All the curtains were drawn, and the fireplace blazed, maintaining a comfortable temperature in the room.

Unlike Anna's awakening day, Nana was awake. To ensure she could quickly gather her spirits before the pain arrived, everyone kept her company with stories and simple games to prevent her from becoming sleepy and falling asleep.

Roland even performed a few coin tricks, leaving everyone amazed, especially Nana, who stared intently at Roland's hands. If it were any other time, she would have already been clamoring to learn them.

Magic in this era was still at the stage of grand, theatrical performances. What Roland had seen in the palace included snake charming with flutes, fire breathing, and smashing stone slabs on the chest. Compared to the smaller-scale magic of later generations, which specialized in illusions and finger techniques, it was clearly inferior.

Finally, Lightning recounted her sailing experiences, navigating islands and fjords with her father, Thunder, crossing whirlpools and reefs, and hunting deep-sea giant sharks and claw octopuses. Although everyone knew that a good half of it was fabricated, they all listened with great interest. Even Roland was engrossed—in his mental images, those sailing ships had become ironclad battleships, speeding across the boundless ocean to reach the New World.

In fact, he didn't quite understand the historical progress of this world. The records with clear dates all stopped more than four hundred and fifty years ago. Recalling the knowledge the prince had learned from the palace tutor, it didn't mention the reason. Perhaps this guy simply hadn't been paying attention in class, he thought. Border Town also didn't have facilities like archives or libraries. Once he took Longsong Stronghold, he would find a few learned scholars to ask.

When Lightning finished her adventure story, Roland couldn't help but yawn. He looked at Nightingale, who shook her head, indicating that the magic power had not yet changed. It was so inconvenient not having accurate timekeeping tools, making it impossible to judge how long they had been waiting. Roland poured himself a glass of warm water and sat down to continue waiting.

But gradually, everyone noticed something was amiss. The time had passed for far too long—Nana was already yawning repeatedly, on the verge of succumbing to sleepiness. Nightingale also became anxious, touching the little girl's forehead while staring at the flow of magic power within her.

Roland picked up his cup only to find it was empty. He walked to the fireplace, took down the kettle, and refilled it. As he passed the window, he couldn't help but lift the curtain to glance at it, wanting to see if the snow had changed. As a small gap opened in the heavy curtain, a sliver of light shone in.

He was pleasantly surprised to find that a glimmer of dawn had appeared in the dark sky.

"Look!" Roland pulled open the entire curtain. Everyone was startled by his shout and turned around. Looking at the faint light in the distance, they realized that a new day had arrived.

Nana had safely passed the day of magic power backlash.

*******************

Roland stretched and returned to the bedroom, finding two more people in the room.

Nightingale and Wendy.

Their faces showed no trace of sleepiness, only excitement.

"Are you really sure that Nana's 'date' was today—no, last night?" Roland asked.

"Yes, but the changes were so subtle that I thought the critical moment of backlash hadn't arrived yet," Nightingale said with certainty. "Your Highness, your theory is correct! As long as magic power is continuously released, its total amount will keep increasing, but the pain the body endures will decrease. If a certain amount of training can be maintained every day, all witches have a great chance of surviving the awakening day!"

"In the entire Kingdom of Graycastle, only your territory allows witches to use their abilities without restraint. In a sense, this place is the sacred mountain of witches," Wendy continued. "I would like to beg you to let as many witches as possible know this news, and let the sisters come to the sanctuary as soon as possible. I think they would be willing to serve you."

"That's what I originally planned to do," Roland nodded. "When the Months of Demons ends, the residents will have some understanding and contact with witches. At that time, I will arrange for people to spread the news—in the form of rumors. You should know that I can't openly recruit witches, as that would cause a great disturbance in the country," he paused slightly. "Unless the Church perishes, or I ascend the throne."

"Then I am willing to help you ascend the throne," Wendy seemed to have been waiting for these words. She knelt down on one knee without hesitation, swearing allegiance. It was evident that her movements were not practiced, as if she had just learned them. But Roland did not dwell on these details. He accepted her allegiance as he had accepted Nightingale's.

After getting up, Wendy smiled at Nightingale. "How did I do?"

The latter pursed her lips. "Just barely."

Roland shook his head helplessly. "Since that's the case, go to sleep early, you haven't closed your eyes all night."

"Your Highness, I have another request," Wendy, who had just stood up, knelt down again.

"Speak," Roland said, his smile fading, and asked seriously. The fact that she had adopted such a posture made it clear that it was not an easy request to grant.

"I want to go back to the camp one more time."

"Wendy!" Nightingale stared at her in surprise. The latter's eyes were filled with determination.

"I don't know if they found the Sacred Mountain, maybe they did, maybe they didn't. I hope to go to the Impassable Mountain Range after the Months of Demons ends. If Hakkala hasn't found the Sacred Mountain, they should have returned to the mountains."

"This situation is the most dangerous," Roland frowned. "Your respected instructor attacked you without regard for past feelings."

"If she really wanted to kill me, I would have died back then," Wendy said. "The demonic snake she summoned was 'Agony,' not 'Death.' I may not be able to bring back many, or even anyone, but I can at least tell the sisters this news. As long as they release magic power every day, they won't have to suffer that terrible pain." At this point, her voice became extremely gentle. "Your Highness, as long as you continue to treat the witches kindly, my life belongs to you, and naturally, I won't give up easily. I will protect myself. Please grant me my request."

Roland fell silent. For safety reasons, he should refuse Wendy. But he also knew the significance of this request to her—if there was a chance to save more witches, she would be willing to take the risk. If he refused, she might obey his orders, but the sisters she had lost would leave a permanent scar in her heart.

"I agree," Roland finally nodded. "But it must be two months after the Months of Demons ends, and you must go with Lightning. I will give you firearms for self-defense, and... God's Stone of Retaliation. Lightning will provide support from a distance, while you wear the God's Stone of Retaliation to negotiate with them. This way, Hakkala or other witches won't be able to use their abilities to harm you."

"Your Highness, please let me go with her!" Nightingale said.

"No, Veronica. Your Highness's safety is much more important than mine. He is the hope of all witches," Wendy shook her head and smiled. "Take good care of him."