While the true purpose of the pill remained a mystery, it seemed harmless for the moment. Nicole guessed it was likely meant to restore her health, as the witch had laid out.

But Nicole couldn't help wondering about the witch's ulterior motives.

Once her body was fully restored, what did the witch plan to do?

Echoes of the witch's earlier words haunted Nicole. The witch had spoken of bringing a man back, which left Nicole suspecting it was Roscoe she referred to.

This troubling thought weighed on Nicole's mind, casting a shadow over her other concerns and keeping her alert throughout the day.

As dawn broke the next morning, the witch clad in red returned to find Nicole already awake, looking visibly healthier. The pill had indeed been a potent elixir, capable of revitalizing even those close to death. Nicole's cheeks were now flushed with a rosy vigor, a testament to the pill's efficacy.

With practiced ease, the witch in red drew another pill, swiftly opened Nicole's mouth, and placed it inside. She watched intently to ensure Nicole swallowed it before preparing to leave. However, Nicole quickly called out to her. "Who are you? What did you give me?"

The witch clad in red halted her steps, turned back toward Nicole, and smiled chillingly. “Have you not looked into me, Miss Curiosity? How have your investigations failed to uncover who I truly am?"

It was evident that the witch clad in red knew of Nicole's covert investigations.

Realizing that denial or deceit would be pointless, Nicole opted for a direct approach. “I know you're a witch, but I don't understand your intentions."

"We wield our power to maintain the balance of the universe, a concept far beyond the grasp of ordinary beings Like you." The witch clad in red's voice dripped with disdain, as if she were an exalted entity and Nicole merely an insignificant bug.

"And yet, aren't you in the service of the Watts family? Doesn't that mean you clean up our mundane messes?" Nicole countered sharply.

A scornful laugh escaped the lips of the witch clad in red. “What are the Watts to me that I should bow to their will? My involvement with them was merely a facade, a strategy to advance my own goals."

The witch had cleverly portrayed herself as vulnerable to gain the Watts' protection, using it as cover to search the city for those her tribe sought, ultimately delivering them to her clan for dark purposes. The Watts needed her services, creating a symbiotic relationship that benefited both sides. Why not engage in this mutually advantageous deception?

"And what exactly did you give me?" Nicole asked, posing her third question.

The witch clad in red chuckled lowly, amused. “That, my dear, was an elixity worthy of royalty. The wealthy would pay fortunes for just a taste. If you weren't so crucial to my plans, do you think I would have graced you with such a valuable gift?"

The elixir, a culmination of a decade's painstaking efforts, was a rare and sought-after concoction. It contained the distilled essence of venom extracted from numerous serpents.

With just three doses, it had endowed Nicole with remarkable vitality, cleansing her body of any ailments. Even with Nicole's major surgery from the past in the picture, her recovery had proved to be extraordinarily swift after digesting the pills, far surpassing that of an ordinary person.

Nicole's face grew serious, not joyous, at these revelations. "It seems I am of great value to you."

"Indeed," the witch clad in red responded, her smile enigmatic.