The boy's voice was very excited, and he looked at the man in the cage. "The witcher the bard was talking about isn't you, but do you have yellow cat eyes too? Can I take a look at them?"
The man sitting in the prison frowned. He was caught off guard by the boy's request and even thought it was ridiculous. He asked: "Whose child are you? Your family actually let you in to deliver meals to the prisoners who have not yet been tried."
"Cat eyes, show me the cat eyes and I'll tell you!" The boy had an expectant look in his eyes. He seemed to want to see his little dream come true, but he didn't notice the expression of the man in the cage.
The man smiled evilly: "You say you heard a poem, and you think that witcher isn't me, right? No, no... I'm a real witcher!"
His eyes widened suddenly, and the amber eyes suddenly seemed like two beams of fire lighting up from the dark cell. Then he jumped up from his kneeling position and approached the edge of the cage. He grabbed the railing with both hands and glared at the boy with a ferocious expression.
At first, the boy did not react to the man's movements. He only saw the man in front of him flash like a poisonous snake in the forest, transforming into a shadow that pounced on him with a cold, terrifying and chilling breath.
The man's eyes resembled the pupils of an emotionless snake.
"Ah!" The boy screamed and fell back to the ground, completely forgetting that he was protected by the bars of the cage. He ran up, shouting for help to the jailer, which caused a commotion.
After the boy walked away, the snake-eyed man returned to his impassive expression and got down on his knees to pick up the bowl and food that the boy had knocked over. He sat back down in his original spot and closed his eyes to rest.
"The life of a witcher...is not something to aspire to or worship, boy." He murmured softly.
The boy ran away quickly, and then the jailer ran down, shouting harshly at the man in the cell, looking nervous. "What's going on, Witcher! What did you do to Leo?"
The man in the cage was motionless.
Seeing that the other party did not respond, the jailer seemed to flinch, but then the jailer immediately laughed evilly. He remembered that he was a jailer, and the bound hands of the man in the prison gave him courage.
"Ha, witcher, do you only know how to bully children? It is said that you are warriors who can defeat griffins? I don't think it's anything special."
As if to cheer himself up, this thin, sickly jailer muttered belittling the witcher, laughing at the witcher's experience of surrendering and being imprisoned without a fight, and his cowardly personality in the cage, unable to fight back or retaliate.
Finally, the jailer laughed sinisterly: "I... have always wanted to find a witcher to compete with."
The jailer took the iron chain from the torture rack nearby and was about to open the cage, wanting to teach this yellow-eyed monster a lesson.
At this moment, shouts suddenly came from the stairs, and soon soldiers came down, just in time to stop the jailer's next move.
"Lord Verrieres wants to see the witcher, his trial is about to begin."
In front of the lord's guards, the jailer bowed without getting up, dropped the chain and abruptly pulled the man out of the cage.
Formal trials were only held in large cities, and White Orchard was an agricultural area containing several towns. Although it was prosperous, it did not have such important political facilities as a court.
Therefore, to make the trial appear legitimate, Lord Verrieres decided to hold it in the bee hives of White Orchard, where the 'victim' worked. He had beekeepers build a horse race-like awning and seating for the event.
At this moment, Lord Verrieres was sitting on a specially prepared high chair, looking over at the villagers gathering from afar.
This trial was a whim of Lord Verrieres, as he encountered an unknown witcher. This was the first time he had 'done justice' for his subjects, the first time he had presided over a formal trial, so he attached great importance to it.
He was surrounded by a small number of guards, only about ten. After all, this place is next to the capital of Temeria, so there is no need to worry too much about safety.
After watching for a while, Lord Verrieres said softly: "Butler."
A butler with a big belly quickly approached, leaning down to hear clearly what the lord was saying.
"The Lion of Cintra, Lord Lannister, seems to be in White Orchard. Do you know about this?"
"Yes, my Lord." The butler rubbed his belly, it was difficult for him to bend over so much. "Our guards seem to have seen them at the White Orchard inn, they probably want to see the king."
Lord Verrieres nodded and extended his hand. A servant quickly approached to serve him wine.
"His Majesty Foltest doesn't seem to want to see him very much."
"My Lord, what do you mean?" The butler was sweating lightly on his forehead. "We... ignore him?"
"Idiot!" The Lord of White Orchard scolded. "That's an earl, how can you be so rude!"
The butler leaned further, almost squeezing the fat from his belly.
"Send a messenger to meet them, but don't treat them with too much pomp, just like a viscount... no, like a baron. That should convey your majesty's message and let them go soon."
"Of course, my lord." The butler praised: "Your wisdom is unparalleled, and His Majesty the King will definitely be pleased to have a minister like you."
Lord Verrieres nodded and asked: "Have the guards gathered the citizens and travelers? I want merchants and bards."
The butler responded: "Of course, they are coming in large numbers."
"The travelers will spread their just and equitable administration throughout the North, their name will be preceded by titles such as 'Just' or 'Lover of the People' in the future."
Lord Verrieres finished his wine, ordered more, and shouted at the guards next to him: "Where is that yellow-eyed monster?! They haven't brought him in yet!"
A guard ran towards him, wiping his sweat as he reported: "My Lord, please wait a little longer, we've already... here they come!"
Lord Verrieres looked where the guard was pointing and saw the prisoner who had been waiting.
Then, he took another look at the villagers present. He had ordered all the villagers to gather to witness the trial, although not all of them were present, which bothered him greatly, but he was satisfied enough with his vanity.
Lord Verrieres rose from his seat, enjoying the attention of everyone gathered, then addressed the audience in a loud voice:
"Everyone..."
Hearing this shout, the onlookers gradually became quiet, and they looked at the lord on the high platform with complicated eyes.
Lord Verrieres was not very popular among the people in White Orchard because he had done many ridiculous things.
But today he was searching for the beekeeper's missing child, one of the few times he actually stood up for justice for the villagers. Therefore, at this moment, even some occasional applause could be heard from the crowd.
This made Lord Verrieres enjoy it even more.
"My people, I suppose you all already know why I have gathered you here today." After a pause, he continued. "Yes, it's for the beekeeper Paul, for his missing son."
He stretched out his hand and pointed in the direction where the guards had brought the witcher.
"Just two days ago, this witcher came to our White Orchard. Then, our poor Paul lost his child!"
At that moment, Lord Verrieres seemed to be absorbed in his role as judge and did not notice that, among the gathered villagers, there were more and more mercenaries and vagabonds from afar.
In addition to the merchants and bards he expected, there were also dwarves and a team of more than a dozen soldiers mixed in.
Lann had left some of his cavalrymen to tend to the horses and baggage, taking with him only those who had rested enough to be in good condition. This way, their presence was less obvious, and they could mingle with travelers on the outskirts to see the spectacle.
Yarpen took out a bag of nuts from his pocket and ate some raisins, then politely offered them to Lann, with an expectant look.
Lann examined the bag and found some nuts, accepting them gladly.
Lord Verrieres shouted on the stage: "Now, let us invite the first witness!"
A man dressed as a beekeeper with red and swollen eyes came forward, trembling and bowing to Lord Verrieres.
The crowd whispered, letting Lann know that this was the beekeeper who lost his child.
"Sir, please understand... My poor Vitty disappeared two days ago." The man began. "Now my mother is unconscious from crying so much, my wife was injured by this barbaric stranger, he not only kidnapped my son, but also..."
The witcher, with his hands bound in shackles, spoke coldly: "You came for me with pitchforks and axes without trial, and I don't remember seeing any women among them."
"Silence!" Lord Verrieres shouted, and immediately a guard came up from behind and struck the witcher hard on the back with his sword scabbard.
The witcher doubled over in pain, almost falling to the ground.
The crowd of onlookers was startled by the guard's movements and shouted, and their expressions became slightly excited.
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