Chapter 182: Beautiful Queen Calanthe

"I traveled all the way from Wyzima, but I didn't expect to see you in prison. Geralt, you can always surprise me!"

After rescuing Geralt of Rivia and Dandelion from prison, Geralt seized the opportunity and immediately said in a teasing tone: "As a witcher, the famous White Wolf Geralt, was caught by the city guards who rushed over when fighting with ordinary people."

"Hehe, if I tell Lambert and Eskel about this, they will definitely be very interested."

As a senior, being teased by the junior he brought out, even Geralt of Rivia, who had a thick skin, couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. He looked at Dandelion, who was whistling as if it had nothing to do with him, and immediately shifted the blame, saying: "It's all Dandelion's fault. After this guy caused trouble, he came to drink with me. As a result, others brought a group of people to find trouble, but he was already drunk like a dead body, making me take the blame."

"I couldn't leave him and run away. While fighting, the city guards surrounded us."

Geralt guessed that it was probably like this, so he cast his gaze on Dandelion, who had been locked in prison for three days and looked quite embarrassed.

Facing the gaze of the two witchers, the poet student was also a little embarrassed. He pretended that he still had a lute in his hand, played a few times in the void, and defended:

"This actually can't be blamed on me. Lady Livita didn't expect her husband to come back in the afternoon. Although I explained to her husband that we were just practicing opera, that rude man didn't believe me at all."

"No one would have thought that he would find a group of mercenaries to hurt a bard. It's really too barbaric."

Geralt heard this and didn't give Dandelion any face at all, saying in a mocking tone:

"If any man returned home and saw his wife and a bard practicing opera in bed, and didn't beat you to death on the spot, it was already because he was rational enough."

Dandelion knew he was in the wrong and blushed, but still defended:

"We were for art, we were exploring opera. Ordinary people don't understand the affairs of artists."

Sure enough, this guy hooked up with a married woman. Geralt was too lazy to complain. He took the two back to the inn where Geralt of Rivia was staying. Having been locked in prison for three days, both of them were starving, so they didn't care how rough the food in this inn was, and immediately ate and drank a meal.

After eating and drinking, Geralt also officially asked Geralt of Rivia about the specific situation of this commission.

As a result, who knew, Geralt of Rivia shook his head and said:

"I don't know the specific situation either. Originally, Yennefer and I had been staying in Novigrad for several months, but suddenly we received an invitation from Queen Calanthe of Cintra, saying that there was a commission that needed me to execute, and the content was to ensure the normal holding of a banquet."

"Yennefer didn't stop me from executing this royal commission and also let me invite you to execute it together, so before I set off, I sent that letter to you."

Speaking of this, Geralt of Rivia looked at Dandelion quite helplessly and continued:

"Who knew that after arriving here, Queen Calanthe didn't intend to see me at all and let me enter the castle where the banquet was held on the morning of the banquet day."

"As a result, when strolling in the city, I met this guy Dandelion, and you know the rest."

Geralt nodded upon hearing this and tilted his head to look at Dandelion. He didn't know how this guy came to Cintra. In his impression, in the original story, there was indeed a bard participating in this banquet, but it was not Dandelion who hadn't even graduated from university yet.

The poet student saw Geralt looking at him, immediately smiled, picked up the lute that the innkeeper had collected for him, played a prelude to a piece of music, and without waiting for Geralt to ask, took the initiative to say:

"I heard the news from a noble friend, the betrothal banquet of the beautiful Princess Pavetta of Cintra."

"If any man is lucky enough to be chosen by Princess Pavetta, then he has a great chance to directly become the King of Cintra and rule this powerful country."

"How could I be absent from such a grand occasion."

After Dandelion finished speaking, Geralt of Rivia immediately mocked: "Dandelion, this betrothal banquet of Princess Pavetta is not a party held by an ordinary noble family."

"The location of this banquet is in the Cintra palace. If you don't have a banquet invitation, you can't sneak in."

Who knew, Dandelion smiled proudly upon hearing this, played a piece of music with a Skellige style with the lute in his hand, and said: "Don't underestimate me, Geralt. The main target of Princess Pavetta's betrothal banquet this time is the child of the Skellige island lord's family, or a prince of some vassal state of Cintra. This is a political marriage held for the sake of alliance."

"I have already established a relationship with those young Skellige nobles. They are very happy to have a bard who can play Skellige music to attend this banquet with them."

"If you don't have a banquet invitation, I can even take you to the banquet to enjoy a meal."

Regarding this, Geralt shrugged. Dandelion's social ability had always been very strong, and he could always make friends with many people. This was also one of the reasons why he could appear in various important occasions.

After listening to the explanation of the two, Geralt looked at Geralt of Rivia and asked directly:

"So, Geralt of Rivia, when will the banquet be held? And in what capacity are you attending this banquet?"

Geralt of Rivia narrowed his eyes and took a sip of the inferior beer in the tavern. His ability to spend money was also not to be underestimated. It had only been a few months since they last met, and he had already spent most of the huge reward he got from Wayne, most of which was contributed to the brothels in the North.

"The identity Queen Calanthe arranged for me is Ravix of Fourhorn, an unknown noble. By then, you can act as my attendant and attend the banquet with me."

With Geralt of Rivia's voice falling, the system prompt sound of the task finally came to Geralt's ears.

Ding! Task triggered, 【Princess's Betrothal Banquet】, Master-level, do you accept the task?

After hearing the system prompt sound, Geralt didn't rush to watch the content of the task. He looked at the environment around the inn with some disgust, then stood up, and said to Dandelion and Geralt of Rivia: "Let's go, then change to a better inn. This kind of place doesn't look like a place where a noble would live."

………………

Not to mention how the two people brought by Master Geralt spent a night happily in Cintra City. On the day of the banquet, Dandelion ran to the Skellige noble group by himself, joined the young Skellige nobles, and sneaked into the banquet.

And Geralt followed Geralt of Rivia, took the banquet invitation, and entered the Cintra palace. Because of Geralt's company this time, the two had already tidied up their images in the best barbershop and clothing store in the city before attending the banquet.

So even if the palace steward Hax looked around them for a long time, he didn't pick out any problems. Finally, he just took out two exquisite and luxurious noble tops and handed them to Geralt of Rivia and Geralt. On the chest of the tops, special noble emblems were sewn with golden needles and threads, showing their noble status.

The Cintra palace was a luxurious castle built on elf ruins, overall referring to the style of human architecture, sturdy and beautiful.

When Geralt and Geralt of Rivia entered the luxurious banquet hall under the guidance of steward Hax, they successfully met the most powerful woman in this country, Queen Calanthe, in the main seat of the banquet hall.

This was a tall and beautiful woman. Unlike most noble ladies, even at this noble banquet, Queen Calanthe still wore exquisite armor similar to an evening dress. Every time she spoke, she would look directly into the eyes of the interlocutor. From eyes to behavior, every move revealed a tenacious and confident temperament, which really lived up to the reputation of the Lioness.

Although this Queen was already a widow in her thirties, her beauty still spread in the Northern Kingdoms and was sought after by many nobles. And what was as famous as her beauty was her bravery and iron fist.

It was said that when this Queen was fourteen years old, her father had already passed away. Calanthe ascended the throne at fourteen, and at fifteen, she led the army to defeat the army of Nadair in the Battle of Houtborg. While winning the first battle of her life, she also obtained the nickname "The Lioness of Cintra."

Unfortunately, there was no Queen in the laws of the Kingdom of Cintra. If a woman wanted to control power, then she must marry a man. Even with a strong and iron-blooded personality like Queen Calanthe, she could not violate the laws of the country. At seventeen, she married the handsome former King Roegner of Ebbing.

And after this, although this King Roegner became the king on the surface, the actual power of the country was still in the hands of Queen Calanthe.

In order to keep the power of the country in her family, Queen Calanthe had always wanted to give birth to a son. However, heaven did not fulfill people's wishes. After giving birth to Princess Pavetta, Queen Calanthe had two miscarriages and finally lost her fertility.

And precisely because of this, King Roegner began to pursue other women who had fertility, which made Queen Calanthe's position precarious.

As for the result, not long after, this King Roegner suddenly passed away. As for whether it was an accident or man-made, that was unknown.

And precisely because of the struggle for power between the noble council and Queen Calanthe, there was this grand event where Princess Pavetta was forced to hold a betrothal banquet at fifteen to select a male king for this country again.

Recalling this information obtained from the well-informed Dandelion, Geralt and Geralt of Rivia came to Queen Calanthe under the guidance of the palace steward.

After bowing slightly, Queen Calanthe dismissed the few attendants beside her, looked at Geralt of Rivia seriously for several seconds, and then looked at Geralt behind him, before asking with some doubt: "White Wolf Geralt, I should have only invited you alone, who is this young man behind you?"

Geralt of Rivia heard this and used his normal business-like poker face, saying in a hoarse voice:

"This is my companion, witcher Geralt, also a witcher with superb sword skills and powerful strength."

Queen Calanthe frowned slightly, looking at Geralt's handsome and slightly immature face, seemingly a little distrustful of Geralt's strength.

But soon, this Queen eliminated the extra thoughts in her heart, nodded to Geralt and Geralt of Rivia, and then pointed to the two seats beside her, saying:

"Two witchers? That's fine, this is also safer."

"After the banquet begins, you two sit by my side and act according to my orders at any time."

"When I tell you to do it, do it immediately."

Geralt of Rivia heard this and, without fear of Queen Calanthe's power, said directly: "We witchers have our own standards of conduct and will not act according to other people's orders."

"If your order violates our principles, please forgive me for not being able to do so."

Listening to Geralt of Rivia's hard-headed answer, Geralt standing behind him almost couldn't help but cover his forehead and laugh out loud.

Geralt of Rivia was worthy of being Geralt of Rivia. I am afraid that in this Middle Ages where noble power was the most prosperous, only a person like him dared to openly defy the King's order without any hesitation.

However, perhaps it was precisely because of the principles that the White Wolf insisted on that allowed him to always make the right choices and become the protagonist of stories that many people liked very much.

If it were him doing it, even if he wanted to refuse, he would not choose such a stiff way that was easy to cause conflict.

Sure enough, after listening to Geralt of Rivia's hard-headed answer, Queen Calanthe's beautiful eyes widened, and a trace of anger appeared on her beautiful face, as if she were a lioness who had been angered, saying:

"You are angering a royal noble, witcher. As long as I give an order, your corpse will be carried out by my guards."

"I pay, you do things, you don't need to care what I tell you to do. This is the attitude you should have when facing an employer."

If it were someone else, they might have been scared by the Queen's momentum. Unfortunately, she was facing Geralt of Rivia, who ate soft but not hard. The famous White Wolf just shrugged and said in an indifferent tone:

"Then you should invite a mercenary to attend this banquet, not a witcher."

"Only those guys who take money to do things will listen to the employer's orders like a dog."

After hearing Geralt of Rivia's answer like this, even Geralt behind him felt that this guy was indeed asking for a beating, not to mention Queen Calanthe, who had never had many people dare to defy her.

Seeing the Queen's plump chest rising and falling, looking very angry, Geralt, who was afraid that she would suddenly kill, immediately walked in front of Geralt of Rivia, smiled at the Queen, and said: "Respected Queen Calanthe, please forgive Geralt of Rivia's rudeness."

"As a witcher, our duty is to protect those good people who have been harmed by monsters."

"As long as this principle is not violated, many things can be discussed."

Calanthe heard this, looked at this young and handsome witcher seriously again, and then glared at Geralt of Rivia with her eyes. Just as she was about to open her mouth to continue saying something, the guard guarding the banquet hall door suddenly shouted loudly: "Friend of the Cintra royal family, His Majesty King Eist Tuirseach from Skellige has arrived."

(Four thousand two hundred words long chapter, there is another four thousand words long chapter in the afternoon.) (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 183 =====