— That's all. Don't you want to tell me who you fought in the blacksmith quarter?
— I will cover all the damage, — Alexander answered, ignoring the question.
— Don't worry, that's already been taken care of, — the woman sat down on a chair, — It was less than twenty gold, which you promised for information about my sister, so we're even.
— By the way, how can I hand this money to the guy?
— You can't. You can give it to me. I still haven't decided what to do with the scoundrel.
The vampire silently took a banknote of the required amount from his pocket and placed it on the table.
— So, you still don't want to say who you fought? — the Duchess repeated the question, carefully picking up the valuable document with two fingers and weighing it.
— It was a man who betrayed me, — the vampire replied grimly.
— How interesting. I didn't know that magical blood oaths could be bypassed.
— He didn't give me such an oath.
— Then that explains a lot. A magical battle in the city. We haven't had such a thing in ages!
— I apologize for that.
— Nonsense! If you're going to forgive your enemies, you might as well kill yourself and save yourself the trouble. I am grateful to you for my revenge.
— Well, the executioners will do most of the work.
— And you provided them with this work, Alex. I won't forget that. Consider yourself a baron already. And my son will be grateful to you. After all, you avenged his fiancée!
— Fiancée?!
— My niece and his cousin was supposed to be his fiancée, Your Grace. And many people knew about the upcoming engagement. You understand, a future fiancée who is dishonored and killed by bandits is a stain on one's reputation for life. At least now we can wash away a bit of the shame, and it will be easier for me to mourn my loved one.
There were no more topics for conversation, and the Duchess left the room, leaving the knight alone. Alexander did not stay long as a guest and left the city by evening. He was returning home with good relations with the Duke's mother and Krapivin. They didn't kill him, although all the gendarmes were in favor of that decision. But the Triumvir decided that a trial was necessary.
Besides, he couldn't make another decision; even such a scoundrel deserved the laws to be applied to him. And although Krapivin had tried to kill his former comrades and had previously broken established laws, and simply committed treason, Alexander decided that the sentence should be delivered by the Triumvirate, not him personally. For the future, it had to be better this way.
The village greeted the returnees from the campaign with silence and a castle that had a completed appearance. However, this view was only visible from the road upon entry. Inside and on the other side, everything was in the early stages of construction. But the sight was impressive; as soon as the newcomers turned the corner of the road, they were greeted with a view of the central square of the village and the majestic towers of the castle.
Dropping the prisoner, who had been unconscious the entire way, right onto the cobblestones of the square, the travelers went to the bathhouse. The steam room, after such a long journey, felt like paradise, and soaking was extremely pleasant. They didn't even want to talk. The entire dozen of vampires sat silently, each lost in their own thoughts; to tell the truth, no one was thinking, they were just enjoying themselves.
Finally finishing with the pleasant procedure, Alexander went to the castle. Both Triumvirs were already in the hall. Nodding to both comrades, he sat at the head of the table and began to wait.
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