"Viola, as the Honorable Knight, you have been chosen by the King to keep The Evil Witch under wraps. If it was discovered that the Witch had successfully escaped her confinements, you shall be held accountable and shall be punished accordingly. Do you agree?"
"Yes, my Lord." Viola responded while on one knee as she listened to the King's Decree.
Her head was bowed, the golden strands making it hard to see her expression.
But almost everyone inside this room knows that even if her face was visible, there would be no expression present.
After all, she is Viola, the Empire's Strongest.
As long as she is still alive, there's nothing in this world that could threatened the Empire, be it a dragon or an otherworldly being.
From both the King's perspective and Viola's perspective, this entire Decree was just a formality.
From the King, even if he wanted to punish Viola, he wouldn't be able to unless she herself allows it.
As for Viola, she can never go against the King's Decree, it would go against her principles as a knight.
From both sides, this exchange was a useless arrangement.
"After the Witch surrendered, we have successfully confined here inside of the Cosmic Tower, located in the Far East of the Empire. In accordance to the King's will, you shall hold full control over every single thing inside the Cosmic Tower. As long as it could keep the Witch from causing Havoc in the world... Then, any and all actions are permitted. "
"Understood, My Lord." Viola spoke.
"You may now start your journey towards the Cosmic Tower, The King had your accommodation arranged near the tower, one of our maids shall lead you to it. Have a save journey, this is spoken by us all."
With one final sentence, Viola was led outside by the Head Maid.
As they made their way outside, Viola discreetly looked back at the castle. Without saying anything, she followed the maid and entered the carriage leading towards the Eastern part of the Empire.
Where the Witch is now confined.
The journey from the castle to the accommodation prepared by the King took a whole 12 hours, long enough to not have to worry about the Witch preparing to attack the Empire.
On foot, there's no doubt it would take an astronomically longer amount of times.
"We've arrived at the destination, Miss Viola." The Maid opened the carriage's door and bowed slightly in a show of respect.
Viola stepped out of the carriage and captured everything in her sight. The large manor, the garden, the fountain, and the gate.
But everything was empty. There's no maid to greet her, no gate guard to keep outsiders away.
It was only her inside of this massive place.
"..."
But that's alright.
She's used to being alone anyways.
She turned around and thanked the maid that had led her here.
The maid smiled and entered the carriage, effectively leaving her alone inside of this manor.
Even without anything being said, she knew what she needed to do now.
Instead of immediately entering her manor, she instead followed the pathway, the same one the carriage had passed through.
If she just followed the path for a few more minutes, she should arrive at the Cosmic Tower.
The place where the Witch resides.
And she's right, not long after following the pathway, she saw it.
A tower standing at a staggering height, taller than even the King's Castle.
Without hesitation, she walked in through the front door.
Then, she swung her blade.
Clank!
She had just blocked an arrow from impaling her face.
"What the... You blocked that? No way. It should've been shot at a speed faster than light?!" A voice sounded from the dark.
"How did you even see it?" And then, a figure slowly approached Viola.
A massive hat and a long purple hair, thicker than even the forest. A face that looked like a peerless gem that shines even without any makeup.
This is her, The Evil Witch. The person who had supplied the Revolutionary Army with potions of many kinds.
Also the Mastermind who had staged the Revolutionary.
With the witch being effectively immortal, there has been no method found in order to suppress her immortality, making her a threat that needed to be taken care of.
She stands a head shorter than Viola, making it harder for Viola to make out her face at a closer range.
"Who are you? Did that dastardly King sent you here?" Venomous words began pouring out of the Witch's mouth.
"A blasphemy. Yes, the King sent me here. My name is Viola, a knight tasked with keeping watch on you." Viola responded with a monotonous voice.
"A blasphemy, you say? So what? Are you going to execute me now?" The witch said. "Just so you know, I am also immune to pain, ok? Also, at least let me take off my clothes before you attempt any execution. You have no idea how hard it was to recreate the clothes that was lost when you guys tried to burn me on a stake that one time."
"That won't be necessary. My task was not to kill you but to make sure you don't escape this place."
"Is that so? Well, that's alright too. I guess I won't be feeling lonely anytime soon...?" The witch's voice trailed off as she casted a magic to light up the surrounding.
Blue eyes with the hair tied to a ponytail. The bang covered enough of the forehead to not be a bother during battle.
Sets of silver armor covered the shins, arms, and torso, effectively covering the vital points that needed to be protected.
A blank face, free of any scar, very unbefitting of her title as a knight. It looked like she had never once taken an injury on that face, a face so clean of dust that she looked like a painting that had come to life.
"...Oh no, this is dangerous." The Witch muttered to herself. "That dastard king... No wait, he's the greatest king I've ever known...!"
"...Thank you for sending her to me!"
Viola tilted her head as she watched the Witch talked to herself. Although she was confused, she did not interrupt the Witch.
Then, she voiced out, "It's alright to just treat me as if I don't exist, I am not here to be your friend, but to keep watch on you."
The Witch stopped muttering and turned her head towards the knight. "Eh? That's a shame... But that can't stop me! Come on, this tower is surprisingly accommodating despite supposedly being my 'prison'."
Viola sheathed her sword and followed The Witch deeper into the tower. They climbed a couple sets of stairs and entered a room.
"Here, I made this place my office for now. This is where I eat, sleep, cook, and make potions!" Waving her hand around, the Witch showed off her room with a big smile.
"..."
"Come on, sit down! I'll prepare us some tea!" The witch invited Viola to sit down on the a chair and went over to her crafting station to 'make tea'.
Yeah, no. Viola isn't going to trust a single word this Witch is saying.
This was the same individual that had concocted the most dangerous potion known to man, a person also known for her stunningly high intellect, able to make the greatest of plans on the fly.
Viola needed to take her steps carefully, otherwise she'll fall into the trap that was set by The Witch.
If she failed this, the Empire would once again be in danger.
The witch came back with a set of tea pot and cups, she organized them on the table and took a seat of her own, right next to Viola.
Viola didn't say anything even though she could easily made out the free seat from right across.
"Here, this is my favorite! It'll taste better when eaten with some cookies... But I didn't know you were coming today, so I didn't prepare any! Sorry about that!" The Witch apologized.
"You don't need to. I am here to keep an eye on you, not as a guest. Miss Witch, you don't have to treat me like you would an honorable guest."
"Oh, come on. Don't be so distant now. Do you know how boring it was this whole time trapped inside this tower all alone? At the very least I'd like talk to someone about anything." The Witch swung her leg around under the table, seemingly excited.
Viola took notice of this and didn't say anything.
She stole some glances at the Witch's face as she drank some tea.
Meanwhile, she hesitated.
There are many ways in which the Witch could've drugged this water, perhaps it'll be poison, perhaps it'll be some other kind of effect.
"Why so cautious? See? I'm drinking them myself, you don't need to worry!" The Witch smiled as she watched Viola's actions.
Viola picked up the cup and brought it to her nose, she whiffed once and still can't tell if the water had been spiked or not.
She stole glances at the witch, who was still focused on her tea.
But as Viola slowly brought the cup's rim to her mouth, the Witch's eyes were becoming wider and wider, even at a microscopic scale.
Due to that, Viola placed down her cup and never touched it again.
"It's alright. I don't like tea." She said as an excuse for not drinking.
"What! Why'd you almost drink it then if you didn't like it? Wouldn't you have said so earlier?" The witch questioned, her mood visibly worse.
'Hah, as expected. That water is spiked.' Otherwise, the Witch's reaction wouldn't have been so extreme.
There's no doubt that she had spiked the drink with something that she herself can't be affected with, which is why she was not affected by the drink.
It was right here and now that Viola decided to never trust anything the Witch did.
'...Damn it! I fumbled it! How come she got my hopes up and then threw it away! Could've gotten her to drink the love potion...!'
Meanwhile, the so called evil witch was lamenting her first failure in seducing the steel knight.
This was their first interaction as a prisoner and the warden.