Theo was stunned, no matter how he had tried to inquire from her before, she had always been silent, so why had she suddenly taken the initiative by herself to bring up this matter?
“Are you surprised, are you asking yourself why I didn’t bring up this subject before?”
Ashes began to explain seriously. “There was the possibility that you were a liar, who would pretend to sleep but at night would instead run to the Church. But now the girls should have already reached halfway to their goal; they should already have entered the merchant ferry to the Fjord. So even if you tell them now, the Church will be unable to stop them. Also, I came here to take the other witches of the Witch Cooperation Association with me, so sooner or later the news will have already reached your ear, thus continuing to hide it has already become meaningless.”
“Even though I’ve already brought you to Border Town, you still cannot rule out the possibility that I’m a liar.”
“Yes, that’s true,” said Ashes, stressing every word, “But in the end, if we are unable to meet another witch, you will die here, together with everyone else who is trying to harm us witches.”
“All right,” Theo took a deep breath. “Can I ask you some other questions?”
Ashes thought for a moment, “Sure, but I can’t guarantee that I will answer.”
“Do you come from the Kingdom of Graycastle? I have never seen such eyes as yours before.” He decided to start to ask her about her origin first. This shouldn’t be any kind of sensitive information and at the same time it should reduce the wariness in her heart.
“I was born in the Kingdom of Endless Winter, but this has nothing to do with the color of my eyes. The moment I became a witch, my eyes turned into this pair of eyes you see now.”
“Kingdom of Endless Winter? That’s a long way between your kingdom and the Kingdom of Graycastle. There are even two other kingdoms between them, so how did you come to Silver City?”
“When I was young I was sold the Church, and then…” She paused. “I’ve been wandering from the monastery in the Old Holy City all the way to the Kingdom of Graycastle. Until I meet her, finally ending my wandering life.”
“She?” Theo asked curiously.
“Tilly Wimbledon,” Ashes answered, suddenly showing a warm expression on her face. “She took me in.”
The guard’s heart beat faster, when he had previously heard her saying the name Tilly, he had never thought that it was any sort of famous person. But now with the Wimbledon family name attached to it, the meaning became entirely different. Tilly Wimbledon was Roland Wimbledon’s sister, the 5th Princess of the Kingdom of Graycastle. So, when he asked her his next question, his voice quivered. “She, is she your leader?”
“Leader?” Ashes nodded. “To me, she is so much more; she is the most important person to me… someone that no one else could ever replace.”
When the night fell, the two lit up a bonfire.