Release That Witch

Following Nightingale into the Lord's Castle, Princess Tilly had never expected Sylvie to be the first person to greet her. Sylvie ran happily to her, half bowing. She eagerly rose to hug her as she said, "You're here so early. It's still autumn."     

"There's not much difference from winter." Tilly laughed. "Where are your other sisters?"     

"Lotus is building houses for the refugees. Evelyn and Candle should still be in the industrial zone at this hour. Honey is training the carrier pigeons in the back garden." Sylvie ticked off the whereabouts of the witches on her fingers. "His Highness has sent someone to notify them."     

"Don't worry. I think you'll see them soon." Tilly heard a somewhat familiar yet unacquainted voice from behind Sylvie.     

Tilly raised her head and saw a gray-haired man smiling at her. His appearance had not changed much from that in her memory. However, his smile and manners gave her totally different feelings.     

"Welcome to Border Town, my dear sister."     

…     

Tilly's mind was stormed by various thoughts. She had so many doubts that she wanted to speak out. However, she remained calm as she followed Roland Wimbledon into a room that looked to be a study room.     

"Please sit down." Roland poured her a cup of warm black tea and handed it to her. "It's been a whole year since we parted. I know you have a lot to say to me, and so do I... but take your time." He turned to look at the snow outside the window. "It'll be a long winter this year."     

She did not reply. She just held the cup and sat beside the mahogany desk, quietly looking up and down Prince Roland.     

The opening remarks alone were something she could not imagine the brother in her memory saying, Tilly thought. He was cowardly and timid, but always pretended to be strong in front of others. The most important thing was that he used to be evasive, never thinking of a positive response when he met any difficulties. However, this Roland Wimbledon sitting in front of her was utterly different. He was trying to take initiative in beginning a conversation. He showed the manners of a man in power, though he spoke in a gentle and soft tone.     

"Nightingale." Roland turned slightly to his side.     

"But Your Highness..." The voice of the witch who led her into the castle came from somewhere in the room.     

"It's alright. She's my little sister."     

"Alright." Nightingale was silent for a moment. She then emerged from the Mist and left the room, looking displeased.     

"There's only you and me left in this room." He smiled and returned to the square desk.     

Tilly was silent for a moment. "Who on earth… are you?"     

She thought he might hesitate or lie to hide his identity. She had never expected him to answer so promptly. "I'm your brother, Roland Wimbledon, the Prince of Graycastle." He then laughed. "I know I've changed a lot, but I'd like to explain it to you in detail."     

Tilly suddenly recalled what he wrote in his letter: "As for what prompted me to make this decision and what made me no longer indifferent to everything, as I had in the past, was something trivial that I'll explain in detail to you later." That sentence was probably what incited her to determine to come to this desolate town.     

She could not help smiling. "I'll listen to you carefully."     

The whole story was not complicated, but very exciting. After hearing Roland's experience since arriving in Border Town, Tilly found her teacup already empty. She took a long breath and recalled his story. In short, he was touched by a witch named Anna. From the witch he had rescued, he learned the evil actions of the church and its deceits against the people. Subsequently, Garcia's assassination made him experience the darkness of royal power. Even if he hid in a corner of the kingdom, he would still not escape their malice that followed him like a shadow. Finally, he decided to change everything.     

It sounded somewhat dramatic, but it barely could be counted as an explanation. The problem lay in the weird and strange knowledge in his brain, whether it was a steam engine or flintlock. It was not something that could be acquired because of a moment's inspiration.     

"So, the ultimate reason for all this is the additional memories that suddenly appeared in your head?" Tilly asked.     

"Indeed," said Roland earnestly, "I know this is unbelievable, but it's the truth... I was lucky enough to escape Garcia's assassination and wake up with this piece of memory. If meeting Anna was the immediate cause, then the knowledge in the memory was the driving force behind my desire to change the status quo."     

Tilly wondered if it was the result of a witch's magic power. It was unlikely that he had been substituted or manipulated, as Sylvie had confirmed this. The abilities of the witches from the Witch Cooperation Association were not a mystery. They had special exercises every day and Sylvie has found no ability even close to substitution or manipulation.     

The only possibility was the occupation of his body. She could not exclude the possibility that a witch might have the ability to occupy a man's body and acquire his memory. But this speculation was also impossible. Roland Wimbledon, though not his father's favorite son, was undoubtedly one of the Princes of the Kingdom of Graycastle. The God's Stone of Retaliation was not unusual for him and he was always protected by knights and guards. It was impossible for a witch without a concealing ability to approach him easily.     

Besides, even if such a witch existed, how could she know so many extraordinary things? When Tilly was a child, she searched through the palace's library and received education from several well-educated and white-haired court mentors. But even they had never talked about using steam and snow powder to replace animal labor and swords.     

Looking at it this way, it seemed that Roland's bizarre knowledge was indeed somewhat related to his bizarre encounter.     

"How can you prove that you're Roland Wimbledon but not someone with the additional memory?"     

Tilly knew this question was quite rude. If he were the previous Prince Roland, he would have flown into a rage, kicked over the desk angrily, and stamped out of the room.     

"Because I still remember what happened on the court," he still spoke in a calm tone, "and I think distinguishing the essence of a person lies in his unique memory. If a witch transforms herself into your appearance yet has a different memory, she's still another person in essence. I have many strange memories, but I don't remember where they came from. But the scene where you wept because I threw you on the broken glass is still vivid in my memory. So that's the proof." He paused. "Of course... I have yet to apologize to you for that. I hope I'm not too late."     

Tilly remained silent. Roland sat in front of her, with clean clothes and earnest eyes, as if he was telling an undisputable fact. Obviously, by any standards, he was much better than the former dandy prince she knew. But there were still doubts in her mind.     

"It's really... unbelievable."     

"That's normal." Roland seemed to have seen through her thoughts. "Many things are also incredible to me before I experienced them myself. I've never expected that my sister would actually awaken as a witch and hide it from everyone in the palace. But... as I've said in the beginning, it's a long winter. We can get to know each other slowly."     

This was probably the best solution at present, so Tilly nodded. "Then for the next few months... I hope I won't trouble you too much."     

"Trust me, you'll come to love this place."     

...