"You didn't open it."

Rowena looked at the stone box that Maca had placed in front of him, and after a long silence, he said something that seemed to be questioning. However, judging from her tone, this is not so much a question as a statement of a fact "in front of you".

Hearing this, Maca nodded.

"Didn't you all have the words carved on it?" He pointed to the stone box and said, "'Don't open this box if you haven't already'—how can I 'be ready' when I have already destroyed your trials and plans with my own hands?" ”

"But you're not an 'obedient' person," Rowena said lightly, looking directly at Maca, "otherwise, you wouldn't have repeatedly questioned the tests and clues I gave, and finally messed them up completely." ”

"Okay, okay!" Maca spread her hands and said, "Then I'm asking you now, can I open it?" ”

"I can't."

This time, Rowener's answer was blunt.

But after answering this, she lowered her head again, looked carefully at the stone box on the ground, and said as if talking to herself:

"I think you must be confused and curious about what exactly is in here, but unfortunately I can't tell you anything about it...... Do you know? The crate was actually given to Helga after I left the present will, but I wouldn't let her know what was in it, because ......"

“…… Because apart from the 'Candidate' who completes your test, anyone else who opens this stone box will immediately trigger some kind of terrible disaster, isn't it? ”

Maca took her words and said what she wanted to say directly, and then Maca looked at her who raised her head again, shook her head and said:

"It's the only answer I can get without a clue - seriously, your stone box is like the legendary 'Pandora's box'."

"You are very clever and confident," Rowena continued, looking at him, and at the end, but with a rare hesitation, "...... Kind of like me. ”

For the wise Rowena, such an evaluation is already extremely high, and it can be said that it conveys the greatest recognition to Maca.

Because she could understand how difficult it was to say this guess with such certainty in the absence of any reliable hints or clues, and with Helpo's malicious inducements.

After all, Maca did not open the box with any hands.

If it were someone else, I would have thought that this stone box was most likely left by Rowena to deal with Helbo, and I guess I couldn't help but open it and take a look.

However, after "praising Maka" like this, she suddenly shook her head slightly and said categorically:

"Unfortunately, being too smart is not always a good thing...... Like me, though I was young when I left this will, I can now say with certainty that I will die in the future. Even...... No one will ever know how I died......"

Speaking of this, she couldn't help but pause for a moment, and then said bluntly:

“…… And you, your end will be the same. ”

When Maca heard this, she couldn't help but raise her eyebrows.

"Even your Ewen won't know?"

"Ewen ......"

At the mention of her husband, Rowena seemed to be in her heart—she hesitated.

"No, he won't know...... I'm not going to let him know. ”

"But he did," Marka shrugged, "and he told me later—but really, no one but him knew how you died, and Hogwarts only claimed that you were seriously ill and died. ”

"So, I ended up telling him?" Rowena muttered in a daze, and then sighed, "Sure enough, time can change a person, even I can't avoid vulgarity." ”

"yes!" When Maca heard this, she couldn't help but think back to what she had experienced, and then she sighed in the same way, "And how can time change more than just one or two people?" ”

Rowena looked at him there and sighed, and after a moment let go of this "little thing" that was not really very important—although it was something related to her death, she obviously didn't care.

And immediately after, I saw her change her head and say:

"Anyway...... Wise young man, I think I have to ask you two questions, can you answer me honestly? ”

Hearing this, Rowena seemed to want to get back to business, but Maca was a little lacking in interest at this time, because what he wanted to know from the other person was already known.

After thinking about it, Maca inexplicably remembered the first time she entered Rowena's secret room.

"You seem to be very fond of asking questions......" he smiled and said, "All right! You can ask, but whether to answer or not, and how to answer, depends on the situation on my side - didn't you already mention it just now? Time has changed a lot of things. ”

Rowena listened, but only nodded noncommittally.

"First question," she said directly, "has Godric's sword found its successor?" ”

Seeing that the other party mentioned the Gryffindor sword, Maca thought about it for a moment, and then said frankly:

"There is one, but it is not yet mature."

"Then the second question," Rowena continued, "out of respect for the wisdom you possess, I want you to make a choice—will you be sealed away by me forever, or will you embrace death?" ”

To be honest, Maca was not very surprised when she heard the other party's two options that were somewhat "excessive". Because, in fact, he had already expected that he would face such a choice sooner or later.

It's just that the person who gave him the option was Rowena Ravenclaw.

"'Embrace death'?" Maca looked at her still calm and delicate face, and said indifferently, "Like you, do you choose to commit suicide?" ”

"That's right," Rowena said slowly, as he stared at him as well, "because I didn't plan well enough to get you involved, it's my fault, I'm sorry...... But, sorry for the sake of the others, you and I both deserve to die. ”

"Alas......"

Maca was silent for a few seconds, and finally sighed solidly.

"If I can solve the problem by dying, then it doesn't hurt if I die...... But do you really think that I can end it all by dying too? ”

"At least it can delay the catastrophe for a few more years." Rowena said with a blank face.

But Maca immediately waved his hand and asked rhetorically:

"It's just adding more uncertainty to the matter! Rowena Mira, aren't there enough factors that are hard to control? How long exactly are you going to leave it for now? ”

()