Too Much Teasing

Roland brought Hills into the cell in prison before taking both Brian and Greyhound inside the castle to wait for Nightingale and Nana

"Your Highness? I have heard there is a need- ah!" When they arrived, Nana immediately started panicking when she saw injured guards covered in blood and Roland wasn't surprised, Nana was only 14 years old and she never treated injured person, at least not with injuries like these.

"Nana, take a deep breath and exhale slowly, do this a few times while looking away before looking once again at the men that need your help. If you will feel like panicking again, hold your sight and do this breathing exercise again but this time while staring at them." Roland crouched down and said while looking into Nana's eyes and giving her a reassuring smile.

*inhale*--- *exhale* Nana nodded her head and tried to do as Roland instructed and after looking at them again, she felt much calmer, not completely calm but it was definitely an improvement.

"They need your help, Nana. Regular people can't truly relieve anyone of their physical pain another way than swiftly ending their suffering, however- YOU are different. You have the power to relieve them of their pain without ending their life entirely. No matter how bad the wound is, as long as they have some breath left inside them, you can save them! I think that you have one of the most wondrous powers any witch can possess." Roland said with his hand placed on Nana's back. Nana looked at him in shock before firmly nodding her head, slowly walking forward with Roland's hand gently helping her push her forward. When Nana was out of Roland's arm's reach, she stopped for a second before realizing how much Roland's hand was helping her take those steps forward.

"*The most wondrous power...how cheesy*" Nightingale whispered to Roland with a smirk.

"*Shh! Shut it or are you perhaps jealous?*" Roland frowned and whispered back with his arms crossed.

"*Sure, I would like to be pampered by you like this too.*" Nightingale whispered in a teasing tone with narrowed eyes, clearly showing her intention not to let Roland go so easily.

"*Hold your horses, you are a mature woman. Find yourself a man who is going to pamper you...*"

Steeling herself, Nana approached Brian and started using her power to heal his wound before switching to Greyhound.

"*So Your Highness views me foremost as a woman before witch, huh? Are you on the list of availability, Your Highness?*" Nightingale asked in a bewitching tone with a seductive smile.

Roland turned to her with a slightly serious expression.

"*Please stop the teasing for tonight. I know it's fun for you but even fun must come in moderation. Don't misunderstand, I enjoy your company but I think I have had enough for tonight...*" Roland said with a slightly tired tone.

Nightingale nodded her head with an apologetic yet genuine smile but it was unknown whether it was due to his last words about enjoying her company or something completely different. Even she admitted that she was taking it a bit too far but while she was at the moment, it didn't really occur to her. Over the time she spent here, she discovered that Roland's self-control is extremely high and it also gave her a sort of feeling of safety. It's not like she wasn't capable of protecting herself in case Roland made an inappropriate move but knowing that Roland would never make a move on her no matter how seductive she would look or talk made her feel safe and at ease near him.

Thinking more about it, maybe she even felt slightly insulted that her ability to make Roland flustered was quite low. And most importantly, maybe she is just teasing him but if she completely found the idea disgusting, she wouldn't have even mentioned it.

When Nana was done, she went back to Roland's side where she began slightly hyperventilating.

"Good job! Calmly take a deep breath and slowly exhale...you managed to save them from days of pain and resting."

*Yawn* Nana nodded her head with a smile before yawning and rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"I will take her back home, she could use some more rest." Nightingale said, taking her away while Nana was waving her hand at Roland as a goodbye.

'...It's only a few hours to the dawn. They are still out cold so I might as well wait here for them to wake up.' Roland thought before sitting on the bench while leaning against the corner with closed eyes and crossed arms.

When Nightingale arrived several minutes later, she found Roland already asleep in the same position. She quickly disappeared before reappearing a minute later with a blanket. She sat down next to him and put the blanket over his body with a warm smile.

'Should I retire to my room or...' Nightingale took a glance at Roland's sleeping face and decided to stay. Sitting in such silence, she started getting sleepy herself and her head began swaying side to side, since she didn't have anything to lean on, in the end, she decided to rest her head on Roland's shoulder where she unexpectedly fell asleep in a matter of seconds.

After 2 hours passed, Roland slowly opened his eyes and looked down at his body being covered by a blanket.

'My shoulder feels oddly sore...Anyway, Nightingale must have given me this blanket.' Roland thought, looking around but the only people he could see were Brian and Greyhound still out of it.

.

.

After a few more minutes, Brian finally woke up.

"Good to see you up again."

"Your Highness!" When Brian saw Roland, his eyes widened and he tried to get up from the bed but his arms failed to support him and he fell back first on the bed.

"You lost some of your blood, you have to eat and rest a bit before you can use your strength. Tell me what exactly happened...why didn't you or Greyhound reported to me that they are on the move?"

"Y-Your Highness, it's all my fault, Greyhound was given an offer by them and as you said to us, he accepted to not get killed, however, they still kept a watch over him mostly due to him being local. Once they recruited him, they quickly moved out to...I- I was too worried about Greyhound that I ended up following them instead of reporting it back. But I made a mistake, they spotted me and to save me, Greyhound killed one of them before we had to run away. We were aware at that time it was too late to report back so we tried our chances to protect the granary...-The granary?! What exactly happened, Your Highness?!"

"I see...I should punish you for your emotions getting better of your judgement, however, I will make sure it is light punishment for your bravery to fight till the end and not just running away from responsibility. Maybe you are a fool but at least you aren't a coward, however, don't misunderstand, sometimes it's better to be a fool and be influenced by your emotions. The granary is safe and Hills Medde is locked up in the prison cell." Roland said with a smile and slightly joking tone, evading any details of that night.

"T-Thank you for your generous words, Your Highness! What is going to happen to him?" Brian asked before looking at his body but he couldn't find any wound or even scar which shocked him.

"The citizens of Border Town are going to hear about his crimes and then they will have his life in their hands. They can decide to let him go, they can torture him right in the middle of the town's square, they can just swiftly kill him, I don't care."

"Your Highness, I am not saying he doesn't deserve that but I don't recommend this...it could enrage nobles of Longsong Stronghold"

"That's what I hope for. They tried to sabotage the entire town with 2000 citizens living within, we wouldn't have enough ores to trade with them for enough food and more than 50% of people would starve to death. Adding the crime of sabotaging the prince...this will be a clear message for Duke Ryan- 'DON'T MESS WITH ME'. Hills crimes are going to be answered, very loudly and clearly. As for your wounds...a little angel named Nana came here late at night to heal you, aside from being an angel, she is also our little witch." Roland said with cold eyes before switching to a kind face when speaking about Nana.

"W-Witch?" Brian muttered with a surprised expression.

"That's right, our Border Town's little angel and witch. You better thank her once you will be able to move around, she woke up late at night and also almost collapsed after seeing both of you covered in blood, you gave her quite a scare. Tell all of this to your friend once he wakes up, I will leave a maid here to take care of you in case you need something." Roland said with a strict expression before leaving.