Nightingale lay on the window, peering through the glass at the city beneath the night.

Dim shadows stretched into the night, outlining the walls of the King's City. Illuminated by the lights, the three walls showed subtle differences. The closest wall, surrounding the palace, was light gray, with burning pine torches illuminating the surroundings, looking like a bejeweled belt of alternating light and darkness.

Further away was the inner city wall, gray and black, like a long serpent coiling around the city. Even after the change of ownership in the King's City, the inner city district remained brilliant. Nightingale was seeing a place more bustling than Border Town for the first time. This fierce and brief war had little impact on the lower nobility and wealthy merchants; the night was still their best time for indulgence and pleasure.

And further out, the land suddenly became dark, as if all the light was blocked by the long serpent. The most magnificent bluestone city wall was completely submerged in darkness, with only faint sparks visible on the battlements. The outer city district, like most towns she had seen, fell into silence with the arrival of night. Compared to the large dark areas, the lights of the inner city seemed weak, but this did not stop people from singing and dancing… For some reason, Nightingale suddenly thought of humanity being forced into a corner of the continent. The vast Dawn Realm had been gradually devoured by darkness, with devils and evil beasts lurking within, yet most people were unaware of this, continuing to indulge in the remaining glimmer.

"Phew, I'm exhausted," Wendy's voice interrupted her thoughts. The red-haired witch rubbed her shoulders as she walked to her side, leaning on the windowsill with her.

"Are they asleep?"

"Yes, they were noisy enough for long enough, now they're finally tired," Wendy yawned. "I really don't know where they get their energy from. They spent the whole day flying around in a hot air balloon and still clamored for stories."

"You should thank His Majesty," Nightingale couldn't help but laugh. "If they hadn't been punished with three sets of exercises last time, they probably would have been out exploring instead of listening to stories tonight." She glanced back and could see Maisie lying on Lightning from the space between the balcony and the bedroom, her white hair almost covering the little girl's entire body. "Those two really get along."

Since the rooms in the palace were more spacious and arranged with a living room and two bedrooms, the witches who accompanied Roland on the expedition were assigned rooms in groups of four. It had to be said that this was the most magnificent place in the entire Graycastle. Even the guest rooms had carpets and bedding woven from fine fabrics. Nightingale could name some, such as velvet and silk, but there were some she couldn't even identify the material.

"Indeed," Wendy also smiled softly. "I once heard Tilly say that Maisie used to turn into a pigeon and roost on the roof beams to sleep. The slightest noise would wake her, and maintaining her transformation was to be able to escape danger at any time. Now, she can finally sleep soundly like an ordinary girl." She paused, her voice somewhat emotional. "We bet on the right chip."

Nightingale didn't answer… nor did she need to. Any witch who survived the Witch Cooperation Association would feel the same way. In a moment of life and death, the lord of Border Town extended a helping hand to them and promised to bring them a brand new world. And now, the sisters had not only seen the dawn but even found that the new world was almost within reach. When the Sacred Mountain that had been sought for centuries was about to become a reality, this sense of gratitude and identity could not be described in a few words.

The two were silent for a long time until the midnight chimes sounded in the distance, and Wendy asked again, "Do you… want to go back and see?"

"Go back where?" Nightingale didn't react for a moment.

"Silverlight City, your home." She pointed south. "It's only half a day away from here. If you let Maisie take you there, it wouldn't even take half an hour. You… still have a younger brother there, right?"

Nightingale didn't expect her to bring this up and hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. "Now is the time to rectify the city's order. Potential enemies are everywhere. I can't leave His Majesty for a moment. After Graycastle is settled, there will be many opportunities to visit Silverlight City. There's no need to rush."

"I thought you would emphasize that you have long broken away from the Clan family, just like in the past," Wendy seemed relieved to hear this answer. "You seem… to no longer

hate your brother?"

"If it weren't for his betrayal, I wouldn't have met you, and I wouldn't have seen His Majesty Roland either," Nightingale smiled slightly. "Isn't that what you often say to me, 'Getting rid of past nightmares doesn't mean cutting off from the past'? I now understand the second half—'As long as you can strive to live a more complete and fulfilling life than in the past, that's enough.'"

"Hmm… pieced together, it's not a bad proverb," Wendy raised her eyebrows. "I didn't realize you had such high literary attainments."

"So I won't sneak away, so you can go to sleep with peace of mind," Nightingale took her hand. "It's getting late."

"Okay," the two climbed into the big bed, and Wendy summoned a gentle breeze to blow out the candle. "Good night."

"Good night."

After Nightingale confirmed that she had fallen asleep, she gently climbed out of bed, slipped into the mist, and walked towards His Majesty Roland's room.

Next was her time.

Darkness stood on her side.

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

The next day, Roland received good news and bad news from Iron Axe. The good news was that after a night of interrogation, Grand Priest Feli finally confessed to the plan of the Hermes secretly replacing the king and issuing the King-Contention Order.

The bad news was that the church had been planning this conflict for a long time in order to weaken Graycastle's war potential so that they could quickly occupy the kingdom. In fact, their purpose had achieved a lot, such as the southeast borders of the kingdom… If he hadn't happened to become the Fourth Prince, this plan could very well have crippled Graycastle.

"You've heard everything," he instructed Tassa beside him. "Spread this news, especially the church's true purpose and Timothy's collusion with it, the more detailed the better. I want everyone in the city to know what they've done."

"Yes."

Then Roland looked at Iron Axe. "Also, send a paddle steamer to bring Barov and Camo Strei to the King's City."

The latter revealed a rare look of embarrassment. "The chief administrator is no problem, but the chief alchemist… is he really willing to leave the laboratory and spend his precious time on the road?"

"I'll write a letter to Camo," Roland curled his lips. Wealth and honor not returning home is like wearing brocade at night. In layman's terms, when a skill is mastered, no one minds showing it off. He and the King's City Alchemist Association had always been competitors in Redwater City. As the saying goes, people in the same trade are enemies. Now that he had the opportunity to go to their doorstep and slap them in the face, he didn't believe he wouldn't come.

And this was also a good opportunity for him to wipe out all the alchemists in the King's City and bring them all under his command. (。 )