When Anna opened her eyes, everything was a fiery red. The scorching air rushed towards her, burning her skin.

Fire.

Everywhere was fire. Thick smoke rolled under the roof, choking her.

Cries came from the inner room, or perhaps it was just an illusion. The wood crackled under the licking flames, and sparks and burning pieces of wood fell from above from time to time. She crawled off the hay pile and tried to take two steps towards the inner room, but was quickly pushed back by the heat wave.

In the end, she could only roll and crawl out of the wooden house, watching helplessly as the house was engulfed in flames.

The neighbors also gathered around, and some began to help put out the fire, but the nearest water source was the Chishui River outside the town. The few jars of water that were finally obtained were useless in the face of the raging fire.

After running back and forth a few times, Anna finally saw her father's figure.

He had just returned from the mine, still wearing his dirty jacket, his face covered in gray and black dust. He stood beside the wooden frame of the burned-down house, looking blank.

As if seeing a pillar of support, she could no longer suppress the fear and panic in her heart. Tears rolled down like beads, and she ran towards her father crying, hugging him tightly.

However, her father did not comfort her as she had hoped.

"Where is your mother?" He grabbed her shoulders, the force so great that she cried out in pain. "And your brother!"

Anna shook her head, but unexpectedly, a slap followed.

"You actually escaped alone! Why didn't you save them?"

"Damn it, how could you only care about yourself?"

Anna suddenly sat up in bed, gasping for breath. The scolding seemed to still echo in her ears, lingering for a long time.

The same dream again.

She picked up the cup from the bedside and drank the cold water in one gulp, recovering after a while.

Anna dreamed of this scene every month, as if someone in her mind was reminding her. She glanced at the calendar on the table. Today happened to be the end of the first weekend of summer, which was also the day when the Witch Union issued salaries.

She got dressed, washed up briefly, and then walked out of the castle to the Witch Building in the backyard.

"Sister Anna!" Ling smiled as soon as she saw her, "You're so early!"

"Good morning," Wendy said softly, "The weather looks good today. Are you going to North Slope Mountain later?"

"Anna... Madam," her former classmates also bowed and saluted quickly.

"Just call me Anna as usual." She waved her hand, sat down at the long table, and hesitated, "I have something else to do, I'll go there in the afternoon."

"Oh? That's rare," Wendy showed an interested expression, "Could it be with His Majesty Roland..."

"Shopping!" Ling shouted.

Pearl and Grey Rabbit couldn't help but laugh.

Anna shook her head, but did not continue.

Wendy didn't press, but took out an envelope from the drawer and handed it to her, "This month's salary, two Gold Royals."

"Thank you."

The witches didn't have to prepare for their own food, clothing, housing, and transportation. Even luxury goods sold in the convenience market were basically tried out by them first. Even if they wanted more, it wasn't a problem, so most people thought that the salary was useless and didn't quite understand why His Majesty insisted on doing so. Anna could probably guess Roland's intention, and this measure helped her in the dark.

Holding the salary, she returned to the castle hall, where Chief Knight Carter Lannis was already waiting.

"Anna xiaojie," he asked, rising, "The same as usual?"

"Yes," she took a Gold Royal from the envelope and handed it to the knight, "The same as usual."

…

When Border Town was rebuilt, all the natives were given a house, and Anna's father was no exception.

After he sold Anna to the church for twenty-five Gold Royals, Anna never had any contact with him again.

From that moment on, he was no longer her father.

But some things, she couldn't completely stay out of.

For example, this Gold Royal as living expenses.

Probably like most poor people who suddenly get a windfall, he didn't keep the money for too long – gambling, fraud, and theft left him penniless in just six months. At that time, Anna hadn't made a name for herself yet, but she had been recognized by some natives when she used fire to seal the gap in the city wall. He tried to ask a neighbor to visit his daughter, but the neighbor refused and was ridiculed. Later, the matter was passed on to Carter, who was responsible for forming the militia team, and Carter revealed it to Anna.

From that moment on, she knew that she had to do something to silence the father who had sold her out.

She didn't want him to cause Roland trouble.

The two came to a quiet neighborhood in the east of the city and went up to the second floor of a building.

Carter turned around, "Anna xiaojie, just wait for me here."

"Thank you for your trouble."

"No, it's just a small matter." He walked to a door and knocked hard on the door panel.

After a while, the door creaked open, "Ah... it's Knight-sama, I..."

"Why did it take so long to open the door, are you deaf!" Carter scolded, "Get out of the way, don't block the door."

"Yes, yes..."

Perhaps this is good.

Anna leaned against the wall in the corridor and sighed softly in her heart.

To be honest, she didn't want to pay attention to this former father at all, but she knew that ignoring him would only make the situation worse. Moreover, she couldn't come forward in person, otherwise, his stubbornness and arrogance would make him habitually act like a father, which would not have a deterrent effect.

Instead of begging him, it's better to make him realize that the status of the two is like a world apart. Carter, as the chief knight familiar to the masses in the Border Area, is already a remarkable nobleman in the eyes of ordinary people. Using this Gold Royal as a sealing fee, plus some stern warnings, should be enough to prevent him from speaking out, and His Majesty doesn't need to carry an extra burden for this.

Anna didn't understand these relationships before.

Since being arrested and imprisoned, she had lost interest in everything, and the world had completely turned into a dead gray. It was not until Roland rescued her that she saw a color different from the past again. After living in the castle for a while, Anna gradually understood the complex relationships between people, and also had a new understanding of why her father would blame her.

But she didn't like these twisted things at all.

Only when she was with Roland would she truly relax.

And those books that recorded wonderful knowledge – they seemed complicated and difficult to understand, but after getting in touch with them, she would find that their relationship was so simple and direct, and would never change due to changes in interests or desires. The formulas that reveal the face of the world are so clean and concise, so the world should have been like this in the first place.

The door opened again, and with a flattering and ingratiating voice of retention, Carter returned to her side and stroked his chest, "Anna xiaojie, it's done."

"Yes," after completing this matter, Anna felt a lot easier in her heart, "Don't tell His Majesty."

"Of course... I understand."

She nodded and then turned and walked downstairs.

Admittedly, she couldn't get rid of these disgusting feelings, but with His Majesty Roland, there would always be more and more good things. She couldn't wait to go to North Slope Mountain and continue her research work.

That's where she likes to be.