Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 188 The Thief Cries "Stop Thief!" - No Evidence Left for the Dead

The next morning, when Wayne emerged from his upscale hotel room in Sintra, it was nearly noon.

Upon arriving at the restaurant on the first floor, Geralt and Dandelion were having breakfast around a table by the window.

No matter the time, the poet always seemed so energetic and full of enthusiasm. When Wayne walked towards them, he saw him talking incessantly to Geralt, who had a stern face.

Mr. Wayne yawned, sat down opposite the two men, and waved over the barmaid, a tall, scantily clad, and alluring woman.

Faced with a generous boss like Wayne, the bar girl immediately abandoned the other customers, flirting with him and greeting him with a smile.

"Bring a few bottles of the best fruit mead, and go to the kitchen to make some freshly baked honey bread."

After the pretty barmaid left, Wayne clicked his tongue and asked Dandelion:

"What are you discussing?"

Before Dandelion could answer, Geralt said with a bored expression:

"I don't know where he got the news from, but he said that an important person had gone missing in the Sintra Royal Palace, and a large number of guards rushed here from outside the city this morning. Now the entire palace and city gates are under martial law."

As he spoke, Geralt looked at Wayne's right hand, which was covered in bandages, and asked with concern:

"How is your right hand? Is the bone broken? We owe you a lot for this mission, which allowed us to stop Princess Pavita so quickly."

Wayne casually extended his right hand, showing it to Geralt, and then said:

"It's nothing, don't worry, it's just a minor injury. There's no need for formalities between us. Just like we agreed before, when we carry out the commission together, we'll split the reward in half, haha."

Geralt smiled. He rarely teamed up for missions, but he was secretly relieved that he had Wayne's help this time.

Soon, the tavern girl brought mead and steaming hot honey bread. Wayne took out two gold coins, patted her ample buttocks, and received a few giggles in return.

Dandelion reached for a bottle of mead, skillfully uncorked it, took a swig, and declared confidently:

"I'm not making this up. Remember that Baron of Kokota? The one who publicly contradicted Queen Calanthe. I got the information from him. He's a friend of the royal family and knows a lot of inside information."

Geralt, however, didn't seem to care much. He devoured a honey bread in a few bites, then took a swig of mead, and said to Wayne and Dandelion:

"I'm about to leave Sintra. Yennefer is waiting for me in Novigrad, and winter is coming soon, so I won't be staying in Novigrad for long before I have to go back to Kaer Morhen."

Wayne raised an eyebrow, clinked his glass against Geralt's, and asked:

"Leaving so soon? Aren't you worried about the possibility of an unexpected child?"

Geralt downed the drink in his glass, gave Wayne a meaningful look, and said:

"Fate will arrange everything. I'll come back in six years and see if fate will have mercy on me."

"Besides, according to Dandelion, this place will soon become a troublesome place. I advise you to leave as soon as possible, Wayne."

"This kind of politically charged place is not suitable for us witchers."

After the three of them had a hearty breakfast, Geralt rode off on his steed, Carrot, and left Sintra. Dandelion, however, felt there was still more excitement to be had and disappeared in a flash.

However, Wayne cannot leave yet. As someone who knows how the future plot will unfold, whether out of good intentions or to create obstacles for future enemies, he has something to say to Princess Paveta, who possesses ancient blood.

After all, who knows when he'll return to Sintra after this departure?

Moreover, he doesn't need to wait long or go to their door; it won't be long before someone comes looking for him.

Sure enough, just as he had predicted, in the afternoon, while Wayne was flirting with the barmaid in the lobby, arousing the mature woman, a richly dressed middle-aged man found the hotel.

The middle-aged man looked somewhat anxious, but when he saw Wayne sitting in the first-floor restaurant, his eyes lit up. He quickly walked to Wayne's side, bowed his head, and said respectfully:

"Master Wayne, I wonder if Master Geralt is also with you? Our esteemed Queen Calanthe wishes to invite both of you to the palace now, as there are important matters to discuss."

Wayne looked up at the middle-aged man and realized that he was the palace steward, Harkso, who had led him and Genott to the palace last time.

Queen Calanthe's decision to send a high-ranking official like the palace steward to invite him and Geralt at such a tense moment clearly indicates that she takes it very seriously and is very concerned about the situation.

Seeing the nervous expression on the Harkor manager's face, Wayne shook his head with some regret and said:

"I'm sorry, Master Harkor, my companion Geralt left Sintra before noon. Half a day has passed now, and I doubt you can find him."

Harkso was very disappointed upon hearing this, but as the palace steward, he did not show his disappointment. Instead, he politely bowed slightly to Wayne and said:

"In that case, could you please come with me to the palace now, Master Wayne? This matter is extremely urgent, please forgive me."

Wayne knew exactly what it was about, but he feigned confusion, considered for a few seconds, and then nodded, saying:

"Since the Queen has invited me, I certainly won't refuse. I don't have anything else to do right now, so let's set off."

Having received Wayne's response, Manager Harkso immediately nodded happily and led Wayne the way with a mixture of anxiety and eagerness.

He had already seen just how powerful this seemingly young witcher was at the previous banquet, and now he felt a deep sense of awe towards Wayne.

About ten minutes later, escorted by several guards, the two rode their horses through the streets and into the enormous palace.

This time, however, they did not linger in the Royal Palace. Harkor led Wayne into the palace's backyard and to Queen Calanther's reception room, where several people were already waiting before his arrival.

King Ister, the sea boar Kratz, the great druid Mossak, and Princess Paveta, with slightly red eyes, sitting on the other side, silently shedding tears.

When Wayne entered, everyone except the princess, who was somewhat dazed, nodded slightly to him as a way of greeting him.

After all, everyone who survived the last banquet owed Wayne a favor.

After Wayne politely returned their greetings, he sat down between Kratz and Mossack, and whispered to the Sea Boar:

"What happened, Kratz?"

"Why did the Queen summon us all here?"

The two had drunk together at a banquet, played Gwent, and boasted together. Their relationship was neither too close nor too distant. Moreover, Skellige people are rugged and easy to befriend, especially someone as powerful as Wayne.

The red-haired Kratz first stole a glance at his uncle, then at Princess Paveta opposite him, before chuckling softly and saying to Wayne:

"Donnie, the hedgehog guy, went missing last night."

"This morning, the royal guards searched the entire palace, every corner, but they found no clues whatsoever."

"Nobody knows where that guy went or how he disappeared."

Kratz spoke with great enthusiasm, looking smug. Just as he was about to say something more, he was glared at by King Ister and immediately shut up, though a smile still lingered in his eyes, clearly indicating that the matter pleased him greatly.

Wayne looked surprised, as if he were hearing about it for the first time. He glanced at the expressions of the others and then remained silent, sitting quietly in his seat and waiting.

After a few dozen seconds, Mossack, sitting to his right, suddenly asked:

"Wayne, where's Geralt? Didn't he come with you?"

Wayne shook his head and said:

Geralt has left Sintra.

"You know, he always runs away very fast when he sees trouble."

Mossack nodded with some regret, then closed his eyes, as if entering a meditative state.

A few minutes later, Queen Calanthe, dressed in a magnificent light armor, walked in from outside, looking somewhat weary.

The beautiful queen greeted everyone briefly, then sat down in the main chair, downed a cup of tea in one gulp, and after glancing around at everyone, noticed that Geralt was not there, so she asked Wayne about it.

Upon learning that Geralt had already left, the Queen was slightly disappointed, but quickly composed herself and said directly:

"Ladies and gentlemen, last night, Pavita's fiancé, Doni, mysteriously disappeared. Those incompetent guards found nothing, not a single clue."

"That's why I've invited you all here, to hear your thoughts."

After speaking, Queen Calanthe looked at her daughter Pavita and gestured for her to recount the events of the previous night to everyone present.

Upon hearing her mother's voice, Princess Paveta wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, looked up at everyone, and told them everything she had learned the previous night.

Unfortunately, the princess went to bed early last night, and everything she described was just some trivial matter.

After hearing this, no one had any clues. All they knew was that the princess's fiancé, Doni, had probably disappeared in the study, because there was still a bottle of wine he hadn't finished drinking and a book he had only read halfway through on the table.

The room fell silent for a moment, with no one able to make a reasonable deduction. Queen Calanther's expression grew increasingly agitated. Suddenly, she slammed her hand on the table and asked Archdruid Mossak directly:

"Mossack, I think that being able to make someone disappear from the heavily guarded palace, whether Doni did it willingly or he was kidnapped, is something that no ordinary person could do."

"As the only spellcaster among us, what are your thoughts?"

Upon hearing this, the old druid looked up at the queen, and after a dozen seconds of eye contact, shook his head and said:

"I'm sorry, Calanther, I've already checked that study, but I didn't find any clues, not a trace, as if it had vanished into thin air."

"Moreover, I also used divination magic to predict the future, but the result was far from ideal. Donnie's fate is like a quagmire, full of variables, and I can't see anything."

"However, as you said, it's basically impossible for the average person to do this."

Queen Calanthe was very disappointed, and then looked at her fiancé, King East, and his nephew, Kratz.

Well, these two are both reckless. They might be okay for fighting, but they're definitely useless in a missing person case like this.

Finally, Queen Calanther turned her gaze to Wayne and said with expectation in her voice:

"Wayne, the Witcher, what are your thoughts on this?"

Wayne pretended to think for about ten seconds, then shook his head regretfully and said:

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, you may not know this, but I've only been a Witcher for less than three years. I'm fine with hunting monsters, but handling such complex cases would be quite difficult for me."

Everyone present looked at Wayne with some surprise upon hearing his words. They hadn't expected that the young Witcher who had performed so strongly at yesterday's banquet had only been a Witcher for less than three years. This was quite rare for Witchers who were generally over fifty years old.

Just as Calanther withdrew his gaze somewhat disappointedly, wanting to look for other solutions...

Princess Paveta, sitting opposite the group, suddenly looked up, her eyes brimming with tears, and said to Wayne:

"Mr. Wayne, you must know something. Yesterday at the banquet, you said some strange things to me, and said you would tell me the truth later. Could you please tell me now?"

As soon as the princess said this, everyone's attention turned to Wayne again. This was the first time they had heard of this, and they were all eager to know what the truth was.

Despite the stares of the crowd, Wayne remained calm and, feigning some distress, shook his head and said:

"Your Highness, I originally wanted to confront Mr. Donnie face to face and expose his lies, but later, after Mr. Donnie became your fiancé, I felt that I shouldn't meddle and ruin your relationship."

"But now that Mr. Donnie has disappeared, if I tell the truth, it will only be one side of the story, which will only lead to misunderstandings. So I'm not going to tell you anymore!"

Wayne's seemingly coy and manipulative explanation only infuriated Queen Calanther. She slammed her hand on the table and looked at Wayne, saying:

"Wayne, stop being so fussy, act like a woman."

"At a time like this, whatever the intelligence or news, just speak it out boldly. Whether we believe it or not, it can still provide us with some ideas."

Hearing Queen Calanthe's rather forthright speech, Wayne forced a wry smile, then carefully considered his words before saying:

"Very well, Your Majesty."

"Actually, before I came to Sintra, I met a fellow witcher from the south on the road, and he told me some news."

"More than a decade ago, a coup occurred in the southern kingdom of Nilfgaard. The emperor was killed by a usurper, and Prince Emhyr was cursed by a sorcerer, turning into a monster that looked like a hedgehog."

"hedgehog!"

Everyone gasped in surprise, beginning to speculate about the truth Wayne had revealed.

Wayne nodded, his expression unchanged, and continued:

"My colleague was commissioned by the Emperor of Nilfgaard to find information about this former Nilfgaard prince. According to the information he provided, this former Nilfgaard prince used to live in Irenwald."

"And he also told me something special: that Prince Emhyr has an evil sorcerer working with him, and together they have plotted a chance encounter, an accident, to use King Rogner's unexpected son to lift his curse."

"Therefore, when I met Uchion, who claimed to be from Ulenwald, I realized that Princess Paveta was a pitiful victim of deception."

As he spoke, Wayne looked at the group of people whose expressions had changed, and said with some hesitation:

"But now, my fellow witcher has returned to Nilfgaard, Doni has disappeared, and I don't know who that so-called evil sorcerer is."

"So I think it's better not to tell you news like this, where nothing is certain."

(End of this chapter)