“First, let me ask a question.”

Despite the effort to lighten the mood, the king frowned.

Giovanni, seemingly unaffected by the heated atmosphere, calmly and slowly asked a question.

“What do you, Your Majesty, think of witches?”

“They are wicked beings.”

“Yes, witches are dangerous beings.”

“So, it must have been a heart-wrenching decision, but you made it. To restore this land to its original state by the witch’s blood…”

“The witch’s blood contaminates the surroundings.”

“What?”

The king furrowed his brow while pondering over Giovanni’s words.

Giovanni spoke again.

“The witch’s blood corrupts the land and the sky.”

His voice resonated below.

The crowd murmured.

The king, suspicious, asked, “How do you know that?”

“I come from the desert.”

With that one sentence, everything was explained. To the kingdom’s people, the desert was a cursed land.

Coming from that land, especially spoken by a prince, lent credibility to his words.

The cheers of the people subsided.

“If you kill the witch, the land becomes polluted?”

“Already in a difficult situation, what should we do?”

Noticing the confusion of the crowd, the king licked his lips.

Executing Egrain’s execution would resolve the situation, and it would also put an end to the torment he had endured for the past few days.

However, the prince, who had been quietly observing when to drive him away, made the situation more complicated.

As if it wasn’t enough, Giovanni’s intervention was even more irritating.

‘Making people uneasy for no reason.’

A witch, what witch?

Egrain knew better than anyone that he was not a witch. It was he who had made her into one.

Ironically, hearing Giovanni’s words raised strange questions in his mind.

‘What if it’s true?’

Thinking about it, consecutive misfortunes in the Lorenst family, the sudden death of the high priest, and the drought in the western lands were all unnatural. It didn’t seem like mere coincidence.

If he had figured out the identity of the witch Egrain while backing up, Giovanni’s words dug deeper into his mind.

“Is there any way to prevent this?” said the king after finishing his thoughts.

In response to the king’s concluding remark, Giovanni nodded.

“I, too, do not desire the fertile lands of the kingdom to be polluted. As a gesture of gratitude for your hospitality, and to repay your kindness, the empire will take care of the witch.”

“Hehe.”

The king just burst into a dry laugh. It was unexpected.

Egrain Lorenst is a witch, so the empire will take care of it?

‘Who does he think he’s fooling!’

Seeing the stoic face without a hint of expression, it was even more perplexing.

Leaning back in his chair, the king raised one corner of his mouth.

“Come to think of it, the prince was associated with criminals. Do you, right now, understand that your words could lead to misunderstandings?”
The meaning behind the words seemed to convey lingering emotions for Egrain.

Once there was gossip circulating in the social circle surrounding the two, even though the king remembered an incident where they were seen dating in the temple.

Of course, after that, things quieted down, and it wasn’t given much thought.

Looking back, Giovanni had even asked Egrain for the first dance.

Was there something between them that seemed insignificant at the time… like an unknown feeling?

The king’s eyes gleamed like an eagle targeting its prey.

Before that persistent gaze, Giovanni chuckled lightly.

“Do you see it that way?”

Even a faint smile appeared on his face.

The somewhat uneasy king became a bit confused.

Wasn’t it a playful act to rescue the woman he liked? If so, then why make such a proposal?

“Why would the prince want to take a criminal to the empire? Is it really for the sake of the kingdom?”

In the end, the king, giving up on rolling his head, asked directly. The nobles shared the same sentiments.

The person who explained the danger of the witch was taking the witch back to his own country?

It didn’t make sense.

Giovanni, under the scrutiny of the king and the nobles, spoke.

“Let me be honest with you.”

Yes, there was definitely an intention. It wasn’t as if the relations between the two countries were so bad that he had to make a sacrifice by taking the witch for just a few months.

The nobles who understood Giovanni’s intentions watched him closely.

“In the empire, witches are not advantageous beings, but it’s different in the desert.”

“…….”

“Do you know the saying ‘fight poison with poison’?”

“I’ve heard of it.”

“It’s the same principle. The witch serves as a medium to suppress the wicked and ominous energy of the desert.”

Even with hesitant reactions, Giovanni continued without wavering.

“In the empire, we currently use witches to control the curse of the land. Otherwise, how do you think so many people can live together in the harsh desert where not even a single blade of grass can grow properly?”

People living in the desert.

Kingdom residents had common doubts about how people could live in the desert.

Giovanni’s words seemed to be the answer to that question.