Release that Witch

"Your Highness, it"s so good... to have met you," she whispered to him. Her breathing had just returned to normal from all the excitement.

"Call me Roland." He stroked her long hair and smiled. "There isn"t anyone else around anyway, and I"ve never heard you call my name."

"Ro... land."

"Good girl." He tickled her ears until she laughed, and then he exclaimed, "Actually... it"s me who should have said that. In the past, I never imagined that I would meet such a brilliant girl like you."

"Not even in the palace?"

"No." Roland shook his head faintly. "Sometimes, I even think I"m dreaming."

Anna remained silent for a while, and then cuddled closer to Roland before saying, "I"m right here and I"m not going anywhere."

These words aroused his thoughts. He recalled that she had said the same thing to him before.

"...living like a normal person, but I do not care about that. I just want to stay at Your Highness’ side, nothing more."

"What are you talking about? I’m not going anywhere."

She"s the pet.i.te and frail la.s.s who was rolled up in a corner of a prison cell, the diligent girl who practiced her ability in maids clothes, the daring young lady who conjured a huge fire and sealed up the city wall, the diffident maid who raised her head and kissed me, and the lovely young woman who asked me to accompany her on the Day of Awakening...

Such scenes flashed in front of Roland one after another.

Without realizing it, the two of them had built up so many memories together.

"... it"s true." He slid his hand down Anna"s silky hair and caressed her slender back. "You"re right here with me."

"Feelings are really intriguing," he thought to himself. "Though these are nothing but meaningless and silly words, they warm and melt my heart like nothing else can."

An even longer period of silence followed. Then, just as he thought she had fallen asleep, she spoke,

"I"m a witch."

"I know."

"Sister Wendy told me that witches are infertile," Anna muttered. "This will be troublesome for you."

"I"m not afraid," Roland replied a.s.sertively. "Compared to the impending third Battle of Divine Will, this is nothing." He once spent time considering how to arrange his succession, but discontinued it after hearing Agatha"s report. The battle that would decide Man"s fate was around the corner. All kingdoms would be completely decimated if they were unable to defeat the demons. Compared to this, the succession issue was not important.

He paused momentarily when he thought of this. After a while, he continued, "Actually, I was a bit worried earlier on."

"About what?"

"I was worried that you would use this reason to reject me."

"Why?" Anna looked puzzled. "I want to be with you, no matter I"m a witch or not."

Roland guffawed when he heard her reply. "Indeed, since I met Anna, she"s always been like that... straightforward, never beating around the bush, and expressive of whatever idea she had. With her, there would never be a Korean drama case of "I mean well for you, but I can"t tell you" misunderstanding. I"ve thought too much."

As they chatted, Roland began to feel his body revitalize. Sensing the changes, Anna kissed him on the neck and climbed on top of him...

The night was still very young.

...

The next day, Roland woke up much later than usual. When he opened his eyes, the sun was already directly above the castle.

He looked beside himself and was slightly shocked. Anna was nowhere to be found. "Could it be that... what happened last night was merely a dream?" He bent his body down and breathed a sigh of relief. Strands of flaxen hair were left on the pillow, and he could smell a faint fragrance on one side of his clothes.

"What"re you doing?" Anna"s voice suddenly came from overhead.

Roland raised his head and felt awkward—he must have looked unglamorous sniffing all around while lying on the pillow. "Ahem, I was just counting the strands of hair you left. Hey, when did you get up?"

"I went to bring breakfast to you." She placed the plate she was holding on the bedside table. Her actions and movements seemed a little unlike her usual self. "I saw you sleeping soundly when I woke up and didn"t want to disturb you."

"Sorry," Roland said apologetically, "I should have helped." After so many physical activities during the night, Roland feared that she was feeling uncomfortable despite her exceptional recovery capabilities.

"What nonsense." Anna laughed meekly. "You"re a prince."

He shook her head and did not say one more word. Instead, he pulled her into his arms. After embracing for a while, she patted him on the back. "Alright, that"s enough. Since you"re awake, hurry up and eat your breakfast. I still have work to do today."

"Shouldn"t you rest for a few more days?"

"That won"t do," Anna replied earnestly. "We have to face the demons soon. Miss Soraya and Miss Agatha are working really hard, and thus it won"t be right for me to slack off." She smiled sweetly. "You too... Roland."

...

After kissing goodbye to Anna, the prince strode to his office in buoyant mood. When he pushed open the door, he was surprised to see Tilly waiting for him and sitting by the table.

"Good morning." he greeted. "Is there an issue?"

"Look, it"s already noon." Tilly smiled back at him. "And you look like you had a good dream."

"Do, do I?" Roland placed a hand around his mouth.

"Of course, you"re all smiles today." She shrugged her shoulders and the smile on her face disappeared. "This time I came to say goodbye to you."

Roland was stunned. "Goodbye? Are you returning to Sleeping Island?"

"I"ve stayed here for too long. Even though I"ve kept in touch with the Fjords by letter, but... I"ve to go back sooner or later. Now that the Months of Demons are over, the objective of my trip can be considered done." She stood up and walked over to the French window. "Don"t worry. Even though I"ll be across the sea, I"ll give you my full support in fighting the church and the demons."

"Can"t you settle here in the Western Region?" Roland made a last-ditch attempt to persuade her to stay. There"s a huge amount of vacant land on the south bank of the Redwater River. It can accommodate all of the witches."

"We"ve discussed this before." Tilly sighed lightly. "This is not a problem of finding residence."

"It seems like she has made up her mind," Roland reckoned. Though he understood that the decision was a sign of her political maturity and responsibility as a leader, he was very unhappy about it. "At least stay for another week. I"ll prepare a few useful things for the witches in the Fjords."

"Oh?" Tilly turned and faced him. "What are they?"

"Books, courseware, and a few exercises." He said while flicking his fingernails. "This will not only save you the trouble of making copies but also enhance their learning effectiveness. Also, I"ll pack a few revolvers. These can be used for self-protection in case you encounter enemies equipped with the G.o.d"s Stone of Retaliation. There"ll also be two steam engines which can be used to pump water for irrigation and salt extraction."

"I see..." Tilly turned away and said. "Thank you very much."

"And there"s the Groundbreaking Day." Roland said, emphasizing every word. "I hope that on that day, you can join me in witnessing the establishment of City of Neverwinter."