"Rikutus' Red-tailed Hawk"
"Vice Count Valentine Thorn."
"Such a problematic person that even I must be careful around."
"He is an enigma. Some respect him; some loathe him."
"But no one should underestimate his capabilities."
Count Nidor Parge of Brineyard, a count in the Duchy of Detarnor.
….
While Darius was leading Sigismond's Security Solutions to escort Ralston and his merchant caravan to the royal capital of the Kingdom of Nathia Narthonia, a completely different set of events was happening in the Aurellion refugee camp they had left behind.
Vice Count Valentine Thorn was riding towards the refugee camp his liege lord wanted him to investigate a loyal vassal of the duke known widely throughout the Duchy of Detarnor as 'Rikutus Red-tailed Hawk.' Count Valentine is a very perceptive person and many times has pointed things out that the intelligent duke misses because even if you hate him and curse his greed and corruption, you cannot say that Duke Ridorfin is stupid or incompetent.
A man of 30, he took over from his father as Vice Count of Sherset 2 years ago. He made the duke worry initially when he seemed to clean up his territory of any bandits and corrupt officials, as many nobles who did that previously would usually be at odds with him, even hanging his father's old chief retainer alongside his family when he found out that he had been taking money from him since the beginning of his father's reign which also happened to be one of Ridorfin's showing his capability and ruthlessness that he brings to his job under the duke.
When the Duke asked for his release, he was met with a rebuttal from the new vice count, who presented all the evidence to the duke before executing him, stating that he was a corrupt man who oppressed the people and that he deserved his fate unable to refute the vice count Duke Ridorfin could only watch his spy hang around the gates for a few days before being buried.
But shortly after purging his territory of corruption, for some reason, he began to do what was seen as the duke's dirty work, as whenever the duke arrested someone of power, this Vice Count always led his knights to capture them. The man seemed willing to do Ridorfin's dirty work, finding all the evidence the duke needed to move against them and punish them for any misdeeds that they had committed.
What is odd, though, is that despite his loyalty to the duke, he does not take part in the corruption that has taken root within the duchy and is known as a just ruler to the people he rules, making him a controversial figure the duchy, which is both loved, reviled and feared.
As the duke's chief interrogator and magistrate of the duchy's capital, he is in command of the city guards and is known for his invasive but terrifyingly effective investigatory skills that he uses to hunt down criminals, both commoner and noble, drawing the hate of many powerful people who were always on the receiving end of Valentine's blade of justice.
After receiving reports that these new mercenaries had a Chavarian accent, Duke Ridorfin sent men to investigate this new refugee camp that had appeared on his territory; usually, such a small number of men would be irrelevant and would not even be a blip on the powerful man's radar but after experiencing a setback from Sigismond Security Service any camp of newly arrived Chavarian's had to be monitored as he had no idea if these two groups are related for nothing happens without reason.
And what Riforfin needed to know now was this reason.
The Duke was confident that the Red Blades and his agents would be able to deal with Ralston and his escort. But he was concerned that someone behind this Sigismond Security Service wanted to lower his power.
Such actions cannot be tolerated, or people will think him weak and lead some thinking they can scheme against him!
Because of this, Duke Ridorfin sent his most skilled investigator to the camp to investigate. Even if his personality and moral values presented a problem for Ridorfin, at times, the Vice Count never failed in his duty and always got to the bottom of whatever case he was given, providing the evidence for Ridorfin to do with as he wished.
Sometimes, it was destroyed, sometimes not depending on the duke's need for it, which was not lost on the 30-year-old man. But the duke made the decisions, not him, but he remembered each person who committed misdeeds, writing them down until he could find something the duke could not ignore. In fact, a few people close to the duke were dealt with in this manner.
Vice Count Valantine's bright violet eyes scanned the refugee camp as he approached it, a few scouts heralding their arrival to the leaders inside and noted that it looked more like a military camp than a typical refugee camp with neat lines of tents set up in rows and men clad in light mail running about grabbing one weapon or another that were placed strategically around the camp in small organised clusters to allow them to arm themselves as soon as possible in the event of an ambush.
The 6ft Foxman had fox ears and, instead of skin, a layer of orange and white fur covered his body, though his nose was distinctly human as a bow lay in a leather bag at the side of his horse engraved with magical runes that pulsed with a red and green light however what was odd about the fur was the presence of scattered red feathers though no wings could be found on the humanoid fox his Iravian blood heavily diluting over the years as different races intermingled in the stirring pot that was The Kingdom of Nathia.
He seemed to constantly have an unmoving emotionless expression, rarely smiling as if all emotion was sucked out of him and replaced with nothing but duty, his eyes sending chills down the spine of any man he looked at for his pupils instead of being black was an icy blue.
A hardened boiled and studded leather armour covers the fur, giving the vice count unparalleled manoeuvrability that he uses to catch criminals whose lighter clothing allows them to outrun the guards at times weighed down in their mail and plate.
The Vice Count found that he was not stopped from entering the camp behind him 100 knights followed, 50 from his personal retinue, and 50 were sent by Duke Ridorfin to aid him in the mission. Even though he did not expect trouble, Valantine was always a cautious man, never letting something like chance affect his meticulous preparation, for these knights were the elite of the duchy. It was likely that only those noble houses which were known for their wartime expertise and had unique units or the royal guards of Nathia were their betters as they could crush 3x the number of regular footmen under their iron-shod hooves.
Above him, two banners blew proudly in the winter breeze as the frosted ground cracked under the heavy cavalry's horse hooves. Each knight wore the heraldry of the noble houses they served.
Half wore the black of House Thorn emblazoned on the field of black was a red roaring hawk, its wings outstretched its beak and feat a pale orange. The other half wore the crimson red of House Rikutus, which was emblazoned with the large golden gatehouse, its portcullis closed.
It only took him half a minute to be led to the command tent where Baron Malwin was waiting for him in commoner clothes, though a fur cloak kept the chilly winds of winter off the man who bowed in respect, cupping his fists when he saw the banners of two noble houses clutched in the hands of the leading Foxman's accompanying knights.
"Good Afternoon, m-my lord! H-how can I help you? We were not expecting visitors."
Malwin asked nervously, though he was calm on the inside, and there was no shaking fear or respect that most commoners had for the nobility of the world. For while, both he and Railius were expecting a visitor from the duke, especially after the stunt that Darius pulled in the duchy capital.
"Your name?"
"Averill, my lord."
Malwin said, giving the fake name that the House Aurellion's higher up's had already decided on as, like all of those in House Aurellion who had sensitive identities did, to try to stay as low profile as possible as their noble house is too renowned and would attract too much attention which is the last thing they need right now even if a grandmaster was present and protecting the young lord.
"You were not expecting me?"
Vice Count Valentine asked in a cold, monotone voice, keeping the deadpan expression he always kept when working on Ridorfin's behalf.
"Of course not! What can we humble refugees do for you, my lord?"
Malwin said, putting on the most fawning expression he could as a man experienced in politics, he knew when and when not to put on an act, and right now, he needed to put on an act so that the Duke did not think that he or anyone in the camp had anything to do with Sigismond Security Solutions which had thoroughly offended the duke.
The vice count conjured a ball of fire in his hand, leading to steel beginning to be drawn by the vigilant guards. Seeing it appear, he knew there was no anti-magic crystal, and seeing the startled soldiers who had half drawn their swords, he immediately put it away as they were not here to arrest anyone.
Well, yet that is.
He was confident in his elite knights being able to deal with these ex-soldiers, but unlike others who would straight up use force, saying they were accomplices in an attempt to gain merit, the vice count seemed to have some moral code as he did not do this and instead wanted to get more information, not wanting to accuse innocents. However, many would think this hypocritical as he was happy to arrest whoever the duke said to when ordered even if there was next to no evidence for it.
But that was the key difference. He was told to investigate the people of the refugee camp, not arrest them, so what happened next was at his discretion, as the cold man did not care about what others thought of him.
With his tests complete, he cast another spell that could help him detect liars. At times, he did not have this luxury as the magistrate's office in the capital was under the influence of an anti-magic crystal, so any magic was useless there. Because of this, Valentine relied more on his own abilities than magic, which, in the current times, was not the most reliable source of power like it was in the distant days of the past.
"You say your refugees, right? Since when have refugees been able to afford any sort of mail armour, and your accent is Chavarian?"
"Just like those lads who made trouble in the capital."
Valentine continued asking; however, his voice seemed to get colder, even colder than the fridged winter breeze that froze the men in their armour dripping with venom as only a fool would not ask why refugees would wear armour when most were poor commoners fleeing either war or tyranny.
"Most of us are merely ex-Chavarian soldiers, my lord. Some of us have decided to become mercenaries left under the lead of a thoroughly disrespectful fellow, but me and the fellows in this camp right now merely want to settle down peacefully, or we may have joined them."
"May I ask if this fellow has caused you or the good Duke any trouble?"
Malwin explained as if the whole thing had nothing to do with him or anyone else within the camp, only for the Vice Count's eyes to narrow as he judged the man before him. Unfortunately, even he, who was like a human lie detector, struggled to find anything wrong with what this man said.
The magic gave nothing to the Vice Count as what Malwin said was technically true from a certain point of view as they were ex-Chavarian soldiers, and the men around him really did just want to settle down peacefully as the others were not in the camp right now being sent away.
So, just like this, and with a bit of wordplay, Malwin, who was knowledgeable about things like lie-detecting magic, managed to avoid telling a lie. He just didn't tell the whole truth, leading to Valentine continuing the questioning.
"Ex-Chavarian soldiers? What are you doing here instead of serving your oh-so-benevolent emperor?"
"We are disappointed in his majesty the Emperor; he had a loyal general who died in his service accused of treason to cover up the crimes of his son and even tried to have his family exterminated. Why would we risk our lives for a country that will throw us away like trash even if his motivations are understandable?"
"You served under Lucius Aurellion?"
"Yes, my lord, we did. I was merely someone in charge of logistics and have little experience in the war when compared to some of my compatriots, but I have seen enough of the world to know right from wrong."
"Is there any problem with my answers, my lord?
Malwin asked humbly, knowing there was not, for it was true that tens of thousands of soldiers resigned from the Chavarian army because of what happened to Lucius, and they scattered around the lands, some even leaving their homelands in despair.
While Malwin was the administrator of House Aurellion's lands, he was in charge of logistics for Lucius at one point in time, again expertly skirting around the lie-detecting magic.
"You said what the emperor did was understandable, so why don't you still serve him?"
Valentine asked, keeping his expression stable, but his eyes revealed his emotions and puzzlement.
"When someone betrays a country because their family is threatened, it is understandable but is still wrong."
"Surely, my lord understands this, right?"
"Even a thief that stole out of desperation to feed his starving family he must first still be punished before you help him out of his situation. That is, of course, if the noble in question is so well inclined and benevolent to care about their people."
Malwin said eloquently, too eloquently for a man of low status to be capable, and the wise Valentine picked this up and continued his interrogation that was getting nowhere because all the reasoning of the man in front of him was so logical, making it almost seem like they really were just some refugees and the men who made trouble and set up that Security Company thing had little relationship apart from their place of birth.
"You speak eloquently for a commoner."
Valentine said matter of factly.
"I do. Luckily, a benevolent lord found my talented tongue and intelligence and granted me an education, allowing me to be fortunate enough to answer your questions in a polite manner.
Again, the cunning Baron avoided setting off the bell-like ring of the lie-detecting magic, making the composed man frown for a second the first time he had shown any emotion apart from cold indifference since the start of the conversation.
'Was I wrong? Does this Sigismond Security Service really have nothing to do with them?'
Valantine thought before asking a final question.
"Do you have any relationship with Sigismond or the others in that mercenary company at all?"
"I do. They are my old comrades in arms as we both served Lucius Aurellion together, and I am friends with members of that group. But I have already told you this right."
"Do you need me to speak to them and persuade them of something, maybe?"
The baron said with a wide smile, answering each question respectfully as sweat began to appear in patches on his back for the baron had no idea how long he could keep avoiding the lie detector.
Even if the baron's skills in negotiation and deception can help him avoid ringing the lie-detecting magic, that is only if his opponent is not equally skilled in insight and he knows his opponent is as sharp as they come.
"No, that won't be necessary. Thank you for your co-operation were done here."
Valentine said, riding back towards the duchy capital after finishing his business.
Once the Vice Count was gone, Malwin let out a sigh of relief, commenting out loud.
"What a troublesome hawk that Duke has! It's a good job I was here, or maybe he would have found something problematic."