Chapter 1035: An Obscure and Wonderful Night
As a key figure of the Graycastle Weekly, Honey had informants essentially everywhere. Combined with Lorgar’s senses and Maggie’s aerial range, the castle’s olive grove functioned as her personal intelligence hub. Escaping her detection was not simple.
But that was the smaller problem.
Honey was also the social sun of this gathering. At the moment, the largest cluster of witches in the hall had accumulated around her: Mystery Moon and the other Detective Group members, Nightingale, Wendy, Scroll — and even Leaf, who appeared so infrequently these days, was there, speaking with Honey about something in a low voice.
Conceal the secrets you know, and keep others from knowing them.
Anna’s words moved through Sylvie as she drifted closer, and she was still turning them over when Leaf’s voice reached her:
“—what do you think of these birds? New species from the Misty Forest. Small, very fast. Bold enough to steal from a gray eagle’s nest. I thought they might be useful to you eventually, so I took a nest back.”
Two large kingfishers and a small one stood on Leaf’s shoulders, pressing their faces against her cheek with an intimacy that made them seem less like wild birds and more like old friends. They looked nothing like the bold scouts Honey had apparently just been describing.
“Thank you.” Honey accepted them with obvious delight. “I haven’t seen you properly in so long — you’ve become a real bird trainer.”
“They probably think I’m part of the forest,” Leaf said, smiling. Then she looked around the hall — at the lights, the crowd, the unfamiliar joy of it all — and something wistful moved across her face. “The changes here surprised me. More houses, and these strange new things — the magic film, the newspaper. If exploring deep forest weren’t equally wonderful, I might envy you.”
“You should come back more often,” Wendy said softly. “Everyone misses you.”
“I miss you too.” Leaf’s gaze dropped. “But the southeast edges of the Misty Forest are the only part under the Heart of Jungle’s reach. I have to stay integrated with it, grow with its consciousness — so I can control the whole forest before the war comes. There’s no time I can give away.”
“You’ve worked hard.” Scroll stroked her hair. “I’ll have Lightning bring you the new newspapers each week. You’ll know what’s happening in Neverwinter.”
“That’s a wonderful idea,” Mystery Moon announced, “but newspapers only print what everyone already knows. What I want are the secrets.” She turned to Honey. “If you find anything suspicious, please tell the Detective Group. We have the finest investigators. Every puzzle gets solved.”
The word secret hit Sylvie like a stone dropping into still water.
She asked too directly. How do I redirect this? Nightingale is right there. Wendy too. I can’t manage Mystery Moon and avoid their attention at the same time. I’ve failed you, Anna. I’ve tried my best—
“Oh, there are quite a few things,” Honey said, tilting her head.
Mystery Moon’s eyes lit like a child’s. “Such as—?”
I could pretend to faint. No. My acting is hopeless. Sorry, Anna.
“—although I’m curious, I’m not going to say.” Honey stuck out her tongue. “Especially not to His Majesty. Sister Wendy asked me not to — she said that no matter what anomaly I find, I report to her first.”
Mystery Moon swung toward Wendy. “That isn’t fair!”
Wendy coughed twice. “I think it will be safer for the Witch Union. For everyone, really.”
Sylvie let out a breath she had been holding for what felt like an hour.
Crisis averted.
I’ve kept the secret. Haven’t I?
She carried that question through the longest dinner party of her life.
After the banquet, Roland brought Anna back to the bedroom.
Someone had decorated it — candles and small flowers, a warmth that had nothing to do with the fire. In that candlelight, Anna’s red-and-gold gown seemed to gather the dark around it as much as it reflected light, and she moved through the room with the same quiet authority she brought to everything.
Roland walked to her, lifted the bridal veil gently, brushed the fringe from her forehead, and looked into her eyes.
The look she returned ran deeper than he expected. Clear as a lake, and just as still at the surface.
“Say my name.”
“Anna?”
“My full name.”
“Anna Wimbledon.”
“Once more.”
“Anna Wimbledon.”
A pause. “Can you say it ten more times?”
Roland smiled. “As many times as you want.”
He said it quietly, close to her ear. She lowered her head, and color came into her face. “Is my request… a little strange?”
“A little.” He tapped the end of her nose. “You’ll grow tired of it eventually. You’re my wife, with or without the family name.”
Where he came from, marriage required no name change from either party, so the question had never carried much weight for him. He understood, though, why it carried weight for her.
“Even so, I feel complete this way.” She pressed one hand to her chest, just above her heart. “As if I’m no longer alone. That’s probably the point of any ceremony — whether wearing a crown or taking a name, people are acquiring a sense of themselves through the things attached from outside. The feeling between two people doesn’t need a ceremony to be real. But without that link, without that mark, a couple might carry a small persistent regret for the rest of their lives.”
He held her without answering.
Any word would have been wrong.
After a while, she said: “Roland. Can I ask you for something?”
He searched his memory. This was the first time she had ever asked.
“Of course.”
“I want the post of Minister of Industry.”
He blinked. “That’s not a problem at all, but why suddenly—”
“Because I’m only a common girl from a remote village.” She said it without apology or deflection. “Now I’m the queen of Graycastle. There will be people who resent it. Who look for reasons.”
“No one would dare say anything openly.”
“If everything has to be silenced by you, the suspicion only deepens.” She shook her head. “I can’t go on hiding behind you, only indulging my own interests. I want to do more. I want to give them nothing to accuse me of.”
From an unknown witch to a minister in charge of a whole department. Roland smiled despite himself. “I never intended to keep you in any narrow backyard.”
“As you wish, my dear.”
“Thank you for indulging my willfulness.” She rose onto her toes and pressed her lips lightly to his forehead. “And — you’ve always been curious about what Nightingale and I talked about that night, haven’t you?”
He paused. “I’d be lying if I said no. But I decided not to push.”
“It’s all right.” Her eyes curved with something warm. “It was an agreement. I’ve kept my end. Now.” She tilted her chin toward the bed. “Carry me.”
The candle went out in a line of Blackfire.
The curtain of night fell over their silhouettes like a thin veil.
What an obscure and wonderful night.
Chapter 1035: An Obscure and Wonderful Night
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
As a key figure of the Graycastle Weekly, Honey basically had informants everywhere. This combined with the advantages offered by Lorgar and Maggie. The olive forest in the castle backyard was like her headquarters and to escape from her detection was not easy.
Yet that was not the whole story.
Having the earliest access to interesting anecdotes in the city, she could always attract a large number of witches during gatherings. For instance, at the moment, the batch of witches that gathered around her was the biggest one in the hall.
Besides Mystery Moon and the other members of her Detective Group, Nightingale, Wendy, and Scroll were not easily fooled. Even Leaf, who had not shown herself for quite some time, also seemed to be talking about something with Honey.
“Conceal the secrets you know, and keep others from knowing them.”
Sylvie took a look at Anna at the other end of the Hall. Thinking of the words Anna had given her, she walked toward Anna unwillingly.
“What do you think of these birds?” Leaf’s voice went into Sylvie’s ears. “They’re the new species I found in the Misty Forest, not big, but fly very fast. They’re so bold that they even dare to steal from a gray eagle nest. I figured that they might be helpful to you one day, so I took a nest of them back.”
Sylvie saw two big Kingfisher and one small one standing on Leaf’s shoulders and rubbing her face intimately, which gave her a completely different impression as the brave birds Honey just described.
“Sure, thank you.” Honey took over the birds delightfully. “I haven’t seen you for quite a while. I feel like you’ve become a qualified bird trainer.”
“They probably think of me as a part of the forest,” Leaf said smilingly. “Then again, the changes that happened in the town really surprised me… not only are there more houses, there are also such novel things like magic film and newspaper. If it wasn’t for the fact that exploring the deep forest is equally enjoyable, I would have envied you.”
“You should come back more often,” Wendy said softly. “Everybody misses you.”
“I missed you too…” Leaf’s eyelids lowered. “But nowadays only the southeast edges of the Misty Forest are under the control of the Heart of Jungle, I must stay integrated with the forest as long as possible so as to adapt to its ever-enlarging consciousness. To control the entire forest before the arrival of the war, I could do nothing but seize all the time I could…”
“You’ve worked hard.” Scroll stroked her hair tenderly. “I’ll ask Lightning to send the newly published newspapers to you every week so that you’ll know what’s going on in Neverwinter at any time.”
“That is a wonderful idea,” Mystery Moon shouted, “but what’s written in the newspaper are things known to all. Compared to that, I prefer to know the secrets that are only known to a few.” She then looked at Honey and said, “If you ever find something suspicious, please do tell the Detective Group. We have the most skillful detectives who’ll ensure all your puzzles will be solved.”
Hearing the word ‘secret’, Sylvie’s heart began to extremely tense up.
Such a fool. She asked too directly! How can I divert the topic? No… It’s too hard a task for me to avoid Nightingale and Wendy’s attention and divert Mistry Moon at the same time!
“Em, there are quite a few…” Honey said, tilting her head.
“Oh?” Mistery Moon’s eyes sparkled. She said hurriedly, “Such as?”
“This is a big problem!” Sylvie felt a deep desperation. “Will it work if I pretend to faint or be drunk? But I’m not able to act that well… sorry Anna, I’ve tried my best.”
“Oh, although I’m also curious, I’m not going to tell it.” Honey stuck out her tongue. “I especially can’t tell His Majesty Roland—this is out of sister Wendy’s request. She also said that no matter what anomaly I find, I need to report to her first.”
“Oh?” Mistry Moon looked at Wendy in surprise. “This isn’t fair!”
Wendy coughed twice. “I think this is for the good of the Witch Union— you’ll be safer not knowing something.”
Sylvie let out a long sigh.
Thus the latest crisis was averted.
I’ve successfully kept the secret… haven’t I?
An anxious Sylvie had the toughest dinner party in her life.
After the banquet, Roland returned to the bedroom with Anna.
At the moment, this place had been as decorated as their wedding room. Under the flickering candlelight, Anna’s figure in the wedding dress appeared dimmer, yet it exuded a particular sense of grace.
Roland walked up, gently took down her bridal veil, lifted up her bang, and stared into her eyes.
In the pair of eyes that were as clear as a lake, he saw rippling affection.
“Say my name, ok?”
“Anna?”
“No.” Her eyes blinked. “My full name.”
“Anna Wimbledon.”
“Once more.”
“Anna Wimbledon.”
“Can you call me that ten more times?”
Roland gently smiled. “As many times as you want.”
After hearing Roland whispering in her ear, Anna lowered her head shyly. “My request… is it a little weird?”
“A little.” Roland poked at her nose. “You’ll get tired of hearing this name in the future. You’re my wife, with or without my family name.”
In the world he came from, marriage did not require one party of the couple to change family names, so he did not care much about the name change after marriage.
“Even so, I feel I’m complete this way…” Anna pressed one hand on her chest. “I feel I’m no longer alone. That’s probably the point of any ceremony… either wearing a crown or changing a title, people are just acquiring a self-identification through the attached external changes. Although emotions between two people need no verification through a ceremony, without this link, a couple might feel pitiful and regretful afterward.”
“…” Roland could not help but hold her in his arms.
At this moment, any answer would have appeared redundant.
After a little intimacy, Anna said, “Roland, can I ask for something?”
If Roland remembered correctly, this was the first time that Anna ever asked something of him.
“Sure, go ahead.”
“I want to take the post of the minister of the Department of Industry.”
Roland was a little surprised. “This isn’t a problem, but why do you suddenly…”
“Because I’m only a common girl born in a remote small town,” Anna said smilingly. “Now I am suddenly the queen of Graycastle. I guess there must be many people feeling discontent.”
“Don’t worry. Nobody dares to gossip about it,” Roland consoled her.
“If everything has to be quieted down by you, it would only add to people’s suspicion.” She shook her head. “I can’t keep on hiding behind you and only indulge in things that I’m interested in. I want to do more, offering people no excuses to accuse me.”
“You’ve gone from being an unknown witch to becoming a figure taking charge of a whole department by yourself?” Roland smiled subconsciously. “I’ve never intended to keep you in that narrow backyard…”
“As you wish, my dear.”
“Thank you for indulging my willfulness.” Anna stood on her tiptoe and gently kissed Roland on his forehead. “Right, haven’t you always been curious about what I talked with Nightingale that one night?”
“Um…” Roland slightly paused. “I’ll be lying if I say I wasn’t, but…”
“It’s alright,” she said smilingly. “It was an agreement, and I’ve fulfilled it. Now… carry me to bed.”
The candle was put out by a string of Blackfire. The curtain of the night covered their silhouettes like a thin veil.
What an obscure and wonderful night.