Release that Witch

”What... What are you talking about?” Spear asked in disbelief. ”The devil’s minion? This is a complete fabrication!”

”Fabrication or not, His Reverence will draw his own conclusion,” Redwyne raised his voice and said. ”Just because you managed to deceive Father, it doesn’t mean that you can deceive everyone else! Soon, people will know who you really are. You belong in hell!”

”Did you make all these up?” Spear’s tone suddenly became icy cold. ”Or someone else put you up to it? I think the latter is true. After all, father chose me because you and our third brother were completely useless.”

”Shut up!”

Nightingale heard a rattle and the Marquess groaned in pain.

”Enough, bring her to the church for questioning,” someone said, ”but she’s still a member of the nobility before her verdict, so maintain your etiquette.”

As Spear Passi was carted away, the Judgement Warriors followed right behind her, and soon there were only two people left in the room. Nightingale couldn’t see their faces clearly because of the effects of God’s Stone of Retaliation, but she could tell that one of the voices belonged to Redwyne, the man who spoke to the Lord. If she was not mistaken, this person seemed to be Spear’s younger brother.

”You’re doing really well, Mr. Redwyne; perhaps, I shall address you as Earl going forward.”

”So that’s it, Mr. Rosad?” Redwyne could not hide his excitement. ”I really can inherit the title of Earl and become the Lord of the Fallen Dragon Ridge?”

”Of course. As long as you abide by our agreement, you may even go further,” came the reply.

”So, what should I do next?” he asked eagerly. ”Can I move into my sister’s room? She won’t leave her cell, right?”

”Spear Passi will soon be hanged to death as a witch in the square as per the terms of our cooperation.” The other man hesitated for a moment, and continued, ”As for what to do next, I suggest you relay this incident to all her ministers, knights and men and divide the rights of the Marquess.”

”Do... do I really have to do that?”

”If everyone can benefit from the incident, your position will be much more secure, which will help our future plans to proceed smoothly,” Rosad said. ”If you’re still confused, I can always assign a priest to you. He’s very good at handling government affairs and can always advise you on any questions you may have.”

”Yes, please,” Redwyne replied quickly.

”It’ll be very helpful for us if you can hold the Lord’s position, so the church is happy to help with these issues.” His peals of laughter filled the room.

After the men left, Nightingale emerged from the Mist, followed by Lightning and Maggie.

”We’re in trouble.” She stared at both of them and said, ”How could the church show up at precisely the right time and place?”

”I thought they said her brother found her true identity and revealed it to the church,” Lightning said, her eyes flashing with excitement. ”Now we have something to do.”

”Why didn’t they find it out earlier? Why right now? I feel like something’s wrong.” Nightingale frowned.

”No matter what, we are not going to watch them execute Spear.” Lightning held her head up high and said, ”We must save her and annihilate the church!”

”Annihilate it, coo!”

”The confidence of this blonde girl has inflated since defeating the demons. This is not a good sign.” Nightingale shook her head and responded, ”We can’t defeat the church for the time being. They must have participated in this conspiracy, so if we removed these people, Spear would naturally return to her position as Lord. This might be an opportunity for us. If we sneak her out, she’ll probably agree to go back to Border Town with us under these circumstances.”

”Awww, we’re not fighting the church?” Lightning asked, disappointment in her voice.

”Battling will be the very last resort since they outnumber us and have a large amount of the God’s Stones of Retaliation. It’s pretty risky to try routing them all at once.” Nightingale contemplated for a moment and said, ”I’ll go to the church first and find out what’s going on.”

There was one concern that she didn’t mention. Spear Passi might be thinking that His Highness was the one framing her if the situation wasn’t explained clearly. That, Nightingale knew, should be avoided at all costs.

”What about us?” the little girl asked.

”Just be ready to meet me outside.”

...

The church of the Fallen Dragon Ridge was located on the outskirts of the city. It was small and had a prayer hall, a residential area for the believers, and a three-story tower surrounded by a wall with only one exit. None of these obstacles posed a problem for Nightingale.

She had familiarized herself with the entire area by the time all of the faithful had departed in the evening. Although there were many more God’s Stones of Retaliation here than in the castle, Nightingale still managed to find her way. There was a huge God’s Stone placed right in the middle of the hall to stifle any magic in the room, and the same was true for some corridors. However, she could always take a detour or even hop over the floor.

Nightingale found the place where Spear Passi was imprisoned in the basement of the tower. She didn’t seem too hurt, just a little frustrated. She intended to rescue the Marquess during the middle of the night.

Nightingale snuck back into the tower after sharing her plan with Lightning and Maggie. She ascended to the top floor and hid in a magnificent room.

”This,” she thought, ”would be the Priest’s room. He would probably spill the beans if he found me here with a dagger.”

When the bell of the Fallen Dragon Ridge struck nine, swung open.

She drew out her dagger stealthily but didn’t attack. She judged from the footsteps that there were two people.

”What an unexpected joy!” said a woman’s voice. ”Little did we know that Marquess Spear is actually a witch. It seems that we need to tweak our plan.”

”Uh... Lady Saint,” Rosad answered with a very respectful tone, ”isn’t it more convincing if she’s a witch?”

”It’s different from before, because according to the will of the Supreme Pontiff, any new witch who comes to realization shall be handed over to be executed in the Holy City as soon as possible,” The woman said. ”As for the execution, let’s not hang her, but burn a masked death-row criminal with a similar build.”

”Yes,” Rosad answered. ”But why did His Holiness set such a troublesome rule of delivering a witch to Hermes?”

”I’ve no idea, but according to my superiors, it’s simply returning to tradition,” she replied.

”Returning to... tradition?”

”You don’t need to know too much. Just fix the matter at hand hand.” The Saint said brusquely. ”I’ll have to head towards the Redwater City once everything is done here.”

”Understood,” Rosad answered crisply.

”Who is she exactly? How come even the Priest is so respectful towards her? It seems they didn’t know that Spear Passi was a witch before they captured her. Could it just be all a conspiracy to seize the throne of the Fallen Dragon Ridge?”

Nightingale couldn’t help but come out from her hiding place and looked at the lady while hidden in the Mist, only to find that she was not wearing a God’s Stone of Retaliation. The magic power inside of the Saint was as bright as a fluorescent light in her world of black and white.

”She’s a witch!”

”Who’s there?” She responded in an instant, and a dazzling silver light shot towards Nightingale!