A cold stone chamber, the scent of rust and old parchment, and a man who was an engineer just hours ago opens his eyes in the body of a prince. Roland Wimbledon is the fourth son of a medieval king, a useless spare with no land, no army, and a reputation for laziness that serves him fine — until the night his brothers' assassins arrive. He survives only because a witch named Anna saves him, a woman condemned by the church and hunted by her own village for the crime of existing.

Roland knows this world. He has read its scripture, and the witch hunts that will consume its future are already being lit. His kingdom will burn witches. His church will sanctify the pyres. His brothers will murder each other for the throne while an apocalypse called the "Months of Demons" crawls closer each winter. But Roland is not constrained by feudal logic. He sees a kingdom of untapped potential — witches whose "demonic powers" are just undiscovered science — and he begins his work not with a sword, but with blueprints. Cement. Steam engines. Gunpowder. While the church sharpens its stakes, Roland turns Border Town into the only sanctuary where witches are not fuel for the fire. The question is no longer whether he can save them from the flames — it is whether he can industrialize faster than the world can burn.

Also known as: Release that Witch, 放开那个女巫, Fang Kai Nage Nüwu, أطلق سراح تلك الساحرة.