Chapter 317

Because of Queen Calanthe's request, after Geralt and his companions rescued Princess Pavetta, they did not leave the Kingdom of Cintra immediately.

After receiving her master's orders, Syanna did not immediately go to contact Queen Calanthe either.

Things obtained too easily are never cherished, and the little slave girl believed that this one million crowns should not be given directly.

If someone offers a favor for no reason, they are either a traitor or a thief.

Doing so would not only fail to gain their respect, but would also make it look like there were ulterior motives, causing others to harbor suspicions.

The Wayne Chamber of Commerce had not yet developed deep enough business in these two countries. This was a good opportunity to use this huge bounty as a bargaining chip to conduct a transaction with Queen Calanthe and build stronger commercial power in Cintra and Skellige.

If they could obtain the support of royal family members, subsequent development would also become much smoother.

Of course, this was just Syanna's own idea. After listening, Geralt neither expressed approval nor opposition; he just let her handle it herself, as Geralt would not interfere too much in the affairs of the Chamber of Commerce.

The power of money is indeed a double-edged sword; it can both obtain help from others and easily attract covetousness from others. If used well, it can make many troublesome things very easy to accomplish.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the powerful Goddess of Wealth can move unimpeded through many worlds.

In the next few days, Geralt saw the little girl Ciri again and specifically brought a large bag of handmade candies and snacks for the little one.

With his craftsmanship and the system's skill bonuses, these were absolutely the most delicious candies and snacks in the world, capable of capturing the taste buds of any child.

However, little Ciri's happy mood only lasted for a very short time. She thanked Geralt very sincerely, then carefully hid the candies and snacks, saying she wanted to save them for her mother, Princess Pavetta, to enjoy.

The little girl was very sensible. In his conversations with her, Geralt learned that several days had passed, and Princess Pavetta had not woken up. For some reason, the child in her womb had not been secretly aborted either; instead, it had been kept and was still continuing to grow.

Little Ciri cared very much about her mother. She had no father since she was young, and her grandmother, Queen Calanthe, was a rather stern elder. Only her gentle mother was her most comforting embrace and the person closest to her.

Although she was very young and still a little girl who didn't understand anything, she had vaguely sensed that her mother had encountered some misfortune, so she was quite depressed.

However, Geralt had no way to deal with this. Although it was said that if Princess Pavetta were sent to the Witcher Order, she might receive better treatment under the care and research of the many sorcerers of the Order.

But given Queen Calanthe's personality, she probably wouldn't hand her daughter over to the witchers.

Another day passed, and just when Geralt thought Queen Calanthe was about to make a decision, the little slave girl Syanna told Geralt an interesting piece of news—a piece of news that was unexpected, yet within reason.

From the start of the war until now, about a week had passed, and Count Kaen of the Kingdom of Kaedwen had been defeated by King Demavend of Aedirn, who had been preparing for several years, and the city that Count Kaen had been ruling had been occupied.

This young count did not escape the fate of being captured, and together with some nobles who supported him, they were all secretly imprisoned.

Now that the noble forces in the south of the Kingdom of Kaedwen had been crushed, a portion of the territory had already been occupied by Aedirn, and a large number of Aedirnians were pouring into Kaedwen.

Although it would take a long time to quell the war and appease the other local nobles, if no other external forces came to interfere, then the south of the Kingdom of Kaedwen might really fall into Demavend's hands.

Upon hearing this news, Geralt knew that Francesca probably hadn't intervened in this matter; otherwise, it would have been impossible for Demavend to defeat Count Kaen so smoothly.

If a powerful sorceress had been involved, even if Demavend's army were stronger, he wouldn't have been able to capture a city in just one week.

This event had just happened, and it was estimated that most of the Northern kings had not yet received this news. In the Middle Ages, the speed of transmitting information was quite slow. Unless a dedicated information channel was established or sorcerers were involved, it might take about half a year for this news to spread throughout the entire North.

However, this matter had no impact on the witchers, and Geralt stopped paying attention to it after hearing it.

For the current Witcher Order, resources, talent, and safety were no longer problems. The vast majority of shackles had disappeared, and the only thing most lacking was time.

Once the next generation of witchers began to grow and the research of the Order's sorcerers continued to progress, the strength of the Witcher Order would grow rapidly, and it would soon be able to reproduce or even surpass the glory of the past Order.

This time, Geralt came to Cintra not only to visit Aretuza on the way, but also for an important task: to use King Eist's channels to go to the Skellige Isles, meet the School of the Bear witchers who had been active within the islands, and see if there was a chance to incorporate the witchers of this school into the Order, or at the very least, recover the materials they had taken from the Order in the past.

Of course, this matter was not urgent, and it wouldn't matter even if the first exchange failed to achieve its goal.

Once the Wayne Chamber of Commerce expanded to the Skellige Isles and flourished within those channels, there would be many opportunities to deal with the School of the Bear witchers.

Another day passed.

That afternoon, while Geralt was having an interesting duel with other Gwent masters in the city, he suddenly received an invitation from Queen Calanthe, inviting him alone into the palace to attend a banquet.

Geralt did not refuse such an invitation. Although he had waited for several days and felt a trace of impatience in his heart, he also understood the somewhat conflicted state of mind of a mother and a member of the royal family, so he didn't mind too much.

This banquet was not held in the gorgeously decorated council hall, but in a private living room inside the palace. The only participants were Queen Calanthe, King Eist, and the Archdruid Mousesack.

Their expressions were quite gloomy, with worry in their eyes and brows. When they spoke, they no longer used those hypocritical pleasantries, and after drinking a few glasses of red wine, they quickly got to the point.

Queen Calanthe gulped down a glass of red wine, exhaled a turbid breath, and said somewhat sullenly: "After Pavetta's child is born, regardless of whether it is a boy or a girl, I want to hand it over to your Witcher Order."

"From now on, this child will have nothing to do with our Kingdom of Cintra. It will not have the right of royal succession, and its status as an illegitimate child will not be recognized."

"For this, our Cintra royal family owes you a favor, and we will provide help to your Witcher Order when you need it."

"What do you think of this condition, Mr. Geralt?"

Geralt was stunned upon hearing this, not expecting the other party to propose such a condition. After thinking simply for a few seconds in his head, he couldn't help but ask: "Your Majesty the Queen, since you are so unwilling to have this child, why not abort it? Why must you give birth to it?"

Queen Calanthe's expression turned ugly upon hearing this. Before she could answer, Archdruid Mousesack stroked his beard and explained:

"It is like this, Geralt."

"After research by myself and another senior sorcerer, that evil sorcerer Vilgefortz used an evil blood deprivation ritual passed down from ancient times."

"The child in Pavetta's womb is not only constantly absorbing the nutrients in the mother's body, but even Pavetta's Elder Blood lineage is being ruthlessly stripped away by this fetus."

"Moreover, this child is tightly connected to Pavetta's life. If it were aborted, Pavetta would also be unable to continue living and would die together with the child."

"So we have no choice; in order to save Pavetta's life, we can only let her give birth to this child."

"And from then on, although Pavetta's body will become weak, she will also have lost the Elder Blood, no longer be a target for other evil people, and will be able to continue living as the heir to Cintra."

"We will also seal her memories of this period, letting her forget this tragic encounter."

"Although this matter is very regrettable, after our discussion, we feel that this way of handling it is the most appropriate, if you are unwilling to accept this child."

"He will be sent to other more hidden places. If it weren't for my understanding of the School of the Bear witchers on the Skellige Isles and knowing their physical defects, perhaps this child would have been sent there."

Geralt raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, but he did not speak immediately and instead fell into thought.

During this banquet, he discovered that Queen Calanthe's attitude toward him had changed; she no longer treated him as just an insignificant witcher as she had in the past, but had become more respectful.

This might be because the Wayne Chamber of Commerce, represented by Syanna, had already made contact with this strong-willed queen, letting the Cintra royal family understand Geralt's power.

And the current choice should also have taken this aspect into consideration.

So, should the Witcher Order accept this child who unexpectedly appeared in this world? (End of chapter)