Lord: Starting from the Pit-Dwelling Courtyard

Chapter 154 Heartache

The Earl's Chambers.

Gabriel leaned back in his chair, twirling a gold coin between his fingers.

Best sat opposite him, with two knights standing behind him.

He was a head taller than Gabriel, but sat half an inch shorter than the person opposite him.

"Vice Commander Best has come in person to ransom him," Gabriel said, slamming the gold coins onto the table. "It seems Declan is worth more than I thought."

Best didn't reply, but took out a roll of parchment from his pocket and unfolded it.

"The Knights of the Inspectorate are willing to pay three thousand gold coins to ransom Declan Shaw, plus a promise: they will no longer interfere in any affairs within the border territories."

Gabriel glanced at the numbers on the parchment and pushed the paper back.

"Three thousand gold coins for a Sky Knight? Best, are you here to do business or to fob me off?"

Best tapped his fingers lightly on his knee; he was holding back.

If he could beat this woman, he would definitely throw white gloves at her.

"Lord Border Lord, Declan is a company commander, not a battalion commander. Three thousand gold coins is already the maximum allowed."

77

"Specifications?" Gabriel chuckled. "On my turf, I call the shots. Your company commander led ambush against my Rose Knights, intending to kill my chief architect and vice-commander."

"That's a personal grudge—"

“I have no personal grudges,” Gabriel interrupted him. “Ten thousand gold coins. You take your men and leave.”

Best remained silent for a long time; the tea on the table had gone cold, but he didn't touch it.

"Nine thousand," he said.

"Ten thousand, or a thousand less. I'll kill you as soon as you leave the city. This is a personal grudge and has nothing to do with the Imperial Guard."

Best's face turned green; this woman was being completely unreasonable.

"Lord Border Lord, nine thousand gold coins can hire a full-strength mercenary group from the North to fight a small-scale war." Best's voice was very low. "Declan is not worth that price."

"Then let him stay in the dungeon. I can afford to support him anyway."

Best stood up, but did not leave.

He stood there, looking at Gabriel for a long time, as if waiting for a step.

Gabriel did not give it to him.

"Nine thousand five hundred," Best said. "This is my last bid."

"Bring money to pick them up tomorrow."

Best turned to leave, but stopped at the door.

"Lord Border Lord, we will remember what happened in Declan."

Gabriel gave a cold laugh: "Good that you remember, I'm just afraid you won't."

Gabriel originally intended to leave Best here, but considering that Gorubak Castle's business spanned the entire kingdom, he had to give up.

The Imperial Knights' power extends across the heart of the kingdom; if they were to obstruct the Gorubakburg caravan, it would be impossible for them to make any progress.

Otherwise, Declan wouldn't have been able to even enter Gorubak Castle, let alone ambush Rosalie outside the city; she would have killed him long ago.

This time, it was blatant extortion, with the aim of making the Imperial Guards suffer for a long time.

Best led Declan out of the lord's manor. The former's face was terribly gloomy, while the latter's face was pale and his pupils were unfocused. Although there was no physical injury, he had suffered great trauma.

Best asked, "What's wrong with you?"

It took the other party more than ten seconds to reply to this question.

"It's okay, I'm just not feeling well. I'll be fine after some time to adjust."

Best scoffed, "That's for the best."

After all, they spent 10,000 gold coins to redeem it. In reality, a Sky Knight is not worth that much money, but they couldn't do without spending the money.

Otherwise, what would the other members of the Knights think?

"That bitch."

As Best cursed inwardly, a middle-aged man dressed in simple linen clothes brushed past him. After the man had gone some distance, a small note appeared in Best's palm.

"The target is located in Hongxiangmei Subdistrict, Dongcheng District."

Best smirked as he waited for the Knights to head towards Red Plum Street.

Soon, Doron, carrying the eight hundred gold coins that Dumont had brought, headed towards the alley of bungalows behind the development.

-

When the second floor of the building was completed, everyone envied the house, but no one wanted to buy it.

Because they couldn't afford to buy, the houses on Hongxiangmei Street in Dongcheng District were once allocated to knights of the Red Wolf Knights. Back then, once a house was allocated, it belonged to the knight, unlike now, where the houses are taken back once someone leaves the Rose Knights.

Unfortunately, more than a hundred years ago, the Red Wolf Knights were also wiped out in the Orc War, and most of the knight families in this neighborhood instantly lost their breadwinner.

In the following decade or so, the families of knights who lost their knights managed to survive, with those who could still raise knights or had other knights in their household. Those who could not raise knights eventually sold their houses and moved to the suburbs due to the high cost of living in Gorubakburg.

Some clever families, unable to raise a knight, cut their losses in time, lowered their standard of living, and completely integrated into ordinary life.

In this way, they not only kept their house, but were also able to continue living in Gorubakburg.

Unfortunately, a hundred years have passed, and very few knightly families have truly risen again. Instead, as time goes by, many more knightly families have disappeared into history.

In the most recent census, Count Gabriel renamed the place Red Plum Street, which was formerly known as Red Wolf Knight Street.

Because the descendants of the former Red Wolf Knights rarely produce knight apprentices, it is naturally impossible for them to continue using this name.

Duolong stood at the alley entrance for a while, going through the details of each household on the street in his mind.

The Pattons are tough nuts to crack; they won't listen to reason. So we'll have to be forceful. We have to get them in first before we can talk about what comes next.

The first place Doron went to was one of the descendants of the former Red Wolf Knights: "Old Patton! Open the door."

The door was opened a crack, and the person inside, upon seeing Duolong, immediately closed the door.

"We're not selling. We're not selling the house."

Duolong was somewhat embarrassed. He had inquired about all the houses in the area, and had used many shady methods in the process, which had already left a bad impression on the surrounding community.

Doron was a little angry: "I'll count to three, then open the door. Otherwise, I'll just break it down and come in. I'll just pay for it."

"—!"

Hearing Doron's unreasonable words, Barton behind the door trembled with anger, but to no avail. Looking at his terrified grandson in the corner, he was filled with both anger and resentment.

It wasn't that their family had no knights; his son, Longbottom, was a formal knight. Unfortunately, he hadn't received proper training and development. Relying on the breathing techniques passed down in the family, he successfully trained to become a formal knight, but he was considered a wild knight and not officially recognized by the territory.