The man who followed Padt into the tent was a middle-aged man in his forties. He was wearing a black leather coat that didn't fit him very well, and a pair of brown breeches. Obviously, the coat was given to him by the convoy to keep him warm. Although the middle-aged man tried his best to show his identity as a noble, his rolling eyes and restless expression revealed his nervousness.
Lollister did not have a good impression of this middle-aged man at first glance. He looked shrewd and lacked the natural arrogance of a noble. Instead, he seemed like a merchant or a steward collecting rent. His eyes, in particular, were constantly moving, as if he was plotting something in his mind.
"Tim Tim, the heir of Viscount Teberly, pays his respects to you, sir. I congratulate you on a great victory." The middle-aged man bowed deeply to Laurist.
Laurist chuckled. No child of a noble would address themselves like that. They would introduce themselves as a member of a certain family, and they would not stare at the title and emphasize that they were the heir. These words could fool ignorant citizens, but no child of a noble who had been educated in the proper etiquette of a noble would say such a thing. There was something wrong with this middle-aged man's identity.
"I am Norton Laurist of the Norton family in the north, and the person in charge of this convoy. May I ask who you are, sir? "Laurist's words showed his doubts about the middle-aged man's identity.
"I, I really am the eldest son of Viscount Terberley. If you don't believe me, you can ask the people you saved. Many of them know me and grew up with me. Otherwise, they wouldn't have listened to me …" The middle-aged man's face flushed red, as if Laurist's suspicions had struck a sensitive spot in his heart.
"Is that so?" Laurist did not deny it.
The middle-aged man was like a punctured rubber ball, and he immediately became exhausted. "Yes, sir. I am indeed the eldest son of Viscount Teberly. But now, my siblings and relatives are all gone. I am the only remaining descendant of Viscount Teberly. So, I am also his only legal heir. "
Lollister understood. This middle-aged man was Viscount Teberly's illegitimate son. The Viscount's family might have been destroyed by Earl Corbili, so this illegitimate son called himself Viscount Teberly's heir.
"What did Viscount Terbury put you in charge of before?" Loriste asked.
"Lord Viscount asked me to manage the three estates in the territory, as well as the transactions with the outside world. I don't have much contact with the nobles because I've been dealing with the farmers in the territory a lot. "The middle-aged man became honest and answered every question.
"Let me put it this way, Mr Tim, that I am not interested in whether you are Viscount Terbury's heir or not. I heard that you requested my family's knights to equip your men with weapons and equipment for free. May I ask? What right do you have to make such a rude request? "Loriste stood up and glared at the middle-aged man in front of him.
"M-My lord, don't you say that nobles and nobles have a duty to help each other? Besides, I-I also want my men to be armed to help you deal with Earl Corbili's army … "In the eyes of the middle-aged man called Tim, Lollister's overbearing aura made him feel suffocated. It made him feel that the excuses he had prepared beforehand were useless. In his haste, he could only find a more orthodox explanation.
"Haha, Mr Tim, first of all, you are not a noble yet. You don't become a noble just because you think you are Viscount Terbury's heir. You must be recognized by at least three nobles in the vicinity before you have the right to say that you are Viscount Terbury's heir. Then, you can go to the royal capital to get a certificate of your bloodline. Then, you can get the confirmation of your inheritance and the title certificate from Viscount Terbury's superior. This is a more orthodox way of inheriting a title. Secondly, there is another way, which is to gain control of a powerful family's armed forces to create a reality of inheriting a territory, forcing the superior to recognize you as the heir. I think that's what Mr. Tim is thinking. "
"Perhaps Viscount Terberley did not register your eldest son's name in the family register, which makes it very difficult for Mr. Tim to inherit the title through the orthodox way. However, Mr Tim, you should not forget your current identity. To be precise, you are a prisoner of war, a prisoner of Earl Corbili. Our Norton Family defeated Earl Corbili's army and took over everything from it. Therefore, you should be considered as our spoils of war. In theory, we have the right to take your servant's life and death. Even selling them to slave traders is a reasonable act. Unless you are willing to pay a suitable ransom price like other nobles. "
"Speaking of nobles helping each other, Mr. Tim, do you really understand this agreement? This is only effective when nobles in the same area are invaded by common enemies, or when humans are invaded by magical beasts or other races. As for us, we belong to two different countries. Even if you are a noble, I have no obligation to you. I can even behead you because you are a noble from an enemy country and hang you to death. Then, I will be rewarded when I return. As for helping us in battle, haha, Mr Tim, this is a terrible excuse. "
The middle-aged man's face was pale, sweat dripping from his forehead, and his body trembled. In the past, as long as he pretended to be the heir of Viscount Terbury, the people would be respectful and did not dare to disobey him. Even after he was captured, he was still able to convince a large group of people to listen to him and worship him as their master. He did not expect that in front of a real noble, this self-proclaimed heir would be stripped of his gorgeous disguise and be exposed.
Laurist slowly walked around the middle-aged man, sizing him up with interest. "Mr Tim, in fact, I don't mind if you are pretending to be a noble or the heir of Viscount Terbury. It is good for a person to be ambitious. It will make him work hard. If you are willing to pay a price for our generosity, then we can forgive your unreasonable request this time. If you want to get something from us empty-handed, I will have to think about how to deal with you. Should I hang you or behead you? You can choose your own form of punishment. "
The middle-aged man called Tim immediately went limp. He had seen how his father, Viscount Terbury, had casually summoned his guards to end the lives of a few servants who disobeyed his orders. He had also seen how his brothers, who had the right to inherit, had whipped a few people to death for frightening their mounts. Ever since he was young, his mother, a former maidservant of Viscount Terberley, taught him how to live humbly and humbly as an illegitimate child. She taught him how to win his father's trust and become a steward of the viscount's territory. She also taught him how to use his identity as an illegitimate child to gain extra benefits from the ignorant citizens.
It was only after his father and his brothers were slaughtered by Earl Corbili's army that he realized he was the only surviving descendant of Viscount Terbury. Although he had not awakened impetus and had not received proper noble education, the Viscount's care for him as an illegitimate child was to allow him to learn how to read. But all of this did not prevent him from establishing the idea that he was the only heir to the viscount in the people he knew. He used the shrewdness and eloquence he had learned from dealing with traveling merchants and peddlers for a long time to gather a large number of homeless people. He built a mountain stronghold on his own in the western mountains until it was breached by the mopping-up troops and he himself became a captive.
He thought he was dead for sure, but he did not expect such a powerful raid team to be annihilated by a convoy of armed escorts. He was saved. After he had eaten and warmed himself up in the camp, he went to find out more about the convoy. When he found out that it was a northbound armed convoy belonging to the Norton family, he suddenly realized that this was an opportunity. Perhaps he could get some benefits from this passing convoy. In his mind, as long as he mentioned that he was the heir of the Viscount, the owner of the convoy would treat him like an honored guest and get whatever he wanted. At that time, he had a few plans in his mind. He could even use this convoy to defeat Earl Corbili and return to the Viscount's territory with a powerful force. He would become a noble that everyone envied.
When he heard Laurist ask him to choose a way to die with a smile on his face, the respect he had for nobles and the inferiority he felt for being a bastard child surged into his heart. This was a true nobleman. He was calm and merciless. He did not need to rely on threats and promises to make his subordinates listen to him like he did. In his eyes, Laurist was just like the Viscount he had feared the most in the past. He could easily decide whether he lived or died.
Tim prostrated himself on the ground with tears streaming down his face. "Sir, please spare me. I shouldn't have had such wishful thinking. I shouldn't have tried to get my hands on the title. Please spare my lowly life! In your eyes, I am just an ant. I am not worthy of your attention … "
Laurist took a step back. "Please get up, Mr. Tim. If you want to become a noble, at least keep your composure. No noble would do something as shameful as you. Even in the face of death, a true aristocrat should remain calm and unruffled. Perhaps, you misunderstood my meaning. I said that I do not care if you are the heir of the Viscount, noble or not. What I want to know is, in what capacity do you have to make such a rude request of me? "
Looking at Tim who was kneeling on the ground with a blank and ignorant expression, Loriste smiled bitterly and explained to him in detail, "Mr. Tim, if you think that you can get everything you want from me for free just because you're the heir to the viscount, then I'll treat you as a liar and behead you or hang you to death because you've offended the dignity of the Norton Family. You should know that a noble hates rudeness and deception the most."
Tim shuddered. He thought of the Viscount again. He thought of the scene where the Viscount ordered the guards to hang a fisherman. Just because the poor fisherman wanted to hide his catch, and because there was one more fish, the fisherman who lied lost his life. He thought of the Viscount's words. "I don't care how many fish there are. I only care that he lied to me."
Mr. Tim nodded, indicating that he agreed with Laurist's words.
"Mr. Tim, if you are not trying to get something from me as a liar, then as a noble, when you ask me for help, then as a noble, I should also lend you a helping hand. But Mr. Tim, the help between nobles is not free. Have you thought about the price you are willing to pay? "Laurist asked.
"We can arm an army for you, help you take back your territory, and arrange for you to receive formal noble etiquette training so that your every action will be more like a noble. This way, you will not be a laughing stock in front of other nobles in the future. But all of this is not free. You have to pay the corresponding price, Mr. Tim, "Laurist said.
"I-I have money. I'm willing to pay with money and food. Please help me …" Tim finally understood Laurist's intentions. He was pleasantly surprised when Laurist mentioned that he could be arranged for him to receive training in aristocratic etiquette.
"That's right, Mr. Tim. Your understanding has made our communication smoother and friendlier. But can you tell us where your money and food are now?"
Mr. Tim honestly explained where the money and food came from. When the Viscount's territory was invaded by Earl Corbili's army, Viscount Teberly took Tim to bury a batch of gold coins in a secret place overnight in order to make a comeback. He then instructed Tim not to return to the castle, but to go directly to the few farms that were not affected by the war. He then moved all the food in the warehouse to a cave under a mountain at the edge of the territory. It was an abandoned bear cave that the Viscount had discovered while hunting. Only Tim, who was with him at that time, knew about it.
Mr. Tim faithfully completed the Viscount's request. When he returned to report to the Viscount, he found out that the castle had already been breached. The Viscount and his children, who were Tim's siblings, had all died a violent death. Mr. Tim estimated that the hidden wealth should be tens of thousands of imperial gold coins. The food in the bear cave was enough to feed three thousand people for half a year.
Looking at the map, Laurist realized that Viscount Teberly's territory was not far from here. It was only about a day's journey. He then ordered Redi to find Eyre, and told Mr. Tim to bring Eyre and Padt along with a group of people with carriages to move the gold coins and food to the military camp.
Before leaving, Padt looked at Laurist, and Eyre made a throat-slitting gesture. Laurist shook his head and smiled. He wished the three of them a smooth journey, and promised to arrange for Tim to receive noble etiquette training when he returned.
Not long after returning to the main tent, Redi came in to report, "Sir, Knight Josk is here. He has brought a group of people and is requesting to meet you at the entrance of the military camp."
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