Chapter 4: Illegitimate Child

The wooden box contained some black dust in exquisite small bags, which should be the gunpowder of this era. Hughes took a bag and poured it into the barrel, then stuffed the lead bullet into the muzzle, pressed it in with a wooden stick, and then took some white wax from the box to seal it to prevent it from falling out.

This gun seemed to have some stories, but Hughes was not interested in going into details. He just wanted to check out his own territory.

He traveled through time and space and became a lord. Although there was only a small island, the sky was high and the queen was far away. He didn't have to be so restricted here, which was a good thing.

Oh, by the way, I have to ask about the church. Hughes is quite wary of the church now. That mechanical priest left a deep impression on him.

He took his weapon and walked to the door. The maid packed food for him in a food box. Before the butler brought the horse over, Xius looked over the outer wall of the manor not far away and looked at the subjects who were hurriedly passing by on the path outside.

They were in a hurry, as if something had happened outside.

Many people had a mixture of fear and curiosity on their faces, and were rushing in one direction.

".like a monster."

"Yes, I feel sick all over."

"Go and have a look."

The few words were blown into his ears by the wind, and Zeus frowned. What did it mean? Did he discover a monster?

Did he hear it right? Those people were talking about monsters?

Could it be a supernatural creature?

The extraordinary world that I had never been able to touch after so many times descending upon was now right in front of me? Excitement and fear surged up at the same time, and then slowly turned into anticipation.

Whether it is good or bad, he should go and have a look. There will be many opportunities to start over, but this is the first time he has the chance to come into contact with the extraordinary.

Moreover, he subconsciously pressed his waist, and the cold and hard metal pistol gave him a sense of security.

Which is stronger, monsters or bullets? He is very interested.

Seeing the two maids next to him exchange glances, Hughes turned his head and asked, "Do you know something? What happened?"

The two of them looked stiff, and they quickly lowered their heads, looked at each other hesitantly, and spoke carefully:

"Master, I heard that a monster was fished out of the sea, right at the port."

"I heard that the monster is very scary, and its body looks like..."

“Ahem!”

Their conversation was interrupted by a loud cough. The old butler led the horse, glared at the two of them, and walked in front of Xius.

"There is no monster. It's just a strange fish. These people are ignorant and afraid of them. Strange fish are often caught in the deep sea. When I was young, I went to sea with a ship. This kind of thing is very common in the Sunless Sea."

Xius looked at the butler with interest: "Have you seen the strange fish?"

"Not yet, but after hearing their description, it should be the type I have seen before."

"Then let's go and take a look together." Xius looked at the horse standing in front of him, searched his memories, then stepped on the footstool put down by the maid and mounted the horse.

The horse's back was more stable than he had imagined, and the saddle had a soft lining.

He took the whip from the butler and shook the reins a little awkwardly.

The brown horse flicked its tail meekly and broke into a brisk trot forward.

The butler looked at Xiusi deeply, turned around and gave the maid a few instructions, then mounted his horse and left the manor.

There were no maintained roads on the island. There was a little cobblestone road near the manor, but the ground became muddy after a few steps.

Fortunately, riding a horse did not have much impact, but the speed of the two still slowed down.

Hughes inserted the whip into the buckle next to the saddle and let the horse walk slowly. He leaned over and looked at the butler: "Connor, how are we doing recently?"

The butler thought for a moment before speaking: "It's not good, Master Xius. We don't have much money left. Since you came to the territory to take up your post, the Duke's contacts have become less and less."

Hughes naturally knew who the duke he was talking about was. That was his biological father: the Duke of Cohen.

Although Hughes is an illegitimate child, Duke Cohen actually treats him quite well.

Since he was born, he has been raised by the Duke of Cohen in a mansion in the suburbs. The servants and butler Watson have followed him for many years. The Duke of Cohen also hired a tutor for him and helped him become a border earl.

All this is naturally incomparable to being the Duke's heir, but he is just a illegitimate child. According to the attitude of the nobles towards illegitimate children, they have done the most.

It seems that his biological father cannot be relied upon for the time being.

Hughes coughed lightly and said, "Connor, I thought about this for a long time last night. We are in a lot of trouble now. Maybe we need to change our previous lifestyle."

To be honest, he really couldn't get used to living the way Master Zeus used to. It seemed like he was spending every day leisurely, but in fact, everything from the etiquette of afternoon tea to the way of dining was strictly regulated. He felt suffocated when he recalled the memories of the past.

There are so many rules and regulations. If he really follows every one of them, he will be exposed sooner or later.

The housekeeper's eyes flickered, and I don't know what he was thinking.

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"You are the Count now, and it is all up to you."

He hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Master, the merchants in the east want to talk to us. Your chief clerk has been in charge of this matter before."

Hughes searched his memory and then his face twitched.

Merchants? There are no merchants. There are only pirates in the Storm Ocean!

The so-called talk was actually the pirates coming to collect money.

Yes, the original owner of this body has been giving money to pirates to buy peace.

My goodness, Zeus was curious before, why there has been no movement from the pirates.

"when?"

"At noon the day after tomorrow."

"Got it. I'll go meet them."

He must find a way to deal with the pirates. If he keeps giving away money like this, the territory will be dragged down sooner or later.

As for how to solve it, he hasn't figured it out yet. Let's first see how the territory develops. If it doesn't work, just delay it. Anyway, with him here, it's only a matter of time before industrialization is completed here.

The island is not big. He could smell the sea breeze in the manor before, and soon he heard the sound of waves.

"Master, the port is just ahead."

"Um."

Hughes pulled the reins, and the horse paused and looked forward.

Rather than calling it a port, this place is more like a small pier. It is on the north side of the island, a natural deep-water port. With just a few wooden platforms, it can accommodate cargo ships traveling north and south to load and unload goods.

——Of course, now this place is only used by fishermen to go out to sea to fish.

Now, a small boat was parked at the dock, and a lot of people gathered not far from the beach. Hughes also saw several soldiers with weapons, and there were newly painted royal emblems on their leather armor.

Strictly speaking, the Border Earl was a retainer of the Queen. His coat of arms was originally a combination of the coat of arms of the royal family and the Duke of Cohen, and he was an illegitimate child. Shaking his head to get rid of these irrelevant things, Hughes glanced at the butler.

Connor nodded slightly and walked towards the crowd.

(End of this chapter)