It felt so good to be close to the witch!

"Of course, who I am is not important. What is important is that I am now formally announcing something to you."

"From today onwards, you are my captive."

“Radiant Empire… prisoners…” A subtle ripple appeared in the girl’s empty eyes: “This is… the Radiant Empire?”

The girl's voice showed obvious emotional fluctuations due to shock.

Roy didn't try to explain to Tonigne, but continued, "You and your companion Miarko attacked my grain purchasing team, causing heavy casualties. Miarko, as the ringleader, has already been executed, and you..."

"Because all these actions were controlled by the chip and were not your subjective will, you have survived until now."

"But while the death penalty may be avoided, punishment is inevitable."

"I have removed some of the pollution from you and awakened your dormant consciousness."

“From this day forward, until you have made sufficient contributions to atone for your sins, you are my prisoner—Lord Roy Tulumbel of Blackrock.

"have you understood?"

An unfamiliar voice echoed in her ears, and at that moment, Tonigne felt her mind was in unprecedented chaos.

Her memory is still stuck in that dark room, in the agonizing, unbearable torment she suffered.

She recalled her own painful slumber, and at that time, she even felt a sense of relief.

She refused to give in, but the excruciating pain that seemed to convulse even her soul was becoming unbearable.

I thought I was going to die completely.

Unexpectedly, when she regained consciousness, the handsome young man reflected in her pupils said to her, "From today onwards, you are my captive."

To be honest, Toni didn't care about being taken prisoner or not; what truly troubled her was the "Radiant Empire" they mentioned.

Could it be that I have already left that dark and gloomy "torture chamber"? Escaped that hell on earth?

Tonière thought her heart had long since become numb from endless suffering, but when a glimmer of hope appeared before her, she discovered that she was not as strong as she had imagined.

But is what they said true?

Could this be a new form of "brainwashing"?

The girl longed to believe, but too many tragic real-life cases made her afraid to believe.

Therefore, she chose to respond with silence.

This was her usual way of dealing with things in the Witch Research Department.

Roy was unfazed by the mechanical girl's silence. He waved his hand and said, "Ais, release the Grand Domain suppression on her and seal her magic until she is fully aware of her identity before releasing it."

Upon hearing this, Ais nodded slightly, raised her slender, white finger, and touched Toni's heart.

In the next instant, a dense network of azure fluorescent lines spread out from the point of her finger, enveloping Toni.

The patterns quickly disappeared, and along with them, the magical fluctuations emanating from Tonnie also subsided.

A witch's magic is stored in her heart. Once her heart is sealed, her magic is suppressed, and her talents become useless, unable to exert any effect.

The disappearance of the magic made Toniel feel her body become unusually heavy in an instant.

Without the aid of magic, the burden brought by the 60% mechanization is incredibly heavy.

"Now, follow me."

After saying those words, Roy turned and walked out of the prison.

Elena blinked, her gaze lingering on Tonnie for a moment before she quickly followed Roy's footsteps.

Shanica looked at the mechanical girl with a hint of pity in her eyes, but said nothing and gracefully walked away.

Lilia disappeared expressionlessly into the shadows of the corner.

As for Ais, her pale silver eyes fell on Tonnie, and her voice was as cold as frost: "Go."

The cold voice brought Tonigne's scattered thoughts back to reality.

She glanced at the girl beside her, dressed in a deep purple dress, who looked like an ice and snow elf. She felt an extremely terrifying sense of oppression emanating from the girl. She realized that the force that had oppressed her and rendered her unable to move had come from this terrifying ice and snow elf girl.

That power gave Tonnie a feeling that was both familiar and strange.

magic?

She's a witch too?!

This discovery sent a shockwave through Tonière's heart.

She couldn't see even the slightest trace of mechanization on this ice and snow elf girl, which was absolutely impossible for a witch captured by the Witch Modification Department.

Add to that this magic that far surpasses hers, leaving her utterly powerless to resist...

At this moment, Tonigne's doubts began to waver.

Could this really be the Glorious Empire?

A thousand emotions were hidden beneath a calm expression. Tonière slowly straightened her body, took a step, and walked forward with some difficulty.

Ais didn't urge her, but walked behind the mechanical girl, following her slowly out of the prison.

……

It took Tonière a full fifteen minutes to walk that short distance from the bottom of the prison to the exit.

Her extremely heavy metallic body made every step she took sound exceptionally heavy. With such weight, if she walked on a dirt road, each step would leave a footprint several centimeters deep.

When the bright sunlight streamed in through the open prison gates and fell into Toni's eyes, she, who had not seen the light for a long time, had to close her eyes until they adjusted before slowly opening them again.

Standing at the prison gate, she began to look around.

Looking out, she saw rows of dilapidated stone houses in the distance, their architectural style completely different from what she remembered. Smoke rose from the chimneys at the top of the stone houses, reaching towards the clear blue sky.

The clear blue sky captivated Toni, leaving her somewhat mesmerized.

She couldn't remember how many years it had been since she had seen a sky like this.

Even in her childhood before she became a witch, the sky was often gray, and only after the rain could one occasionally see a clear blue sky. Later on, even heavy rain could no longer wash away the leaden gray in the sky.

This blue sky made Toni was absolutely certain that this place was no longer within the territory of the Colle Empire, and that she had truly escaped that "hell".

Suddenly, she felt like crying.

But her tears had long since dried up from countless torments in the past, so much so that now, even if she wanted to cry, she didn't know how.

"It's too slow, Lilia. Can you give her a hand? Let's go back to the courtyard."

Roy, who was walking ahead, glanced at Toni, and then said.

"Yes, Lord Roy."

……

A short while later, in the inner courtyard of the lord's manor.

Roy sat on the stone chair, picked up the hot black tea that Shanika had brewed for him, took a small sip, and then turned his gaze to the mechanical girl in front of him:

“This courtyard is your domain. You may not step out of here without my permission.”

"Nod when you hear that."

After a moment of silence, Toni nodded expressionlessly.

Seeing this, Roy said nothing more and continued drinking his tea.

He didn't say what punishment Toni would suffer for stepping outside this area, because even if he didn't say it, Toni understood perfectly well.

Even if her magic were sealed now, even at her peak, not to mention the ice witch who made her despair, the black-haired, black-eyed, black-clad witch who just brought her to this courtyard in an instant was someone whose strength she couldn't contend with.

Even the seemingly harmless ram-horned witch, dressed in a pale yellow jumpsuit and exuding a gentle and innocent aura, gave her an extremely sharp sense of danger.

Including the two adorable little witches who didn't pose any threat to her, there were actually five witches gathered here!

Where exactly is this place?

What shocked Toni was the relationship between these five witches and the Radiant Empire lord named "Roy".

It was not enslavement or oppression, but a harmony that she could not comprehend.

She didn't know what words to use to describe it.

This scene had never occurred even in her most beautiful dreams.

And so, the girl fell silent again.

She felt she needed to observe and understand more before drawing a final conclusion.

After finishing his cup of black tea, Roy stood up and walked outside.

He planned to check on the progress of the grain storage work and discuss some matters with Reid.

As for the mechanical witch Toni, in the courtyard... Roy believed that Ais, Shanica, and the others would handle it well.

As Roy walked, he pondered the question about the mechanical witch Tonière.

The mechanical girl's first words after waking up, "Who are you?", made Roy realize that her awakened consciousness did not have any past memories, or more precisely, no memories of the time she had been asleep.

In this situation, many things meant nothing to Tonigne.

Therefore, Roy directly described himself as someone whose interests had been harmed by her, yet who had saved her life despite past grievances.

It's impossible to let Tonière leave.

The mechanical girl must possess technological secrets from the Kolei Empire. From Miarko, Roy already knew that Tonnie knew how to manufacture magic-powered firearms; at least, the chip inside her did.

Tonien can forget about leaving before she gains knowledge of magical machinery.

Regardless, she was one of the accomplices who caused the heavy casualties among the Blackrock Knights.

Actually, looking at it from another perspective, staying here might not be a bad thing for Tonigne.

Even if Roy lets her go, where can she go?

Return to the Kolei Empire? Unless there's something absolutely necessary to do back, how could someone who has escaped Hell possibly return?

Wandering within the Radiant Empire? Toni's obvious mechanization and witch-influence would be extremely disastrous if detected by the powerful figures of the Kolei Empire or tracked down by the temple's Divine Punishment Knights.

Staying in Blackrock Territory, within the lord's manor, under Roy's protection, at least ensures safety.

Thinking this way, Roy immediately felt relieved.

He arrived at the warehouse area and saw a middle-aged knight making notes in the crowd. He greeted him with a smile: "Uncle Red, have you finished dealing with the grain matter?"