I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 253 Uninvited Guest

Years of hard work, reaped in one day.

Upon learning that the apples were ripe, an excited Luc immediately rode back to Knightsburg. As soon as he arrived at the apple orchard, he saw Old Eck and the others waiting for him with wicker baskets.

"Old Ek, how are the apples growing?"

Luc dismounted, first nodding respect to Brother Lynn beside him, then hurriedly inquired about the apple's situation.

Despite years of cultivation, the grafting technique is still imperfect, and Luc still lacks confidence in this three-acre apple orchard.

Old Eck, with a beaming smile, gave Luc a positive answer.

He laughed and said, "God bless you, sir, I've checked, and there aren't many rotten apples on the dozens of apple trees. Most of them are healthy and plump. To be honest, I've never seen such big apples before. They're a whole size bigger than wild apples... Your methods are always very useful!"

Ignoring old Ek's praise, Luc looked at the fruit's base color, which had turned from green to yellow. His gaze shifted slightly downwards, and the rough fruit stalks had become one, making it seem as if there was no grafting.

"Not bad!"

Luc smiled, gave Ryan a look, stepped forward, picked the biggest apple, wiped it haphazardly a couple of times, and handed it to Luc.

One bite, and juice splatters everywhere.

“Peter has taken good care of the apple orchard, but he has never liked ordinary rewards. How about we bring him into the Brotherhood of Charity and have him serve as a friar in my guard?”

Luc turned to look at Lynn, the professional monk, who was intently observing the apple orchard. Hearing Luc's words, Lynn pondered for a moment and said:
“Your suggestion is correct. Peter is a devout believer, and it is only right to give him a respectable position.”

"but."

Lynn touched his newly shaved forehead and said in a heavy tone, "Sir Luc, don't you think your manor has too much technology?"

Apples from apple trees can be roughly divided into three categories: excellent apples, mediocre apples, and some rotten apples.

As he directed Old Ek to sort and pick the three types of apples, Lynn's words reached his ears, and Luke subconsciously glanced at him.

Unlike Hugo, Lynn was noticeably more conservative.

Since the arrival of the Cluny Church, both good and bad things have happened. The good thing is the fame and income brought by the pilgrimage route.

The donation box proposed by old Ek has been made by young Maiman. It is a sealed wooden box with only a small hole at the top for Finney to put in, and it is placed on the south bank of the bridge on the south bank of the Agate River.

Every pilgrim who comes here prays by the river and then puts a few pennies into the donation box, and occasionally even a sou.

Half of this money went to the church, and the other half was used to replace part of the tithes and continued to be paid to the church.

"Sir Luc, any new technology must be tested by the Church before it can be promoted. It was fine before that there was no Church oversight, but from now on, I think every so-called Roman technology of yours will need to be sent to the Church of Cluny for judgment."

Lynn, with a stern face, was told by Peter about Luc's inheritance of Rome. But he wasn't the half-mad Peter; he wasn't so easily fooled.

The apple harvest was excellent; almost every tree on the dozens of trees yielded nearly a hundred pounds of apples.

One-fifth of the rotten fruit will be used to feed pigs, and the rest will be fermented into cider, except for a small portion that will be kept!

Luc never forgot his passion for brewing.

Luc closed his eyes, calculating how much wine he could make while pondering Lynn's words.

He needed to carefully consider how much truth was in Lynn's words.

Yes, Lynn is old-fashioned, but relatively speaking. In fact, the true conservatives within the Cluny Church even opposed the establishment of the Charity Brotherhood. Whether Lynn genuinely wanted to determine whether technology was a heretical method, or simply wanted to take the opportunity to incorporate his technology into the church, is questionable.

"Lynn, I have a good suggestion."

"Oh?" Lynn's cross swayed as she turned her head.

He was an acquaintance of Luc and knew many secrets of the high-ranking members of the Cluny Church, such as the fact that Hoffmann and his group, who had left not long ago, were actually smuggling coarse salt with Hugo. Therefore, he was very interested in what Luc was saying.

Yes, news of the increased salt tax on the River Thorne has finally reached Marconshire.

But unfortunately, it was too late; Berry was already dead.
Due to increased tariffs, the Count of Mâcon, upon arriving in Mâcon County, would certainly not relinquish his share of the pie just because of the Dijon court, and would still take another 10%, which naturally led to a crazy surge in salt prices. Hugo seized the opportunity and organized a caravan of more than thirty people to set off directly for Provence and Lombardy.

“Have you heard of the Inquisition? If not, then I think we can build one, firstly to measure new technologies, as you said, and secondly to judge heretics, such as Luke and others, and to rectify the world on behalf of God.”

"The Inquisition could be jointly headed by several bishops and local lords, with the guards acting as the inspection team. What do you think?"

"As for me, I think I should be selected as one of the members of the Inquisition."

Luc spoke eloquently about his ideas, while Lynn grew increasingly silent as he listened.

He didn't interact with Luc much, but every time he did, he heard something unexpected.

Feigned death, charity, Inquisition
Luc actually misunderstood Lynn in one way; he really just wanted to make a simple ruling on the technical aspects.
However, Luke's new suggestion silenced him.

This is a perfect opportunity to blatantly interfere in secular justice! Although it only grants the right to judge heretics, it's better than nothing. Lynn was just annoyed; why hadn't he thought of that?

“I will speak to Bishop Hugo.”

Lynn took a deep breath, stopped talking about Luke's technology, and turned to leave.

"I'll send the apples to the winery and make the first barrel of cider myself!"

After watching Lynn leave, Luc's attention returned to Apple, and he enthusiastically gave her loud instructions.

For Luc, the Inquisition is like a charity, more beneficial than harmful. Having an organization to replace the freedom of technology is a worthwhile trade-off.

He suddenly remembered that there was a small ice cellar in his cellar.

"Hmm, we should be able to have chilled apple juice soon."

"Oh, right, we need to urge Peter and Byrne to go to the Riverside Estate soon. The apples are ripe, and it's time to start autumn planting."

……

While Luc was busy picking apples at Knightsburg, in the northern castle of Cooper, the newly appointed Baron Finn was receiving an uninvited guest.

Finn sat comfortably on the baron's throne, lazily placing his legs beside the chair.

The woman knelt on the ground, her face filled with fear, not daring to raise her head at all. She could only keep rubbing the other person's feet, creating a very lewd scene.

Finn glanced sideways at Joseph's former lover, a hint of contempt and pleasure flashing in his eyes, then narrowed his eyes and looked at a tall, middle-aged man standing in the hall.

Although he was middle-aged, his face was covered with wrinkles, as if he had experienced countless storms.

Finn asked, "You're Sir Baldwin's brother?"

(End of this chapter)