The overcast day was welcomed by the vampires as a holiday. The clouds filling the sky seemed like a blessing from the gods. A whole cavalcade of riders headed into the city. Unrestricted by the Triumvirate's decree on sunwalks, almost all community leaders expressed their desire to visit the humans.
First of all, they had to 'cut the sturgeon' and make many stay behind. Well, tell me, what should Semen do in the city? His job is to procure blood and distribute the gathered! Want to see new faces? Take a stroll in Peski! But even despite the administrative restrictions, many still went into the city. A knight with two gendarmes, Sergey and immediately three of his scouts, Igor disguised as a monk, Konstantin with Oksana and their guards, Gennady and Maria. Nearly fifteen people!
Peski managed to pass through as quickly as possible. The upcoming conversation with the mayor was burdensome, although the man, after handing over the care of his daughter to the vampires, had no further involvement in her fate and was not even interested in her life. They had to wait at the gates.
A huge caravan of covered wagons with significant escorts was leaving the city. The vampires could only look on in astonishment at the heavy wagons carrying cargo. The horses weren't even covered with blankets! A small goblin ambush and they would all stay on the trail, becoming the victors' meal.
Finally, the caravan finished, and the cavalcade was able to enter the city streets. Here their paths diverged almost immediately. Only half of them entered the castle gates. Alexander was immediately escorted to the drawing-room, warned that His Lordship, Baron, was absent from the castle and had left for business in the city, but promised to be back for breakfast. Konstantin and Oksana, on the other hand, were locked in with the steward, discussing some financial matters together.
The wait for the baron dragged on a bit. Examining the walls and their coverings got boring almost immediately. Counting cracks in the ceiling entertained the vampire, but even that got old. And yet there was no sign of the owner. Servants bustled about outside the door. A couple of times, one of them stopped in front of the closed door, lingered for a moment, and then left without entering. Alexander could only mentally smile at such behavior.
For some unknown reason, his appearance was something of an epitome of beauty for the local girls. A charming handsome man that the girls swooned over, that's how Stefania characterized him when directly asked. If he were an ordinary resident of this world, his fate would have been quite easy indeed, with the count of his love conquests lost before reaching adulthood.
A new scent made the vampire approach. Perfumed water, clean clothes and body, cosmetics. Only a noblewoman could smell like that. In the castle, there was only one such person. The baronetess Isolde Savoyardi. The 'Machiavelli' of local distribution and hopelessly in love with him. And she had women's days!
When the girl entered the drawing-room, the vampire's natural charm kicked in. He hadn't drunk human blood for several days, and the scent of such a close and desired target simply drove him crazy.
"To catch the baron in the act? I'll enjoy it and satisfy the beauty myself!"
The thought of how exactly he would enjoy it, or rather 'what' through, made him shudder. All these feelings reflected on the knight's face when the girl entered, and she gladly took them upon herself.
"Sir knight! I'm glad to see you at Savoyardi Castle."
Isolde made an elegant curtsey, emphasizing her bosom. The vampire did not delay, reciprocating with a courteous reply and returning the bow, inviting the girl to sit.
Indeed, in this world, the title of a knight was higher than that of a baronet, and as a guest in the castle, he had to make decisions here. The title of baronet, like that of a knight, was not hereditary but bestowed upon a person. While the former title was granted to the heir of the barony by right of birth, the latter had to be earned on the battlefield.
Locals rightly believed that an earned title was worth more than one inherited by birthright. The baron's only son had not bothered to serve even in his father's retinue, hence he did not possess the knightly insignia, and the vampire found himself in an awkward position, the main one in the room.
(*The sign indicating the presence of a knightly title is the insignia. The insignia on the right shoulder meant that the bearer had a single knightly title, while on the left shoulder, it indicated that there was a higher title.)
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