Chương 113: Book 2 Chapter 65 - Challenging Nobility

Kiara and Jaden both sat, and the baron folded his arms across his chest.

"I'm surprised you turned yourself in. I had you pegged for a coward." Kiara wasn't sure where he had gotten that notion from. Maybe he was projecting.

"Where is Ronald Dunsun?" she asked, getting straight to the point.

"I'm here, now it's time to let him go." The baron laughed, clearly enjoying the moment.

"You aren't in a position to make demands, young lady. You are a criminal, and have no rights here." Jaden spoke up.

"In that case, I must speak on behalf of House Yountal, a prominent house in good standing here in Easton. We formally request the release of our second in command, now that Lady Yountal has turned herself in." The baron's face soured at the interjection, but he didn't really have any grounds to continue holding Ron, so he eventually nodded and waved to the guard captain who had led them in.

"Send two of your men to fetch Mr Dunsun, and have him brought here." The guard captain saluted and motioned to the two guards nearest the door to go carry out the request. Kiara turned back to the baron after watching the two guards leave.

"You say I'm a criminal, but I've done nothing wrong. Why am I being arrested?" The baron smiled triumphantly.

"You broke into private property, and defied the wishes of Lord Goren in his own territory, sneaking people out without his permission." Kiara almost buried her face in her palm at the ridiculousness of the charge and the stupidity of the baron's reasoning. She leveled a blank stare at him.

"Are you saying that you're recognizing Lord Goren's claim over that territory within your own barony? Has he been made into some kind of ruling noble? The new lord of Easton, perhaps, to be able to make such a claim?" The baron looked at her in confusion.

"What are you on about?" She shrugged.

"Who is Lord Goren to make rules about who comes and goes inside your own city, baron? Wouldn't that be your prerogative? Or is he lord over you?" A few of the guards coughed awkwardly, clearly seeing her point. The baron's face reddened somewhat.

"Lord Goren is no lord of mine! I was appointed by Count Dremond himself, and only he or the duke can remove me from my position. Or the royals, I suppose." Kiara nodded.

"Understood. In that case, it seems that Lord Goren has no right to order me around or to keep those people from leaving that area he illegally claimed. If anyone should be under arrest, it's him." Baron Norshod thought for a moment then exhaled in frustration.

"You still broke into his private property without permission, which makes you a criminal."

"Oh?" Kiara raised an eyebrow then turned to the city guard captain, who was standing to her left.

"And what are the consequences, normally, for something like that?"

"A night in jail and a fine of up to three gold, your ladyship." Kiara pointed at the captain's pocket.

"You'll find three gold in my storage ring, although I trust you won't accidentally take it from Jaden's ring by mistake. Ronald Dunsun already spent a night in jail, in my place, by your own declaration, so it seems the jail time is accounted for as well. If not, I'd be more than happy to spend a night in jail to clear things up." The guard captain looked at Baron Norshod and nodded, confirming that Kiara's logic was sound. The baron's face reddened even more, and he held up a hand to stall the guard captain.

"You are very clever, Lady Yountal," he said in a low, dangerous voice.

"I still have not forgotten your slight to my family when you killed my cousin last year." Jaden glanced over at Kiara in surprise. He must not have heard yet about the events at Lord Grivalt's estate, or maybe he hadn't realized Lord Grivalt was the baron's cousin. Kiara kept her gaze on the baron.

"That matter was cleared up at a city tribunal already. There is nothing more to be done there."

"Oh, but there is," the baron snarled.

"While the penalty for illegally entering someone's property is usually what the captain has suggested, I have the authority as baron to levy unique punishments in any given situation, and I find this situation to be quite unique." He let the threat hang in the air, and Kiara knew he was right. Short of fighting the entire city guard, which she didn't want to do for a number of reasons, she would need to follow the decrees laid down by the baron.

She could take the matter to Count Dremond in Portish, but with the response they had received about the kidnapping of their blacksmith and his daughter, she wasn't sure how that would turn out or how long it might take.

"What would the penalty entail, then?" she asked with a sigh.

"Until my family has been repaid the debt you owe them, you will remain in custody. You will rot in the city dungeon for the rest of your life. I see you for what you truly are, and it's not just a simple criminal that broke into Lord Goren's building. You are a menace to this city and its peace." If anyone was a menace to the city's peace it was Kane. He had purposefully stirred the city's elites up into a feud that was tearing the city apart. Baron Norshod probably shouldered some or most of that blame, too.

He was the one who hired Kane, and could have put a stop to it at any point. Should have, in fact, since it was his obligation to protect the people he ruled over. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Kiara narrowed her eyes at the baron's statement. This definitely smelled of revenge on the baron's part, but something about it had Kane's fingerprints all over it as well.

The baron hadn't made a move like this for this entire time, but now that she had spurned Kane the baron suddenly thinks up this plan and has her arrested? The timing was too suspicious.

"This is Kane's doing, isn't it?" she asked, point blank.

"Where is he?" The baron flinched at the name, but then snarled, "He left. Went back to Portish. His work here is done." Huh. This still felt like Kane's work, but maybe it had been a sort of parting gift to the baron before he left. He certainly would have picked up on the baron's dislike of Kiara, and after their falling out, might have laid out some suggestions the baron could use.

"What debt does she owe your family, my lord?" Jaden asked, surprising Kiara with the question.

"A blood debt," Baron Norshod replied. Jaden nodded, then asked, "I understand. Might I have a moment of privacy with Lady Yountal? I wish to confer with her about the matter." The baron nodded his agreement, and the guard platoon slowly filed out of the room to make room for Kiara and Jaden to leave. They were led to the room next door, where they were left alone to talk.

"My lady," he began, "I believe the baron intends for you to challenge him to a duel." Kiara pulled back in surprise.

"Where did you get that idea?" He shrugged.

"He spoke of a blood debt. That means he wishes for you to die to pay the price of his cousin's death. Either that, or rot in prison for the rest of your life. Your life for his cousin's life, that was his implication. As the city lord, it would be inappropriate for him to challenge one of his citizens to a duel, and so he dropped the hints for us to see. He wishes for you to challenge him, instead." Oh. That actually made some sense, in a twisted sort of way.

She remembered during her tribunal, when she had asked if he was challenging her to a duel, and his response had seemed so taken aback. At the time, she had interpreted it as fear, but perhaps it had been repulsion at her insinuation that he would break some kind of social etiquette rule she hadn't been aware of and challenge one of his citizens to a duel. She barely considered the idea before nodding.

"I accept. I'll go challenge him right now. Is there any reason I shouldn't?" She was glad she had brought Jaden along. Without Dustin or Zoey here, she didn't know how to navigate the rules of society amongst upper nobility, and she knew that Jaden would be more adept at it than she was. He was a natural at those parties they had been to. Jaden thought for a moment, then shrugged.

"It's not common to challenge a ruling noble to a duel, but it isn't unheard of. The basic idea is that a ruling noble rules by their strength, and if a citizen has just cause to make such a challenge, and the ruling noble isn't strong enough to defend their position, then the citizen is justified in their actions. In your case, he has levied an unjust punishment for your crime, and his mention of a blood debt indicates that he clearly wants a duel to take place.

I don't think you have any reason to avoid it, unless you think you might lose?" Kiara laughed. Long and loud. The question caught her by surprise, and after the tension in the baron's office, it released the pent up tension she had been feeling for the past half hour. She laughed so hard she had to wipe tears from her eyes.

"Ha! Oh, thanks Jaden, I needed that. That's a good one." She had eventually sparred a time or two with Jaden, rather than solely with Zoey, so he knew her approximate strength, and knew she could handle herself. However, he hadn't seen her move or fight since her advancement to tier 3. Accordingly, he didn't look as convinced as she felt, and he added, "He is a ruling noble, Lady Shian. His income far exceeds House Yountal's.

He will have access to treasures and artifacts that might give him an edge you aren't expecting. It is worth being cautious in this matter." Kiara snorted.

"And spend the rest of my life in jail or as a fugitive from the crown? No thank you." He nodded decisively in response, and they made their way back to the baron's office and took their seats again. Only ten of the guards followed them inside this time, including the guard captain, while the other twenty stayed in the hall with the door left open. Kiara locked eyes with Baron Norshod.

"I don't know the official way that I'm supposed to do this, but I challenge you to a duel. Both to settle the blood debt between our houses, and in response to your unjust punishment levied against my crimes." The baron's eyes lit up with glee as she said it, but he quickly tried to cover it up. He cleared his throat.

"Very well. In that case, I will get you the proper paperwork for you to fill out to make it official. Does tomorrow afternoon, say two hours before sunset, suit your schedule?" Huh? Suddenly he wanted to 'suit her schedule'? She was surprised both by how readily the baron had accepted and by how accurate Jaden's assessment of the situation had been. She would have to thank Jaden later. She nodded in response.

"Sounds great. Get me the paperwork and tell me where to sign." The same clerk was brought up from the ground floor with a form in hand. She helped fill the form out, noting the date and time of the duel, as well as who the participants would be. Kiara hadn't realized that a public duel would be so official and be hidden behind so many procedures. Both Kiara and Baron Norshod signed the form, and the clerk stamped it with a loud thud.

"Good," Baron Norshod crowed, no longer trying to hide his delight.

"It's official!" He turned to the guard captain.

"Captain, take the three-gold fine you mentioned earlier from Miss Yountal's storage ring, then return their belongings. Mr Dunsun's night in jail should suffice that portion of the punishment, and they are all free to go." The guard captain unlocked the iron bands from around their wrists and returned their storage rings. He handed Jaden his ring directly, and a look of alarm came over Jaden's face as he saw how much was missing from his ring.

Kiara shot him a stern look, warning him not to make a scene, and he sighed and nodded. They were led back to the ground level, where they waited for the other two guards to show up with Ron. While they waited, Kiara asked Jaden for his ring and replaced everything into it from her soul space. His eyebrows shot up when she handed it back to him.

"You had another ring they didn't know about?" she asked her quietly. She nodded.

"Something like that." Once Ron came through the doors, escorted by the two guards, the guard captain called his men over and let them know that everyone was free to go. Kiara, Jaden, and Ron made their way out of the building and back to the Yountal Estate. The return trip was a bit slower, since Ron was only at tier 1, and they set a pace that he could keep up. Even so, the trip back was completely uneventful, mirroring how empty the streets were.

Gentry was waiting for them at the gates, accompanied by the two gate guards. She let out a pitiful sound of relief when she saw Ron, and immediately ran to him and jumped into his arms, wrapping him in a big hug. Kiara's heart swelled within her, and she teared up as well. The scene repeated itself when they stepped inside the house, where Helga gave them each a big hug and cried like a baby, saying how worried she had been. Jaden's face coming out of the hug was especially memorable.

He looked torn between being embarrassed by the affection, and happy at being included in the familial love.