Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 215: The Crimson Witches

Chapter 215: The Crimson Witches

As the bright blue flames began to go down, the purifying feeling of catharsis settled in as well.

Aideen stood silently and watched the dragon fire consume everything beneath her. A strong, unfamiliar sense of power crept inside her heart, drowning all other senses, and leaving her feel unsettled and confused. She couldn’t help but wonder whether it was alright to feel this powerful; whether it was a good sign at all.

Yuraon, too, watched as the blue flames destroyed the last remnants of Valon’s army, his blue eyes reflecting the same bright color of the burning rage below his feet.

He did not feel anything. He only felt empty.

And while it still brought him a great sense of satisfaction that the second prince died such a gruesome death, the most important fact remained the same––it would not bring Melania back.

Ahspid released a long but quiet sigh, sensing the growing burden of the unfolding situation, then stood between the princess and young king, and put his hands on top of their shoulders, giving them a friendly, supportive squeeze.

"Our part is done. Now all that is left to do is wait for the war to be over."

The mage was right and all three of them knew it. There was nothing else left but to agree with what was yet to come and move on.

Having depleted his innate powers while being in his bigger form, Taru finally turned into his baby form and fell into Aideen’s arms, breathing heavily but steadily. He was visibly exhausted and fell asleep almost immediately in order to replenish the strength to still support himself even in his tiny form.

The princess felt rather tired herself. While Taru was still growing, it was her job to feed her powers and energy to him to make sure their connection remained strong and the dragon’s abilities developed in the same way as hers to make them share the perfect link.

"Let’s get back to the castle and have some rest," she suggested, "The people in the shelter must be growing anxious too."

Suddenly, before the others could even agree with her suggestion, one of the knights from the watchtower called out to them in a loud and urgent tone,

"Your Highness! Your Majesty! There are new troops approaching from the western parts!"

The trio froze on the spot, their faces growing pale from shock. Yuraon looked ahead, trying to see if he could spot anything in the distance.

"More soldiers? But who? It cannot be another division of Valon’s army, there is no way King Euris would send so many people to the North."

Ahspid agreed with his words with a nod and called back to the knight in the tower, "Which banner are they holding?!"

"An orange flag with a golden sun!"

The mage’s voice turned grave, "The Holy Church."

The Holy Army rarely interfered with large-scale wars unless the kingdoms required their judgment on the matter of magic or witchcraft, thus, their unexpected and unannounced advance, especially without a proper declaration of their intentions, was quite a shocking matter to comprehend.

Aideen looked down at Taru who was already snoring quietly in her embrace, her voice wavered with worry, "So Valon was right, the Holy Church was secretly preparing for an assault as well. What shall we do? Taru can’t transform again and I still do not know how to control the Eye of the Storm properly. If I do it now, the people in the castle might be in danger too."

Yuraon shared the princess’ concerns as well.

"We don’t have enough manpower to fight them... This is not good."

Suddenly, the knight shouted from the tower once again,

"Your Highness! There is another group approaching from the south!"

"What? Again?!" All three of them shouted simultaneously, their eyes opening even wider at the prospect of unknown, yet impending danger that was approaching.

"What in the world is going on?!" Aideen shouted in panic as her heart drummed in her chest.

"Such an emotional reaction was rather unnecessary, Duchess Valentine. After all, we have come here to help you."

A familiar, rough female voice struck all three of them from behind. Aideen instantly turned around and exclaimed, "Khala?!"

Indeed, standing proudly before her was the woman who left quite a negative impression on Lady Valentine the first time they met. Wearing her usual black attire with the lower part of her face covered, Khala’s eyes glistened with their bright ember glow as she offered the princess an arrogant smirk.

"Long time no see, Lady Valetnine. I am flattered that you recognized me right away."

She then scanned two men standing beside the lady in an attempt to size them up before continuing, "You should wipe the stale expressions off your faces, my good fellas, or else I’ll change my mind and turn my men around."

"How did you know to come here?" Aideen still couldn’t believe that the leader of the traveling bandits was standing right before her, willing to offer her a helping hand.

Khala shrugged her shoulders as if it was not a big deal.

"My friends noticed that the Holy Church had been gathering forces for quite some time because the paladins reacted for some unknown power. I figured it was you. Though I was kind of hoping Tillian was smart enough to hide his precious wife properly; even from forces as powerful as the Holy Church."

Her arrogance was irritating but it was evident that she indeed came to the North to help them. And at that moment, they truly had no luxury of denying any help they could receive, however obnoxiously dangerous it might seem.

Ahspid scrutinized Khala’s appearance with a glint of suspicion in his eyes, then took a step forward, towering over her with his mere presence, and finally asked the question that had been bothering him since the woman explained the reason for her arrival.

"You said that your friends noticed it. May I ask who those friends might be?"

Khala locked her amber eyes into his and replied confidently, "Oh, you might actually know them, mage. The Crimson Witches."