Shortly after Prince returned to the office, Shulian followed him in.
"Your Highness, I'm sorry, Lily's child... it wasn't intentional." "I don't care," he smiled. "She's just a little girl." "Only you've been so lenient with us," Shujuan sighed. "She wasn't like this at first. After being deceived, she now finds it hard to trust ordinary people." "Before joining the Guild of Assistance?" he asked. "I remember she joined you just a year ago." "Exactly. I found her outside Chishui City," Shujuan said. "You know, I can sense the Magic Power. The closer I get, the stronger it becomes. Though unlike Nightingale who can see its shape and color directly, it at least helps me discover new witches. So every time I pass through a town, I disguise myself as a Noble lady looking to adopt children, visiting local shelters or orphanages to find sisters who might have awakened." She paused. "Lily was locked in a remote town shelter back then. When I specifically requested to adopt her, I was rejected. The owner told me they only sell adult girls." "Why?" Roland asked in confusion. "The latest awakening time for witches is before adulthood. Could this be related?"
"We were equally baffled at the time, so we sent Nightingale into the shelter to search through its ledgers, records, and other documents. Luckily, the shelter was far from town, allowing us to stay longer." "Why didn't you just take Lily away? With Nightingale's help, it shouldn 't have been difficult, right?" "It wasn't difficult," Shujian nodded. "The shelter contained no stones or traps other than the God's Punishment Stone worn by the operator. But we couldn't do that—we've seen this before." "What precedent?" Prince brewed tea for Shujian.
"Thank you," she took the teacup. "Initially, we would forcibly take any Witch we encountered. But an incident in Sea Breeze County changed our approach. A young Witch who had just awakened believed we were the evil ones. After being brought back to the Guild, she refused to listen to explanations and attacked us. Two sisters were fatally wounded, and she was killed by Hakkara's' Death 'Serpent. Since then, we carefully observe Witches for a period to assess their situation and thoughts before taking action. If the Church pursues relentlessly, we... have no choice but to abandon them." "So Nightingale and Wendy's meeting wasn't accidental?" "Definitely not," the scholar sipped her tea and shook her head with a smile. "From discovering Nightingale's existence to Wendy's contact with her, it was barely over a month. During this time, we recruited other sisters like Red Pepper and Wind Chaser..." Her expression darkened. "Unfortunately, they all perished in the wilderness. How wonderful it would have been if everyone had chosen to settle in Border Town from the start." Roland sighed. If the Guild's forty-some Witches had gathered in the town, it might have already entered modern life.
"Let's not dwell on that," Shujuan drew a deep breath, "but let's talk about Lily. After searching the shelter and tracking the owner's movements, we uncovered a shocking truth—this modest country house wasn't actually a shelter, nor was it built to screen witches." "What was it for?" "To satisfy the operator's personal desires," God said with a gloomy tone, even for someone as composed as Shujuan. "The operator visits the Chishui City slums weekly, luring homeless girls and deceiving them by claiming he's a kind noble who runs a shelter in the suburbs. There, high-ranking nobles often disguise themselves to select adopted daughters, promising lifelong freedom from poverty. Not everyone falls for the scam, but... over a decade, hundreds of girls have been taken to the shelter." "Hundreds?" Roland frowned. "But you said the shelter wasn't large." "Hundreds are just bookkeeping figures. Most... are dead," she whispered. "Over the years, he found three witches and sold them to the Church. Girls with decent looks were dressed up and sold to those in need, while the abandoned ones were killed in the shelter's woods." "..." Prince froze, speechless. Suddenly, he felt hands gently resting on his shoulders from behind.
"The Witch's awakening odds are slim. After deducting shelter costs, he's earned about twenty Golden Dragons over the years—data from the ledger. But for those twenty, nearly three hundred lives were lost, filling the forest's pits with corpses. When Hakara interrogated him about this, he claimed earning Golden Dragons wasn't his true motive. He only sold adult women to sustain the shelter, since witches fetch far higher prices than ordinary girls. His real goal was the thrill of life-and-death control—disposing of these wandering girls gave him the feeling of being the King. Enraged, Hakara killed him. When we tried to disperse the girls, most glared at us as if we'd robbed them of Noble's adoption." "Lily was the same at first," the scroll continued. "Until Hakara took her to the woods behind the small building. There, she saw her friend—the 'lucky' girl who'd left the shelter a month ago, falsely claiming Noble's selection—and several stinking pits. Lily vomited violently and collapsed in Hakara's arms. When she woke, she remained God-like, her eyes devoid of any divine light, only gradually recovering under Wendy's care. Since then, she's been wary and distrustful of ordinary people, especially Nobles." "But I believe she'll gradually correct this view," the scroll added. "After all, you're one of the Nobles." "Ah, I see," Roland thought to himself. After such a setback, God could still pull himself together—truly a testament to his indomitable will.
Shujuan picked up the kettle and refilled both cups. After a long silence, he spoke, "Your Highness, I have a question for you." "What question?" He paused, noticing Shujuan's expression turned serious.
"O nightingale, are you here too?" "Hmm," the nightingale's form appeared, "do I need to leave?" "No... you already know this," she shook her head, "just accompany me to witness it." With that, the scroll turned to Roland Your Highness, "You once said you'd marry a Witch, but I wonder if you're aware that Witches cannot bear children." She paused, then asked in measured tones, "Your Highness, even so, would you still not change your mind?"