For a moment, Ero watched his girlfriend as she carefully made her way to her quarters. The silent question hung between them, why he didn't help her.
Her delicate body made her inferior to every man. Besides, she would be his fiancée if it were up to his father, Marno, and even himself. So, he should protect her from everyone and everything. He even felt the desire to keep her away from anything that could harm her. Yet, he knew that Alina wouldn't want that, just as she would never see him any differently.
To her, he was just a friend, not the boy who had been secretly in love with her for years. He had even had a gift made, in case he ever dared to ask her seriously. Whether she could choose a spoiled nobleman's son as her husband.
And a part of him even enjoyed the little teasing between them. Like today when she stood before him. Angry at his absence, sweaty from the hard fight but also proud of her skills.
Moreover, Alina could be a cunning beast. She knew how to compensate for her inferiority. Whether through alcohol or, as yesterday, through another distraction.
But if she were really to get into trouble, he would be there for her. Although this seemed rather unlikely to him. Alina could be a better fighter than she pretended to be. After all, she had shown it often enough to an arrogant brat in her childhood. Years had passed since her last serious fight. Now she lacked the training to regain her former skill.
Ero first lifted the top bar and placed it next to him. Then the second, until the entrance to the paddock was open. Shortly after, he drove the horses in, not even bothered by the fact that they still bore their burdens. He would take them off later.
He kept only the two leaders, their big loot, with him.
The school had several paddocks. Some for their own horses, another for guest horses. This prevented problems that a foreign horse could cause in the group.
"Hey kid!" shouted one of the robbers, even as Ero closed the gate again.
The fat one came so close that he blew his stinking breath in Ero's face.
With a wave of his hand, he tried to dispel the foul stench, to no avail. With horror, he thought about what this guy would have planned if his pretty girlfriend were really just a little dancer, not the elegant bounty hunter he grew up with.
A fate he wished neither for her nor for any other girl.
The problem was not this flabby face, but the second leader. This tall guy whom even Ero could only make run under threat of violence.
He could have caused problems for Alina if she hadn't managed to overpower him in another way.
"What do you think of a proposal?" Barely had the stench dissipated when the fat one opened his mouth again.
Ero had to control himself particularly well to maintain the attention he had aroused, although his mind was more on so many other things. Like stitching this fat lump's lips together.
"What kind?" he asked against his will.
"I have a huge treasure," the fat one said with a broad grin, distorting his face. His eyes narrowed to a conspiratorial look, assuming the boy had taken the bait. "It's hidden. But if you untie me, I'll tell you the place. What do you think? Gold, jewels, enough to pay for thirty of those cheap floozies like the one you're chasing."
Just the insult to Alina screamed for Ero to relieve his father of the tedious duty of judging this guy.
"Where is your treasure?" he asked nonetheless, directing all his attention to the fat one. The blade of his sword lifted slightly under his grip, so that it gleamed in the sunlight. "What would I do with a treasure that might be in the neighboring country? It's not even worth the journey."
To the robber, the boy seemed to be on his side, so he continued chatting happily.
"Oh, it's worth it," he exclaimed. "But you don't have to travel that far. I parked the wagons nearby, not even half a day's journey from the camp. You'll have to untie me for more information."
Under the angry gaze of the other robber, he turned his sweaty back to Ero, silently urging him to free him.
The sword returned to its sheath.
"I know nothing about dealing with a measly treasure," he declared with the lofty voice of his lineage.
"My treasure is not measly," shouted the confused man. "Certainly not. It took me years to take it from idiots like him."
It would be fun to lock the two of them together in a cell. The fat one pointed directly at the big guy next to him.
"I certainly don't need your treasure," said Ero, causing the man next to him to step back a few paces.
At his signal, a beautiful black mare trotted to him. His Falira. With little pressure, he made his obedient girl turn so that both could clearly see her brand on the left hind leg. The hinted rose sprouting from a B.
The sign of an exquisite breeding line. Powerful sprinters and noble carriage horses.
The fat one's teeth ground loudly as he recognized the mark of the man he would soon face in court and whose execution block awaited him.
"I am from Miro, and it seems you have forgotten my name. You will meet my father very soon."
"Damn bastard!" shouted the fat one. Immediately, he lunged at Ero.
Even though his hands were tied, he still had teeth that he intended to sink into the boy's flesh in his rage.
Ero pushed himself off his horse and jumped to the right, rolling on the ground in a roll. Before the man could even guess what was coming next, the boy was already back on his feet and preparing for a powerful leap.
The blow with his elbow to this guy's face felt so good.
The man beneath him gasped. He sank to the ground and spat not only blood but also two of his teeth.
"If only I could," growled the fat one, spitting out his blood again. "Then..."
Ero couldn't care less.
He grabbed the ropes of the two and dragged them behind him after praising his good mare.