Chapter 424 Meeting
Chapter 424: Meeting
[TL: Asuka]
[PR: Ash]
Roy latched onto the ceiling once again and climbed like a lizard. Down two stories he went, until he came to a door big enough to fit a carriage. The door was covered in Cintra’s coat of arms.
Two servants in white robes stood outside, spaced out and oblivious to the witcher hanging on the ceiling.
A sparrowhawk flew in and landed on the ground. It hopped over to the servants, flapping its wings and nodding at the servants as if telling them to pet it.
That caught the servants’ attention. They smiled and watched the little animal as it pranced around.
The servant on the right suddenly scratched his head and looked up. The first thing he saw was a green triangle, and he shivered only to stand up straight like a puppet.
The servant on the left was still staring at the sparrowhawk. The critter was looking at him in disdain and pecking at its feathers. Suddenly, someone patted his shoulder. He turned around, and his eyes were filled with confusion at first, but then clarity returned to them.
***
Roy stuck his ear to the door and activated his witcher senses, but the servants acted as if he wasn’t there.
***
A rectangular table stood in the center of the hall. Around it sat about a dozen people. All of them were in the best attire money could buy. Silk shirts, leather boots, and rings and necklaces.
Eist Tuirseach. King of Cintra, a man with a tanned face and a crooked nose. He wore a thick cloak made of bear hide, and at the moment, the man was leaning back in the main seat, his face inscrutable, but the fury in his eyes was unmistakable. Underneath his calm façade slept a volcano that was ready to erupt.
His queen sat to his left. She had the face of a stubborn woman, and she was fiddling with her emerald necklace. The smallest emerald on it was the size of a hornet. Her eyes were on the guests around the table, but they were filled with resignation and exhaustion.
Mousesack, a druid and Skellige’s magic advisor, sat on the king’s right. He was wearing a black hat adorned by three antlers. The man was burly, and his beard extended until his chest, his face chiseled. His eyes were glinting with unease and worry.
Mousesack looked outside the window. The sun was still shining bright, but a strip of pitch-black darkness was already spreading across the great azure. A storm is coming.
“Guests, the meeting has gone on for two months. I trust you have had enough of the sea breeze and sunshine. Today is the day we reach a conclusion.” Eist tapped his armrest. “Let’s start with Skellige’s ambassador.
Mousesack stood up and bowed to everyone. He announced, “Your Majesty, your brother, the ruler of Skellige, King Bran Tuirseach, has agreed to the collaboration. Once the southern barbarians make their move on Cintra, he shall release Skellige’s impregnable naval fleet to assist you in the battle.”
The other guests nodded, but they didn’t seem surprised at all. The king of Cintra and the ruler of Skellige were brothers. Skellige people were straightforward. Naturally, they would help one of their own.
Eist smiled at his queen and turned his attention to the bald, pudgy, mustached man. “Claude, what is your decision on the matter?”
“I can’t call the shots here,” Raymund said calmly. “Half of Toussaint is under my wife’s governance. I need to discuss this with her before I can give you my answer.”
***
“Excuses,” Calanthe snapped coldly. No longer could she stand these fork-tongued politicians. A smirk of mockery tugged on her lips. “If you care about your wife so much, then why did you find yourself five lovers in the two months you were in Cintra?”
“Your Highness!” Raymund blushed in embarrassment for a moment. He raised his voice. “I will not allow anyone to doubt my loyalty to Anna!”
“I can get all your lovers for you if you want. You can take them back to Toussaint and have fun with them.”
Raymund’s face turned crimson. He looked around him, but everyone’s eyes were filled with a look that said, Look at this guy. He relies on his wife for everything he has, and now he’s fucking around with other women.
“I, Raymund of Toussaint, stake my honor and status on a duel!” He shot up, his eyes filled with a hint of insanity. The man shouted, “A fair duel with your husband!”
And then the guests erupted into discussion. Some shook their heads in disdain, some sighed, while some were whispering amongst themselves and thumping on the table. They could not believe a duke from another duchy would challenge a king in his home kingdom.
Is he mad?
Everyone was laughing at Raymund, wondering how much longer he could live after issuing that challenge.
“Are you sure?” Eist stood up. He looked like a bear standing on his hind legs, especially with that cape hanging on his back. He was more than six foot six, and his muscles looked like boulders.
The king stared down at Raymund like a beast who was preparing to kill its prey. The duke of Toussaint was nothing but a chicken in front of this beast of a man. “Are you sure you’d like to duel me?”
“No, let me explain. I shall send out my best knight to duel the best you have,” Raymund explained stiffly. “If you lose, then Queen Calanthe must apologize to me. Ambassadors, be our witness.” He looked around and announced, “Let this battle draw the conference to a close. Nobody can deny this bet. Not when there are so many witnesses around.”
“What if you lose then?” Calanthe asked languidly, her eyes filled with fury.
“Then I shall apologize and return to Toussaint. Never again will I return to Cintra.” He gulped. “And on my name I swear I shall convince Anna to refuse to help Nilfgaard in their brutal invasion.”
Eist looked at Calanthe, and the queen nodded.
“Skellige men will never turn down a fair challenge. Very well, you have your duel.”
Raymund was shivering, but he heaved a sigh of relief. “Your Majesty, I have to remind you that my knight has been the reigning champion for Beauclair’s knight tournament for three years. Please send the best knight you have for this battle.”
***
Oh ho. The best they have, eh? Roy snuck out of the palace as quickly as he could.
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