Chapter 162: Someone Remembered Your Choice
The witcher snapped his fingers. The torches set around them flared to life, casting a bright glow.
"Then, Thyssen laid a piece of elven bread at Ludovic's feet, symbolizing the transfer of power over fertile lands to humans."
Lynn picked up the elven bread and placed it at Fringilla's feet.
"Thyssen poured elven wine into an ornate ritual bowl; these wines were the sweet blood spilled from stolen lands."
The witcher picked up the elven wine and uncorked it. To the sorceress's stunned gaze, he poured it into the bowl. She nearly leaped out of her chair.
"Are you insane? Do you know how many florins that bottle of wine is worth?"
Lynn made a reassuring gesture, signaling her to trust him.
"Finally, Thyssen took up his sword and shield, symbolizing that from then on, his army would be commanded by humans."
Lynn, however, didn't immediately pick up the sword and shield. Instead, he took out several Superior potions from his magic-imbued leather pouch and drank them. Once the potions took effect, he picked up the elven sword and elven shield.
"Thyssen humbled himself, drew his sword, and knelt on one knee, bringing an end to the war..."
The instant Lynn performed this action, chips of stone rapidly flaked off the lifelike elven statues. As if brought to life, they aggressively charged towards the luxurious chair where a wide-eyed Fringilla sat.
Lynn slammed his hand onto the ground. A circle of purple light rose around him and Fringilla. Every elven assassin who stepped into the range of the Mastercrafted Yrden trap moved sluggishly, as if mired in quicksand.
The witcher lunged without hesitation, like a fierce ice wolf. His Mastercrafted silver sword slid from its sheath on his back, leaving a trail of silver light. It arced in a perfect semicircle, striking the temple of the elven assassin closest to the sorceress.
Fringilla flipped backward from the ornate chair, then rolled onto the ground. An elven longsword slashed into the luxurious chair right after.
Before the owner of the elven longsword could even withdraw their weapon, Lynn, having already dealt with one enemy, closed in.
His first strike severed the arm holding the weapon. His second strike plunged into the assassin's knee joint, forcing him to kneel. The witcher, using the momentum of his turn, delivered a third strike, cleanly severing the assassin's head.
"Iref allb!"
Fringilla conjured a fireball and hurled it behind Lynn, incinerating the last elven assassin. The battle erupted suddenly and ended quickly.
The sorceress stood with hands on her hips, demanding, "Couldn't you have told me beforehand?"
Fringilla wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. She had never imagined she would face an assassination attempt inside the royal palace. That's why she hadn't activated her shield.
If not for the Yrden trap limiting the speed of those elven assassins, she, as a sorceress, might have been disemboweled before she even reacted. This lesson taught the beautiful short-haired sorceress that from now on, she wouldn't even turn off her shield to use the privy.
She watched as Lynn ignored her, walking towards the pile of ashes where the bodies had burned, and picking up a strangely shaped dagger. This only infuriated her further.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!"
Lynn, holding the dagger by its blade, offered the hilt to Fringilla. "This is for you."
The sorceress instinctively took it, her previous questions temporarily forgotten. "What is this?"
"This is the culprit that caused Her Grace to fall into a coma, or more precisely, the demonic power swirling around this dagger." Lynn performed a knight's bow to the sorceress.
"Esteemed madam, it is my responsibility that you were startled, and for that, I offer you my sincere apologies, along with this trophy."
Fringilla's anger immediately dissipated by more than half. She easily recognized that the beautiful, priceless dagger indeed carried the same power as the one on the Duchess's previous wound.
Now, the witcher was handing her the dagger, which also meant he was giving her the credit. Fringilla could imagine what a huge credit this was. The witcher could certainly imagine it too. Yet, he still did it.
Consequently, Fringilla looked at Lynn differently.
"So, that's how Her Grace's assassination attempt came about? No wonder we searched high and low back then but couldn't find the assassin. It turns out the assassins were hidden in the treasure chamber all along and never left."
"But how did these elven assassins get in?"
Lynn took out a whetstone and began to sharpen his Mastercrafted silver sword.
"It's simple. This wasn't done by the current elves, but by Elven King Thyssen of Tir ná Lia, who surrendered to Toussaint's first Duke centuries ago."
"Toussaint was originally elven territory, you must know that, right? Beauclair, Toussaint's capital, was built upon elven ruins."
"Before humans arrived, elves ruled Toussaint for fifteen centuries, until humans came. Ludovic the Lancemaster defeated Elven King Thyssen. Thyssen, unable to resist, was forced to lead the remaining elves, abandon their ivory towers, take all their possessions, destroy what they couldn't carry, and retreat to Mount Gorgon to continue their resistance."
"However, their resistance was futile. Ultimately, Thyssen had to make a decision that went against his ancestors' wishes: to surrender to humans."
"Ludovic the Lancemaster had absolutely no knightly honor. If he had even a shred of it, he wouldn't have been so utterly devoid of it."
"He not only demanded that the surrender ceremony be held in the elven king's palace, constantly making sarcastic remarks throughout, but after accepting the oath of fealty, he ordered his guards to drag Thyssen out and throw him down the steps like a beggar."
"Despite all this, Thyssen remained incredibly calm and restrained. He gathered a group of his most loyal soldiers, cast ancient elven magic upon them, and transformed them into exquisite statues."
"The activation spell for them was the oath of fealty. Thyssen originally planned to re-swear his fealty at the one-year anniversary celebration of his surrender, to seize the opportunity to kill Ludovic. However, before the plan could be implemented, Ludovic, who had no intention of sparing him either, led a surprise attack and killed him."
"These elven statues were likely incorporated into Ludovic's collection at that time, unbeknownst to him."
"Her Grace the Duchess, before the assassination attempt, most likely had a sudden urge to perform, wanting to 'cosplay' her ancestor's acceptance of the elven surrender ritual in this treasure chamber. But she unexpectedly activated the magic Thyssen had placed on the elven statues..."
"The rest, we all know."
"As for how this elven dagger with demonic power came to be... since human sorcerers even have forbidden spells like 'daemonology,' isn't it unsurprising that elves, who are much older than humans, would possess knowledge of summoning demons?"
Fringilla looked at Lynn with surprise. "How do you know all this?"
Even she knew little of the history between the last elven king and Toussaint's first duke. How could this witcher know it all as if it were his own family history?
Facing the sorceress's question, Lynn smiled. He didn't resort to his "I am a prophet" explanation this time. Instead, he offered a different one.
With a humble and polite smile, he said, "Because I have an insatiable thirst for knowledge, madam."
Emerging from the treasure chamber, Lynn left the palace and headed straight for the Beauclair mansion of the noblewoman named Orianna.
His earlier act of willingly revealing the truth about the Duchess's assassination in the treasure chamber was not merely to appease Fringilla's anger; it was part of a larger plan.
In fact, by bringing back the Holy Grail and saving the Duchess's life, he had already achieved an immense, undeniable feat. Even discovering the truth about the assassination was merely icing on the cake.
Lynn doubted how much more reward he would receive by reporting it to Regent Count Raymond.
However, by ceding this credit to Fringilla, he could effectively dispel her jealousy and also improve their relationship.
Why not?
His grand plan was to revitalize the witcher order, and to achieve this, he needed to win over as many sorcerers as possible to his side.
Fringilla was a powerful, high-ranking sorceress and not as duplicitous as Philippa Eilhart. Although she might not be as easily swayed as Triss, Lynn believed that with persistence, he would eventually be able to bring her to his cause.
.....
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