Keeping my nose clean, I continued my work. I needed to patrol the town and keep the peace. My support for Grissell art did not stop one bit. She moved all the art she completed from the guest house back into the main house in protest. That was fine with me. I liked her art. Going through all of them again, I was able to appease her. It was filling the sitting room. I asked if she would like to sell them. She was indifferent to the idea in general. There were a few that she wanted to keep no matter what. I was going to auction them off. Anthony let me display it in the dining hall of the Swiftheart mansion. Everyone was invited. Even the members of the free folk village were there. I had a brief demonstration on what an auction was before we started. The pieces sold moderately well. Her bread and butter was architecture sketches. Her full encapsulation of the homes of the town was greatly appreciated. Fabien himself bid 15 gold for one of the mansion he lived in. He won. Grissell's portraits took time to master. They sold decently too. We made 30 gold at the end. Anthony took 10 of it.
Like it or not, paying the owner of the venue was standard practice. Anthony was surprised that he was getting so much. "It is your due for hosting the event." I told him. I watched as he smiled. It was as we were leaving that I was approached by one of my fellow blood knights. He was assigned to Fabien when we first started our journey to the capitol. His name was Ottie. "I heard from our young masters that you had some halfbreed children recently." It had been over a month since then, so it was not too recent. I nodded my head. "What of it?" I asked him. I was not at all ashamed of the children. He looked at me nervously. "Well, I was hoping to get your opinion on a matter. Just like you, I've also... laid with beastkin. It was come to my attention that I also have bastards from that... union." he said quietly. Clearly, he was very ashamed of it. I just smiled and congratulated him. "Having a child is a gift. You should cherish them. Fabien might be a bit surly, but he won't dismiss you." I said. I got to see the mother and 2 children for myself. This beastkin had family to look after her until now.
Mighel and Barat were the names he came up for them. Ottie, like me, was not born noble. I was happy. My kids would be able to have friends. "Ottie, we should get to know each other more. I would be honored if my children got to be friends with your children." I said. He looked surprised. "Yes. I would like that too." he said. Securing a nice ally was important in times like these. All the hybrids would face challenges. The best thing for them would be to have several spaces that they could go where it was safe to be who they were. We would train them all into the very best knights in the kingdom. A member of the royal court came soon after the auction to check the place out for the king. Everyone in the town made sure to kiss his ass. We all knew how important it was that he bring back good news to the king. He himself was a hunter. He was pleased with the facilities on hand. The sauna also impressed him. "The king will be pleased to hear of a method to preserve his health when not actively hunting." I was told the man said. A royal hunt was called a year later. I had to join it. We did well.
