The Witcher: Lord of the Empire

All the candles in the room were lit, and the fireplace was filled with firewood, but the warmth brought no comfort to the three in the room.

Olgierd took a swig of liquor, and the table behind him was littered with empty bottles. He didn't seem to care about the rudeness of his behavior.

Iris's father didn't seem worried either, or perhaps he was pleased to see Olgierd behave in such a manner in front of his daughter. For him, it would soon be over, and the character of the man in front of him would soon have nothing to do with him.

The old man read aloud the contract in his hands: "... In addition, both families must treat Iris with respect, listen to her advice and demands, and...

Olgierd staggered, leaning on the table. Although he had drunk a lot, he was not drunk, just impatient. "Just get to the point, 'Dad'. I'm running out of patience."

Iris looked at the man in front of her sadly, and couldn't help covering her mouth and turning away, as if she didn't want to see the next scene.

The old man glanced at Olgierd coldly. "I am happy to do so."

"At Iris's request, I declare this marriage-end!"

The old man put away the contract in his hand and blocked Olgierd's sight of his daughter. "You are unlearned, shameless, and even almost killed Iris. You deserve it!"

Olgierd turned a deaf ear to the accusations of his father-in-law. He didn't care what other people said. He just looked at his wife. "You once swore to stay by my side until the day when death separates us."

There was no sadness in his voice, only an accusation that his wife had broken the contract and the oath.

Iris was dressed in a familiar manner: a simple black dress, with dark shadows on her eyes. She looked like she had cried, as her makeup had run. "I kept my promise, but the Olgierd I knew is gone."

"Breaking a promise isn't easy, believe me." Olgierd stood up suddenly and shouted to his wife: "I won't let you go, you have to stay here, and you are never allowed to leave!"

"Enough!" Iris's father was furious. "You are not qualified to order my daughter."

The old man of noble descent was furious with the defiant attitude of Olgierd, whom he had never considered anything more than a ruined nobleman.

But what happened next was beyond his expectations. Olgierd was much angrier than Iris's father. With a sudden movement, he grabbed the old man by the clothes and threw him out as if he were a sack of flour.

With a loud thud, the old man's head collided with a marble column, followed by the crisp sound of bones breaking. Iris's father's eyes widened, then his expression froze, and he slowly collapsed to the ground, making no more noise.

"Father!"

The development of things was beyond Iris's expectations. She collapsed to the ground, covering her face and crying.

Olgierd poured himself another glass of wine and shouted: "Come on, drag this corpse out and feed him to the wild beasts!"

...

The love story has gradually become darker since that incident. The couple in the mansion is very different from the happy appearance that Lann and others saw when they first entered the dream in the painting.

With Olgierd's call in the memory image, a dense black fog formed, quickly taking the shape of three four-legged monsters.

"These black shadows... look like ghouls."

The monsters were unable to stop the six witchers, who tore them to pieces in a matter of seconds.

Then, about five steps away, the black mist condensed again. Before the witchers could take a combat stance, a black cat and dog appeared.

Kiyan raised his chin. “You’ve been away for a while.”

The black cat ignored Kiyan’s words and looked at the still memory of Iris. “By this point, Olgierd had practically lost his humanity.”

The black dog added: "The only thing he had was love for his wife."

The black cat, for the first time, contradicted the black dog. “No, he only remembered that he should continue to love his wife. There was no true love left in his heart.”

The witchers shook their heads. Although they had seen a lot, this level of marital drama was an eye-opener.

The illusory path in front of them solidified. As they climbed the stairs, everyone came to the last reflection of memory, according to the black cat and dog.

The timeline of this memory is very close to the present. Everyone even saw the caretaker who was killed by them in the room.

The black cat said: "This was the last conversation between Iris and Olgierd, and we were there at the time."

The black dog nodded. "We are also part of the memory."

The black cat and dog faded away and then materialized at Iris's feet, which was the position they had originally occupied in the memory.

It seemed to be a dining scene in front of them. Iris was sitting at the dining table, and there was only her tableware on the table. In the distance, the caretaker acted as if he were holding something, but his hands were empty.

They soon found three bowls in the room. One of them fit perfectly in the caretaker's hands, while the other two were placed in front of the black cat and dog, as instructed.

"You eat with this bowl?" Kiyan teased. “I thought you were beings from another world, not animals that eat normally.”

"Of course not!" For the first time, the black cat's tone showed emotional fluctuations. It looked at its bowl and the caretaker not far away with disdain. "We are not animals! It's just that the caretaker is always nosy and will put the bowls out to make the dining process more 'atmospheric'."

Everyone nodded in understanding. Recalling the scene when they first entered the manor, they beat up the caretaker enthusiastically, and the black cat and the black dog were watching not far away.

After the three bowls were placed, the memory in front of them moved again.

...

"You summoned new monsters again? Please stop, these two guys are enough to annoy me."

Iris complained, but her tone didn't fluctuate at all. Her voice was light and ethereal, evoking the song of a deceased nightingale, in contrast to the joy she had displayed earlier at the edge of the garden fountain.

Facing his wife's reproach, Olgierd turned to look at the silent caretaker, who was holding a dinner prepared for Iris.

“The cat and the dog keep you company, while the caretaker is in charge of protecting you and maintaining the house. No matter what happens, he will never leave.”

In the past, Iris used to paint while describing to Olgierd the future she imagined, including her wish to have a cat and a dog. Now Olgierd had fulfilled his wife's wish. But all this only made Iris feel sadder. "I always wanted to know what you think, because I think I can help you..." She stood up, slowly approached her former husband, and looked into his eyes. "But now I don't care what you think, or how you feel."

Olgierd’s face showed no emotion, his eyes mirroring the image of his wife, without a trace of feeling. “No… I don’t feel anything.”

Iris lowered her head. "I don't know if I still hate you now... Go away, Olgierd, leave my sight, and never come back."

This was the last sentence Iris said to Olgierd.

Olgierd looked at his wife deeply, turned and left, and this scene of memory was frozen at this moment.

...

"Olgierd left us to accompany the mistress." Black Dog said, looking at the scene in front of him. "But he didn't realize that we could never replace him."

The black cat jumped onto the table and looked at Iris in the memory image. "So now every scene she recalls has the shadow of Olgierd."

The black cat and the black dog looked back at Lann and his party, their figures turned into mist, and then condensed at a door not far away.

"Come here, our journey is almost over. Here is Iris's greatest fear."

Passing through the door and down a small hallway, they came to the foyer of the mansion. It was brightly lit, with all the candles lit. The fireplace was burning brightly.

In the center of the hall was a small round table. And Lann found two letters written by Olgierd to Iris.

One of them seemed to be a love letter before the two got married.

[My love:

I miss you all the time. I want us to drink in the Alchemy Inn until dawn, and you use the sawdust on the floor to draw the house of our dreams; I want us to sit on the dock and play with our feet in the water, and you sing funny songs that make me laugh; I kissed the badge and fell asleep hugging your portrait, so that I can still see you when I open my eyes, as if you are by my side.

Please don't give up. There is still a week before your wedding with the Ofir people. I will find a way. Maybe I will have collected enough money to pay off the debt by then, or my tears will soften your father's heart, or the gods will hear our prayers and send down miracles. If the gods don't hear it, maybe the devil will respond.

If there is no other way, I will break the window of the temple and kidnap you from the wedding. Let's escape to a distant country together, to the edge of the world, and no one can find us.

I swear to the heavens: We will be together forever.

I love you!

...always yours, Olgierd.]

The other letter was left by Olgierd when he left the estate.

[Iris:

I really hope I can use language as skillfully as using weapons, especially now that my heart has become a cold hole.

I saw the way you looked at me and witnessed your withering process. I can't help you, but I think I can reduce the damage it causes you.

This letter and this rose are my farewell. I hope that in the future you will only remember the good times we had.

...Olgierd.]

Two small sheets of paper, with the same handwriting, but with a regrettable contrast.

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