Release that Witch

”Pfft... ahem.” Roland almost choked on his own saliva. A pale-looking, slightly oversized man with stubby fingers and a curly Mohawk appeared within his mind. Roland had almost forgotten about him, but he quickly realized who he was once the name was mentioned. His appearance was as clear as if they had parted just yesterday.

The visit was not a surprise; Prince Roland had once been so close with Yorko that he would have given him the shirt off his back. Prince Roland had been out of his mind and was self-loathing after being fiercely rejected by Tilly, realizing that he would never fit into Gerald, Timothy and Garcia’s circle. Yorko’s appearance was basically his salvation. Not only did he bring Roland along to the brothel, allowing him a taste of the pleasures of a noble, but he also introduced him to a gang of evil associates to boss around, giving him the prestige that he would never have in the palace. Even though these things were not righteous, he had been Prince Roland’s best friend, at least at that time.

Roland wanted to reject Knight Yorko, but these memories made him realize that he would not do that if he were still Prince Roland. Not to mention that he needed someone to attract the rest of the nobility to serve him. After a little contemplation, he finally decided to meet the popular ”Magic Hand” of King’s City.

”Bring the knight to my study,” he ordered, ”and remember to confiscate his God’s Stone of Retaliation.”

...

Returning to the Tower of Crown, Roland soon met the ”old friend” he was waiting for.

”Oh my God! Your Majesty... I didn’t expect you to come back so quickly and defeat your demon older brother so easily!” Prince Roland used to address his siblings as a clan of demons, and Yorko had gone along with this statement in private. His image was very similar to what Roland could remember. Yorko dashed forward and gave Roland a warm hug as soon as he opened the door and walked into the study.

Roland reluctantly patted his back like he used to and said, ”I didn’t expect you to come so soon either.”

Despite the fact that Yorko’s average appearance did not relate to his title of ”Casanova”, his round chin always gave people a sense of inexplicable intimacy. Considering his neatly-shaved beard, the clean-as-a-pin attire, the perfect smell of his cologne, and his legendary techniques, it was no surprise that so many ladies fell for him.

”I’m different from them! Those cowards are still worrying about Timothy’s remaining power, but I know that you would never let him off so easy!” Yorko grinned and asked, ”Since you’re back, would you like to have a drink tonight at the Golden Lane? Do you want me to make an appointment with Mrs Rother or Miss Kingfisher? Ever since that one-night stand, they’ve been missing you.”

Roland suddenly felt a chill from behind his back, an ice-cold gaze pierced through his body, casted directly towards Yorko.

The knight felt the change too. His voice abruptly ceased, and he started to look around in doubt. ”How come it suddenly got so cold in here?”

”What one-night-stand? I had nothing to do with them,” Roland immediately objected. ”Whatever they’re feeling has nothing to do with me!”

Even if it did, it would only have something to do with Prince Roland... It was totally different from his true self, so what he said was still the truth. Nightingale should not be able to tell the difference.

As expected, the chilling sensation reduced drastically following his response.

”Oh? Is that so?” Yorko stroked his chin, ”But you obviously spent a night with them!”

”It was way past curfew time, and I wasn’t able to return to the palace. Otherwise, I would have had to sleep on the street,” Roland emphasized. ”Anyway, I didn’t do anything that night, understand?”

There was a glimmer of doubt on Yorko’s face, but his initial smile soon returned. ”Well in that case, forget about them. Let’s meet some new ones today. You probably have no idea, but a classier brothel opened up right opposite the Golden Lane. I heard that the quality can be compared to private reserves of the nobles, and they only allow entry by invitation. I haven’t had a chance to try it out myself yet. I’m sure there’ll be no problem for you. What do you think?”

”No, I’m not going anywhere at night. I’m staying in the palace. ”

”Oh, I understand,” Yorko raised his brows and said. ”There are quite a few beautiful attendants in the palace as well, so you should enjoy them first. In that case, I’ll teach you my famous skills so none of them will forget about you.” He sighed and said, ”You used to be so eager to learn from me, but I thought it would be useless for you back then, even if you mastered the stunt. Now that you’re about to become king, I’m afraid you’ll have more lovers than I do. So, the stunt should be able to come in handy for you. After all, human energy is limited.”

”Stop.” Roland was close to covering Yorko’s mouth with his hand. He dared not let Yorko continue. It was utterly a complete collection of dark histories. He did not want to bear the responsibilities of the awful things Prince Roland had done, especially not in front of Nightingale. ”Listen, friend... I’m different now.”

Yorko was stunned, but replied, ”Of course. You’re now the king, Your Majesty...”

”I don’t mean that,” Roland interrupted, ”but you can also interpret it that way. As a king of the country, I definitely can’t be as ruthless as I used to be, understand?” He recalled Prince Roland’s way of intimate conversation, hooked his arm around Yorko’s neck, and said, ”Speaking of which, just tell me what you have in mind. I don’t believe that you came here, simply to reminisce about the past. You don’t have to hide anything from me.”

As expected, Yorko laughed and said, ”In that case, I’ll be straightforward. Your Majesty, can you please grant me an official position?”

”What?”

”What about making me your minister? I don’t need to be in a key position, such Treasurer or Minister of Justice. Just let me manage the patrol team, like Steelheart Knight.” He patted his bulging stomach and said, ”I can assure you that the Rats would be obedient under my watch.”

Roland could not help but silently roll his eyes. How dare he mention that? The reputation of King’s City would be ruined if he held the Minister of Defense position. He would bring the patrol team to fool around and summon the men to beat up other Casanovas if he had any conflicts. It was scary to even think about it.

However, it could be good publicity if Yorko was given a suitable position. He would have a chance to be promoted during the throne alternation as long as he was willing to serve Roland. After all, Yorko had a clean background; he basically did not have any bad habits other than the fact that he could not control his sexual desire. The key question was what kind of position was suitable for someone like him.

Roland contemplated for a while and said, ”I see. There’s no problem with granting a simple official position, however, I’ll still have to discuss the specific details with the City Hall. After all, it’s an official job.” He patted the ”old friend” on his shoulder and said, ”I’ll send someone to inform you after I decide.”