Chapter 320: Shadow of a Forgotten Prophecy

Novigrad’s commercial district, a potion shop.

“Aisha? You mean that pretty little girl with blond hair and gray eyes, the one who worked at Lucky Cat Flower Shop? Of course I remember her. A polite, likable child, about the same age as my little Jasmine,” the owner of the potion shop said with feeling. “For the past half year, every day she passed through the commercial street, she would greet everyone on her own. Far more sensible than that girl of mine.”

The young Witcher casually took a vial of Celandine Potion from the shelf and shook it between two fingers. “You’ve heard what happened to Aisha, then. On September ninth, did you see her?”

“Sadly,” a dazed look flickered through the shopkeeper’s eyes and vanished. He sighed with regret. “I remember it very clearly. That morning, I didn’t hear her greeting, bright as an oriole’s call.”

“After nearly half a year, suddenly going a day without hearing her voice felt strange. I was surprised at the time, and spoke with Pavett from the dye shop next door. We both thought something had happened at her home again, and that she had asked Yarin for leave.”

The shopkeeper did not believe that a delicate little girl would take that dangerous alley.

“I never imagined public order on the commercial street had fallen so low, that a perfectly good girl could vanish for no reason.” The owner’s voice rose, his emotions stirring. “How black-hearted must someone be to lay hands on sweet, simple little Aisha?”

“After her accident, I’ve felt hollow inside, as if I lost a daughter for nothing. Even doing business no longer feels the same.”

Roy fell silent for a long while, then snapped his fingers sharply, releasing Axii’s hypnotic effect.

The potion shop owner’s plump body swayed, as if waking from a dream.

“My apologies, guest. I don’t know what came over me, complaining in front of you for so long. But that child Aisha truly is pitiful.” The man clearly had not yet shaken off his earlier feelings, and his tone carried resentment. “The soldiers of the Eternal Fire came to question us too, but those snobs were plainly only going through the motions. They never took the girl seriously. They searched around a little nearby and ended the investigation.” The owner looked at the Witcher. “Do you think little Aisha might still be alive?”

The Witcher did not answer.

...

Most of the afternoon slipped away in silence. The sun began to tilt westward. The Witcher questioned more than a dozen shops along the route and every other possible witness.

Nothing.

When the orange disk sank below the horizon, he and Todd used the cover of night to sneak into the homes of the general store owner, the jeweler’s son, and the petty noble.

These were the three men the flower shop owner Yarin had mentioned during the day, the ones who had harassed Aisha.

Aside from the addicts in the alley, these three men, who had coveted Aisha’s beauty, were also serious suspects.

...

But to Roy’s slight surprise, he found no suspicious traces in their homes. Axii later proved their innocence.

The merchant’s son and the petty noble were already kept under strict watch by fierce wives at home. Typical men with the desire but not the courage, usually content to take verbal liberties with Aisha and never daring any real action.