“And you expect me to side with you?” Braydon was beyond flabbergasted. Even the most stupid of the nobility shouldn’t have thought it okay to order around another lord’s knight, it wasn’t like the man was trying to make a statement to Braydon either. Braydon might have understood it if Viscount Sharpe was trying to offend him but from how he was trying to get him on side it was not the case.

“Of course, this man has greatly offended my dignity!” Viscount Sharpe continued missing the implication of Braydon’s question entirely. When Braydon looked back to Gerald, he was looking at the man as if he was the world’s greatest idiot. And he was having his own suspicions too.

“And what makes you think that you are qualified to order ‘this man’ around?” He had to ask. Braydon was hoping for the man to realise how stupid he was being. If it had been under any other circumstances, he would have been more than happy to throw down the gauntlet but they were currently being eyed by Duke Ryder and a big conflict would not help them at all.

“With all due respect, he may be one of your men but that does not mean that he can just ignore the words of other lords.” When he heard Viscount Sharpe’s response Braydon just sighed. It was becoming clear that the man was not going to realise it without it being spelt out for him. And the moment it was, Braydon would not be left with much choice other than to take action against him if he wanted to keep any semblance of a reputation.

“And with all ‘due respect’, has it not dawned on you that I said ‘this man’, Gerald, is one of my knights?” Braydon waited for the pin to drop and it did not take long. As soon as he finished his sentence, Viscount Sharpe’s face paled faster than Braydon thought possible for a man so slow.

“Err… That might be a reason…” Viscount Sharpe was unsure of what he could do to get himself out of the situation he found himself in. It was not like he had not been given chances to back out. He had just been too pig-headed to notice them.

“And what would you do if somebody disrespected you in this way?” This was a loaded question. Braydon knew full well that any noble that had the power to defend their honour would either throw down the gauntlet literally or metaphorically. And given Braydon’s penchant for combat he was more than happy to fight a duel with his interlocutor.

“Errm…” Viscount Sharpe saw where Braydon was going with this question and he didn’t like either outcome. If he said that a duel was normal, he knew that Braydon would likely jump on the chance to fight him. If there was one thing that he had been best known for as the son of the previous Earl Fiton, it was to be the most combat oriented son. And given his new found fame of recent months everyone had looked into his past. On the other hand, if Braydon went to the King for redress there was only one way that decision was going to go.

“If you need help remembering, I am more than happy to be of ‘assistance’." Braydon put more pressure on the man as the latter tried to find a way to extricate himself.

“That will not be necessary!” Viscount Sharpe quickly rejected such assistance. He may not have noticed when he made a faux pas earlier but he was keenly aware that Braydon was making a physical threat with his ‘assistance’.

“So you think that we should go to the King to get this sorted out then? Let us be on our way, there are many things that I need to do. I do not want this to take up more time than is necessary.” Braydon smiled when he saw Viscount Sharpe walk into his trap. He wanted to go to the King as a way to avoid the conflict spiralling further than it needed to. If he had actually thrown down the gauntlet, he would have won of course. Viscount Sharpe was not exactly the peak of physical fitness. The problem lay in if he decided to be uncooperative later on, or actively help the enemy. It was a real possibility that he wanted to avoid.

“Err… Of course.” Viscount Sharpe wanted to argue his case but knew that he was between a rock and a hard place, neither of the likely outcomes would be particularly good for him. He just hoped that the King would be more lenient than Braydon would be otherwise.

*knock* *knock*

“Enter.” The voice came from study.

“I have returned.” Braydon said as he entered the study, a dispirited Viscount Sharpe and a considerably jovial Gerald in tow.

“So soon, did you not say that you had things that needed attending to?” The King was surprised to see Braydon again so soon, he was currently discussing with Ethan about the thing that Nela had suggested earlier in the day. He had not expected that Braydon would make an appearance for a few more hours yet.

“Well, I still do but other things came up.” Braydon said as he looked to Viscount Sharpe. The latter was looking anywhere but at the people in the room, trying to pretend that he didn’t exist as if it would somehow help him escape.

“And what would that be?” Aled had some idea that it was a conflict of interest; there was no reason for the Viscount to look so evasive otherwise, he just hoped that it could be sorted out with minimal effect. A major dispute in his ranks was not something that he needed to deal with.

“The venerable Viscount Sharpe here thought it would be a grand idea to order around one of my knights. When I arrived, he even thought that it would be a good idea to turn to me to seek justice against my own knight for refusing to follow his orders.” Braydon gave the long and short of it, with considerable hints of sarcasm. It was clear that he did not think Viscount Sharpe a venerable person in the slightest.

“And that you have brought him to me means that you want me to be the arbitrator.” The King concluded the statement that Braydon had not finished. He could barely withhold a sigh, this could either turn out to be a nothing, or it could become a major sticking point if handled poorly.

“Precisely.”

*sigh*

“Can we at least hold off until the meeting tomorrow?” King Aled stated more rhetorically than as a question. He had other things that he wanted to deal with than dispute. The problem was that he could not ignore a dispute when it came to the few allies that he had.

“That is fine by me.” Braydon responded, he too had things that he needed to do. Not least because Gerald was held up in doing his job by Viscount Sharpe. It did not really matter what opinion Viscount Sharpe had, he was not in the position to be making requests.