I am a Comte de Luxe et de Bouteville, and as is expected of a young man of my station, I regularly engage in the most noble of institutions, the duel of honor. I have fought no less than twenty two such encounters, in fact!

On Lent of last year, I engaged in one such encounter with two seconds against the Comte de Thorigny and two of his men over some trifle of which I know forget, but I believe had to do with my dear friend the Marquis de Calais, at the time in prisoned for unfounded accusations of treason and unable to defend his honor himself. In any case, it was a great clash of arms, and Thorigny put up quite the fight, but I in the end had the best of him, running him through with my blade, and satisfying honor.

But that horrid advisor to Henri IV, Cardinal de Richelieu, lacking any sense of honor, promulgated a new edict soon after to require banishment, or even death, for anyone who engages in this noble practice! A man of honor must take no notice of such things, as our manhood is above the mere laws of man, so when presented with the need, I again challenged, and my second was killed in the encounter.

What else could I do but flee to the Netherlands until the matter could be settled? Thankfully the King recognized the necessity of my actions and pardoned me at the behest of the Archduchess, allowing me to return to France, although not to Paris.

But when the Marquis de Beuvron challenged me over the death of his relative, Thorigny, of course I had to accept. Perhaps I was a bit boastful in my assertion that I would fight in Paris and in the Place Royale, whatever the King may have said, but of course how could I have used that as an excuse to avoid the combat!? It was a grand combat, and a gallant fight and at the end of it the Marquis de Bussy d'Amboise lay dying, not even by my hand, I would add, but my Second’s, the Comte des Chapelles.

It was as noble a fight as any done in France, a testament to the honor of all involved, yet now I and the Chapelles have been arrested, and despite the treaties of all men of honor sin the land, the King refuses to grant pardon. To be sure, I do not fear death, and will climb the scaffold with my head held high, knowing that I die for that which one must always wager death against to preserve, yet how can I not feel greatly aggrieved to be condemned to die for a crime which ought not be a crime, for a pursuit that all men of honor in our noble country know is their duty? Thousands before me have done no different, and been lauded as the noble specimens of manhood that they are, yet we are to be made examples of to please the machinations of the horrid Cardinal.

AITA? Do I truly deserve this fate? What good will it even do to curb the pursuit of honor, as all men who value it do so more than their own life?