Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

Olivia had completed so many various side quests that she had grown highly proficient at it. Helping a prince start an uprising was child’s play for her. Verden was a tiny kingdom. It was weak and insignificant.

Of course, as the little princess of Cintra, Olivia was very familiar with the intricacies of what used to be her neighboring kingdom. She was actually rather grateful for the weakness and incompetence of its king. If not for him, she might truly have been forced to get married to Prince Kistrin. It wasn’t like she could not extricate herself from such a situation — it was just such a hassle. Wouldn’t she be giving His Royal Highness Prince Kistrin the “broken engagement protagonist” buff?

That way, this side-character who had little going for him, other than his minuscule bravery might just snap…

Passive side-characters were unpromising and boring. On the other hand, traumatize just about any commoner, and they might rise to the occasion.

To Olivia, the Kingdom of Verden was small and utterly powerless. It also had nothing much to offer when it came to talent. Moreover, it did not even have military support of its own Lords. Evidently, they had no respect for their king.

The fact that the King of Verden had “welcomed the Emperor” with such open arms certainly came as a disappointment for some radical aristocrats in the kingdom. In turn, they sympathized with the Kingdom of Cintra across the river. Verden had also earned the ire of larger kingdoms of the Northern Realms such as Temeria and Redania.

Who was the enemy? Who were the allies? These were the main questions when it came to rebellion.

Therefore, Olivia chose to take the initiative to approach her former fiancé, Prince Kistrin. Something told her that if she did not take the initiative, he might choose to act like he did not see her.

She was right. Prince Kistrin recognized the “Pearl of the Northern Kingdoms” emblem on the breast of her entourage. It had shocked him to the core. When he finally caught sight of Olivia herself, his heart relived an entire lifetime of turmoil and tension. Much to his frustration, the “Pearl of the Northern Kingdoms” was even more beautiful than all the portraits he had ever seen. She had surpassed even his fantasies!

He was furious. He resented his father even more than ever!

The Kingdom of Verden had turned its back to its ally in cold blood, as it was massacred.

Who knows. Under his ruling, things might have turned out differently.

Prince Kistrin was highly embarrassed over the entire affair. He did not have the courage to face Olivia. If Olivia were currently in a state of despair, perhaps, he might be obligated to lend a helping hand and relieve the guilt bottled up in his heart…

However, the “Pearl of the Northern Kingdoms” Olivia was currently living a life, better than ever, and everyone knew about it!

In fact, Olivia had started as a princess of a fallen kingdom to being an incredibly famous prominent businesswoman. She was also the leader of Kaer Morhen and had single-handedly given rise to the status of witchers from the School of the Wolf from discriminated to respected. She had created a new kind of entertainment that involved moving pictures, completely outmoding theatrical stage play. Naturally, she had also used that as another means of portraying the School of the Wolf in a brighter, positive light.

Such publicity worked wonders. Witchers of the Wolf were now revered. As for the School of the Cat which already had a bad reputation, to begin with, naturally, they ended up carrying the pan.

Witchers came with both vices and virtues like any other human, but with their honed abilities, people were doubly critical of them. Thanks to Olivia’s efforts in romanticizing them appropriately, it did not take long for the public to regard them as knights in shining armor. This was smart publicity. She did not go overboard by deifying them, that would suspend the belief.

This magical product had turned into a form of entertainment that achieved effects similar to that of a “movie.” It was a signature product of Olivia’s Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce had already established “theatre chains” in several major cities. Olivia was the pioneer entertainment tycoon in this world.

As the princess of a subjugated nation, Princess Olivia had been a miracle worker. Bards have started singing ballads about her experiences. Of course, among them included people from Olivia’s own “publicity team” and of course, Dandelion who would not sit out of this…

Poems recited about Princess Olivia’s heroics as an enterprising woman. From the royal Pearl even among royalty, to impoverished, displaced war refugee to the now famous businesswoman and Lord. She was a legend by herself. Her sister Cirilla and her foster father Geralt gained even more renown for merely being a part of her life.

This was especially true for Geralt. As a legendary witcher, his reputation preceded him wherever he went. Some shunned him wherever he went, others outrightly greeted him with steel. Nevertheless, the upper-class aristocrats respected his skill with a blade, if not him.

Of course, this earned him a spot on Gwent. He was a neutral-aligned hero card with 15 battle points, the highest among all the Gwent cards!

He was iconically quoted as saying —- —- “If that’s what it takes to save the world, it’s better to let that world die.”

Olivia’s fame shared mutual benefits with Geralt’s. The official producer of Gwent was already considering her inclusion into an upcoming deck. Now, who exactly is this official producer? Well, let’s just point at the mysterious forces behind this source world…

Gwent was not exactly a balanced card game. The strong were ridiculously strong, albeit just as rare. You can’t just write a card of your own and slap it on the table either. They would not be recognized in official competitions. Only those that have been recognized by the officials and the cards with actual magic powers were truly valuable.

Precisely because such a “mysterious” official existed, a high-value strong Gwent card would often be priced absurdly high!

Rare cards were truly scarce. Geralt himself would never find the opportunity to wield his own Gwent card. It was so rare. Even though he was a longtime Gwent player, he had never once seen such a card…

God knows which influential aristocrat or Gwent card collector would possess such a high-value card. After all, Gwent cards seemed to materialize out of thin air…

Wait, weren’t we talking about the rebellion? How did it shift towards Gwent?

The powers that would be were sometimes mischevious. When Gwent came into the picture, everything else had to be placed aside for a moment.