After that, Rudolf and I fell into the sad state of merely existing, and only after a good while were we finally released. We had only been waiting, yet I felt unusually tired. Rudolf seemed the same. In the carriage on the way back neither of us had a word, and we rode in silence.
From the next day on, the days became a circuit of paying back debts. Returning money, and adding a little color when you did, usually earned gratitude. Some people, though, went on and on with worthless complaints. Those were generally nobles who had lost on the wager and taken a loss, I assumed. It was their own doing. There was no point throwing that stress at me.
