Release that Witch

Nightingale lay by the window and watched the city under the night sky.

Dim shadows spread under the darkness and outlined the silhouette of King’s City’s wall. Under the light, the three walls showed some minor differences. The nearest palace wall was a light gray color, lit up by burning resin torches. At a glance, it looked like a jeweled belt with overlapping areas of light and dark.

Far away was the inner city wall, which was gray mixed with black, and it looked like a long snake that surrounded the city. Even after King’s City had a new ruler, the Inner City still kept its splendor. It was the first time that Nightingale saw a place busier and livelier than Border Town. This short, yet fierce war did not have any effects on the noble and the rich, so they still joyfully indulged themselves at night.

However, beyond that, the sky was suddenly darker as if all the light was blocked by the inner city’s wall. The darkness covered everything including the most splendid bluestone city wall, where Nightingale saw only some stones sparkle from the moon’s light. The Outer City just looked like most of the cities she had seen before. These cities fell into silence after the night came. In the vast darkness, the Inner City’s light seemed a bit dull but it did not stop people from dancing and singing. For some reason, Nightingale suddenly thought about how human beings were cornered into this part of the continent, and the vast Land of Dawn was being devoured by the darkness bit by bit. There were demons and evil beasts that lurked about but most people had no idea and still partook in what little entertainment they had.

”Phew, I’m beyond tired.” Wendy’s voice interrupted Nightingale’s thoughts, as the red-headed witch rubbed her shoulders and lay down next to Nightingale by the window.

Nightingale asked, ”Have they fallen asleep already?”

”Yes. They finally got tired after all the commotion they’ve stirred up today.” Wendy yawned. ”I don’t know where their energy comes from. They flew around on hydrogen balloons the entire day and still they demanded to hear a story before going to bed.” Wendy finished.

”You should thank His Majesty for that.” Nightingale laughed. ”If he didn’t punish them to do three sets of exercises, I’m afraid they’d go out to explore the night instead of listening to your story.” Nightingale turned around to look through the gap between the balcony and the bedroom and saw Maggie leaned over Lightning. Maggie’s white hair almost covered Lightning’s entire body. ”Those two seem to really hit it off.” Nightingale expressed.

Since the rooms in the royal palace were more spacious and each living room was accompanied by two bedrooms. The witches that followed Roland on this expedition lived in four-person rooms with each other. These rooms were the most splendid places in the whole Kingdom of Graycastle. The carpets and bedding in the guest rooms were all made of excellent materials, some of which Nightingale recognized, like velvet and silk. Other things were made of materials she had never seen before.

”Yes.” Wendy also smiled gently. ”I heard from Lady Tilly once that Maggie used to turn into a pigeon and slept while squatted on the roof. Any little noise would wake her and she only kept pigeon form to escape any possible dangers. Now, she finally can have a peaceful sleep just like a normal little girl.” She paused for a while and then continued, her voice filled with emotion, ”We’re very lucky.”

Nightingale did not answer her... She did not need to. All the Witch Cooperation Association’s witches who survived would feel the same way. When they struggled between life and death, it was the Lord of Border Town who reached out to them and promised them a new world. Now, not only did their sisters see hope, but they also found that this new world was within reach. After the Holy Mountain, they pursued for hundreds of years, became a reality, their gratitude and recognition could not be expressed within a few words.

They fell into a long silence until the midnight bell ranged from far away, and Wendy said, ”Do you... want to go back and have a visit?”

Nightingale asked confused, ”Go back to where?” She still was not fully awakened.

”Silver City, your hometown,” Wendy pointed south and said, ”It’s only half a day’s journey from here. If you let Maggie carry you, it won’t even take an hour. You, you do have a little brother living there, right?”

Nightingale did not think she would bring this up, and after a little hesitation, she shook her head and explained, ”While we restore the city’s order, there are potential enemies everywhere. So I can’t leave His Majesty now. Besides, when everything in the Kingdom of Graycastle is settled, I’ll have many opportunities to visit Silver City. There is no hurry.”

”I thought you’d emphasize that you’ve already removed yourself from the Gilen family, just like you did in the past,” Wendy said relieved, ”You seem like... you don’t hate your little brother anymore?”

”Without his betrayal, I wouldn’t have met you, let alone His Highness.” Nightingale smiled. ”You always say to me, ’Getting rid of the past nightmares doesn’t mean separating yourself from the past.’ Now I finally understand the second half of the sentence. It’s okay as long as I live a better life than before.”

”Well... it seems like a good proverb pieced together.” Wendy raised her brow. ”I didn’t know you had such literary skills.”

”So I won’t sneak out secretly, and you can go to sleep in peace.” Nightingale uttered as she held Wendy’s hands. ”It’s late.”

”Uh-huh.” Wendy huffed as the two of them crawled on the big bed, and Wendy summoned a slight breeze to blow out the candle. ”Good night,” Wendy mumbled.

Nightingale replied, ”Good night.”

After Nightingale was sure that Wendy was asleep, she got up from the bed, went into the Mist, and walked to Roland’s room.

Next, it was her time.

Darkness was on her side.

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

The next day, Roland received both good news and bad news from Iron Axe. The good news was that after one night’s interrogation, High Priest Ferry finally admitted Hermes’ plan of secretly replacing Wimbledon III and issuing the Royal Decree on the Selection of Crown Prince.

The bad news was that the church had plotted this war for a long time, so they could weaken the military potential of the Kingdom of Graycastle and occupy it more quickly. They actually occupied many areas, like the two provinces in the southeast of the kingdom. If Roland had not traversed time to become Prince Roland, this plan would probably have destroyed the Kingdom of Graycastle already.

”Did you hear all of that?” Roland asked Theo, who stood beside him. ”Go spread the news, especially about the church’s true intentions and Timothy’s collaboration with them. The more details you disclose, the better. I want every citizen of the city to know what they have done.”

Theo answered, ”Yes.”

Then Roland turned to Iron Axe and ordered, ”Send out another paddle ship to bring Barov and Kyle Sichi here.”

Iron Axe seemed embarrassed, which was uncommon for him. ”It’s no problem to fetch the director, but the chief alchemist... Will he really agree to leave the lab and waste his precious time on the road?” Iron Axe questioned.

”I’ll write to Kyle.” Roland frowned. ”There’s a saying that if you don’t come back and visit your hometown when you get rich, it’s like wearing a black suit in the middle of the night. What’s the point if people can’t see it? When a man learns impressive skills, he shouldn’t mind showing it off. When Kyle was in Redwater City, he always competed with the Alchemist Workshop in King’s City. As they say, two of a trade never agree. Now Kyle has a chance to beat his rival, so I don’t believe that he won’t come.”

This is also a good opportunity to enlist all the alchemists in King’s City in one swoop and make them serve me.”