Release that Witch

”Why do you... want to give me this?” After a while, Tilly put down the muppet.

”Do you remember what happened on your 18th birthday?” Roland asked slowly.

”...” She pursed her lips and asked, ”You did that?”

”No, it was Timothy and Garcia.” The prince told the story again. ”But I should also take some responsibility. If I had told father, it wouldn’t have happened.”

”And they also would have beaten you up,” Tilly said, ”so it was reasonable for you not to tell.”

”This sort of thing will never happen again.”

”I thought that the extra space in your head was used to store knowledge.” She didn’t respond and changed the topic. ”Now it seems that’s not the case. Besides this ’panda’, is there anything else new? ”

When he heard her get tongue-tied trying to pronounce this strange word, Roland couldn’t help but smile. ”Of course... countless things. When I get a chance, I’ll tell you more.”

There was no doubt that Tilly was smart. He believed that she would understand him even if he didn’t tell the whole story.

Sure enough, after pausing for a moment, she stared at Roland with thoughtful eyes.

Suddenly, Andrea’s voice sounded through the door. ”Lady Tilly, I want to give you a gift... You, go away!”

”I came first, OK?” Ashes’ voice immediately followed.

”I was the first one!”

Roland laughed and stood up. ”Indeed, a lot of unpleasant things had happened before, but the past is the past. No matter what, you and me, or Border Town and Sleeping Island shouldn’t be bound by bad memories. If you have any trouble in the future, you can come to me anytime... I’ll be your elder brother forever.” He paused for a while and said, ”Happy birthday, Tilly.”

He opened the door. The two witches were immediately stupefied and stared at each other with confusion.

The prince smiled and said, ”Stop quarreling, I was the first.”

*******************

Otto wandered the streets dejectedly with Andrea’s words still lingering in his mind.

”...the lady of the Quinn family died five years ago, which was exactly what father wanted.”

He didn’t agree with her, but he couldn’t find any excuses to contradict her with. These days, besides observing Border Town, he spent the rest of his time wandering near the market. He hoped to see her again, but was ultimately disappointed.

Otto went to the stone bench next to the square, flicked away the snow on top, and sat down slowly.

Although thoughts were surging in his heart, he still didn’t forget the reason why he came here. Except for the corps and battalions, he had gone through every corner of this village and had a comprehensive understanding of this area. For example, the villagers’ lives weren’t so affluent at the very beginning and had been no different from those of regular slums. All these changes were due to the Lord, His Highness Roland Wimbledon. He led the people against those bloodcurdling demonic beasts and invented various magical machines and tools to improve people’s lives.

Otto had witnessed the black machines operating in the mine area. Just two or three iron lumps could easily finish the work of tens of people.

Also, it was said that the high tower alongside the Redwater River could send water to each resident’s home.

There were the quickly built city walls, residential communities, and docks as well.

In addition, it seemed that the ditches that were being dug would make the installation of heating equipment easier, and the inhabitants would no longer fear the cold—news like this could be seen on the bulletin board in the center of the square every day. More astonishingly, most of the villagers could understand the official documents on the board.

The more he observed, the more astonished he felt. Changes were happening everywhere in Border Town and were totally beyond his imagination.

Opening his notebook, Otto intended to take down today’s new discoveries, but someone suddenly grabbed the hand holding his pen.

Looking up, he saw two patrol officers with black uniforms in front of him. ”Are you Silver Eye?”

That was a false name he used when disguised as a businessman. Otto answered calmly and when he looked around, he found out that there were also people with black uniforms appearing on the other two sides of the square. However, they just stared at him and didn’t come closer.

They came here for me.

Otto’s heart sank. Before, he thought that the patrols here weren’t like what he saw elsewhere and behaved appropriately, so he didn’t expect to get into trouble.

”What’s up?” he asked with a cold voice. Faced with these bullying and greedy people, there was no benefit in flattering them. Even if they wanted to blackmail him, he wouldn’t let them run their mouths. In the worst case, he would have to use his identity as a nobleman.

However, the uniformed officers’ answer surprised him. ”According to the report we received, we suspect that you are conducting espionage. Now, keep your hands behind you and follow our instructions. If there is any resistance, we can’t guarantee your safety.”

”Espionage? What a strange reason... Could it be that they want to find a fall guy?” Otto thought silently. ”I don’t understand what you are saying.” He shook off their arms. ”I’m from the Luoxi Family in the City of Glow, a noble of the Kingdom of Dawn. I’m not a...”

As soon as he shook off their hands, his belly was suddenly punched severely, and more than half of his strength disappeared immediately with an acidic taste filling his mouth and his body curling up involuntarily. Then, the two men knocked him down into the cold snow, and his hands were tied together with ropes.

”A noble? You said you were a businessman several days ago.” One of them sneered.

”I told you not to resist.” The other man gave him another hard kick. ”You asked for it.”

”Several days ago? Does this mean they have targeted me for a while? This is impossible... At least no patrol guards noticed me in the first two days.”

”Ahem... I’m indeed a nobleman, and the writ... is in my bag.” Otto struggled for a while, but the men ignored him.

”Save your excuses for His Excellency Carter.” Two men lifted him up. ”If you’re honest, you may get to survive.”

...

After staying in jail for a day, Otto felt hungry and thirsty and finally saw the one whom people called His Excellency Carter.

Before the knight could say a word, he gripped the iron bars and blurted, ”I’m really the Otto Luoxi from the City of Glow in the Kingdom of Dawn. Entrusted by the King of Dawn, I came to this Kingdom of Graycastle for allies to confront the church. I’m not the spy you accused me to be! I want to meet with your Lord, His Highness Roland Wimbledon!”

He had long heard about the shady dealings in jail. Patrols always colluded with Rats and imprisoned foreigners to be scapegoats. If they thought that he was an unimportant stranger, he probably wouldn’t live to see another day.

Carter was shocked. ”I haven’t asked you anything yet.” He turned his head. ”What do you think my answer will be?”

Then, in a scene that shocked Otto, a girl came out from the shadow, her body covered by a white robe and her face concealed by a hood. However, judging from her figure, she seemed no different from the ”Flower of Glow”.

”What he said is true,” she shrugged and said.

”Really? Does this mean he’s indeed an envoy from the Kingdom of Dawn?” Carter put his hand on his forehead. ”It seems that we caused some trouble for His Highness.”