Henry did not need to turn around, he knew quite well who it was that came to his rescue. A moment later a slender hand was gently placed on his shoulder and Eleonora whispered softly, “Mommy will do some yelling now, don’t get startled.”

Henry smirked in his mind, and gave his mother a slight nod which marked the beginning of her show.

Karloman recovered from the shock that being yelled at twice in the span of only a few minutes had caused him, and tried to regain control of the conversation. “Daughter, this son of yours has no…”

Unfortunately for him and his son, Eleonora was not in the mood to listen to anyone, let alone a man who dared to increase his tone towards her son.

Interrupting her father, she spoke with no regard for the man’s age or relations he had with her, “I asked you a simple question you idiot, who are you to yell at my son?”

“Daughter, mind your manners, if you let us enter, we can talk as family. You should not shout and show such a face in front of the help and the soldiers.” Karloman once more used his glib tongue to point out what should be obvious to any lady of high nobility, but his remarks fell on deaf ears.

“Those standing here are my most trusted people, anything you say will trickle down to them in an hour or so anyway.” Eleonora spoke in a casual manner before continuing, “But why should I invite a bastard who threatens my son and kicks my gates into my home? You know that in the East we kill the likes of you for far less.”

“Daughter…” Karloman was lost, his son on the other hand stood there petrified as he, unlike his father, noticed that Eleonora was not pretending.

“I have no father, he renounced me many years ago, same with the rest of that rotten bunch of hicks. So what business do you have with me? Speak while I am still in a listening mood.” Eleonora pointed towards her father and motioned for him to quickly finish his business.

“Daughter I just came here to pay you and my grandson a visit, after all he has my blood coursing through his veins, and you are my one and only daughter. You must have received both mine and the king’s letters that inform you about being accepted as part of Lothar family once more. Let that incident be water under the bridge, after all I am big enough to admit when I go too far in my rage.” Karloman followed these words up with a slight bow.

“Oh, you mean those letters we received around the time Henry was born?” Eleonora asked, “I had those burned in the fireplace as I had no need for a worthless surname that neither I, nor my son would ever use.”

“Such words, still the king accepted my kind gesture and allowed you to once more name yourself as the daughter of the great Lothar dynasty.” Karloman was now using his biggest trump card, as even the crazy Sigurdsons have never gone against the king and his will. He then used his elbow to make his son return to his senses and play his part.

“Indeed sister, I as the member of the royal council can vouch for the truth of our fathers words, I was present on the day that His Majesty stamped the letter and it was my greatest joy to be the one to hand it to the messenger.”

Lothar took a step forward and with tears in his eyes began to speak, “See, daughter, let this stupid feud be over with, come, let us talk, return to our home, your mother awaits your return with an aching heart, it was her tears that moved me into action in the first place.”

The yard fell into silence, the next words that would come out of Eleonora's mouth would echo throughout the kingdom. They would mark the reunion of the two houses that had a long history of feuds and battles.

Finally the only person who could end this awkward moment opened her mouth and spoke, “Oh, mister Lothar, I have no doubt your son saw what he saw and did what he said he did, but all that means nothing.”

Lothar struggled to speak for a few moments but then regained his calm as he now felt his daughter was only throwing a fit and decided to break the last bit of resistance. “The king himself approved, it is done, don't you have any decency and pride as a noble, the word of our lord king is supreme, it is the highest law in this land!”

“Did I insult the king?” Eleonora asked while turning towards Anna.

Anna looked towards the unwanted visitors and responded, “Not in the slightest, my lady.”

Karloman flew into anger as his former servant dared to speak against him. “Anna, you traitor! Did you forget from which land you come from, you owe me your loyalty!”

Anna did not dignify his words with a reply and only stared into his eyes. Her gaze caused the marquess to flinch as it carried the pressure she, as a seasoned veteran exuded.

“Leave my people out of this”, Eleonora once more broke the silence before continuing, “You disinherited me, banned me from ever being associated with you or your name, but what you forgot is that I renounced my name before you said anything, I threw away my noble status and your name with it. So you taking me back into your family is impossible even under the king's orders. I cannot agree to disrespect my true family and my pride as a duchess.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“You stupid girl…” Karloman wanted to attack his daughter, he wanted to rip her apart for insulting his name as unworthy of her time before the eastern folks and the increasing number of nobles who were now forming a crowd and enjoying the spectacle never before seen in the capital.

His desire to harm his daughter increased with every moment, every breath he took caused him pain, he could not harm her, that he knew, but non the less a voice in his mind kept repeating the same line, ‘She threw my honorable name into the mud…’ Karloman looked at Eleonora and was about to reach for his sword but froze.

“Honey, who is this trashy person in front of my gates?” Alfred yelled and caused the crowd to split open and make a path for him, “John, since when can random idiots yell at my family and keep their heads?” Ignoring the glances Alfred stepped forward his hand going towards the hilt of his sword.

Karloman’s men created a line in front of their master who took a few steps back and bumped into his son.

“Oh, former father in law, I did not notice you there, you must be careful when acting like a raging lunatic. Someone might just stab you with a spear…” Alfred’s tone was flat, devoid of all emotions.

As he was about to pull the sword out Alfred’s hand was stopped by his companion. Nicolas leaned in and whispered into the duke’s ear. “Alfred, there is no need to shed blood, I will clear this incident, please…” Nicolas was surprised that even after he used all his strength he could not stop Alfred who kept slowly pulling his weapon out of its scabbard.

In his greatest moment of fear Nicolas quickly looked up at Alfred, the man's eyes were clear, there was no emotion, he was going to kill the ruffians before him and anyone who stood in his path would die no matter who they were. Ice cold sweat poured down the archduke's back. His mind went into the highest gear possible and the only solution he could find was the duchess. He turned towards the kind and friendly girl he knew all so well, only to see the same eyes as the ones Alfred was sporting.

In the final moment Alfred looked over to his wife. Seeking her decision on the matter at hand. No words were spoken between the two, only a glance was enough. she gave a nod to Alfred, who in turn smiled and sheathed his sword which was already out and ready for slaughter.

“Nicolas, I will now have tea with my family, since you volunteered to clean the trash from in front of my home I will let you do so. Once you are done, join us for a drink and some cake.” The cold warrior on a mission was gone, Alfred spoke with a calm voice filled with joy and expectation.

“Yes, please let me handle this.” Nicolas was unsure how he became a garbage man but was grateful that this incident did not grow any more.

“Karloman, leave now, we will talk in the palace.” Cold and sharp, the voice of the archduke that towered over all nobility was not something most people could dismiss. Angry, but submissive the marquess took his son, who was still on the ground shaking, and left for the palace, a new plan already being cooked up in his mind.

As his job was done Nicolas went inside to relax, drink some tea and scout out what kind of tomorrow will await the kingdom.

***

After being led into the guest room he joined the Sigurdsons. Their expressions were relaxed, as if the events of just a moment ago were nothing more than a pleasant exchange between neighbors.

Nicolas seemed like the only one who was stressed, fortunately the atmosphere quickly took him over and he sank into his chair. Moments later a butler poured some tea into his cup. The sweet aroma further helped the tired man put the unpleasant events behind him and enjoy the moment.

“Henry.” Alfred was the first to start talking, “When you play with someone like that man from today, keep your insults shorter, the shorter they are the less time the opponent has to calm down and think about what to say. Other than that you were splendid.” Alfred gave his son a big hug and started tickling him.

“Yes, a true knight, defending your mother like that. Such a good boy.” Eleonora was quick to join, completely ignoring Anna and Nicolas, who were, by now already used to this.

Nicolas could tell that Henry was still not used to confrontations, nonetheless he was holding up quite well, given his age and the fact that he was yelled at by strangers. ‘This child will be quite the duke in the future.’

“My lord Henry, remember that such words and behavior are not proper and should only be used when facing a bad person, understand?” Just when Nicolas was starting to fear that Henry would be spoiled to death, a single rain of sunshine, in the form of Anna, returned the family to their senses.

Henry nodded and took a big bit of his cake while his parents shifted their attention to their old friend, who was now enjoying his cake.

“Lord Henry, your clothes are dirty, you should go and change.” Anna pretended to only now notice the child's outfit and offered him her hand so that the grown ups could talk freely. Without a word of complaint the young lord stood up and, after bowing to Nicolas and his parents, left the room accompanied by Anna.

“Now then, Alfred, you can’t just go around killing a marquess and a council member.” Nicolas decided to quickly get to the point as he still had to inform the king of the situation and prevent Karloman from spinning the situation into his favor, something most people would agree he could do quite easily.

“I stopped, didn’t I? He is the one who went after my family.” Alfred brushed his friends' concerns away and continued, “We will soon leave this place and return home so you will have to put up with me for a bit longer.”

Eleonora was the one to chime in now. “This place is suffocating, too many unpleasant people, it is quite hard to get used to this after so much time spent among friends.” She gave a big sigh and added, “While we do appreciate your friendship and support, the capital has little else to offer us, I believe we will not be coming back until Henry joins The Academy, though even that is for our son to decide. Perhaps he will find the War School back home more to his liking.”

Nicolas was surprised by this decision, he felt great loss in his heart, but at the same time he knew the feelings this couple had towards the intrigue and the splendor of the capital. All he could do was mend the damage the past had made as much as possible, and build a bridge for the future. “Of course, do tell me when you decide to head home, I would like to see you off.” He took a sip of tea and stood up, “Forgive me you two, but I must fix today's situation before it spirals out of control.”

With a bow the mighty archduke left the mansion and boarded his carriage, his shoulders slightly down.