"Before the Red Blades incident, I had never been so cornered in my entire life."
"I was forced to watch and agree as my power lessened while covering my ass."
"But there was nothing that I could do if despicable schemes worked; you gain great rewards."
"But if they fail or get exposed by some darn bad luck, you will have to watch as all of your hard labour is shattered into tiny pieces of glass."
"Ridorfin Rikutus, Duke of Detarnor in the Kingdom of Nathia"
….
Footsteps echoed through Ridorfin's silent audience chamber as Count Nidor Pagnar and 5 of his knights entered behind them Captain Packard was dragged into the duke's court in a pitiful state. His clothes, which were dirty and torn from days of travelling, showed the suffering he had endured since his capture by the multiethnic noble's prisoner as his armour was stripped from him shortly after he was captured, as the rest of the bandits and Red Blades fled in terror from those extraordinary caravan guards who sent a shiver down the mercenary captain's spine whenever he thought about them. When the dirty and unkempt man saw the duke, a glint of hope appeared in his eyes as he saw his employer hoping that the cunning duke would have a way to save him, but the cold, ruthless frown that was plastered over Duke Ridorfin's face sent a chill down not only his but down backs of most of the duke's court as few dared to draw the ire of his anger.
The courtiers and nobles of the duke's court looked on with fear and respect at the two men, none of them daring to interfere in their conflict, with Vice Count Valentine being the only noble to be seemingly unaffected, maintaining the cold and aloof expression that he was so famous for and that terrified so many criminals and prisoners of the duchy.
Walking up to the duke's throne that was placed on a raised platform, he stopped at the bottom. His escort of knights had already handed over Packard to him as the count looked at the angry duke with a smile. It was apparent that the jovial Count of Brineyard was enjoying this situation immensely.
A situation where he held the power and everyone knows it.
"Your grace."
Count Nidor said with a bit of sarcasm as he bowed respectfully. If it were anyone else or any other situation, then Duke Ridorfin would not humour such disrespect, but this situation was unlike any other he had dealt with in the past because, for the first time in the duke's decade-long reign, he was at a disadvantage.
Because of what Count Nidor had done, his retreat had been cut off as he expected that in the next few days, the entire kingdom and even the surrounding nations would have heard about what happened in the duchy and how one of the duke's allies had taken part in banditry and were fought off by The Count of Brineyard and 150 mercenaries.
"Count Nidor, your pretence has been missed in my court as of late. What trouble have you brought this time?"
Duke Ridorfin said with a sigh. He had already decided how this meeting would go, but he still had to entertain this humiliating farce.
"I have not brought trouble but a gift for you, your grace."
Count Nidor said, pulling roughly on the rope that bound Packard, forcing the veteran-muscled mercenary to kneel before the duke.
"I was happily hunting when I came upon a caravan being attacked by bandits, and being the loyal subject of the kingdom that I am, intervened to help commerce flow through your domain, which is essential to the prosperity of your 'just domain.'
Count Nidor said loudly, emphasising the 'just domain' as many here knew that in recent years, the Duchy of Detarnor was less than just and a hotbed for corruption and illegal deals as many courtiers themselves had engaged in such dealings with only a few eccentric ones like Valentine refusing to and exposing people when they could though because most of the time the duke indulged these corrupt people the effect they could have was limited.
"After helping to defeat the bandits and capturing some of them, I expected to find just some criminal or foreign agents, but I never would have thought that some of the captives would be from the Red Blades!"
"I must also add that those people from Sigismond Security Solutions are some of the best fighters I have witnessed. Despite being ambushed by nearly double the number, they managed to expertly kill many bandits while losing only a few men themselves."
"It was almost as if I watched the king's royal knights fighting."
The count shouted as if it were some new shocking revelation that had not been known by people for years, but without evidence and with the support of the duke, no one until now had been able to do anything about these bandits.
It also made everyone stand in shock.
Was the king behind this?
Or the crown prince?
Both had the human resources to pull this off and the prospect of offending the royal family, who still held a decent amount of power and abundant legitimacy, was not something any noble in the room wanted.
"Your grace has sent out so many expeditions in the past to deal with bandits, but they seem to just disappear, and even when we find a camp or two and destroy them, they quickly return to ravage the lands, stealing from the peasantry who we have a duty to protect and disrupting trade that brings prosperity to the land."
"I like many of the good lords here…."
The count said righteously, taking a moment to bow to the members of the duke's court, keeping a broad grin on his face as the duke's aura got colder and colder as he saw what the count was trying to accomplish with his speech.
"Have always wondered how they seemed to know when our bandit suppression forces set out and managed to leave in advance. Now it is clear that The Red Blades, who were always at the forefront of these expeditions, must have told the bandits of our coming, allowing them to slip away and avoid justice for their parasitic ways."
"Your grace, you have favoured them for years, but these ungrateful villains dare to take part in banditry and try to shake the very foundation of our great kingdom! Who knows which of our many enemies may have bribed or influenced them to make trouble for us and weaken us so they can conquer us!"
"So, your grace, based on this information and my own testimony, I request that you immediately arrest all members of The Red Blades so we can interrogate them and reveal the truth of this matter."
The count finished his plea, making Packard's eyes widen as the once confident man shivered with fear while all the courtiers, except Valentine, of course, whose eyebrows only twitched, took in a deep breath. Each and every one of the nobles and officials present, even Baron Urias, that fawner could see what Count Nidor was trying to accomplish.
Others in the court worried that this was the king's or the royal family's will, also came forward and called out.
"I join the plea! Your grace, please arrest the Red Blades and reveal the truth!"
Count Nidor didn't just want to weaken The Red Blades!
He wanted The Red Blades to be completely eradicated!
He was trying to accuse them not only of banditry but treason, too and had even managed to have others join the plea, slowly cornering Duke Ridorfin step by step!
He wanted to take away this pawn of the duke and challenge his control over the merchants that had until now been firmly in Ridorfin's iron fist, allowing trade to flow freely.
Duke Ridorfin's entire body shook, his eyes filled with hatred as he had not expected the Count of Brineyard, who usually kept to himself, to suddenly challenge him like this.
This had nothing to do with The Red Blades. In fact, Duke Ridorfin could not give two shits whether they lived or died, as there were always other mercenaries he could hire that would be more than happy to take on jobs for him.
The problem is what this incident represented!
If the Count of Brineyard continued to go around capturing bandits like this, then no mercenary company would dare take on a job that involved having to take on a master fighter and a powerful count because the moment that they are discovered, they would be executed. While money is good and can make people do many things they could never imagine themselves doing when your life is on the line, everything changes, especially if your death leads to terrible things happening to your friends and family.
Because Nidor had said he suspected them to be working for foreign kingdoms, the charges against these mercenaries suddenly changed for the worse.
While someone may be hanged or imprisoned for being a bandit and for committing murder or armed robbery against a merchant caravan, their families and their friends will not be persecuted by the state, only having lost a beloved family member; however, charges of espionage and treason were a whole different beast altogether.
As with many other kingdoms in the world of DO, the worst punishments in Nathia were not for murder or any other horrible crime but for treason, which could lead to the extermination of the family as it nearly did for House Aurellion in Chavaria. If it were not for the loyal Pelican Guards who fought tooth and nail to get the last heir of Aurellion Railius out of the country, then Lucius and his entire family would have been exterminated for treason like so many had before him, showing just how terrifying being found guilty of treason was.
Even their friends would be interrogated to make sure they had nothing to do with it, and while mercenaries put their lives on the line regularly, their loved ones and families did not.
So, the moment treason comes into the equation, you find that the people willing to take on such jobs get smaller and smaller as few people and experts can go up against the power of a kingdom or don't fear the experts and bounty hunters that would come after them.
If The Red Blades knew that they risked treason charges when they attacked this caravan and had to fight a master fighter, they would have refused as it was too risky, especially if they got captured and a high-status noble accused them. They were almost guaranteed to be found guilty! This is because the testimony of a noble is trusted far more than any other kind of testimony, so right now, the entire Red Blades mercenary company is in one massive bind that is very hard to get out of!
They were not the powerful dukes and nobles in a kingdom who had armies to defend them, which is why it is rare for a noble who has committed a grave crime to get a much lower penalty than a commoner apart from their elevated status and increased rights it was mainly these armies and the risk of civil war that allowed them to be bolder because even if a lord died, their family would not.
What was worse was that Sigismond Security Service had managed to fight off these bandits long enough for the Count to arrive. With only 50 men, and from the reports, they did so with few casualties, making their reputation soar and showing that anyone who hires them did not have to worry about the cunning Duke of Detarnor from pulling any schemes because, in the face of absolute power, all schemes become nothing but small tricks that can only delay the inevitable.
This meant that there were ways other than through the duke to get access to the lucrative land trade route that went through his lands, meaning that in one fell swoop, a large part of the duke's power over the kingdom's nobles was destroyed!
This will also earn Sigismond Security Solutions the support of many nobles in the kingdom, likely including the royal family of Nathia, turning them in an instant into a troublesome existence that he would have to be careful around.
Why was this, one may ask?
It is simple, really, the nobles of the kingdom would never allow Duke Ridorfin to continue his monopoly over this vital trade route, which he used as leverage in his negotiations with them.
So to prevent a situation like that from happening again, they would support Sigismond Security Solutions, which could deal with the scheming duke as long as they helped everyone equally, which they intended to do and, in one swift move, make them an almost untouchable existence for if it is one thing even kings fear it is the anger the noble class whose influence has seeped into all levels of the kingdoms administrative and military structure.
With little choice, the duke could only give in this time and turned a cold lion-like gaze over Captain Packard, the man who had put him into this position, making him shudder and shake even more, for no one wanted to be on the wrong side of the regal man sitting on the high throne before him.
As many who had were now ten feet underground.
"YOU SCOUNDRIAL AND TO THINK THAT I TRUSTED YOU! VALENTINE!"
"Your grace."
The Nathian vice count said respectfully. Unlike the others, he had a calm face that stayed cold and calculated even in the face of the duke's anger.
"TAKE THIS SHIT STAIN TO THE DUNGEONS AND GET EVERY LAST CONSPRITOR FROM HIS RANCID MOUTH!"
The duke shouted, not needing to put on a show of anger as he took out all of his frustration on the poor man who only did what he ordered before saying in a calm and ice-cold voice.
"You understand what I mean, don't you?
"Yes, your grace. Every conspirator will be found!"
Valentine said calmly, nodding as a glint of ruthlessness passed through his eyes that chilled many present at court. He was an intelligent man and knew exactly what his liege lord meant while motioning his hand, and two guards ran in, each taking one arm of the man who was struggling against the ropes that bound him and began dragging Packard out, who started to plead to the duke!
"Your grace! Your grace! I only did what you ordered! How can you treat me like this!"
"Your grace, have mercy. Have mercy!"
Packard shouted as he was quickly hauled away from the guards. Following close behind them was Valentine, who punched the mercenary captain to shut him up, breaking his nose in the process. In his panic, Packard had unknowingly sealed his dastardly fate because now that he had accused the duke, there was no way that Ridorfin would have mercy on him.
"Count Nidor Pagnar, you have uncovered a conspiracy against these lands and have destroyed a group of bandits who have plagued the duchy for over a decade. I grant you 10,000 gold and the village of Easthallow to add to your fief. I will also report your deeds to the royal court so they may reward you as they wish."
The duke said while gritting his teeth, having not only lost a pawn but some of his influence over the kingdom and as a final slap in the face reward his biggest political rival.
"Marshal Edgard!"
The duke called out turning to his trusted commander-in-chief.
"Your grace.
The old armoured man said respectfully stepping forward.
"Arrest all the members of the Red Blades for interrogation if they resist kill them if they run away post bounties for them!"
The duke said ruthlessly needing to clean his hands of this situation.
"Yes, your grace I shall go immediately!"
The old martial man said as he went to mobilise the duke's forces in the local area.
"Court Dismissed!"
Duke Ridorfin said in a frustrated, authoritative voice dripping with venom; his heavy footsteps resounded through the room as he left, his face showing his unstable emotional state as he went. The other court members bowed respectfully to their liege lord before turning to leave, each with a grave expression, while one jovial count left with a spring in his step.