The Little Priestess's Gift

The dim moonlight revealed dappled shadows of trees, and the shadow in the corner of the wall stirred slightly after hearing the sound before emerging.

"Mentor, it's me..."

Mary slowly and reluctantly moved out.

"What brings you here so late?" Vesemir looked at her in surprise. "Did something happen to Yennefer?"

"No," Mary shook her head, "Yennefer fell asleep after she used up her Chaos Magic ..."

He paused for a second, seemingly trying to encourage himself:

"Mentor, I want to become stronger!"

Get stronger?

Vesemir looked at her apprentice with some confusion.

Although Mary was very talented, her research focused mostly on alchemy and auxiliary magic.

She's never put this much effort into combat magic, which is usually what warlocks are interested in.

and...

Vesemir looked up at the sky.

Knowing Mary's usual personality, she wouldn't dare disturb her at a time when she should be sleeping...

what happened?

Out of curiosity, Vesemir did not follow her usual temper, scolding her and telling her to go back and rest.

"Da da da~"

The Sorceress took two steps closer and, by the moonlight, saw a mixture of timidity and determination on Mary's slightly chubby face.

The sight of two conflicting emotions on the same face only fueled Vesemir's curiosity.

"Why do you want to become stronger?" Vesemir touched the apprentice's smooth, delicate face. "Haven't you always been uninterested in fighting?"

"Warlocks shouldn't waste their time on fighting and brawling; that's something you once told me..."

Mary paused upon hearing this.

She did say that, when she was young...

But she doesn't think that way anymore.

And feeling the warmth on my cheeks...

Lady Vesemir's lack of punishment and willingness to listen to Mary gave Mary a little more courage.

My mentor is different now than he was a few years ago; he's much more mild-mannered.

then.

Mary took a deep breath and said:

"Mentor, I don't want to hold you back anymore."

"I've been following Ailin and Master Vesemir for almost two weeks, and I haven't been of any help in the two battles we've encountered..."

"When we encountered the Greater Griffin, after casting some simple buff spells on them, I could only watch from afar as the two witchers narrowly dodged the Greater Griffin's claws and the howling wind..."

Recalling the scene, Mary closed her eyes and paused for a second:

"Ailin ... when Ailin was taken into the sky by the Greater Griffin, as a warlock, I couldn't find a single spell that could save him..."

"And there are Gors Velen..."

"Vesemir and Ailin went out to find the Wild Hunt."

"But I was forced to go to the cellar with the other waitresses in the tavern, huddled shivering beside a moldy, cold oak barrel..."

"Waiting helplessly, worrying, and fearing..."

"You never know whether the next person to open the door will be a witcher or a monster..."

"In those brief ten minutes, countless images flashed through my mind, each pointing to a bad ending..."

"I've even been having the same dream a lot these past few days..."

"The door to the wine cellar in the dream was blasted open by cold magic, and Skeleton Knight emerged from behind it, carrying the heads of Vesemir and Ailin, who died with their eyes wide open in disbelief..."

"They're looking at me, asking why I'm hiding in the cellar and not saving them..."

Vesemir gently stroked Mary's golden hair.

A deep sense of fear seemed to be overflowing from her eyes.

"Mentor, our future enemy is the legendary monster, the Wild Hunt..."

"I...I..." Mary looked at Vesemir's red eyes, so excited that she stammered.

She took another deep breath, calmed herself down a bit, and then said:

"I am Margarita Laux Antillie, the heiress of the Antillie family, the most outstanding graduate of Aretuza, the youngest Sorceress in the academy's history, and the only apprentice of the Crimson Fox ..."

"Tutor!"

"In no way should I be so useless and worthless, reduced to this state of needing to be protected..."

"Mentor, please help me!"

Mary looked intently at Vesemir.

Vesemir gazed at the insight in Mary's blue eyes, then suddenly seemed to remember something, chuckled softly, and asked:

"Our enemies, who are we?"

"Of course it's Ai..." Mary replied instinctively, but she realized her mistake after a few words and blushed as she scolded, "Mentor!"

"What's wrong with me?" Vesemir smiled and gently pinched Mary's delicate, soft, and slightly flushed cheeks.

"What a Good Girl!"

"I wonder which man will end up getting the good deal?"

"Mentor!" Mary's face turned even redder.

"Okay, okay, I won't tease you anymore!" Vesemir ruffled Mary's golden hair.

"What about the battle?" Mary asked tentatively.

"I will teach you. You've already learned almost everything about alchemy and support magic!"

Mary immediately beamed with joy, her big eyes curving into crescent moons.

She once again truly felt that Vesemir's temper was countless times better than before.

I just don't know why she has changed so much.

Is it Ailin?

Or did he reconcile with the leader of the School of the Wolf after arriving in Kaer Morhen?

"What are you thinking about?" Vesemir frowned.

Mary's Divine Power is very high; she can already detect external mental intrusions.

So out of respect, she hadn't read Mary's thoughts in a long time.

However, at this moment, looking at Mary's lost in thought, Vesemir suddenly felt an urge to read minds.

"Nothing!"

Mary was startled and immediately cleared her mind of any inappropriate thoughts.

Vesemir squinted, carefully scrutinizing Mary's expression, which made Mary break out in a cold sweat.

"Since there's nothing wrong, what are we waiting for here?"

"Weren't you going to teach me combat spells?" Mary was taken aback.

Vesemir rolled her eyes, looked at her apprentice as if he were an idiot, and sighed.

"At this time?"

Are you sure?

Mary froze for a second before realizing it was still late at night, and her cheeks flushed red again.

She apologized to Vesemir repeatedly, and after agreeing on a time for class the next day, she hurriedly ran to her residence.

As Mary's figure disappeared into the darkness, Vesemir, lost in thought, slightly curved her thin lips into a smile.

On the other side.

Led by Nannick and Lyra, Ailin once again arrived at the Sanctuary.

This place, closest to the Goddess Meritellie, appears to have no divine significance on the surface.

Instead of radiating a gentle holy light, the goddess's strict adherence to the commandment of frugality meant that even the candles that burned eternally in other temples were absent at night.

It was pitch black.

However, I don't know if it's just my imagination.

As Ianna walked towards her residence, the evening breeze seemed to gradually weaken.

Upon reaching the sanctuary, the wind stopped abruptly.

Moreover, even Ailin could sense that the temperature near the sanctuary was much warmer than in other parts of the temple.

It's a somewhat mysterious phenomenon, but not very common.

It doesn't quite fit the reputation of the Meritellie religion, the religion with the largest number of followers in the Northern Continent.

However, during the day, although he was unable to speak with the goddess, he still experienced the priestess's magic.

Unlike the original work, which mostly used herbs and medicine as background elements and primarily showcased techniques that ordinary people could learn, this work is different.

The real-life Meritellie cult truly possesses Divine Power and Divine Art.

Ailin still remembers those three faint, holy figures reflected in Ianna's pure white eyes.

"I wonder what kind of Divine Art the priests of Meritellie know?" he wondered with some curiosity.

"Master Ailin, we've arrived..."

Nannick's voice interrupted Ailin.

"Priestess Nannick, just call me by my name, Ailin ..." the witcher said humbly. "Thank you for showing me the way. The Temple of Melitele is so big, it's really easy to get lost..."

"Okay, you can call me Nannick." Nannick smiled gently.

"You are warriors who have rid the children of evil spirits, and it is my honor to guide you."

"However, the temple is indeed quite large. This land was granted to the Church of Meritellie by the first Duke of Arland, and the Duke's wife and daughter are the Lady's most devout followers..."

After a brief chat about the temple's history, Nannick decided to leave.

"It's getting late, so we'll be leaving now. As instructed by the High Priest, we'll bring you breakfast tomorrow morning..."

Ailin nodded. "Thank you for your help!"

Before he could finish speaking, Ailin suddenly remembered what Ianna had just said and asked:

"By the way, Nannick."

"Do you know what the High Priest said about my schedule for the next few days?"

"I'm not sure," Nannick shook his head, "But it should be good for you."

"Alright." Ailin shook her head helplessly. "The High Priest really loves to keep things mysterious..."

Nannick smiled, not paying any attention to Ailin's words:

"Ailin, is there any other problem? If there's nothing else, we'll be leaving now."

"Etc!"

Before Ailin could answer, Lyra suddenly spoke up.

She looked pleadingly at Nannick and said:

"Sister Nannick, I have something else I want to say to Ailin..."

Nannick glanced at Lyra, pondered for a few seconds, and then looked at Ailin.

After seeing the Witcher nod in agreement, she then gave him some instructions:

"It can't be too late, or it will disturb the guests' rest."

"No, it'll just be a few words," Lyra assured her with a smile.

then.

Nannick nodded, bowed to Ailin again, and then left.

Although Lyra wasn't exactly a stranger to Ailin, this was indeed only their second meeting.

So after Nannick left.

The atmosphere in the sanctuary was slightly awkward.

"What do you want to talk about?" After watching Nannick leave, Ailin smiled at the familiar stranger. "If it's just gratitude, there's really no need..."

"After all, Haxor died from the Conjunction of the Spheres and the Dark Sun Curse, which has nothing to do with us."

Lyra remained silent upon hearing this.

He watched Nannick walk into the garden in front of the sanctuary before turning back and shaking his head.

"Of course I'm grateful, but not because of Haxor, but because of the life-saving grace I received in the mine..."

"I'm sorry," Lyra said, somewhat embarrassed, "I was blinded by hatred back then..."

"Not only did they not say thank you once to the person who saved their life..."

"After you thwarted my ambition to become a witcher, I even secretly hated you for many days..."

As he spoke.

Lyra bowed deeply to Ailin: "I'm so sorry!"

Startled by the girl's sudden action, Ailin paused for a second before gently helping her up.

"It can't be that bad... it can't be that bad..."

"I've never blamed you..."

"Although I am not qualified to talk about understanding because I have not had the same experience, if I were in your shoes, it would be hard not to be swayed by the hatred in my heart."

"Thank you... thank you..." Lyra's voice was a little choked up, but after taking a few deep breaths, she managed to hold back her tears.

"Yes, the hatred even prevented me from saying goodbye to my brothers," Lyra said sadly. "I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to see them again..."

Ailin fell silent upon hearing this.

Lyra's disappointment was clearly not due to the distance, but rather because in the past, very few apprentices could survive to become Witcher.

Lyra realized this and quickly apologized:

"Sorry, I wasn't targeting wolves..."

"It's alright!" Ailin interrupted Lyra, and after hesitating for a few seconds, he reassured her:

"Sadia said her children are all Child of Miracle, so they should all be able to pass the school's Witcher trials."

"I hope so," Lyra nodded, forcing a smile.

It's obvious.

She didn't believe Sadia's claim about Child of Miracle, but only to avoid embarrassing him.

"You've really changed a lot!" Ailin looked at Lyra carefully for a moment and exclaimed, "It seems that the Temple of Melitele is indeed very suitable for you."

The rebellious girl in my memory who defied everyone is completely different from the quiet, sweet, and considerate priestess she is now.

And this transformation took only one month.

People always change.

The little priestess smiled sweetly.

For the first time, I smiled in front of him, revealing my two adorable tiger teeth.

"But the people in the temple were really kind to me..."

"High Priest Ianna was so approachable; she gave me two pieces of candy the first time we met..."

"Nannick was also very patient in answering all my questions, and when he had free time, he would even tutor me in my studies..."

"And the others in the temple..."

"Apart from when my parents were still alive, this past month here has been the happiest time of my life."

"That's good..." Ailin smiled gently, influenced by the little priest.

But then, as if remembering something, he looked at the garden where Nannick had disappeared and asked:

"Since Nannick is so good to you, why do you seem to be avoiding her when you talk to me?"

Upon hearing this, Lyra's expression immediately turned serious.

She carefully looked around again and whispered:

"It's precisely because Nannick is so good to me that I need to avoid her..."

Um?

Why?

Ailin was a little curious.

Before he could ask, Lyra reached into her clothes, took out a folded piece of paper, and handed it to him.

The Witcher took it and examined it carefully.

Judging from the color under the candlelight, it is obvious that this is an expensive piece of Chiffon Paper.

Paper itself is expensive, and this kind of Chiffon Paper is something that only the wealthy and powerful can afford.

"Splash!"

At the priest's signal, Ailin gently unfolded the paper.

The names on the paper were written in a Noble Cursive.

The first name is:

"Donato Rogrides..."