"
He pointed at the Night Queen and said excitedly to Sakena, "Sakena! Look at what you've become? Acerbic, mean."
"You must have been bewitched by this damned vampire! It must be!"
"I remember clearly, that day I found you unconscious in bed, your neck still bleeding."
"And the blood was running down your neck, who else could it be but her?!"
As he spoke, losing control of his emotions, he subconsciously tried to draw the sword at his waist.
However, his fingers had just touched the hilt when his vision blurred.
A red phantom flashed past at a speed difficult for the naked eye to catch.
The next moment, Patri only felt his hand lighten, and his finely forged sword had already appeared in the Night Queen's hand.
She stood before him like a ghost, her fingers lightly pinching the blade, as if merely plucking a feather.
The entire process was so fast that it exceeded normal human reaction; even Geralt's pupils, standing nearby, slightly constricted, and his heart was filled with awe.
Although he had been mentally prepared, the speed the Night Queen displayed still shocked him and filled him with a deep sense of dread.
Was this the strength of an ordinary vampire? Her speed was no slower, only faster, than a Vampire Bird.
The Night Queen casually tossed the sword into a corner like trash, where it landed with a crisp clang.
She looked at the still-shaken Patri, her tone laced with a hint of mockery: "Put away your ridiculous weapon and delusions!"
"Here, no one influenced her with magic; it was your sister's own will. She was tired of being used as a bargaining chip for a political marriage."
"She didn't want to waste her young life washing dishes and wiping the body of a decrepit old man."
"She chose to live for herself, nothing more."
Patri's face alternated between green and pale, clearly not believing this explanation.
He turned his head and argued with Sakena, both angry and anxious, trying to persuade her with family responsibility and noble obligations.
Sakena was thoroughly enraged by his incessant lecturing, and she suddenly raised her voice, practically shouting.
"Enough, Patri! My marriage is my own decision, even if I were to marry..."
"I would only marry a truly strong, upright, and respected man like Sir El, the champion of the jousting tournament! Not that rotten, stinking old man you arranged!"
Her shout was loud and clear, full of defiance... and a hint of inexplicable longing?
Just then, a tall figure had just walked up the stairs in the living room.
Carl had originally intended to find Geralt to discuss escorting Dalton and his group back to Bardu.
Unexpectedly, as he stepped onto the second floor, he clearly heard Sakena's earth-shattering declaration.
His footsteps instantly halted, and he froze in place, a look of surprise and extreme speechlessness flashing across his face.
He hadn't done anything, yet he inexplicably gained an admirer?
To declare in front of so many people that she would marry no one but him, what exactly was going on? The other party was thinking a bit too wishfully.
Of the four people in the living room, besides Geralt and the Night Queen, Sakena and Patri were startled by Carl's sudden appearance.
A hint of surprise flashed in the Night Queen's eyes, then turned into amusement.
Geralt still maintained his expressionless demeanor, but his eyes seemed to hold a bit more of a 'watching the show' meaning.
And Sakena, after shouting that sentence, suddenly saw the very subject of her words standing not far away, looking at her with an indescribable gaze.
Her pale cheeks instantly flushed a noticeable red, embarrassed beyond words.
She hastily turned around, her back to Carl, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
As for Patri, the anger on his face, upon seeing Carl, was extinguished as if by cold water, quickly dissipating, replaced by a hint of panic.
When Carl's gaze swept over him, his body subtly flinched.
He subconsciously leaned towards the wall, as if the cold stone wall could provide him with more security.
He was silent for a few seconds, his throat bobbed, and he finally managed to force out a smile that was uglier than a cry.
He said to Sakena, his voice dry, "Uh... Sister... your, your proposal... well, it's not... entirely out of the question."
Carl took all of this in, feeling both amused and helpless.
He subtly took half a step back, creating a bit of distance, and said calmly, "You all continue your conversation, don't mind me. I'll find Geralt after you're done."
After speaking, he gave Geralt a look that said, "You handle it."
Then, he folded his arms and leaned against the railing at the staircase entrance, adopting a detached posture.
The atmosphere in the living room became even more subtle and complex due to Carl's unexpected arrival.
Although the animosity between Sakena and Patri was deep and their argument fierce.
Under Carl's silent yet weighty gaze, the negotiation proceeded surprisingly smoothly.
Patri was the first to soften his tone; he no longer insisted on the rhetoric of family responsibility.
Instead, with a hint of weariness and compromise, he said to Sakena, "Alright... Sister, I... I won't force you to marry that... old gentleman anymore. You have the right to choose your own path."
As he spoke, the corner of his eye still involuntarily glanced at Carl, who was leaning against the staircase entrance, as if seeking some kind of tacit approval or confirmation.
Sakena, seeing her brother finally give in, also relaxed her tense expression.
She wasn't an ungrateful person; she also knew that her brother, to some extent, was considering the family, even if his methods were unacceptable to her.
She took a deep breath and replied, "Patri, I promise you, I will maintain my integrity."
"I will never engage in those disgraceful flesh trades you imagine, nor tarnish the family's reputation."
She paused, her tone becoming firm: "But I will still stay at the House of Night. This is what I promised the boss before, and... at least here, it gives me choice and freedom."
In fact, Sakena had only joined the House of Night for a short time, and her heart was still filled with apprehension and hesitation about this fringe lifestyle.
She was far from mentally prepared to embark on such a path, and naturally, she wouldn't easily debase herself.
Her insistence was more about breaking free from constraints than about falling into depravity.
The stalemate between Patri and Sakena reached a superficial reconciliation through this somewhat hasty but effective dialogue.
Patri did not entangle himself further and left the House of Night with complex feelings.
Sakena, relieved, bowed slightly to the Night Queen and Geralt, then quickly went downstairs to continue her work as a server.
However, as she passed Carl, her cheeks were still slightly flushed, and she dared not look up.
The swift resolution of this conflict gave the Night Queen a deeper, more intuitive understanding of Carl's influence
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