allowed to walk among their kind. As a scholarly race, many eyes filled with curiosity stayed on Ember, especially the younger witches who had never seen a human being in their entire lives.

As the group passed by the curious crowd, the attention of the majority shifted towards those at the back. The witches were attracted by the presence of three handsome men in particular.

Morpheus, the commander of the warriors of Agartha and nephew to the Chief of the Shapeshifters.

Aureus, the golden eagle of the current generation, King of the Divine Eagles and Lord of the Feathered Races.

Erlos, the High Elf and trusted aide to the King of Agartha.

Many were well aware of the Commander's achievements to the kingdom's current peace, as well as the fact that he was one of the most sought-after unmated beastmen in the kingdom. The crowd could not help but be amazed by his overwhelming presence. It was not easy to spot this powerful shapeshifter who had isolated himself from important matters regarding the kingdom.

As for the young golden eagle by his side, though not many knew of his name, rumors of his arrival at the Divine Eagle Clan had long reached the ears of the merchants and had already spread to the general populace. Even those recluse scholarly witches who hadn't heard of the news yet could recognize his identity because of his golden hair and wings.

However, the most popular among them was the young Erlos, his handsome silver-haired looks coupled by his aloof, if not arrogant expression, not even throwing a single glance at the crowd, made him especially attractive to the young witches of the coven.

After finding a good spot to leave their horses to Cornelia's servants, their group then went around on foot.

'Hmm? One, two…there's only been three men so far in the crowd?' _{freeωebnovēl.c૦m}

At first, Ember thought there were many female witches due to the shops they passed by selling female-targeted merchandise, but the more they walked, she saw not even ten men, two of them even elf merchants. It was so strange, as in the other cities she visited, all had an abundance of males and less number of females.

"Lady Cornelia, do the males in your coven work somewhere else?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I haven't seen many males so far. Not only here in the marketplace, even in the research workshop. Do the male witches, the warlocks, mostly work outside the city?