The hot air balloon stayed in the air for half an hour before slowly landing in the castle courtyard.

As soon as the basket hit the ground, the witches who had been attracted by the hot air balloon surrounded them - compared to the original when only the nightingale was present, now almost all the members of the League of Witches have arrived, and the scrolls that have just returned from the town hall are even trotting all the way. She had been looking at the sky worriedly since she asked about the situation, afraid that the huge sphere would fall.

As soon as His Royal Highness climbed out of the hanging basket, Shujuan and Wendy immediately went up to preach, advising each other not to risk their lives. After the prince had defended himself, he wisely diverted the conversation with this novelty. The nightingale felt a little funny, and was about to meet it, but suddenly her heart froze and stopped in place.

She saw that Anna, who had been carried out of the hanging basket by His Royal Highness Roland, had a smile in her eyes and a flush on her cheeks. Linen bangs were parted to one side, and a small clip hung from her hair that shone silver.

Nightingale remembered a piece of silver ingots he had sharpened a few days earlier when he was instructing blacksmiths in the factory to operate the big machines.

Is that a hairpin made by His Highness himself?

The other witches also clamored for a ride in the hot air balloon, and soon the airbags inflated again, this time with Anna and Nanawa in the air.

The nightingale stood outside the crowd, watching in amazement as the hot air balloon grew smaller and smaller.

Her mind was full of Anna's tender smile.

Anna, who is usually very calm and indifferent on her face, rarely shows such an expression - Nightingale has seen many similar expressions in the streets and alleys of big cities during her wandering journey with the Mutual Aid Society, and she knows what this means, and it is obvious that His Highness and Anna are not simply looking at the scenery from above. Despite the presence of Lightning and Maisie, they couldn't have done that, but once the thought came to her, it was hard to suppress, and she suddenly felt like an empty piece in her heart.

Although the decision had been made a long time ago, when it came time to face this moment, the nightingale found that it was far from being as indifferent as he imagined.

She walked to a corner, sat down against the wall, and watched everyone's commotion, her mind blank.

The hot air balloon was lowered again, and after Nanawa climbed out of the gondola, the leaf who had seized the opportunity immediately sat in.

When the nightingale came to his senses, Roland was no longer in the courtyard—after probably being lectured by the book, he went back to the castle to do his work. She was supposed to follow her to the office, to stay by the prince's side, as she had done in the past. But Nightingale stood up, only to find that she couldn't take a step - she really didn't know what expression to use to face Roland now, even if he couldn't see herself after entering the fog, Nightingale still knew that the happy appearance of the other party would make her even more uncomfortable.

After the balloon went up and down, and after everyone had sat down in it, Wendy came over and said, "Why don't you stay here and give it a try? It's a great feeling to see the town from the sky." ”

If there was anything more difficult to face than His Royal Highness Roland, it was Anna. Nightingale stood up in a panic, "No, I have to go back to the office." After saying that, she entered the fog, and after taking two steps, she realized why she was using her abilities in the courtyard? Looking back at Wendy, who was looking around with an inexplicable expression, she gritted her teeth and walked away quickly.

......

After dinner, she went back to her bedroom and fell on her back on the bed.

Today until the end, she did not show herself in the office. When His Highness tentatively called out her name, she only tapped his hand twice behind his back to indicate that she was here. Even the salt-baked dried fish that the other party pulled out of the mahogany table did not make her compromise.

"What's the matter, did anything happen today?" Wendy walked into the bedroom and closed the door, "I saw that you were sitting alone while everyone was riding in a hot air balloon." ”

"Nothing. The nightingale rolled over.

"There's something there," Wendy sat down on the edge of the bed, straightened her up, and stared at her for a moment, "I thought you were willing to talk to me about anything." ”

"......," the latter closed his eyes, and it took a long time for him to mutter, "because of Anna." ”

"Anna?"

Nightingale didn't want to talk about all these troubles, because it would only make her feel narrow-minded, after all, the first witch His Highness knew was Anna, not her. But if you don't say it, you will feel like you are blocked by something, and it will be even more uncomfortable. Wendy had given her a lot of help when she was in the Mutual Aid Society, and whenever she was confused, the first thing that came to her mind was always Wendy, and the other party never disappointed her. Thinking of this, she gently shook Wendy's hand and explained the matter in general.

Wendy sighed, "Anna doesn't understand the importance of this, don't you understand either? I warned you last time that he couldn't be with a witch." Roland Wimbledon was a king and needed an heir to inherit the kingdom, and in that respect he would never choose a witch as his wife. ”

"He would. ”

"What?" Wendy was stunned.

"His Highness Roland will marry a witch," Nightingale said word by word, suddenly opening his eyes, "He said it himself!"

She wanted to keep the news in her heart, but now she couldn't bear the feeling of not being understood.

Wendy seemed frightened, and it took a long time before she frowned and asked, "Are you sure?"

"It's true," Nightingale repeated the question of the scroll that day, "and when asked, Is it possible for you to marry a witch?' his answer is, 'Why not.'" You know my ability to tell if a person is lying—when he said it, he meant it. ”

Wendy suddenly grabbed Nightingale's arm, "You remember, don't tell anyone else, not even the sisters of the Witch League. ”

"For ...... What?"

"Because he is destined to be the king of the Grey Keep, what does it mean to be a king without descendants? Even if there is no church, it is difficult for the local nobility to support such a man to become their king! All you have to do now is to keep him safe, and don't forget that whether or not he becomes the ruler of the Grey Keep is a matter of fate for all the sisters. ”

The nightingale nodded.

"As for the matter that bothers you," Wendy pondered for a moment, "do you want to be the queen, or do you just want to be by your side?"

"Stay by his side, of course," Nightingale said without hesitation.

"Aren't you already with him now?" Wendy smiled, "There is indeed only one queen, but even if he ascends to the throne, he still needs your protection. You know what I mean?"

The nightingale blinked, but did not answer.

"So it's not hard to be together, it's hard to accept the choices you make. "If you can't do it, you'll have to back down, or go further...... As for this question, only you know the answer. ”

......

The next morning, Roland yawned and walked into the office, opened the drawer, only to find that the dried fish was gone. (To be continued.) )