Release That Witch

Spear Passi solemnly signed her name at the bottom, after she had read both contracts several times.     

One was the Memorandum of Unification and the other was the Memorandum of the Witch Union.     

The first contract agreed that Spear would lead the people of Fallen Dragon Ridge in promising allegiance to Roland Wimbledon after Timothy Wimbledon's rule had been overthrown, and in response to the request of the new king, she would surrender her power. In return Roland would guarantee her position as the Lord of Fallen Dragon Ridge and other rights. The memorandum divided them into three categories which were, human affairs, administrative affairs, and finance. Although such a categorization was new, it was easy for her to understand what her daily routine was to include.     

Spear thought about the second contract for a long time before she had made up her mind, as of this time the union was to serve Prince Roland without any doubt. She didn't want to join Prince Roland so hastily, he had only just occupied the corner region of the Kingdom of Graycastle. But, the content of the contract was attractive, and she vaguely sensed that the unique method of categorization would be helpful in managing her territory.     

Fortunately, the constitutions of the Memorandum of the Witch Union were very loose, more like a formal consensus, and didn't even limit the whereabouts of its members. She consulted with the prince regarding this, and his reply was that the members could leave any time they wanted.     

"I've signed it."     

Spear placed the two elegant parchments on the table, but Roland didn't respond. He looked at the empty side of the room as if thinking about something.     

"Your Highness?"     

"Ah..." He blinked his eyes as if he had come back from somewhere. "Let me have a look at it."     

He wasn’t this absent minded before the negotiation, and it seemed that ever since the trial yesterday, His Highness has been confused. This was difficult for her to understand. The trial was an absolute success and the people were on his side and cheering him. Before that, Spear had never thought that ordinary people would support a person of nobility. She thought that she and they were in two different worlds, and that nobility needed neither the understanding nor support of the people. But, she had changed her mind a day ago. After seeing the people surrounding the square, waving their fists, shouting with a strong voice that shook the sky and land. She then realized that they might contain a power that she had never felt and it was more powerful than a noble.     

Besides, the decisive judgment displayed by His Highness was another one of the reasons why she had signed both contracts.     

Regardless of whether or not he's trying to protect the witches, it's a kind of good faith to punish rebels who are against his royal power. Considering this, she would respond accordingly.     

However, His Highness doesn't seem satisfied... Is he regretting being publicly against the church?     

Spear was clear that the church was not an enemy they could easily deal with.     

It's better to figure it out agreeably since it's related to the direction of their future co-operation. She hesitated, and then mentioned it diplomatically.     

The prince was astonished for a while after he had heard this, and then he shook his head and smiled. "I have never regretted fighting against the church, after all, they're enemies that must be defeated from all points of view."     

"So why..."     

"I just have some mixed feelings."     

"Mixed feelings?"     

"I feel a little embarrassed, although what I said was truthful and what I disclosed were the crimes committed by the church." He shrugged, "It seems as if I'm not a qualified politician."     

Politician? What's that? Like an astrologer devoting himself to studying stars, is a politician someone devoting himself to studying politics?     

His Highness interrupted before she could keep asking. "I'll keep these parchments. I heard that your ability is related to the control of magic power?"     

"Yes." Spear stopped questioning. "To be more precise, it's to extract the magic power of one witch for other witches to use. Of course, I can also retrieve and recover my own magic power for the purpose of consumption. As this process doesn't have a big impact on the outside world, I can repeat the process anytime in the castle."     

"How did you find out you have such an ability?" the prince asked curiously.     

"After my awakening." The Marquess answered, "I've no idea how other witches discovered their abilities, but I could feel it, and the feeling was like... you suddenly had an extra limb."     

"Interesting description." He nodded thoughtfully. "You should know that the reason I sent Nightingale to Fallen Dragon Ridge is to give you an invitation."     

"You need my ability." Spear paused a moment and bowed. "It's my honor to serve you."     

Anyway, since there was no way for her to return to Fallen Dragon Ridge at the moment, it was better for her to see what a prince does, despite the fact that she had only been in town for a week. She had already realized that the town was different from others, it was a secluded land that was far away from the center of the Kingdom, but as energetic and lively as the capital. As a Lord, she was curious.     

What made Spear more surprised was how the life of the witches here was completely different from what she had imagined. The prince didn't control them, but rather allowed them to live freely, and this was evident from his waiting for the return of Nightingale—he obviously hoped that she could return early, but still agreed with her requisition.     

His Royal Highness didn't treat them as servants.     

Some nobles sheltered witches because of their beauty. She thought he would have been more unscrupulous because His Highness openly recruited witches, but he was surprisingly self-disciplined.     

Were the rumors true? Was the prince both prurient and incompetent?     

She had more faith in him and she felt ridiculous for thinking it at the same time. When she thought back on it, she felt what Nightingale had told her was totally true.     

...     

She left the castle with the prince and they came to a yard at the back of the town, where Spear saw two other witches.     

"This is Anna and this is Mystery Moon." Roland introduced them. "The Magic Power of Mystery Moon is considered to be low level, but the consumption of her magic power is astonishing."     

"I'm obviously at a middle level!" Mystery Moon protested.     

"Among the awakened witches," the prince added.     

Mystery Moon kept quiet immediately.     

"Do you want me to connect their magic powers?" Spear looked at Anna. "Does she have the strongest magic power in the union? I suggest that you invite a few more witches to come over. The stock magic power is related to their age, even if there's a difference, it wouldn't be big."     

"This is just an experiment," His Highness said, rubbing his chin, "and if it works, I'll ask them to come over."     

The Marquess nodded and summoned a passage of magic power—it was a sphere shining with blue light, quietly floating in the air. Under her control, two thin tentacle-shaped threads stretched out from the sphere to Anna and Mystery Moon.     

"You'll feel weird in the beginning, so just relax and it'll be fine," Spear explained. "I'll fail to transfer your magic powers if you resist it."     

Anna was shocked when the tentacle touched her chest.     

What's… happening here? It seemed that the tentacle was connected to a solid metal cube instead of the rotating magic orb. It was so big that she felt like an ant standing at the bottom of it, and she could only see over its top by raising her head.