Captain Edran didn't look to be in a good mood. He swept his cold, calculating eyes over the group while fiddling with the pouch of gold coins, a twitch at the corner of his lips as if he was greatly annoyed. Rayne could guess the reason for his annoyance on his desk.

  Besides the maps and rosters, there were several ledgers stacked together with documents lined around. He glanced at the top of one of them, and realised what they were. Records of the fallen.

  In the corner of the room, Henry sat on a desk with similar documents. They had caught the captain while he was probably sorting out the blood money to be sent out while being reminded of how many men he had lost before they had even moved to the frontlines.

  The air felt thick as no one spoke, and out of all of them, only Henry and Fredrick seemed to be the ones looking forward to Edran speaking. For the same reason, Rayne believed.

  Finally, Edran's eyes gave one last look at the documents before landing on Hobbs.

  “So, the forsaken stole a hundred gold coins from Fredrick, and you found them in his room. But he refused to admit that it was his doing. That's the gist of it, I believe.” He spoke in a brooding tone as if already bored of what they had to say.

  Fredrick stepped forward before Hobbs could even open his mouth. “Yes, Captain. This filthborn traitor has dared to do it to a proud member of the nobility, showing that he's the same as the rest of the dead Frayers, and I believe he should go meet them for this grave offense.”

  Rayne stood still as Fredrick muttered the same thing for the tenth time now. Kesh stiffened at his side, while Bran and Hobbs sighed at the man's rashness.

  Edran pulled his gaze over to him, putting the pouch on the desk. “Is it true that the gold coins were found in your room, Rayne? I need complete honesty.”

  “They were found in plain sight on top of my bed, sir,” he replied and Henry grinned from the side. Rayne only gave him a glance before continuing. “It turns out I'm not really good at thievery, putting the stolen items in plain sight instead of hiding them.”

  Kesh smiled at the sarcasm and Fredrick glared, but Rayne kept his expression steady, seeing the captain's eyes on him.

  “If I had done it, I would obviously not be that stupid. I haven't stolen anything from anyone, and just because it was in my room doesn't prove anything.”

  “You keep fucking—”

  “Stop!” Captain Edran interrupted Fredrick, looking at Rayne. “You said you didn't do it, but it was found in your room right? How does it get there?”

  “I believe Fredrick would know that,” he replied coolly. “I don't even know when the theft took place, but over the past week, I have been working on the ledgers given by Squad Leader Axel, only coming out of my room for training. I finished them, and was out all day with Kesh here around Master Lander's workshop, then at the bouts.”

  Edran raised an eyebrow. “Is that true?”

  Hobbs and Kesh spoke at the same time. The former gave an affirmative nod while Kesh straightened with a nervous smile.

  “Yes, it's true.”

  “Rayne was with me the whole day.”

  Fredrick's face darkened and he almost scoffed at the both of them. He pointed a finger at Rayne and frowned. “I don't think it matters if you left the tower. We are both in the same squad. It will be easy for you to break into my room, and steal the coin.”

  “That's true,” Henry chipped in, sneering at him. “It doesn't matter where he was, Captain. He could have done it anytime.”

  “Are the doors that easy to break into?” Rayne glared at Henry.

  “We don't know how you got in, but I'm pretty sure you will speak about it before your execution,” the old man replied, then turned towards Captain Edran. “I don't think you should hear his side, sir. He's a traitor to the kingdom. Do we really trust anything that comes out of his mouth when a noble lord was stolen from?”

  Fredrick practically beamed at Henry, and looked like he would jump through the desk to give him a big kiss.

  Fortunately for Rayne, Captain Edran didn't share both of their enthusiasm.

  “I don't think their standing matters. They are both soldiers of the same squad,” he said and Henry deflated. “But yes, where Rayne was doesn't matter if the theft happened inside the northern tower itself. You would need more than an alibi to prove your innocence since the coins were found in your room.”

  Rayne almost frowned, but managed to keep his face from showing anything. Edran leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers, quietly waiting for his reply, knowing well that he couldn't prove that he'd not done it.

  He also knew that Fredrick couldn't prove that he had done it, but the ball was in his court. Rayne was the accused and needed to prove his innocence, but since he couldn't do so, he decided to go on the offensive.

  His eyes traced Fredrick, then went back to the captain. “I have a question for Fredrick, sir.”

  “What kind of question?” Edran asked.

  “It's pretty simple,” he replied. “Let's say the coins were stolen. I won't even ask why there were so many coins in a fort where you couldn't even make use of a quarter of them.” He looked straight at Fredrick. “But how did you know it was me who stole them? Out of everyone in the fort, you guessed that it was me. How did you do that? Have you gotten the sight of a seer?”

  Fredrick snapped. “Don't talk to me like that. And isn't it normal to suspect the one man who hates the nobility and has the cheap blood to do anything for his own gain? It was only natural, sir.”

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  Rayne gave him a thin smile. “Out of a fort full of actual thieves with records, you went after the bastard of a fallen house who had spent most of his life in a farm? Where would I have learnt those skills to barge in your room?”

  Fredrick's face darkened. “You can't get out of this. Who knows what skills you might have. Everything you say is just a lie. Quietly accept your execution and the world will be better without you.”

  Each of his words dripped with venom and Rayne even wondered if the Fraysers had wronged his house sometime in history. But it was also clear that Fredrick was getting angrier. He saw it with how fists were clenched and in his eyes full of murderous rage.

  Rayne pressed on. “I lie? I believe you were the one who was caught lying, and trying to take the merits of me and the others to further your cause in front of Axel.” His gaze turned back to Edran. “I think that's the reason Fredrick here is accusing me of a crime he himself orchestrated. Simply to frame me and get his revenge.”

  If the atmosphere was heating before, it felt like it finally reached the boiling point then. Nobles hated getting shown the mirror, and Fredrick was young and brash. Rayne didn't need to do much to get him to act.

  As soon as those words came out of his mouth, Fredrick lunged. His fist came straight at his face. Rayne pulled back, just enough for it to hit his cheek, a sharp pain making him wince.

  Hobbs and Bran moved at once. The giant caught Fredrick's arms before he could do anything else and Bran positioned himself between him and Rayne, giving him a quick glance.

  Captain Edran stood up, frown etching across his features, brows drawn and stomped his fist into the table. “Enough! Fredrick, we are here to solve this like civilised folks. You can't punch anyone like that, much less in my presence!”

  Fredrick seemed to cool a little at the commanding words. He stopped struggling in Hobbs' grasp and sighed, giving another hateful look at Rayne, but flinching at the sight of the captain.

  “I'm sorry, sir. The traitor dared to accuse me. I couldn't take the insult from someone like him. I have my honour,” he said, eyes lowered.

  “And is your honour important enough to disregard me in my own office? I'm only hearing you out because the theft is big, and Rayne did nothing to make you enraged.”

  “He accused—”

  “And you did him.” Edran sighed, sitting back on the chair. “From the facts given to me, it all seems like a lot of finger pointing. The coins were found in Rayne's room, but I would need to know more before putting him responsible for this.”

  Fredrick finally got out of Hobbs' grip, the deputy standing right behind him in case he acted again. He bit his lips in frustration at the words, and Rayne barely hid his smirk.

  His plan was working for now.

  Rayne pressed on. “Captain Edran, I would welcome any investigation and would be part of it. I won't even mind being put through the scrutiny of a truthsayer to prove my innocence, but I request that you also punish Fredrick for assaulting a fellow soldier in front of you.”

  Edran held his gaze, but Henry spoke before him. “A noble hitting you is a small matter.”

  “Is it?” He replied back. “Captain Edran just said that in front of him, both of us are just soldiers of the kingdom. Our standings don't matter in front of a superior rank. Or do you wish to contradict the captain's words?”

  Henry shriveled, flicking a nervous gaze towards the man in question and found him glaring back at him. The old man had a habit of speaking out of turn, and Edran seemed to have enough of him.

  “He's right, Henry. You are just a bystander here. You can't decide what is a small or big matter until you have been promoted to a rank higher than mine without me knowing.”

  Henry gulped. “No, my lord. It's not that. I will stay silent.”

  Edran gave one last glare to Henry before turning his gaze to him and Fredrick. “Rayne is right. Punching a soldier right in front of me is something that deserves appropriate punishment. I can't let it go.”

  Fredrick narrowed his eyes, frustration coming out in his words. “I did nothing wrong, sir. He insulted my honour. I shouldn't have hit him, but I have no remorse for it.”

  Rayne turned to him. “And you insulted my honour by framing me for a crime I didn't commit.”

  “You have no honour, traitor!”

  “I have the blood of the ancestors flowing through me despite my standing. I have the same honour as you, if not more.”

  Fredrick gritted his teeth. “Do not compare me with filth like you.”

  He stomped his feet, looking as if he would lunge again. Hobbs took a step towards him, but instead of following his past actions, Fredrick met eyes with Edran.

  A flash of uncertainty passed by his features before it all turned to rage.

  “I demand a blood duel to the death. The traitor had insulted me and my house enough today, and I want him put to justice, Captain. If the investigation is going to take time, I will have the gods as my witness and end the bastard for myself!”

  The words dropped like a blade between them.

  Even Hobbs stiffened. Bran and Kesh exchanged worried glances, while Henry’s brows drew together in a frown.

  Edran’s eyes narrowed, his voice quiet but sharp as a drawn sword. “Do you know what you just invoked, Fredrick?”

  Fredrick lifted his chin, chest heaving. “I do. Let it be written and witnessed, sir. His blood against mine. The gods will decide who speaks the truth.”

  All eyes turned to Rayne. He could feel the tension pressing down on him. If he accepts the blood duel, everything would be decided based on it. If he won, the gods themselves would have decided his innocence. If he lost, well, he would lose his life.

  But he also knew he couldn’t back down. He had been taunting Fredrick for just this.

  He let the silence stretch, then finally spoke. “So be it. If you want blood, Fredrick, then I’ll be glad to spill yours.”

  He heard Hobbs sigh next to him and Kesh bore his gaze on his back. But the decision was made.

  Edran tapped a finger on the table, eyes looking disapprovingly, but he couldn't change anything now. Once a challenge ensued, no one could back down.

  “Very well. If both parties agree, the duel will be sanctioned. Tomorrow at dawn, in the training grounds. Before the entire warband. The gods will decide who's innocent and who's guilty. The winner will walk away with his life and everything in the possession of the other.”

  Fredrick scoffed at him as if already imagining his corpse on the ground. Rayne knew that once the anger wore off, the man might be regretting the decision, but wouldn't be able to back down.

  Blood duels were very sacred in Valeria and the adjacent kingdoms.

  He bowed to the captain, and turned to leave. Rayne and the others did the same and slowly walked out of the room and got on the stairs.

  As soon as they were out of the building, Kesh grabbed his shoulders.

  “What are you going to do?”

  Rayne met eyes with him. “The only thing I could do. I will win.”

  ***

  A/N - I know some readers think this is a filler, but it's actually not, and would set up the next arc. I treat it more as a light arc after all the troll warlord action. So as to not have one high stake battle after another.