Fjords, Sleeping Island.
As winter approached, the sea breeze blowing across the island became colder. Even with the windows closed, Tilly could still hear the sharp whistling sound of the cold wind passing through the gaps.
Normally, not many people would be willing to hang out outside at this time, but in fact, people were always celebrating in the central square of Sleeping Island. The grand bonfire party had lasted for several days. Pot after pot of hot fish soup was boiled. The witches displayed their abilities and turned the square into a pleasant paradise.
If there were not so many things to deal with, Tilly would also like to join the party and share the joy of the church's defeat with everyone.
Since she had brought the news back, the witches' lives had changed completely – not in terms of living conditions, but in terms of their spirits. Everyone seemed to have been relieved of a heavy burden. Their eyes were brighter than before, and their words and actions were obviously relaxed and free.
From that moment on, they finally did not have to live in worry and fear. The mountain that had been pressing on their heads suddenly collapsed, the dense haze disappeared, and even the whistling cold wind could not dispel their enthusiasm.
This was probably the feeling of "liberation" that Roland had mentioned, Tilly thought.
At this moment, Camilla Dary, the chief butler of Sleeping Island, knocked on the door and walked into the room.
"Your Highness, I've done a preliminary count of the witches who are willing to go to the Western Region." She sat cross-legged opposite Tilly and put a stack of names on the low table. "Almost half of them have signed up to support the Western Region."
"Really? It's much better than I expected. Thank you. "Tilly nodded with a smile and picked up the list to read carefully.
As for moving to the Western Region, Princess Tilly told the witches on the island that they would support the construction of Neverwinter to resist a greater disaster — the arrival of the Battle of Divine Will.
In order to make the witches loyal to their own wishes, Tilly did not hide the news about the Witch Empire, the Union, and the demons. Instead, she clearly told them that the church was only a part of the Union, and that the real enemies of the people were demons from another world. They did not have mercy, nor did they have the slightest mercy, so helping the Western Region was also helping themselves. Of course, even if he lived on the island, it wouldn't be a problem for him to live the rest of his life in peace.
She had thought that many of her sisters would be frightened by the new enemy, or that they would be tired of dealing with ordinary people and would have doubts about the uncertain future, so they would decide to stay on Sleeping Island. However, based on the statistics of nearly half of the witches, the demons that they had never met were far less terrible than the Church, and the witches' yearning for the outside world had not been extinguished.
"They are very interested in Prince Roland, who defeated the Pope. They all want to see what kind of person the Lord, who eradicated the greatest enemy of the witches, looks like." Camilla sighed helplessly. "And there is also a very important point. The identity of your brother also gives him a lot of points. They have also transferred their trust in you to him."
"You don't look very reassured."
"Of course, he is, after all, a noble and an ordinary person. He is fundamentally different from us... and with all due respect, when it comes to interests, blood can sometimes be a hindrance." Chief Butler frowned slightly. "Your Highness, I'm not questioning your decision, nor am I saying that your brother is two-faced, but in case... I mean in case what he seeks is contrary to the interests of the witches, and he raises a butcher's knife against us again like the other nobles, what should we do?"
"I understand your concern. I made this decision after careful consideration." Tilly put down the list and held Camilla's hand. "Witches may be different from ordinary people, but under the threat of the Battle of Divine Will, we have the same goal, and that is to survive. Instead of completely avoiding the secular world, why not take this opportunity to integrate into it and form an inseparable community of interests with ordinary people? When our abilities go deep into various fields, even if Roland wants to break the agreement with Sleeping Island, he can't leave the witches' power. "
"But... will he loosen his control over us?"
"In the past six months, Roland hasn't imposed any additional restrictions on witches. Otherwise, the Witch Union of the Western Region wouldn't have supported him unreservedly." Tilly smiled. "And compared to these principles, I believe in my intuition more."
"Intuition?"
"Well... I don't think he will do such a thing," she said slowly, knocking on the table.
Camilla was stunned for a moment, and finally laughed as if surrendering. "Come to think of it, ever since I met you, your judgment has never been wrong."
"It will be the same this time." Tilly raised the corner of her mouth.
"I understand, Your Highness." Chief Butler put his hand on his chest and said, "I'll finish the preparations for the witches' migration as soon as possible."
"Thank you."
Princess Tilly knew that Camilla, who was originally a noble, had long lost confidence in this social class because she had seen too much of the power struggles and dirty deeds among the nobles. However, she did not know that Roland was not like a traditional noble at all. The more she got to know him, the more obvious it became to Tilly. Not only did he treat witches this way, but he also treated everyone else in a completely different way compared to the nobles. She called him brother, not because of his past relationship with Prince Roland, but because she simply liked to get along without any barriers or prejudice.
When talking with Roland, she always felt relaxed and comfortable, which she had not felt for a long time. She believed that other witches also felt the same way.
"By the way, I've heard some bad rumors recently." Camilla changed the subject.
"What rumors?"
"It's related to the news you brought back. Some people think that since witches used to create a huge empire and brought all ordinary people under their rule, they should imitate the Union and create an organization with witches as the leaders to restore the glory of their ancestors."
"What about the source?" Tilly raised her eyebrows. "Is it the witches of the Bloodfang Association?"
"No... they believe in being loyal to the strong. The Western Region was able to defeat the seemingly invincible enemy, and with the help of Iffy, Softfeathers, and Nightfall, those combat witches were the first batch of people to sign up to support Neverwinter. "Camilla shook her head." I've investigated it. The source should be from other witch organizations. "
The witches of Sleeping Island were a large group. In addition to the Bloodfang Association, there were also some scattered groups, such as the Witch Cooperation Association in Seawindshire. Before she launched the call, these groups were generally formed to escape the arrest of the church and to help each other. However, they did not have the strength of the Bloodfang Association and rarely criticized Tilly's policies.
"I see." She nodded.
"Do you need me to talk to their leader?"
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