Chapter 302: Have You Seen Kaer Trolde at 3 AM?
The patriarch's words revitalized the atmosphere at the feast.
Perhaps in an attempt to forget the previous unpleasantness, the noise from many people seemed overly exaggerated, as if it were a deliberate act.
"Madman" Lugos also sat down obediently, no longer saying anything, just drinking heavily.
Lynn, on the other hand, acted as if nothing had happened, continuing to drink and eat meat, showing no sign of awkwardness or any other unusual expression.
After the feast, Lynn first went for a good, long bath, then returned to the guest room the patriarch had prepared for him.
But he didn't lie down to rest. Instead, he sat on the bed and entered a state of meditation.
When the time approached 3 a.m., he opened his eyes, got out of bed, took his swords, and pushed open the door to go outside.
Outside, the night was as dark as ink and completely silent, with only the occasional crackle from the torches used for lighting.
Besides the guards on duty and patrol, everyone else had long since gone to sleep.
Even without a potion, a witcher's night vision was much stronger than an ordinary person's.
Using the cover of night, Lynn came to the outside of the Jarl's Longhouse without startling anyone.
The Jarl's Longhouse was both the council hall and the lord's residence.
There were, of course, guards on duty outside the Jarl's Longhouse.
However, these two guards, like most humans of this era, suffered from night blindness.
They couldn't see the witcher who was hiding outside the range of the torchlight.
It was only when Lynn stepped into the area illuminated by the firelight that they discovered someone was there.
The two guards instinctively took a combat stance, but after getting a clear look at Lynn's distinctive cat-like eyes, the two swords on his back, and his Wolf School armor, they relaxed.
"Master Lynn, why aren't you resting at this late hour? Is something wrong?"
"Lord Lugos asked me to come to him at this time. There's an important matter to discuss."
The two guards exchanged glances, both seeing the other's helplessness.
"Well... Master Lynn, at this hour, the lord has probably already gone to bed, and he didn't inform us that someone would be coming."
These two guards weren't worried that Lynn would assassinate "One-Eyed" Lugos.
If Lynn's purpose in clearing the haunted castle for the Drummond Family was to make "One-Eyed" Lugos lower his guard, that would be a huge overreaction.
The two guards were actually worried about disturbing the lord's rest.
Lynn was now an honored guest of the Drummond Family and a famous person within the family, so the lord would naturally not take his anger out on him.
So, wouldn't they...
Just as the two guards were hesitating whether to take the risk of angering the lord by going in to announce Lynn, "One-Eyed" Lugos's voice came from inside the longhouse.
"Who's outside?"
The guards hurriedly reported, "Please forgive us, my lord, it's Master Lynn who has come to visit late at night."
"So it's Master Lynn. In that case, let the master in."
The guards breathed a sigh of relief.
"Please come in, Master."
Lynn nodded and entered the Jarl's Longhouse.
In the pitch-black longhouse, only a few candles were lit. The light was faint, and most of the room was in darkness. Only the area around where "One-Eyed" Lugos was sitting was illuminated by candlelight.
"One-Eyed" Lugos had taken off his armor and was wearing a robe, sitting in his seat.
He asked in a strange tone.
"Master Lynn, what's the matter that you've come to see me so late?"
Lynn said playfully, "Didn't Lord Lugos ask me to come to you at this time?"
"When did I say that?"
"At the feast in the courtyard, you patted my shoulder three times. Didn't that mean for me to come at 3 a.m.?"
"One-Eyed" Lugos smiled.
"Master Lynn not only has the strength of Hemdall but also the wisdom of the goddess Freya. If the master hadn't repeatedly stated the witcher's neutral code, I would have truly wanted the master to become a vassal of the Drummond Family."
"What do you say, Master? Although the master once told me, 'One-Eyed' Lugos, that witchers never get involved in politics, there is an old saying in the Skellige Isles:"
"It says that a tree cannot change its environment, but a man, if he changes his environment, might have a better future."
"I think this old saying is very true. What does the master think?"
"If the master is willing, I can cede a portion of the land in the southeast of Thorn Flower Castle to the master as your fiefdom."
"This way, not only the master but also the witchers of your school will no longer have to live a life of sleeping out in the open. What do you think, Master?"
"One-Eyed" Lugos felt that he had shown enough sincerity.
You have to know that on the Continent, witchers were treated almost like lepers. People would avoid them if they could, and even nobles would only treat witchers as tools.
It was nothing like himself, who was willing to give land to a witcher.
Of course, he admitted that it was impossible to give all the land in the southeast of Thorn Flower Castle to the other party.
But he would at least give the other party enough land to build a few villages.
With this land, it wouldn't be a problem to support a few witchers.
Faced with the goodwill offered by "One-Eyed" Lugos, if Lynn didn't have the grand plan of "making witchers great again" in his heart, he might have really agreed.
Although the land in the Skellige Isles was relatively barren, it was still a fiefdom.
If a witcher stayed on the Isles, they wouldn't be discriminated against because of their eye color. Instead, they could gain hero-like treatment by showing their bravery.
"One-Eyed" Lugos's idea was very good, and if it were another witcher, they might have agreed.
But Lynn's goal was not limited to being a small village chief on the Isles.
So, no thanks.
Thus, Lynn used a subtle but firm tone to refuse "One-Eyed" Lugos's goodwill.
"One-Eyed" Lugos wasn't angry about being rejected repeatedly.
He had long known that even a lord couldn't get everything he wanted.
This patriarch of the Drummond Family understood this principle.
Next, he began to ask about the possibility of reconciling with the an Craite Family, hoping that Lynn could help him analyze it.
Although he had never met Cerys of the an Craite Family in person, he had heard of her reputation. She was said to be a rising star of the an Craite Family, who had managed to completely subdue the vassals of the an Craite Family at a young age.
Therefore, "One-Eyed" Lugos felt that if he extended an olive branch, the other party should not refuse.
But the Drummond Family were outsiders after all—although when the Drummond Family arrived, the an Craite Family was too short on manpower and money to rule the entire island, and thus allowed the southern part of Ard Skellig to be desolate, Ard Skellig was originally their ancestral land.
If they didn't make some concessions and solve this problem once and for all, without leaving any hidden dangers,
Otherwise, the two families might still have conflicts in the future.
And that was exactly what was bothering "One-Eyed" Lugos.
Concessions, how many concessions were appropriate?
(End of this chapter)
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