I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 251 Riverside Manor
three days later.

The moment Luc stepped out of the Cooper Castle, he could no longer hide the smile on his face.

Ryan followed behind, his eyes also sparkling like jewels.

"Master, just as you predicted, it really is Levi's Manor!"

Ryan spoke with pride, sharing in Luke's glory and joy, and was genuinely happy to see Luke receive another new fief.

"Yes, I never expected that we would get a new piece of land so quickly."

As a lord, no one would complain about having too little land.

Even many great counts do not mind owning an ordinary civilian house in a town thousands of miles away.

Not to mention the Levier Manor, which currently has three free peasant households and seven serf households.

The Riviera Estate is a word that is a mixture of Latin and Old Frankish, and when translated, it means Riverside Estate.

Medieval naming conventions were often straightforward and blunt, like Cupper Castle. If a proper translation were needed, it should be: "Famous Castle."
I don't know who lived here or how famous it was.

But whatever it was called, having suddenly acquired brand new land made Luc feel much better breathing in the stinking Côte d'Urberville.

The amount of land is secondary; the most important thing is that we can finally connect Tiha Village!
"Hehe, sir, I wonder if you noticed the other people's gazes just now."

Ryan suddenly glanced back at the castle and said, "Especially that Knight Kent from the Inner Court. I heard he's even more unlucky than Furman. Despite being a knight, he's never received a fief in his entire life. Today, he was finally granted the salt tax of Cooper Castle by Finn, and he was happy for a short while when he heard that we were granted the title of Levi. His smile froze on the spot. Hahaha, it looked worse than crying!"

“They would never have imagined that Finn would become so close to us that he would so reluctantly give us his few direct territories.”

Land is not inexhaustible; for every piece Luc gains, someone else will inevitably lose one.

Levi happened to be one of the Baron's directly owned estates.

"Remember, it's Baron Finn. Finn cares a lot about this title, so don't call him by the wrong name."

Luke mounted his warhorse, jokingly stopping Ryan from speaking. Back then, it took Joseph two or three days to be knighted, but Finn has now inherited the title in a single day. At the banquet, wearing the family crest robe presented by Luke, his smile never stopped, his mouth almost stretching to the back of his ears.

"Indeed, this guy's father died, but he didn't seem very sad."

With Andrew and the other infantrymen in tow, Luke planned to head straight for the Riverside Estate.

He had already obtained the land documents, and the past of Tihar Village was still fresh in his mind. Before Finn could grasp Berry's shrewd methods, he wanted to take control of the local tax collectors and devour all the Finney.

"Why is he sad? Berry was a strong man, and he deserves a lot of credit for being tortured to death. I bet when Berry was being bled out, he was still giving his father some black nightshade and honey water."

"Perhaps even on his deathbed, Berry felt that his second son was at least commendable for his filial piety."

Before leaving, Luc glanced one last time at the bustling Côte d'Urberville. Clovis was inside the castle; he was the second person to be granted land this time.

More accurately, it was an exchange of land: his old village was returned to Castle Cooper, while another wealthy estate in Finn was given to Clovis.

I heard that Finn will soon marry Charman's daughter.

Luke curled his lip slightly. "Not so stupid after all."

A power transaction as hasty and swift as Berry's death came to an end, and Luc arrived at the Riverside Estate soon after with his private army.

Riverside Manor is a true manor, not like Knightsburg, which calls itself a small manor. It is actually a sturdy fortress with walls and arrow towers.

Riverside Manor consists of only a low fence.

To the east of the fence were neat vegetable plots planted with large swathes of cabbage, the edges of which were barely made of gravel. To the west was a wheat field, next to which were seven serf shacks that looked like lumps of earth. The walls, made of branches and mud, had no courtyards; pushing open the door meant stepping onto land that didn't belong to them.

In the very center of the fenced yard stands an old mill.

The old mill was incredibly simple and dilapidated, with an old donkey languishing inside, looking utterly bored. In the mill's shadow, three sloping farmhouses stood at an obtuse angle, while right next to the mill was a small, somewhat decent-looking wooden hut.

"This is truly a barren land."

Ryan shook the dust off his robe and grinned.

Having spent a long time with Luke, Ryan had come to look down on this primitive manor.

"So, you're saying you wouldn't want this land even if it were given to you?" Luke looked at Ryan with a mocking expression.

"No, no, sir, I mean, it's just too poor compared to our manor."

Ryan chuckled and scratched the back of his head. If he really owned such a piece of land, he'd be laughing in the middle of the night.

"who?!"

As Luke and his companions were chatting and laughing, a bald, middle-aged man emerged from a wooden hut next to the mill. He looked warily at the well-equipped army in the distance, his expression suddenly changed, and without thinking twice, he grabbed the gelding that had no stable in front of the door and was tied up in the open, ready to mount it.

"Hey, listen up!"

Seeing this, Ryan straightened up, looked down disdainfully at the people of their riverside manor, and shouted:
“Standing before you is Luc Loche, the owner of Knightsburg, the devotee of the Church of Saint Hilarion, the guardian of Tihar Village, the master of Telfbridge, the rightful heir of Valdeg Estate, the Knight of the Holy Cry, the Knight of Burgundy and the Knight of Upper Lorraine!”

“Now that the Baron has handed over the Riverside Estate to our family, the tax collector should immediately bring out the ledgers and Finney for Lord Luc’s review!”

Ryan's voice echoed in the tax officer's ears. The slightly overweight man's mouth gaped open as the tax officer's titles increased. When he heard Luke's name, he was completely stunned.

Luc Loche?

Wasn't that the rebellious knight who defeated the previous baron?

Baron Finn granted him the Riverside Estate?
"I need to review the documents carefully!"

"Can't you see the prominent black bear emblem on this?"

"I can see it clearly, but I still need to verify it again."

The tax collector had a stern face. He had paid a lot of pennies to get the cushy job of tax collector. Now that the manor had a new owner, he would inevitably be dismissed. Although he had heard of Luc's name, he still insisted on a detailed review when he saw Luc showing the documents in the distance.

Moreover, his request was quite reasonable. He had heard that although Luc had defeated the Baron, he had ultimately submitted to him. Now, by requesting access to the records, he could, even if he were later dismissed, return to Cooper Castle and claim credit with the new Baron, proving that he had fulfilled his duties.

Sure enough, he finally saw the knight in front of him nod and say:

“A reasonable request.”

Then, Ryan took the documents and spurred his horse forward.

"By the way, you should know that the documents not only need the Baron's family seal, but also the monk's land modification certificate, and even more..."

A dozen steps away, the tax officer began explaining the requirements for the paperwork, but he suddenly froze halfway through his sentence.

Suddenly, Ryan clenched his horse's flanks, raising dust with his hooves. The tall mountain horse, carrying the imposing Ryan, pressed down like a mountain. Before the tax collector could even urge the gelding on, Ryan raised his sword and viciously stabbed him off the horse!
Ignoring the gasps of the people, Ryan pulled on the reins, spat on the tax collector lying in a pool of blood, barely breathing, and cursed:
"You blind stray dog, you dare to verify again? You bastard, my sword is the document!"

(End of this chapter)