Chapter 62
Alnazir’s eyes widened at her intense reaction, then softened as he gently stroked the woman clinging to him and kissed her cheek.
All day long, he had been searching for a way to leave the contract permanently unfinished, without success, and the irritation that had been creeping up on him vanished in an instant.
“Hehe. I’m so happy.”
Fay smiled as if she truly were overflowing with joy.
There was something strangely powerful about the way she hugged him. Alnazir realized it anew. No matter how angry or on edge he felt, her embrace worked like a sedative, calming him immediately.
Once he calmed down, he even forgot what he’d been angry about in the first place. That sense of bristling over something trivial, something that normally took ages of deep sleep and countless years to fade—disappeared in a blink. It was astonishing.
“I’m glad I met you too.”
Embarrassed, Fay ducked her head, a shy giggle slipping out again.
Truth be told, repairing the city walls had stirred up painful memories from the last war, leaving her feeling low. But now, that gloom had been swept away so completely that it felt as though everything ahead would go well.
* * *
News arrived only a few days later that the Emperor’s army, having departed from the capital, had already reached the outskirts of Aldehallow. Even clad in heavy golden armor, their advance had been remarkably swift.
The witches gathered along the outer wall, staring at the golden tide formed by the massive army. Some went pale with despair; others were so furious that the veins in their eyes burst red.
“So the thorn vines have been added to the outer wall.”
Merga commented first on the repaired fortifications rather than the Golden Army.
“I did it. I thought every bit of extra defense would help.”
Virelda snorted.
“So you want praise for dragging a few vines over here?”
“Why do you have to be so sharp about it?”
Zynie shot back, she was being more courageous by Fay’s presence. At Virelda’s sharp look, she quickly shrank back to Fay’s side.
“Zynie’s right. If it increases our defenses even a little, it matters.”
Despite their overwhelming numerical disadvantage, her expression held no trace of despair. Still, she looked clearly fatigued, her health clearly hadn’t fully recovered.
“Shouldn’t you still be resting, Lady Merga?”
Virelda took her arm with exaggerated kindness, telling her they’d handle things here.
“Thank you, Virelda, but I’m fine. Thanks to the medicine Fay made, my mana has recovered quite a bit.”
It was only her age that couldn’t be helped.
She refused further assistance and instead sat against the recessed wall, surveying the army encircling the city.
“If it weren’t for Fay, Merga wouldn’t be suffering like this…”
Someone muttered it without thinking. Zynie immediately scanned the crowd with blazing eyes, ready to identify the speaker for Fay’s sake.
No one dared speak up again under her fierce glare and Merga’s presence, but sympathetic looks flickered here and there. Fay felt it like a sting on the back of her neck.
She clenched her fists and turned to face them.
“I know it’s my responsibility. That’s why this time, I’ll handle it, so Lady Merga won’t have to.”
A beat passed, and then laughter rippled through the crowd.
Most of the witches didn’t believe her. The rumor that poor Fay had been deceived had twisted into something else entirely, that she’d brought back a foreign man and insisted he was her invoked.
It hurt. That they’d think she’d lie at a time when lives were on the line forced her to confront how little faith they’d had in her all along.
Ignoring her, the witches continued their discussion.
“When do you think they’ll attack?”
“They’ve gathered already. Probably today.”
“No, the Emperor cares about appearances. He’ll give us a day, offer conversion and surrender first.”
“Then what about a preemptive strike?”
“Are you blind? Look at those numbers.”
“I don’t want to end up skewered like a witch kebab!”
“At least it’d be a golden kebab. Even the spears are gold.”
Someone cracked a joke, and they all laughed. But it was a strained, nervous laughter, heavy with fear.
“I’ll do it.”
Now was her moment. Determined to prove herself, Fay grabbed Alnazir’s arm.
“It’s time, Alnazir. Let’s go and thin their numbers as much as we can.”
At his name, Alnazir, who had been standing there with a bored expression amid the incomprehensible noise, smiled faintly.
Then, to the visibly fired-up Fay, he dropped a bombshell.
“Oh, I forgot to mention, Fay. I won’t be following the contract this time.”
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