I'm not a Witcher anymore.

Chapter 139 The path I chose, I will walk it to the end, even if I cry.

The night breeze in Novigrad carried a slight chill, blowing against the torches lining the streets and casting swaying shadows.

When Sieg led Anna and Tama out of the bathhouse, both mother and daughter felt as if they had been transported to another world.

They stood on the stone path, looked up at the starry sky, and took a deep breath of fresh air.

The air of freedom.

Although Dijkstra treated them well, providing them with clean clothes, comfortable rooms, and three meals a day delivered on time, and even maids to help them wash up—they always knew that they were nothing more than caged birds.

That fear of having one's fate controlled by others and being treated like merchandise at any time has never truly dissipated.

And now, they are free.

Anna's eyes reddened.

She thought about everything that had happened these past few days.

Evan.

The man for whom she was willing to abandon her husband, her family, and even make a deal with Lady of the Woods.

She once thought that Evan was her salvation, the only light in her gloomy life.

But reality gave her a resounding slap in the face.

A few days after entering the city, Evan revealed his true nature.

He began frequenting casinos and taverns, losing piece by piece the silverware he had brought from the crow's den.

When Anna tried to dissuade him, he was no longer the gentle, considerate, and eloquent poet, but a volatile, irritable, and foul-mouthed gambler.

"What do you know? I'm about to win back my losses!"

"Shut up, leave me alone!"

"It's all your fault, you two jinxes, making my luck so bad!"

Anna then realized that the Evan she had fallen in love with might never have existed at all.

It was just a mask, a mask carefully crafted to gain her trust.

The real face beneath the mask is that of a cowardly, selfish, greedy, and irresponsible good-for-nothing.

When the silverwares were all gone and debts piled up, Evan made a decision that Anna would never forget.

He sold her and Tamara to human traffickers.

Just like selling two head of livestock, the price is clearly marked: three hundred crowns.

Anna still remembers the scene from that day.

Several burly men with menacing faces barged into their rented dilapidated house and tied her and Tamara up without saying a word.

She struggled, she cried out for help, she screamed Evan's name.

But Evan just stood in the corner, counting the bag of gold coins in his hand, not daring to even look at her.

At that moment, all of Anna's illusions shattered.

Poetry and distant places?

Shit.

There is no such thing as poetry and distant places in this world, only cold reality and ugly human hearts.

She remembered Philip.

Her husband.

Yes, Philip has a bad temper, often gets drunk, and when he's drunk he gets angry, throws things, and yells.

In the 21st century, such a man would be despised, criticized, and condemned by everyone.

But this is not the 21st century.

This is a rotten world, a world rife with war, plague, and monsters, a world where human life is as cheap as grass.

In a world like this, a man like Philip is actually quite good.

He provided Anna with a castle, a group of servants, and a life of comfort and ease.

Compared to Evan, Philip was practically a saint.

Anna deeply regrets her choice.

She abandoned a husband who, despite his flaws, was genuinely devoted to her, to follow a liar who only knew how to talk a good game.

All she wants now is to go back to Crow's Den and Philip.

There was a warm fireplace, three meals a day that she never had to worry about, and a husband who, though short-tempered, at least wouldn't sell her off.

She no longer craves love and romance.

All she wants now is to live.

But the mother and daughter looked at each other and saw the same thought in each other's eyes.

They have nothing left now.

Evan gambled away all his silverware and money, and didn't even have a decent change of clothes.

They were penniless and had no relatives or friends. In this unfamiliar city, they couldn't even find a place to stay.

They wanted to go back to the crow's nest, back to Philip.

But what will they take back?

The journey from Novigrad to Raven's Nest takes you across most of Velen, a region teeming with swamps, forests, and all sorts of dangerous monsters.

Two women, both too weak to even kill a chicken, could not possibly have walked that distance alone.

They need Zig's help.

But what could they offer in exchange for Zieg's help?

Anna took a deep breath and made a difficult decision.

She stepped forward and knelt down in front of Zieg.

"Lord Sieg, please send us back to Crow's Nest."

Tamara also knelt down.

"Sir, I know you have already helped us a lot, and we shouldn't ask you for anything more. But—but we are truly desperate."

She bit her lip, trying to keep her voice steady.

"My father will reward you handsomely for sending us back to Raven's Nest. He is the military commander of Velen, with dozens of men under his command and considerable wealth in the castle. He will give you whatever reward you desire."

Zig reached out and helped the mother and daughter, who were kneeling on the ground, to their feet.

"Get up, you don't need to kneel."

"So you're agreeing?"

A glimmer of hope ignited in Tamara's eyes, tears welling up in them.

Anna also looked at Zieg.

Those eyes were full of pleading.

Zieg did not answer immediately.

His gaze fell on the back of Anna's hand.

The dark red mark had faded considerably and no longer exuded the unsettling eeriness it did when it was first discovered.

But it still exists.

Like a thin hook, it was firmly attached to Anna's fate.

"I can't agree to that."

Anna's face drained of color instantly.

Tamara was also stunned.

Why?

"Because Philip can't protect you."

Zieg pointed expressionlessly to the back of Anna's hand.

"You haven't forgotten about this, have you?"

Anna put her hands behind her back in alarm.

Tamara's face gradually turned pale.

"As long as this mark remains, the old witch will be able to find you the moment you set foot on Velen soil again."

"Even if Philip sent dozens of men to guard you day and night, it wouldn't make a difference."

"You should know this better than I do, after all, they once used supernatural powers to help you and Evan take such a large silver chest from the castle."

Anna felt as if the sky had fallen.

Her legs gave way, and she collapsed in despair onto the cold stone pavement.

"No—no—" She covered her face, her voice filled with regret and despair.

Tamara gripped her mother's hand tightly.

"What about my mother? Will she never be able to come home again?"

Zieg did not offer her any false comfort.

"If there's no way to remove this mark, yes."

Tamara's tears welled up instantly.

Anna stood frozen in place, as if she had even forgotten to cry.

She had thought she had escaped from Evan's nightmare.

If we can get back to Philip, everything can start over.

But Zig's words told her that the crow's nest was not a place for her either.