Release That Witch

Before long, things changed. When she was 14, the refugees rebelled in Silver City while her parents were out doing charity work. Her parents never came back. Nightingale and her younger brother were sent to his father's brother, another branch of the Gilen Family.     

In the winter of the same year, Nightingale awakened and became a witch.     

With great care, she hid her power, but yet the old Gilen discovered it anyway. He took her brother away, and with her brother's life, he threatened her to follow his command.     

Nightingale had no choice but to obey. After being trained by the members of the Thieves Guild invited by the old Gilen, she had to do illegal things for him, which included stealing the contracts and papers from the houses of his business rivals, eavesdropping on the meetings of the City Hall, and, what was worse, even poisoning the water in wine glasses or water tanks of his potential rivals.     

The business of the Gilen's boomed, but yet the old Gilen treated her worse. He beat her whenever he felt bad. She was often locked in a room closed with steel bars and was forbidden to go out unless she was outside under his order. What confused and hurt her most was that her younger brother barely visited her. She started to suspect that her younger brother had been murdered by the old Gilen.     

As Nightingale pleaded over and over again, the old man finally brought Hyde over, who, on the contrary, despised her and wished that they were not siblings. He told her to go to hell and live with demons as a witch should do.     

Nightingale was shattered to hear it, yet the nightmare wasn't over. The old Gilen told her a truth that hit her harder — it was Hyde who informed him that she was a witch in order to get away from her, the farther the better.     

After sending Hyde away, the old Gilen warned her grimly that whenever she disobeyed him, he would secretly kill her younger brother, who would inherit their father's title when he came of age.     

In despair and deep grief, Nightingale became a puppet of the Gilen Family. In the year when she was going to pass to her adulthood, she came across Wendy who, perhaps, had found her on purpose.     

Nightingale's broken heart, in little sparks, began to light up again when she heard of the Witch Cooperation Association that had witches who suffered as much as her and yet still fought for a better life.     

It did not take her long before she transformed from confusion to determination. A week after they had met, she survived the torture on the Day of Adulthood, and her power improved tremendously. She found out that the Mist was more than a form of concealment and no bars would block her way anymore.     

One night after she healed from the torture, she walked into the old Gilen's chamber like a ghost and cut his throat with a dagger. Seeing the blood spurting out and his breath turning staccato, she was surprised to find herself more peaceful than she had imagined.     

After that, she left the house with little concern for her younger brother, Hyde.     

She and Wendy started their quest for the Witch Cooperation Association.     

After the story was finished, Nightingale waited a moment, and seeing the prince was still deep in the past story, she took off. It took Roland a long time to revive. Indeed, every witch had a long story of suffering, and those who survived to reach their adulthood must truly be the best.     

How lucky he was to become a prince through time travel.     

The next morning, Roland visited Wendy in Nightingale's chamber.     

Wendy looked much better after a night's recovery, and her reattached arms also regained color. She struggled to bow to the prince regardless of the weakness.     

"I've learned of your story. Thank you for saving Nightingale's life." Roland pulled out a piece of parchment and came straight to the point. "There's no doubt that Cara would never accept you as one of them again. I hope you can settle in Border Town and serve me. Please sign the contract if you agree. Your payment is the same as Anna's, one gold royal per month."     

"Your Highness..." Nightingale blinked trying to say something, but she held back.     

Roland knew what she wanted to say. Nightingale did not want him to push Wendy to make the decision so hastily, for Wendy had changed her life and saved her once again in the Impassable Mountain Range. She believed that Wendy would certainly change her mind and back Roland after living in Border Town for some time.     

"I didn't want to raise this subject so hastily, but danger grows as things delay." Roland paused for a moment. Wendy did not interrupt, waiting for him to go on. "I guess, maybe I know the method to help witches detach themselves from the torture of the Day of Awakening."     

Their expressions changed, at the same time. They asked, "What?"     

"It's just a guess with no firm proof," Roland said, waving his hand. "Witches suffer less at the camp than in exile. The only difference between them is when in exile the witches hide their identities and powers for the fear of being revealed, and when at camp they have to keep using their power to run the camp."     

Wendy nodded. "You're... right."     

"Anna has trained herself every day since she lived in the castle. She even exhausted her power and sank into a coma before the Day of Adulthood. She passed through the hardest barrier safely before waking up, unscathed."     

"So I believe that this is the key to dispose of the Demonic Torture. If we liken a witch's body to a vessel that holds her power, the power grows with her, and when the gross power exceeds the volume of the vessel, it'll counteract and harm her body. In the Months of Demons, the power in the body hits the top."     

"So if a witch can constantly release her power and keep it on a safe level, the torture will ease a lot or diminish on the Day of Awakening." Roland paused, and then went on. "As the Lord of Border Town, I can offer witches the places, where you could release your power freely without being arrested, charged, or being executed directly. If I'm not wrong, there's no doubt that Border Town is the Holy Mountain you've been seeking for so long."     

Since they were born, witches were taught that the dangerous power was given by demons. Some slightly enlightened witches viewed the power that would bite the owner as a curse. It was an infinite loop, which meant that the less time you use the power, the more serious the feedback damage became. But Roland, who had traveled back in time, viewed the power in an opposite way. Having learned from the memory of Prince Roland and excluded the existence of true god, he simply treated the power as an energy that the witches could control with their own will.     

Wendy was silent for a long while before she asked, "What do I need to do... if I sign the contract and come to your service?"     

During centuries, due to their unique powers, some witches were secretly chained and used as consumables by some men of ambition. The stern ban on it enforced by the church did not hold back those men's claws. They enslaved the witches with no mercy, and what happened to those who were no longer valuable was appalling.     

Roland certainly heard about those things, but he had a long-term view and wanted more. He wanted a win-win sustainable development system. He smiled and answered, "The first thing you need to do is train your power over and over again until the moment you could fully control it. Just like Anna."