Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 4 Illegitimate Son

The wooden box contained some black dust in exquisite small bags, which should be the gunpowder of this era. Hughes took a bag and poured it into the barrel, then stuffed the lead bullet into the muzzle, pressed it in with a wooden stick, and then took some white wax from the box to seal it to prevent it from falling out.

This gun seemed to have some stories, but Hughes was not interested in going into details. He just wanted to check out his own territory.

He traveled through time and space and became a lord. Although it was only a small island, the sky was high and the queen was far away, so he didn't have to be so restricted here, which was actually a good thing.

Oh, by the way, I have to ask about the church. Zeus is quite wary of the church now. The mechanical priest has left a deep impression on him.

He took his weapon and walked to the door. The maid packed food for him in a food box. Before the butler brought the horse over, Zeus looked over the manor wall not far away and looked at the people who were hurriedly walking on the path outside.

They were in a hurry, as if something had happened outside.

Many people had a mixture of fear and curiosity on their faces as they rushed in one direction.

".Like a monster."

"Yes, I feel sick all over."

"Go check it out."

Few words were blown into his ears by the wind, and Zeus frowned. What did it mean? Did he discover a monster?

Did he hear it right? Those people were talking about monsters?

Could it be a supernatural creature?

The extraordinary world that I have never been able to reach after so many times of coming here is now right in front of my face?
Excitement and fear surged up at the same time, and then slowly mixed into anticipation.

Whether it's good or bad, he should go and have a look. There are many opportunities to start over, but this is the first time he has the chance to come into contact with the extraordinary.

not to mention
He subconsciously pressed his waist, and the cold, hard metal pistol gave him a sense of security.

Which is stronger, monsters or bullets? He is very interested.

Catching a glimpse of the two maids beside him exchanged glances, Hughes turned his head and asked, "Do you know something? What happened?"

The two of them froze, and they quickly lowered their heads, looking at each other hesitantly, and spoke carefully:

"Master, I heard a monster was fished out of the sea, right here at the harbor."

"I heard that the monster was very scary, and its body looked like..."

"Cough cough!"

Their conversation was interrupted by a loud cough. The old butler led the horse, glared at the two of them, and walked in front of Xius.

"There's no monster. It's just a strange fish. These people are ignorant and afraid of them. Strange fish are often caught in the deep sea. I used to go out to sea on a ship when I was young. Such things are very common in the Sunless Sea."

Xius looked at the butler with interest: "Have you seen that strange fish?"

"Not yet, but I've heard them describe it, and it should be the kind I've seen before."

"Then let's go and take a look together." Xius looked at the horse standing in front of him, searched his memories, then stepped on the footstool put down by the maid and got on the horse's back.

The horse's back was more stable than he had imagined, and the saddle had a soft lining.

He took the whip from the butler and shook the reins a little awkwardly.

The brown horse flicked its tail meekly and broke into a brisk trot forward.

The butler looked at Xius deeply, turned around and gave the maid a few instructions, then mounted his horse and left the manor.

There are no maintained roads on the island. There is a little cobblestone road near the manor, but the ground becomes muddy after a few steps.

Fortunately, riding a horse did not have much impact, but the speed of the two still slowed down.

Hughes inserted the whip into the buckle beside the saddle and let the horse walk slowly. He leaned over and looked at the butler. "Connor, how are we doing lately?" The butler pondered for a moment before speaking. "Not very good, Master Hughes. We don't have much money left. Since you took up your post in the territory, we've had less and less contact with the Duke."

Hughes naturally knew who the duke he was talking about was. That was his biological father: Duke of Cohen.

Although Hughes was an illegitimate child, Duke Cohen actually treated him quite well.

Since he was born, he has been raised by the Duke of Cohen in a mansion in the suburbs. The servants and butler Watson have followed him for many years. The Duke of Cohen also hired a tutor for him and helped him become a border earl.

All of this is naturally incomparable to being the Duke's heir, but he is just an illegitimate child. According to the attitude of the nobles towards illegitimate children, they have done their utmost.

It seems that his biological father cannot be relied upon for the time being.

Xius coughed lightly:
"Connor, I thought about this for a long time last night. We're in a lot of trouble right now, and maybe we need to change our lifestyle."

To be honest, he really couldn't get used to living the way Master Zeus used to. It seemed like he was spending every day leisurely, but in reality, everything from the etiquette of afternoon tea to the way of dining was strictly regulated. He felt suffocated when he recalled the past.

There are so many rules and regulations. If he really follows every one of them, he will be exposed sooner or later.

The housekeeper's eyes flickered, and I don't know what he was thinking.

"You are the Count now; it is all your business."

He hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Master, the merchants in the east wish to discuss this matter with us. Your chief clerk has been in charge of this matter."

Hughes searched his memory and then his face twitched.

Merchants? There are no merchants. There are only pirates in the Storm Ocean!

The so-called talks were actually the pirates coming to collect money.

Yes, the original owner of this body has been giving money to pirates to buy peace.

My goodness, Zeus was curious before, why there has been no movement from the pirates.

"When?"

"The day after tomorrow at noon."

"I understand. I'll go see them."

He must find a way to deal with the pirates. If he keeps giving away money, the territory will be dragged down sooner or later.

As for how to solve it, he hasn't figured it out yet. Let's see how the territory develops first. If it doesn't work, just delay it. Anyway, with him here, it's only a matter of time before industrialization is completed here.

The island was not big. He could smell the sea breeze in the manor before, and soon Zeus heard the sound of waves crashing.

"Master, the port is just ahead."

"Ah."

Hughes pulled the reins, and the horse paused and looked forward.

Rather than calling it a port, this place is closer to a small pier. It is on the north side of the island, a natural deep-water port. It only needs some wooden platforms to allow cargo ships traveling north and south to load and unload goods.

——Of course, now this place is only used by fishermen to go fishing.

Now, a small boat was parked at the dock, and a lot of people gathered not far from the beach. Hughes also saw several soldiers with weapons, and there were newly painted royal emblems on their leather armor.

Technically, the Margrave was a retainer of the Queen. His coat of arms was a combination of the royal family and the coat of arms of the Duke of Cohen, and he was an illegitimate child.
Shaking his head to get rid of these irrelevant things, Zeus glanced at the butler.

Connor nodded slightly and walked towards the crowd.

(End of this chapter)