The bustle on the day of the ennoblement ended, splendor returned to calm, and in the blink of an eye, fifteen days had passed.
At dusk, in the archery range of Corion Estate, Victor was practicing mounted shooting on horseback with a crossbow. This was the key event of the "knightly tournament," and also the part the witcher was least confident in.
According to Guillaume, the "knightly tournament," usually held after the wine festival at the end of autumn, was Toussaint's grandest and most important competition of the year. Knights from all over the world would come to compete for the "reward," and most importantly, "glory."
Although Victor believed he had gotten the importance of reward and glory backward, that did not stop him from developing an ambition for the championship. It had nothing to do with glory or reward, it was purely his small hobby of collecting titles.
The tournament would test a knight's mastery of horsemanship, marksmanship, and swordsmanship. Contestants had to be skilled in archery, riding, and combat, while preferably also being familiar with tournament rules and knowing how to make good use of them.
Overall, for the sake of making the contest lively and exciting, the chance of passing the preliminary selection was rather high, but the competition afterward would become quite fierce.
Victor believed that anyone who wanted to win the championship needed scientific training, especially in tournament events like these, which tested certain skills that were usually of little use, such as "mounted shooting." So for the past fifteen days, he had focused on practice.
After finishing another round of shooting, he guided the horse slowly toward the rest area. The young man, having fired every bolt, leapt down from horseback, took a towel from a maid, and wiped away his sweat. He was not satisfied with his hit rate, but he could still accept it.
"Visible improvement. Your ridiculous marksmanship feels like yesterday." Leo, the witcher of the School of the Wolf, smiled as he sat beside the roasting rack and grilled meat.
Taking the cool drink prepared by the servants, Victor waved them away so they would not disturb the conversation, then sat down beside the fire as well. "As long as my riding and shooting don't look too ugly and are passable, that's enough. The real deciding factor will still be personal combat. One on one, I still have some confidence."
"As expected of the troupe leader. You always have a plan... so you're certain you're leaving the estate today, and after the tournament, you'll head directly north instead of staying in Toussaint for the winter?"
Leo, whose pupils were three-tomoe Sharingan, placed the roasted beef onto a plate and handed it to Victor, whose pupils were nine-tomoe Rinnegan.
Taking the plate, the young man started eating without the slightest politeness. "Of course. Didn't we already agree on that? Why bring it up again?"
"It just feels a little strange for Sasha and me to stay behind after you leave..."
"There's nothing strange about it. I properly hired Sasha as head maid, and since you're my witcher brother, it's only natural for you to stay at the estate and recuperate while your wounds haven't fully healed. Don't worry about the details. Enjoy life properly. Alfie will take good care of you."
Previously, Leo had been surrounded and attacked, taking one crossbow bolt to the lower abdomen and one to the shoulder. Then, during the night battle at the wine festival, the wounds had split open and bled again. He was still in the stage of recovery.
The buzz-cut witcher scratched the scab on his forehead, where there was a newly added scar from not long ago. "I was thinking whether I should leave with you and return to Kaer Morhen for the winter..."
"Hahahaha! Don't say something that stupid. You can't leave Sasha behind. And besides, she needs your protection. Someone might even come after her again!" The neatly parted witcher laughed and pierced through the other man's hesitation.
Leo fell silent, speechless.
"This marinated beef is truly delicious. Ah! No time. I have to go to the kitchen and encourage Lady Marlene!"
After saying that, Victor got up and patted Leo on the shoulder. "Don't think too much, egghead. Just do it. We're both still young. Making mistakes or feeling lost is the privilege of the young!"
"What about love?"
"It's like catching a cold."
...
"What if it keeps going?"
"It turns into pneumonia."
...
In the kitchen of the estate's main building, Lady Marlene de Trastamara, who had once been cursed, now looked quite well. She wore neat clothes and an apron, standing before a large pot as she simmered soup.
The soup was not green, but a very healthy chicken soup.
The main ingredient was young hen meat, supplemented with various spices, vegetables, and carrots.
Seeing the witcher, she hurriedly put down the ladle and wrung her hands with some unease. "Ah, why have you come here... I... I truly don't know how to repay you, Victor."
He touched his chin. "You look quite well now. I don't need repayment. I only hope your body recovers. That is enough."
"Oh, yes. Thanks to Alfred's care, I feel I have already recovered my health."
"What happened to you was truly terrible. I'm very glad I could help lift your curse."
After a few exchanges, the initial sense of unfamiliarity gradually faded.
The elderly lady shook her head and sighed. "Yes, such long torment. Thank you for letting me live here. Do you know what is even harder to endure than hunger? It is watching the people I loved grow old and die! My last relative passed away decades ago. If you had not taken me in, I would truly have had nowhere to go..."
"Don't worry about it. As you can see, this is a big house, a large estate. You can live here until the end of the world. Besides, I didn't come to the kitchen to hear your thanks. I only wanted to tell you that the marinated beef this morning was truly delicious!"
"Oh ho ho, thank you. After so many years of torment and hunger, I now like cooking dishes that are nourishing, nutritious, filled with unique flavor, sprinkled with spices, and shared at the table with others."
Hearing her say this, Victor walked to the chicken soup pot and inhaled the aroma, then picked up two soup bowls and filled each with a little, handing one of them to Marlene.
"My lady, keep your spirits high and your body healthy. I'm going on a long journey. I should be back before the grape harvest next year. I hope I can still drink your delicious soup then."
"I will prepare the finest food and wait for you."
With tacit understanding, neither of them used a spoon. They drank it down in one go.
"Victor, there is one more thing I want to tell you... Many years ago, my father collected a great deal of gold, silver, and treasure for my dowry. I never married, so no one has touched that dowry. Those things are useless to me now. Perhaps you would be willing to accept them as my thanks.
"If you wish to find them, please go to my old home, Trastamara Estate. The dowry is hidden in barrels in the cellar. There are many barrels there. Knock on each one and you will find it."
"Lady Marlene, I refuse to accept this gift. There is still a very idle witcher on the estate. I will ask him to retrieve your inheritance for you. And since you have money, I hope you will use it to pay rent. Corion Estate charges ten florins per month to host family and friends."
Hearing the young man's kindness, Marlene stepped closer and gently embraced Victor. "Thank you. I have nothing with which to repay you, only sincere gratitude and prayers for your blessing."
"...Then I will accept those blessings without hesitation." Accepting the embrace, the witcher gently patted her back.
...
There are many traits that reveal a person's true nature. Among them, "compassion" is what separates humans from beasts.
It is a noble quality born of empathy, creating a sense of responsibility toward others. When we feel another person's suffering as though it were our own, and from that feeling comes the motivation to help them, that emotion is called "compassion."
, Anonymous
...
Some time after leaving the kitchen, near the stables, Victor gave parting instructions to his butler Alfie and Leo. Alfie's part involved estate management policies and grape varieties that required his personal decisions, while Leo's main task was recovering Marlene's property. As for Sasha, she was simply listening in.
The autumn sun set early. The night was cool as water, and the moon climbed over the treetops. Even the wind was quiet today. Not far away came Angoulême's energetic shout, "Leader! The carriage is ready!"
"Oh!" Victor answered, then smiled and nodded. "Then, all three of you, I'm off!"
Alfred placed a hand over his chest in salute. "All right. Please be careful on the road."
Sasha bowed deeply.
Leo accompanied Victor toward the carriage for the journey.
The important things were naturally all stored in the herbal satchel. The carriage cabin was used for the luggage visible on the surface. Angoulême sat in the driver's seat, in high spirits.
Sitting down beside the girl, the young man waved farewell to everyone.
They had chosen to depart at night for the cool weather. Neither of them felt any need to get any more tanned.
Moonlight gently wrapped around the carriage. Watching the Phantom Troupe go farther away, Leo's supernatural hearing faintly caught the conversation between the two, carried over by the breeze.
This was Angoulême's crisp female voice. "Ah... it feels so peaceful. There aren't even any highwaymen at night. It's worlds apart from the North."
"Heh, the main roads are naturally quiet. The Knights Errant have driven all the bandits and villains into the wilderness." That was Victor's mellow male voice.
"We're finally leaving Toussaint!"
"Look how happy you are. What's wrong with this place? Don't forget, I still have the knightly tournament to participate in!"
"If you ask me, the sooner we leave, the better. I don't know what you're thinking, but after these ten-plus days, just staying here now makes my head spin, and there's this strange stabbing pain too... I even noticed those few annoying flies... damn it, anyway, we have to leave this place as soon as possible!"
"Ah!? Don't tell me you've fallen in love?"
"Not at all, okay! None of them are my"
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