Chapter 15: Castle
"My lord, I just went to inspect the territory and was not the first to greet you. Please forgive me!" Benny felt guilty, but he also knew that Gervis didn't know what he had done yet. So although he was very nervous, he still appeared to be a little calm on the surface and spoke to Gervis in a respectful tone.
"Oh!" Gervis simply said "oh" after hearing what he said. He looked undeniable, his face still stern. He said to them, "Lead the way, let's go to the castle first!"
"Yes! Lord!" The ten guards answered in unison.
After saying that, the seven guards who had arrived earlier lowered their heads and stole a few glances at Benny. Seeing that Benny had already taken the lead towards the castle, they followed timidly behind him.
Gervis and his companions followed them on horseback. Although the pace was slow, Gervis was not in a hurry.
While riding his horse, Gervis looked around the town. He only had a general look from the outside, but as he walked on the main road in the town, he had a deeper understanding of the poverty of the coastal town.
The paths on both sides of the main road were all filthy and muddy, and the wooden houses and thatched sheds beside the muddy roads were also dilapidated. Some of the walls had multiple large holes at the base, and were simply nailed shut with a few broken wooden boards. The walls of some houses were actually made of woven branches.
The only few stone houses in the town are all next to the main road. Although the outer walls are damaged and some stones have fallen off, they are the only buildings in the town that are still acceptable.
Passing by several stone houses, Gervis looked inside carefully. There was one that should be a blacksmith's shop. Although it was a bit dark inside and he couldn't see clearly, Gervis could hear the rhythmic sound of iron knocking coming from inside. In this world where iron is a scarce resource, such collision sounds can only be heard in a blacksmith's shop.
As for the other two stone houses, when Gervis and his companions passed by, the doors and windows were closed and they could not see what was inside. It was unknown whether they were used for living or for other purposes.
After passing through the town, you can reach the bottom of the castle after another four or five minutes of walking. Viscount Major's Castle is different from Gandalf's castle. In comparison, Viscount Major's Castle is about four times larger than Gandalf's Baron's Castle, and it is built on a hill 20 to 30 meters high. The hill is surrounded by steep cliffs, and the smallest drop is more than 20 meters. Only in front of the hill, there is a gentle slope more than ten meters wide leading to the gate of the castle.
Looking at the towering castle in front of him, Gervis found it hard to imagine how the orcs had managed to break through this fortress-like castle.
It can be said that Viscount Major took great pains to choose to build the castle here.
Because this hill is surrounded by steep cliffs of dozens of meters, if the castle is built on it, in the event of a war, as long as the more than ten-meter-wide mountain passage is guarded, the castle will be as stable as a rock. There is no explosives in this world, so if you want to attack from the mountain, the possibility of posing a threat to the castle is minimal. If you want to capture the castle, you can only choose to attack from the narrow mountain road.
After a while, the group followed the passage up the mountain and arrived in front of the castle.
Looking up at the castle, the scene at this moment is different from the feeling of looking at it from a distance. In the distance, I just felt that the castle stood on the hill, which was quite spectacular.
But when standing at the bottom of the castle and looking up, the castle is like a giant standing in front of you, blocking out the sky and the sun, which is extremely shocking. It is foreseeable that if an enemy comes to invade, when he reaches the bottom of the castle, just by looking up, he will feel his own insignificance and will want to retreat.
I don't know how many years it took to build this castle. It must have been a huge project. No wonder Viscount Major had the confidence to resist the invasion of orcs in the castle. Owning this castle, Gervis couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in his heart.
…
"Let's go in and see what my castle looks like inside!" Looking at the castle that belonged to him, Gervis' heart was surging. After taking a general look at the castle's exterior, Gervis took the lead in entering the castle.
As you walk into the castle gate, what you see is different from the forecourt of the Rose Castle. There is a tree pond garden in the forecourt of the Rose Castle, but inside this castle is a wide open space, similar to Gandalf's castle, except that the area of the open space is obviously much wider than Gandalf's castle.
The front yard looked desolate because no nobles had lived there for more than 30 years. Although it was obvious that someone was maintaining it on a regular basis, low weeds could still be seen everywhere.
At the foot of the city wall on the left side of the front yard, there was a row of wooden houses. Some clothes were hung outside the houses to dry, and there was also scattered garbage on the ground. Gervis was not surprised, as this should be the house where the guards lived.
Although the guards are stationed in the castle, they cannot live in the castle's inner castle. The castle in this world is the residence of the nobles and a symbol of their status, even if the castle has no real owner for a period of time.
However, the soldiers responsible for garrisoning can only move around or live outside the inner castle. They are not allowed to enter the inner castle without special circumstances. The vestibule is the place where all their activities in the castle take place.
Gervis didn't plan to investigate the littering for the time being. When the guards saw his eyes fixed on that place, they also looked frightened.
Gervis believed that from now on they would not dare to do that! Because the castle had a new owner - Baron Gervis.
Squeak…squeak…
When Gervis and his companions pushed open the heavy gate of the inner castle, the lock of the gate had become rusty because no one had lived there for many years. The moment the gate was opened, it made a squeaking sound, like the dubbing of a horror movie.
The heavy door was completely opened, but the inner castle was not covered with dust as imagined. It seemed that someone cleaned it regularly. Otherwise, if no one lived in it for a year or two, let alone decades, the interior of the castle would be full of dust and spider webs.
Although it is not spotless now, it only needs a little cleaning before you can move in.
"Is there someone cleaning here regularly?" Standing at the gate, Gervis looked at Benny. Benny had been leading the way in front, and it was he and several guards who pushed open the gate of the inner castle.
Although Gervis is now certain that Benny is hiding something and is definitely not a good person, he has just arrived at the territory today and has not yet moved in, so he does not want to question him right away.
After arranging food and lodging today, we can slowly deal with these small matters tomorrow. The power of life and death is in their own hands now. If they make some small mistakes, they will be forgiven. However, if they do something that is against the law, Gervis will not show mercy.
If there were really some evildoers among them, he was prepared to use them to buy the hearts and minds of the people in the territory. Although they were all serfs, Gervis, who had traveled through time, knew that these poor and oppressed serfs were the cornerstone of this world.
Although he was not going to be a savior, he would not be a cold-blooded person who did not care about the lives of his people.
"Yes, my lord, there is an order from Winterfell that serfs must come to clean the city once a month!" Benny answered immediately after hearing the question.
What Gervis didn't know was that although Benny's face looked relatively normal at the moment, the panic in his heart was even greater than before.
Because in addition to doing evil outside, he also did some things in the castle that were unforgivable to the nobles.
For a year and a half, Benny held the highest authority in the territory.
Since opening Pandora's box this spring, Benny has become reckless in doing things. He wants to enjoy the life of a noble lord.
So he moved out of the wooden house at the foot of the city wall and lived in the guest room in the inner castle where only noble lords could stay. He also often visited Viscount Major's study, secretly took some books out of the castle, and assigned his confidants to secretly take them to other towns to sell for money.
The other seven guards in the castle were his eyesores. With these seven people, his deeds might be leaked out. Fortunately, these seven people were recruited from serfs. He threatened their families and forced them to live in the guest room of the inner castle for a week. He also told them that if the matter was leaked out, they would be hanged regardless of whether they were forced or not.
Benny did not deceive them with this statement. Regardless of whether they were right or wrong, they lived secretly in the inner castle, and if the nobles found out, they would be dead.
After doing this, Benny could rest assured and moved into the inner castle with his two men, sleeping on a bed that only noble lords could sleep in.
After sleeping for a few days, Benny felt a little empty, and thought about it. The noble lord would hold a banquet in the castle. He couldn't hold the banquet. The three of them could only drink in the castle, and it would be better if it was the wine that only nobles drank, but this required money, so Benny had the idea of those books in the study that had been placed there for more than 30 years without anyone reading them.
The Viscount Major at that time was also an old nobleman. His family had been passed down for three generations, and the castle had countless treasures.
But since his death, some of those treasures were destroyed in the invasion of orcs, but some were preserved. The only remaining treasures were later cleaned up by people sent by the earl. The valuables were taken back to the Rose Castle, and only some useless books were left in the castle.
These ordinary books are useless to real nobles and can be purchased at any time. But for some freemen and even lords, these books can make their empty bookshelves compact and allow visitors to recognize their cultivation when they see the books.
Books are also one of the most expensive items in this world. Ordinary people have to work hard for a month to save enough money to buy a book. After Benny stole these books, he sold them at one-third of the original price. He used the money to buy good wine for his enjoyment.
Benny originally thought that he would be able to enjoy his aristocratic life until he was transferred away, but there are always surprises. A place where no nobles had come for thirty years, but today, a noble came, and he was a noble who had just become the new owner of this place.
Benny knew that he was doomed because the room they stayed in had not been cleaned and the truth might be revealed before tonight!
If they did evil outside the castle, the nobles might not kill them, but would at most fine them or remove them from their guard positions. But if the three of them lived in the inner castle, they would definitely be sent to the gallows by the baron in front of them!
What Benny didn't know was that of the two things, the first one was the one that could really kill him! As for the second one, if they didn't do anything that was against the law, Gervis could just pretend it never happened!
(End of this chapter)
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