Chương 32: Chapter 1.32: Honor Dictates

They rushed through the corridors, but Favius was already deep in thought. What are my next steps? With Cassian, I really thought Hesnia wouldn't oppose me. Fuck. Soon Caliga found them, pressed her finger to her lips, and pointed to a room down the corridor—toward one of the other courtyards. Favius took a deep breath, sighed, and nodded.

"Well, time to talk to Cassian," he murmured, but Brutus grasped his shoulder.

"The time for talking is over. I will handle this." Favius furrowed his brows.

"Brutus, I appreciate the offer, but—""No," Brutus interrupted him, glancing at the girls.

"You might be used to solving all issues with words, but—" He kneeled down and clasped both of Favius's shoulders, and suddenly the room felt heavier. The air grew sharp with electricity.

"Cassian is stealing your glory. He is insulting your honor as a man. As an aristocrat, you only have one way of responding to this." Favius studied Brutus. My instincts… At the beginning, I was so ready to run in and do stupid stuff, and now I've tried to talk things out, behave like an adult. But I am from a civilized culture and a civilized world where violence is considered inappropriate. Yet— The image of Severin falling into his sword flashed before his eyes. Violence has a different meaning here.

He nodded at Brutus and squeezed the man's forearms.

"Take the lead." Brutus kicked open the door to the small courtyard, and both people already there gasped and spun as the cultivator marched in, leading the siblings like a hen would lead ducklings. A very pissed-off, well-armed, and dangerous hen. The old woman's face curled up, and her voice was shrill and loud.

"We are having a private conversation here. Leave, children." Favius saw Caliga tense beside him as she hissed something vicious under her breath and touched the side of her belt. Brutus touched his shoulder, and he nodded slightly.

"We need to talk to Cassian. Now."

"He is unavailable at the moment," the woman hissed, making a shooing gesture. Who is this old woman? Well, obviously a close ally of Hesnia. Otherwise she wouldn't dare talk like this to Brutus. Cassian reached out and touched the woman's arm.

"It is all right. I'm tutoring those children, and any good tutor is present to answer questions from their charges at any time." Cassian smiled broadly, yet Favius caught the moment of worried hesitation before the man controlled his expression perfectly.

"How might I help you?"

"That's simple," Brutus said and walked up to him.

"Oh—" was the only thing Cassian managed before Brutus slapped him across the face with a blurring backhand. Cassian stumbled across the courtyard, fell over the low garden barrier, and into one of the ponds. Well, bitch-slapping someone across the room is one way to start a conversation. The courtyard erupted. The old woman screeched as Brutus stood there silent, his hand still raised.

"You can't do this!" she hissed.

"The Lady will hear of this!" She rushed off, but Caliga stepped into her way.

"You are staying right here." The woman sneered and tried to push past her, but Caliga drove a punch straight into her solar plexus, just as Brutus had taught her. The crone gasped for breath, stumbling back, her eyes widening in shock before her face reddened in outrage. Barely managing not to fall to the ground, she hissed at Caliga between clenched teeth.

"You dare? Unruly little child, you—" She raised her hand to strike. Caliga remained calm, took a step back, and brought forth a sheathed dagger. The room stilled. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. She rested one hand on the sheath, the other on the dagger's grip.

"The days where you could rule with an iron hand are over, old bitch. I'm no longer the disfavored young daughter." She looked over to Favius and met his eyes for a long moment. This is really not the time to take revenge against your mother's people, no matter what they've done, but not showing a united front here… He schooled his face into a smile and nodded to her.

"Aristocrats are having a discussion," Caliga continued.

"Be silent and observe until I permit you to leave. Understood?" The woman took a deep breath, her eyes glued to the weapon. She glanced at Brutus, who was smiling at her with a wolfish grin, then nodded meekly. With that out of the way, Brutus marched over, grabbed Cassian by the hem of his robe, and dragged him out of the garden, leaving a muddy smear on the floor.

"How do you respond to my challenge?" Favius narrowed his eyes and recalled a conversation. Dueling—it's a thing in this world. There is a formal challenge I used when I had the mathematics duel with him, but— His face lit up in a faint smile. An open-handed slap to the face is the decidedly less polite way of issuing a formal challenge. So that's what Brutus was talking about. Cassian shook his head and pushed himself upright, still dazed.

"You…" he gasped, spitting out muck.

"You will regret this." His voice was calm and entirely emotionless, but Brutus merely laughed and took a step toward him. Favius followed.

"I will regret defending the honor of my charge, whose ideas you are trying to steal? Tell me how exactly I'm going to regret that." Cassian swallowed.

"You have nothing," Brutus sneered, throwing the letters at him. Cassian's eyes widened. Favius stepped in.

"We know you asked about how to publish my ideas—and that you sent some examples. Have you spread the entire knowledge, or only asked questions?" For a brief moment, Cassian ground his teeth and glared at Favius with a hate-filled gaze.

"You little—" Brutus' axe blurred. Cassian screamed as the haft struck his ankle. He curled up in pain, and even Favius winced. Ah. Hit to the ankle. Those— He swallowed and refocused. On defeating this worm. On being the one to survive this game between worlds. They let Cassian squirm for a moment before Brutus stepped forward again. A strange noise escaped Cassian's mouth, and the words spilled out in a rush.

"I merely asked questions—provided some examples—I swear, I have shared nothing substantial, I don't have full copies of your books, I was trying to—" Favius sniffed and looked at the growing wetness beneath the man. Has he—? He sniffed again. Yes. He definitely has. He looked at Brutus, who stepped forward.

"Then I recommend you don't pursue that avenue further." Cassian's wide eyes narrowed slightly. Favius stepped forward, his thoughts racing. Glory and honor matter to these people. And we can't kill him. If he runs off and publishes anyway... I already have my works in the pipeline, but Marcus will only release them after the party, and even then there will be a delay. He stepped closer until one foot stood on the man's dirt-stained robe.

"Cassian, you might think you can find a clever solution and publish and claim what is mine by right. But—" He glanced at Brutus, who wore a proud smile.

"The only glory you will gain will be posthumous." He leaned in as Cassian flinched.

"Do you really think you can escape an angry Transcensor whom I've ordered to get your head?" Cassian and the old woman gasped.

"Transcensor?!" Cassian's eyes shot to Brutus.

"That's impossible! I would have noticed if he had reached the Fifth Rank! He—" Brutus laughed out loud and slammed the butt of his axe down beside Cassian. Cassian flinched.

"Maybe you missed it while you were too busy hiding under Hesnia's robes." The old woman gasped. Caliga broke into giggles.

"Under her robes?" she repeated, shaking with laughter. Cassian's face went red, then white.

"I—" He paused, glancing around as if hoping someone would burst through the door.

"I… I understand."

"Swear it," Favius insisted. Cassian hesitated for a moment, then flinched as Brutus spun his axe. The tutor raised a shaking hand.

"I, Cassian Norvius Lector, swear that I will—" he gritted his teeth, "—not spread any of the knowledge originating from Favius Ovinius Loran." Favius looked at Brutus, and the man nodded.

"We are done here." They left the frozen woman and the humiliated minor aristocrat behind. Before the door even closed, Brutus slapped Favius on the back and called out loudly enough for their victims to hear.

"That was well done, boy. You acted like a proper man should act." Favius laughed as Brutus squeezed his shoulders, and soon they found themselves around the dinner table, babbling excitedly, discussing and retelling the day's events. As evening came, Brutus grew more serious and looked them over.

"Marcus has asked me to prepare you for certain aspects of the party. It will be your debut as young nobles, so—" He met Favius's eyes, then Caliga's.

"—as you have seen, matters of honor are important."

"Thus, I will be training you in two different ways." He smiled broadly.

"Tomorrow, we will talk about dueling." He squeezed Favius's shoulder.

"And I will teach you how to properly humiliate any young aristocrat who gets uppity in your face." Favius laughed out loud, but Brutus looked at him with deadly seriousness.

"Trust me, Favius. Given who you are, I can guarantee that someone will try to beat you up to discredit your future actions."