The Witcher: Lord of the Empire

After laughing, Olgierd turned to the Wild Ones who had claimed to be himself and scolded them: "How disrespectful! How can you treat an earl like this?"

Someone in the Wild Ones shouted in dissatisfaction: "Chief! He brought so many soldiers, he must be here to encircle us, we should take the initiative!"

Olgierd showed no concern, either for the cries of his people or for Lann's threat.

He turned to Lann and said: "Whether we end up facing each other or sharing a drink, it's not appropriate to talk here. How about we go to the mansion and see my collection?"

Lann looked at the Wild Ones and then at the mansion, which although old, was well kept, and asked: "This manor is not yours, right?"

Olgierd nodded without reservation. "The owner committed suicide because he couldn't pay his debts. The servants tried to run off with the money, so I killed them and the creditors too. The manor is mine now. All my men are outside, so it'll just be you and me inside. Do you dare come in, Earl Lannister?"

House stepped forward, seemingly wanting to dissuade him, but Lann waved his hand. "Stay alert and wait for me to come out."

The Wild Ones put away their weapons and made way for the two men, then went back to drinking and making merry, as if there was no imminent confrontation with the Cintra riders.

Levin frowned and came forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with House. "These people are strange. Aren't they being a little too trusting?"

House tightly grasped his sword, looked at the two wrestlers who seemed to be squeezing out the last bit of strength, and nodded in agreement. "They don't seem to take their lives seriously."

...

Inside the mansion, there was broken glass and shards of pottery everywhere, chairs and sofas with broken legs. Lann saw yellow papers with drawings of toads pinned to the walls, surrounded by knives and daggers.

Although the place was originally well decorated, the Wild Ones were clearly not good at keeping things in good condition.

"Have you studied art? Lannister, I would like to invite you to appreciate the sculptures and paintings here with me."

Without waiting for a response, Olgierd took Lann into the collections room and showed him a sculpture that could not be described in words.

"Valuable sculptures are usually of a few types: gods, kings and female nudes. And this one, a nude nymph, should theoretically be one of the most valuable."

"This is one of the reasons why the owner of this mansion is in debt. He used to spend almost all his fortune on it, hoping that its value would increase. But the author suddenly became infamous, which led to his work losing value as well."

Olgierd turned his head and looked at Lann. "But I believe that the value of a work of art should not depend only on the fame of the creator. What do you think of it, Lannister?"

Lann looked at the statue in front of him, with its pointed ears, soft long hair, and the breath of lake water and forest vegetation that seemed to be felt just by looking at it.

He shrugged. "It's hard for me to make an objective evaluation, because I just saw the real statue not long ago, and she gave me a sword."

Olgierd showed an interested look when he heard this. "The Griffin Knight of the Lady of the Lake, right? I heard about it, it seems that your life is much more interesting than mine."

The Ataman of the Wild Ones suddenly lost interest. "Without the aura of a famous artist, if we strip the sculpture of its original meaning, it is nothing more than a simple stone, without life or vitality."

Olgierd suddenly exerted force and punched the statue of the Lady of the Lake.

His strength was incredible. The sculpture, vividly lifelike, shattered under his blow, and fragments flew everywhere, hitting him as well.

Despite his great strength, he was still flesh and blood. Lann watched as Olgierd pulled out his fist, swollen and bleeding from the sharp corners of the stones, almost staining his sleeve red.

But Olgierd didn't seem to feel anything. Unconcerned, he took a silk cloth that covered the sculpture to protect it from dust and wiped his fist.

In the blink of an eye, his injured fist had completely recovered, leaving only a few barely visible scars.

He turned to Lann, knocking the rest of the sculpture to the ground with a gesture. "Now, this is how this sculpture can bring me some fun, even if it's just a little."

Lann clapped his hands lightly. "You really have elevated tastes."

"I thought you'd be surprised by my hand first. After all, everyone notices it first." Olgierd said. "But it doesn't matter. Let's talk about business - why did you come to me, Vizimir II finally decided to attack me?"

Lann shook his head, he did not intend to hide his intention. "Vizimir II certainly wants to act against you, but he has not yet decided to kill you. However, my main reason for coming is not for him, but for..."

"Because of me."

Lann's words were suddenly interrupted. In the room, the voice of a third person suddenly appeared.

The silk that Olgierd had thrown out floated slowly, as if it would never touch the ground. And the Wild Ones outside, who were roaring loudly, suddenly fell silent.

The familiar scene presented itself again, only this time it was not face to face, but now there were three people in seemingly stopped time.

Lann and Olgierd turned, and before them stood the same man.

With a close-cropped haircut and the dusty air of a wandering merchant, he entered the collections room with a restrained, polite smile.

"And his body is immortal, an ability I bestowed upon him." The Master Mirror pointed at Olgierd's hand that had instantly recovered and explained to Lann. "If you want this kind of power, I can give it to you later."

Master Mirror put his fingers together on his chest, looking gentle and refined. The other two people in the room had different reactions to his arrival.

Lann said expressionlessly: "I was wondering when you would contact me. At first I thought it would be the first time I arrived in Novigrad."

Olgierd looked disgusted. "Gaunter O'Dimm, have you come again to seek out unfortunate souls, spreading your disgusting rumors?"

After Olgierd finished speaking, he suddenly realized something and turned to look at Lann in surprise. Now he understood the true purpose of Lann's visit, something he had not guessed at first.

"No, no. This time I come to collect a debt. I have sent my agent to fulfill your three wishes, and Lann is the partner I chose this time."

Olgierd's eyes suddenly changed. It was not a warning, but an unspeakable... self-mockery?

"I see, I see. I've heard those rumors, Lannister. Why are you here? For your yellow eyes? For your princess? Or for Cintra's dying breath? Let me tell you something, making a deal with the devil never ends well."

Lann's face was expressionless. "Since you can say such a thing, I believe that with your experience you should understand what it means to be 'helpless'."

The Master Mirror smiled and said: "Don't be like this, Lan, our friendship is purer than a cold deal, you are the most special."

A demon offering deals, a filthy soul trapped by the demon, and an agent of the demon. The three occupied different corners of the room, forming a triangle of latent tension.

Finally, it was Olgierd who broke the silence. He was the first to attack the Master Mirror. "Since you have already chosen a spokesperson, then according to the rules, what happens next has nothing to do with you. Go away, Gaunter O'Dimm, you are not welcome in any space within my sight!"

It was hard to imagine that someone would dare to say something like that in front of the Master Mirror.

Olgierd approached the Master Mirror step by step until he was almost face to face with him.

His gaze did not flinch, and in Lann's eyes, this seemed like an ant trying to move a mountain.

However, the Master Mirror's reaction was surprisingly lenient. Despite his overwhelming power, he glared at Olgierd without a hint of anger.

His gaze was full of deep and difficult to decipher feelings, which little by little permeated his polite and elegant smile.

"Of course, Olgierd, according to the rules, you are right."

"So I'll leave the rest of the time for you two. Behave."

The Master Mirror took two steps back, bowing with his left hand and placing his right hand on his chest, like a courtier before the emperor. His posture was impeccable.

Then, in a manner that Lann and Olgierd could not understand, the Master Mirror vanished from the room as if it had vanished in the blink of an eye.

The silk fell softly to the ground, and the bustle of Olgierd's Wild Ones outside filled the air again.

The world returned to normal.

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