Chapter 511: Whispers at Nightfall
Nightingale lay by the window and watched the city breathe in darkness.
Dim shapes spread beneath the night, tracing King’s City’s walls in overlapping tones. Nearest was the palace wall—light gray, lit by burning resin torches—a jeweled belt where light and shadow pressed against each other. Beyond it, the inner city wall ran gray-black like a long snake circling the city. Even under new rulership, the Inner City had kept its splendor; this was the first place Nightingale had seen that was livelier than Border Town. The short fierce war had left the noble and the rich untouched. They still danced. They still sang.
Beyond that wall, the sky went suddenly dark, as though all brightness had been swallowed. The outer city’s bluestone walls caught only a scatter of moonlight. Silence, stone, and shadow. The Inner City’s warmth looked small from here. For no reason she could name, Nightingale found herself thinking about how humanity had been cornered into this one sliver of continent while the rest of the Land of Dawn was being slowly devoured—demons and evil beasts pressing inward, most people utterly unaware, still dancing in their little circles of light.
“Phew, I’m beyond tired.” Wendy’s voice broke through her thoughts. The red-headed witch rubbed her shoulders and lay down beside Nightingale by the window.
“Have they fallen asleep already?”
“Finally.” Wendy yawned. “I don’t know where their energy comes from. They flew around on hydrogen balloons the entire day and still demanded a story before bed.” She paused. “You should thank His Majesty for that. If he hadn’t punished them with three sets of exercises, I doubt they’d have listened at all—they’d have gone out to explore the night instead.”
Nightingale turned to peer through the gap between the balcony and the bedroom. Maggie had curled over Lightning, white hair spilling across the smaller girl like a drift of snow. “Those two really hit it off.”
The rooms in the royal palace were generous, each living area flanked by two bedrooms. The witches who had followed Roland on the expedition were settled four to a room—the most splendid quarters in all of Graycastle. Carpets and bedding of velvet and silk; other materials Nightingale had never encountered before.
“Yes.” Wendy smiled gently. “I heard from Lady Tilly that Maggie used to turn into a pigeon and sleep perched on the rooftops. Any small sound would wake her. She only kept to pigeon form to escape any danger that might come. Now she sleeps like a normal little girl.” A pause, then Wendy’s voice filled with something quiet and full. “We’re very lucky.”
Nightingale said nothing. She didn’t need to. Every witch from the Cooperation Association who had survived would feel it the same way: when they had teetered between life and death, it was the Lord of Border Town who reached toward them and promised a new world. Their sisters had found hope. That new world was no longer distant—it was here, within reach. The Holy Mountain they had chased for hundreds of years had become real. Gratitude like that could not be compressed into words.
A long silence settled between them. The midnight bell rang from somewhere far away, low and even.
“Do you…” Wendy hesitated. “Do you want to go back? For a visit?”
Nightingale blinked. “Go back where?”
“Silver City.” Wendy pointed south. “It’s only half a day’s journey. If you let Maggie carry you, it wouldn’t take an hour. You do have a little brother living there, right?”
The question found her off-guard. After a moment she shook her head. “While we restore the city’s order, there are potential enemies everywhere. I can’t leave His Majesty now. And when everything in Graycastle is settled, I’ll have plenty of opportunities to visit. There’s no hurry.”
“I thought you’d say you’d already cut yourself off from the Gilen family,” Wendy said, relief in her voice. “Like you used to. But it sounds like you don’t hate your brother anymore?”
“Without his betrayal, I never would have met you. Or His Highness.” Nightingale smiled. “You always tell me: getting rid of the past nightmares doesn’t mean separating yourself from the past. I think I finally understand the second half of that. It’s enough to live a better life than before.”
“That’s rather a fine proverb to piece together.” Wendy raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you had such literary skills.”
“So I won’t be sneaking out. You can sleep in peace.” Nightingale took Wendy’s hands in hers. “It’s late.”
“Uh-huh.” The two of them settled onto the broad bed, and Wendy summoned a small breeze to blow out the candle. “Good night.”
“Good night.”
When she was sure Wendy’s breathing had deepened into sleep, Nightingale rose, stepped into the Mist, and walked to Roland’s room.
Now was her time.
Darkness was on her side.
The next morning, Iron Axe brought Roland both good news and bad.
The good news: after a night of interrogation, High Priest Ferry had finally admitted Hermes’ plan—secretly replacing Wimbledon III and issuing the Royal Decree on the Selection of Crown Prince.
The bad news: the Church had been scheming this war for years, engineering it precisely to bleed Graycastle’s military strength and accelerate the occupation. They had already taken the two southeastern provinces. If Roland had not traversed time to become Prince Roland, the plan would likely have succeeded.
“Did you hear all of that?” Roland turned to Theo, who stood at his shoulder. “Go spread the news. Especially the Church’s true intentions and Timothy’s collaboration with them—every detail, the more the better. I want every citizen of this city to know what they’ve done.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Roland turned back to Iron Axe. “Send out another paddle ship. Bring Barov and Kyle Sichi here.”
Iron Axe looked faintly embarrassed—an unusual expression on him. “Fetching the director is no problem, Your Majesty. But the chief alchemist… will he really agree to leave the lab? The journey alone costs him a week.”
“I’ll write to Kyle myself.” Roland frowned, then something lit in his expression. “There’s a saying: if you don’t return to your hometown when you’ve made something of yourself, it’s like wearing a fine suit in the middle of the night—what’s the point if nobody can see it? When a man has mastered impressive skills, he doesn’t mind showing them off. Kyle spent his career competing with the Alchemist Workshop in King’s City. Two of a trade never agree. Now he has a chance to beat his old rival on their home ground. I don’t believe he’ll refuse.”
He reached for a pen. “This is also a good opportunity to enlist all the alchemists in King’s City at once and bring them into my service.”
Chapter 511: Whispers at Nightfall
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
Nightingale lay by the window and watched the city under the night sky.
Dim shadows spread under the darkness and outlined the silhouette of King’s City’s wall. Under the light, the three walls showed some minor differences. The nearest palace wall was a light gray color, lit up by burning resin torches. At a glance, it looked like a jeweled belt with overlapping areas of light and dark.
Far away was the inner city wall, which was gray mixed with black, and it looked like a long snake that surrounded the city. Even after King’s City had a new ruler, the Inner City still kept its splendor. It was the first time that Nightingale saw a place busier and livelier than Border Town. This short, yet fierce war did not have any effects on the noble and the rich, so they still joyfully indulged themselves at night.
However, beyond that, the sky was suddenly darker as if all the light was blocked by the inner city’s wall. The darkness covered everything including the most splendid bluestone city wall, where Nightingale saw only some stones sparkle from the moon’s light. The Outer City just looked like most of the cities she had seen before. These cities fell into silence after the night came. In the vast darkness, the Inner City’s light seemed a bit dull but it did not stop people from dancing and singing. For some reason, Nightingale suddenly thought about how human beings were cornered into this part of the continent, and the vast Land of Dawn was being devoured by the darkness bit by bit. There were demons and evil beasts that lurked about but most people had no idea and still partook in what little entertainment they had.
“Phew, I’m beyond tired.” Wendy’s voice interrupted Nightingale’s thoughts, as the red-headed witch rubbed her shoulders and lay down next to
Nightingale by the window.
Nightingale asked, “Have they fallen asleep already?”
“Yes. They finally got tired after all the commotion they’ve stirred up today.” Wendy yawned. “I don’t know where their energy comes from. They flew around on hydrogen balloons the entire day and still they demanded to hear a story before going to bed.” Wendy finished.
“You should thank His Majesty for that.” Nightingale laughed. “If he didn’t punish them to do three sets of exercises, I’m afraid they’d go out to explore the night instead of listening to your story.” Nightingale turned around to look through the gap between the balcony and the bedroom and saw Maggie leaned over Lightning. Maggie’s white hair almost covered Lightning’s entire body. “Those two seem to really hit it off.” Nightingale expressed.
Since the rooms in the royal palace were more spacious and each living room was accompanied by two bedrooms. The witches that followed Roland on this expedition lived in four-person rooms with each other. These rooms were the most splendid places in the whole Kingdom of Graycastle. The carpets and bedding in the guest rooms were all made of excellent materials, some of which Nightingale recognized, like velvet and silk. Other things were made of materials she had never seen before.
“Yes.” Wendy also smiled gently. “I heard from Lady Tilly once that Maggie used to turn into a pigeon and slept while squatted on the roof. Any little noise would wake her and she only kept pigeon form to escape any possible dangers. Now, she finally can have a peaceful sleep just like a normal little girl.” She paused for a while and then continued, her voice filled with emotion, “We’re very lucky.”
Nightingale did not answer her… She did not need to. All the Witch Cooperation Association’s witches who survived would feel the same way. When they struggled between life and death, it was the Lord of Border Town who reached out to them and promised them a new world. Now, not only did their sisters see hope, but they also found that this new world was within reach. After the Holy Mountain, they pursued for hundreds of years, became a
reality, their gratitude and recognition could not be expressed within a few words.
They fell into a long silence until the midnight bell ranged from far away, and Wendy said, “Do you… want to go back and have a visit?”
Nightingale asked confused, “Go back to where?” She still was not fully awakened.
“Silver City, your hometown,” Wendy pointed south and said, “It’s only half a day’s journey from here. If you let Maggie carry you, it won’t even take an hour. You, you do have a little brother living there, right?”
Nightingale did not think she would bring this up, and after a little hesitation, she shook her head and explained, “While we restore the city’s order, there are potential enemies everywhere. So I can’t leave His Majesty now. Besides, when everything in the Kingdom of Graycastle is settled, I’ll have many opportunities to visit Silver City. There is no hurry.”
“I thought you’d emphasize that you’ve already removed yourself from the Gilen family, just like you did in the past,” Wendy said relieved, “You seem like… you don’t hate your little brother anymore?”
“Without his betrayal, I wouldn’t have met you, let alone His Highness.” Nightingale smiled. “You always say to me, ‘Getting rid of the past nightmares doesn’t mean separating yourself from the past.’ Now I finally understand the second half of the sentence. It’s okay as long as I live a better life than before.”
“Well… it seems like a good proverb pieced together.” Wendy raised her brow. “I didn’t know you had such literary skills.”
“So I won’t sneak out secretly, and you can go to sleep in peace.” Nightingale uttered as she held Wendy’s hands. “It’s late.”
“Uh-huh.” Wendy huffed as the two of them crawled on the big bed, and Wendy summoned a slight breeze to blow out the candle. “Good night,” Wendy mumbled.
Nightingale replied, “Good night.”
After Nightingale was sure that Wendy was asleep, she got up from the bed, went into the Mist, and walked to Roland’s room.
Next, it was her time.
Darkness was on her side.
The next day, Roland received both good news and bad news from Iron Axe. The good news was that after one night’s interrogation, High Priest Ferry finally admitted Hermes’ plan of secretly replacing Wimbledon III and issuing the Royal Decree on the Selection of Crown Prince.
The bad news was that the church had plotted this war for a long time, so they could weaken the military potential of the Kingdom of Graycastle and occupy it more quickly. They actually occupied many areas, like the two provinces in the southeast of the kingdom. If Roland had not traversed time to become Prince Roland, this plan would probably have destroyed the Kingdom of Graycastle already.
“Did you hear all of that?” Roland asked Theo, who stood beside him. “Go spread the news, especially about the church’s true intentions and Timothy’s collaboration with them. The more details you disclose, the better. I want every citizen of the city to know what they have done.”
Theo answered, “Yes.”
Then Roland turned to Iron Axe and ordered, “Send out another paddle ship to bring Barov and Kyle Sichi here.”
Iron Axe seemed embarrassed, which was uncommon for him. “It’s no problem to fetch the director, but the chief alchemist… Will he really agree to leave the lab and waste his precious time on the road?” Iron Axe questioned.
“I’ll write to Kyle.” Roland frowned. “There’s a saying that if you don’t come back and visit your hometown when you get rich, it’s like wearing a black suit in the middle of the night. What’s the point if people can’t see it? When a man learns impressive skills, he shouldn’t mind showing it off. When Kyle was in Redwater City, he always competed with the Alchemist Workshop in King’s City. As they say, two of a trade never agree. Now Kyle has a chance to beat his rival, so I don’t believe that he won’t come.”
This is also a good opportunity to enlist all the alchemists in King’s City in one swoop and make them serve me.”