Training (part 1)

-young boy POV-

Roland was honestly startled when he saw me came to his room. He may haven't and never expected that.

Biting my dry lips and clenching my hand, I looked and him and said, "Pr-prince Roland, your highness…"

It came out as a stutter because I myself wasn't really confident if my acting skill would really worked on him. Just like how he did to Barov, now I did that to him. Like he said, Barov is not brainless but if you can found something that managed to catch his interests, then you can made him believe you. That also applied to Roland.

He will never thought of the possibility that someone might know his secret as fake Roland and/or there will be someone else that transmigrated beside him.

Yeah, maybe in the future they will know that he's not the real Roland but they still or maybe never know about his being not a person from this era.

Thought about it made me really happy because I'm the only one that know about his secret now.

"Your Highness, I-I want to talk about something with you. W-will you spare your precious time, f-for me?" I asked nervously like a frightened little kitten.

(Please… ) I pray in my heart.

Then he said "Okay."

(Yes!) I almost jumped and made peace sign.

I asked him if it's really okay to let me stay here and sleep at that nice big room. And other stuff.

He just smiled gently and said yes. But I still act shy and hesitant.

As if he understood my mind he then said, "You can work here as my personal servant if you want then if you didn't feel good staying without doing anything."

I nodded enthusiastically and that made him giggle.

Then we talked for while, he give me name afterwards. Yes, when he asked me what I would like to call myself or name, I said Aiden. He seemed surprised and asked why? I just answered "I don't know just that name sounds good for me."

He said he want to give me a last name. He said he would really love it if he can adopt me as his little brother or maybe son. Which it would be kinda impossible!

But when I heard that, my thoughts was about "gay marriage"!

(Aiden Wimbledon) I murmured while fantasizing about that.

Wow! I would really love it too if that could really happen! But of course what I meant is the other meaning. Huhu unfortunately that is impossible for now.

Forget it. I need to focus on cultivating my tiny body first while trying to gain his favor.

….

Not long after, we went together to meet Anna. In the castle backyard stood a single cottage, which was covered with wooden planks and had two windows. There was a pond in front of the cottage with a circumference of roughly nine and a half yards, and it was filled with river water, making it not only fire-resistant but also modifiable. Piled atop the ground were several iron ingots, which came from a blacksmith and were placed there by Carter.

Roland had chosen this location for the cottage because of its proximity to a well, but it was still too crude to be a laboratory. He shook his head, realizing that building a perfect lab overnight was not possible. He would need Barov to collect the resources before he could build an official workshop.

"How are you? Did you sleep well?"

Roland turned around and asked Anna, who seemed confused.

The witch in front of us and the witch we saw yesterday were two completely different people. After a thorough bath, her long flaxen hair draped over her shoulders like a shawl and had a soft luster. Her skin glowed with vitality and a light dusting of freckles on the bridge of her nose added a youthful vitality to her face. Her body was still so thin that a strong breeze could topple her, but her cheeks were rosy and the bruises and marks on her neck had faded. Roland suspected that magic power not only gave witches extraordinary power, but also improved their health. Anna's recovery rate was much faster than the average person's.

That makes me jealous. Why didn't I have heal or regeneration ability?

"Since you experienced so much difficulty, you should be allowed to rest for a few days, but our time is limited, so I'll make it up to you later." Roland walked around the girl. "Does your dress fit well?"

Anna wore clothes that he had carefully selected to satisfy his lewd tastes. The protective clothing that iron workers wore was too thick and unsuitable for her, while the elegant and classy robes many mages wore in games actually restricted mobility and would quickly be turned to ashes. As for maids' dresses, was there any better clothing than this?

"Hump!" I pouted, feeling kind of annoyed. How unfair was it that he personally chose her clothes while mine was selected by servant, and what more Anna wore a maid outfit modified by Roland himself. Huhu… this is when I wish I was a woman again.

Truly, someone will miss what they have when it's gone.

Even though this world had no modern maid outfits, it was not an issue since the current maid clothes were similar to those of later generations. Thus, Roland took a set of clothes from Tyre and cut it to Anna's size, thereby creating the new witch uniforms.

This was accompanied by a witch hat (customized), black boots (ready), as well as a knee-length cape (tailored), and Roland found himself looking at a character he had only seen in movies..

"Your Highness… What can I do for you?" Anna asked.

Looking at Anna, I know she's confused with Roland's behavior towards her and she felt that she was losing her judgement. As she was dragged out of the dungeon with a bag over her head, she thought she would soon be free from her cursed life as a witch but she ended up standing here.

She even had a contract, clearly stating that if she worked for the prince, she would be paid a gold royal every month. She might think he didn't need to pay her because she felt she's not worthy.

This silly girl even thought that Roland just want her body and nervously waiting in her room but fall asleep after that.

This time I really want to mock her. Honestly, I don't get it. Why is almost all the woman in this era always thought that someone just want their body? Especially if that person was of a noble standing? I know there was many case like that but… seriously? Is that the only possible you can thought of? (E/n : my sentiment exactly!!)

(Such narcissistic way of thinking)

I know there was no free lunch or someone was nice because they want something but not everyone is that kind of disgusting pervert, okay.

Maybe it's because different era, different mindset and culture or something? But still… okay whatever. Just forget it.

Standing in this garden that looked nothing like her prison cell, I know now Anna secretly made up her mind. Since the prince needed her, she was willing to try. So, she repeated her question, but without hesitation this time.

"Your Highness, what can I do for you?"

"Right now, I want you to learn to control your own strength. Practice it over and over until you can send out and retract your flames freely."

"You mean the devil's…"

"No, no, Miss Anna." Roland interrupted her. "This is your power." The witch blinked her beautiful blue eyes.

"Most people in the world have the misconception that witches' power belongs to the devil and is incredibly evil, but they are wrong." Roland bent down and met her at eye level. "But you already figured that out, right?"

Roland remembered Anna's chuckle in the dungeon. Would a person who felt she was evil laugh with such self-mockery?

"I didn't use my power to hurt anyone else," she murmured, "except that looter."

"Self-defense is not a sin, and you did the right thing. People fear you because they do not understand you, and they only know that training will lead to power, but they do not know how to become a witch. Unknown power is always scary."

"You're not afraid," Anna said.

"Because I know your power belongs to you." Roland laughed. "But if that looter had such incredible strength, I wouldn't be able to stand so calmly in front of him."

"Well, let's get started," he said.