Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

Cirilla had mustered up a great deal of courage to approach her sister with such a bold request. This was the best solution that a young, green-eared girl like her could come up with.

Actually, if Cirilla had not determined the state of her sister’s mind, she might not be able to make such a decision.

After all, Cirilla was only a princess who had never experienced the suffering of commoners. It was just like what we read in numerous novels – where daughters from rich families ran away from their houses in order to pursue freedom in love. Only rich daughters would actually find the necessity of eloping.

From the novel’s perspective, a daughter from rich family might be able to obtain anything she wanted. In reality, she would quickly learn how difficult life was without the protection from her family. The stubborn ones might be able to stick to their plans. Others would quickly regret their choices.

On the spot, Olivia could come up with many questions that had not crossed Cirilla’s mind. For example, where should they go? How did they survive? Has Cirilla even taken notice of Cintra impending doom?

But, Olivia remained silent. She looked around and realized that there was no one else. She pushed Cirilla forcefully against the wall and took her lips. That was her answer.

Cirilla’s troubled heart settled down. If Olivia came up with those realistic, in-your-face questions now, she would swat them aside. These world-ending matters were too small in the face of love!

Cirilla’s plan seemed complete, if not rough around the ages. It was early spring. In the name of a vacation, she grabbed her sister and ran!

Such brash, thoughtless, audacity was very much like Cirilla…

Queen Calathe was to be blamed for having underestimated her two princesses. At the same time, she had set her sights on this great conflict against Nilfgaardian Empire. The last thing she expected was for her favored grandchild, her obedient Cirilla to elope!

Fortunately, Cirilla did not leave just like that. She left a letter for Queen Calathe. She did not dare mention anything about how she and her sister loved each other and had gotten engaged in private. She simply said that Prince Kistrin was not one bit worthy of her sister. That pig deserved a barbeque pit, not her sister. She had been left with no choice but to lead her sister away from this hell and seek her freedom in love…

After Queen Calathe finished reading Cirilla’s letter, her face turned terrifyingly black. Her years of educating Cirilla all these years had gone up in smoke. She even started having doubts with herself. Had she made the wrong choice, making Cirilla her heir? How could Cirilla be so childish!

Moreover, what was this fallacy about “freedom in marriage”? Who was the one who actually proposed this? In this world, between nobles, there was no such thing as freedom in marriage, or love for that matter!

The only thing that gave Queen Calathe a modicum of relief was that she had a lot of time before Olivia’s and Prince Kistrin’s engagement. As long as she got Olivia back before that date, her plans would remain unhindered.

Now that the Kingdom of Verden and the Kingdom of Cintra had reached out to each other, Prince Kistrin became more earnest in his stand with Cintra against the Nilfgaardian Empire. He intended to prove his love for the “Northland Pearl.”

Well, Prince Kistrin was still too young. On the other hand, the king of Verden was not as keen on standing against the Nilfgaardian Empire. He would rather be its vassal.

Queen Calathe immediately sent a request for Druid Ermion. He was a good friend and advisor of King Bran Tuirseach, the lord of the Skellige Isles. He was also the person who had helped Geralt break the curse on Duny.

The palace of a small kingdom like Cintra would never host a famous mage. This wise Druid, Ermion could be considered a part-time mage.

Ermion was also the leader of the Druids within Skellige Isles. He was famous for his hard-headedness and his eccentricity, even by Skellige Isles standards. He would always insist on considering all the possible consequences of an action. Such a personality required vast amounts of time and patience when talking to him.

Ermion loved both Princess Cirill and Princess Olivia very much. He treated them like his own granddaughters. When he heard that Cirilla had eloped with Olivia, there was a very high possibility that they had headed for Brokilon. Interesting. Still, Brokilon was hostile to humans. He bolted upright.

“Lord Ermion, why not have a round of Gwent first?” said a noble, who came out of nowhere.

That’s right. This great Druid Ermion was also a Gwent card game lover. Perhaps this was also why he shared the same rotten tastes with Geralt the witcher…?

“Fine… One game, just one game!” The thin old man with the grey beard whipped out the “Nutty Squirrels” card deck that he was most comfortable with. Actually, he wanted to use the “Skellige” card deck, as he wanted to appear as himself within this deck. How prestigious that would have been. Unfortunately, nobody recognized the “Skellige” card deck yet. Perhaps, this card deck might pick up over time.

That’s right. If one was recognized by the Gwent developers and made into a card character, he or she had to be an iconic figure, a key player in the events that determined the fate of the world.

Ermion restrained himself from the impulse of having another game. He set off hurriedly. If not, he was afraid that his addiction to Gwent might delay his search of the two runaway princesses.

At that moment, the stubborn and inconsiderate Cirilla had charged into Brokilon, her sister in tow. She probably thought that the Queen would never follow them into this forest.

Unsurprisingly, the two human princesses soon found themselves surrounded by Dryads. Those Dryads intended to offer these two girls to the Queen of Dryads, Lady Eithne, and have them drink the Water of Brokilon, converting them into Dryads as well.

Dryads were the guardians and inhabitants of Brokilon. They were only made up of females. Dryads seldom used the lingua franca. The extremist group from Verden who called themselves “The Rangers” were notorious in hunting non-human races. These veterans called them, “eerie wives.”

Very few humans were ever allowed to step into the Dryads’ territory. Those who were unwelcome would only fall to the arrows that flew from within the forest.

As if destiny had it, the witcher Geralt stepped out of the shadows again.