Witcher's Atelier

"You stupid Birka man, the country idiot's head is full of sawdust! Don't you know what standing up means?"

"Yes, sir."

"Take a break!"

When Victor stepped into the city's vestibule square, the burly and majestic bald military attache was patrolling in front of fifty Nilfgaardian warriors and lecturing. The man in black was easily identifiable by his unique large-winged helmet.

"Listen, we all serve the Emperor, whether in Nilfgaard or here!"

The witcher passed by, and the military attache who was lecturing had a typical Sima face, with deep nasolabial folds under his thin lips, and his narrow eyes flashed with cold gaze.

"We always serve the Emperor loyally and enthusiastically!"

Withdrawing his prying eyes, Victor kept his eyes fixed. This guy felt that he couldn't look any further. He was the kind of person who would come up to him and yell, "What are you looking at! Try another look?"

"If any of you make me doubt your loyalty, I will skin him alive!" The tone sounded serious, not joking at all.

Continuing to move forward and keeping a distance from the man in black, Siegfried touched his middle with his index finger and said, "Be careful of that guy in Lomugna, 'Tombstone'. Renua Ep Matson, Emhyr's diehard loyalist" A fanatic, you can see him leading the team out for training every morning.”

"What a resounding nickname. Thank you for reminding me. I will pay attention to him."

"I seem to have said something wrong. Maybe it's him who should be careful. After all, you have an overwhelming advantage in terms of title length. I heard that your latest addition is 'Big Octopus Killer'?"

Victor rolled his eyes in response to Siegfried's teasing.

They walked in the deserted city of Lomugna, where the green creepers spread across the ruins, vaguely recording the prosperity of the past.

Some houses can still provide shelter from the wind and rain. In addition to the crowds brought by the peace summit, many vendors appear on the roadside. They not only sell food and drink, but also all kinds of magic items.

Ups and downs, the two stepped over the collapsed stone monument and headed to the west area.

"Actually, I wanted to ask yesterday. You seem to have changed a bit... I don't deny that your judgment is correct. If you get the chance, Patrick will definitely hurt Angouleme. But in the past, you seemed to be more tolerant and would not easily kill anyone."

"Well... I feel the same way. After all, this cruel world has changed the gentle me."

Siegfried rolled his eyes in response to Victor's excuse.

The rest of the journey was silent, until we reached the place where the flag of the Crown Silver Eagle was flying.

"Long live Radovid!"

Wearing mail armor and holding a long sword, the guard guarding the door raised his hand to block the two of them, "Stop, Mr. Siegfried, who is this witcher? It seems that he was not officially invited to visit?"

"Victor of Kel'Zhu, the dragonborn poet." Siegfried answered calmly, "He has important news to report about the King Slayer."

The guard holding a crossbow next to him spat, "Kingslayer? Everyone knows that the witcher of Rivia is the murderer. He is also a witcher. Are you sure you won't put the king of Redania in danger?"

"Shut up Tut! Do you think you are a sorceress who can decide who can meet His Majesty?

I have known this gentleman for a while, and I trust him as much as I trust myself. Besides, it is full of soldiers. Unless he intends to commit suicide, he would only choose this place to assassinate His Majesty.

If you insist on not being accommodating, then let him stay here while I go in and report alone.

But trust me, the king won't like this. "

Tut and the guard holding the long sword looked at each other, then unanimously moved out of the way, shouting in unison, "Long live Radovid!"

…

Walking through the heavily guarded camp, Redanian soldiers not all slept in tents, but more often lived in private houses decorated with flags.

The place where King Radovid V lived is a well-preserved high-end residential area. Even after hundreds of years, the artistic patterns on the walls are still clear.

Following in the footsteps of Siegfried, Victor walked into the informal audience hall and once again saw the long-lost little bald and bearded young king who had become much more mature and looked quite handsome.

He wore a crown, a red cloak, and gorgeous golden armor, with a noble smile on his lips.

The room was brightly lit, and the large map spread out on the wide table was the familiar topographic map of the Pontal Valley.

Radovid touched his cheek, "What a rare visitor...Mr. Victor Corleone. As always, you always appear when I need you."

And your association with the Rose Knight is even more shocking. Are you planning to join my knights? "

"It's a pity, Your Majesty Radovid. As a witcher, Siegfried and I are just friends, and we happened to meet each other when we entered the city. I am not ready to serve you, especially if it has nothing to do with killing monsters."

"That's just right, I'm being threatened by potential...monsters. I'm not interested in the details, I'm looking forward to the results. Master Victor, maybe you are willing to sign a long-term contract with me? For example, what do you think about personal protection?"

"Forgive me for refusing, Your Majesty, I am not suitable to be a bodyguard."

Victor touched his chest and bowed, expressing his helplessness.

"I thought you had served Yadda before. Witcher...you have to be careful, you are stepping on slippery grass, which is full of very bad cow dung. I am not a person who can let people refuse."

"Your Majesty, I don't want to waste your time. The Queen must have told you the situation at that time. The reason why I serve her is because the curse is closely related to my work. I will not participate in politics. That would violate the rules of the witcher. ”

"I usually get what I want!" Radovid's eyes suddenly became sharp. After getting rid of Philippa's restraints, the young bald man was beginning to completely liberate his nature.

However, Victor smiled gently, "I still refuse. This kind of work makes me feel uncomfortable, and a bodyguard who is in a moral dilemma is unlikely to provide the best protection. As your majesty knows, the story of King Foltest and Geralt happened not long ago."

"It sounds reasonable, but I seem to hear a threat in it?"

"Absolutely not."

"Hahaha, witcher, congratulations on making me angry and entertaining me at the same time, so I forgive you."

The king leaned back tactically and waved his hand to signal Victor to sit in front of him. The attendant next to him naturally served the wine glass and filled it.

"I heard that Henselt was killed by the Kingslayer. If you hadn't intervened, he would have died in Vergen. Is this true?"

The witcher pulled out a chair and sat down. "My reputation is always faster and more exaggerated than my actions. I did do some trivial work on the scene, but it was purely coincidental. The person who actually protected the king was his loyal advisor Desmo."

"I like rumors, but I don't trust them. ... The soldiers spread it by word of mouth, then from the maid to the baron, and then to the ears of the royal family."

The king suddenly knocked on the table with emotion, "Since Since their meeting in Vizima a few months ago, the world has changed dramatically, and many things that shouldn't have happened have actually happened.

Temeria is about to fall into civil war, Kaedwen attempts to seize Pontar Valley by force, and then the official representatives of Nilfgaard play a key role in the summit meeting of the Northern Kingdoms. ”

He punched the map on the table, "Foltest and Demawi are both dead, and the Cintra Treaty we signed together seems like yesterday's flowers."

Speaking of his father-in-law, Radovid's handsome face showed sincere sadness, or at least it looked sincere. If Victor hadn't been convinced that he had secretly funded Jacques's rebellion, he would definitely believe his statement now.

And his sigh aroused Victor's curiosity.

"Your Majesty, I want to know why the Nilfgaardian ambassador appeared in Lomne? Apart from the open provocation and conspiracy, has he done anything positive to help peace?"

"Henselt invited him here. Perhaps he hopes that the Black Clothed Ones will recognize his rule over the Pontar Valley and even divide up the chaotic Aedirn.

Henselt's greed blinded his reason. Fortunately, the peasant girl of Aedirn...if I remember correctly, her name is Saskia, defeated his ambition?

It's a pity that Shirad Oyestran will never give up an opportunity like this. He will participate in the talks and play his favorite drama."

Hearing the king take the initiative to mention the dragon slayer, Victor coughed and cleared his throat.

"In fact, Your Majesty, I want to ask for your help. Regarding this Saint of Aedirn, Saskia, do you have any other news?"

Radovid stroked his chin and thought for a moment with a gleam of brilliance.

"I know she lives in the commercial district, where there are some nice empty houses. She started coming every day a week ago, hoping to gain control of Pontar Valley, but I can't easily make a decision based on her request. And she hasn't appeared since the day before yesterday. Maybe you can go investigate."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. In exchange, as far as I know, the mastermind behind the attack on Temeria, Aedirn and Kaedwen is Xier Tanshaweier." Victor sold Xier neatly.

"Are you sure!? How do you know this?"

"After the assassination, I tracked down one of the assassins. Before he died, he told me the role played by Tanshavier because of despair."

"Your words are very convincing. This can explain a lot of things. Not long ago, Hillard Fitz Oyestelan also warned me that there was an evil conspiracy going on.

According to Triss Merigold's confession, before the restart of the Mage Council, the sorceresses had already established a secret association. They tried to control and manipulate the world by murdering the king."

"Triss and Hillard are working together!?"

"No! She was detained as a suspect. Hillard believes that the sorceresses of Nilfgaard are also involved in this evil organization."

"It's incredible... Thank you for the clues, Your Majesty. This is very useful." Finally knowing the exact whereabouts of Triss, Victor was in a good mood, "Did you mention that you need my help just now? Please tell me?"

"You are so good, grateful, witcher, no wonder I like you You.

King Henselt of Kaedwen arrived in the early morning and said nothing about Vergen's defeat, but everyone knew what happened.

But that's not important. What's important is that when the talks begin the day after tomorrow, countless jackals and hyenas will pounce on them, hoping to see Temeria's miserable end. Those despicable nobles - I'm talking about Count Maravil and Baron Gimpert. Taking advantage of the opportunity of losing the ruler, they want to split the kingdom into many provinces, and some of them are causing chaos in Vizima.

Temeria once united the four northern kingdoms to defeat Nilfgaard and forced the Black Clothed Ones to retreat to the south, but now those arrogant tyrants and local warlords, Nilfgaard cavalry will soon easily crush them.

Henselt contacted me, hoping to join forces to share this delicious meal in Temeria, but I didn't agree to him, and only made a false promise with him.

I have deep feelings for my wife's motherland. I hope to protect Anais and put Temeria under my protection. "

The name "Anais" made Victor frown.

"You seem to have heard of this name? Anais La Valette, the daughter of Louisa and Foltest, she also has a younger brother Balsi.

pull. The city of Valedi was destroyed, and the Baroness defected to Nilfgaard. Originally, all the king's children were taken over by John. Natalis protected her, but on their way back to Vizima, Balsi died in an accident, and Anais's whereabouts remained a mystery.

Not long ago, my men found out that the girl, the heir of Foltest, had fallen into the hands of the man in black and was in the camp north of Lomunne. "

Victor was not surprised when he first heard the bad news. With the poor moral character of those nobles, even incest could be arranged for Arrian and her mother, and it was easy to get rid of a little boy.

However, even if you are not familiar with it, you have always met it. "What happened to Balsi's accident? Why did Anais come to Lomouni?"

Radovid beckoned the attendant to put away the map and put the remaining chessboard on it. The king stared at the remaining chess pieces and thought.

“Victor, as someone who can play chess with me, your chess skills should know that an accident to Balsi is inevitable.

I don't care about the details, so if you want to know the details, go and talk to Natalis across the way. I don't think you can find the murderer, besides what's the use? "

This game of chess was probably played by Radovid himself. He moved the white knight to capture the black castle, and then signaled Victor to take over the black one.

"Anyway, Henselt's army has arrived, and Nilfgaard will hand over Anais to him tonight."

"Why did the man in black do this? What did Kaedwin want Anais to do?"

"As you said, there is nothing surprising about conspiracy to stir up dissension. But if Henselt gets Anais, he can use the name of protector to oppress me on divisive issues.

That girl is the most important. She will be Temeria's salvation or nightmare at the peace summit the day after tomorrow.

I cannot launch an armed attack on Nilfgaard or Kaedwen. That would be a declaration of war, and we are here to keep the peace.

But for witchers, things are different. In particular, he is a man from the far east, full of martial virtue and chivalry. "

Radovid waved to his attendants to bring a large bag of gold coins, "Victor, Anais' biological sister Yada will take care of her, and so will her brother-in-law Radovid. Go and bring that girl to me! I promise A united Temeria will be restored and those who have Foltest's blood on their hands will be punished."

After thinking for a moment, Victor did not play the chess, pushed away the money bag and stood up suddenly, "Don't expect it, but I will try it and see!"

When he was about to go out, he suddenly turned around and asked, "Your Majesty, I have another question. Why are you bringing a knight from the Knights with you?"

"The Knights of the Flaming Rose want to ensure that the talks proceed peacefully, and we want to prevent the tragedy of Sunide Island from happening again."

After receiving the answer, the witcher left the Redania camp.

…

Back on the street, Victor hesitates.

Before traveling through time, he watched a movie called "Minority Report," which tells the story of a world full of murder and crime where special departments use prophetic predictions with extremely accurate predictions to arrest and imprison "people who are about to commit crimes."

"How arrogant is it to judge others for crimes they have not yet committed?"

“To what extent should we go to prevent possible future evil?”

There is no answer to the above question in the movie. It is difficult to have an answer to this kind of question. It depends on the change of perspective.

From the perspective of the unlimited right of self-defense, any person or thing that poses a threat deserves to be annihilated, but that approach is of course disharmonious.

Radovid V is an absolutely ruthless character in his past life memory. In the game, Victor doesn't like this person, but to be honest, he seems to be quite nice now.

Wise, gentle, wise, and willing to pay, especially the last characteristic, as Siegfried said, he may not be the best, but you have nothing to be dissatisfied with.

However, based on the impression from his previous life, Victor wanted to hear other people's opinions.

Thanks to book friends Xiao Dao Bu Xin and Prof_S_Snape for their encouragement.