Chapter 649: A Father's Love Is Like A Mountain

When Geralt met both Princesses of Cintra again, the first Northern War [1] between the Nilfgaardian Empire [2] and the Northern Kingdoms were almost over.

The Nilfgaardian had described the wars between the Nilfgaardian Empire and the Northern Kingdoms from their point of view –

“The responsibility for the first war’s outbreak (1263-1264) lay entirely in the hands of the Temerian Special Forces. Intercepted documents from Temeria had clearly shown that they were intending to annex Cintra and were moving to Cintra’s direction. They had dealt a brazen blow to the Empire, thus interrupting the Empire’s balance of power. The Empire could only pre-empt the Temerians’ destructive actions by moving its forces into Cintra and establishing order there, thereby safeguarding peace over its region. Unfortunately, the Northern Kingdoms, as always headstrong and narrow-minded, chose war over peace.

In the course of this conflict, the Northern Kingdoms’ forces committed unforgivable atrocities. As a result, the Nilfgaardian retaliated first with the Battle of the Marnadal Valley and subsequently, the Cintrian Incident. Our Imperial Majesty, Emhyr var Emreis had given the Cintrian court a letter of sympathies. In it, he hoped that such horrors would never be repeated again.

The Nilfgaardian considered the situation in the North to have stabilized as Cintra was taken by them. However, the Northern Kingdoms continued fighting them, bringing the battle to a heated peak with its central clash near Sodden. This was depicted as the turning point of the war by Nordling propaganda. In reality, this had zero political significance at all. Afterwards, a peace accord was signed between both empires, thus rendering Cintra a vassal of the Nilfgaard Empire forever.”

Interestingly, the Northern Kingdom’s scholars had another kind of view –

“The War with Nilfgaard first happened in 1263 – its immediate cause was the clear act of aggression by the Nilfgaardian army against Cintra. The Nilfgaardian forces had crossed the Amell Mountains as the first act of aggression. Then, they attacked Cintra’s southern border posts near the Erlenwald forest. There were unproven claims of Emhyr var Emreis as having a special attachment for this place – its truth, however, remain unknown. What was certain was that he had staked an unfounded claim on the control over Cintra long ago.

The final battle of the conflict took place in the Marnadal Valley. Over there, Cintra’s forces were surrounded and slaughtered by the Nilfgaardian army which was led by the royal couple. King Eist Tuirseach fell in the battle. Queen Calanthe, along with the survivors sought shelter in the capital. However, no one was found there. The city was destroyed, its population decimated, while Queen Calanthe took her own life. She preferred to die in her own hands rather than surrender to the invaders.

The war then shifted to Upper Sodden. Here, acts of terror and heinous cruelty were committed. Historians collectively agreed that the Imperial Army’s heinous acts had propelled the North to victory during the Second Battle of Sodden. The heinous acts had left the northern forces with only two remaining options: they were to either win the war or to die with their families. However, it did not matter as they were still defeated by the seemingly invincible and strong Nilfgaardian army. In 1264, a peace accord was signed by both forces. In it, the control of Cintra was given to the empire, making it the most northern province of Nilfgaard.”

After Geralt learned of the ‘Massacre of Cintra’, he had set out to find Cirilla immediately. Obviously, he had to find the girl he liked more as well, which was Olivia. Finding Cirilla was more like a kind of responsibility. Olivia was a special case. The small little Princess of Cintra had left a deep impression on him.

In the end, God helps those who help themselves. In other words, it could be said that the ‘Law of Surprise’ was extremely powerful. This time, Geralt no longer hesitated. He decided to bring Cirilla and Olivia to Kaer Morhen [1].

Geralt would not stop beating himself up. He should have taken the sisters when he saw them at Brokilon. They did not have to suffer such misfortune if he had done so.

Cirilla would never tell Geralt about how brutal their lives were after one entire year of escaping. In reality, as long as her sister was with her, she could take anything…

Cirilla’s big sister aura became more pronounced. In order to protect her little sister, she became more reserved. She was even eager to become more powerful. Therefore, she would rather follow Geralt than become a merchant’s daughter. She hoped that she could learn some great swordsmanship from this legendary witcher. It would give her the power to protect her sister all the more.

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However, Olivia was well-versed about ‘the kid who cried gets to drink milk.’ She told every detail of her experiences to Geralt and his good friend, Dandelion. She made them as melodramatic as she possibly could. If this wasn’t a tearjerker, nothing would be!

Dandelion slammed his chest with a resolute fist and expressed his desire to write two epic masterpieces titled – “Pearl of the Northern Kingdoms” and “Cintra’s Cub,” based on the experiences of Olivia and Cirilla.

Dandelion was a talented poet, minstrel and bard, a graduate of Oxenfurt University, a frequent performer of the Royal Palace, an unrivaled lover, a womanizer adored by ladies worldwide, a seasoned negotiator and a skilled orator” – This is the image of Dandelion which was often seen in stories that were spread by people.

He was one of Geralt’s closest friends. He was a tireless blabbermouth, a clown, and a good-for-nothing. However, as long as he was willing, he could turn into a charming aristocrat in an instant. His passion and talents, however, always got him into trouble. This had troubled the white wolf into saving his ass many times over.

When Dandelion saw the popular and beautiful ‘Pearl of the Northern Kingdoms,’ Her Royal Highness Princess Olivia, he started to habitually hit on her. Apparently, he did not care if she was just 13 years old.

In reality, because she was a westerner, this 13 years old teenage girl was actually very tall and slim. Furthermore, Olivia, who had experienced so many hardships was even more charming.

However, Geralt spoke to Dandelion that night. He could woo whichever chick he wanted, but he could never hit on his daughters!

That was right. Geralt had already decided to adopt the girls who were orphaned princesses of a ruined state. He wanted to bring them to Kaer Morhen.

Dandelion, a good friend of Geralt, was rather obedient. He would not move on Olivia – he simply found her… intriguing…

As for Cirilla, her entire body emitted an aura that said ‘stay away.’ She would only reveal her smile in front of her own sister.

When Geralt heard about Olivia’s stories, his heart ached. The white wolf had become a loyal dog. During the trip to Kaer Morhen, Geralt meticulously took care of the sisters’ well-being. As the saying goes, a father’s love is like a mountain.

Geralt, destined to be childless, had treated the girls as his own daughters. Perhaps many years later, he would dream of how he got along with the girls when they were young. That might be the content of the game’s tutorial for new players.

Olivia had a knack of pressing the right buttons on different people. As Cirilla remained cold and put-off, Olivia had already changed Geralt’s title from ‘White Wolf Old Man’ to ‘White Wolf Daddy.’ Still, he was actually old enough to be their great-grandaddy…

Translation note:

[1] Kaer Morhen (凯尔·莫罕) is an old keep where witchers used to be trained. The name is a corruption of the Elder Speech name of Caer a’Muirehen, which means “Old Sea Keep,” so named for the presence of fossilized sea creatures embedded in the stones on which it was built.