Chapter 194: Death is Like the Wind
Some time later, the two arrived at the playroom.
Several halberd-wielding guards stood watch at the entrance; concerned they might disturb the scene, they hadn't entered. Seeing Lynn and Fringilla approach, the guards saluted.
Fringilla nodded. "Stay outside and let no one in. Lynn, let's go inside."
Lynn and Fringilla stepped into the playroom. His immediate sensation was how unusually quiet the room was.A witcher's heightened senses were far keener than an ordinary person's.
For example, he could currently hear the breathing and heartbeats of the guards standing outside the playroom, as well as the faint scent of perfume wafting from the court sorceress beside him.
If Anna Henrietta and Syanna were hiding somewhere in the playroom, he would not fail to sense them.
Good, that ruled out the first possibility. The two sisters were not hiding here.
Immediately, the witcher's cold, golden slit pupils scanned each object in the room. A toy rocking horse, a miniature tea set for playing house, a full-length mirror, a music box... The entire playroom wasn't large.
A single glance was enough for the witcher to take in the whole room. Not only that, he noticed there wasn't a single window in this room. This meant that to enter or exit the playroom, one could only use the door they had just come through.
And before the young ladies were discovered missing, two guards had been stationed at the door the entire time. How could anyone sneak in right under the guards' noses? Not even an assassin from Assassin's Creed could.
Just then, Lynn suddenly noticed a large, hard-covered book on the table with the miniature tea set. And on the bookshelf against the wall, there was a noticeable gap. Noticing Lynn's gaze, Fringilla also looked over.
"Do you think the last thing they did in this room was read a book?"
Recalling a certain plot point from the game, Lynn mused, "No, I suspect they hid inside this book."
"Hid inside a book? Wait, I think I recognize that book," Fringilla was startled, then her face showed alarm. "Damn it, those two little rascals might actually have gone inside! Damn it, why that particular book?"
"What's wrong? Isn't it just a fairytale book?"
Fringilla's uncle, Artorius, had created a magical world for the two sisters, inhabited by creatures from various fairy tales and legends. To access this magical world was simple: one only needed to open the thick, hard-covered book titled "Fairytale Land" and loudly utter the spell "Fairytale Appear."
Although twenty years later, when Geralt revisited this magical world, due to fading magic and instability, the fairytale characters inside became unpredictable and aggressive, it was still 1251. The magical world should still be in a stable period. What danger could there be?
Fringilla looked at Lynn with confusion. "Fairytale book? Where did you hear that? Never mind, it's not important."
"Lynn, while I don't know where you learned that my uncle created 'Fairytale Land' for Miss Anna Henrietta and Miss Syanna, you've clearly misunderstood. This isn't 'Fairytale Land,' it's 'Edge of Nightmare'."
"Aside from the author of this book, my uncle, anyone who rashly enters the world within the book without an invitation will face unimaginable danger. Even for me, it's the same."
Edge of Nightmare?
That title alone clearly didn't fit the theme of a children's playroom. Was it truly alright for this book to be in a playroom?
He hadn't expected Artorius to have created other magical books containing hidden worlds. But then again, it made sense. Even a sushi master wouldn't spend their entire life making only one kind of sushi, right?
But if even Fringilla looked troubled, it meant this magic book might truly be very dangerous. "Let's go find your uncle now."
If Anna Henrietta and Syanna were truly inside this magic book, then the author of the book, Artorius, must have a way to release the two girls.
However, the court sorceress bit her lip slightly: "That's precisely my dilemma. My uncle left Toussaint after the Duchess recovered her health."
"Is there no other way to contact him? A speaking tube? A far-seeing mirror?"
The court sorceress shook her head. "No, actually, my uncle didn't leave Toussaint for travel. It also had elements of escape and evasion."
"Nilfgaard's power is growing. Within Nilfgaard's sphere of influence, be they commoners, sorcerers, or nobles, everyone must obey the Emperor's commands."
"In fact, Gold Tower City has sent many commands, ordering me and my uncle to go to Gold Tower City to swear allegiance to the Emperor."
"It was only because I had to sustain Her Grace the Duchess's life that I could keep postponing until now. But at this point, there's no longer any reason to delay, which is why my uncle chose to leave."
Lynn quickly noticed a blind spot. "Wait, your uncle chose to flee, but what about you?"
Fringilla was silent for a moment, then said, "I will set out tomorrow for Gold Tower City to offer my loyalty to the Emperor."
"Lynn, if possible, I sincerely hope you can stay in Toussaint. Here, you are a baron; no one looks down on you. If you can't abandon your companions, you can bring them here too."
"Casteldaccia Estate's wine income alone should be enough to support dozens of witchers. Not to mention that the Duchy sometimes issues commissions for mercenary knights, whose main duties are assisting the knight-errants and ducal guard in maintaining order and sweeping away bandits, with very considerable rewards."
"You would live very well in Toussaint."
For a moment, the witcher almost agreed. The court sorceress's offer was tempting. Over the next few decades, Toussaint would fortunately avoid the ravages of war.
Anna Henrietta, who would inherit Duchess Carolberta's position, was the cousin of Emhyr var Emreis, the future Emperor of Nilfgaard. While familial ties were fragile in the face of power, in the future, when the entire North surrendered to Emperor Emhyr, he might indeed spare a small corner like Toussaint.
The income from Casteldaccia Estate was certainly enough to support them. It might even be enough to provide for all witchers on the Continent.
Of course, neither the current usurper Emperor nor the future Emhyr, if they knew witchers were gathering in Toussaint, would likely ignore it. However, as long as the witchers obediently surrendered their respective schools' decoction formulas and all other school records, and swore allegiance to the Emperor, they would most likely survive.
But that kind of life was not what Lynn wanted. He knew that if they knelt, the Emperor would bestow upon them unimaginable wealth and status. Just like the Southern sorcerers who also pledged allegiance to the Emperor.
But he was unwilling. Because Nilfgaard was different from the North. The kings of the Northern Realms were essentially just very prominent nobles among other prominent nobles.
No matter what they wanted to do, they had to consult with the other powerful nobles in their country. One might find this system peculiar or incomprehensible, but objectively, such a system indeed protected the power of the nobility.
In your own domain, as long as you didn't openly defy the state or the king, you could do as you pleased, and no one would interfere.
Nilfgaard, however, was different. Power was highly concentrated in the Emperor alone. The Emperor could bestow and also revoke.
As the saying goes, "Both thunder and dew are the monarch's grace," meaning the general's gratitude could never be fully repaid.
It was like Flavius Aetius, the last famous general, savior of the state, and pillar of the Western Roman Empire.
Even though he defeated the Huns, Franks, Burgundians, and Goths, independently upholding the crisis of the Western Roman Empire for twenty long years, if the Emperor conceived the idea of harming loyal subjects, the final outcome was still death.
Therefore, Lynn was unwilling and unable to place his and his companions' fates on the Emperor's mercy.
The witcher sighed. "I know you mean well, Fringilla. I sincerely thank you, but... no, I cannot stay."
Fringilla also sighed. "I knew I couldn't persuade you. I hope we won't become enemies in the future."
"I hope we don't reach that point either," Lynn thought for a moment, then said, "Oh, I must remind you of something, Fringilla: you must remember not to go to a place called Sodden Hill in the future."
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