Chapter 2

It was damp and chilly in the spacious halls of Nottingham Castle. Abbot Hugo, wrapped in a mantle, watched his brother with interest. For the third time, the abbot patiently tried to convey to the sheriff that problems with crop failures could seriously hit the treasury and disrupt the collection of royal taxes. De Reno was gloomy. He seemed to be listening to the abbot's arguments and did not hear them. Less than two days have passed since the day of the sheriff's hunt, after which the sheriff's main enemy, Loxley, was killed. Where is the jubilation and triumph of the winner? There was no trace of satisfaction on the sheriff's face. His thoughts were far from pressing issues right now, and his absent gaze confirmed it. He could not answer the question to himself, what poisoned his victorious triumph?

He stood in front of his inner eye – the proud outlaw. Who, even in the face of death, did not bow his head, a smile on his lips, a lack of fear in his eyes. The arrows are over, the bow is broken on his knee and the enemy will not get it, he is ready! Not all the archers of the guard obeyed the order and fired a crossbow out of respect or while under the hypnosis of this forest bandit. The realization of this tormented the sheriff the most. Sympathetic traitors are at his side. The victory is stolen, the poison of the merciless truth has penetrated into the winner's cup. The truth was that the royal sheriff felt like an outsider and a temporary worker here, and no amount of money could buy people's true love. The sheriff twisted his mouth in a wistful smile, he does not need the love of the crowd, as long as they are afraid of him – his orders will be obeyed, he will expose all sympathizers. But whether this will return him to his former self–confidence and icy calmness is the question, something inside him has broken down, and there is no support for his old beliefs. The mechanism, debugged over the years, clanked and malfunctioned, plunging its owner into a gloomy state of mind. Having won the last battle, he actually felt defeated. The cup of the triumphant is filled with bitterness of regret and disappointment.

The sheriff grimaced and angrily threw the rest of the wine from the goblet on the floor, motioning for the servant to pour from another vessel. After drinking from the cup, he stared at the abbot with indifferent eyes.

- Please, Hugo, tell me again what exactly is bothering you.

The abbot rolled his eyes, crossed himself, and started again:

- I mentioned, my dear brother, that there will be problems with filling the treasury before the end of the year, crop failure.

His speech was interrupted again. This time, a servant hurriedly entered and bowed obediently, announcing that the honorable Baron Simon De Bellem had arrived on a visit. Hugo looked at his brother and read in his eyes the same question he had asked himself: "What the hell is he doing here, what does he want?" Their last meeting was not the most pleasant, so the sheriff would like to never see or hear the baron's name at all. He fidgeted nervously, feverishly wondering what could have caused this visit. The sheriff's thoughts were confused, he couldn't think of anything. He cursed inwardly, mentally gave up on all this and decided not to do anything, because he did not understand what could be done at the moment. In an icy tone, he ordered the servant to tell the baron that he was ready to talk to him.