"Is this really okay?"

"What?"

"Sending Iffy, Softfeathers, and Lotus to Border Town," Ashes hugged Tilly from behind while Tilly sat at the desk, and said, "It must have been Heidi Morgan's idea, am I right?"

Ever since she had heard about the existence of the Sealine, Princess Tilly spent almost all her time in the study room. Stacked on her desk were piles of books, some of which were from Roland, and the others retrieved from the ruins. Seeing Tilly's figure behind all these books, Ashes felt sorry for her.

"Um." Putting down the quill, Tilly slowly leaned back. "Morgan didn't want me to have connections with the commoners all by myself, and I had no reason to refuse her."

"But the commoner is your elder brother. What makes her think she can choose for you?"

"Because she's also one of the royal members." Tilly shook her head, smiling. "The higher the status is, the looser the blood ties are. It's true in every kingdom." Heidi knew full well about it, and that was why she had made the decision.

"She intends to fight for His Highness Roland's support with you?" Ashes frowned…

"Not just yet. This time I think she only wants to probe the situation."

"Then why did you agree with her?!" Ashes loosened her arms and said with a low voice, "It seems like I need to talk to her."

It was Princess Tilly's affinity and leniency that won her the trust of the witches who used to be abused and suppressed by the church, and now they could bond together. But it didn't mean someone could regard her lenience as weakness, and test her on the basis of her trust…

Ashes was about to turn when Tilly grabbed her arm. "Why not? As I said, I had no reason to refuse her. Sleeping Island is our home. All the witches here are freewomen. I won't stop them from doing anything as long as they don't harm anyone. And..." She let out a sigh. "Sending them to the Western Region isn't a bad idea."

"Not a bad idea?" Ashes asked with bewilderment.

"Have you ever thought about why the witches at the Bloodfang a.s.sociation were initially the same as other witches, but gradually became different?"

Ashes pondered for a while. "Because their lives became stable?"

"Exactly." Tilly nodded. "In the past, the church posed a heavy burden on their hearts. Everybody had to stick together in order to survive. But now the churches in the Fjord Islands have been eradicated and Sleeping Island has offered a relatively relaxing environment, so people think differently. This is quite normal. The Witch Cooperation a.s.sociation is different. We're a compound group made of several witch organizations, so blindly suppressing them won't work. In order to let them cooperate like in the old times, we need a powerful enemy."

Ashes frowned and asked, "Do you mean... demons?"

"The enemies deep in the Fertile Plains, the fiasco of the Union, the upcoming third Battle of Divine Will... they can learn all these by themselves, which will be more effective than me telling them." Tilly smiled and said, "Besides, in Border Town, there're much more to be seen."

Princess Tilly stood up, and walked through the door towards the castle in the backyard and opened the door. "They'll see that non-combat witches can play irreplaceable roles, commoners can be as capable as witches, and they'll witness the amazing effects when everybody works together. Just like this door. When it's pushed open, a broader world can be seen."

Ashes quietly stared at this woman bathed in sunlight, and could not utter a word. Tilly's gray hair flew with the sea breeze, reflecting the s.h.i.+ning light. She was astonis.h.i.+ngly beautiful even viewed from behind. Time stood still. What was left in this narrow study was only her and Ashes.

After a long while, Tilly turned and smiled slyly. "I have some special reasons to have chosen Iffy and Softfeathers. This must be perceptible to Roland."

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

Anna nudged Roland sleeping beside her.

"Time to get up."

"A moment." Roland turned over, cuddled her, and smelled her hair.

After returning to the City of Neverwinter from King's City, he had spent the whole night with Anna. The temporary separation had made their reunion particularly pa.s.sionate. As a result, neither of them got out of bed the next morning. For the first time, Anna skipped her magic power practice, not because she did not want to, but because Roland would not let her leave.

Of course, she did not want to reject Roland's wooing either.

From noon to the dusk, their bedroom was filled with romantic atmosphere. When taking breaks, they just sat in bed and talked about the things that had happened in the two cities recently, and their lunch was brought to the bedroom by a maid. Of course, when the maid came, Anna sank her head into the quilt. Lowering his head, Roland could see a pair of sapphire-like eyes sparkling at his chest area.

When he gently caressed Anna's back, she involuntarily moaned as lightly as a cat purring. After a year's growth, Anna was not the weak, thin girl he had met in prison a year prior. Now when curling up her body, she could perfectly embed into Roland's arms. When he kissed her earlobe from the back, he could see her cheeks gradually flush and her eyelashes tremble. It made her look very cute.

After a long while, she pushed Roland away once again.

"Wendy and the other girls will be coming back soon. This time there'll be new witches. You need to go wash up." Anna turned around and faced him with a serious look.

"Mmm." Roland briefly replied. He knew that he could not postpone anymore, so he kissed her lightly on the lips and rolled out of bed. First, he helped Anna get dressed, and then put on a coat for himself.

The basin of water on the table had already cooled down, but this was not a problem for Anna. A line of Blackfire shot into the water, and steam began to rise in the blink of an eye. After was.h.i.+ng up, Roland sent Anna back to the bedroom and returned to his office on the third floor. At least he could make it look like he was working diligently, before the other witches came back.

Fifteen minutes later, Lightning and Maggie flew into his office through the French window.

"Your Majesty, they're here."

...

"Who could have thought that you'd become the king of Graycastle in only a month." Breeze entered the castle hall first, followed by another four witches, among whom were Lotus and Honey. Roland was familiar with them, but he did not know the other two. "If Wendy hadn't told me, I really wouldn't have believed it. If Tilly finds out, she'll be very surprised."

Roland walked up to welcome them. "I haven't held an enthronement yet, so it's okay if you just address me with my old t.i.tle."

"But you're indeed a deserved king," Breeze said, bowing.

Lotus and Honey imitated Breeze's move and bowed exaggeratedly, but yet the other two witches only greeted him by putting one hand on the chest. Two showed the joy of reunion, while the other two showed skepticism.

Roland felt surprised.

However, under these circ.u.mstances, he would not show his emotion. Making a gesture of inviting them, he said with a smile, "However, you had an arduous trip. Now enjoy tonight's feast. Make yourself comfortable. This is your home too."