Chapter 611: Preparations for Sleeping Island
The fjord, Sleeping Island.
As winter approached, the sea breeze sweeping across the island grew colder. Even with the windows closed, Tilly could still occasionally hear the sharp whistling sound of the wind passing through the gaps.
At this time, few people would be willing to stroll outdoors, but in fact, the central square of Sleeping Island was always filled with people celebrating. The grand bonfire dance had been going on for days, and pots of boiling fish soup were cooked one after another. The witches displayed their abilities, turning the square into a pleasant paradise.
If she didn't have so many things to deal with, Tilly would also want to join the carnival and share the joy of the Church being defeated with everyone.
Since she brought the news back, the lives of the witches had undergone a complete change—not that their living conditions had changed, but their spirits had become completely different from before. Everyone seemed to have unloaded the burden on their shoulders, their eyes were brighter than before, and their words and deeds showed obvious relaxation and ease.
From that moment on, they finally didn't have to live in worry and fear. The mountain pressing on their heads collapsed, the dense haze dissipated, and even the howling cold wind couldn't dispel the enthusiasm in their hearts.
This is probably the taste of "liberation" that Roland speaks of, Tilly thought.
Just then, Camilla Dairui, the head housekeeper of Sleeping Island, knocked on the door and entered the room.
"Your Highness, I have completed the preliminary statistics of the witches willing to go to the Western Region," she sat cross-legged opposite Tilly and placed a stack of lists on the low table. "About half of them have signed up to support the Western Region."
"Is that so? It's better than I expected. Thank you for your hard work." Tilly nodded with a smile, picked up the list, and carefully looked through it.
Regarding the relocation to the Western Region, the Fifth Princess told the witches on the island that it was to support the construction of Neverwinter City in order to resist a greater disaster—the arrival of the Divine Will War.
In order to allow everyone to make a choice that was true to their own wishes, Tilly did not hide the news of the Witch Empire, the Union, and the devils. Instead, she clearly told everyone that the Church was only a part of the Union, and that people's real enemies were the devils from another world. They had no mercy and no kindness, so helping the Western Region was also helping themselves. Of course, even living on the island and living out their lives was not a problem.
She originally thought that many sisters would be frightened by the new enemies, or that they were already tired of dealing with ordinary people and had doubts about the uncertain future, so they decided to stay on Sleeping Island. However, judging from the statistics of nearly half the number of people, those devils they had never met were far less terrifying than the Church, and the witches' desire for the wide world outside had not been extinguished.
"They are full of interest in the Fourth Prince who defeated the Pope and want to see what the lord who eradicated the great enemy of the witches looks like," Camilla sighed helplessly. "And there is a very important point: your brother's identity also adds a lot to him. They have transferred their trust in you to him as well."
"You don't seem very reassured."
"Of course, he is a noble after all, and an ordinary person, with an essential difference from us... And forgive me for speaking frankly, for the sake of profit, blood ties are sometimes an obstacle." The head housekeeper frowned slightly. "Your Highness, I am not questioning your decision, nor am I saying that your brother is two-faced, but what if... I mean, what if what he seeks is contrary to the interests of the witches, and then, like other nobles, raises a butcher's knife against us again, what should we do?"
"I understand your concerns. This decision was made after careful consideration." Tilly put down the list, took Camilla's hand, "Witches may be different from ordinary people, but under the threat of the Divine Will War, we have a common goal, which is to survive. Instead of completely avoiding the secular world, why not take this opportunity to integrate into it and form an inseparable community of interests with ordinary people? When our abilities penetrate into various fields, even if Roland wants to go back on his agreement with Sleeping Island, he will not be able to leave the power of the witches."
"But... will he let go of his control over us?"
"Judging from the contact over the past six months, Roland has not imposed any additional restrictions on the witches, otherwise the Witch Union of the Western Region would not be able to support him unreservedly." Tilly smiled, "And compared to these grand principles, I trust my intuition more."
"Intuition?"
"Yes... I don't think he would do such a thing," she said slowly, tapping on the table.
Camilla was stunned for a while, and finally laughed as if surrendering, "Thinking back, since I met you, your judgment has never been wrong."
"This time will be the same," Tilly raised the corners of her mouth.
"I understand, Your Highness," the head housekeeper said with her hand on her chest, "I will complete the preparations for the witch migration as soon as possible."
"Thank you for your trouble."
The Fifth Princess knew very well that Camilla, who was originally from a noble family, had seen too much of the power struggles and dirty deeds between nobles, and had long lost faith in this class. But she didn't know that Roland was not like a noble in the traditional sense at all, and Tilly felt this more and more as she came into contact with him. Not only his attitude towards witches, but also his attitude towards anyone else was completely different from that of nobles—she called him brother not because of the past Fourth Prince relationship, but because she simply liked this kind of unhindered and unbiased relationship.
When talking to Roland, she could always feel a long-lost relaxation and comfort, and she believed that other witches had the same feeling.
"By the way, I've also heard some bad rumors recently," Camilla changed the subject.
"What rumors?"
"They are related to the news you brought back—some people believe that since witches used to create vast empires and bring all ordinary people under their rule, they should also imitate the Union and create an organization with witches as the superiors, to restore the glory of their ancestors."
"What's the source?" Tilly raised her eyebrows. "Is it the witches of the Bloodfang Association?"
"No... they believe in allegiance to the strong. The Western Region was able to defeat seemingly invincible enemies, and there is the full corroboration of Iffy, Youyu, and Dusk. Those combat witches were among the first to sign up to support Neverwinter City." Camilla shook her head. "I investigated, and the source should be from other witch organizations."
The Sleeping Island witches are a large collective. In addition to the Bloodfang Association, there are also some scattered groups, similar to the Mutual Aid Society of Seawind County. Before she launched her appeal, these groups were generally built to escape Church capture and to help each other. It's just that they don't have the strength of the Bloodfang Association, and they rarely criticize Tilly's policies.
"I understand," she nodded.
"Do you need me to talk to their leaders?"
"No, let them be," Tilly said indifferently, "When those people arrive in the Western Region, they will naturally understand that the Union has become history. What awaits us will be a brand new path."