You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 323 Close Protection
The night is deep.

The firewood in the fireplace crackled and popped, and red flames shot out, illuminating most of the castle hall.

The two sat in chairs, leaning against the fireplace on either side, with sparks occasionally flying out.

The young king listened to the witch tell a story from the north.

The story comes from a distant, dark age, cold and cruel, filled with death.

"The Wandong people struggled in extremely harsh conditions, not seeing the sun for over a hundred years. They mistakenly believed they had lost sunlight forever. Herds of livestock froze to death, parents smothered their children, and humanity was nearly wiped out. It wasn't until the first Wandong king promised the gods that he would never betray this land that they gained a space to survive. This is the nightmare that the Wandong royal family has never been able to escape for thousands of years to come..."

"Is the legend true?" the king asked.

“Most of them are unreliable,” the witch replied.
"Only frightening legends can be passed down. If you want to hear stories, I have plenty here: the legends of Cangyue, the legends of Yige, the legends of the wilderness gods of the highlands... Before Your Majesty established the Seven Kingdoms Order, all the races were growing wildly. After the Seven Kingdoms Order was established, those legends did not cease."

"His Majesty conquered the Igor people, but not the land of Igor; he conquered the Wandon people, but not the northern lands. For even the Lord of the Black Iron Crown has times when his reach is limited. The secret history of the court describes his worries about the north: if there is any calamity, it will come from either the Underworld Sea or the north, and the great enemy may be coming from that distant era forgotten by the world."

"But I still can't see any trace of them."

“My king, because you are so young, you may think these years will be very cold, but every ten or twenty years, this land will experience a cold period. Some people think this pattern is normal, but some wise men think it is just a coincidence. It will change, it is about to change, it will shatter everyone’s common sense, and the ominous signs were verified a hundred years ago. The Frostfolk tribes withdrew from the endless ice plains, but in the chaos and death, hope for changing everything was also born.”

The witch said, “When darkness and disaster descend and cold fills the earth, some extraordinary people will stand up, raise torches to light the way ahead, and the world will call these people heroes and leaders.”

Crackling!

The sound of firewood burning.

Flames danced in the fireplace, and sparks flew out of it.

The darker the winter night, the warmer the fire; the deeper the darkness, the more radiant the fire.

The two figures were stretched long and thin in the firelight, one end at their feet and the other disappearing into the darkness.

The witch's story is now finished.

The young king remained unmoved, lost in thought.

……

In the morning, Roman woke up from his dream.

He smelled a faint, orchid-like scent coming from the bed. The owner of the scent was a soft, warm body lying beside him, and he could clearly feel the softness and tenderness of her skin.

“Your Highness…” She sat up, lifted the warm fur blanket, and, completely naked, helped Roman get dressed.

"Aren't you going to sleep a little longer?" Shasta asked.

A chill permeated the house, and the wind outside was quite strong. It started snowing yesterday and didn't stop all night; snowflakes are still falling now.

Roman fastened his belt and said, "A caravan brought in a batch of slaves today. I need to go and check on them, lest those idiots slack off and don't do things my way."

Shasta had no choice but to drape the cloak over him, and then quickly put on her own underwear, undershirt, sweater, and black sheepskin jacket before following Roman out of the bedroom.

The two entered the hall and found Margaret sitting alone at the long table, silently biting into her bread.

Roman and Shasta's arrival didn't elicit a response from her. "Margaret, you're eating bread again," Shasta said, sitting down beside her. "Eat something else," she said, placing a few slices of bacon on the bread and pushing the plate of dessert towards her.

The latter neither rejected nor accepted.

After a quick breakfast, Roman told the maid, "I won't be back for lunch today. Make extra for dinner and prepare another bedroom. A lady will be staying here from now on."

“Yes, Your Highness,” the maid bowed.

Roman and his two companions rode away from Plenty Castle.

Margaret lagged slightly behind. Shasta noticed that she seemed preoccupied, so he rode alongside her and asked in the howling wind, "Margaret, what's wrong?"

The Blood Witch said softly, "You two talked for a long time last night."

Shasta nodded and said, "I told Your Highness the story I heard from the prophet."

Margaret pointed out: "You spent the night in His Highness's room."

Shasta was slightly taken aback, as this was the first time she had heard Margaret mention this matter, but she made no attempt to hide anything. "His Highness asked me to warm his bed, and I had no reason to refuse," she said. "Besides, we are his guards, and the closer we are to him, the better, so that assassins won't have an opportunity to take advantage of us."

With the example of the Grand Duke of Cracked Armor dying at Dragon Castle, Shasta felt obligated to provide Roman with closer protection.

This is the only path they have left.

“Margaret, what’s wrong? Tell me what’s on your mind.”

Margaret fell into a long silence.

Her long, blood-red hair obscured most of her delicate face, but her appearance and demeanor were gloomy and heavy, and the oppressive atmosphere made people afraid to approach her.

Shasta clearly saw her thin, blood-red lips move as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she didn't.

She wondered what Margaret was thinking.
The Bloody Witch rarely paid attention to outside affairs. Even when her sisters were complaining while she was on the run, she never saw Margaret waver in the slightest and continued to do her work quietly as always.

But why did she suddenly bring this up?

What was she trying to say with those unspoken words? Or did she think she shouldn't have done that?

But Shasta felt there was nothing wrong with it. The Witch Forest was not a convent, and witches were not nuns. As long as they did not harm their sisters, witches had the right to choose a spouse.

Most people dislike witches, believing that communicating with them will bring misfortune, and that mating with them will send one's soul to hell after death. Only a few thrill-seeking men or women are willing to have relations with them.

Her actions did not harm her other sisters, or rather, her initial intention was to protect Margaret.

Margaret's magic is unique. Because of it, she suffers immense pain and goes mad at the sight of blood, killing indiscriminately. Yet, she is the pillar of strength for the witch forest.

Shasta kept a close eye on her and was very concerned about Margaret's mental state, fearing that one day she would not be able to bear the pain and would completely lose control.

Shasta knew Margaret's nature well; when she asked questions but received no answers, it was often because she herself didn't know what to say or do.

(End of this chapter)