Echoes of Falga

"The Old Duke?" Ianna raised an eyebrow. "Did he say why he came to see me?"

"I don't know," Lyra shook her head.

But then she seemed to remember something and added:

"However, when Priestess Nannick received us, he seemed to mention May Festival. Could it be related to that festival?"

"Ah!" Ianna exclaimed, slapping her forehead. "No wonder! It's May Festival..."

As he spoke.

Ianna glanced at Ailin.

"You go ahead and do what you need to do. I'll just read a book here by myself..." Ailin also stood up, ready to see Ianna off.

Unexpectedly, after a few seconds of contemplation, Ianna patted Ailin on the shoulder and said:

"Come along too, you don't get many opportunities to get to know the Duke."

The Witcher hesitated for a moment, but did not refuse, and followed Ianna out of the icon room.

"Da da da~"

Walking along the corridor.

Footsteps echoed between the pure white marble walls.

"By the way, have you dreamed about that voice again in the last few days?" Ianna asked.

"No," Ailin shook his head, "My meditations every night have gone very well."

"That's fine too." Ianna nodded.

The corridor wasn't long; after exchanging a few words, we arrived at the entrance to the sanctuary.

After descending the pristine white steps, just a few steps away lies a path paved with colorful pebbles.

There is a very clear dividing line between the stairs and the path.

Previously, Ailin had also shown abnormalities here.

He had been staying in the sanctuary for the past few days, with Lyra bringing him all three meals a day, so he was feeling a bit uncertain.

I subconsciously slowed down.

"Good child, it's alright." Ianna stopped too. "I just checked, and the evil mark in your body has disappeared."

Ailin nodded and took a step forward.

"Tap tap~"

Two leather boots stepped onto the Gravel Path.

Nothing happened.

Not only did nothing unusual happen, but even the feeling of spiritual burden that I had when I first stepped in and out was gone.

There is no difference between taking one step before and taking one step after.

"Phew~"

The Witcher immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Ianna stared intently at Ailin's face for a few seconds, making sure there was nothing amiss.

She squinted and patted Ailin's shoulder kindly:

"Just in case, we still need to stay in the sanctuary for three more days after we get back, understand?"

Ailin nodded.

Even if Ianna wanted to kick him out, he wouldn't leave.

It's not just that the rituals haven't been learned yet.

The fragments of the Gate of Ad-Gase are still being absorbed, and the Mirage Pearl remains dormant.

Although the stagnation in both processes may not necessarily be related to the Gaze of the Great Old One, it is always good to be cautious.

After passing through the garden in front of the sanctuary, the group continued towards the temple gate.

Ianna strolled slowly, like a true old lady taking a walk, without any of the urgency that a duke was waiting for her.

"The Old Duke's name is Mason, the duke of Arland and the prince of Temeria, and also a member of the royal council of King of Temeria Derek of Temuria..."

"By the way... do you know about the Falga's Rebellion?"

Ianna turned her head to look at the Witcher.

The Witcher nodded.

Although I haven't systematically studied the history of the Witcher world.

However, he did spend a considerable amount of time in the library while in Kaer Morhen.

He didn't read many legends like the hero Zatret, which were from a thousand years ago, obscure, and not very useful.

But less than thirty years had passed since the Falga's Rebellion, and he had just finished reading a book by a Niubao scholar called "The Life and Death of Bloody Falga".

Falga was born to King Fridank of Riedania and his first wife, Beatrice, a lower-class girl of Half-elf blood from Kovir.

King Fridank later fell in love with Thro, so Falga and her mother returned to Kovir.

then.

Twenty years later, what happened was a typical drama of the abandoned eldest son rebelling and seeking revenge for the throne.

This brutal drama not only resulted in the deaths of the King, Queen, and two princes of Riedania, but also unexpectedly escalated into a large-scale and out-of-control peasant uprising.

Covir and the Kingdom of Poviss, the Henfors Alliance, Riedania, Temeria, and Kedwen...

Almost the entire Northern Continent was engulfed in flames of war.

Temeria was the country that suffered the most damage during the Falga's Rebellion, apart from its origin country, Riedania.

"Good, then we don't need to start from the beginning." Ianna nodded in satisfaction.

"During the Falga's Rebellion, the Old Duke commanded the most elite cavalry under King Gedymar of King of Temeria..."

"Because of his meritorious service in battle and his impartiality, he was known as the ' Iron-Blooded Knight ' and was a typical military aristocrat."

"So..."

Ianna turned her head to look at Ailin:

"You don't need to worry that just because he's a high-ranking nobleman and has his own sorcerer advisor, the Old Duke and Ben Ade have some kind of conflict of interest..."

"On the contrary..."

"Because of the many rumors about Falga, that the bloodthirsty demon king only developed his ambitions because of the male wizard's instigation..."

"He murdered his father, mother, and brother in his quest for the inheritance, and even imprisoned the Old Duke's brother and sister-in-law, driving him mad..."

"Therefore, the Old Duke had a great aversion to male witches."

"He was also the first Sorceress from Aretuza to be hired as a sorcerer advisor on the Northern Continent..."

Ailin understood.

The Old Duke of Arland belongs to the School of the Wolf's forces that can be won over.

Or rather, most of the nobles in Temeria who had experienced the Falga's Rebellion should belong to a faction that could be won over.

"Splash splash~"

Cross the exquisite stone bridge built over the waterfall and let the noisy sound of the water gradually fade away.

Ianna glanced at Ailin's pensive face, and after he had thought it through, she continued:

"Don't you think the Wild Hunt is a threat and want to deal with them?"

"Perhaps the Old Duke can offer you some assistance..."

"Of course, that will have to be after this commission is completed..."

Task?

Ailin caught the key words.

"What mission?" he asked.

Ianna said, "May Festival is a festival that celebrates the ancient cycle of natural rebirth and is also a sacrifice to the Tree God and the Grain God."

"There is a grand procession that will circle around several grain-growing villages around Arland and pass through the outer edge of the wilderness forest..."

"Therefore, some rituals to drive away monsters and beasts need to be set up along the way..."

The Witcher was taken aback.

In this world overrun by monsters, are tens of thousands of people parading and reveling in the wild?

They even had to pass through the deepest and densest jungles where monsters hid...

What kind of food delivery behavior is this?

Even with rituals to drive away monsters and beasts, it's not foolproof, is it?

Ianna saw through Ailin's thoughts and shook her head, saying:

"This is necessary, and..."

"This is also a ceremony..."

Ailin paused for a moment upon hearing this, and turned his head to ask for more details, but was interrupted by Ianna raising her hand.

"That's the Old Duke up ahead..." Lyra whispered a reminder.

While the Witcher was pondering, the three of them had unknowingly reached the entrance of the temple.

People come and go in a constant stream of people, seeking prayers, healing, and childbirth.

An elderly man with gray hair, but a straight back, leans on a cane as if he were holding a sharp sword.

They stood with their backs to them outside the temple.

It remained completely still.

"Priestess Nannick had been invited to wait for you in the church, but he refused each time."

Lyra seemed worried that Ianna might have a bad opinion of the priest who was in charge of welcoming the Old Duke, so she quickly offered an explanation.

"It's alright," Ianna waved her hand. "That old fogey always narrowly believes that Ms. Meritellie is a goddess to women, not men..."

"He wouldn't come into a place like this, a place only women would frequent..."

Um?

A place only women go to?

Should I leave?

Ailin felt slightly uncomfortable.

His and Vesemir's initial assessment was correct; there were indeed some unspoken rules in Arland.

"It's a place only women come to, that's what this old fogey himself said," Ianna noticed the problem in her words, glanced at Ailin, and added, "The lady is not just a goddess to women, but the mother of all life."

Ailin gave a dry laugh but did not answer.

After walking a few more steps, the Witcher saw Nannick.

"Duke Mason, you're getting on in years, please come in and have a seat..."

The Old Duke remained motionless and silent.

Like a statue guarding a temple.

This was the first time in so many days that Ailin had seen Nannick look so helpless.

After a few more words of persuasion, Nannick looked up helplessly, and when he suddenly saw Ianna, Ailin seemed to see her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"High Priest!" she cried.

At that moment, the statue leaning on a cane at the temple entrance also moved.

It was an old face, deeply lined with wrinkles and signs of aging.

Even his hair was silvery-white and half-bald.

However, his angular features and prominent nose suggest that the Old Duke must have been quite handsome in his youth.

"You old fogey, I've said it countless times: Lady Meritele is the mother of all things, not just a goddess of women..."

Ianna sounded like she was complaining.

The Old Duke gave a soft hum.

But only after the High Priest finished complaining did he utter a sound that seemed to come out of his nose, "Let's go!"

Throughout the entire process, he didn't even glance at Ailin and Lyra beside the High Priest.

However, Ianna would naturally not overlook Ailin.

She gently patted the Witcher's right arm and looked at the Old Duke: "This is Master Ailin of the School of the Wolf; he will be traveling with us as well."

The Old Duke then kept his head still, only glancing at the witcher with his eyes, before seemingly thinking for a moment and asking:

"You are the Blue Death in Ban Ade, the one who won glory for the school."

This is an affirmative sentence, not an interrogative sentence.

Ailin did not reply.

Moreover, although he heard it clearly, the Old Duke did not give him any time to respond.

After nodding to himself, the Old Duke said, "It's fine!"

He turned around and got into a black carriage, even the horses pulling it were shiny black.

Ailin and Lyra were left looking at each other in bewilderment.

"That's just how he is, ignore him, let's go."

Ianna smiled and then led the way into the carriage.

After saying goodbye to Lyra, Ailin followed her.

Although he looked unassuming, a duke was still a duke, and the moment he stepped into the carriage, one could feel the aura of wealth and power.

Not only were the carriage seats spacious, but the cushions were also made of soft black velvet.

There is also a small freezer next to it.

As Ailin entered the carriage, he saw the Old Duke scoop a piece of ice from the small freezer with a silver spoon and put it into a glass of red wine.

Then there was silence.

Silence throughout.

Even though Ianna didn't say anything, it was as if she was already used to it.

The carriage continued until it descended the mountain and arrived at the city gate of Arland.

"Knock knock~"

There was a gentle knock on the carriage door.

"Duke Mason, the Demon Hunters are ready."

An officer wearing black iron armor opened the door and bowed his head to report to Mason.

Through the half-open door, Ailin squinted and saw an army of about fifty men wearing the same black iron armor not far away.

Each person held a strange, long weapon that looked like an ancient axe from a past life.

Moreover, the sharp edges of this strange weapon gleamed with a cold silver light.

It must have been plated with silver.

Moreover, many soldiers seemed to have something resembling a fishing net hanging from their waists.

"Is this the weaponry the nobles use to fight monsters?"

Ailin thought to himself.

Just then, Ailin suddenly felt a gaze sweep over him.

Following my intuition, I looked over and discovered that the gaze belonged to the Old Duke.

"No need!" he said, glancing at Ianna again.

"Okay, I'll order them to follow right away... Hmm?"

The officer wearing the black iron helmet paused, glancing tentatively at the expressionless Old Duke.

"I said no need, you guys can go back to your units. I'm here..." He glanced at the stunned witcher, then at the smiling High Priest, "With the School of the Wolf's Witcher Master here, he'll take care of my safety..."

"Right, Blue Death?"

Who came up with this ridiculously awkward nickname that makes you want to dig out an Ancient Sea Fortress?

Wrong!!!

Why would a duke so casually entrust his personal safety to him?

Ailin's pair of bright blue Cat Eyes widened in surprise.

"Of course, no problem..." came the smiling Ianna. "Our safety is in your hands, Master Ailin."

"This won't do, Your... Your Grace... This... This is too dangerous!" The officer stammered anxiously as he saw the unusually young face where the Old Duke and the High Priest's eyes met.

However, the Old Duke did not notice his thin lips pursed, his expressionless face fixed on the witcher's eyes.

The words that Ailin was about to say in refusal were cut off.

He stared at the Grand Duke for a few seconds, then glanced at the smiling High Priest, and immediately relaxed, nodding slightly.

"Of course, no problem. I will protect your safety."

A fleeting glimmer of admiration flashed across the Old Duke's solemn black pupils.

"No...no...do you know what you're saying?" the officer glared at the young witcher.

It looked as if he was about to draw his longsword at his waist and cut this audacious witcher to pieces at any moment.

But the next second...

The Old Duke glanced at the officer indifferently, and the officer lowered his head, not daring to speak again.

"Let's go!" the Old Duke said softly.

"Roll-a-round~"

The carriage moved forward slowly.

The sudden commotion behind the car was indifferently left to the dust.