"I dreamed of Cintra…"
At first, Mousesack adopted an attitude to reassure a child, but as Ciri spoke, his expression became more serious.
Ciri said slowly: "In my dream, I saw our castle... It was burning. Many maids and attendants ran out, trying to escape, but were killed by soldiers with the sun painted on their armor."
Ciri looked up and asked: "Do Nilfgaardian soldiers paint the sun on their armor? I dreamed about Nilfgaardian soldiers, right?"
The druid touched Ciri's head, considered the words and said: "That's right... maybe it's because you heard some rumors during the day and then they turned into dreams at night."
"This shows that little Ciri has also started to care about the affairs of the kingdom now."
Mousesack comforted her, but with little success. Ciri's mood did not calm down, but gradually became agitated.
"But..." Ciri seemed to have tears welling up in her eyes. "Those things look like they are real, and they are different from the previous dreams. As if... these are things I'll actually see in the future."
Mousesack sighed. He had several guesses in his mind and planned to have a chat with Queen Calanthe later.
To reassure Ciri, he said: "Later I will select some herbs for you, order the maids to light them in your room before sleeping, so that you can rest well tonight."
Ciri nodded and wiped her eyes. "And also..."
"Do you have anything else to say?"
"Yes. Behind those Nilfgaard soldiers, there seemed to be someone with golden eyes chasing them. He is injured and covered in blood..."
Mousesack thought, this was very similar to the dream Lann told him before.
'After my parents died, you know I was seriously ill for a while. During this period, I had many dreams. I dreamed that the soldiers of Nilfgaard invaded Cintra, that the iron horsemen destroyed everything, that the fire consumed everything. And in the flames, a man with golden glowing eyes gathered the refugees and used magic to protect the remaining seeds of Cintra.'
At this time, Mousesack didn't know that this dream was made up by Lann to fool him. He always thought it was true. And after Ciri also had the same dream, he became even more convinced of it.
"The man with the golden eyes." Mousesack asked. "Is it Geralt?"
Ciri shook her head: "No, Geralt has white hair. That man has blond hair."
"And... I seem to be familiar with him."
...
Toussaint, thanks to its pleasant climate and fertile volcanic ash soil, is rich in grapes and is well-known on the mainland for the high-quality wine it produces. Known as the 'Kingdom of Fairy Tales' and the 'Land of Wine and Love'.
According to the story of the bards: In Toussaint there are no extreme climates, even winter is sunny and clear, only a gentle breeze blows, without knowing the cold winds.
The word hunger has no meaning here, as the trees and bushes of this land are always laden with juicy fruits. The feeling of loneliness fades, as everyone in the country regards the travelers as long-lost friends...
In this realm of wonder, there is no boredom or apathy, no disturbing stagnant waters. The wine flows like rivers, the music never ceases, and everywhere one hears the songs of birds and beautiful songs of maidens. When the handsome gentlemen arrive, the maidens do not stint on their charm...
Lann and his group, who arrived from Cintra where the military was on alert, clearly felt the difference with Toussaint.
At this time, they had been transported through the Mousesack portal to the Toussaint capital, Beauclair.
For ages the undergrounds of modern-day Toussaint were inhabited by intelligent creatures like korreds, kilmulises, pryskirniks and many others, some of them unknown in witcher tomes even till the 13th century. In the 8th century BR (Before the Resurrection) a group of Aen Seidhe elves founded their kingdom here with modern-day Beauclair as its capital. They built beautiful cities made of white marble and ivory.
When the Conjunction of the Spheres occurred, it was here where the gate from the vampiric universe opened, trapping vampires in this world. They split into three distinct tribes: Gharasham, who stayed in the western part of the Continent, Tdet, who ventured east, and Ammurun, who crossed the Great Sea heading to the west.
In 781 the elves from the land around today's Beauclair abandoned their ivory cities and left for the Amell mountains, taking with them all that they could and destroying everything else. Whatever they could not take and did not manage to demolish or burn, they cursed. But even now you can see the magnificent elven monuments: high towers, elaborate reliefs and mysterious ruins.
Only a few details, such as the golden sun on a dark background, reminded that this vibrant fairytale place was actually a vassal of Nilfgaard.
Yes, although Toussaint is an independent principality and has its own armed force, but the palace guard is still in charge of Nilfgaard.
Theoretically speaking, Lann and his party should not be here at all. Otherwise, the kingdom of fairy tales will soon turn into a dark fairy tale in front of them.
But, how to put it...the current ruler of Toussaint, Anna Henrietta, is very 'enlightened'. Even her official title is 'Her Enlightened Ladyship'. She is also very beautiful.
When Lann led Geralt and several attendants to visit her, he saw the duchess talking and laughing with the palace officials.
She has a delicate nose, gem-like blue eyes, chestnut-colored hair adorned with ribbons, styled artistically. The neckline of her dress was deep, embroidered with dense and uniform golden chrysanthemum patterns. Adorning her neck was a necklace made of emeralds, carnelians, and turquoises, with a jade cross pendant that fell just between the curves embraced by her corset.
"Lord Lannister, you are indeed a dazzling knight as the poem says." The Duchess laughed loudly.
It is difficult to imagine that the action of 'laughing out loud' could be considered elegant and beautiful, but any action of the Duchess seemed to be imbued with these two qualities in an extraordinary way.
"The druids told me about your visit. It's fantastic! I never imagined there would be magical relics within the boundaries of Toussaint."
"After you've finished your exploration, I want my guards to take me to see them too! Maybe we can host an unusual banquet there."
Lann saluted the Duchess and said: "Thank you, Your Grace. Please allow me to extend my sincere greetings to you and Prince Raymund. I have heard about his recent illness, and I hope that the wise will protect him."
Duchess Anna Henrietta's expression was quite indifferent. "Thank you for coming all the way to greet me. Because Raymund's condition is really unseemly, I cannot accept your visit. But I accept your wishes."
This indifferent attitude is obviously not the attitude a wife should have towards her seriously ill husband, but Lann happens to understand the hidden meaning behind it, because this is also a plot that the original book has spent a lot of time introducing.
In 1261, while Raymund was in Cintra and staying with a lover there, Dandelion and the duchess met and fell in love, carrying on their affair for two months. However, this wasn't well hidden from the population and when rumors started, Dandelion prudently left.
One can only sigh at the life of the nobility.
Shortly after Raymund returned and was informed. Despite himself constantly cheating around, the duke raged, destroying furniture, punching people in the face, and killing the informer, before imprisoning the Duchess in her chambers and threatening to torture her if she didn't tell him everything.
With that, she revealed the bard's name and Raymund ordered people to find and kill Dandelion with the hopes of tearing out his heart, cooking it, and making Anarietta eat it in front of the entire court. Luckily, the bard had long left the duchy and, as most disliked the duke as much as they adored the duchess, Dandelion was safe from being pursued.
Instead, the duke himself was so angry that he had a stroke and was paralyzed for half a year. When Prince Raymund recovered, he could only continue to walk. But he continued to seduce the women of Toussaint, and eventually suffered another stroke a few years later and died at the hands of a mistress. Due to his poor reign during his lifetime, Prince Raymund's death did not cause much grief within the duchy.
Lann had never thought that Raymund was still alive now. After all, the Duchess was already a free and pretty widow when she appeared in the novel and the game.
After paying his respects to the Duchess' dying husband, Lann continued: "I am also grateful for putting aside the prejudices of war and allowing us to enter Toussaint, your tolerance is admirable."
The culture of knights is prevalent in Toussaint, which makes the Duchess have a good impression of knights who come out of poetry like Lann. At the same time, she is also quite curious about Geralt beside her. She has obviously also heard the story of the 'White Wolf'.
The Duchess laughed after listening to Lann's words: "Earl Lannister flattered me too much and underestimated Toussaint's magnanimity. We are not as good at and value swords as Cintra. The war happened so long ago, and How could it interfere with us now?"
An ancient conflict...
Lann was stunned after understanding the duchess's words, and suddenly had an impolite guess in his mind.
"Your Grace Anna?" Lann asked tentatively. "But the war is still going on, right?"
"What did Lord Lannister say? The war has ended long ago!" The Duchess raised her chin, her tone becoming sharper. "I mentioned this in my letter to my cousin Emhyr var Emreis. In that letter, I demanded that he stop the senseless killing and he promised me peace."
Lann was surer of his suspicion, and he retorted softly: "However, just yesterday, our soldiers were still fighting Nilfgaard. The war absorbs all our energy; Cintra cannot even send a craftsman to help in the construction of my lands."
This answer obviously surprised the Duchess. She was stunned for a moment, then raised her chin higher and her voice became harsh. "How is this possible? The war is still going on? Why didn't anyone tell me? Minister Tremblay?"
"Your Grace, I..." A nobleman wearing a gold chain knelt on the ground. "I just don't want you to worry... make you uneasy... Your Grace..."
"Guard!" The Duchess shouted. "Take him to the tower! You have lost my favor, Monsieur Tremblay. Chamberlain!"
"At your beck and call, enlightened lady…"
"Let our Foreign Minister send an urgent letter to the Emperor of Nilfgaard, immediately... I mean, immediately... demanding a peace treaty."
"Because war and conflict are evils! Conflict only weakens national power and destroys harmony!"
"Your Grace, you are so wise." Replied the palace steward.
"Gentlemen, why are you still standing here? I have issued an order. Act quickly!"
Lann looked around. The nobles and officials remained expressionless, as if similar things had happened frequently in the palace.
Toussaint, the kingdom in fairy tales. No wonder it can become a kingdom in fairy tales.
Duchess Anna wiped her nose with a handkerchief and smiled at Lann.
"As you can see, Lord Lannister, the war will be over soon." She said. "My cousin is actually very considerate, and I would like to apologize to Cintra for his willfulness."
"Toussaint will sell a batch of wine to Cintra at a discounted price as an apology. I will also personally give a barrel of 'Est Est' to the royal family of Cintra. I hope that the unpleasant things will not damage our friendship."
Est Est, often considered one of the chief treasures of the people of Toussaint, is the best known of the wines cultivated in that region. It is hard to determine when, exactly, the first barrels of Est Est were matured, though we can surmise it must have been around the time of the first human forays into the duchy's present lands.
What is certain is that this wine truly gained fame only during the reign of Duchess Adela Marta, who held Est Est in near divine esteem and for that reason bestowed upon Castel Ravello the privilege of being the official ducal vineyard. She also reserved a special place in the cellars of the Beauclair Palace for Est Est, and to this day two barrels of every vintage are ceremoniously deposited on those shelves.
The tapping of any of them is, by order of the ducal edict 'Vino Sanctus Est', punishable by death through dragging behind a team of horses.
The corners of Lann's mouth twitched, and he said in an almost coaxing tone: "Okay, Your Grace. Thank you for your generosity."
Duchess Anna smiled gracefully and then turned to Geralt. "Is this your follower? Is he...a witcher?"
Lann shook his head: "That's not the case. He is my comrade and close friend. He was invited by me to help this time."
Geralt glanced at Lann and saluted Anna: "I am Geralt of Rivia, as you can see, I am a witcher."
"This is great, it's you, Mr. Geralt, Dande... I have heard many glorious deeds of yours!" Duchess Anna shouted happily, "I have something to ask you."
"I would like to hear the details, Your Grace, the Duchess."
"It is a request of many women of Toussaint. A horrible monster, a demon disguised as a woman, an unscrupulous succubus, is harming loyal and chaste spouses."
"She enters their rooms at night and commits disgusting, unspeakable and shameful acts. You're an expert at this, I imagine you know the details."
Geralt nodded and said: "Yes, Your Grace the Duchess."
"This matter has troubled the ladies of Toussaint for a long time, and I beg you to put an end to this obscene conduct. I assure you that we will be extremely grateful."
Geralt looked uncomfortable. "Thank you for your trust, Your Grace the Duchess. But I have a commission and I am very busy right now."
"Please wait until I finish handling my unfinished business, and then I will be happy to guide Toussaint to...uh, peace."
Duchess Anna smiled contently, and everyone exchanged a few kind words. Before parting, the Duchess cordially invited Lann to a banquet that evening, to which he enthusiastically accepted.
On the way back to their residence, Lann, Geralt, and the three attendants all had strange expressions on their faces. However, since there were soldiers and royal stewards guiding them, it was difficult for them to say anything.
They soon arrived at the accommodation designated by the royal family.
"If you need anything else, I will be downstairs at your disposal. I will be at your service during your time here in Beauclair." The royal butler said bowing in front of Lann, then closed the door before leaving.
The three attendees finally relaxed inside the room, releasing the breath they had held all the way, they looked as if they had been underwater and had just surfaced, exchanging glances with each other with faces of disbelief.
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