Chapter 541: The Mists of Bloodfang Association
Two days later, Roland received Iffy again.
The change in her was visible. Color had returned to her face; her eyes held something more complicated now — a layered, guarded weight that made her look less like a weapon and more like a person.
“Lady Heidi Morgan wishes to meet you.” Iffy bowed. “She cannot come herself, so she asked Princess Tilly to send us here.” Her opening words surprised him. “Lady Heidi does not care for Her Highness. She believes combat witches are the true core of Sleeping Island — that the Bloodfang Association should not be treated as an ordinary witch organization. She wants your help to change that. She promises to offer more than Tilly offers.” A pause. “Though I know you don’t need anything from her.”
“Tell me about the Bloodfang Association,” Roland said, resting his chin on his hand.
“Yes…”
The telling took the better part of an hour. By the end, Roland’s frown had settled into something harder.
“Does Tilly know any of this?”
“I don’t know.” Iffy shook her head. “Lady Heidi forbids us from speaking of the Association’s past, and she seldom speaks with Her Highness herself.”
“And the other organizations on Sleeping Island?”
“They draw close to the Graycastle witches — particularly after the Sleeping Spell was established. Some combat witches agree with Lady Heidi privately, but most have no wish to stand against Ashes.”
So the weight on Tilly’s shoulders is not so much lighter than mine.
He turned this over slowly. His own position was clear: rightful ruler of the Western Region, his authority backed by law and force. Sleeping Island was something else — a loose covenant, a gathering of survivors who had come to Tilly on their own terms. She held no formal power over the smaller groups. She had only her judgment, her patience, and the stage she had built for those witches the world called useless.
The bounty guild was clever precisely because of this. An assistant witch who could complete missions and live well had no reason to resent the woman who made that possible. Tilly had understood something essential: a slogan means nothing. Changed lives mean everything.
Which was exactly why Heidi Morgan could not wait.
The daughter of Archduke Morgan — and yet she had refused to shelter a single non-combat witch. It was not poverty. It was a policy. All that the Bloodfang Association was, had ever been, was a force assembled to fight for Heidi’s interests. And her obsession with Wolfheart ran through everything Iffy had described like a vein of iron.
Roland would need to write to Tilly. Soon.
“Didn’t Heidi forbid you from speaking of any of this?” He knocked lightly on the desk. “Have you decided to stop following her orders?”
Iffy bit her lip. “I want to join the Witch Union.”
He stopped knocking.
He had anticipated that seeing the firearms would shake the combat witches’ certainty — but he had not expected this. Not so quickly, not so completely.
“But you hurt Maggie,” he said. “Right now I can’t simply—”
“Punish me however you like.”
Iffy opened her robe.
From behind, a pair of hands covered Roland’s eyes — Nightingale, reflexively stepping out of the Mist to shield him, though her translucent fingers let the light through.
Iffy lowered the robe and turned her back.
Roland’s breath caught.
The scars covered her entirely — a map of old violence, raised and pale, crisscrossing the delicate skin in every direction. Healed too long ago for Nana to smooth away. When Iffy had described the Bloodfang Association’s training, she had used precise, economical language, as though she were recounting someone else’s experience. He understood now what that restraint had cost her.
“Put on your clothes,” he said quietly.
“Your Majesty—”
Nightingale had materialized fully, drawing Iffy’s robe back up to her shoulders without ceremony.
“If you want to join the Witch Union, don’t bring the Bloodfang Association’s methods with you.” Roland pressed down the tightness rising in his chest. “Apply to Wendy. Whether the other witches accept you will depend on what you show them.” He paused. “Regardless — Neverwinter is home to witches. You can stay here even if you don’t join.”
Iffy’s shoulders dropped, a slow release. “Thank you… for your kindness.”
After she left, Roland rose and walked to the tall window, exhaling slowly toward the grey sky.
His team for capturing the demon was complete. He should have felt ready.
“She’s lucky, in her way,” Nightingale said, appearing at his side.
“You call that luck?”
“Compared with Annie.” Her voice was even. “At least Iffy is alive. If the Bloodfang Association is truly the only witch organization to survive in Wolfheart, its members would have died terribly if the Church or the nobility ever found them. That’s why the witches longed for the Holy Mountain so desperately.”
A question surfaced. “Heidi claimed she sent the non-combat witches to other organizations — but how would she have known where to find them? Organizations move constantly. Their locations are their lives. No leader shares that with anyone they don’t trust completely.” He shook his head. “And even if she did know — why would those organizations accept strangers thrown at them without warning? The risk of exposure alone—”
The more he followed the thread, the more the knot tightened.
Nightingale had confirmed Iffy wasn’t lying.
Which meant the problem did not lie with Iffy. It lay somewhere in the Association’s origins — in who had founded it, and why, and what they had been willing to do.
Heidi Morgan was not loyal to witches.
He had suspected it. Now he was certain.
He needed to reach Tilly before Heidi did anything she couldn’t take back.
Chapter 541: The Mists of Bloodfang Association
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
Two days later, Roland met Iffy in his office again.
Her complexion was much better now. In her eyes, they seemed to have more complex emotions, which made her look more fresh and alive, more “human”.
“Heidi Morgan wants to see you, but she’s not able to come over, so she asked Tilly Wimbledon to send us here.” Iffy bowed to Roland, and her opening remarks surprised Roland slightly. “Lady Heidi doesn’t like Her Highness, Tilly. She believes that combat witches are the real core of Sleeping Island, so the Bloodfang Association shouldn’t just be treated as an ordinary witch organization. She wants to make a breakthrough with your help, and she promises to offer more than what Tilly offers. Of course… I know Your Highness doesn’t need them.”
“Tell me the details of the Bloodfang Association,” said Roland with a hand propping up his chin.
“Yes…”
Her storytelling lasted about an hour, while Roland was frowning more and more. In the end, Roland could not help but ask, “Does Tilly know about all of this?”
“I don’t know.” Iffy shook her head. “Lady Heidi forbids us from revealing the past of the Bloodfang Association, and seldom talks with Her Highness.”
“How about the other witch organizations in Sleeping Island?”
“They’re closer to the witches from the Kingdom of Graycastle, especially after the building of the Sleeping Spell. Although some combat witches agree with Lady Heidi secretly, most of them don’t want to confront Ashes.”
“It turns out the pressure on Tilly’s shoulders is not much lesser than mine.” Roland felt impressed. “Different from the situation that I’m the perfectly justified ruler of the Western Region, witches of Sleeping Island are more like in a loose organization based on covenants. Although Tilly is the organizer, she actually doesn’t have the authority over those small groups who came to join her.” Especially because of this, it showed Tilly’s merits were superior to others—uniting most of the assistant witches, and positively establishing connections with the secular rulers of other islands. In particular, the invention of the Sleeping Spell gave her a chance to manage all the other witches.
After all, “Assistant witches are equally important” should not be just a slogan. The witches’ bounty guild just offered those assistant witches with various odd abilities an excellent stage to present themselves. When they completed missions and obtained a large amount of remuneration, they could then use it to improve the quality of their lives on Sleeping Island. Such a mindset would be formed gradually. After all, no powerful combat witch would like to spend her days chewing salted fish. Especially when the assistant witches had their status promoted, they would naturally favor Tilly. When the time came, as the leader of the guild, Tilly would undoubtedly gain a great power of speech.
This was probably why Heidi Morgan could not wait any longer.
In addition, the Bloodfang Association was full of doubtful points. As the daughter of Archduke Morgan, how could Heidi not be able to afford a group of non-combat witches? It was only fair to say that she did not intend to take those “useless” people in from the very beginning. Different from the fact that witches from the Witch Cooperation Association wanted to be united to help each other, all that she wanted was a team which could fight for her benefits.
Plus her obsession towards the Kingdom of Wolfheart, all of these made Roland vigilant against her.
He should probably write a secret letter to Tilly, telling her to carefully watch out the moves of the Bloodfang Association.
“Didn’t Heidi forbid you from revealing the secrets of the Bloodfang Association?” He lightly knocked on the desk. “Don’t you want to follow her instructions anymore?”
Iffy bit on her lips. “I want to join the Witch Union.”
Roland stopped knocking and looked at her in surprise. Although he knew that the exhibition of the powers of the thermal weapons would greatly strike the powerful and arrogant combat witches, he did not expect the effect would be so… extraordinary.
“But you hurt Maggie.” He contemplated for a while. “Right now I can’t…”
“About that, you can punish me as you wish.”
Iffy unbuttoned her robe.
Almost at the same time, a pair of hands covered Roland’s eyes from behind. But Nightingale seemed to have forgotten that she was in the mist and that her transparent fingers could not block Roland’s vision.
Iffy lowered her robe and turned her back to Roland.
Roland could not help but gasp.
He could see, on Iffy’s back there were all sorts of whip scars. The restored wounds looked like numerous earthworms lying crisscross on her back, forming a sharp contrast with the surrounding delicate skin. As the wounds had been healed, even Nana could not do anything to them with her healing ability. Those scars remained as they were.
When Iffy talked about the rigorous fighting trainings in the Bloodfang Association, she only used very brief words. Now when Roland thought back, he could vaguely smell the bloody atmosphere in her words.
“Put on your clothes,” he said with a low voice.
“But, Your Majesty…”
Nightingale had shown herself and pulled up Iffy’s robe to the shoulders.
“If you want to join the Witch Union, then don’t bring the Bloodfang Association’s ways of handling things here.” Roland suddenly felt a suppression in his chest. “You can apply to Wendy. As to whether the other witches would accept you, it’ll depend on your performance.” He paused. “Anyway, City of Neverwinter is the home to witches. Even if you don’t join the union, you can settle down here.”
Upon hearing this, Iffy’s shoulders loosened. “Thank you… for your kindness.”
…
After watching her leave, Roland stood up, walked to the French window, and let out a deep breath.
Till now, his team for arresting demons was fully assembled and yet he could not feel relaxed.
“Actually, she’s very lucky,” Nightingale walked to him and said.
“Can that be called lucky?”
“Compared with her friend Annie, at least she survived. If the Bloodfang Association is really the only witch organization survived in the Kingdom of Wolfheart, then its members will end tragically in case they get caught by the church or the noble. That’s also why the member witches yearned so much for the Holy Mountain.”
A doubt suddenly emerged in Roland’s heart. “Were those non-combat witches really sent to other witch organizations by Heidi Morgan? To avoid the exposure of their whereabouts, the witches seldom contacted one another, and their gathering places changed frequently. How did Heidi gathered such information? After all, the foothold of an organization is a matter of life and
death. If not to particularly trusted persons, the organization leader probably won’t tell other people of their gathering sites easily.”
Even if Heidi knew all that, sending the witches to other organizations was highly risky of an exposure. Would the other organizations willingly accept whatever she threw at them?
The more he thought about it, the more he found it weird.
But Nightingale confirmed that Iffy was not lying.
Obviously, the problem lay within the founders of the Bloodfang Association.
In conclusion, Heidi seemed more dangerous now. Roland realized that he should convey the information to Tilly as soon as possible so that she could carry out an investigation and make some early preparations.
The daughter of Archduke Morgan was most likely not royal to witches.