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"Did Heidi get hurt during the capture?"

"Uhm, she got shot in her leg. We’ve stopped the bleeding, but she probably can’t walk for now."

"How is everyone else?"

"A witch of the Bloodfang Association named Skyflare died last night." Tilly sighed and said. "My witches are alright."

Roland nodded and said, "I’ll tell Nana to cure her. As for the other things, let’s talk about them after we get back to the castle."

...

Compared with interrogating the leader of the Bloodfang Association, the church invasion was the top priority for Roland now. After he returned to his office, he asked first about the situation of Sleeping Island and then showed the letter from the Northern Region to Tilly and the other witches. Ashes and Andrea were also there as the three big families in the king’s city of the Kingdom of Dawn were also involved.

Since Roland received the secret warning letter, he had contacted Hill Fawkes twice to get a clear idea of what had happened. After he told the witches all he knew, Andrea could not help shaking her head and said, "Foolish Otto, he still behaves just the same as he did when he was little. He would never dare to enter the palace without Oro."

"But at least, he succeeded in revealing what the church was doing to us. Besides, he did it mainly because of you," Ashes shrugged and said.

"Have you replied to him?" Tilly asked Roland.

"I urged him not to act rashly. As even the God’s Stone of Retaliation could not affect the witch, it’s almost impossible for ordinary people to defeat her. Besides, Prince Appen mentioned that there were God’s Punishment Warriors too. The Kingdom of Dawn is too far away from the Kingdom of Graycastle. I can’t offer him any help directly. Under such circumstances, it’s a wise decision to pretend to know nothing about the church’s secret until the church focuses on the Kingdom of Graycastle," Roland said while pouring tea for everyone.

"He may not be able to control himself well. Acting on impulses has been a habit of Otto Luoxi ever since he was a child," Andrea said with a frown.

"He’ll control himself well, because I told him something else." Roland smiled and added, "I told him that Andrea was safe at my place, and the enemy could hardly hurt her, even if she had to fight against the church. I also warned him that if he died, he would never have the chance to meet his Andrea again."

"Very persuasive," Ashes whistled and said.

"Enough," Tilly promptly spoke at this moment in order to prevent a coming spat. She stared at Roland, blaming him for making fun of this matter and then changed the subject by asking, "What’re you going to do about the church’s invasion?"

"Ahem... I’m going to build a defensive line with guns and cannons under Coldwind Ridge," said Roland. He took a map out of his drawer and spread it on the desk. He pointed at the border of the Northern Region, saying, "Since I got the news, I’ve already sent the First Army to deliver war materials to Deepvalley Town and at the same time, to wipe out the influence of the church in my kingdom. Given that, Holy City of Hermes will soon sense the intention of Graycastle to garrison Coldwind Ridge."

"Do you want to purposely reveal your actions to your enemy? I hate to be blunt, but most of the time, the information deliberately leaked to the enemy must be false and delusive, right?" Andrea asked.

"But it’s the only way that I can ensure where the church is going to attack first, and by doing so, my people will suffer less. A head-on confrontation is also what the First Army is best at in battles," Roland explained his plans.

"I see. It’s a pretty good idea," Tilly nodded and said.

"But there’s still a hidden danger, the pure witches. With strong firepower, we don’t have to worry about the visible enemies but the witches of the church may cause unexpected troubles for the First Army, as we know nothing about the pure witches. Only our witches with magic power can guard against them," Roland added.

"That’s why we’re here. Trust me, my big brother. The witches of Sleeping Island will fight with you," Tilly replied.

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

Back at the Witch Building, Tilly had returned to her original apartment that she had lived in before.

The living room and bedroom looked exactly the same as she had seen them the last time. There was no dust on the table. Apparently, Roland must have often had this place cleaned.

Three wooden basins used for bathing were prominently displayed near the door. Clean clothes were nicely folded and placed in the basins and beside them, there were sandals that were easy to wear. Brought up in a royal family, Tilly had accustomed herself to taking baths regularly, but even she had never bathed so frequently like she did at this place where the warm water for bathing was available all the time.

When she followed the aroma of fresh food to open the cupboard, she found it was filled with various kinds of seasoning, dried meat floss and bread. She could easily fill her stomach any time she felt hungry.

Princess Tilly had never been a person who really cared a lot about material comforts, but she could not help but feel warm in her heart seeing the scene.

"Ah... I can use scented soap for bathing again. Huh, the towels in the basin seem to be brand new," Andrea talked loudly in the living room.

"Isn’t it good for you to have new towels?" Ashes questioned.

"Yes for me, but not for you. It’s a waste to offer you a new towel."

"What did you say?"

"I think that rag you brought will do. Why does a person who can tolerate bathing in salty, smelly sea water need a towel?"

Hearing the familiar bickering voices, Tilly smiled silently. She thought that everyone seemed to like Neverwinter, and even the Bloodfang Association witches changed after they came here.

She felt that she also liked this city as everyone else did.

The improvement in life quality might be one of the reasons for the other witches’ changes, but not for Princess Tilly who had been adored by King Wimbledon III. Compared to her life in the palace, the life here was just fresh and interesting, but not luxurious.

What attracted the witches the most must be another thing.

Staying in this city, Tilly would naturally feel relaxed, and yet she had no idea about why she would feel this way until today. When Roland had been pouring tea for the witches himself, she had suddenly realized.

Roland truly accepted the witches and treated them as friends instead of just pretending to be friendly to witches who could offer him help.

No matter who he was, the lord, the prince or the king, Tilly could tell that his attitude remained the same all the time.

He did consider witches as his friends, which he was not faking at all.

"Are you alright?"

Hearing Ashes behind her, she turned around and saw that she gently closed the door of the kitchen.

"Huh?"

"Why did you call him big brother today? On Sleeping Island, didn’t you say that you helped him only to help yourself? And... you said he was not like Prince Roland at all," Ashes hesitated and asked.

"I don’t think he’s the stupid, cowardly elder brother of mine and I don’t care whether he’s him or not." Tilly paused momentarily and asked, "Have you ever considered the meaning of this war against the church?"

"Retaliation?"

"No," Tilly shook her head and said, "It means freedom of life. Have you ever thought of moving here?"