Roland momentarily doubted he had heard correctly. "What?" Shu Juan bit her lip and repeated the question.
This time he was certain it wasn't his hearing that was failing. Could it be that the Witch was so deeply concerned about his marital issues? "Are you sure the Witch can't conceive? Is it because... some reason led to this misconception? Like the previous Holy Mountain incident?" "I hope so," she sighed. "But many cases confirm this—whether through normal interactions with ordinary humans or forced relationships, there's no record of Witches conceiving. Neither the Guild nor other Witch organizations have heard of such cases." "Reproductive Isolation"... Roland's mind conjured this term. Had the Witch truly transcended ordinary humans, becoming a new breed of humanity, rendering her incapable of procreation with old humans? Or was it the accumulation of Magic Power within her that caused this phenomenon?
But now wasn't the time to dig into the details, he thought. The real question was its impact. Would this hinder his plans to marry the Witch?
Roland's first thought was Anna.
While it's somewhat regrettable that he can't raise children with Anna, his fondness for her remains unshaken even without offspring. For this modern soul, the bond with descendants holds far less significance than the ancient emphasis on bloodline continuity. As an independent individual, he doesn't see children as mere continuations of himself—those beings, he believes, neither inherit his thoughts nor memories, but exist as autonomous individuals.
Emotionally, he could fully accept that the Witch couldn't have children.
The only remaining obstacle was the issue of succession. Yet for Roland, who had a broad historical perspective, this was no major challenge. He could simply establish an empire without a successor, and there were many practical options to choose from—details he could address later.
Overall, Roland was surprised to find that this turned out to be a major positive development.
The question of how to build a social framework where new-type witches and ordinary people could coexist peacefully and progress together has been on his mind ever since his nocturnal conversations with Nightingales. Yet he discovered that even with the God's Stone of Punishment as a deterrent, given enough time, witches and their descendants would inevitably form a more powerful group—no matter how advanced technology becomes, even if ordinary people could wield Magic Power, it would still fail to compensate for the witches' all-around superiority in intellect, memory, and mental agility.
Yet he was now informed that witches were infertile. This significantly prevented the formation of a family-based group, reduced the divide between the witch community and ordinary people, and simultaneously revealed to him the hope of collaboration between the two groups.
Perhaps because he had been thinking too long, the nightingale couldn't help but grab his arm.
Roland snapped out of his reverie. With a reassuring pat on the other's hand, he cleared his throat and said, "That's what I meant before, and I still mean it." "...?" Shu Juan froze for a moment. "What?" His arm suddenly tightened.
Roland couldn't help but laugh out loud. Earlier, he had even doubted whether he heard correctly—was it now the other's turn? He cleared his throat twice and repeated, "I still believe this—I am willing to marry Witch."...
The book's expression as it departed was peculiar—seemingly content yet tinged with melancholy, leaving Roland utterly perplexed.
He turned to the nightingale beside him and asked, 'Is she alright?' The bird didn't reply, but instead smiled at Roland. The sunlight outside the window bathed her fair face and silky hair in a radiant glow that was utterly captivating.
"Very well," Roland shifted his gaze, "let's assume you're both in high spirits." Just then, the office door was knocked. "Your Highness, a Knight has arrived at Long Song Fortress with intelligence to deliver." "Take him to the reception hall—I'll be right back." As Prince entered the hall, the Knight immediately stepped forward and knelt on one knee. "Lord Perro, I'm here to inform you that Tefiko Wemberton has sent an envoy delegation to Long Song Fortress." "An envoy delegation?" Roland mused. "How many people?" "About fifty in total." "That seems like a disengagement team," he thought. "If it's just diplomatic maneuvers, it wouldn't affect me personally. When did they arrive?" "Yesterday morning," the Knight said solemnly. "Lord Perro instructed me to act swiftly and relay the news to you." They likely spent the entire day traveling with torches, probably even overnight. "Thank you for your efforts," Roland said, looking toward the guard. "Rest well for the day before returning." "Reward him with a golden dragon and escort him to the inn." After the Knight left, Roland initially considered letting the matter drop. After all, a fifty-person delegation posed no threat to the town. If it was purely for negotiations, he could have let the leader enter alone. But given Perro's cautious approach, he decided it was better to keep track of the envoy's movements.
With that thought, he summoned Lightning and Maxie, sending them ahead and behind him to scout the situation at the fortress.
After an hour, the two witches had finished their reconnaissance and returned to the castle.
"No leads," Lightning reported. "Not a single Knight in sight—nobody even spotted a lone Knight." "Not a single one!" Maxi confirmed.
After their long journey to the big city, they needed to find some fun to ease their tired bodies. Roland felt relieved. "You'll scout the route once a day before the embassy arrives." He paused. "By the way, how's the map you drew coming along?" "I've pieced together a few hundred pieces—almost enough to fill Soraya's room," Lightning said. "She's already moved the map to the backyard. Shall we check it out?" "Sure," Roland said with a smile.
Castle's backyard has transformed into a botanical garden. Ever since Sean brought back the crop seeds from Bishui Harbor, the plants here have grown into a kaleidoscope of forms. To conserve space, Yeast built wooden trellises overhead, allowing vines to climb them like grapevines and even cover half of Castle's walls. Now, grapevines, apple trees, wheat, and sugarcane grace the back wall. When idle, the Witches gather in the backyard to pluck fruits and sugarcane from the vines. Unfortunately, these crops require Yeast's Magic Power to thrive, making them experiments that fell short of success.
The map lies at the center of the courtyard, spanning five to six square meters, assembled from individual parchment sheets.
"We're right here," Lightning said, wrapping his arm around Roland's waist and lifting him into the air, hovering above the map. "See that palm-sized gray-brown block? That's Border Town from above." "The blue areas to the east and south... Could they be the sea?" "Yes, but you'd need to cross a mountain range to reach them." Roland's heart skipped a beat. While it was normal for the Wilderness to be dozens of times larger than Graycastle, he hadn't anticipated how narrow the Western Frontier would appear when the entire map unfolded before him. With the Desolate Mountains ahead and the sea behind, it felt like a narrow strip squeezed between natural barriers. No... Not just the Western Frontier. He mentally pieced together the missing parts. If the Desolate Mountains, which divided the continent, were a wall, then Graycastle—and even the entire "continent" —were merely a small patch of land behind it.
...