"This Gastov, what's the matter?" Eshu glanced down at the ground, where the muddy gold bar lay alone in the snow. Despite the obvious inferiority of the skin, in the north, where economic hardship is generally scarce, even an earl who receives a fort may not have the financial resources to carry a piece or more of it as a pocket for trading, and then discard it carelessly after a dissolution.

"Gastorf Sheborn was the child adopted by Duke Alexis during the Second Battle of the Dragon and Lion, but he was never disciplined with care, so he gradually grew into an out-and-out gentleman, and he was also notorious in the Dragon Knight Academy. Lord Baranduk, you don't need to be angry with him, although Gastov does not have the right to inherit, Duke Alexis's protective personality will not be compromised by his estranged blood. Therefore, many counts were reluctant to offend Gastov, but they did not deliberately curry favor with him. Dahal turned his horse's head and motioned for Essho to follow him, "Every year at the beginning of spring, the Royal Academy and the Dragon Knight Academy send cadets to exchange activities, and Gastov is the non-commissioned officer who is responsible for leading the team this year. However, those who surround you are not strictly dragon knights, but subordinate servants of the Order, but they are armed by Gastov with his own privileges to act as his own guard. However, no matter how much Duke Alexis indulges his adopted son, he will not easily let him deploy the already scarce war horse privately. Otherwise, Gastov would not have rushed out of the city after hearing the rumors about you. Originally, Gig was supposed to come looking for you, but the dean was worried that with Gig's honest temperament, if he was provoked by Gastov's words, he might beat him up, and it would be even more difficult to end up at that time. Luckily, I'm quick, or you'd probably have cut someone down. Captain Dahar shook his head, "Lord Baranduk, as the new baron of the North, it would be better to have a more restrained way of thinking about using force to solve all problems. But then again, your trip to Cato seems to have been quite fruitful, but—" Dahar's gaze fell on Eshur's left arm, which drooped in a very unnatural manner, "what happened?" If I'm not mistaken, it's supposed to be a ballista, and the Cato would have used siege weapons by now? ”

"It's complicated, it's hard to explain." "I was going to bring back more horses, but I lost a lot of them on the way back. ”

"It's a shame." "It's even more unfortunate that with the Order's budget, the Dean will probably only buy one stallion as a stallion - to be sure, none of them have been castrated, right?" Dahar bent down on his horse, threw a quick glance at the crotch of the stallions behind him, and looked up in some surprise, "I've heard that the Cato only trade horses that have been castrated. ”

"This batch is an exception, and it is not strictly a transaction." Estheu replied, "I have accidentally intervened in the tradition of fighting horses between Zakar and Juda, and these can be regarded as a thank you or reward from Zakhar. ”

"Zakar would be willing to let you join in their horse racing tradition...... What a surprise. I had heard more than once how enlightened the maverick warlord of Cato was, and now it seems that those rumors were not false. Dahal shook his head, "It's a pity, Livingston's neighbor is Juda's old madman, because his son died here for no reason, and he is angry with the north, so that we now have to watch out not only for the barbarians in the northern mountains, but also for the horse bandits in the southern steppes." If Zakhar's territory were to swap places with Juda, scholars would be happy to venture deep into the steppes to explore its unique geography and climate, and the north would be able to get a piece of the war horse trade sooner rather than later. ”

Between words, Boimbul was already close at hand. To Estheau's and Dahal's surprise, Gastov was waiting at the gates, even in the presence of Brochette, dressed in a pitch-black cloak woven of raven feathers, in addition to his usual white robes, and a pair of solemn scales embroidered with gold thread on his shoulders. Dahar chuckled in his heart - it was the outfit of an arbitrator in the Court of Lords.

"Dean." Dahal dismounted and saluted Brochette with doubt. He knew that the arbitrator was one of the many titles that Brochette wore in Poynbru, but Dahar had the impression that Brochette had rarely been seen exercising authority in this cloak—the dean would not normally meddle in Poynbrut's internal affairs.

Brochet nodded and looked at Gastov: "Viscount Gastov Sheborn Alexis, are you sure you want to charge Baron Esher Baranduk with illegal theft and possession of your property?" ”

"Exactly, I believe he has a gold bar that belongs to me with him." "I accidentally lost it on the road, and then I went back to look for it and it was gone." When I think about it, this new baron who had traveled with me and had returned for a while was the most suspicious."

"Baron," Brochette looked at Burnno for a moment before turning his gaze to Estheu, "do you have anything to appeal to the accusations?" ”

"I've never seen this on the road—uh, Viscount. Actually, I met him for the first time. Eshy jumped off his horse and spread out his hands—he wanted to, but his left arm could not move, "I've never seen any gold bars." Before I met Captain Dahal, I was walking alone, except for a pack of wild dogs that came out of the way and followed me and barked wildly for a while. ”

Boy. Dahal couldn't laugh or cry. Gastov didn't forget it, but he didn't expect Baranduk to be unwinded, and his words were full of-for-tat. It seems that his previous admonition was taken as a deaf ear by the baron.

Brochette blinked, the muscles of his cheeks twitching slightly, and for a moment the pretended seriousness on his face was almost cut by the corners of his mouth that could not help but rise, but he quickly regained his composure. "Very well, Baron, is there anything else you would like to add?"

"Nope."

"Viscount Gastov," Brochette turned to Gastov, "Baron Barlandoke thinks he has never met you until this moment. The testimonies of the two of you are conflicting and cannot be compared. ”

"Then search yourself. If you search it out, you will be convicted, but if you can't find it, you will be pulled down. Gastov waved his hand impatiently, "Are we going to talk nonsense here according to the procedure word by word for half a day?" ”

"I refuse." Estheu was categorical.

"Baron Baranduk, according to the laws of Livingston, you cannot refuse this request because your title is lower than that of your accuser." Brochette said.

Eshua frowned: "If it is stipulated by the law, then I will abide by it." But—" Estheu's words came to an abrupt halt, and the injury on his left arm began to fare up again. This time the pain was extremely intense, accompanied by an unbearable feeling of dizziness, as if thousands of needles were cruising and turning in the dead limbs. It took a few seconds for Essho to regain his ability to speak, "But, if it can't be found, should the accuser pay the price for his rashness?" ”

"According to the law," Brochette pondered for a moment, "the accused's reputation will be restored, and financial compensation will be commensurate." If you really don't have Viscount Gastorf's gold bar, then as the initiator of the false accusation, he should give you a gold bar. ”

"This is the end of the time for the popularization of the law. I've got the gold bars ready, and if you don't find them, you can take them. Gastov took out another gold bar from his bosom and threw it in the snow, and the color was even more mixed than the previous one. Although Eschu was more or less aware of it, when he saw Gastov's attitude, he was completely sure that this person was just finding fault all along.

By this time, Gastov had already approached Esher - he did not let his entourage do it for him, but stepped forward himself. He circled around Eshu a few times, then suddenly raised Eshu's left arm, then swayed from side to side violently, and his other hand was kneading and tapping down his shoulder at the same time. Before the previous pain could completely dissipate, it broke out again under a series of brutal actions blessed by Gastov's hard hand armor, and this time the attack was even more violent, although Eshu was mentally prepared that his injured arm would be used by the other party to make a fuss, and gritted his teeth in advance, but he still involuntarily gasped intermittently. Although he resisted the urge to cry out with unparalleled willpower, the twitching muscles of his face, the tiny moan that lay in his throat betrayed his pain to Gastov. The latter raised a smug and contemptuous sneer, lowered Essho's left arm, and took a step back, a twisted smile on his face. "You guys, come up, rip off this guy's pants, and give me the 'carefully' look for that gold bar." He said to his entourage.

Dahal stepped forward angrily, but as soon as he took a step, he was stopped by Brochette: "There is no need."

"Dean," Dahal lowered his voice, "Baranduke could not tolerate this level of humiliation, and Gastov's actions went beyond a body search. It's better to stop before things get bigger. ”

"But I'm just trying to make things bigger, Dahar." "Otherwise, do you think Gastorff can get me out to preside over this farce?" ”

Dahal was stunned, still pondering the meaning of Brochette's words, when several coherent, almost indiscriminate screams were heard beside him, and Gastov's retinue flew upside down from Estheau, their heads down into the snow, and a heavy fist mark appeared on their polished and polished armor.

"Huh," Gastov folded his arms for a moment, "Your Excellency, is this going to violently resist the arbitrator's decision?" ”

"Enough is enough, bastard." Eshu moved his right shoulder vigorously, "Otherwise, I will have to discipline you well for your biological father." His words were extremely sharp and his tone was extremely cold.