"Viscount Hudson?"
"Where did you hear that name?"
Bob paused in his actions, surprised. So, this family really is connected to the Viscount… Vesemir's heart leaped with joy, and he quickly asked: "More than a decade ago, I accepted several commissions from the Viscount to deal with monsters in the mines. I got along well with Viscount Hudson."
"Yesterday, when I first arrived at Orchard, I planned to visit the castle, but I found only ruins."
"What happened there?"
"A decade ago..." Bob hesitated for a moment.
Vesemir quickly added, "Yes, it should be about fifteen years ago."
Hearing this, Bob studied Vesemir's face for a few seconds, and suddenly realization dawned.
"You're the Witcher who got beaten by the rock troll!"
Huh?
Beaten by a rock troll?
Master Vesemir went through something like that?
Allen and Hughes immediately perked up, their ears twitching. How could I forget that... Vesemir's face darkened, regretting that he had brought this up so directly. He glanced at the two young Witchers who were pretending to be nonchalant while fiddling with their plates but were actually paying full attention to him. He hurried to explain: "That was just an accident, a mere accident..."
"Before entering the mine, I thought I was only dealing with a few ghouls. I never expected the mine to be connected to a large rock troll camp with over a dozen rock trolls inside."
"During the battle, one of my Aard signs accidentally connected two previously unlinked areas."
Bob, realizing he had misspoken, quickly nodded in agreement and defended Vesemir: "That's exactly how it happened. Afterward, the mine was abandoned by Lord Hudson because of the overwhelming number of rock trolls."
Allen and Hughes exchanged looks, their expressions growing even more peculiar. They had both witnessed the power of Vesemir's Aard sign, which was indeed very strong. If the rock was thin, it could easily destroy a wall in the mine. But the key issue wasn't that; it was...
The Witcher who was supposed to clear out the mine ended up destroying it entirely. How could that be explained!
Your explanation only made things worse... Vesemir looked helplessly at Bob. Bob scratched his head, giving an awkward smile, and didn't dare say anything further.
"Sigh..."
Vesemir sighed, giving up on trying to explain further, and continued his story: "Later, I barely escaped from the enraged rock trolls."
"Having messed up the mission, I was too ashamed to face the employer, but my injuries were severe."
"And I had to report the situation in the mine to prevent others from accidentally entering it, so I returned to Viscount Hudson's castle."
At this point, he paused, seemingly recalling the scene.
"Viscount Hudson was a unique noble."
"Not only did he not hold me accountable for destroying the mine—most nobles could, and would hold me accountable—but he even hired an herbalist to treat my wounds at no cost."
"In the end, he even paid me for the commission to kill the ghouls."
"Wow!" Hughes couldn't help but exclaim, "That's... that's incredibly generous!"
"That's the kind of man Lord Hudson was!" Bob lifted his head with pride, the wrinkles on his face deepening with his proud smile.
Vesemir nodded and continued: "He said, 'A brave warrior shouldn't bear the consequences of a failed battle. You did your best, and you completed the task I assigned. The other troubles aren't your concern!'"
"Viscount Hudson was truly a different kind of noble!" he marveled once again.
"Who mentioned Lord Hudson?" A woman in her thirties emerged from the kitchen.
"Mary, do you still remember him?" Bob teased.
The woman, sharing a name with the young sorceress far away in Kaer Morhen, studied Vesemir for a few seconds before exclaiming in surprise: "You... you're that Vesemir... the Witcher who got beaten by the rock troll?"
Hearing his name, Vesemir began to smile, but his face quickly darkened at the mention of the latter part.
"Hahaha..."
Suddenly, laughter filled the inn, only to abruptly stop under a sharp glare.
Allen covered his trembling mouth. With the expression on Vesemir's face right now, Hughes probably wasn't going to have an easy time in the days to come, since he couldn't hold back his laughter.
"Yes, that's me." Vesemir nodded helplessly, "You must have been the cook at the Viscount's house back then, right? I could tell from the stew I had earlier."
Hearing this, Mary looked at Vesemir more closely and then shook her head with some regret: "Back then, we looked about the same age. Fifteen years have passed, and you haven't changed at all, but I..."
"We've strayed from the topic. Lady Reina passed away many years ago. I was just a maid helping her out. I learned how to make stew from Lady Reina."
"Oh, I see..." Vesemir sighed.
However, he had experienced this many times before, so after adjusting his emotions a bit, he returned to the main topic: "What happened to Viscount Hudson? Why was his castle abandoned like that? What about the Viscountess and their children?"
Mary and Bob exchanged glances, looked around, and then signaled them to wait. Because of the earlier confrontation between the king's guards and the Witchers, no one had come in yet. Bob decided to shut the door, knowing that only Vesemir and his group were staying at the inn these past few days.
In a small town like Orchard, the inn and the tavern were usually combined; otherwise, the small number of guests made it hard to sustain business.
After closing the door, Bob and Mary carefully shut the wooden windows.
"Bang~"
With the last window closed, the first floor of the inn grew dim. Seeing how cautious they were, Vesemir grew serious as well and waited patiently for them to finish.
A moment later, The two of them returned and sat in the empty seats nearby.
They first looked at Allen and Hughes, their eyes questioning Vesemir.
"Don't worry, they can be trusted," Vesemir nodded.
Bob and Mary exchanged glances, and Bob spoke: "Vesemir, we all know you were close to Viscount Hudson, so we're willing to tell you about this, but others..."
Vesemir understood what they meant and was about to reassure them.
"Suddenly, I remembered that Bond and Fred haven't gotten up yet." Allen suddenly spoke up, pulling Hughes away from the table. "Hughes, let's go upstairs and wake them."
Hughes obediently left his seat, clearly understanding the innkeeper and his wife's hint.
"Thud~ Thud~ Thud~"
Under Bob and Mary's apologetic gaze, Allen and Hughes walked up the wooden stairs. Hearing a story is always nice, but since this was Vesemir's private matter...
Of course, Allen wasn't going to be rude and eavesdrop, so after parting ways with Hughes, he planned to return to his room for another hour of meditation.
"Creak~"
As the door closed, Allen's sharp Witcher senses suddenly picked up.
"...It all started eight years ago when the Viscount brought back a couple from the battlefield..."
....…
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
144. The Viscount and the Mysterious Human Couple.
145. A New Hunting Target.
146. The Castle Ruins.
147. Trapped.
149. You Know Viscount Hudson Too?