Medieval: Kingdom Come: Deliverance

When young master Polgar was at a loss, it was Richard, with his silver tongue, who stepped forward and said, "This is someone else's fault, how can you blame it on young master Polgar? I believe that the young master still respects you and is willing to discuss a settlement."

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm willing to negotiate," Young Master Polgar said earnestly, sticking his head out. He was completely devoid of the arrogant and overbearing demeanor he had before the war. Indeed, what is taught by others is often forgotten; experience teaches, and one learns in a single step.

Peter waved his hand, and the tomcat and Conrad sheathed their swords and retreated behind Peter.

"But you don't have the final say, Yang. You are still just an heir, not a lord."

Peter's words tore through the vanity of young Master Borgo like a knife: "You have neither the personal funds to pay your own ransom nor the right to use the castle's treasury. Without Ulrich's cooperation, you can't even produce a single Grossin. Without your father's approval, you're not even worth 100 Grossins."

"I...I...but I am my father's only child. I am not married and have no sons. I am the sole heir to the territory. My father is already seventy years old; he doesn't have many years left to live..."

After being hit hard, young master Borgo became incoherent and started uttering all sorts of nonsense.

Hans Capone, watching from the sidelines, covered his face in disbelief. Although he was also a spoiled brat, at least he was willing to risk his life in crucial moments and had never considered letting his father die young to inherit the title, even though that had already happened...

Faced with the filial son, Count Borgo, Richard, with his silver tongue, stepped forward and said, "Count Borgo loves the young master. He would pay any price to redeem him, and I can testify to that."

"Yes, yes, my father loves me, the ransom is no problem at all!"

Young Master Borgo also realized that the only thing he could rely on now was his father's love for him.

“I’ll wait and see how heavy the weight of love truly is,” Peter continued, his tone calm yet undeniably cruel. “I’ll give him five days. If I don’t see the money in five days…” He picked up a small but sharp dagger from the table, “I’ll castrate Jan Polgar and give him my balls for free.”

Young Master Borgo clenched his legs tightly, a warm sensation surging between them. He knew this was no joke. This ruthless and decisive red griffin was going to use the most direct and humiliating method to declare his power and resolve to his father. And then, without his testicles, he would have to continue working for him like a slave! He absolutely refused to live that kind of life!

Young Master Borgo quickly nudged Richard, the silver-tongued negotiator in charge of the negotiations.

"Understood. For the sake of the young master, I, Richard Dessen, will do my utmost," the quick-witted Richard replied in a deep voice.

"It's all up to you, my good brother!"

It was only then that young Master Borgo realized what it meant to see true friendship in times of trouble; the silver-tongued Richard was truly a good person!

At this point, the old monk Martin, who was acting as a witness, wrote down what he had just said in Latin and handed it to Peter.

"This is my letter to the old count, which specifies the ransom amount." Peter stamped a griffin mark on the wax seal and casually asked, "Oh, by the way, didn't the old count mention how much ransom Black Bartosh and Istvan would be paid?"

Upon hearing this, Hans Capon replied, "Count von Polgár said..."

"Sir Hans, please don't let trivial matters interfere with the young master's ransom mission," Richard the quick-witted interrupted Hans. "The Earl has instructed us to ransom the young master at all costs. But Blackbatoch and Istvan, I'm sorry, I haven't received any instructions. When the Earl hears about the 5 Groschen ransom, he probably won't have time to consider anything else. Sir Hans, have you received any secret orders from the Earl?"

Hans was speechless for a moment. von Polgar had only told him to redeem the young master and Black Batos, but who knew what Black Batos was worth? He hadn't received any secret orders either.

Young Master Borgo, fearing complications and that the ransom demands from Black Bartosh and Istvan might affect his freedom, echoed Richard, saying, "Don't bring up trivial matters. You're not anyone important, so shut up!"

Hey, my temper's flaring up! Hans meant well by saying something, but got slapped in the face instead, so he quit too, whatever.

After Hans fell silent, things proceeded smoothly. Peter handed the letter to the quick-witted Richard, saying, "I hope you will return and report as soon as possible. Young Master Borgo's happiness is in your hands."

Young Master Borgo urged, "My friend, Richard, hurry back and inform my father. You must rescue me as soon as possible; I cannot stay here another day!"

"Rest assured, young master, I will do my best." The quick-witted Richard reassured the other man, then turned to Hans Capone and said, "Sir Hans, although we have some disagreements, our overall goal should be the same, which is to rescue Young Master Borgo, isn't it?"

"You're right," Hans nodded.

"Could you please stay here and take care of the young master while I'm gone? I'm afraid that after I leave, they'll continue to make the young master do jobs like cleaning manure in the pigsty, which would be too humiliating," Richard the Clever Ear earnestly requested.

"I don't want to clean the latrines!" Young Master Borgo was clearly agitated, grabbing Richard's arm, not wanting him to leave.

Hans was speechless again. He didn't care about this damn young master von Polgao at all, but he had no choice but to do so in order to complete the task assigned by Hans to form an alliance with von Polgao.

"I can stay. I hope the Griffin Baron will treat us like nobles." Henry had stayed at the camp to work as a blacksmith to repay a favor, and staying would also give him company.

Peter smiled and said, "Don't worry, our camp still values ​​hospitality. As long as the ransom is delivered within five days, everything is fine. If you miss the deadline, then I'm sorry."

With the problem solved, the quick-witted Richard didn't linger and quickly rode off down the mountain. Hans and young Master Polgar were each given a clean cabin.

After everyone left.

Peter clapped his hands and led two men out of a suite, the Black Batos and Istvan mentioned earlier.

"I'm sorry, it seems no one wants to buy your freedom," Peter said regretfully. "I had hoped to make some more money off you."

"I can buy my own freedom!"

Black Bartosh was somewhat frustrated. He thought that after working so hard for the old count for so many years, the count would at least consider some of their friendship and pay him some silver coins to redeem himself, but the result disappointed him greatly.

As a bodyguard, he knew perfectly well that the old count manipulated the Noble Council in Prague; power was money! The old count was also in charge of tax collection from the royal estates and monasteries, handling hundreds of thousands of Grossins and embezzling a large sum from the royal family. Why wouldn't he spend a few thousand more Grossins on himself?

"No, Bartosh, you are now my prisoner, which means you are my property. How can you use my money to buy your own freedom?"

Peter waved his hand in refusal, without even asking the price.

Black Bartosh was stunned. He felt that Peter's words made some sense, but something was not quite right.

Istvan, standing nearby, suddenly realized why they had been confined to a poorly soundproofed suite before the negotiations—it was probably to let them hear that the old count had no intention of redeeming them.

Istvan suspected something was amiss, but the two messengers sent by the old count made no mention of them whatsoever. Even though Istvan was always scheming against others, he still hoped someone would lend him a hand when he was in trouble, but Otto von Polgar was so heartless!

Seeing that Black Bartosh's suggestion to pay the ransom himself was blocked, he was really at a loss. Was he going to be trapped in this bandit camp forever, or wait for Red-haired Peter to make some kind of deal with his bastard son Henry and hand him over to be killed?

This is not a good sign.