Chapter 185: Hedgehog man Urcheon

In the Witcher world, no one could refuse the charm of Gwent cards.

With a contradiction resolved, the atmosphere at the banquet returned to joy, and Geralt's Gwent card game with the Skellige delegation was also in full swing.

As a professional Gwent card master, Geralt, who had experienced no less than a thousand Gwent card battles in these years, did not use a crushing posture to defeat these Skellige strong men from the beginning.

In the previous drinking and arm wrestling, Geralt had already proved his strength and courage to these brave men on the sea. Now, when playing Gwent cards with them, Geralt would deliberately control his strength. Often after winning two or three games, he would cleverly lose one, while gaining experience and gold coins, he would also let the other party experience the fun of defeating a strong enemy.

Such a performance made these Skellige strong men interested, and they all joined the Gwent card game.

After all, most of the members of the Skellige delegation in front of him would become important figures of various families in the islands twenty years later.

Although Geralt was not afraid of them, being able to become friends was always better than becoming enemies.

In fact, it was not just Geralt who thought so, the Skellige strong men opposite also thought so. Although the previous competition made them suffer a bit, it did not prevent them from recognizing Geralt's ability.

In the era of cold weapons, people with great strength often had powerful combat effectiveness.

This represented that you could possess more sufficient physical strength, wear thicker armor, use heavier weapons, and exert greater strength.

Soon, under the intentional matchmaking of both sides, Geralt integrated into the cheerful atmosphere of the Skellige delegation very harmoniously. Everyone drank and ate meat together, bragged, and played Gwent cards. It didn't take long before they seemed to have become good friends.

Even King Eist and the Sea Boar Crach an Craite showed kindness to Geralt. After all, the two sides were not enemies, and Geralt was not Crach an Craite's competitor. Being able to have one more friend was always better than having one more strong enemy.

This made many nobles who were paying attention to them very disappointed. As the biggest competitor in this selection meeting, the Skellige delegation, everyone wanted to see them eat a loss, rather than seeing them pull in another powerful helper.

However, the joyful atmosphere at the banquet did not last long. Just when Princess Pavetta was influenced by the cheerful atmosphere of Geralt and them, and was learning the teaching game with Geralt like a card game novice, a guard wearing golden armor walked in from outside the banquet hall.

This was a strong guard. He bypassed the crowd at the banquet table and walked quickly to Queen Calanthe's side, reporting a sentence in a low voice.

Then, under the permission of Queen Calanthe whose face changed slightly, accompanied by the loud announcement of the doorman, a knight wearing neat iron plate armor, wearing a pointed helmet, and a face shaped like a dog's mouth walked in from the door.

Urcheon of Erlenwald was the name of this knight.

And with the arrival of this uninvited guest, the atmosphere at the banquet produced a subtle change. Geralt clearly felt that Princess Pavetta, who was sitting opposite him, trembled all over, her eyes staring tightly at the figure wearing full plate armor, and the Chaos Magic emitted from her body became more and more.

Seeing this, Geralt laughed and gave the princess a meaningful smile. When others' attention was attracted by the armored monster, he leaned over and whispered: "Princess, is this the person you are waiting for?"

"Destiny is truly magical. You actually fell in love with a person who has been lying to you from beginning to end."

Originally, Princess Pavetta's attention was all on Urcheon who had just walked into the banquet hall, but after hearing Geralt's words, her attention was immediately diverted, and she couldn't help but tremble all over, looking at the handsome teenager in front of her with surprised eyes.

Geralt winked at her, then extended his finger, made a "shh" gesture to her, and whispered mysteriously: "After today's banquet ends, I will tell you some truths you don't know."

"Someone as kind and simple as you shouldn't live in lies."

After saying that, he didn't look at Princess Pavetta again, but looked at the armored monster walking into the banquet hall like everyone else.

Accompanied by a burst of clanging armor collision sounds and the dull sound of iron boots stepping on the ground, under the gaze of everyone at the banquet, the person wearing the pointed dog-head mask walked to Queen Calanthe's throne and shouted loudly: "Respected Queen, respected gentlemen, please forgive me for disturbing your grand banquet."

"I am Urcheon of Erlenwald, please forgive my uninvited arrival."

Queen Calanthe sitting on the throne changed her sitting posture, looked at the armored man in front of her with sharp eyes, and after a few seconds, said: "Since you are here, you are a guest. There are seats at the banquet, go find a place to sit."

"Thank you for your hospitality, Your Majesty the Queen."

However, this man who called himself Urcheon did not retreat to the banquet according to the Queen's meaning, but clenched his iron-gloved hands into fists, hammered his chest hard, and shouted loudly:

"But I didn't come here to attend the banquet this time. In order not to waste your and the gentlemen's time, I want to explain the situation directly."

However, his attitude angered Queen Calanthe. The beautiful Queen raised her eyebrows and scolded directly: "It's really too rude. Attending my banquet and facing me, the host of the banquet, you don't dare to show your true face."

"Take off your helmet, I can give you time to explain the situation. Otherwise, I will let the guards throw you out."

However, this armored Urcheon was silent for a few seconds, and then said with an apologetic tone:

"Please forgive me, respected Queen, respected gentlemen. My appearance cannot be made public for the time being because I once made a knight's oath not to take off my helmet before midnight. I hope you can allow it."

With his speech, many people at the banquet immediately made angry shouts, thinking that his knight's oath was just an excuse, and there must be something unsightly hidden under his mask.

However, Geralt noticed that as people's anger grew, Princess Pavetta's expression became very nervous, while the Great Druid Mousesack sitting in the corner of the table moved his lips slightly, silently chanting a spell, and a special magic power permeated the entire banquet, and even the emblem on his chest began to tremble slightly.

Unfortunately, with Geralt's current magic knowledge, he could not distinguish what kind of magic the Great Druid released.

Calanthe stared at Urcheon for dozens of seconds. Knight's oath was still a very respected oath in the Middle Ages, and few people dared to violate it. Finally, she nodded and gave him time to explain.

Getting the Queen's permission, the armored Urcheon seemed to take a light breath, and then continued to say with a loud voice: "Fifteen years ago, your husband King Roegner got lost while hunting in Erlenwald. When he was wandering in a place where no one was around, he fell from his horse and injured his leg."

"If it weren't for the help of others, he would have died long ago."

Queen Calanthe frowned and said: "I know about this. If you also know about this, I guess you are the one who saved him."

Urcheon responded loudly:

"Yes, it was precisely because of my help that King Roegner was able to return to your side safely."

Queen Calanthe had no expression on her face, just said lightly: "I thank you for your help, although my husband has passed away long ago, this gratitude has not decreased because of this."

"Tell me, if your help was not free, what should I use to thank you."

"Fief, title, wealth, I can satisfy you."

Urcheon looked at Queen Calanthe who was playing dumb on the throne and immediately shouted loudly: "You know very well that my help was not free."

"You also know very well that I came here today to collect the reward that King Roegner promised to give me."

Queen Calanthe was silent for a few seconds, staring at Urcheon under the throne with sharp eyes, green flames seemed to burn in her dark green eyes, and said with a mocking tone: "So, you found a wounded person with no self-protection ability at the bottom of the canyon."

"Facing such an injured person, he only promised to give you a reward, and you were willing to help him?" "If he didn't promise your request, you would leave him in the canyon and let him wait for death there, right?"

"Your behavior must be in line with one of your knight's oaths, right? You are really a noble knight."

With Queen Calanthe's mocking language, the noisy sound in the hall immediately became louder. The guests at the banquet looked at Urcheon in front of the throne with contemptuous eyes, thinking that a person with such character as him was not worthy of being called a knight at all.

Seeing that her words had an effect, Queen Calanthe looked at Urcheon with a smile carrying more anger and said:

"Fifteen years later, you came to my banquet specifically to ask for a reward. Are you trying to ask for the principal and interest together?"

Saying this, the Queen showed a sneer

"I love my husband deeply, and the mere thought of you haggling with him while he was severely wounded fills me with disgust."

"Do you know? In my kingdom, you were as close to death as Roegner was back then, just like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered."

"If I allow you to leave here alive now, shouldn't you give me the same return?"

Queen Calanthe's words, filled with death threats, immediately caused the temperature in the entire banquet hall to drop by several degrees.

The guests present also noticed that something was wrong with the Queen; logically, even if a knight of poor character came to demand a reward from someone he had saved, as a host, even if she despised him, she would provide some compensation rather than using death threats to intimidate him.

Among those present, the Archdruid Mousesack was someone who understood part of the inside story, and he worried that the stubborn Queen Calanthe would truly disregard the Law of Surprise and take the initiative to kill Urcheon, who had come to claim his reward; such behavior would be tantamount to the greatest possible blasphemy against the ancient law of the Law of Surprise.

Looking at human history, anyone who did not follow the Law of Surprise often received the backlash of fate and suffered an extremely tragic destiny.

This was not an ethereal story; in a world where gods existed, fate was a powerful force that truly existed, and ordinary mortals had no ability to resist it.

As spellcasters who explored the truths of the world, they understood this better than those ignorant commoners or nobles, and they were even more in awe of the power of fate.

Thinking of this, the Archdruid first cast his gaze toward Wayne, who was standing beside him; although he did not know Wayne, he could guess that this young man with astonishing power was likely also one of the witchers.

However, at this moment, Wayne did not notice the druid's gaze, but instead watched the scene in the banquet hall with a smile on his face, as if he were a spectator enjoying a play.

Receiving no response to his gaze, the Archdruid immediately turned his eyes toward the witcher Geralt, who was beside the throne.

The two old friends' eyes met, and they immediately began a subtle exchange with their glances; Mousesack hoped that Geralt would step in to protect Urcheon, as he did not want his good friend Queen Calanthe to act willfully and eventually suffer the backlash of fate, ending up with a tragic outcome.

However, at this moment, Geralt, who had accepted the commission from Queen Calanthe, was also feeling conflicted; without understanding the full picture of the matter, he had not yet decided which side he should help.

In the banquet hall, facing Queen Calanthe's accusations and threats, as well as the whispers of the surrounding guests.

Urcheon did not become nervous; he said loudly:

"Whether what you say is the truth, you know very well yourself."

Queen Calanthe laughed in anger and said, "Are you accusing me of lying?"

Urcheon did not answer directly, but instead said loudly:

"You should be very clear about what happened in Ebbing back then."

"After King Roegner was saved by me and returned home safely, he discovered that his beautiful queen, that is you, had already given birth."

"Yes, I have waited for fifteen years, and today I shall receive my reward."

"The purpose for which everyone here has come is in vain."

"Because according to the oath, Princess Pavetta has been mine since the day she was born."

"This betrothal banquet was a wrong decision from the very beginning."

Urcheon's words immediately caused an uproar among the guests, and some nobles shouted:

"This is impossible, simply unheard of."

Others said, "It is simply absurd; what evidence do you have to prove all this?"

Facing the scolding and questions of the crowd, Urcheon was not flustered at all; he spread his hands and said loudly to everyone, "The Queen's expression has already explained everything; this matter is by no means a lie."

Hearing this, the guests all looked toward Queen Calanthe; sure enough, following Urcheon's statement, the Queen, who was always confident and high-and-mighty in the past, now had a very ugly expression; she pursed her lips tightly, her expression complex, looking at Urcheon below the throne, yet she was slow to issue an order.

If Urcheon were lying, given the Queen's personality, she would have certainly already had someone chop off the head of this rude fellow.

But this eerie silence also made the guests present realize the truth, and they began to whisper and discuss it in low voices.

As the noise in the banquet hall grew louder, Wayne, standing beside Princess Pavetta, noticed that although the princess was still sitting there quietly, the Chaos Magic surrounding her had already begun to twist constantly; clearly, this possessor of the Elder Blood was feeling extremely conflicted at this moment, so conflicted that her state of mind had already affected the Chaos Magic in the entire banquet hall.

And although this Princess Pavetta was a natural Source, she had never learned any magic knowledge, nor had she undergone any spell training, so her way of mobilizing magic was almost instinctive.

After nearly two minutes of silence, Queen Calanthe suddenly beckoned for a manservant and lowered her head to whisper an order into his ear.

Then, the manservant ran out of the banquet hall with a look of surprise and complexity on his face.

King Eist, who was standing behind Wayne, also stood up; he left his seat, walked to the center of the banquet hall, and calmly asked Queen Calanthe, "Is what he says true, Calanthe?"

Queen Calanthe, standing before the throne, no longer had her usual poised temperament; she bit her lower lip and looked at King Eist quite pitifully, asking:

"Even if it is true, so what?"

Although King Eist felt pity for his beloved in his heart, he still frowned and said, "If this is the truth, then the promise must be fulfilled."

"Otherwise, I would think that you take promises so lightly; as a ruler, if one does not value promises, then for their allies, will this alliance be honored?"

(End of this chapter)