Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 183 Princess Paveta and the Price Issue

As the messenger finished speaking, a strong, dark-skinned, richly dressed Skellige with a hooked nose was the first to enter the banquet hall.

This Skellige man, who looks like a sailor, is none other than King Esther Tursek, the current king of the Skellige Islands.

Following behind him were several young men in their twenties and thirties, all children of various lords in Skellige. Wayne spotted Dandelion immediately.

Upon entering the banquet hall, the dark-skinned king, accompanied by his young men, approached Queen Calanthe, who was speaking with two witchers, without any ceremony.

Queen Calanther, who had just been looking fierce and seemingly about to erupt in anger, stopped haggling with the two witchers after the king entered the banquet hall. She pointed directly to the two seats beside her and said through gritted teeth in a low voice:

"Come sit down, Witcher. We'll talk about our employment later."

Upon hearing this, Wayne, not wanting Geralt to be too stubborn, immediately pulled him to sit in one of the two seats next to the Queen.

However, in order not to affect the development of this matter concerning Geralt's fate, he gave up the seat next to the Queen to Geralt, preparing to be a spectator who could check for any omissions or errors.

Soon, King Esther Turseck arrived before Queen Calanther. He first politely led the Skellige lads behind him to bow to the beautiful queen, and then his gaze unconsciously fell on Geralt and Wayne beside the queen.

The king from Skellige had been pursuing Queen Calanthe for many years, and the two were close friends for many years. The Kingdom of Sintra owed its strength to its important ally, the Skellige Islands.

Seeing Geralt sitting close to the woman he loved, King East, true to Skellige's straightforward nature, asked directly:

"Kalanser, who is this white-haired nobleman beside you? I don't recognize him."

Because this matter concerned her daughter's fate, Calanther didn't want to involve too many people, nor did she want to offend her allies because of the marriage her deceased husband had arranged for her daughter ahead of time. She simply smiled somewhat reluctantly, looked at King East with gentle eyes, and said:

"This is Lavix from Horn City, he is my honored guest."

Seeing that King East's expression was somewhat off, Calanther quickly changed the subject and said softly:

"You must be tired from your journey, East. Are those the Skellige talents following behind you, the ones who are here to propose marriage?"

King East looked at Geralt with a slightly provocative gaze, like a male bear challenging for a mate. He also paid little attention to Wayne, who was handsome and looked like a young boy beside Geralt, whom he mistook for a suitor of the princess.

In response to the Queen's question, King East replied with a hint of pride:

"Yes, Calanther, the lads behind me are all brave and skilled warriors, the best sailors and captains. They are not afraid to challenge anyone in order to marry Princess Pavita."

As King Ister introduced them, the young Skelliges following behind him bowed very respectfully to Queen Calanther, and then bravely boasted to the queen about their past achievements, hoping to win Calanther's favor and marry the princess of Cintra.

The most conspicuous among them was Kratz Ann Clayt, a strong and powerful man with red hair and the title of the brave sea boar. He was the nephew of the current King of East, the heir to the Clayt family, and the most qualified to be a marriage partner among this group of young people from Skellige.

The young people who attended this marriage selection banquet were well aware that, in addition to choosing a suitable husband for Princess Pavita, the most important reason for the banquet was to win over allies and consolidate the status of the Kingdom of Sintra through a political marriage.

And these young people from Skellige are the best choice.

However, while Skellige was Sintra's most steadfast ally, he was not the only option. After the young men introduced themselves, many more nobles from other places soon arrived at the banquet hall.

For example, Prince Windham of Atreus, the three sons of the great noble Lord Streep, and other noble scions from the Sintra vassal states were all contenders in this princess's selection process.

For the nobles of these vassal states, marrying the princess of Sintra and ascending the throne of Sintra was like a serf rising from the ashes, instantly becoming the master of their own destiny.

With the arrival of these people, the banquet officially began. King East had no time to inquire about Geralt's identity and could only lead the young people from Skellige back to their seats to enjoy the banquet.

As the banquet began, Dandelion immediately became excited. As a bard, he loved nothing more than being surrounded by nobles.

By performing beautiful and memorable poems in such settings, one can quickly spread their fame and increase their popularity.

This time, however, he encountered several fellow bards, two named Dugga and Dreig Podeu, who also attended the banquet. One played the flute and the other the harmonica, and their songs were quite beautiful. Together, they were even better than the monotonous lute, which pleased the nobles attending the banquet.

Just as Dandelion was trying to salvage the situation with his poetry, a baron named Ellenbert stepped forward. This baron, nicknamed "Kogata," was a vassal of the Sintra royal family and was very skilled at imitating the sounds of various animals. With his quick wit and eloquence, he soon made everyone at the banquet laugh heartily with his performance.

While the banquet guests were captivated by the bards' performance, Queen Calanthe continued her conversation with Geralt, presumably about whether the Witcher should obey the King's orders.

Unfortunately, although Queen Calanthe was both beautiful and dignified, she was facing the unyielding Geralt. The renowned White Wolf firmly believed that he was neither an assassin nor a mercenary, and that it was impossible to subdue him to the nobility through money and power.

Queen Calanthe, however, believed that as the employer of the Witcher, she should act in the best interests of her employer. She argued that the so-called Witcher principles did not exist, and that every principle had a price. She chose not to follow them simply because the price offered by her employer was not high enough.

Wayne listened from the side and found it quite amusing.

Unfortunately, in the end, Queen Calanthe prevailed in their discussion. She used a combination of threats and pleas to get Geralt to promise that he would ensure the alliance between Cintra and Skellige was successfully formed at the banquet, rather than being disrupted by some unexpected event.

After all, for both Queen Calanther and the people of the Kingdom of Cintra, only by maintaining a close alliance with the Skellige Islands could they guarantee their status and power among the northern kingdoms and prevent their country from falling into war and turmoil due to weakened strength.

Faced with a matter concerning the safety of the people, Geralt of Rivia still chose to yield.

Wayne didn't have much of an opinion on this. The master-level mission he received from Geralt wasn't to ensure anyone's safety or kill anyone, but simply to help Geralt keep the banquet running smoothly.

This was a very vague but easy task to accomplish. In short, as long as Wayne's performance satisfied Geralt after the banquet, his task would be complete.

As Geralt and Queen Calanthe concluded their conversation, the atmosphere of the banquet gradually reached its climax.

The nobleman, Baron Kokota, who had drunk quite a bit, suddenly stood up from his seat and started arguing with Queen Calanthe:

"Your Majesty, the banquet has been going on for some time now. Shall we invite the star of this banquet, our beautiful Paveta, to make her appearance?"

"We have long heard of the beauty of the Sintra princess."

As the baron spoke, both the straightforward Skellige nobles and the princes of the vassal states joined in the commotion.

After all, while attending the banquet was interesting, their main purpose for this trip was to win Princess Paveta's favor and become the King of Sintra. No one was not looking forward to seeing this young and beautiful princess.

Faced with the uproar from everyone at the banquet, Queen Calanther first glared at the leading Baron Kokota, then had no choice but to stand up to maintain order, and called out to the palace steward behind her:

"Go and fetch Princess Paveta, and tell her that the guests are getting impatient."

Then, Queen Calanthe smiled and said to the guests at the banquet:

"Distinguished guests, please be patient. My daughter is rather shy, and she wants to present herself in the best possible light to all of you outstanding suitors. Please wait a moment."

It can only be said that Queen Calanther, who has seen the world, calmed everyone down with just a few words. Her loyal suitor, King East, also immediately stopped the young people of Skellige from making a fuss, and the scene instantly returned to its previous joyful state.

A few minutes later, the banquet hall fell silent after the royal steward announced the news. All the guests turned to look at the stairs, their eyes filled with anticipation.

Soon, a beautiful young woman came down the stairs, supported by a maid.

Her light gray long hair was tied into two braids that hung down to her waist. She wore a silver-blue dress with a gold chain belt. She had fair skin, a petite figure, and an extremely beautiful face. Under everyone's gaze, her cheeks even had a slight blush.

Princess Pavetta's appearance immediately drew admiration from everyone present; she was truly a beautiful princess.

Under Queen Calanthe's special arrangement, the maids escorted the princess down the stairs and to a seat between Duggar and Ister, at a table closest to the young Skellige, below the throne.

Clearly, Queen Calanthe also hoped that her daughter would choose a young man from Skellige for a marriage alliance.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were fixed on her beautiful daughter, Queen Carmine said to Geralt with a hint of pride:

"I must reiterate that your mission this time is to ensure that Sintra and Skellige form an alliance, and to achieve this goal despite all difficulties, for the good of all the people of Sintra."

Geralt paused for a few seconds after hearing this, then looked at the queen, who had always appeared very assertive, and asked in return:

"Ensure all of this? Isn't Your Majesty's own will enough to ensure the smooth progress of this matter?"

Queen Calanthe's expression was very complicated upon hearing this, and she spoke in a less-than-confident voice:

"The situation may change, and even my wishes may not be able to guarantee that things will go smoothly."

Geralt was immediately surprised upon hearing this, because at present, in the entire Kingdom of Cintra, Queen Calanthe's orders were absolute, and even the Council of Nobles could not contend with the Queen's prestige.

So he asked curiously:

"Your Majesty, what is it that can overcome your will?"

Upon hearing Geralt's question, and realizing the situation had reached a critical juncture, Queen Calanthe no longer concealed anything. She looked at Geralt, then at Wayne, who had remained silent, merely drinking and eating, and finally uttered a single word with a complex expression.

"destiny."

Upon hearing this word, Geralt couldn't help but laugh. He hadn't expected to hear it from the Queen.

To defy a destiny stronger than the will of the royal family, this commission seemed impossible to complete. As the child of destiny, born because of destiny, Geralt respected destiny more than anyone else, and even feared it to some extent.

Seeing Geralt's complex expression, Queen Calanthe immediately composed herself, feigning indifference, and said:

"It is precisely because this task is extremely difficult that I have gone to great lengths to invite you, the famous Geralt of Rivia, to solve this problem."

"You should know my reputation. As long as you can help me complete this task, any request you make will be fulfilled."

Geralt considered for a long time after hearing this, and then looked at Wayne beside him. If he was a little unsure of himself, he had followed Yennefer's advice and called on Wayne, a powerful junior. With the strength of the two of them, they should be able to solve any problem, unless it was particularly outrageous.

Geralt then looked at Queen Calanthe, nodded, and agreed to fight against so-called fate with her, ensuring a successful alliance between Cintra and Skellige.

However, perhaps neither of them realized it, but the Queen and Geralt's conversation had gone on long enough that many nobles had already noticed them and were watching them intentionally or unintentionally, even whispering and discussing the relationship between the Queen and Geralt.

This enraged King East, who had been pursuing Queen Calanthe. However, he restrained himself from lashing out because of Princess Pavita sitting next to him. Nevertheless, his fierce eyes remained fixed on Geralt, who sat beside the queen, as if he might stand up at any moment and teach him a lesson.

However, as the banquet atmosphere grew, the people became increasingly congenial, drinking fine wine and eating delicious food. The bards loudly sang their poems, the musicians played cheerful songs, and the young people of Skellige, caught up in the drinking, began to sing off-key songs and chat about the various amusing incidents that had occurred during their robberies in other countries.

Seeing that Geralt and Queen Calanthe had reached an agreement, Wayne bypassed Geralt and quietly asked the Queen for her permission:

"Your Majesty, since Geralt is on standby here, why don't I go to Princess Paveta and protect her safety?"

Queen Calanther frowned upon hearing this, but considering her daughter's condition, she quickly made a decision and said to Wayne:

"Your name is Wayne, right, young man?"

"Go, protect my daughter, and don't let any suspicious people near her."

(End of this chapter)