Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1674 1646. Meeting
The royal butler, looking cautious and proud, came to lead the way for them.

"Are you sure it is necessary to bring your pet to the meeting, Your Excellency the Duke?"

The royal butler looked at the ball of flannel at Lan's feet and asked in a soft voice with some hesitation.

"It would seem very frivolous."

"Pet?" The fluffy ball took a step forward, put his hands on his hips, straightened his chest, and glared at the butler, "I'm not a pet! I'm a follower cat, meow!"

Kovel's royal butler was a man who had seen the world. When he saw the kitten talking, he just raised his eyebrows and then bowed slightly to the ball of fluff to apologize.

"If I have caused any misunderstanding about your identity, please allow me to apologize." He then turned to Lan En to confirm, "So this little cat man? Is he your follower? Please rest assured, there is a lounge for the entourage in the palace."

What I mean is that it is not recommended to bring flannel balls in.

Lan En nodded to the calico cat, then turned to the butler and said, "Then I'll trouble you to take care of it."

"As we should." The butler bowed in response, then stretched out his hand behind him to lead the way.

After entering the palace, there was another flight of stairs and climb. Lan could hear Dijkstra cursing in a low voice, his voice almost as soft as the flapping of mosquito wings because he was afraid that the butler and servants around him would hear it.

But it was very noticeable in Lan's ears.

It was a rainy day outside and it was dark inside the palace. Through a door, a row of servants holding candles provided light.

The butler led them through a big door. The guards at the door were holding halberds and had serious expressions, as if they had a halberd stuck in their buttocks.

Then came another row of footmen and candles.

The candlelight was a little dazzling to Dijkstra's eyes. Lan En looked at such a lavish ceremony, but showed more and more interest.

When they entered the last room, Dijkstra stopped in surprise and bowed quickly.

Lan En showed an expression that was not expected and bowed as well.

"Welcome, Dijkstra, and the hero of the north, Duke Lann."

The king of Kovir, Povis, Narok, Vilhard, and Tager, Esterad Thyssen, said.

At the same time, he stood up from the chair he was sitting on and responded to the etiquette.

"Please don't stand at the door. Come closer. This is not a formal reception. You know, I used the name of the Foreign Secretary."

"Your Majesty, the King and the Queen."

The two people who entered the room greeted each other formally, and Queen Zelika nodded in response, never stopping her crocheting.

There was no one else in the room except the King and Queen.

Istrade noticed the glances from Lan and Dijkstra. "I just want to apologize individually. It's the four of us who should talk privately. I think that's best."

"If this is a private conversation," Lan En looked around and didn't find a suitable chair for him, so he said, "then I would be disrespectful to refuse?"

"Of course, please do."

Istrada nodded frequently, as if he really appreciated Lan's casualness.

Dijkstra had already sat down in the chair opposite him, while Lan walked to a wine table, poured himself a glass of Bovis' famous blackberry wine, and stood there casually with the glass in one hand.

The King of Kovir wears an ermine neckerchief, a crimson cape, and a velvet hat. He is tall, strong, and ridiculously handsome (well, in the normal sense of the word).

He has the temperament of a sailor who has just landed from the sea, strong and full of energy. It is difficult to tell his age just by his appearance.

He looks to be in his forties, but actually he must be fifty-six.

"Look, Zelica." The king moved closer to his wife, but his eyes were fixed on the witcher. "If you didn't know in advance, could you believe that there would be such a face and such a person in the world?"

"When he first came in, I thought the whole room suddenly lit up."

Zelika was short and slightly plump, with a plain appearance that made people feel sorry for her. She was dressed like an ordinary citizen woman, wearing a loose gray dress and a gray soft hat on her head that was probably left by her grandmother. She had no jewelry or makeup.

"The Book of Lebioda says," she said softly, "that we should be careful when judging our neighbors, because they will judge us too, and it is especially wrong to judge people by their appearance."

The king cast a gentle look at the queen. It was no secret that he loved her. In the twenty-nine years of marriage, this love had not diminished in the slightest. Istrad had never betrayed their marriage.

This outrageous and almost absurd rumor was nothing special to Dijkstra.

Because this was the objective result after he sent women to test three times. Dijkstra chose to respect the objective reality.

He was now curled up in his chair and kept silent, as if he wanted to reduce the presence of his fat body to the same level as an ant. He was a spy chief, and if he could observe other people's conversations silently and unnoticed, he could get a lot of valuable information from them. This was his specialty.

He was happy that the other party was only paying attention to the dazzling demon hunter at this stage.

But the king obviously did not let him have his way.

"I know that you are here as a guest." Istrade turned his gaze away from Lan and looked at the spy chief. "And you, Dijkstra, are the lobbyist."

"I came to see you directly because I know you don't shy away from using bribery to achieve your goals. You will definitely meet me in the end, so why not I meet you directly?"

"Come on, tell me the truth. I believe in the integrity of my officials, but why should I expose them to such great temptation and trial? How much bribe do you intend to pay to get my foreign minister to bring you to me?"

"One thousand Novigrad crowns." The spy didn't even blink. "If we bargain, the bottom line is fifteen thousand."

After a moment of silence.

"That's why I like you," the king said with emotion, "You are just a damn bastard, but you remind me of my younger self."

Dijkstra bowed in thanks as if he had been praised.

"You are a damned bastard," the king repeated, frowning, "but a decent and honest bastard. That is a precious quality in these contemptuous and twisted times."

"Look, Dijkstra. In every country you can find idealistic fanatics. They are so obsessed with their ideal social order that they will do anything to achieve it. Including crimes that sound heinous."

"According to them, as long as the purpose is right, the means are arbitrary. They believe that when they kill people, they are not killing, but maintaining order. When they torture people, they are not torturing, but protecting the interests of the country."

"As long as an individual violates their social norms, then this individual becomes insignificant. But they forget that the social order they want to build is made up of individuals and serves these individuals."

"They really have a 'broad vision', don't they?"

The king looked at Dijkstra meaningfully.

The spy merely revealed the source of the quote: "This is a famous quote from Nigdim de Bute."

"Close, but still a little short." The king smiled, revealing his white teeth. "It's Vysogota of Corvo. You can read him. I hope his books haven't been burned in your country?"

Dijkstra remained silent, but Lan, who was standing by the table, seemed to be interested.

He smiled, the glass of blackberry wine close to his lips but not touching it.

This highlighted the shape of his smiling lips, and the beauty of the picture made others involuntarily move their eyes over there.

"But if we really treat the will and rights of each individual as equal, then it means that no one has the power to manage or interfere with anyone else. Then the society we are familiar with and connected will naturally fall apart, conflict, and collapse."

"After all, we all know that we have achieved the state of 'natural freedom' where people do not interfere with each other and enjoy themselves, but that was a thing of the primitive age. Is there anyone who can accept going back to the primitive age?"

Lan En narrated calmly. Of course, his question was not answered.

"It seems," he concluded, "the cooperation, confrontation, and balance between individual will and collective will may be a topic that needs to be discussed forever."

“There is no loss or win. We can’t lose or win, but as long as we continue to explore, we are maintaining a dynamic balance.”

The king leaned forward from his chair, as if he wanted to take a closer look at the witcher, and Queen Zelica also stopped crocheting for the first time.

"Insightful and profound insights, Duke Lann. This really breaks my superficial impression of you." Istrade nodded solemnly and turned to look at the queen.

"The Holy Book contains wisdom, 'Judging people by appearance is particularly inappropriate'. I am thinking of compiling a record of the meeting afterwards."

"It is said in the Holy Book," the queen quoted the prophet Lebioda again, "If you want to go far, you must always take the first step first."

"That's right, Zelica." Istrade nodded. "I have to take care of the present first."

"Let's get back to the point. You, Dijkstra. You are what I mean by that: the kind of person who would scheme, murder, kidnap, extort, and torture without blinking an eye."

"Yes, everything you did was for the kingdom you served so faithfully, but that doesn't excuse you at all, nor does it earn you my sympathy. Not at all, and you know it."

Dijkstra nodded calmly.

"But you are just like I said," Istrade curled his lips in a somewhat awkward manner, "a bastard with integrity. So I admire and respect you and meet you here. Because of you, Dijkstra, you have countless opportunities to easily become a wealthy person."

"But you have never done anything to enrich yourself in your life. You have not taken a crown or a penny from the Redanian treasury."

"Look, when it comes to this, someone like you actually blushes with shyness? It's really strange!"

(End of this chapter)