I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 254 Huss
Naturally, news of the Riverbank Manor's events couldn't reach Knightsburg immediately.

With the waterways temporarily impassable and the land routes winding and difficult to traverse, Luke, still completely unaware of what had happened in the third territory, got up as usual at daybreak the next day, rode his horse, and drew his bow to inspect the territory.

Miller had gradually lost interest in joining the private army, but he insisted on matching the training intensity of the private army, and Luke happily let him be.

After breakfast, Luke will deal with the extra apples today.

"Cough cough cough, sir, there are too many apples. Unless we eat them every day for a while, they'll rot sooner or later."

Old Ek's mouth crumpled into a frown. Life in Knightsburg had improved over the years, and many people had gained weight, but Old Ek remained thin, with two nasolabial folds etched on his cheeks, adding a touch of coldness to this kind old man.

In fact, as the number of people increased, old Eck, as the butler of the Losh family, did become much more serious.

After all, this man with a long history understood that most of his people were ignorant and that kindness would only bring trouble.

“I understand, so let’s resolve this today.”

Luke was carrying a sword, not the cross sword he had originally seized from Henry, but one of Jason's latest batch of swords.

Because the sword-quenching technique was not yet perfect, the output was limited, and Luke rewarded only a handful of people, including Ryan, Jean, and Byrne's squires.

The sharpest of the last weapons was kept by Luke for himself.

The new sword is shorter than the cross sword, and for some reason, it has some wavy edges on both sides, but it does not affect its use.

Luc gripped the blade of the sword he intended to use as a ceremonial sword, his fingers tapping on the deerskin scabbard adorned with a few floral patterns—

This was specially made by Amy at Duss's request to enhance its aesthetic appeal.

"Apple chips, the only way is to dry the excess apples into apple chips."

Luc looked up at old Ek and said, "Although the method is a bit clumsy, there is no other good way at the moment. After drying the apples, we can store them in an ice cellar. They should not spoil within a few months, and we can also make up for the shortage of fruit in winter."

"As you wish, sir."

Old Ek bowed and asked, "Shall we add salt?"

Although Luc has a small salt mountain, due to insufficient manpower and the fact that Hoffman had recently taken away a batch of coarse salt, the salt supply can only be said to be just beginning.

"Let's not put it in the oven, let's just steam and dry it. We can just steam it a few more times. We have plenty of firewood."

Making dried apples is not complicated; as Luke said, you can simply slice them, place them on a clay pot, and steam them.

The task of arranging manpower was left to old Eck, while Luc, alone with Hans, prepared to handle the second matter of the day.

—Huss!
He hadn't forgotten this archer under Berry's command!
Huss and Luc had only met a few times, but Huss had left a deep impression on him.

This old hunter, whose tracking skills are no less than George's and whose archery skills are also quite remarkable, is a treasure. According to Luke's philosophy that talent is the most valuable asset, it would be best if Huss could join Knightsburg.

The bearded archer was still being held in the storeroom, and because of Luke's orders, he had not been deprived of food and drink.

However, a small incident occurred along the way.

"You mean Mary doesn't want to herd sheep anymore?"

Luc looked at Miller, whose face was flushed. This guy had been standing in the distance for a long time, not daring to come over, until Luc noticed something was wrong and called him over, at which point he awkwardly made his request.

"Yes, sir, my mother said, could you perhaps find someone else to take over herding duties? Of course, she'd still like to continue feeding the chickens, pigs, and cows for you."

If we were to name the person in the manor who most admired Luc, it would undoubtedly be Miller.

Ryan's admiration was more heartfelt, while Miller worshipped everything about Luc like a fanatical admirer.

In his view, Luc was almost omnipotent.

Because of his association with Luc, many people on the estate respected him.

Miller probably didn't know that he once looked up to Lane, envying that a carpenter's son could become a nobleman's retainer. Now, many serfs and even free peasants envied Miller in the same way.

That's why, when Mary told Miller that she wanted to quit her job as a shepherd and explained why, and even asked him, who was closest to Luc, to tell her, Miller was extremely ashamed.

Looking at Miller's expression, Luc pondered for a moment and immediately understood the reason.

Luc couldn't help but sneer twice: "You don't want to graze livestock but want to continue raising them?"

Mary didn't want to continue herding for a simple reason—herding had become physically demanding.

There used to be only a few sheep, which was very easy to graze, but as the number of sheep increased, grazing became more difficult.

It's not that they're difficult to manage; with sheepdogs, a hundred sheep can be herded. The key is that to fatten them up, you have to let them graze early in the morning. Because it's cool and refreshing in the morning, the sheep eat more, but they won't eat when it gets hot at noon.

In addition, now that Mary's family has been allocated land, and Miller and Julie are often away from home, it is difficult for Robert to cultivate the land on his own.

However, Mary was a clever woman after all. Although herding was tiring, raising chickens and pigs was not, and she could also get eggs along the way.

This would be the best choice for Mary, but Luc was not entirely satisfied with it.

"I don't want to do tiring work, but I want to keep the work that brings me benefits."

“Mary and Robert are truly a perfect couple.”

Luc's eyes turned slightly cold. No one is a saint. He could understand Mary's actions, but from the perspective of a plantation owner, he would not agree to his subjects bargaining on such matters.

“Since you don’t want to herd livestock, you don’t need to do that either. I’ll find someone else to herd the livestock, and I’ll give the job of feeding them to Eugene. I’m worried that this guy only tends to a few horses every day and has too much free time.”

Luc now has a total of nine horses. One for Bain and one for his servant. Of the remaining seven that belong to Luc, two are lame and are used as packhorses. One travel horse is still tied up at the Treff Bridge. The remaining four good warhorses (purchased, stolen, and captured from Clovis and Joseph) were given to Jean. The remaining three, along with the two lame horses and the black donkey, are tied up in the stable.

In fact, Eugene had approached Luc a few days ago about expanding the stables, but Luc had been too busy to do so yet.

As for the mule, it joined Hoffman's mule caravan and went to transport salt.

Miller lowered his head in shame upon hearing Luc's words, not daring to utter a single word.

Looking at Miller's expression, Luc clicked his tongue.

Regardless, Miller was absolutely loyal.

"How about this, you can keep the cows. By the way, I'll help you get to know Lisa and see if you two can get married."

"My God, is this real, sir?!"

Sure enough, Miller, who was only grateful when he heard about the cow, couldn't hide his excitement when he heard about Lisa. This kid is young, but he wants to try his hand at sex.

"Don't be too happy yet. Lisa is the lady's personal maid. I won't force her to be with you. If she doesn't like you, there's nothing I can do. And even if she does like you, you'll still need your own house. She doesn't want to share a house with you and your parents."

Seeing Miller deep in thought, Luc didn't say anything more and turned to walk towards the storeroom.

Upon opening the storeroom door, Huss stood respectfully inside, seemingly having known all along that Luc was coming. Upon seeing him, Huss immediately bowed. Under Luc's gaze, Huss's first words made Luc raise an eyebrow.

“My lord, I believe you have found a new shepherd.”

Luc looked Huss up and down and laughed with satisfaction.

……

The day passed quickly, and as night fell, Luc finally received news of the Riverside Estate from the Knights Castle.

After letting the fat man go to rest, Luke fell silent.

The whole story has been explained by the fat man:
After Byrne and his servant checked into Riverside Manor, at dusk, a woman named Fat Susan whispered to them about York's unusual behavior. So the two of them secretly followed York at night, but before they could get very close, he discovered their presence.

York's black-robed man reacted swiftly, killing York on the spot. He then fled. Since York was in a dense forest, and not wanting to alert the enemy, neither of them rode horses. Thus, Byrne and his companion gave chase, but could not catch up with the black-robed figure, who eventually disappeared into the forest.

"I swear, that guy ran faster than a rabbit!"

This was a recent, frustrated statement from the fat man.

"Looks like he's quite skilled, or at least has good stamina."

"Master, it must be Feynman who is sabotaging our estate!"

Ryan stood up angrily, and almost immediately turned his attention to Cooperburg.

“Fan.”

Luc slowly narrowed his eyes. He knew the reason for Ryan's suspicion. He only had a few enemies, and if anyone wanted to sabotage him, Cooperburg was indeed the biggest target.

What puzzled Luc was that if Feynman didn't want the Riverside Estate, he could obviously have refused to give it up. And when did this second son become so audacious?
However, considering the other person's personality, Luc felt relieved.

"But who is this person with such stamina? Who could escape from Byrne? Clovie or Charman? No, they are knights, they wouldn't do such a thing for Feynman like a servant."

Luc thought of everyone around Feynman, but couldn't find anyone to suspect.

By the way, George mentioned a while ago that there was a familiar-looking guy who recently arrived at Fort Cooper.
"Ryan, have George come back tomorrow!"

(End of this chapter)