I am hiding in the woods now...taking some rest and healing my wounds with bandages of green moss.

Sitting beneath a tree, i hear the birds tweeting above, and a squirrel in front of me is wondering what this stranger is doing here...

The duel with Dr Panacek has been so tough.Oh not because of my opponent! He was valiant and fronted me with courage, but he is so unexperienced! No...being used as i am to fence, person to person, without attendants, as i did with Count Byron of Loredan, Ambassador of Venice, i was surprised this time: when i arrived near the Languedoc piste, it was like entering a cage full of lions!

Nearly everybody from the Duchy of Coeur was there, all came to support their friend: from Duke and Duchesses to peasants, bakers, bourgeois, sailors, the ladies and gentlemen, and even a friar...

Not to mention the Gipsies! Ah the Gipsies and their magical weapons! They attacked me before the duel, arguing i had been unfair to their friend. I believe they were unfair to me, but it was not the place and time for discussing opinions! Anyhow, they wounded me badly and I lost a lot of blood: i felt so weak...but i had to come back and fight.

I had lost part of my strength, and would the Doctor have been more experienced, he should have won:but the matter was not about losing or winning, the duel was meant to find the truth about Pekel Panacek.

During this single combat (if I may say so) I felt -almost physically- the hatred of some, and the adversity of all: I am used to that. For two years, i have been hardening my heart, it's like a rock, now. Only...I heard the friar praying for Panacek 's survival, and more surprisingly to me, nearly praying that my soul coud find peace someday. Made me wonder what I resented more: Hate or Pity?

Anyway, i felt relieved I did not have to kill my opponent of the day. All these people are such a tightly-knit and friendly community! I envied them.

I briefly thought to myself that maybe i could live a peaceful and happy life like theirs, someday, somewhere...I quickly dismissed this idea, I cannot allow myself any weakness of will, I have a mission to fulfill. But somehow i felt a need to let these people understand better what my life has been, and have them knowing my story: I will think this thing over, if i have enough time.

Yet my search has to be pursued, in the Duchy of Coeur or elsewhere. Soon, i will have to move to another hiding place, as i sense some men are on the prowl, after me, and I can hear their hounds barking, in the distance...