I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 255 Luke's Response

The path between Treff Bridge and Knightsburg had long been leveled, and before noon the next day, George rode his traveling horse back to Knightsburg with Ryan.

Ryan, already a skilled equestrian, galloped swiftly towards the Deer Hall, handing over the month's bridge toll and wine money to Luc as he spoke of the intelligence he had gathered on the way.

“It was an old, wandering knight with two squires. He arrived at Cooper Castle a few days ago. George said it was too dark for him to see his exact appearance, but for some reason, he looked very familiar.”

After listening to Ryan's words, Luke turned his attention to George.

"Think carefully, did that old knight have a short, stocky squire in black robes by his side?"

Watching George down a glass of ale, his nose bright red, it seemed he'd been embezzling quite a bit from the tavern.

To be honest, this former horse thief was full of flaws: he was addicted to drinking, whoring, gambling, and stealing.

For example, the tavern's latest invention—a gambling game—incorporates specially carved wooden dice into the gameplay of Gomoku (Five in a Row), making the already enticing game even more addictive. Under the influence of alcohol, the number of travelers lingering at the Telf Bridge is increasing daily, and Bauer, who is in charge of buying alcohol, has mentioned several times his desire to expand the area.

Don't assume that those smelly guys who don't know a single Latin word are bad at counting. In fact, these guys are shrewd at Finney, especially George. He made his fortune by stealing and selling, and originally had little interest in Gomoku, but after adding dice, he became instantly addicted and spent all his time at the gambling table, almost neglecting to even guard the bridge.

Even without him, Bauer couldn't control him.

Fortunately, this guy still respected Luke to some extent, and Bauer used Luke's name to coerce George, preventing him from completely succumbing to his influence.

That's why, not long ago, he, who was also in charge of overseeing the developments at Cooperburg, discovered this seemingly insignificant "little thing".

Courbet had a relatively small transient population, or rather, a small transient population throughout the Middle Ages. Many serfs were confined to their respective lords' manors for their entire lives, and free farmers were even less willing to leave their homes and livelihoods. Apart from wartime, most travelers were merchants and pilgrims.

Therefore, the old knight, in George's eyes, particularly caught his attention.

"A short, stocky squire in black robes?"

George turned slightly to the side, as if recalling something, and after a while said, "It seems there was a squire who was short and stocky, but he didn't seem to be wearing a black robe."

Luke nodded upon hearing this, then began tapping his fingers on the table.

"My lord, it's almost certain. It must be that damned old knight's Feynman! The one who escaped from Byrne was that short, stocky squire! As for the black robe, it's just a change of clothes."

Ryan's gaze was unfriendly; strictly speaking, these things were not enough to determine that the target came from the direction of Cooper Castle.

But Lane isn't a detective, nor does he need to be. When Joseph Jr. died, there wasn't a single decent piece of evidence, and Berry even suspected Luc. Similarly, Lane won't let his guard down regarding Cooperburg in the slightest.

Old Ek, Lynn, Raoul, and the others around him had different expressions. Old Ek also looked indignant, Lynn had his head down and seemed lost in thought, while the bard Raoul, who had been specially invited to listen, appeared thoughtful. But judging from their micro-expressions, they all basically agreed with Lynn's words.

"Ryan is right, but what is Feynman up to?"

Luc narrowed his eyes. Feynman was not like Berry. Although he lacked Berry's true ferocity, he was more cunning. That's why this guy preferred to take the unorthodox approach, as evidenced by his current antics in his fief. But what exactly would he have that old knight do?
Luke didn't think that adding an older wandering knight to Cooperburg would significantly increase its strength.

Still unsure, Luc finally said:

"Ryan, keep pushing forward with the cider production. Sell everything except the small amount we'll drink ourselves. We've pretty much established a presence in the surrounding area for ale, so we need to get the cider in too."

"We need to put more effort into the barrels this time. Tomorrow I'll have Jill get some ochre to paint some patterns on the barrels."

Luc understood the importance of packaging; if he wanted to sell the juice made from newly cultivated apples at a higher price, he had to put effort into the packaging.

"Once the first few barrels of wine are ready, you personally deliver them to Old Poons and David. While you're at it, borrow the carpenters from their territory. I need to get the ships built as soon as possible!"

Ryan nodded firmly: "Okay!"

The Riverside Estate incident made Luc more eager to connect the three territories.

At first, I thought the resistance to converting Riverside Estate to flax came from within, but with Peter and Byrne around, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Now it seems Feynman is also stirring things up. Although it's unclear where his confidence and motives come from, it has to be admitted that he will indeed create more trouble.

“George, aren’t you good at drawing? Draw the three people you remember in a moment. Don’t look at me like that. I don’t need you to draw them accurately, just draw the general outline of what you remember.”

"Also, you did a good job. Go to Old Ek's place later and get some cider."

"Thank you, sir!" George, who was initially reluctant, quickly thanked him with his eyes lit up.

"Old Eck, you take George's painting and keep a close eye on the refugees and pilgrims recruited on the other side, in case these people take the opportunity to sneak in. Hans will be in charge for the time being."

Since those guys dared to go to Riverside Manor to turn York against them, it's very likely they'll also disguise themselves as ordinary people and enter Knightsburg.

After all, Knightsburg is currently in a period of absorbing refugees. If this time is missed, ordinary manors will not have such frequent population movements.

"No problem, sir."

Luc quickly arranged everything, then added after a moment's thought:
"As for the Riverside Manor, continue to promote flax cultivation!"

In truth, the matter of the Riverside Estate is a minor issue and will not shake or affect Luc's plans. It simply means that he needs to be more cautious, just like he is now.

But there's no such thing as being able to guard against thieves for a thousand days if you're a thief for a thousand days, so Luke closed his eyes and thought for a while, and a plan emerged in his mind. However, he didn't announce it immediately.

After all, not everyone in the room is a trusted confidant.

Raoul observed Luc's plan. The bard stroked his chin and suddenly remembered the murder case from not long ago. An immature story immediately came to mind.

"I wonder if I can exchange my creation for more wine?" Raoul muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear.

Luc, of course, didn't care about Raoul. He invited him in because he valued Raoul's extensive travel experience, and since Raoul would be staying at Knightsburg for the foreseeable future, he wasn't worried about Raoul leaking secrets.

After dismissing everyone, Luke specifically kept Lynn behind to inquire about the Inquisition.

"God bless you, Lord Luc. I have already reported your proposal to Bishop Hugo, and I believe I will receive a reply soon."

"Thank you, monk."

"No, this is your expression of piety towards God, there is no need to thank me."

Lynn, in general, sided with Knightburg regarding the conflict between Luke and Feynman. He made the sign of the cross towards Luke, and then the young "saint" slowly spoke:

"By the way, I have some news for you. Brother Pierre has passed away."

"Oh?" Luke's eyes widened.

Lynn explained expressionlessly, "He unfortunately fell into the water on his way to Rome."

"Ha, this is really bad luck." Luc showed a knowing look on his face.

Pierre's death was expected by Luc. He didn't take the passing of this "big shot" he had first met seriously and quickly put him out of his mind.

For half a month, perhaps Bain had alerted them, or perhaps Luke's approach had worked, but nothing happened at Knight's Castle, Riverside Manor, or Tiha Village. Luke had specifically sent Ryan to Tiha Village to have the stonemason Thorne carry out the construction of the church in an orderly manner, and there were no unexpected situations, and things went incredibly smoothly.

With the support of Makon County, there was no shortage of supplies, and with the old Baldwin family guard in place, the people of Tihar were very willing to participate in church affairs.

When the serfs of Riverside Estate learned of York's murder, some were initially filled with panic. However, with the reassurance of Peter, a religious fanatic, and the intimidation of Byrne, coupled with Luc's recent delivery of a batch of grain to the estate, they gradually calmed down.

Some serfs who had never eaten so much food before even stopped resisting the order to switch to flax cultivation, but most remained hesitant.

This has nothing to do with whether or not one owns land, since there is no precedent for professional economic plantations yet.

However, to the surprise of the people at Riverside Estate, the house and land after York's death did not become Luc's own property, but rather the property of an outsider.

Others could only envy him.

Luke also took the opportunity to inspect some madder plants in the surrounding area, and the results satisfied him.

In addition to these, there are a few other minor issues: First, little William has been sitting for long periods of time!

In fact, this was a small matter in Luc's eyes, but in the eyes of others, it was an extremely important matter.

Actually, little William had been able to sit for a long time, though he could only sit for a short while, but that still made old Eck very happy.

In the words of this man in his fifties, he had seen too many babies, but he had never seen a baby like little William who could sit up in less than six months. That was why little Charlie's puppy son was able to knock little William over.

After all, most babies only learn to roll over at three months old!
This is simply a miracle!
Perhaps it's because Luc has created so many awe-inspiring works over the years, but the core members of Knightsburg, especially Ryan and old Eck, often attribute the things that happen to Luc to miracles, leaving Luc both amused and exasperated.

The second thing was that a fishing serf somehow obtained a strangely shaped stone.

This guy insisted that it was a gift from God and wanted to give it to Luc.

Anyone with eyes could see that this was an attempt to curry favor with Luc and, incidentally, to get some rewards.

Luc initially thought so too, but then he discovered that the black stone with a bunch of holes could actually be used to rub his feet, so he just took it.

But the amazing thing wasn't that. One day, just before it was going to rain, the night before the rain fell, Luc discovered that the stone was actually oozing water droplets as if it were sweating, which greatly amazed him.

Duss exclaimed in surprise.

When the serf found out, he found it amusing but not joyful. Instead, he was somewhat terrified and hurriedly went to the church to pray for atonement.

Because of this incident, Luke's reputation as a Holy Knight rose slightly, especially among the pilgrims who came to pay their respects.
And so, until the end of this month, a truly big event finally happened!
That evening, Luc officially received Hugo's reply.

Luke opened the letter seriously, skimming through it quickly, his expression gradually darkening.

The letter stated that the Cluny Church, after discussion, agreed to Luc's suggestion, with Hugo and the Count of Macon among the members.

But the last line reads that the Cluny Church refused Luke's request to become a member of the Inquisition.

(End of this chapter)