By the time Roland returned to the castle, it was already late, and the snow outside was getting heavier.
He went into his bedroom, took off his coat, shook off the snow on his collar, and hung it on a hanger by the fireplace.
"Your Highness, don't you think this is too hasty?"
Nightingale appeared in front of the Prince.
"Nana?" Roland poured himself and Nightingale a glass of wine. Although this ale was much more bitter than the beer of his previous life, he had gradually become accustomed to this taste.
Nightingale took the glass, but she didn't drink it – she was waiting for the Prince's answer.
"There is no more suitable time than now," Roland drank the wine, and then filled his own glass again, "If you want to display Nana's ability during the Months of the Demons, it is impossible to hide your identity as a witch. Being able to instantly cure a fatal injury is by no means possible with ordinary herbs or bloodletting, this is something everyone can think of. "
"Thanks to this dispensable town located outside the western border, the influence of the Church here is very limited – if I were them, I wouldn't be willing to squander the Golden Dragon in this place, which can be abandoned at any time," Roland continued, "There isn't even a chapel in the town, and the missionaries have already returned to Longsong Stronghold with the nobles. At this time, what do you think Border Town looks like? An isolated island cut off from the outside world. "
"… Did you plan this long ago?" Nightingale asked.
Roland nodded, "The heavy snow will cover the road to Longsong Stronghold, and the dock's shipping is in my hands. We have at least three months to change the view that witches are evil. If it is only propaganda, the effect will be extremely limited, we must rely on close contact, in order to quickly eliminate this misunderstanding. "
This was the reason why he wanted to keep Nana. He wanted to create a different version of Nightingale.
This legendary nurse, because of her dedication to taking care of the wounded, reduced the death rate from 42% to 2%, was given the title of the Goddess of the Lamp by the soldiers, and even the reputation of the entire nurse profession was raised to worship.
Nana's ability was even more magical. She could use her magic to heal wounds. As long as they didn't die on the spot, they could be saved. This was probably more effective than any weapon in raising the morale of the militia.
At the same time, thanks to her father being a declining nobleman, he often dealt with hunters and farmers. His attitude towards the commoners was very gentle, and even allowed Nana to study at the academy opened by Teacher Carr. If it were other nobles, even the lowest-ranking Baron, they would not be willing to let their daughter be associated with this group of people. In their eyes, these people were the so-called untouchables.
"Can these... really be done?" Even Nightingale, in the face of such a colossal force like the Church, seemed exceptionally powerless.
"If we don't take this step, we will never know the answer."
Roland did not expect the entire town to change their minds because of this, but at least he had to hold the new team firmly in his hands. In the future, he would rely on these seeds from among the people to spread his ideas.
Three months was enough to change a lot of things.
Nightingale was silent for a moment, then whispered: "Why do you want to do this for the witches?"
In order to liberate the productive forces, in order to obtain more power, in order to have a place in the future Battle for the Throne – of course, these answers were not suitable to be said at this time. Although Roland was a mechanical dog, but he had also played a lot of dating games, he could be regarded as a veteran, and had seen many things. The experience of more than 20 years of his two lives reminded him that at this time he was facing the answer to a key question.
He carefully chose his words, and slowly said, "Didn't I already tell you that Border Town doesn't care about one's background? I hope that one day, even a witch, can live like a free person in my territory. "
This time, Nightingale was silent for a long time, and the only sound in the room was the crackling of the burning charcoal. The side of her face was illuminated by the flickering flames, and it was like a beautiful picture.
When she opened her mouth again, Roland had the illusion that time was flowing again. "In fact, you don't have to do this," her voice was distant and soft, "Please forgive me for lying to you before … The sisters of the Witch Cooperation Association have been homeless for too long, they don't have too many extravagant expectations, as long as they have a place to live, they will be satisfied, even if it is 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, "Wait … you mean, you are willing to bring them here?"
Nightingale sighed, avoiding the Prince's line of sight, "In this way, you will become the enemy of the Church."
"Their hands have already stretched too far," Roland said, "Once the slogan of the Divine Monarchy comes out, the conflict between the Church and the countries of the continent is only a matter of time. As for Border Town, as long as it passes through these three months smoothly, they won't be able to do much. This place is thousands of miles away from the Church's lair, the Bishop will bring a large army of Judges across the entire Graycastle to crusade against me? My father will never allow such a thing to happen, this is a serious provocation to the dignity of the royal family. "
"…"
When Nightingale left, Roland lay down on his bed and let out a long sigh.
There were some things he didn't say, the Church was thousands of miles away, according to the speed of the spread of news in this world, he was afraid that they would only react after the end of spring.Coupled with the long distance and his identity as a Prince, the biggest possibility was that they would send an envoy to investigate the situation.
In this way, he was afraid that the return trip would take half a year. By that time, he should already have the strength to break off relations with them.
Therefore, the biggest hidden danger wasn't the Church, but the witches themselves.
This was something only Roland could see.
Although the witches were at a disadvantage, this situation wouldn't last forever. Witches didn't rely on bloodline inheritance, but awakened randomly without any rules, which meant that witches couldn't be exterminated, they would only increase in number.
The Church relied on the God's Stone of Retaliation to maintain an advantage over the witches, but this advantage could only be used to counteract magic. At present, the witches' awakening not only gave them a variety of abilities, but even their physical fitness, thinking, reaction, and even their appearance had a tendency to surpass ordinary people.
In essence, they could already be regarded as "new humans."
The more cruel the oppression, the more intense the resistance. When a pure witch-led riot was set off, how much damage would it cause to Graycastle? The hatred born from the Church, once it couldn't be controlled, it was very likely to turn into an indiscriminate hatred of all the people of the kingdom.
Roland didn't want to see that happen.
Therefore, he needed to start from Border Town, to construct a structure that could accommodate both of them, and then spread it to the whole of Graycastle, and even the mainland kingdom.