Er Mu - Release that Witch

The moment when the people had filled their stomachs, and the mercenaries began guiding them to wooden sheds near the river, a woman’s voice suddenly came from behind Lucia.

“Were you looking for us?”

She was so frightened that at the same time she turned her head she also jumped two steps forward, ready to escape, but when the speaker’s appearance came into her eyes, Lucia couldn’t help but be rooted to the spot.

Gosh, what a beautiful woman! Her long curly hair, illuminated by the gentle orange glow of the flickering flames, her eyes, twinkling bright as the stars, a sweet smile. But the most striking part was her aura, which wasn’t inferior to that of any noble, as if she was a important person herself.

“My name is Nightingale; I’m a witch, welcome to the Border Town.”

Becoming aware of this feeling, Lucia was unable to stop herself from lowering her head “I… my name is Lucia White, I want to join you.”

“In that case, come with me,” Nightingale said with a smile, “I’ll take you home.”

At this time the sun had already fallen behind the mountains, only leaving a weak light behind. While carrying the sleeping Bell, Lucia slowly followed behind her.

“When was your time of awakening?” Nightingale suddenly asked.

“Awakening?” Lucia got started.

“That’s the moment when you got turned into a witch,” Nightingale explained. “From that moment on, your body will continue to gather magic, and because of that, we call this transformation ‘Awakening’.”

“I think… maybe two years ago,” Lucia recalled. “Is magic the power of demons?”

“That’s just the Church’s excuse nothing more,” she shook her head, “Magic is a ability given by God, it has nothing to do with good and evil. The so-called demonic bite is just the pain experienced when the magic within your body becomes too plentiful; this can easily be avoided with practice.”

“I do not need to bear that pain?” Lucia’s eyes grew wide.

“Yes, as long as there is no oppression of the Church, us witches don’t have to bear the pain of the bite.” Nightingale explained, “But here in our home, we can use our magic freely.” Then she pointed behind her, “Is this lovable fellow your younger sister? What about your other family?

“They all died, only Bell and I could escape,” for a moment Lucia kept silent, “A group of people attacked Valencia, burning, looting, and killing everywhere. In order to resist them, father… His chest was pierced by several swords and mother made us run away quickly, in the end, she also, also… ” The grief which had been enclosed within her heart for so long made it impossible for her to continue the sentence. All of the suffering, hunger, thirst, fear and grievances, in short, the whole injustice she had to endure along the way, suddenly burst free.

For her sister, she had clenched her teeth and held on, but now, it seemed that the defense lines she had built around her heart was no longer able to block the emotional ups and downs from her thoughts. which quickly turned her sobbing into very loud cries. She knew that this wasn’t a good time for it, that during the first meeting she should keep her courtesy, but the tears were like a storm, they couldn’t get stopped.

She will hate me for this, right? She could feel how her tears and snot mixed together and her mouth began to taste salty. However, to Lucia’s surprise, a pair of arms suddenly wrapped themselves around her, taking her into a warm hug, gently patting the back of her head. Taking completely no offense because of the dirt and tears on her face. Instead, she softly said: “Cry, cry now, it is fine to let it all out.”

…

When Lucia’s outburst finally calmed, she raised her head, only to see that Nightingale’s shoulders had been soaked through with her tears.

“I’m sorry …” she blushed.

“It doesn’t matter, is it better now?” Then Nightingale took out a handkerchief and helped her to wipe her face clean, picked Bell up with one hand and held her in the other. “Let’s go; there are still many sisters waiting to welcome you.”

Lucia had thought that the witches’ residence would be located somewhere in a small abandoned warehouse or basement, she never expected that Nightingale would bring her to the castle area, wasn’t that the Lord’s private territory? Even more surprisingly, the guards not only did not stop her, instead they also greeted her.

Could it be that the whole town is under the control of the Witch Cooperation Association?

Reaching the third floor of the castle, she walked into a brightly lit room, only to shockingly discover that the man sitting on the opposite side was the Lord who had recently received the cheers of the masses.

“This is the leader of the Witch Union, His Highness, Lord Roland Wimbledon. He took in the survivors of the Witch Cooperation Association, and also let spread the message to other cities, hoping to attract more homeless sisters,” Nightingale introduced the man, “He made Border Town into the home of us witches. You do not need to doubt this point, after all, the people who treated your sister and all the other sick people on board of the ships were us witches.”

Lucia’s head had turned blank, she totally hadn’t anticipated, that there would be noble willing to provide a home for witches, instead of seeing them as tools or slaves. When her soul finally came back to her body, she began to panic and bowed in a flustered manner. Her bizarre posture was so out of shape, that Nightingale couldn’t suppress her laugh, “Don’t mind it, His Royal Highness does not care about etiquette.”

“You came from the Eastern Territory?” The Lord’s voice was calm and relaxed, not giving her the impression of an interrogation, but more of a friendly chat.

Lucia stole a glance at him, seeing that he was sitting leisurely on his chair, and looked at her with an expression full of interest.

“Yes…”

As the conversation became deeper, and Nightingale supplemented some explanation, her mood gradually relaxed. Even though her counterpart was a noble, but he didn’t show an aggressive attitude, but rather the care of an elder.

“So, when your awakening was two years ago, you shouldn’t be an adult yet…” he spoke full of interest, “So, what is your ability?”

“Turning goods back into their original form,” Lucia said hesitatingly, “but it isn’t effective on all things.”

“Their original form?” His Royal Highness touched his chin in thought, he then pushed an beautiful cup to her over the table, “Can you demonstrate it for me?”

“This will destroy it.”

“It won’t hurt.”

Lucia nodded, went to the table and put her hand on top of the cup.

After a short while, the cup began to shrink and deform, ultimately forming into three distinct substances: The one on the far left looked like a pool of oil, dark and viscous. The one in the middle seemed to be a small cluster of fine black powder. Lastly, the one on the far right appeared to be clear water, which was slowly dripping down from the edge of the table.

“Welcome to the Witch Union!” In the hall, a group of witches of different ages and colors raised their glasses cheerfully.

“Thanks, thank you.” Lucia felt her eyes become teary again, she sniffed and impulsively tried to restrain her tears. She raised her cup then drank a mouthful of wine, which didn’t taste as bitter as she remembered but was slightly sweet instead.

After have gone to see the Lord, and with Nightingale’s assistance, Lucia was able to wash Bell and take a bath herself. Afterward putting on a set of clean clothes. When her sister had been settled, Lucia once more followed Nightingale into the castle hall. Here, the witches had prepared a welcoming party for her.

This was the first time Lucia ever saw so many of her kind, subsequently also dispersing the last trace of doubt in the bottom of her heart. In case the witches had been imprisoned here or forced to serve the Lord, they would never be able to reveal such a light-hearted and bright smiles.

Recalling the sentence, Nightingale had previously said, “This is the home of witches”, she suddenly understood her feelings. In contrast to those witches whose identities were exposed and were thus hunted down and killed by the Church, finding a safe place to live in wasn’t easy. Since the bandits had attacked Valencia a month of suffering and constant fleeing had followed. But now, with the warm welcome of the Witch Union, she could finally let her constantly alarmed mind relax a bit.

At the same time, she also realized how magical a banquet with many witches participating could become.

Using black flames, the raw goat’s meat roasted perfectly within a flash, while the basin containing it was completely unharmed.

A little girl with short blond hair flew in the air, holding jug to fill everyone’s cup.

While a witch with an exotic look simulated a broad range of musical instruments, which all eventually converged into beautiful music.

…

With Nightingale introducing them one after another, she was quickly able to remember each of their names. In this way becoming one of them and diluting the sadness in her heart even further.

In the Witch Union there were mature and steady witches like Scroll and Wendy, and there was also Leaves and Echo, who kind of resembled older sisters, as well as Anna, Soraya, and others whose age was similar to her own. But no matter who they were none of them treated her as a stranger. For this, Lucia’s heart was filled with gratitude.

After the banquet, she and the witches wished each other a good night and then she returned to her new home. Although Bell was not a witch, the Prince did not order her and her sister to separate. Instead, he gave them the last furnished guest room on the second floor of the castle all to them.

“Elder sister?” Hearing her moving, Bell opened her eyes.

“You awoke!?” Lucia felt immediately delighted in her heart, quickly rushing to the bedside, “How are you feeling?”

Bell looked like she had only been asleep for a long time, not having any trace of the plague or the pain it brought left on her body. With her eyes still a little cloudy, she opened her mouth and muttered: “I feel so hungry.”

“Wait…” Lucia hurriedly took out a bag from her pocket and opened it, releasing the scent of grilled fish. This bag of fish slices had previously been given to her by Nightingale, “There’s some food for you.”

Sitting on the bed and seeing how Bell ate the fish, she was so gratified that she began to pat the little fellow’s head. This year, her sister only just turned ten years old, and now, without parents, she was the only one Bell could rely on.

After eating two fishes she became more sober, curiously looking around she asked, “Where are we? It didn’t look like the ship had such a big bed.”

“Western Region’s Border Town, we reached our destination.”

“Have already arrived?” She touched her cheek. “But am I not… sick? Will they agree to let the plague-stricken people enter the town?”

“You are right, that would be indeed be unlikely,” replied Lucia. Seeing the blank expression on her sister’s face, she began to laugh, “However, the Lord’s witches have already cured you.” Afterward, she gave her a summary of what happened at the docks, “and from now on we should stay here in the castle.”

“Witches?” Bell asked, tilting her head, “Are they the same as you, sister?”

“That’s right. Furthermore, everyone is very kind to me, especially a witch called Nightingale,” Lucia softly poked her head. “She also helped with giving you a bath.”

“Oh, but you have always said that the nobles would loathe witches? Why would the Lord be willing to shelter witches?”

Taken aback by the question, Lucia coughed twice. “This… Occasionally there are also one or two good people within the nobility.”

While taking out the last piece of dried fish out of the bag, Bell asked. “Does that mean you need to work for him? Like those maids at home, sweeping the floor, cooking, and attending upon the Lord?”

“What nonsense are you talking about,” Lucia said, grasping her younger sister’s face, “I am a witch! It is only naturally that I have to help the Lord with my ability! As for maids having to do those things, who told you that?”

“Mommy…” she sadly whispered, “She said that’s also the reason why she never allowed daddy to recruit a beautiful maid.”