Chapter 404: The Demon and the Legacy

**Thelma Zane’s Perspective** Who wouldn’t want to embellish their home with beautiful things? Who wouldn’t accept a heartfelt gift from a friend? It seemed almost presumptuous to assume that every artifact in the Mullwica family’s possession had been created by her. What if some of those items, like the mysterious stone slab, were gifted by others or purchased from unknown sources? The stone slab, marked with symbols and motifs that seemed to hint at ancient powers, remained an enigma. What if it wasn’t her creation at all but a token from another family, perhaps one with its own storied connection to the mystical garland? The question of family emblems weighed heavily on my mind. The mayor’s family had adopted the garland as their emblem after finding it, but what if the garland’s history was intertwined with others in ways we hadn’t yet considered? For instance, consider the witch from the legend—the one who consumed her lover after he ate a leaf from the garland. Her ac