The witch named Anna

Just when I come out of the castle and waiting for that boy, I find myself daydream remembering that boy's cute look. His eyes are so big and lovely just like how Puss in Boots looks like when it tried to gain someone's sympathy, that how that boy look when he throws his gaze with those big eyes of him.

I'm still daydreaming until that boy finally come out as well. When I look at him, I feel like I seeing a small kitten trying its best to run to his master.

(How lovely)

Well, I need to wait for him because I can't let him go out just by wearing my big shirt. People will have the wrong thoughts if I let him wander like that. There would be rumors such as that I lay my hands on a small boy or Prince Roland had young male lover or something. That won't do.

Even if currently this Roland's reputation is already bad, I shouldn't give it worse, should I? Well, I don't really care but if I let it like that my reputation will be destroyed! And not just women that will be scared to come near me but males and boys too. I don't want to be isolated by them because of that. That really…

And one of the reasons why I didn't put that boy on my bed before was because of that too. If I suddenly carried a young boy to my bed, Rumor that I slept or preyed on a young boy will circulate faster than the speed of light!

But I wouldn't have thought that that rumor has already started. They label that boy as my favorite boy toy or cute male lover.

I just act nice and kindly to that boy and they thought it in a completely different and wrong direction! They said "Prince Roland is behaving oddly towards that young boy, it must be because that boy is his male lover."

WTF! I find myself feeling guilty towards that young boy when I hear about this later. How frustrated and frightened he was with that kind of labels stuck on him.

*Well, actually Roland didn't know that the young boy in question instead of being depressed about it he come extremely joyful and happy by that nickname. He didn't even gave a sh*t to what other's thought.*

….

In addition to Barov, and the young boy, this prince was followed into the dungeon by the Chief Knight, the prison warden, the castellan and two guards.

The dungeon had a total of four floors and its walls were made of hard granite blocks. It was my first time in this kind of place. I noted that the deeper down we went, the narrower the hallway became, and the lesser the number of cells. I imagined that the builders probably dug a pit in the shape of an inverted cone first, and then piled it up with layers and layers of stone..

This type of crude engineering project would naturally not provide for a good drainage system. The ground was always very wet and mud flowed down the stairs, all the way to the last floor.

The witch was imprisoned in the bottommost floor of the dungeon. Every floor down they went, the stench in the air became thicker.

"Your Highness, you're risking too much by doing this. Even though she's sealed with God's Locket of Retribution, it isn't completely safe."

It was Carter Lannis, the Chief Knight, who spoke. As soon as he learnt that I was planning on visiting the witch, he immediately rushed over and pleaded with the prince to turn back... He did not accept my command and refused to leave—not when I seemed to blatantly disregard my own safety. "How could such a tall and handsome man be such a bugbear?" I thought. I wished that someone would just sew Carter's mouth up. "If you don't even dare to look evil in the eye, how will you have the courage to defeat it? I thought you knew that," I said.

"Before fighting evil, one must know one's strength. Reckless behavior is not courageous." Carter rebutted.

"You mean to say that you'll uphold justice against an inferior enemy, but turn a blind eye to a superior enemy?" I challenged.

"No, Your Highness, I mean …" Carter stammered.

"Before this, you were afraid of a witch raid, and now you're even afraid to see a little girl, my Chief Knight is indeed one of a kind."

I really didn't hold back at him at all. Well, it annoyed me so much with their cowardly behavior.

I turned my eyes at that young boy beside me then I found out he looked kinda bored and annoyed too, just like me.

(Hohoho… Now I found a like-minded partner)

I chuckled and mocked them again saying, "Loot at this small boy. He's so small and skinny yet he didn't even look scared or afraid at all! You should learn from him."

Now not just Carter and Barov that was stunned, even that young boy was startled as well. He maybe didn't thought I will drag him in this silly topic. How cute he is. He didn't even nervous at all about meeting the rumored "evil witch", instead he always was being nervous, awkward or shy when it came to me. It felt good when I thought about it. Like I'm someone who's really special for him.

That little boy acted just like a shy little kitten that's still not used to human's presence. Even so he tried he best to overcome his fear and want to be near and play with his master. Ah… how adorable~

….

While I was so absorbed by my silly thought about the young boy, we finally arrived at that little witch's cell.

I saw the witch curled up in one corner of her cell.

It was already late autumn and the temperature in the dungeon was low enough for people to see white fog when they exhaled. I wore a fur coat with silk lining inside, and thus I did not feel cold, but the girl only wore a thin garment that did not fully cover her body, and hence her exposed arms and legs were frozen white.

The suddenly lit up torches made her turn away and close her eyes. But soon, she was able to open her eyes and looked straight at the party.

It was a pair of pale blue eyes that resembled a calm lake before the onset of heavy rains. There was no fear on the witch's face and neither was there any sign of anger or hatred. For a moment, I had an illusion that I was not looking at a weak little girl, but instead a shadow that devoured flames. I felt as though the torches became a little dimmer.

The girl tried to stand up against the wall, but her sluggish motion made her seem as if she could fall down at any time. Eventually, she was able to get on her feet and hobbled her way towards the light.

This was enough to make most of the party members gasp in horror and take two steps backwards. Only the Chief Knight held his ground and shielded me and the young boy that still stand and hold my hand beside me.

"What's your name?" I patted the knight on the shoulder to indicate that he did not need to be so nervous.

"Anna," she replied.