Chapter 92: The Long Dark Night, Yet Sparks Still Remain
Inside the hall, the blond young man widened his eyes. Ron could not believe those words had just come from his father.
“Why? I’m also the eldest son of a duke’s family. My ability and talent are obvious to everyone.”
Saines looked at him sharply, like an eagle. No one knew his son better than he did.
Being able to arrange this marriage was already like putting a flower into mud.
Luckily, Anna, the eldest daughter of the Anthony family, had a fairly good attitude toward his son.
Otherwise, even if he ran around endlessly, he probably still could not have made this marriage happen.
The other family had no male heir. With two daughters, they would be especially strict when choosing a husband.
Saines sighed. “I can’t control you. If you think you are right, then go ahead. But don’t forget, the Anthony family is favored by the king. If you offend them, both you and I will have a hard time. Don’t use the same tricks you use on other nobles when dealing with them.”
“Got it, Father. Charles, come on, let’s go eat. You finally came back, I’ll treat you.”
“Lord Saines… Lord Ron…” Charles felt stuck in the middle, his eyes moving back and forth between them.
“Go on. It wasn’t easy for you to come back. If you have time, go visit your adoptive parents. They must miss you.” Saines shook his head and lowered it to continue writing.
“Yes, Lord Saines.”
After the two of them left, the room became quiet again.
Saines stood up and walked to the window, looking at the red moon hanging in the night sky. He let out a soft sigh.
He thought about the prophecy given by the magic mirror when he met the king earlier, and fell into deep thought.
For some reason, the magic mirror had not been giving useful prophecies recently, especially about witches.
It was as if some force was blocking it. The reason he was still busy at this hour was also because of this matter.
The magic mirror was a sacred item given by “Knowledge” long ago. It was a reward his ancestors received when they opened up this land.
But recently, the mirror had stayed silent about anything related to witches. Because of this, the officials no longer dared to bring up the topic.
Saines still remembered that when he fought the hellhound last time, it carried a similar aura to that of a witch. And he could feel that the hellhound was not completely dead.
But these were not things he could investigate right now. At the moment, he needed to arrange his son’s marriage.
Even though Saines looked down on Ron’s behavior from the bottom of his heart, he still thought about the effort his wife had put into raising their child.
He also thought about how he had spent many years away, busy with battles, and had neglected his son’s upbringing.
Because of that, he subconsciously blamed himself for Ron’s bad behavior.
If he had spent more time teaching Ron, maybe things would not have become like this.
Maybe he was a good soldier, but he was definitely not a good husband or a good father.
Everything was the result of his own mistakes.
Saines was drafting a letter when the tip of his pen suddenly snapped.
As he reached into the drawer to take a spare quill, an old man’s voice sounded from behind him.
“Lord Saines, I hope I’m not disturbing you by coming at this time.”
Hearing the voice, Saines put down the pen and looked toward the door with sharp eyes.
An old man stood there, wearing church robes. His snow-white hair was very eye-catching, and his whole presence did not match his age.
He looked very energetic, not like an old man at all.
Saines suppressed his surprise and then noticed the red Holy Judgment cross on the man’s chest.
As a high-ranking member of the kingdom, he was familiar with the power structure of the church.
Especially such a striking red, how could he not recognize it?
This was a cardinal.
Coming at this time, Saines already had some guesses. But on the surface, he acted like he knew nothing, showing a polite smile as he walked forward.
“A pleasure, a pleasure. Of course I have time. May I know how to address you? I believe we have met before?”
After all, Saines had spent most of his time fighting on the front lines, so he did not know much about the changes in the church or its leadership.
The old man smiled. “Just call me Charlie. I came because of the matter of witches. I wonder if you know about the magic mirror?”
Not long ago, Charlie had mentioned the magic mirror while having dinner with Bishop Mosir.
The magic mirror was one of the kingdom’s most important tools. It was said to have been left behind by “Knowledge” and had the power of prophecy.
Charlie came today for this matter as well.
“I know, Senior Charlie. You want to use the magic mirror.”
“That’s right. But you have probably already used it to try to predict things about the witch. I didn’t come empty-handed. I’m willing to share some information with you in exchange.”
“About the witch…” Saines showed a troubled expression. “To be honest, people inside the kingdom have discussed this for a long time. But the magic mirror has always been vague, as if it doesn’t want to give a direct prophecy.”
Saines hid some of his own guesses, so they could not be used against him later.
“So that’s the result… You’ve worked hard. Everyone has paid a lot to deal with the witch.”
Charlie took out a crystal ball and placed it on the table. “I know the kingdom is worried about the hellhound causing trouble. The church has also been tracking that revived beast. And we have a bit more information than the royal side. Maybe we will have many chances to work together in the future. This is a small sign of goodwill. I hope you will accept it.”
Saines hesitated, but still took the crystal ball.
Inside it, on a strange and empty plain, a black hellhound crawled out of the mud. A dark shadow kept wrapping around its head.
When he saw the battlefield, and the broken armor and shields around it, Saines was shocked.
He had been there before.
He did not expect that monster to come back to life.
“You mean it didn’t fully die?”
“No. It died, but it also lives. Or you could say, you already killed it, but someone does not want it to stay dead. They keep creating more of these beasts, like making delicate dolls.”
“Dolls…”
Saines did not fully understand what Charlie meant. He thought about the hellhound he just saw.
“Do you mean… this hellhound has actually been killed many times by us, but someone keeps making new ‘puppets’? And the one making these dolls… is likely the new witch?”
Charlie nodded, looking pleased. “Exactly. The reason I’m telling you this is also the will of the Pope.”
“The Pope? What do they want?” Saines widened his eyes. There was too much information, and he needed time to process it.
“I don’t know. The Pope’s goal is the vast starry sky. I’m just an old man. Even trying to follow her ideals is already difficult for me. Now that I’ve delivered the message, I won’t disturb your rest anymore.”
“Wait, Senior, let me walk you out.” Saines stood up and walked outside with Charlie.
The night had completely fallen. The red moon stood out clearly. Knights guarded the manor nervously, watching for any possible danger.
“This is far enough. You should go back. It’s cold outside.”
“It’s fine, Senior. There’s something I don’t understand. If she makes so many identical ‘dolls,’ doesn’t she get tired? At least she could make them different. But she keeps making the same dogs again and again. Does she like raising dogs? But that doesn’t fully explain it.”
“Well…” Charlie shook his head. “The reason witches are called witches is because their actions are hard for normal people to understand. Maybe she has her own reasons. But this world is just like this.
We all struggle to live. The winners decide what is right and wrong. Even if that twists history, it can still bring some stability to a chaotic world.
Maybe only people like us would go mad trying to understand what a witch is and why she does these things. But before the cycle is broken, we are all just pieces on a chessboard, easily replaced.
Lord Saines, some things are better not to dig into too deeply.”
Saines nodded, agreeing with him. “Then let me ask one last question. What is the name of that witch? I’ve seen too many of my comrades die in this war. I want to know her name, so their souls can rest.”
As a traditional soldier, Saines believed in simple rules: repay hatred with hatred, repay debts with justice.
He did not care about faith or beliefs. The ones who died on the battlefield were his real brothers.
Letting their souls rest was one of his last wishes.
Charlie sighed. “You… fine, I can tell you. She is called the Witch of Eternal Night, also known as the Undying Witch. Ancient books say she has the power of reincarnation. But in the endless dark night, small sparks still remain. What people call reincarnation is just repeating the same thing again and again, without meaning. Maybe reincarnation itself is that endless dark night with no end in sight.”