The named witcher master froze for a moment. However, facing Mary's suspicious gaze, he could only hesitate and nod. Even though he had never met this girl.
"After descending the mountain, hasn't Allen been with me the entire time?" Vesemir was equally puzzled in his heart, "Where did he meet this girl?"
Vesemir's confirmation not only didn't dispel Mary's suspicion but seemed to deepen the misunderstanding. But at that moment, Lysa turned around. She glanced gratefully at Allen, then gently smiled at Mary and explained: "I was persecuted by Henselt. I am Lysa, the daughter of Viscount Hudson of the Kaedwen nobility..."
"If it weren't for Master Allen, I would have long since met my demise..."
"Lysa, you..." Allen looked at her in astonishment and instinctively glanced around.
Apart from Nenneke, who knew the truth and remained unfazed, the surrounding priests and others acted as if they hadn't heard anything.
After saluting Nenneke in her gray dress Lysa and her, they departed.
"Don't worry..." Lysa smiled and shook her head, "This is the Lady's realm on earth. There's no one here who can't be trusted."
"You're Hudson's daughter?" Vesemir instinctively halted, casting a deep, unreadable glance at the girl.
It was as if he was observing the resemblance between her and his late friend.
"You must be Master Vesemir, right?" Lysa smiled and nodded, "When I was little, my father often mentioned you, saying you were the bravest warrior he'd ever met, a hero among men..."
"He always said..."
"If not for the honor and responsibilities of our family, he would have loved to take up a sword and travel the world with you, hunting monsters..."
"Really, he said that to you?"
Vesemir let out a hearty laugh, then, as if recalling a scene from the past, his eyes softened with a tinge of sadness.
"That sounds like something Hudson would say." He sighed and looked at Lysa.
It was as if through her, he was seeing that remarkable, unforgettable nobleman, though their time together had been brief.
"His swordsmanship was excellent, but his noble status held him back..."
"My father would be very happy to hear you say that," Lysa consoled gently.
Then she turned to Mary.
At this moment, Mary, knowing Lysa's identity, had her head bowed, feeling deeply ashamed of her earlier unreasonable behavior.
"You must be Lady Margarita?" Lysa took two steps forward, "I've always heard Lady Vera has an outstanding apprentice..."
"I didn't expect you to be even more beautiful and lovely in person than I had imagined..."
"I've heard Lady Vera say that you took good care of Allen and the others at Kaer Morhen..."
With some flattery and bringing up the half-elf who had been sent to the Kaer Morhen, Mary and Lysa soon started chatting like old friends reunited after a long time apart.
At this moment, Allen finally understood why, after just over a month, he hadn't recognized Lysa.
Gentle, warm, kind, thoughtful...
The girl before him now, who seemed as calm as a serene, warm spring, was completely different from the one he had seen just over a month ago, who always had furrowed brows and a look of bitterness and hatred.
What had caused such a drastic change in her?
The Temple of Melitele?
Or...
As he pondered this while walking, Allen suddenly noticed Lysa turn her head and give him a grateful glance, her lips moving slightly.
It was "Thank you"!
The young witcher understood.
She must have learned about Henselt's brutal death at Ban Ard.
"Lysa is a novice priestess at the Temple of Melitele now, studying under Nenneke and assisting her..."
Vera briefly introduced her.
Nenneke nodded and glanced affectionately at Lysa, who had just eased the tension. She praised her:
"Lysa is diligent, devout in her faith, and has been of great help to me..."
"The High Priestess and the Lady surely see it all."
Seeing Nenneke's face full of admiration, Allen knew that Lysa's life and future at the Temple of Melitele would certainly be secure.
Of course.
That was just a little bit of a materialistic thought of his.
In his heart, the young witcher felt more satisfaction and joy from seeing a child, once full of hatred and desire for revenge, finding salvation and transformation through his actions.
----------------------
The main hall, the garden, the greenhouse, the dormitory, the prayer room, the orphanage, the maternity ward, and even a school for training future herbalists, doctors, and midwives...
The Temple of Melitele was more like a small, sparsely populated town than a temple. Moreover, administratively speaking, this little town did not belong to the local nobility, nor did it even fall under the authority of the King of Temeria. This was the Lady Melitele's sanctuary.
Both in the spiritual sense and the literal sense.
Therefore.
This place was quite large. It took a full five minutes just to walk their horses to the stables. After leaving the stables, Nenneke led Allen and the others on another ten-minute walk, even crossing a roaring waterfall, before they finally reached their destination.
A pure white building shrouded by towering ancient trees.
"Chirp, chirp~"
Birds of all vibrant colors flew around, chirping. Along with the sound of the waterfall not far away, the atmosphere felt both serene and lofty.
More importantly...
Despite being surrounded by trees and birds.
This tall building, whether viewed from a distance or up close, was flawlessly white.
Sacred and ethereal.
It seemed to emit a soft, white glow.
"We're here!" Nenneke said softly.
"And this is?" Mary looked curiously at the pure white, rounded building.
"The holiest place closest to the Lady, and where the High Priestess serves the divine..." Lysa explained devoutly in a low voice.
"Lady Vera, you should take Allen inside. I'll take the others to rest."
Nenneke nodded toward Vera.
"Thank you..." Vera bowed her head slightly.
Nenneke shook her head, then looked at Vesemir, who was holding Clay, Mary, and Yennefer, who was cloaked and hiding her appearance, and smiled warmly: "Please follow me."
With that, she led the others away.
Knowing that the High Priestess would only meet with Allen and Vera, Vesemir nodded slightly to Allen before following Nenneke with the others.
Watching them walk away, Vera turned to Allen and said:
"Allen, let's go..."
The young witcher gazed at Melitele's sanctuary, took a deep breath, and nodded before heading inside.
-----------------------
"Tap, tap, tap~"
The crisp sound of footsteps echoed through the pure white corridor.
On both sides, the walls were adorned with exquisite carvings and paintings, telling the story of Melitele's greatness.
"Don't be nervous, Ianna is a very kind person."
Vera seemed to sense something from Allen's silence and reassured him.
Ianna...
Allen blinked.
That clearly sounded like a friend's name—one that could only be used by someone very familiar with her.
Curious, the young witcher quietly asked: "You're very close to the High Priestess?"
"Very close?" Vera chuckled and shook her head.
Huh?
Did that mean they weren't close?
Allen was curious.
"Ianna... I'm the one who brought her to the Temple of Melitele..." Vera smiled gently, as if recalling something warm and comforting, "I watched her grow up..."
What?!
Watching her grow up?
The sorceress's casual remark made Allen's blue cat-like eyes widen in surprise.
Lady Vera's youthful appearance, looking at most twenty years old, always made Allen subconsciously overlook her age. Now he finally remembered...
Even Vesemir was already over one hundred and fifty years old.
A quick estimation meant Lady Vera was at least two hundred...
"What are you thinking about?"
A cold female voice suddenly sounded by his ear, startling the young witcher and causing his heart to skip a beat.
Allen looked up at the sorceress who had somehow gotten close without him noticing, and he nearly had a heart attack.
Vera squinted at Allen's suddenly pale face and said: "It feels like you were thinking something... impolite."
"How could that be!" Allen quickly cleared his mind. "I was thinking about the curse..."
Vera gave him another scrutinizing glance. Whether she believed him or not was unclear, and then she continued leading the way ahead.
"Don't worry. It's just a malevolent deity from another realm," she said. "No matter which temple we're in, it can be dealt with, especially with the Goddess Melitele involved..."
"Tap, tap, tap~"
Their footsteps echoed as they walked.
Glancing at Vera's back, Allen secretly breathed a sigh of relief and carefully mused to himself:
No wonder both Sadia and Aisha were always accepted by the Temple of Melitele whenever Lady Vera sent them there. So, there's this connection behind it.
With this realization, Allen was completely at ease now.
He even found the solemn statues and paintings on both sides of the corridor much more comforting to look at. After all, Allen was still Vera's alchemy apprentice.
So, in a way, he was on the same side as the high priestess!
After walking through the long hallway, they finally came upon a wooden door at the end.
On the door, there were carvings of the three aspects of the Goddess Melitele—maiden, mother, and crone.
"Shhh~ shhh~"
A scratching noise came from a small gap in the partially ajar door.
"Creaaak~"
When the door was pushed open, the first thing that came into view was a statue of the Goddess Melitele. However, unlike the stone statue at the temple's entrance, this one was much smaller, only as tall as an ordinary woman.
And it was gray and full of cracks everywhere.
It looked like it had been out in the wilderness for hundreds of years, weathered by the wind and sun, and naturally fractured.
It didn't match the luxurious white hall at all, yet somehow, it still felt entirely natural.
As if this statue had always stood there.
"This is the original statue of the Goddess Melitele..."
A kind and gentle voice suddenly came from the side.
Allen was a bit startled, feeling as though he had heard the voice of the orphanage matron from his previous life, the one who had raised hundreds of orphans.
Looking more closely, he saw a slightly hunched, kindly old woman walking toward them from behind the statue. She was holding a white cloth, seemingly having been cleaning the sculptures and paintings on the walls.
"Vera, is this your..." The old woman paused curiously. "Uh... is this the boy?"
The sorceress clenched her fists and glanced at her nonchalantly, replying: "Ianna, this is Allen. I brought him here to remove a curse..."
"Hello, High Priestess Ianna..." Allen bowed slightly in greeting.
"We're all family here, no need for such formality," the old woman interrupted, shaking her head. "Just call me Grandma Ianna!"
"Granny..." Allen was about to follow suit when—
"Buzz~"
The wolf medallion on his chest suddenly hummed lightly.
He glanced over.
Lady Vera was staring at Ianna, expressionless. Ianna, however, seemed not to notice and smiled at Allen without looking back at Vera.
Suddenly.
An inexplicable tension that Allen couldn't understand surged between the three of them. Allen looked at Vera, then at High Priestess Ianna, and after a few seconds of thought, tentatively called out: "Granny... Ianna?"
"Yes~" Ianna responded with a smile.
Vera, meanwhile, turned her head and looked in another direction. The strange atmosphere instantly dissipated, as if it had never been there. Allen scratched his head and sighed in relief.
He had thought that to remove the curse of the malevolent deity, he might have to go through some trials in the Temple of Melitele. After all, that's usually how it played out in the TV shows.
But he certainly didn't expect to face this kind of... um... odd difficulty?
However.
Though he still didn't understand why he couldn't call her Grandma Ianna, it seemed like he had passed this test.
"Good boy, let Granny take a look at who this nasty troublemaker is that's been bothering my good child..." Ianna said in a coaxing tone that made Allen feel a little uncomfortable.
Still, he obediently extended his right hand, which was then grasped by Ianna's wrinkled, age-spotted hands.
In the next second.
A warm current flowed from his palm into his body, traveling along his magical pathways and through his entire being.
Although Ianna's eyes were closed, Allen had the distinct feeling that he had been completely seen through.
"Huh!"
Ianna let out a surprised gasp.
"What's wrong?" Vera asked, sounding a little anxious.
Ianna opened her eyes and looked at Allen, hesitating before asking:
"Bone and flesh—do you know about them?"
Allen was so startled that he jerked his hand back.
"So, you do know..." Ianna nodded, then gently took his hand back and said to Vera, "Don't worry, it's fine..."
After a brief pause, she gazed admiringly at Allen's long, slender fingers: "As expected of the Child of Miracles, truly extraordinary."
Then.
She closed her eyes and resumed her examination.
At that moment, though, Allen was still somewhat shaken. The term "Child of Miracles" didn't bother him too much, since Vera already knew about that. But this was the first time someone had seen through the fact that his bones and flesh had been slowly transformed by elemental affinity.
And.
When Ianna had reached out to grab Allen's right hand earlier, his instinctive reaction had been to dodge. Yet she had caught it with ease.
For quite a while.
After the warm current had traveled throughout his body, Ianna finally released his hand.
"How is it?"
Before Allen could speak, Vera hurried forward and asked first.
Ianna lowered her head and pondered for a moment before saying: "It's an unfamiliar malevolent deity..."
Seeing Vera and Allen tense up, she quickly added: "But don't worry. Stay here for a few days, and everything will be fine."
"That's good to hear..." Vera breathed a sigh of relief.
"Is there really nothing else I need to do? Just stay here?" Allen asked curiously.
Ianna squinted her eyes and smiled kindly as she nodded: "Of course, just staying here for seven days will be enough."
"The power of the Lady will drive out the evil..."
"However..."
Ianna smiled and handed over the cloth she had been using:
"If you help tidy up the Lady's house, that would be even better. The Lady loves diligent, kind children the most."
Naturally, Allen didn't refuse.
He took the cloth, nodded to Vera, and then began carefully cleaning the murals from the doorway. Vera and Ianna stood watching him for a while. After reminding him they would come to fetch him before dinner, they quietly left.
------------------------------
Just like that.
The two women walked silently toward the outside of Melitele's sanctuary.
Neither said a word.
Until...
After they stepped out of the sanctuary doors, Ianna glanced back at the sanctuary and suddenly spoke: "Are you really not planning to tell him about his origins?"
....…
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
247. The Temptation of Immortality.
248. Yennefer's Talent.
249. The Light of the Little Monster.
250. The Little Priestess's Gift.
251. Who's Calling Me?