When Korin stood before Vera and had only just finished a simple self-introduction, then mentioned Allen's current condition…
"What?!!"
"You're saying Allen is gravely injured?"
A piercing, shrill scream with extremely strong penetration immediately echoed along the old road, startling the birds on the treetops into flight.
Korin followed the direction of the scream.
The one shouting wasn't Vera, but the two women—no, girls—behind her, who clearly looked the same age yet weren't standing together, separated by several men.
They seemed to have just gone through a difficult journey, their entire bodies revealing exhaustion that was impossible to hide.
But even dust, mud, and sweat could not conceal their outstanding beauty—like sunlight striking gold buried in sand, making it shine even brighter.
No matter how unwilling he was, Korin had no choice but to admit that the two girls possessed beauty surpassing his beloved Visenna.
Female mages.
There was no doubt—they were female mages like Vera and Visenna.
'And they both liked Allen…' Korin thought.
"Where is he?" Vera asked expressionlessly.
Korin quickly pointed behind him, at the oak tree not far from the old road: "Right under that oak tree…"
Before he could finish speaking—
Korin felt a gust of wind blow past him. Vera's figure vanished from where she stood.
The two girls also staggered as they rushed past him, pushing each other as they ran. Travelers along the old road hastily cleared a path for them.
"Sorry," Korin had just regained his senses when a witcher with dark-golden cat eyes walked up to him with an apologetic smile. "They're just very worried about Allen. Right—forgot to introduce myself. I'm Vesemir, Vesemir of the Wolf School. This is Danthe, Jerome Moreau, Vilgefortz, and Lady Ida. Could you tell us how you encountered Allen?"
Vilgefortz, Danthe, Jerome Moreau, and Ida Emean also gathered around at this moment.
Korin glanced around in surprise, then nodded. "Of course."
-----------------------------------
On the other side—
While Korin was describing how they had encountered Allen, Vera had already reached, at her fastest speed, the lush oak tree that must have been at least thirty years old.
But she did not see her child.
What she saw was a woman dressed in a brown blouse, gray cloak, dog-fur boots, and unadorned short hair… a female mage dressed like a tomboy, standing beneath the shade of the oak.
She recognized this person—Visenna, mistress of the Mayena Druid Circle, a member of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers' Middle Council.
But Vera's gaze only stayed on Visenna for an instant before shifting past her, falling into the deep shade behind her.
In the shade, on a roughly woven stretcher, layers upon layers of white bandages completely wrapped around a person.
Two crystal-clear message birds perched on the wooden pole beside the stretcher, gently pecking at the person's hand.
But the person did not move at all—like a corpse whose soul had been taken by Death.
Allen!
Vera's heart instantly skipped a beat. Her vision darkened, and she swayed as she raised a hand to her forehead. Fortunately, Visenna noticed and quickly supported her so she didn't fall.
"Lady Vera, are you alright?"
"He… he…" Vera felt her throat unbearably dry, as if flames were burning inside. For a moment she couldn't form a sentence—perhaps she was afraid. Afraid that if she asked, she would hear an answer she couldn't bear.
"He is Allen," Visenna followed her gaze and immediately realized the misunderstanding. She quickly explained, "Allen's injuries are indeed very severe, but they have already stabilized."
"He still cannot speak for now, but his consciousness has returned. You can communicate with him using telepathy."
Telepathy… Hearing that Allen was awake and stable, Vera quickly expanded her senses. After hearing the faint but steady breathing, she finally calmed her frantic heart.
"Thank you."
Vera drew a deep breath, gave Visenna a stiff smile, patted her arm, and stepped out of her support.
Without time to say more, Vera walked several steps closer to the stretcher and crouched down.
Allen's breathing became clearer—but weaker than the flame of a candle nearly burned out in Kaer Morhen's cold corridors.
That stabbing weakness made Vera feel as though her own heart was being pierced with steel needles.
Snap.
She took another deep breath and snapped her fingers.
[Vera…]
When Allen's weak yet clear voice appeared in her mind, it was as though a string snapped instantly.
Hot tears spilled silently from the female mage's eyes, large droplets falling onto the wooden pole of the stretcher, splashing into tiny bursts before seeping into the soil or the gray linen.
[Vera, could you please open a portal and send Visenna and Korin back to the Mayena Druid Circle?]
[They have urgent matters and need to return. I already promised them…]
He had been awake too long, and after reviewing the gains from rescuing Hen Gedymdeith and eliminating the Wild Hunt squad, he had drained the last of his mental and magical energy sending out the message bird…
Exhaustion stacked layer upon layer, almost crushing Allen's mind, making him unable even to open his eyes.
The moment telepathy connected and he recognized Vera's familiar mental frequency, he immediately explained the promise he'd made to Visenna and Korin.
But after finishing, there was no response in the telepathic link—only silence.
[Ve…]
Allen forced a bit more clarity into his mind through the heavy exhaustion and called out a syllable.
The warm, damp scent of oranges mixed with cardamom drifted into his nose, and the "pat pat" of rain falling filled his ears.
Vera was crying.
The telepathic fluctuations became sharply clear—guilt surging like a vast ocean, drowning the witcher in an instant.
Yes—guilt.
Not sorrow, not heartache, but guilt and regret filling every corner of the telepathic frequency.
Allen paused, then softened his tone.
[Vera, this was my own choice. I chose to leave Kaer Morhen. You forgot—you once tried to persuade me not to. I didn't listen. So this injury… I brought it upon myself. It has nothing to do with you.]
Vera did not respond.
But the damp, warm scent of orange mixed with cardamom grew stronger and stronger.
The sound of rain hitting the ground by her ears also quickened in frequency.
He forced his eyes open. Dirty red hair hung down in front of him, casting a heavy shadow that hid the sorceress's face.
Only large, transparent drops of tears fell, fell, and kept falling…
Allen was at a loss. He had never seen Vera like this.
[How can you say it has nothing to do with me, Allen?]
Vera replied. Her cool voice trembled and choked. [I was the one who gave birth to you, then abandoned you, letting you endure year after year of winters in the ancient Sea Fortress that split your hands open from the cold… letting you drink the bone-melting, flesh-corroding herbal decoctions… letting you walk this damned path of a witcher…]
[…Of course this day would come… I knew it long ago… no… you've already lived through it…]
[…Back in Ellander… I heard from Ianna… you fell from the back of a royal griffin and crashed hard onto the rock of Mahakam, the exposed skin covered in countless blister burns…]
[…Ianna and the medics and priests of Melitele fought to save you for an entire night before they rescued you…]
[…But since I wasn't there, after listening to Ianna, I shamefully forgot about it…]
[Ianna told me to remind you to be careful, but…]
[You're a witcher… you're the witcher who was sent by me to Kaer Morhen to undergo the trials…]
[Vera, this time it was just an accident…] Allen called out, but his voice was drowned out by Vera's chaotic thoughts.
[…Witchers always circle between injury, serious injury, and minor injury…]
[Vera!] Allen couldn't help but call again.
Vera seemed not to hear him, still muttering: [Just like this time—your injuries are far worse than the last. And as long as you're still a witcher, still doing a witcher's work, you will get hurt again sooner or later… just like your father… until he gets crippled… until he dies…]
[Mom!] Allen amplified the mental pulse.
Vera's thoughts fell silent at once.
[I'm really fine. This time really was just an accident.] Allen said softly.
[I'm very sleepy now. I can't hold on much longer. There are still many things I need to arrange…]
[Sorry. Go on…] Vera's voice was cautious and careful.
[First is Visenna and Korin. Send them to the Circle of Mayena Druids. If they invite us to stay, then there's no need to hurry back to Kaer Morhen.]
[Alright.]
[My injuries seem too severe this time, but Full Moon (after taking it, increases maximum vitality) and Swallow (accelerates vitality regeneration; during intense movement, regeneration pauses for two seconds) should help me recover quickly. I've taught Mary—she can…]
[She's here. She's behind us.]
Mary is here… Allen froze for a moment, then continued: [There's another potion called White Raffard's Decoction (instantly restores a certain percentage of vitality). It isn't hard to make. The formula is one bottle of dwarven spirit, two Ribleaf, and four Nekker heart. The brewing process is: first heat the dwarven spirit… then squeeze out the blood from the Nekker heart… then the Ribleaf… The completed potion should be pure white with a faint golden sheen under sunlight. If not, then wait until I wake up next time…]
[I remember it, Allen.]
[Did Vilgefortz succeed?]
[Tissaia is already treating Hen Gedymdeith. Vilgefortz has also arrived.]
[That's good… that's good…] Confirming that his injuries hadn't been for nothing, Allen could no longer suppress the drowsiness. In a haze, he asked one last question: [I have nothing more to ask. Do you?]
Vera remained silent for a long time. Finally, her mental pulse trembled, and she pleaded in a humble whisper: [Allen… could you call me… "mom"… one more time?]
—
"Mom?"
Visenna froze where she stood, stunned.
She looked from Allen, lying on the ground, to the woman known across the land as the cruel and merciless "Crimson Fox."
A storm raged through her mind.
She hadn't meant to eavesdrop.
It was just that when Vera was casting telepathy, she seemed distracted and accidentally included her, who was not far away, within the range of the spell.
She hadn't cared much at first, and even felt grateful that Allen's first thought was to return to the Mayena Druid Circle.
She never expected that what followed would become stranger and stranger.
Mother Nature above…
The "Crimson Fox," the legendary sorceress who killed without blinking, was actually crying right in front of her—crying like a woman who had just lost her child.
And that child truly seemed to be Vera's child.
Not only that…
[…As long as you're still a witcher, still doing a witcher's work, you'll eventually get hurt again, just like your father—injured again and again, until you get crippled, until you die…]
Vera's grief-stricken mental waves had shaken Visenna herself so hard that she almost failed to hide her presence inside the telepathy.
Allen was actually the child of a sorceress and a witcher.
Wait!
The witcher closest to Vera… without question, was the Wolf School's grandmaster, the dragonslayer Sol.
So Allen was the child of the Crimson Fox and the dragonslayer!
"No wonder… no wonder the witcher Korin talked about is so strong…" Visenna thought to herself. "But for a sorceress to have offspring is already extremely difficult. If chaos magic has completely corroded the womb, it is absolutely impossible. And witchers… have witchers ever had a child?"
Visenna was lost in thought.
"Lady Visenna?"
Vera's call snapped Visenna out of her daze, making her shiver violently.
She found me?!!
Visenna stiffly turned her head and saw Vera looking at her with worry. Aside from her slightly reddened eyes, there was no sign she had been crying her heart out moments earlier.
"Lady Visenna, thank you for treating and caring for Allen these past few days. I… the Wolf School will remember the kindness of you and the Mayena Druid Circle…"
She must think I drifted off because I was tired from treating Allen these days… good… as long as she didn't realize I overheard anything… otherwise I'd probably be silenced… Visenna kept a serious face and waved her hand. "Just call me Visenna, Lady Vera."
"Witchers' contributions to humankind are well known. As fellow children of nature, we should help each other. Members of the Mayena Druid Circle have also been saved by witchers of the Wolf School before."
"It's not the same." Vera shook her head, but didn't explain further, because Mary and Francesca Findabair had already arrived.
"Mentor / Lady Vera, Allen… is Allen all right?"
Upon seeing Allen on the ground, Mary and Francesca Findabair gasped in shock and immediately wanted to rush over, but Vera raised a hand expressionlessly to stop them.
"Allen is fine. He's asleep…"
With Vera blocking them, Mary and Francesca Findabair could only stop. Tears brimmed in their eyes as they looked at Allen, then glared at each other.
In the end, both of their gazes fell on the message birds beside the stretcher, watching as Vera crouched down and gathered the two message birds.
At that moment—
Korin also arrived, leading the others over.
.........
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