Because everyone was not close to him, Eskel took the initiative to take care of him by the fireplace in the hall, and took care of him all night.

When it was time for breakfast, Eskel helped the awakened Berengar to the dining table and ate with everyone.

Although his words were a bit stiff and his voice was hoarse and dry, the man still expressed his gratitude to everyone sincerely, including Wayne for giving him the healing potion.

However, he still seemed to be uncomfortable with getting along with others. Even when eating the delicious food cooked by Wayne, his expression was as if he was chewing wax. He kept his head down and ate silently the whole time, without showing much joy.

Because of his presence, everyone was not as relaxed when talking as before, and the atmosphere at the table seemed a little dull.

However, this scene did not last long. After finishing breakfast, Berengar took the initiative to say goodbye. Like in the past, he stayed in his room all day and no longer appeared in front of others at will.

During this winter, no other incidents occurred in Kaer Morhen. The brothers of the Wolf School played Gwent, practiced swordsmanship, or studied and consolidated the witcher's monster knowledge in the library of Kaer Morhen. They also exchanged experiences of the past year at the dinner table.

When the others learned that Geralt had spent most of the year with a sorceress named Yennefer, they all became very curious and kept asking the White Wolf about various details of his life. At the same time, they also vaguely sensed the sorceress Yennefer's strong personality and extreme desire for control.

However, seeing that Geralt seemed to be enjoying it, no one said anything more and could only give him their blessings silently in their hearts.

In daily life, as the youngest of the witchers, Wayne took the initiative to take on all the cooking work. Geralt was responsible for going out hunting and obtaining wild game and vegetables. Vesemir was also in high spirits and renovated the vegetable patch left by Wayne and replanted some vegetables that could grow in winter.

As for chores such as chopping wood, raising horses, fishing, clearing snow, and repairing the castle, they were taken care of by Lambert and Eskel.

Everyone shared all the housework like a real family and lived a quiet and peaceful life.

However, in addition to practicing swordsmanship, learning knowledge, cooking food, and using animal training techniques to tame the little dire wolf White Fang, Wayne has another job.

That is to give Berengar a portion during mealtime every day, and help him change the herbs and bandages on his body.

According to what Vesemir said to him in private, Berengar is actually a miserable man. Well, it should be said that most witchers are miserable people.

This child was rescued from a bandit den. His parents had been killed by the bandits. Since he had no relatives, he was brought back to Kaermohen by Vesemir.

Among the eight children who trained with him and grew up with him, only Berengar successfully completed all the trials and survived, but it was also the lowest level of genetic mutation experiment.

The experiment not only made him lose his ability to have children and all his friends of his age, but also caused his personality to become extremely extreme due to various physical and mental stimulations.

And because the effect of the gene mutation is not ideal, among all the current Wolf School demon hunters, Berengar's strength is the weakest.

Even outside the castle, when carrying out various witcher commissions, he encountered much more difficulties than ordinary witchers.

At this point, Vesemir also sighed and told Wayne:

"Looking back now, I'm not sure whether it was right or wrong to bring him back to Kaer Morhen and let him become a witcher. This might have caused him more pain than letting him become a wandering orphan."

Others may not know this, but Wayne, who has played the first generation of the game, knows well that Berengar really hates the identity of a demon hunter and longs to be an ordinary person, get married, have children, and have his own family. It has always been his dream.

Decades later, Berengar revealed the information about Kaer Morhen because he had been tortured for a long time by the Salamanders and had to make the choice when his life was threatened.

After meeting Geralt, he would also sacrifice his life against the warlocks of the Salamanders.

After all, for many demon hunters, life is too hard. Not only do they always have to face the danger of monsters and physical pain, but they also have to face the strange looks of others.

Moreover, they are all immortal species with long lifespans. If nothing unexpected happens, this torture may last for hundreds of years.

At dinner that day, Wayne pushed open Berengar's door, holding the furry White Fang and bringing a meal.

But I found that this man who had been silent all the time was packing his luggage. Although he only had a few old clothes, he was ready to leave.

When he saw Wayne come in, he pursed his lips, nodded at Wayne silently, and said nothing.

Wayne put the food on the table and looked at Berengar, whose injuries had not yet healed. He thought for a moment and, although he felt it was a bit presumptuous, he still said, "Berengar, are you going to leave alone tomorrow?"

Berengar paused for a second, but soon returned to normal. He nodded, his voice hoarse and weak, and said, "Yes, I plan to leave tomorrow."

Seeing that it was true, Wayne sighed in his heart. He had no choice but to express his thoughts before everyone left.

"It's too dangerous for you to leave Kaer Morhen now. Not only are you not fully recovered from your injuries, but you've also lost most of your equipment, horses, and supplies. The snow has just melted, and the weather outside is very bad. Given your current physical condition, you might faint halfway through the journey."

Hearing this, Berengar looked up at Wayne, still pausing for a few seconds before saying, "I know, but I still want to leave as soon as possible."

"Berengar, do you no longer want to be a witcher? Do you want to get out of this kind of life?"

Hearing Wayne's words, Berengar's movements seemed to freeze. He slowly raised his head, and his originally cold and hard expression became a little more lively. He looked at Wayne and asked:

"Why would you think that, um, Wayne?"

Wayne touched the direwolf cub in his arms, found a chair in Berengar's room and sat down, then said:

"Vesemir told me about your experiences. Your life has always been full of suffering. Misfortune has always been with you since you were a child."

"It's not surprising to have such thoughts, and many demon hunters have struggled with this issue for a long time."

"It's just that you're more obvious about it."

Berengar bowed his head slightly, sighed, and said:

"Wayne, you're still young."

"When you have been a demon hunter like me for decades, but you still don't have enough food to eat, you can't sleep well, you have no relatives or friends, and you help those unruly people to clear monsters. Not only do you not get paid, but you are also besieged by them and almost die."

"You will understand why I hate being a demon hunter so much."

Wayne nodded when he heard this. He probably understood the pain of this kind of experience, but he was born with his own system. Even if his employer in real life did not pay him enough, he would not be short of money and would not experience such a miserable life.

After a few seconds of silence, Wayne considered his tone and said directly: "In that case, Berengar, are you willing to work for me? For a long time, maybe decades, maybe hundreds of years, until you want to retire."

"You don't need to worry about the trivialities of life anymore, nor do you have to face various battles with monsters every day. I can even help you hide your identity as a demon hunter, so that you can live a life similar to that of an ordinary person."

"As long as you are loyal to me and don't betray me, maybe the life of your dreams can come true."

Berengar was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect Wayne to say such a thing.

In his imagination, he thought that the two witchers would talk to each other and comfort each other, but how come it suddenly turned out like this?

He was stunned for more than ten seconds before he asked in a hoarse voice, "You hired me? I remember you just became a demon hunter this year."

"What are you hiring me for? Are we going to carry out the commission together?"

Wayne tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said:

"For now, it's a job like bodyguard or escort. It's safe and stable. Maybe sometimes you can be my helper and carry out some missions with me."

"I will also take care of your equipment and horses. You don't need to communicate with your employer or deal with those unruly people. I will take care of everything, and you don't have to worry about your salary."

Wayne smiled confidently and gently, saying:

"To be honest, I may not be as experienced as you when it comes to executing missions, but when it comes to making money, that's what I'm best at."

"If you promise me, your recent work location should be near Vizima City. You don't need to travel around anymore and can live a stable life in that city for a few years."

Upon hearing this, Berengar stared at Wayne for several dozen seconds. It was unknown what kind of struggle and thinking went through his mind. Finally, he asked with some difficulty: "Why me? We are not familiar with each other, and you don't have any friendship with us?"

"Maybe before last month, you didn't even know my name."

"How could you trust me so easily?"

Wayne sighed upon hearing this, and said with a serious expression, "I don't completely trust you, Berengar. I just gave you a chance."

"We are both demon hunters, and both are demon hunters of the Wolf School. We are born to help each other. If you don't betray my trust in the end, I will get a good brother who I can entrust my life to."

"And if I was wrong, all I lost was a little money."

"So the most important thing is whether you are willing to give yourself a chance and try to believe me."

(End of this chapter)