After finishing all the dirty work, Lynn returned to his villa. For the next few days, he rested well, paying no mind to the commotion outside.

He simply tasked the Syndicate with another errand, this time not involving violence, but simply finding out about a person.

The Syndicate was highly efficient; this time, their investigation yielded results even faster than before.

Lynn wrote a letter of visit and had a Syndicate member deliver it to the address they found.

That same evening, an impeccably groomed, refined elderly butler, also carrying a letter of visit, arrived at Lynn's villa.

He respectfully represented his mistress, Countess Mignole. His mistress had reserved a private room at an upscale club in the Upper City and invited Lynn to meet her there the following day at noon.

Lynn accepted the letter, exchanged some necessary noble courtesies, and saw the old butler off.

The next day at noon, he arrived at the upscale club. The old butler from yesterday and two fully armed escorts were standing guard at the club's entrance.

The escorts were about to ask Lynn to surrender his weapons, as per regulations, but the old butler stated that his mistress had permitted the witcher to carry his weapons to meet her. Afterward, the group proceeded to the private room, but only Lynn entered.

Inside the luxuriously decorated private room, an elegantly dressed middle-aged noblewoman stood with her back to the witcher, gazing out the window, a glass of red wine in her hand. She looked to be in her early thirties, still possessing a captivating charm.

The noblewoman first exchanged some polite pleasantries with Lynn, then voiced the doubt in her heart. "Master Witcher, you specifically sent someone to my residence with a letter, requesting a meeting. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Countess, I heard you have a fondness for collecting witcher-related items—swords, armor, medallions... you accept them all. As it happens, I have a steel sword here that I don't currently need."

As he spoke, he unslung a master-grade Wolf School steel sword from his back. This sword had been forged by Berengar using Grandmaster steel sword schematics, but his skill wasn't quite enough, so the resulting sword didn't reach Grandmaster quality.

Still, it was excellent, meeting Master-grade standards. Since the sword would just gather dust at Tansel's smithy anyway, Lynn had simply brought it along.

As he presented the sword, "This sword..."

Mignole drew the steel sword. Her eyes immediately lit up at the sight of the gleaming blade. Although she was neither a witcher nor skilled in swordsmanship, she could still discern the difference between a true treasure and a common item. Of all the witcher artifacts she had collected, not a single one could compare to the sword before her.

But then, a question arose. "Such a fine weapon—you want to sell it to me? Don't you need it yourself?" She knew that weapons were second only to life in importance for witchers, and even more crucial than armor, as weapons wore down more easily. Who, making a living by the sword, could use a single blade for decades?

The Countess looked at Lynn. Then she came to a misunderstanding. She thought he was selling his weapon because he was in need of money. With that thought, she instinctively took out a coin purse and placed it on the table in front of Lynn.

"Keep this sword for yourself. I know how dangerous a witcher's life is. Take this money; it should be enough for you to live on for a while."

"If you encounter any other difficulties in the future, please don't hesitate to come to me."

Countess Mignole's actions completely astonished Lynn. He had tasked the Syndicate with gathering information on her and arranged this meeting not because he was a "sugar baby" seeking handouts, but because she was, in fact, his mentor's...

He wanted to find out if she still harbored feelings for his mentor, as she did in the game. He hadn't expected Countess Mignole to be so generous.

Lynn picked up the coin purse from the table and opened it, glancing inside. It contained at least several dozen crowns. Mentor Vesemir certainly had good taste.

"Countess..." He had intended to say that he wasn't short on money, but before he could finish, Countess Mignole interrupted him.

She offered a gentle, comforting smile. "You don't need to feel embarrassed. Just take it. After all, everyone has their difficult times." She paused, then continued. "If you truly feel awkward, then consider it payment for information."

"Oh? Information?"

"Yes, I... I wish to ask you about someone. Like you, he's also from the School of the Wolf. He has a beard, is somewhat bald, and his name is Vesemir. Do you know him?" The Countess finished, looking at Lynn with anticipation.

"Of course. He's my mentor."

Upon hearing the witcher's affirmative reply, Countess Mignole's face lit up with joy. "Really? Oh, that's wonderful! How is he doing now? Can you tell me?"

"There's no reason not to. He's still living the life of a witcher, just as before, but every winter, he returns to the castle and spends the season with us." As he said this, Lynn feigned ignorance and asked, "Countess, how do you know Mentor Vesemir?"

"That..." The Countess seemed to ponder whether she should tell Lynn. However, she didn't deliberate for long before making a decision. "I've never told anyone about this, but you're his student, so I suppose I should tell you the story."

"It was the winter of 1234. Back then, monsters plagued Oxenfurt—I remember it was a fleder. We posted a bounty notice, and soon a witcher arrived."

Lynn prompted, "Was it Mentor Vesemir?"

"Yes. While tracking the monster, he passed by my manor. We fell in love at first sight. I wrote him a letter and had my governess deliver it to him."

"He came in the dead of night. We spent many nights together, until one day my father heard a sound. Vesemir left in a hurry, leaving behind his armor."

Though Lynn was quite familiar with this story, hearing the actual person recount it firsthand still gave him a feeling of... how to put it?

Only Vesemir.

The Countess didn't look at Lynn's expression. She continued, "That armor became my first collection piece, but it was also the end of our love story. My father issued an arrest warrant, then quickly married me off."

"I was very lucky; my husband died a few years ago, leaving me a large fortune. But I still... live in those memories."

....

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