Childhood Shadows

“It hasn't been that long,” Miaoyue said.

The Azure Sky King looked at her.

The Witch's appearance hadn't changed in the slightest since their last meeting.

But that last meeting was fifteen years ago.

Perhaps to her, fifteen years truly wasn't long.

But it was half the lives of these two kings.

And throughout this long half of their lives, the more they grew, the more they understood exactly what the New Moon Witch and the New Moon Church had brought to this land.

She was not the big sister on the moon from childhood stories, nor was she the vaguely defined disaster mentioned in textbook scrolls, nor the deity that the Master of Ceremonies claimed must not be looked upon directly.

Instead, she was every companion leash, every orphanage, every person who had to immediately find another's warmth after losing a Night Companion in the dark, every shed where livestock dared not be left alone, and every law dictated by the moonlight.

She was the land itself; she was the disaster itself.

They understood now. The legend of that so-called cursed and hideous Demon King sending seven devastatingly beautiful maidens to bring suffering to this world and turn it into a purgatory was not merely a story.

They had once sent people to inquire about other nations.

The bad news was that, except for the World Tree Archipelago and the Chaos Wasteland where the demons deliberately stopped outside the range of the curse, every country had its own unique curse.

The even worse news was that the Witch of Solitude could actually be met in person.

Being able to meet her sounded like good news.

However, being close to a Witch would lead to misfortune. For instance, in their childhood, they almost never got to eat any desserts. They didn't even dare touch them. Even after growing up, they still felt a sense of reverence—or rather, dread—whenever they saw sweets.

It had become a genuine childhood shadow.

The Azure Sky King still remembered the first time he met Miaoyue, and it was precisely because of a childish question.

Back then, he and the Green Mist King were still just children. They were sitting in the Royal Court Classroom, listening to their teacher talk about the history of Solitude.

Common knowledge in Solitude was something everyone understood from birth—everything in this country was done in pairs—but not many people knew the historical origins.

When the teacher reached the legend of the moonlight curse and the New Moon Witch, the Green Mist King raised his hand and asked out of curiosity.

“What is the New Moon Witch like?”

In the next moment, moonlight fell upon the windowsill of the classroom.

Only later did the Azure Sky King learn that a Witch was not a deity who would respond to anyone who called.

However, for certain names, certain prayers, and certain childish curiosities, if she happened to be listening to the voices beneath the moon and there was the scent of sweets nearby, she would take it as someone looking for her.

And so, the black-haired girl sat there barefoot, tilting her head, looking exactly as if she had been summoned by that question.

Young and ignorant of fear, they simply looked up blankly.

They only felt that the moonlight had truly turned into a person.

The teacher and the guards, however, had not forgotten.

They rushed forward.

The Witch seemed startled, hurriedly shrinking back behind the windowsill while waving her hands and whispering for them not to come closer.

But the adults did not stop.

In the next moment, the moonlight acted like pairs of invisible hands, lifting the first guard who reached the window.

He flew right out the window.

Then the second, and the third.

The teacher flew out too.

He landed headfirst in the garden.

One by one, they were tossed out of the classroom. On the soft lawn outside the palace, armor, scrolls, top hats, and pointers fell in a cluttered heap.

Inside the entire classroom, only the two young royals remained in their seats, staring blankly at the girl on the windowsill.

Miaoyue crouched before them and looked at them intently.

She asked, “So, was someone looking for me just now? Is there food?”

The Azure Sky King blankly pointed at the plates of fruit and pastries on the table.

The Witch seemed to be a bit of a clean freak; she only ate food that others hadn't touched.

But she could certainly eat.

She had a massive appetite.

That was the first time they met the Witch.

In the following years, the Witch would occasionally visit. On some ordinary day, moonlight would fall on the windowsill when a child asked about her in class, or when the royal kitchen happened to bake particularly sweet pastries, the New Moon Witch would descend. Her arrivals followed no pattern, and she left without a word, so each visit was sealed away by the court as a secret.

Sometimes, just as a chef opened the mana oven, the pastries would already be gone.

All the attendants and chefs thought the Dual Kings loved sweets and tried to curry favor with them, but no one knew that neither of them even knew what their own sweets tasted like.

The good news, however, was that if intelligence regarding unrest in the kingdom or demon invasions was placed next to the pastry oven, those issues would eventually resolve themselves after a while.

Occasionally, they would even receive guidance from the Witch during their magic lessons. Because of this, both of them were able to reach the level of Archmage before reaching adulthood, becoming the Peerless Dual Kings in the eyes of others.

The Azure Sky King pushed those old memories back into his heart, his face showing only a gentle smile.

“I thought you were in the Royal Capital,” Miaoyue said, puffing out her cheeks. “It cost me several extra seconds to get here. I'm starving.”

“Did you not eat breakfast?”

“I did, but my dessert stomach is hungry. So are my cookie stomach, my pastry stomach, my milk jelly stomach...”

Aren't those all just for sweets? How many stomachs does she have?

“Ahem.” The Azure Sky King choked slightly, not pursuing the topic further.

“Some nobles here in Silvervein City are having issues, so I came to take a look,” the Azure Sky King explained. “The Green Mist King is still in the Royal Capital handling court sessions and the master ledger for mineral taxes.”

He only gave a brief summary.

He didn't mention Elizabeth's house being burned to ruins, the disappearance of a group of noble leaders, or the strange role a servant from Destinos played in it all.

After all, until things were clearly investigated, even the royal family shouldn't jump to conclusions.

And even if he did, the Witch wouldn't understand.

It was better to keep it simple.

“As for you, Lady Witch,” the Azure Sky King looked at her. “Is there something you wish to entrust to me by appearing today?”

Hearing this, Miaoyue immediately put on a very serious, very aggrieved expression, looking exactly like someone who desperately wanted someone to give her justice.