Chapter 427: The Aftermath
Roland walked into the office yawning as the sky brightened.
It was supposed to have been an uncomplicated day.
Lucia’s magic had become turbulent without warning — Nightingale had caught the change in her expression a half-second before it turned critical, recognizing the signs of a magic power bite. Incredible, given how diligently Lucia practiced, given that she had deliberately depleted her reserves before the Day of Adulthood. It shouldn’t have happened.
Agatha had a solution before anyone else finished understanding the problem.
As a former member of the Union, she had watched countless witches awaken. She moved quickly: Spear summoned the magic power channel and drew the bite out of Lucia’s body, transferring it to Anna, who had the capacity to hold it. The Sigil of God’s Will absorbed what remained.
What no one had anticipated was what happened next.
The released magic power lit all four God’s Stones simultaneously. Anna, without hesitation, discharged the Sigil into the open air.
The town was flooded with gold.
The light pierced through the castle wall and climbed into the sky. The thick winter clouds above Border Town caught it and scattered it in thousands of threads, each one burning against the dark in a way that was genuinely, irrationally beautiful. It lasted only moments. It looked like something that belonged to a different kind of story entirely.
Lucia was safe. She had come through with a new ability crystallized — a High Awakening, the same as Anna’s a year before.
But it was eight o’clock in the evening when it happened. Most of the town was still awake.
Roland sat down, rubbed his face, and started waiting for the door to knock.
It knocked almost immediately.
“Director Barov is asking to see Your Highness.”
“Send him in.”
Barov crossed the threshold looking like a man who had not slept. The dark circles under his eyes confirmed it. He skipped the formal greeting entirely.
“Your Highness. What happened last night? There was daylight in the sky. At night.”
He was direct about it, at least. Roland gestured to the chair across the table and poured tea without being asked.
“Sit down. Drink something first.”
He explained the situation briefly — Lucia’s Day of Adulthood, the unexpected magic bite, the intervention that resolved it. “It was an accident. No one was hurt, except the castle wall.”
Barov’s frown deepened. “The people will not interpret it that way. Miss Nana’s healing — that they accepted. They see it as beneficial, harmless. But this—” He shook his head. “Destroying a castle wall and lighting up the night sky like sunrise. That’s a different category.”
“Which is why I have a solution.” Roland set down his cup. “Have your men spread the following: the golden light last night was His Highness capturing lightning — in preparation for bringing electric light to the town.”
Barov stared at him. “What?”
“I’m building power supply equipment in Border Town. It produces light by the same principle as lightning.” Roland was aware he was being technically imprecise in ways Barov had no framework to follow. He kept going. “The story is consistent with what people will see when the work is finished. Let the rumors align with the truth in advance.”
“Can you actually make lightning?”
“It’s everywhere already. We’re just directing it.” He waved a hand. “The phrasing should remain appropriately vague. You know how to spread a story so it shapes discussion without committing to specifics. Apply that.”
After Barov left, Karl Van Bate arrived — the Minister of Construction, already thinking about logistics before he sat down.
“Your Highness, regarding last night—”
“I know. Sit.”
Karl, to his credit, absorbed the explanation without visible alarm and simply nodded. “Anna has become remarkably powerful.”
“The intervention was well-timed,” Roland agreed. “Any longer and it might not have been just the wall.”
“The gaps—”
“Brick fill, before nightfall. Lightning and Hummingbird can assist with the heavier work. Soraya can restore the surface appearance afterward.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Then Carter Lannis, wanting to know if anyone was hurt. Then Iron Axe, wanting to know if the light had been caused by a demonic attack. Then Kyle Sichi — whose concern turned out to be a question about comparative destructive yield between the Sigil of God’s Will and nitroglycerin, which Roland answered with less patience than it deserved, and filed away to address later from a more rested position.
By the time the last of them left he had explained the incident five distinct times to five distinct sets of anxieties. He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes.
The door knocked.
“Come in.”
Tilly Wimbledon stepped into the office and looked at him.
“I’m not here about the light,” she said. “I already know what happened — I asked Anna before I came.”
Roland straightened. “All right. What are you here about?”
Tilly settled into the chair across from him with the particular composure of someone who had been thinking carefully and wanted to be precise. “I’m concerned about the cause. According to what Agatha and I know, a witch who practices regularly and releases her magic power before her Day of Adulthood should not develop a magic bite. It simply shouldn’t happen — we haven’t seen it among the witches on Sleeping Island, not once.” She paused. “As for the High Awakening itself — that doesn’t surprise me. I’ve been watching remarkable things happen in this town since I arrived.” A small, dry smile. “Several per day, it seems.”
Roland almost said that’s an exaggeration and stopped himself. He opened the desk drawer and withdrew a document, a transcript he had kept precisely for this kind of conversation.
“I have a preliminary theory about why Lucia was the exception,” he said. He held it out to her. “This may be the answer.”
Chapter 427: The Aftermath
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
Roland walked into the office yawning as the sky turned bright.
He had not expected so many accidents on the Day of Adulthood. It was supposed to be an easy day.
The magic in Lucia’s body became extremely turbulent. Nightingale realized something was wrong with her expression. It was exactly the sign of the magic power bite. It was incredible that this was happening to a witch who practiced frequently, especially since she had released all her magic power prior to her Day of Adulthood.
Agatha came out with a solution.
As an ex-member of the Union she had witnessed countless witches awaken. She quickly thought of a remedy.
Ice Witch made Spear Passi summon the magic power channel and release the bite from Lucia’s body. Then it was transferred to Anna who had the greatest capacity. Finally, the restless magic power was absorbed by the Sigil of God’s Will.
Surprisingly, the released magic power had lit up four God’s Stones and activated the Sigil of God’s Will. Anna released it into the open space without further hesitation.
Suddenly, the town was brightened by the golden sun. The dazzling light shone through the castle wall and pierced through the dark, starless sky. The thick clouds could be seen in the dark sky and there were thousands of tassels flowing in the sky. It was incredibly beautiful. Although it only lasted for a few moments, the scene was undoubtedly miraculous.
Lucia was finally safe and she had developed a new ability during this adulthood transformation, just like Anna had a year ago.
However, it was not without trouble. The accident had happened around eight o’clock at night, when most people were still awake. Quite a number of people must have witnessed this spectacular event. Roland would have to come up with an explanation to the public when he returned to his room.
“Your Highness, Director Barov asked to see you,” the door guard informed after knocking on the door.
“Let him in.”
Barov with a head full of white hair walked into the office. Before he paying his respect, he blatantly asked, “Your Highness, what happened last night? How come there was daylight appearing in the night?”
He was indeed here about the light. Roland took a glance at his face and saw dark circles. He probably had not slept either. If outsiders were not strictly prohibited from entering the castle at night, he would have come to the door last night.
“No hurry. Have a seat.” Roland pointed at the chair in front of the table and said, “Have a cup of black tea first.”
Roland mentioned the incident of Lucia’s adulthood after pouring a glass of hot tea. “It was just an accident, don’t worry too much.”
“So… this was caused by a witch?” The City Hall Director frowned.
“Don’t be silly. It was not the demonic side.” Roland quickly guessed the other party’s thought. “No one was hurt aside from the missing wall of this old, broken castle.”
“But the villagers will think this,” Barov shook his head. “Most of them accepted the harmless healing power of Miss Nana but not the ability to destroy the castle like this, causing astonishing changes in the sky.”
“That’s why I came up with a solution,” said Roland while sipping his tea. “You’ll arrange for your men to spread this news: the golden light that appeared last night was from when His Highness captured lightning, in order to bring light to his people.”
“What?” Barov was stunned.
“I’ll soon be building the power supply equipment in Border Town. It has a similar essence to the lightning in the sky.” Prince Roland explained briefly. He knew he was speaking technically and the other party could hardly understand. “This equipment can light up the town brightly even during the night. It coincides with the news.”
“Is that… Is that true?” The director asked in surprise, “Can you really make lightning?”
“It’s everywhere by itself,” Roland shrugged and said, “however, please remember that it’s just hearsay, so it shall be spread according to ‘the Art of Rumor’. Do you understand?”
In order to prevent any impact on the universal education in the future, these statements should not be too democratic. It would be fine as long as an ambiguous explanation could temporarily be given to the public to redirect the discussion towards himself.
Not too long after Barov left, Karl Van Bate, the Minister of Construction came to the castle.
“Your Highness, regarding last night…”
“I know what you want to ask,” Roland put his hand on his forehead. “Sit down first and we’ll talk.”
He sighed silently to himself. Perhaps he would have to explain this incident for the entire day.
Fortunately, Karl was not a deep thinker like Barov, and he simply sighed after listening and said, “It turns out Anna has already become so strong.”
“It was indeed a decisive disposition at the time.” Roland agreed. “If there was any further delay, I’m afraid it would have been not only the wall that disappeared but the whole bedroom instead.”
“The gap in the wall…”
“Just fill it in with bricks. You can go ahead to arrange an exact plan as long as it’s done before the nightfall. I’ll get Lightning and Hummingbird to help you with this.” Prince Roland said. The appearance of the castle would need to be restored after mending the wall. He would get Soraya to paint a simulation coating on it.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
As expected, Carter Lannis, the Chief Knight; Iron Axe, the instructor of the First Army and Kyle Sichi, the alchemist, were taking turns to ask about yesterday’s incident and each of them had a different concern.
Carter was concerned about whether she was hurt.
Iron Axe was concerned that the light had been caused by the demons’ attack.
However, what concerned Kyle was… which was more powerful, the Sigil of God’s Will or the nitric acid glycerine?
The men were finally dismissed after a series of non-stop talking and explanations by Roland. He leaned back in his chair, getting ready to take a nap but someone was knocking on the door again.
The last to enter was Tilly Wimbledon.
“No worries. Yesterday was…”
“I already know about it.” Lady Tilly interrupted. “I asked Miss Anna before I came here and she told me what happened.”
“Oh, I see.” Roland cleared his throat and sat up straight. “Anything else?”
“I’m just a little concerned with the cause.” Tilly said slowly, “According to Miss Agatha, be it awakening or adulthood, as long as a certain amount of practice is carried out normally, it shouldn’t cause any sign of magic power bite. It’s basically in line with what we’ve learned from past experience. It’s never happened to any of the witches on the Sleeping Island, so how could Lucia be the one who fell into the bite of the magic power?” She paused here for a little, shook her head and said with a smile, “As for the High Awakening, I’m not surprised… I’ve seen a few of them each day since I arrived in Border Town.”
A few of them each day, that’s an extreme exaggeration… Roland thought, he poured her a cup of tea. Contemplating for a moment, he said, “I do have a preliminary guess regarding Lucia’s misfortune.” He pulled out a transcript from the drawer and handed it to Tilly. “This’s probably the reason.”