Roland momentarily wondered if he had misheard, "What?"
Wendy bit her lip and repeated it.
This time he was certain his hearing wasn't the problem. So witches were this concerned about their own marital prospects? "Are you sure witches can't bear children? Could it be due to... certain reasons, leading to a misunderstanding? Like the Holy Mountain before."
"I wish that were the case," she sighed. "Unfortunately, many examples have confirmed this. Whether they interact normally with ordinary people or are forced into it, there are no instances of witches giving birth—neither within the Witch Cooperation Association, nor have other witch organizations heard of any."
Reproductive isolation… The phrase surfaced in Roland's mind. Could it be that witches have completely transcended ordinary humans, becoming a new species, unable to procreate with the old? Or is this phenomenon caused by the concentration of magic within their bodies?
Now was not the time to get to the bottom of it, he thought. The key was its impact. Would this hinder his desire to marry a witch?
Roland's first thought was Anna.
While it would be a little disappointing not to have children with Anna, his fondness for children was based on his love for Anna. Not having children would not diminish that love. And for someone with a modern soul, offspring were not as important as the ancients emphasized the continuation of bloodlines. As a separate life, he did not see children as an extension of himself—the latter could neither inherit thoughts nor memories, but were **autonomous individuals.
So emotionally, he could completely accept the fact that witches could not bear children.
That left the practical obstacle—the issue of an heir. However, for Roland, who had a long view of history, this was still not a difficult matter. He just needed to build an empire that didn't need an heir. There were many options for implementing this, and he could consider them slowly later.
Overall, Roland was surprised to find that this was actually a major piece of good news.
How to build a social framework in which New Human witches and ordinary people could coexist peacefully and progress together was a question he had been pondering ever since his late-night talk with Nightingale. But he found that even with the God's Stone of Retaliation in place, given enough time, witches and their descendants would always form a stronger group—even if technological advancements allowed ordinary people to use magic, it still couldn't make up for the witches' overall lead in intelligence, memory, and thinking speed.
But now he was being told that witches couldn't bear children. This largely prevented the formation of family groups, weakened the divide between the witch community and ordinary people, and allowed him to see hope for the two to work together.
Perhaps because he had been thinking for too long, Nightingale couldn't help but grab his arm.
Roland snapped out of his thoughts. He patted the back of her hand reassuringly, cleared his throat, and said, "What I thought before, I still think now."
"..." Wendy paused for a moment. "What?"
The hand on his arm tightened instantly.
Roland couldn't help but laugh. He had wondered if he had misheard earlier, and now it was their turn? He coughed twice and said again, "What I think now is this—I am willing to take a witch as my wife."
...
Wendy's expression when she left was strange, as if she were content but also a little sad, leaving Roland puzzled.
He had no choice but to ask Nightingale beside him, "Is she alright?"
The latter didn't answer, but smiled at Roland. The sunlight outside the window shone on her fair face and smooth hair, making her glow with heart-stirring beauty.
"Alright," Roland looked away. "Just assume you're both in good moods."
Just then, there was a knock on the office door. "Your Highness, a knight from Longsong Stronghold has arrived. He says he has intelligence to deliver to you."
"Take him to the reception hall. I'll be there shortly."
When the prince entered the hall, the knight immediately strode forward and knelt on one knee. "Lord Barov has asked me to inform you that Timothy Wimbledon has sent an envoy, which has already arrived at Longsong Stronghold."
"An envoy?"
Roland pondered. "How many people did they send?"
"About fifty in total."
That seemed like a persuasion team, he thought. If it was only a diplomatic approach, it wouldn't bother him at all. "When did they arrive?"
"Yesterday morning," the knight said in a deep voice. "Lord Barov asked me to hurry and notify you as soon as possible."
Only one day, they probably travelled all night holding torches. "Thank you for your hard work. Rest well for a day before returning." Roland looked at the guard and instructed, "Reward him with a Gold Royal and take him to the inn."
After the knight left, Roland had intended to put the matter aside. After all, a team of fifty posed no threat to the town. If it was just for negotiations, he only needed to let the leader in. But considering that Barov was treating it so carefully, it was better to keep track of the envoy's movements.
Thinking of this, he summoned Lightning and Maggie, asking them to fly to the stronghold one after the other to check the situation.
An hour later, the two witches completed their reconnaissance and returned to the castle.
"No findings," Lightning reported. "There were no teams of fifty knights on the road, not even a lone knight."
"Didn't see any, goo!" Maggie confirmed.
It seemed that after a long journey to a big city, they needed to have some fun to relieve their fatigue. Roland was relieved. "Before the envoy arrives, you can scout the road once a day." He paused. "By the way, how is the map you drew coming along?"
"I've pieced together about several hundred sheets, enough to fill Soraya's room," Lightning said. "She's moved the map to the backyard. Do you want to take a look?"
"Sure," Roland smiled.
The castle's backyard had become a botanical garden. Since Sean brought back the crop seeds from Clearwater Port, the things planted here had become even more bizarre. And to save land and flowerbeds, Leaves had built wooden frames in the air, allowing many plants to grow like grapevines, winding around the frames, and even climbing up half of the castle walls. Now the walls behind the castle were covered with grapes, apples, wheat, and sugarcane. When the witches had nothing to do, they would gather in the backyard and pluck some fruits and sugarcane from the walls to eat. Unfortunately, these crops could only grow under Leaves' magic, so they were only partially successful experiments.
The map was placed in the center of the yard, covering five or six square meters, pieced together from sheets of parchment.
"We're here," Lightning put her arm around Roland's waist and gently floated up, hovering over the map. "Do you see that palm-sized greyish-brown square? From the air, Border Town looks like this."
"The blue areas to the east and south... is that the sea?"
"Yes, but you have to cross a mountain range to get there."
Roland's heart skipped a beat. If it was normal for the Wilderness to be dozens of times larger than Graycastle, he hadn't expected that when the complete map was fully presented, the Western Region would seem so small. In front, there were the Impassable Mountains, and behind, the sea. It was like a strip of land sandwiched between natural barriers. No... not just the Western Region. He completed the unpainted parts in his mind. If the Impassable Mountains that divided the continent were seen as a wall, Graycastle, or even the entire continent, was just a small piece of land behind the wall.
...(.)