章 22: The next steps

After all the time Strax had spent with Beatrice, now, however, he was sitting at Gladius' bar table with Jason across from him.

"Here you go," Clara, Gladius' daughter, said, placing two beers on the table, smiling sweetly at Strax.

Yes, now Strax remembered the girl, yet he still didn't have a clear notion of who Clara was; he only knew she was Gladius' daughter.

"Thank you, Clara," Strax replied, and she nodded, leaving the two alone. "I didn't know you drank beer," Jason remarked. "I could say the same; you're so gentlemanly," he retorted sarcastically.

"Now that we're here, let's talk business," Strax spoke seriously, and Jason nodded. "How long do we have until one of Vorah's envoys comes after you to check on the delay in meeting me?" He asked, already expecting something like that.

The knights of the Duchy of Vorah are trained in groups and teams; each of them has their functions and instructions. However, when a knight is sent to fulfill the Patriarch's order, in this case, to find one of the heirs, even if it's just someone like Strax who was abandoned, these knights have a code of conduct.

Firstly, the Knight will go alone to avoid drawing attention and cannot use any method that hints at their affiliation with the Duchy of Vorah, after all, the situation with the king is not good currently, and that could lead to conflict. Imagine one of the knights causing trouble with the nobles? That would provide ammunition to the enemy, and the Patriarch wouldn't want that to happen.

Secondly, would be the letters sent by trained carrier pigeons to confirm that the knight has reached the ordered location and completed their first objective, in this case, that would be Jason finding Strax and sharing with him the Patriarch's order. However, the Carrier Pigeons don't reach the small town of Stainhardt, where Baroness Beatrice leads.

Thirdly, if confirmation doesn't arrive, a squad may be sent to assist the dispatched Knight. This would be the last resort, as if the information doesn't arrive, something might have really gone wrong, and this would trigger Vorah Knights' defenses, and the squad to which the dispatched Knight belongs would go to their aid to ensure the safety of both the Knight and the request, again avoiding any problems directly related to the Empire of Thalassia.

Fortunately, the continent of Thalassia is completely governed, so the biggest problem for the Grand Duke Vorah would be only the King.

But at this current moment, Strax was not in a comfortable position for him. You see, Strax was expelled, and yet he was being forcibly requisitioned. That in itself was indeed a "breach of knightly honor". Not only that, but the second part of the knights' system would be ignored, after all, as mentioned, the Carrier Pigeons don't reach Steinhardt.

Strax calmly listened to this enormous problem and tried somehow to devise a solution so that he wouldn't be separated from Beatrice. In fact, that was out of the question. 'Separate from her? Not even in your wildest dreams, old man.' were his main thoughts as he ingeniously tried to find a way around all his current problems, which, by the way, were really significant.

"What would happen if I refused? I mean, I was expelled," Strax asked, seeking a different perspective, but Jason shook his head. "You weren't properly expelled; you were sent as a marriage arrangement; you still received support," Jason remarked, and Strax looked at him, arching his eyebrows. "What support?" He asked, after all, in all these years, he hadn't received anything from his family at least...

"Hm? You have a pretty hefty allowance. What do you mean 'what support'? Aren't the twelve gold coins from Aions of any use?" Jason asked, and Strax's face broke completely.

"What coins are those? I've never seen them in my entire life," Strax asked, and Jason arched his eyebrows, staring at him for a few seconds; both sighed heavily.

"The Baron stole from us," they spoke in unison, and they both started drinking even more from the beer jug. "I hate this place," Strax said, referring to this territory. "The feeling is mutual," Jason commented, after all, this was the edge of the world compared to the Duchy, and he was a knight from the city.

"At least that bastard is dead," Strax said, and Jason nodded, and they both finally finished their drinks.

"What will you do?" Jason asked, and Strax gave up. "I can't do anything; I thought I had been completely banished; that was the information I had, not that they were still supporting me. So, I'll have to go to the Duchy; I have no options. Besides... your comrades should be arriving any moment now, right?" Strax asked, and he nodded.

"It's complicated... I'll have to talk to Beatrice," Strax sighed and stood up. "Let's go to the mansion," he ordered, and Jason agreed, leaving a gold coin on the table.

Both returned to Beatrice's mansion and met with Strax's wife.

"Hm? I'm coming with you," Beatrice said, and Strax was surprised. "How come you're coming with me? You're a baroness!" Strax said, and neither Beatrice nor Jason understood his reaction. I mean,

he didn't know she could...

"What?" Strax said, "Yes, I'm going to sell my title of Baroness. It doesn't make sense to have it after knowing that my father has been stealing from you all this time; I'll just sell these lands and follow you to the duchy. I can buy a house nearby your family," Beatrice revealed, and Strax was just staring... 'How didn't I think of that? Damn! Is my head still wrestling with my sense of the former world?! I didn't even have a simple idea like that!'

"W-well, that's also a good idea," Strax said, and Beatrice asked, "Were you planning to ditch me after making all this mess with me?" She looked serious, with a poker face.

"N-no! Definitely not, I just didn't know what to do!" Strax spoke quickly. "Still, it will take me a while to sell these lands and title, maybe a few weeks, and since you have to leave immediately, we'll be separated for a while," Beatrice said, and Strax agreed.

"So be it," Strax said, and everyone agreed with the plan; now he had to go to the Duchy.