Tilly left the office, and Roland breathed a sigh of relief.

Apparently, it was a very stressful thing to talk nonsense with a straight face in front of a smart person, especially when you had to maintain a sincere and earnest expression throughout. Fortunately, Nightingale's report gave him a chance to catch his breath—the Sleeping Island witches had all returned to the castle, and Roland took the opportunity to end the conversation.

"So, facing your witch sister, do you have a special feeling?" Nightingale flipped over and sat on the table, looking down at the prince.

The latter rolled his eyes and said unhappily, "Does feeling stressed count as a special feeling?"

"I thought it would be a deeply moving reunion," she pouted.

"I didn't have a good relationship with her," Roland sighed. "I often bullied her when we were in the palace. After growing up, she's no different from a stranger. It's already a pleasant surprise that she came here."

"Oh?" she said meaningfully. "You wouldn't spend time alone with other strange witches. I think you trust her quite a bit."

That's because I don't want you to see me lying, Roland didn't answer. He refilled his teacup and leaned back in his chair, slowly taking a sip.

"Anyway... you'll understand in the future."

Nightingale reached out and touched his lips. "You'll tell me everything, right?"

"...Yeah."

"I'll take that promise," she chuckled, then disappeared in front of Roland.

Roland leaned back in his chair, recalling the entire conversation, looking for possible loopholes—this was also the most appropriate explanation he could think of. Years of work experience told him that the more lies you weave, the less they can stand scrutiny. Therefore, explanations like deliberately hiding his talents in childhood, accidentally finding ancient books, or being taught by a hermit would be difficult to justify if he continued to be questioned. In addition to being his sister, the other party was also the leader of a witch organization. Before forming a stable alliance between the two sides, any lie that was exposed would deal a heavy blow to trust.

So he chose to tell the truth on details that might be exposed, and attributed all the extra knowledge to sudden memories—although this sounded incredible, compared to the even more incredible transmigration, at least it didn't have too many negative effects and couldn't be proven false. If it was the latter, it was questionable whether she could accept a completely unfamiliar visitor from another world.

As long as he insisted on his identity as the fourth prince of Graycastle, no one could deny it. And what she wanted was probably just an explanation from his own mouth. Roland knew clearly that an excellent leader would not dwell on the past. Working together was the most important thing. Letting her see the vast prospects of the Western Territory this winter, as well as his sincerity in cooperation, would be considered a successful meeting. As for the relationship between them, there would be plenty of time to repair it in the future.

In the evening, a grand banquet was held in the castle hall.

Not to mention the common pepper steak, fried eggs, and white bread, various white wines, pan-fried Bird Kiss Mushrooms, xiaolongbao, and ice cream all made their debut, elevating the taste of the dishes to a whole new level. At the same time, the concept of fancy platters was introduced in the plating. A huge porcelain plate contained only a small piece of staple food drizzled with sauce, creating an excellent visual effect that made people's appetites soar at first glance.

Amidst the clinking of glasses and flickering candlelight, the banquet finally ended in a harmonious and lively atmosphere.

What followed was a more formal meeting.

In the reception room, the fireplace was blazing. Roland and the members of the Witch Alliance sat on one side of the long table, while Tilly and the Sleeping Island witches sat on the opposite side. Because of her sensitive identity, Maggie simply transformed into a pigeon and perched on the chandelier overhead.

Tilly took the lead and said, "Besides wanting to help Border Town resist the invasion of demonic beasts, I also plan to take back the five witches I sent before." She gave a brief account of the recent situation on Sleeping Island. "Next spring, Silvermoon Bay will move a batch of ordinary people to the island. The extra housing and food need to be solved by Lotus and Honey."

Roland felt a headache. The First Army could handle resisting the demonic beasts. Except for the flexible and high-speed hybrid species, witches were hardly needed. But in terms of construction, the role of witches was irreplaceable. The port mountain range had not yet been opened, and the dock was only half built. He still wanted to build a few more batches of cave dwellings. "Could it be delayed for another half a month?"

"I would love to agree, but the situation has changed," Tilly shook her head helplessly. "Mutated water ghosts have appeared in the southern cape. You can think of them as a kind of fish-like demonic beast. I suspect all of this is related to the early Evil Moon. It is said that the longer the Evil Moon lasts, the more ferocious and terrifying the demonic beasts will be, so it's safer for them to leave earlier."

"They are not suitable for combat."

"I know, so Wind will escort the ship—her ability is very effective against enemies with low intelligence, and we don't plan to return the way we came, but instead go north along the coastline, arrive at Clearwater Port, and then take the usual commercial routes to Sleeping Island. According to the news from the avian messengers, no demonic beasts have appeared on the shipping lanes between the fjord and the kingdom."

Roland had to make a last-ditch effort, "Uh... then apart from Lotus and Honey, could the other three stay? Elementary education is only halfway through. Leaving now would be like giving up halfway..."

"Pfft," Tilly couldn't help but laugh. "It seems you quite fancy them."

"..." He didn't know how to respond to that statement for a moment.

"I want to ask, how do you use Candlelight and Evelyn's abilities?"

"Solidifying metal parts and brewing wine. The former can greatly improve the efficiency of mechanical operation, and the latter..." Roland paused slightly, "Wine is a very good thing. Besides drinking, it has many uses."

"And on Sleeping Island, they are always worried that their abilities are useless, and they often..." Tilly didn't continue, but Roland guessed it was related to being discriminated against, just like Mystery Moon's experience in the Mutual Aid Society. "I am very happy to hear you want to keep them. Sure enough, every witch has a unique role, and their abilities are not meaningless." She looked at Evelyn and the others. "What are your thoughts?"

"I want to follow you, Lady Tilly reads;," Sylvie said.

"I..." Candlelight touched her head, "Anywhere is fine."

"Lady Tilly, if you need me, I will return to Sleeping Island," Evelyn replied after a moment of silence, "Besides that, I want to continue staying in Border Town. I... still have many things I want to learn from Teacher Scroll."

"Don't be so nervous, I'm not asking you to choose to stay or leave—this is not a two-choice question," Tilly shook her head with a smile. "I just want to understand the situation of your life in the town. You can return to Sleeping Island at any time. Lotus and Honey probably won't be gone forever. I even want to invite the witches of Border Town to visit Sleeping Island. I hope that through our efforts, witches can live freely in both the Northern Lands and the Southern Territory in the future. Do you think I'm right? Brother."

Roland was slightly stunned. This was the first time he had heard the other party publicly call him that, even if he added the memories of the Fourth Prince, it was more than ten years ago. He smiled and nodded, "That day will come."

.(。)