"There was a similar risk when you included me in your council," Feroy said, "wasn't it? Even though we were forced to come together because of that ambush at Madam Helga's inn, you had never met me before either. As for Levalas, I'm not saying that we need to immediately make him an advisor of yours or something, but I do think it should be okay to include him as one of the guards for now. Of course, we shouldn't give him full access to you until we are completely sure of his loyalty, but even until then we could use him as a guard."

"I'm still not too sure about it..." Hudan muttered, "but as long as he's never left alone with Lord Kivamus or is allowed to go too close to him anytime soon, I am willing to give him a chance."

"Don't worry," Feroy reassured the guard captain, "I'll keep an eye on Levalas. If we decide to keep him here, we don't even need to tell anyone else that he is the same guy who tried to poison you. We can just let others know that he's just someone who wants to serve you instead of Zoricus. Guards often change their loyalty if they are paid more and for a lot of other reasons. It's not that common, but it's still a good enough reason for other guards not to question it too much." He looked at Kivamus. "The final decision is yours. What should we do with him?"

Kivamus gave a slow nod, feeling ambivalent about it. He knew that he had made some miscalculations in the past by being too forgiving, so he didn't want to repeat such mistakes, but he also didn't want to execute someone who wanted to change his old ways and had surrendered to him in good faith.

By now, he realized that he needed to be far more practical in the perspective required to survive in this world, which included being strict and even executing people when needed, like he had done with Dosol. However, he also knew how precarious the situation of their village was, in so many ways. That meant they needed all the help they could get, even if it came in the form of a former assassin. He wasn't yet sure how exactly he would use Levalas, but that kid was beyond talented, there was no doubt of that.

Hardly anyone would possess the courage to return to a place from where he had barely escaped with his life on the slim chance that he would be forgiven instead of being executed. Not to mention, changing his appearance well enough so nobody would recognize him and behaving naturally - while posing as just another guard who came with the tax collector - and staying in the same manor which had dozens of possibly hostile guards required a lot of skill. And nerves.

He nodded. If there was someone who could dupe even Feroy - since the former mercenary hadn't been able to find Levalas' real identity until he'd revealed it himself, it meant that his talent was prodigious. On the other hand, there was still a small possibility that this was just another ruse by the assassin to find a better way to kill him, but this was a harsh medieval world and as a noble, some threats to his life would always remain. More importantly, while he had never imagined that he would become a politician or a ruler in his past life on earth, in Tiranat he really was one of them, for better or for worse.

And in politics, there were no permanent enemies, since this wasn't a simple case of forgiving or executing an assassin anymore. In case something happened to the old Count, Levalas could be revealed as a genuine rival for the domain of Cinran. Of course, Ebirtas already had a son to claim his place after that, and even Tuilas was a distant nephew of the count, but with Levalas working for him, it would be possible to influence that situation to benefit them in so, so many ways.

He took a deep breath, before looking at others. "I agree. Levalas is far too skilled for us to just execute him when he could turn out to be tremendously useful to us in the future - whether because of his professional skills or his birthright. We should give him a chance."

Feroy nodded. "I know this is not an easy decision to make, but I'm glad that you are going to take the risk this time. Trust me, I won't let it go wrong. If Levalas shows even a hint of turning a traitor, I'll end him myself."

"So be it," the guard captain said. "Now the question is how do we get Sir Tuilas to leave him with us."

"This has to be done very delicately," Duvas agreed, while glancing at the inner door. "Like Feroy said, if Levalas was really just another guard, we could just say that we are going to pay him more, and their supervisor - in this case the knight - would agree to leave him with us, usually after taking a bribe. However, Levalas is not just another commoner. He's the son of the count's older brother, which means a big rival to his power, and he's also been working as an assassin for Zoricus, so even the crafty baron will need a good enough reason for him not to ask too many questions about it."

"What can we do then?" Kivamus asked. "I want to keep this under wraps as much as we can."

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Feroy snorted. "Then there is only one way here. We need to kill Levalas."

Gorsazo frowned. "What? Our whole discussion is about not executing him!"

The ex-mercenary smirked. "He doesn't need to really die, of course. But for Baron Zoricus and the Count to accept it without questions, they still need to believe that he's dead. That's the only way Sir Tuilas is going to leave him behind."

Hudan rubbed his chin. "I think I get what you're talking about. How about a brawl?"

Feroy nodded. "That's what I was thinking. We still have enough losuvil powder remaining for a few more doses, so it should be fine for them to recover afterwards."

"Just what are you both talking about?" Duvas asked.

Feroy smirked, and tilted forward. "Here is what we'll do."

***

It was the early morning of the next day, and Ustaimo was ready to leave along with the knight's retinue. The sun had just risen above the Arakin mountains in the east, and the spring weather felt perfect for a nice and slow journey to another town - not that Kivamus wanted to travel on a wagon on the bumpy road himself. The sole wagon of the tax collector had already been prepared for the journey, with the adzee pelt folded carefully under an oil cloth in one corner, while Madam Nerida had provided enough dried meat and fresh bread for the two day journey for all those who would be traveling.

Once all the preparations were done, Ustaimo walked to him. "It was really nice to meet you, milord. You were not at all like what I expected from a son of a Duke."

"I'm glad to hear that," Kivamus grinned.

The tax collector returned the grin. "People need leaders like you in this kingdom. I just hope you don't let the world change you."

Kivamus snorted. "Don't worry, there's no chance of that."

Sir Tuilas, who was wearing his full plate armor as usual, glanced at the servant's hall once again with a frown, while holding his steel helmet in one hand. "Can't believe that idiot got so drunk that he started a brawl with a sword! To think that he wanted a fight to the death against three guards at the same time! I'm glad your guards did what was necessary to take him down."

"There are bad apples in every bunch, you know?" Duvas spoke regretfully. "I'm just glad that Levalo wasn't able to injure any more people before he was taken down." He shook his head. "Can't imagine why he wanted to get drunk so badly... I heard that he'd even borrowed a silver coin or two from many others to buy more ale when he'd used up all of his own."

"I wish I'd been there at the time," Hudan grunted. "To start a drunken brawl is one thing, but also trying to threaten the maids after drinking too much? I'd have separated his neck in one strike for daring to do that!"

"Well, you can say he got what he deserved anyway," Kivamus shrugged, "although he did manage to injure two other guards before he was taken down. It'll take them weeks to heal fully..."

"He's really not going to make it, is he...?" Ustaimo asked with worry.

"You both just saw him yourselves," Kivamus spoke in a sorrowful voice. "There is no coming back from a stomach wound like that. I'm just surprised he even made it through the night, although there is simply no chance he'll get to see another sunrise. We'll have to look for a proper burying place for him later today."

"Good riddance!" Sir Tuilas spat. "I don't need reckless fools like him anyway..." He shook his head in disgust. "What rotten luck I had on this trip! One of the guards I brought turned out to be an assassin, while the other was a drunken cretin!"

Hudan snorted. "Well, one is already dead, and the other will die soon enough. They reaped what they sowed."

Ustaimo looked at the knight with concern. "Wouldn't it be risky for us to travel through the forests with just two guards to protect the tax gold?"

"If you want I can send a few of my guards to accompany you till Cinran," Kivamus offered.

"There's no need," Sir Tuilas grunted. "We'll just have to be a little more alert on the road, but apart from the two guards in chainmail, there is also me, as well as my squire, to protect the gold. The roads are much safer now. From what I know, it's been months since the last bandit ambush on that road. We'll be just fine."

"Well, I really hope so," Kivamus nodded, feeling glad that he had already gotten the receipt for the tax payment. He really hoped Ustaimo would return safely, but it wasn't his responsibility anymore.

"We should leave then," Ustaimo said. "I really look forward to meeting you again in the autumn. You too, Sir Duvas."

"Wait. Before you leave, I want to present you with some small tokens of appreciation," Kivamus said, before he called up a servant who had been waiting nearby with a few bundles wrapped in some old cloth.