The contemptuous gaze of the count was burning a hole in the back of his head, but the man didn't feel it. He had been given a second chance at life and needed to celebrate. Charlotte had said that new girls from the village would be arriving today, and he should go try his luck; perhaps he could find someone for His Majesty as well...
Yanki rubbed his hands together. Everything was falling into place. The only task left was to catch the Watcher of the Guard Tower, exploiting his love for boys, and to earn some money from selling the harvest. Then, by spring, he would be able to take the position of chancellor. He needed to celebrate his success, so the man hurried home, where he was awaited by such a submissive and accommodating girl with the strange name Olga.
The widowed Duchess Marianna Kass was busy fulfilling her promises to Sir Blood. There were exactly two promises: to make him a baron and to remove the steward. The first one was proving difficult. Despite her requests to acquaintances in the capital and instructions to her son, the king did not approve of the baronial title for Blood, though he did not reject it either, wishing to visit the duchy personally in winter.
Why His Majesty needed to do this, the woman did not understand at all, but she would deal with this problem later, after receiving letters from the widowed queen. For now, it was time to deal with the steward. Captain Vilor reported that, once again, the fool had mixed up the duke's treasury with his own pockets. The sum of seventy-six gold was enormous, and the son should not tolerate such treatment. All that remained was to present it to him properly.
Duke Kass, having received the king's order to assist Archmage Dukun in suppressing the rebellion in Zalone, was in no rush to leave his capital and had been at home for a week. He was more thoughtful and silent than usual. The younger son, who had never expected to inherit his father's throne, had been elevated to the pinnacle of power in the kingdom of Elur due to the tragic death of his elder brother and the deadly illness of the middle brother.
The responsibility weighed heavily on the young man. No, he enjoyed the benefits of his position: plenty of money, available beauties, all the world's amusements, and the service of his entourage. But along with these pleasant things came the necessity to care for his subjects and the welfare of the kingdom. He had to deal with mundane administrative issues and perform a lot of other tedious tasks required by his title.
Fortunately, his loyal servants helped with the burdens. But the weight of his vassal oath to the king, he bore alone. And now the king had ordered him to go to war. As a child, he had always thought that war was beautiful and fun. But having experienced a real battle, his perspective changed. He still dreamed of soldiers burning alive, and the smell of roasted meat seemed to have permanently seeped into his nostrils.
— Your mother is here, sir. She requests to see you, — the personal servant bowed.
— Let her in.
He loved and respected his mother. She had never tried to tell him what to do or how to manage the duchy, offering advice only when he asked for it. Such behavior was costly, especially compared to the king's stories about how his mother tried to interfere in state affairs almost daily. After greeting the woman who entered, the duke invited her to sit.
— I wanted to talk about some matters, my son.
— And what matters made you, Mother, put aside your threads and needles and come to see me?
— Sir Blood. What did His Majesty say to you?
— Ah, so that's it, — the duke laughed, — I was waiting for when you would bring him up.
— It is important, my son. We owe this knight, and being in debt is a great luxury.
The young man grimaced. The attack by bandits, which resulted in the death of his mother's younger sister and his betrothed, happened at the most inconvenient time. Whispers at court about the young ruler's inability to bear the burden of governing the duchy were rampant, and the scoundrels did not even try to behave more quietly in his presence. He was disgraced.
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