Mary's Desire

Evening.

The alchemy room in the east tower.

A quill pen danced in the air.

Its tail feather was ink-black, appearing at first glance to be from the tip of a crow's wing.

But ordinary crow feathers were clearly not this long, and each barb was so straight and uniform.

Upon closer inspection, the tips of these barbs seemed to shimmer with starlight.

Luxurious and mysterious.

The stage for this pen was an old book, its pages dry and yellowed.

This book also floated in the air, responding to the quill pen, dancing along.

Such a magnificent "dance" was a pleasure to behold.

Unfortunately, neither of the two people in the room was paying attention to this splendid performance.

"Vesemir, does Mary often 'sleep' like this... Is she alright?"

The chief of the School of the Wolf glanced at the girl "sound asleep" on the table and couldn't help but ask.

"She'll be fine," the sorceress seemed dispirited. She glanced at Mary and explained, "This is good for her. It will improve her resistance to sleep and mind-affecting spells."

"Is this how you sorceresses improve your strength?" Soyer couldn't help but ask.

He and Vesemir had known each other since childhood.

At the age of 8, Vesemir was taken away by a sorcerer.

He, however, at the age of 10, filled with passion and disregarding all advice, embarked on his own path to glory.

When they met again, they were both in their thirties or forties, each having made a name for themselves.

After knowing each other for hundreds of years, Soyer realized for the first time that despite their close relationship, he seemed to have never truly understood Vesemir's apprenticeship.

"We aren't that close."

"Besides, there's nothing much to say about my apprenticeship."

Soyer didn't care about Vesemir's mind-reading.

He had lived his life openly, never doing anything he couldn't speak of.

Moreover, the one reading his mind was his beloved.

After ten years apart, he wished he could present all the longing and affection he had accumulated over the years to her, completely and truly.

He only hoped she would read enough, read deeply enough.

Snap

The quill pen's dance ended, and the old book closed.

The sorceress took the slowly descending experimental log and sighed.

She had read his thoughts, but unfortunately...

"Soyer, we can't go back to the past."

"Ever since I made the wrong choice back then, my life seems to have been submerged in a whirlpool of guilt and remorse."

The Witcher instinctively took two steps closer, wanting to argue:

"Vesemir, you know it wasn't our fault, and Ailin is living well now..."

"He's not living well..." the sorceress interrupted the Witcher, repeating, "Soyer, he's not living well..."

"Even without mind-reading, I can feel his fear."

"Soyer, he's scared..."

"What pains me most is that this isn't the end of Ailin's suffering. His life is destined to be surrounded by blood and fire."

Vesemir's pupils trembled at the vision of Ailin's future in the prophecy.

The Witcher wanted to approach her, to hold her, to warm her...

But the sorceress, having reacted, took a step back and dodged him.

Seeing the Witcher's action, her expression instantly turned cold.

"The experimental log for the Witcher's Eye."

The yellowed notebook flew towards the Witcher.

The sorceress crossed her arms and said coldly:

"I'm leaving. You can go."

The Witcher opened his mouth, about to say something.

Snap

A snap of fingers.

The alchemy room door opened.

Soyer clutched the forged experimental records, cast a disappointed glance at the expressionless sorceress, and then walked out of the alchemy room.

"Wait."

The sorceress's voice came from behind him. The Witcher's heart instantly lifted, and he turned to look, thinking their relationship had taken a turn.

To his surprise, the sorceress's expression hadn't changed at all. "Take good care of Ailin, or you know the consequences."

"Don't worry, he's my child too." The Witcher nodded seriously, promising. After tidying up his low spirits a bit, he left the alchemy room.

After returning from a hunt with Vesemir, Ailin went to the alchemy room to pick up dinner.

On the way to the south tower, he still thought he might see the sorceress again.

After knocking on the alchemy room door, he regretfully found that the sorceress had just opened a portal and left a few minutes before his arrival.

"Witcher apprentice, what exactly is your relationship with Lady Vesemir?"

"How did you win her favor?"

Mary, carrying a water pouch, had curiosity written all over the pink bump on her forehead.

She had been studying magic under Lady Vesemir for five or six years.

Beautiful, cold, decisive...

Many adjectives could describe Lady Vesemir, but gentle and selfless were not among them.

Before coming to Kaer Morhen, the girl Mary had never seen Lady Vesemir teach.

Even Mary herself, the most outstanding and promising sorceress apprentice chosen by Lady Vesemir from the Aretuza Sorceress Academy, had never taken a class with Vesemir.

After the sorceress took her on as an apprentice, she only gave Mary a reading list and told her to study on her own.

Of course, the knowledge itself was precious, and many of the books were only available from Lady Vesemir.

Mary was initially content.

Until she met Ailin.

If the sorceress could have taught her a class like she taught Ailin, Mary would have been so happy she would have laughed in her dreams.

But that cold, beautiful, and learned Lady Vesemir had actually lectured Ailin, the Witcher apprentice, on alchemy for ten whole days.

Unbelievable, incomprehensible.

"An investor and the invested?"

Ailin asked back, somewhat uncertainly.

He naturally wouldn't tell Mary about the Child of Miracle.

As for how to win her favor?

Ailin thought for a moment and realized he had never made any moves to appease her.

The sorceress's kindness had always been spontaneous.

"It seems you don't know either." Mary unconsciously rubbed her forehead and sighed.

So, how could one possibly gain Lady Vesemir's favor?

At least ask Lady Vesemir to give her a heads-up when casting the sleep spell, so she could be prepared!

After a few days, Mary felt like her skull was being deformed.

Perhaps it was because of that School of the Wolf chief? Mary thought.

Then she handed the water pouch to the Witcher apprentice.

Taking the water pouch, Ailin thanked the absent-minded Mary and left the alchemy room.

Back in the apprentice dormitory, Ailin, as usual, guided the apprentices on the application of Signs.

However, with something weighing on his mind, Ailin was somewhat distracted.

To improve hunting efficiency, it was necessary to reduce the time spent searching for Drowners.

Ailin had already obtained a method for this.

[Name: Drowner Whistle]

[Type: Lure Flute]

[Function: Blowing the Drowner Whistle emits a whistle sound that attracts Drowners.]

[Note: Witcher + Drowner Whistle = ?]

A Witcher plus a Drowner Whistle naturally equaled slaughter.

But this was something he got from opening a treasure chest, and he had to avoid Vesemir...

"Must avoid Vesemir... avoid Ves..."

A faint glimmer of inspiration flashed through him, and Ailin seemed to have grasped something, muttering the words thoughtfully.

No!

Why did he have to avoid Vesemir?

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