The inherently evil Peake brat

Titus got out of bed, draped on his clothes, went to the door, and opened it a crack, lowering his voice to ask his captain:

"Do you know who they are?"

Captain Parker, whose bald head gleamed, was tall and so broad-shouldered that he nearly filled most of the doorway. He replied just as quietly:

"The leader is an unfamiliar face. Calls himself Othello, but judging by how his guards address him, he should be a Blamont too."

By now, Parker had guessed that the girl who had spent last night in the earl's room was the young lady of House Blamont whom the Dornish visitors were seeking.

Titus nodded, closed the door, and turned to ask the now-dressed Lora Blackmont:

"Darling, is there a knight named Othello at Blackmont?"

"Othello? Has he come back? Oh, Othello belongs to a cadet branch of our family. As far as I know, he left Dorne several years ago, saying he wanted to make his way in the world. I never expected him to become a knight and return to Blackmont."

Lora's face was slightly pale, her fingers clenching her skirt. Her long red hair fell over her shoulders, and some of her earlier sweet innocence had given way to fluster.

Titus gave her a warm smile and walked over, reaching out to straighten the neckline of her fitted dress. The fingertips of his other hand traced her sash along the graceful curve of her waist as he murmured soothingly:

"It's all right, Lora. It's just that your family seems about to discover our little secret."

Lora wore a pair of white riding breeches beneath her dress. The practical combination lent her otherwise soft, feminine attire a dashing air, but her tightly pressed lips betrayed her anxiety.

She had concealed one detail: this Othello was also among the prospective husbands her father favored for marrying into the family... With her being his female heir, Earl Blamont had begun screening suitable candidates for her from the family's cadet branches early on.

Husband and wife would share a surname and already know each other's backgrounds. This was the most common choice among Dorne's female lords.

Still unaware of this, Titus put on a black hunting outfit quilted with gold thread. At his belt hung a longsword in a silver-plated holly scabbard, and the silver pommel at the end of its hilt swayed slightly as he moved, lending an added edge to his already handsome, upright figure.

Once they were ready, the pair left the bedroom and followed Captain Parker downstairs.

As they passed through the corridor laid with dark carpeting, the clamor in the entrance hall grew clearer.

When they pushed open the door, the voices fell silent.

Twenty Dornish guards in leather armor stood on one side, watching the doorway warily. On the other side stood an equal number of Peake soldiers.

The moment Titus entered, he saw two men standing before the opposing groups of soldiers, locked in a battle of stares. One was Parker's deputy, Bowen. At the earl's arrival, the dark-skinned deputy captain hurried over with his men to greet him.

The knight who had been facing Bowen, and who looked well into his thirties, was presumably the Othello Blamont Parker had mentioned.

From what Lora had said, this visitor from Blackmont should only have been in his twenties. Did he really look that old?

Sure enough, the knight's eyes abruptly lit up the instant he saw Lora. When his gaze shifted to Titus, they filled with anger, fixing relentlessly on the young, handsome Earl of Starpike.

In his many-times-embellished memories of his youth, he had been the childhood playmate of Lady Lora, Blackmont's "unattainable flower"... Had Titus known, he would automatically have translated that into more readily understandable terms like "childhood sweetheart" or "girl next door"... In reality, however, Othello had merely been one of the many guards responsible for the safety of the head of the family's daughter.

Earl Blamont's eldest daughter only remembered his name thanks to the old earl's regular mentions of the various candidates. Otherwise, she would not have known who he was at all.

This was not Lady Lora's first time "leaving home for an adventure." Whenever she went out, guards from House Blamont would follow her in secret.

This time, however, the young lady had gone much too far. Not only had she wandered into the hostile Dornish Marches, but she had also become the Earl of Starpike's "prey" in the woods to the east.

At the time, the guards secretly following and protecting her had realized that things had gone badly wrong. Daunted by being so far from home and mindful of the other side's superior numbers, they had hurriedly retreated the way they had come and run back to report to Earl Bird Blamont.

Othello Blamont, who had just returned to Blackmont and was wholly intent on becoming a husband who married into the family, was naturally furious when he heard. After strenuously securing the assignment from the old earl, he had led soldiers north through the night and hurried to Starpike.

Unfortunately, he was still too late.

The childhood sweetheart lost to the newcomer. Such was fate. Besides, he was not even a genuine childhood sweetheart.

Titus could more or less guess something from the man's jealous expression and furious stare. He glanced at the nervous-looking Lora, who hastily offered a sweet, slightly ingratiating smile when she saw him looking.

Othello nearly exploded at the sight. Unable to restrain himself, he stepped forward and demanded angrily, "You shameless wretch of Starpike! You dared abduct Blackmont's most dazzling ruby! Release Lady Lora at once!"

House Peake and House Blamont were hereditary enemies.

The present, however, was a rare "time of peace," which allowed him to remain thoroughly discourteous even on Starpike's territory.

"So you're Othello? If not for Lora, I would seriously question the upbringing House Blamont provides... Ah, my apologies. I forgot you're merely a member of a cadet branch. Naturally, you haven't received the corresponding education. Some crude behavior is only to be expected. I mustn't be too hard on you."

Titus raised an eyebrow, his indigo eyes appraising him as though he were a boor unfit for polite company. Toward the end, he even feigned an apology, wearing a look that said it all made sense now.

"I won't hold your rude words against you, but Lora merely came to visit Starpike. How did that become abduction in the mouth of a lout like you? And what is this talk of releasing her?"

He even turned slightly, placing himself protectively before Lora. "With you twisting the truth like this, it seems I must carefully consider whether you people claiming to come from Blackmont can truly keep Lora safe..."

"Shut up! Our Blamont affairs are not for a Peake like you to pass judgment on!" Othello interrupted furiously, his hand abruptly clenching his sword hilt, the joints of his armor giving a faint clink.

His expression grew uglier still when he saw Lady Lora, "protected" by Titus, seemingly enjoying every moment. Her face full of admiration, she was leaning slightly forward, drawing even closer to that Peake boy.

"A brute's choice of words is always so crude. Were it me, however angry I was, I would still say 'hold your tongue'... Look, Lora, doesn't that sound a little more polite than 'shut up'?" Titus was not remotely angry at being interrupted and even had the leisure to tease the girl behind him.

Hearing this, Lora could no longer remain solemn either. She covered her mouth and giggled.

Damn little brat!

Othello's jealousy and hatred intensified, his chest heaving.

Before he could speak in anger, Titus turned back. The smile had already faded from his face, and a cold light flashed in his eyes as he looked at Othello again, his voice also turning chilly:

"May I ask, Ser Othello, just what have I done to make you treat me with such disrespect?

My guard captain not only refrained from confiscating your weapons, but brought you into my castle whole and intact, without a single piece missing... This Other-damned time of peace! Whatever the case, I believe Starpike has shown Blackmont ample respect.

Yet as a guest, from the moment we first met until now... you won't even call me 'my lord'?"

At these words, Othello finally remembered that he was indeed in the ancestral castle of the young earl before him. The rash knight forcibly suppressed the anger in his chest and said through gritted teeth:

"Fine... fine, I'll call you 'my lord'! Lord Titus, whatever honeyed words you use, Blackmont's honor cannot be sullied! If you truly have any guts, fight me. If you lose, you'll obediently let Lady Lora return with me!"

Othello's courtesy did not last long. Titus had seen through him at a glance: he truly was a boor.

He was no good at verbal sparring, so he resorted to what he believed he did best, intending to teach the "noble" Earl of Starpike a lesson by force.

Duels, or trials by combat, had always been popular on this continent called Westeros.

The result of a fight could be used to settle disputes and resolve disagreements... Of course, only people of a certain standing qualified. If one was not of noble birth, one at least had to be a knight.

The Blamont knight's roar echoed through the hall. Titus gestured to stop Captain Parker, who was about to step forward either to intervene or to request permission to fight in his lord's place.

There was not the slightest fear in the young earl's eyes. Instead, a hint of amusement lurked within them.

He was no pampered lord. He had skills and methods aplenty! Against a reckless fool so easily blinded by emotion, he had a full hundred ways to ensure the man never left Starpike.

A hundred!

The air in the entrance hall seemed to freeze. Some guards had instinctively placed their hands on their weapons, waiting only for someone's command.

Only one person was still letting her thoughts wander, dwelling on all sorts of irrelevant things.

Ah! Is this a sacred duel fought for me, for love? How romantic...

Standing behind Titus, the red-haired girl kept her eyes firmly glued to him, her hands clasped before her chest, looking full of anticipation. Her little heart pounded wildly, almost bursting from her chest.

She was excited that a scene written about in knightly romances was truly unfolding before her eyes, yet she also secretly worried for her Titus.

Lady Lora was a thoroughly looks-driven person and gave no consideration at all to her family's position. She merely felt that the rugged-looking Othello better fit the conventional image of a warrior, and was unsure whether her lover could fight...

No sooner had the thought arisen than she forcefully suppressed it, murmuring, "Titus will definitely win!" Her body unconsciously edged forward until she was almost pressed against Titus's back.

As though he had heard the girl's muttering, Titus turned his head and gave her a deeply affectionate look. Then he readily accepted Othello's demand:

"Very well. As punishment for your insolence, if you lose, you'll leave something behind for Starpike."

Othello had not expected this young brat to actually dare agree. Excitement immediately spread across his rough face, and he paid no mind to the stakes the other man mentioned.

Those present split into two clearly divided groups and escorted the two men who had agreed to fight out of the hall and into the spacious courtyard before the main keep.

The courtyard was paved with white stone slabs of varying shapes. The slabs were very level, with only a few green blades of grass stubbornly poking out through the gaps between adjoining stones.

The face of a shield hanging on one side of the courtyard bore House Peake's coat of arms-

Three black castles on an orange-gold field.

They symbolized this ancient house's once-vast fertile lands and the three castles it had owned: Starpike, Whitegrove, and Dunstonbury.

The latter two castles and their lands had actually been stripped away long ago, but the Peakes had never had any intention of changing their coat of arms.

At the center of the courtyard stood two tall stone statues, side by side.

The statue on the left held a warhammer aloft, while the one on the right stood resting on a sword. They depicted two brothers, famous knights in House Peake's history: Urrathon "Shieldbreaker" and Blaquay "Siegebreaker."

These two knights had once followed Earl Emmerick Peake, "The Avenger," in wiping out a rival house's forces. The former had broken through the gates, while the latter had surrounded and slain the enemy leader.

It was said that House Peake's second castle, Whitegrove, had been built on the former site of that destroyed house. Even now, large stones taken from the rival family's dismantled walls remained in Starpike's outer curtain wall.

Titus thought that throughout House Peake's history, brothers, nephews, and uncles had always managed to remain close, helping one another and forging ahead toward the same goal. Unfortunately, by his generation, he was the sole remaining scion... if one did not count those Peakes who had fled across the Narrow Sea after the Blackfyre Rebellion.

He and his opponent came before the statues of Shieldbreaker and Siegebreaker and stood facing each other.

Titus noticed that although the armor on the two brothers' statues had weathered the years, its patterns remained clearly visible up close.

Their stern eyes looked down over the blue-white courtyard before Starpike, as though witnessing the impending struggle born of love.

Noticing that Titus still had the leisure to admire the courtyard statues, Othello was enraged by his composure. The anger he had only just calmed flared up once more.

Yes, he was also underestimating his opponent, yet with a thoroughly hypocritical double standard, he believed his opponent should not look down on him!

Othello prepared to strike hard, inwardly vowing:

You inherently evil Peake brat, I'll personally...

The courtyard statues: "Shieldbreaker" and "Siegebreaker":