Self
Self
Inside, Wendy sat at the desk, holding a book with a miserable look on her face. It was certainly Natural Science Theoretical Foundation, even if Scroll just had a quick glance.
She could not help smiling, as it was rare to see such miserable look on Wendy's face. Even when Witch Cooperation Association was trapped in the Impassable Mountain Range and the food supply ran out, Wendy still smiled, trying to cheer up every sister. It seemed that she had never worried about the difficulties and hardships.
She had never expected that a book would trouble her so much.
"Totally beyond understanding, right?" Scroll said, "when I first read it, I feel the same way."
"I thought it was Nightingale." Wendy turned back when she heard her voice. "... So what about now?"
"I still can't understand it."
"Fortunately, you're the same with me." Wendy sighed. "Besides Anna, now Soraya also developed her new ability. If I don't try harder, I'll soon be excelled by the younger generation. I wonder how His Highness knows so many things. How's he able to describe the invisible world as if he had seen it?"
"Actually, he isn't aware of many things, "Scroll shrugged her shoulders, and said, "I mean in certain aspects."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm talking about Nightingale," Scroll said, and she drew a stool and sat beside Wendy. "Have you noticed that her current behavior is totally different from how she acted in the past? When she's protecting His Highness, she rarely becomes invisible now. Even when she's out of the castle, she'll only wear a hood to cover her face. And what's more... she's earnestly listening to the evening classes. You share a bedroom with her, so you should be even more aware of this. Can you tell me what happened to her?"
"Well, it was nothing." Wendy shook her head. "She just made her own choice."
Her response surprised Scroll a little. "Choice?"
"Well, just as you've guessed," Wendy closed her book and bluntly said," she has a crush on His Highness, Roland Wimbledon. Of course, this is so obvious that you don't have to guess. It isn't new that some witch falls in love with the man who offers her shelter. We've heard lots of such stories when we were in the Witch Cooperation Association."
"Those are just stories made up by others. Most sisters didn't have a happy ending."
"His Highness was different from people in the stories."
Scroll was stunned for a while. She never expected that Wendy, who held the same view with her not long before, would say things like that. She said, "You know, witches aren't able to have children. It's impossible for His Highness..."
"His Highness will marry a witch," Wendy shrugged and said, "He told you personally."
[How did she know about it? Was Nightingale there at that moment?] Scroll thought. Then she suddenly realized something and asked, "Are you blaming me for not telling you?No, Wendy, I just don't want this to get out. It will cause bad influences on His Highness's road to the throne."
Wendy remained silent for a while before she said, "I know. I'm not blaming you. I said the same thing to Nightingale before. Before I knew His Highness' answer, I thought nothing would happen to the sisters. But if His Highness doesn't mind it, why would we force them to change their mind? Previously Nightingale tried to hide her feelings, but she was so depressed. I prefer how she looks now. No matter what'll happen in the future, at least she follows the feelings of her heart."
So that was the reason, Scroll thought. Although she agreed that His Highness's answer should not get out, she would not interfere with the sisters' feelings, and would not make choices for them. Different from Cara, Wendy always considered the feelings of the sisters and cheered them up when they had little courage to face with difficulty.
"But, did His Highness know it?" Scroll suddenly thought of a serious problem. "What if he didn't know that witches are unable to have children?"
"Well..." Wendy also lowered her voice. "How about, you go to ask him?"
*******************
Outside the city wall of the Western Region.
The grassland was bathed in late spring sunshine. Far away herds of cattle and sheep were leisurely eating grass. It was difficult to imagine that just three months ago, the whole grassland was covered in snow and ice, and there was nothing outside but terrible and cruel demonic beasts.
Nightingale had been practicing shooting for most of the afternoon. She mastered the skills of shooting much faster than Roland had expected. [Maybe everyone was endowed with different talent,] he thought, [some people were born to fight. With her standard positions of reloading, aiming and shooting, she had completely behaved unlike a beginner so far.]
"If she were born in a knight's family, she must be the most excellent and renowned knight in Graycastle." Carter could not help praising her. "Just like me."
"Luckily she wasn't. I don't want her arms to be as thick as yours." Roland cast a glance at him and asked, "How do you feel drawing a tie with an Extraordinary?"
"The moment when I was hit, I felt as if I was hit by a battering ram and my chest was smashed into pieces." Carter admitted honestly, "To tell the truth, awful."
"There should be no next time." Roland laughed.
When Nightingale finished another round of shooting with standing position, Roland applauded. "Your performance is excellent so far. Let's do a simulation now."
After putting the pistol back into a holster on her belt, Nightingale walked towards Roland. In the bright sunshine, sweat droplets sparkled on her nose.
"Do you see those targets?" Roland pointed to the five bust targets not far away. "They're all hung with God's Stone of Retaliation. You should be able to see them clearly in the Mist. Here's what you're going to do next. Combine your ability with shooting skills, and defeat these enemies in shortest time once you expose yourself from the Mist."
In the Mist, objects and space were constantly changing, making difficult to guarantee that the bullets would fly toward the objects. Previously Nightingale had tried to directly shoot from inside the Mist; however, nine out of ten bullets changed their trajectory when they left the Mist, and the last bullet nearly hit Roland, who was standing behind her.
Therefore, Nightingale had to walk out of the Mist to shoot; and the shorter amount of time she exposed herself, the less possible she would be counterattacked by an enemy.
"Got it." She smiled, raised her cloak with one hand, and disappeared instantly before them.
When the first shot rang out, Roland could barely see a white figure quietly emerge and then with flame and smoke spurting out, the target got hit and broke apart. Even before spattering wood chips completely landed, she had already arrived at the back of the second target and pulled the trigger from a distance of three or four meters.
Then the third, the fourth target... Every time when she shot, she had not completely stepped out of the Mist. Except the silver pistol and sudden flame, Roland could not catch more details. It was difficult for him to capture her position with his eyes. Under cover of her Mist, she seemed to appear and disappear in an instant—a scene which could only be seen in movies. Within the blink of an eye, the five targets all broke into pieces; and after another blink, Nightingale was standing beside him again.
"How was it?" She laughed.
"Well..." Roland cast a quick glance at the stunned Carter and asked him, "what do you think?"
"I'm afraid no one can catch Miss Nightingale now." The chief knight took a deep breath. "Even Ashes can't, even if she wears God's Stone of Retaliation."
"So, have I graduated?" She wiped the sweat from her nose and rubbed it on Roland's cloak.
"Of... course."