The baronet never did learn the truth. He was informed of a different version of events. In it, Baron Bark was portrayed as a cunning seducer of his wife, and her death was a dark tale in which her lover could have had a hand. The alcoholic, who hadn't held anything in his hand except a cup for a long time, took up a sword and expressed a desire to settle the score with the offender. He ended up being one of the three killed in the battle on the attackers' side.
The baron noticed the knight and with a nod of his head invited him to step aside.
—"Now I have no heir. Following your advice and remarrying seems to be my only way out," the sadness in the man's eyes was all too apparent, "Perhaps you can give me one more piece of advice?"
—"Always at your service, my lord."
—"Castle Bark has lost its owner. And I have lost a good vassal."
No further explanation was needed. The remaining two knights had been taking liberties with their duties for too long and openly disobeyed the baron's orders. The only loyal knight had started a rebellion. The vampire made an instant decision.
—"Did Sir Falz's younger son fight well?"
—"Even too well. He's the one who killed Bark."
—"Knight him and give him Castle Bark."
The baron became interested and even leaned closer, preparing to listen further.
—"His father will be forced to invest in both the castle and the retinue, and there will be no excuse for not serving him. Maybe his father will become more compliant."
Savoyarde chuckled.
—"What a wonderful idea."
***
Life in the vampire village continued as usual. Houses were being furnished. Couples were forming. Several new houses were even built to meet the demand for new unions in seclusion. Underground communications were expanding and improving. The fortifications of the still unfinished castle grew almost every night.
The first trial batches of dairy products were sent to the city. The tasting arranged at the best inn in town was highly successful. Customers were put off only by the high price set for the goods. Nevertheless, an exclusive contract was concluded with one of the merchants, under which the vampires undertook to sell all their dairy products exclusively to him, and he took on their further distribution and sales. The merchant promised great success in the duchy capital. Although regular customers were also found in the city.
As it turned out, Konstantin had been going to discuss the smithy and smelting furnace with the baron's steward. After receiving approval, the necessary buildings were quickly constructed. Part of the prisoners was sent to gather bog ore. And Mikhail Orlov volunteered to be the blacksmith. A strongman, after the bridge was built, couldn't find his place, didn't fit in with the gendarmes, was no more useful on the construction site than anyone else, and turned out to be slightly awkward on the hunt.
When asked at the meeting who wanted to engage in metallurgy, particularly blacksmithing, he was the only volunteer. He had gained knowledge of the trade last year from the broken nose of the blacksmith Peskov, but as a responsible worker in the past world, in this one, too, Mikhail approached the work creatively. Soon, the noses of all the blacksmiths in the area were broken. And he himself began to settle into the blacksmith's shop and even promised Leonid to forge a Damascus steel sword.
—"Where will he get Damascus steel?" Alexander's question almost hung in the air, but it was heard nonetheless.
—"Not from anywhere. He doesn't even know what Damascus steel looks like; I asked," Oleg, who was standing nearby, peeled bark from a willow twig, answered. "He's just read about it in books and talks about it."
—"What does Damascus steel look like?"
—"You'll see; you won't mistake it for anything else!" encouraged the vampire. "But for now, we just need good steel for practical needs. Damascus steel is more of a maximum goal for Mishka (Mikhail)."
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