It was late when Roland returned to the castle, and it was snowing heavily outside.
He went into the bedroom, took off his coat, shook the snow off his neckline, and hung it on a hanger by the fireplace.
"Your Highness, don't you think this is too urgent?"
Nightingale appeared before the prince.
"Nana?" Roland poured a glass of wine for himself and the other party. Although this ale was much more bitter than later generations' beer, he had gradually gotten used to the taste.
Nightingale took the cup, held it in her hand but did not drink - she was waiting for the prince's answer.
"There's no better time than now," Roland drank the wine and filled himself up again, "If you want to use Nana's abilities in the Devil's Moon, it's impossible to hide her identity as a witch. Healing a deadly injury in an instant is not something that ordinary herbal medicine or bloodletting can do, everyone can imagine."
"Thanks to this dispensable town outside the western border, the church has very limited influence on this place - if I were them, I wouldn't be willing to squander the golden dragon on this place that can be abandoned at any time. Roland continued, "There is not even a small church in the town. The missionaries and the nobles returned to Changsong Fortress early. What do you think of Border Town at this time? An island that has cut off contact with the outside world."
"... This is what you planned for a long time?" Nightingale asked.
Roland nodded, "The heavy snow will bury the road to Longsong Fortress, and the shipping from the dock is in my hands. We have at least three months to reverse the view that "witches are evil". If it is just propaganda, the effect is extremely limited, and we must rely on close contact to quickly eliminate this misunderstanding. "
That's why he wanted to keep Nana no matter what. He wanted to create an otherworldly version of Nightingale.
This legendary nurse, because of her dedicated care of the wounded, caused the death rate of the wounded to plummet from 42% to 2%, so she was named the Goddess of Lanterns by the soldiers, and even raised the prestige of the entire nurse profession to worship.
And Nana's ability is even more magical. He heals wounds through magic power. As long as he does not die on the spot, he can save a life. This is probably more effective in boosting the morale of the militia than any weapon.
At the same time, thanks to her father being a fallen noble, she often dealt with hunters and farmers on weekdays, and she had a very peaceful attitude towards commoners, and even allowed Nana to study at the academy run by Mr. Karl. As for other nobles, even the baron with the lowest title would not be happy for his daughter to have a relationship with this group of people—in their eyes, these people are so-called pariahs.
"Can these... really be done?" Even Nightingale was extremely powerless in the face of a behemoth like the Church.
"If you don't take this step, you'll never know the answer."
Roland didn't expect people in the whole town to change their views because of this, but at least the new team he formed should be firmly in his hands, and he would rely on these seeds from the people to spread his ideas in the future.
Three months is enough to change a lot of things.
Nightingale was silent for a moment before she whispered, "Why do you want to do this for the witch?"
In order to liberate the productive forces, in order to make oneself more powerful, there is a place in the future battle for the king - of course, these answers are not suitable to say at this time. Although Roland is a mechanical dog, he has also played a lot of various GALGAMEs. Two decades of experience reminded him that he was facing the answer to a key question at this time.
He considered his words and said slowly, "Didn't I tell you long ago, Border Town doesn't care about one's background. I hope that one day, even a witch can live like a free man in my territory. "
This time Nightingale was silent for a long time, and the only sound left in the room was the crackling of the charcoal fire. Her profile face was like a beautiful picture under the indefinite firelight.
When she spoke again, Roland had the illusion that time was flowing again, "Actually, you don't have to." Her voice was distant and soft, "Please forgive me for lying to you before... The sisters of the Aid Society have been displaced. For too long, they didn't have too many extravagant hopes, and they just wanted a place to live and be satisfied, even in this castle."
"What's the difference between that and a cage?" Roland shook his head, then suddenly seemed to understand, and stared at Nightingale with wide eyes, "Wait... You mean, are you willing to bring them here?"
Nightingale sighed and avoided the prince's gaze, "In this way, you will be an enemy of the church."
"Their hands have been stretched too long," Roland said indifferently. "As soon as the slogan granted by the emperor's power comes out, it will be a matter of time before the church and the countries of the continent will have conflicts. As for Border Town, as long as these three months pass smoothly, they will There is not much I can do. This place is thousands of miles away from the church home. Is the bishop bringing a large army of judges across the entire Greycastle to attack me? My father will never allow such a thing to happen, this is majestic to the royal family Serious provocation."
"… "
After Nightingale saluted and left, Roland lay down on the bed and let out a long breath.
He didn't say all of the words. The church is thousands of miles away. According to the speed of news spread in this world, it may be after the end of spring. Coupled with the long distance and his status as a prince, the other party is most likely to send an envoy to find out the situation.
So again and again I'm afraid it will take half a year. By then, he should have the strength to break with them.
Therefore, the biggest hidden danger is not the church, but the witches themselves.
Only Roland can see this.
Although witches are at a disadvantage right now, this won't last forever. Witches do not rely on blood inheritance, but random awakenings without rules, which means that witches cannot be driven out and killed, and they will only increase.
The Church can still maintain its advantage over witches by relying on the Stone of God's Retaliation, but this advantage can only be used to offset magic. From the current point of view, the awakening of witches not only gave them a variety of abilities, but even their physical fitness, mental reaction, and even their appearance have a tendency to surpass that of ordinary people.
They are essentially "new humans".
The more brutal the oppression, the more intense the resistance. When a purely witch-led riot breaks out, how much damage will it cause to Greycastle? Once the hatred nurtured by the church becomes uncontrollable, it is likely to turn into indiscriminate hatred against all the people of the kingdom.
Roland didn't want to see that happen.
Therefore, he needs to start from Border Town, build a structure that can accommodate both, and extend it to the entire Graycastle, and even the mainland kingdom.
A world where witches and ordinary people can coexist.