Although the maid named Elina was timid and scared of Lollister, she was very diligent. She helped Lollister take a comfortable hot bath, and after Lollister went to bed, she quietly removed the bathtub and bathwater and tidied up the room.
Lollister had a good night's sleep. Perhaps it was because he was home, he slept soundly until the morning.
The crisp chirping of birds woke Laurist up. He got out of bed and went to the window. On a branch not far from the window, two birds were singing happily. There was a thin layer of white fog slowly drifting in the maple forest in the distance, and many buildings in the manor and castle were floating in the white fog, faintly discernible …
Beside the bed, there was a stack of brand-new robes. They should be from the maid named Elina. Lollister put on the robes and was about to go downstairs when he found that the maid named Elina was curled up on the carpet beside the sofa. She was sleeping soundly under a thin blanket. He wondered what she was dreaming about. There was a satisfied smile on her pale little face …
Lollister froze for a moment. He turned around and picked up a new blanket from the bed, gently draping it over the little maid's body. Then, he quietly went downstairs.
At the bottom of the stairs was the living room and the study room. The sword Lollister took last night was on the table in the living room. He picked up the sword and walked to the other end of the hallway. When he was about to go downstairs, the door beside him opened. Padt stuck his head out and said, "Morning, Sir. Do you want to go downstairs to train? I'll go too. "
Lollister nodded and went downstairs with Padt. They began their daily morning training.
A strong man watched Lollister and Padt practice the eight basic movements of swordsmanship over and over again. He yawned, picked up a wooden board, and started sawing.
"Sir, he's the cook's son," Padt glanced at the man and said to Lollister.
Lollister looked up and saw that the man was focused on sawing. He nodded at Padt, indicating that he understood.
Sadekamp also went downstairs and greeted the man. Then he went to the well in the corner of the courtyard and began to wash his face with water. After a while, a servant came and talked to him for a long time. Kemp nodded, and the servant left.
After Lollister and Padt finished their training, Kemp came to report that Steward Cress had sent someone to inform them that they would be using the dining hall tonight. There would be an official ceremony for Lollister to take over the title and territory there. That was why Laurist decided to walk around the manor and familiarize himself with the place. It would be fine as long as he didn't stray too far.
Lester nodded. After breakfast, he led Padt and Seth Kemp out of the stable with three Zino horses. The three of them mounted the horses and slowly walked along the manor castle.
From the topography, the Norton family's manor was built on a large piece of white mountain rock. Other than the main road in front of the castle, there was a natural drop of more than ten meters in all other areas, giving the manor a geographical advantage. It was easy to defend but difficult to attack. "Lister, Zan Knight. No.," said. "t., Six, King King King, King." No, King. is. s.
King. one, King Knight: - "Translator: Editor: The Editor: Nor- Norland., Norking after," The Liking
Norland was not far from the Norton manor. It was built on a small rock hill. The strangest thing about the hill was the fountain in the middle. Beiye Town also used this fountain to expand continuously.
"How many people are there in Norland?" Lollister asked as he looked at the town in the distance.
Kemp shook his head. He could not answer such a simple question. "Lister, I'm not sure. It's been many years since there was a census …"
Such a large town should have been the manor's main source of resources and manpower, but it was the enemy of the manor. Norton's ancestors had left a big problem for their descendants. Lollister rubbed his chin and thought about how to deal with the guards …
"Huh? Isn't that Wiligsang? What are they doing? "Kemp asked.
Lollister turned his head and saw that Wiligeson and another servant were putting down a large bamboo basket filled with unknown things from the edge of the rock.
"Let's go take a look," Lollister said.
The three of them rode down from the hill. They went around a few grape sprouts and a few large bushes before appearing beside Wiligsang.
"Oh, so the slave camp was moved here. No wonder I didn't see them in the open space in front of the castle. I thought they went there," Kemp said.
Lollister was shocked too, but he was not surprised. What appeared in front of him was a sunken, low-lying area. This area was closely connected to the white mountain rocks, and it was hidden by the nearby mountains and trees, so that it was not known to outsiders.
The low-lying area was full of tents and dilapidated houses made of trees. Many women and children in ragged clothes were gathered at the place where Willigesang put down the bamboo basket, waiting for the person who received the bamboo basket to give them the bread inside …
Wiligsang and the servant brought more than ten large bamboo baskets. They were filled with black bread that was a foot long and as thick as a person's wrist. The bread was hard and solid. Wiligsang was talking to someone below. "This is your food ration for two days. Food will be sent to you the day after tomorrow. There's something going on in the manor, so I won't be coming. What's going on? It was our Second Young Master who came back to inherit the territory and the title of nobility. Everyone in the castle was in a state of panic … "
Lollister appeared beside him, giving Wiligsang a fright. However, Lollister ignored him. He stared at the person below for a long time before asking, "Who are you? How did you get in? Why are you hiding here? "
The person Lollister was staring at stopped distributing bread to the others. He threw the bamboo basket in his hand to the person beside him and looked up at Lollister.
"H-his name is Paciko. H-why are you asking him?" Wiligsang asked timidly.
The man called Paciko climbed up from the bottom in a few steps. He stood up and clapped his hands. "Willig, he has better eyes than you. He knows I'm a Silver Ranker. That's why he asked."
Wiligsang said strangely, "We all know you're a Silver Ranker. It's not a big deal."
Kemp urged his horse over. "Sir, he doesn't know. Sir, I know this man. To be precise, he's the young master's captive. The young master thinks highly of him and wants to take him in as a family knight. However, the young master never came back. We wanted to let him go, but he said he wanted to respect the agreement he made with the young master. If the young master doesn't come back and take him in as a family knight, he has to stay in the family for three years before he can regain his freedom. "
Kemp was curious after explaining to Lollister. "Paciko, didn't three years pass long ago? Why are you still here? "
Paciko's face was bitter. "I've been harmed by Miss Bai Sha …"
Wiligesang also knew the inside story. He explained it to Laurist, and only then did he understand the reason for the matter.
In the second half of the year before last, Paciko only needed another six months to regain his freedom. Miss Bai Sha threw him a maid, which he accepted with a smile. In less than three months, the maid became pregnant. Paciko thought it was strange. After asking around, he found out that the maid was the one who gave birth to the young master's illegitimate child. Miss Bai Sha wanted the child to recognize her as a mother, so she didn't feel safe keeping the maid by her side. Remembering that Paciko would be leaving in six months, she gave the maid to him, hoping that he would take her with him when he left.
In the end, the maid became pregnant again. Paciko wasn't a nobleman. It didn't matter if he had more or less illegitimate children. He was happy to have a woman who was willing to give birth to his child. Thus, he became a slave to the unborn child. He spent his days circling around the woman's belly, looking for delicious food and fun things to do for the child.
Now that the child was born, Paciko became a filial father again, working hard for the child's future. In order to earn a little more money, he went to find the old butler, Kleis, and recruited him to manage the slave camp. The last time Viscount Gammus attacked the family's manor, Paciko also appeared on the castle. He blocked the attacks of several silver mercenaries and even killed two of them. He was more like a Norton Family Knight than Miss Bai Sha.
Lollister nodded and said to Paciko, "Knight Paciko, if you are willing to become my knight, please come to the dining hall tonight to attend my inheritance ceremony. It will be an honor for the Norton Family to have someone of your noble character become our family knight. "
…
That night, in the large dining hall that was brightly lit with candles.
In fact, Lollister's inheritance ceremony was very simple. It was so simple that it was beyond Lollister's imagination.
Hanging on the wall of the dining hall was a flag with the emblem of the rose-petal horn crown, which symbolized the former royal family of the Crimson Empire. In front of the flag was the long sword that the founding emperor of the Crimson Empire had bestowed upon the first baron of the Norton family. On the left side of the flag was the Norton Family's emblem of a raging bear, while on the right was a large map of the entire Norton Family's territory.
Lollister went forward alone under the instruction of Kleis. He knelt down on one leg in front of the longsword. "Under the witness of all the gods, the eighth generation of the Norton Family, Norton Lollister, repeats the oath of our ancestors in front of the rose horn flag of the Crimson Empire: We will protect the northern borders of the empire, and we will silently await the summons of the empire's royal family. We will repeat the glory of our ancestors. Other than the royal family of the Crimson Empire and the ancestors of the Norton Family, the Norton Family will not bend our knees for anyone else … "
Lollister stood up and picked up the longsword on the table in front of him. He raised it high, then turned around and faced everyone standing at the back of the dining hall.
At first, there were a few lonely claps. Then, the claps grew louder and louder until everyone was clapping and cheering. From this moment on, Lollister had become the new head of the Norton Family, the new Baron Norton.
Miss Bertha was very angry because Pacico and Padt had stolen her limelight and become the Family Knights of Lollister before her. She could only step forward and bow to Lollister, becoming the third Norton Family knight in the dining hall.
Lollister announced three things. The first was to reorganize the guards of the family's manor and castle. The current guards were all soldiers in their thirties or forties. Some of them had even retired from the military, but due to the Norton Family's consecutive defeats, these old soldiers had no choice but to return to the frontlines to guard the manor and the castle.
Laurist now wanted to recruit a hundred and twenty new people in the manor, aged between sixteen and twenty-five. He promised to awaken their fighting spirit within three months to six months, as he had mastered the newest and simplest basic fighting spirit training method.
Miss Bertha retorted in front of everyone, saying that it was impossible. The cost of building a team of 120 family guards was not something the Norton Family could afford.
Lollister laughed. I don't have much else, but I do have money!
Sadekamp brought a few servants in with two chests. When the lids were opened, the golden light dazzled everyone's eyes. The two chests added up to ten thousand gold fords. They had been brought in the carriage, and now they could finally be put to use.
Miss Bertha was speechless. Lollister ordered Pat to be in charge of gathering and training this team of guards.
Before Lollister announced the second thing, he gathered all the illegitimate children left behind by the old Baron Norton. The second thing he wanted to announce had to do with the illegitimate children of their father.
Lollister announced that as his illegitimate siblings, the only thing he could do was to provide them with a perfect aristocratic education. When their combat energy reached the Silver rank, they could choose to serve the family or go out on their own. If they served the family, they could carry the Norton surname and even become a branch of the Norton Family in the future.
The last thing was that Lollister announced that the newly appointed family knight, Patko, would lead the slaves to another location to build a military fortress. The location would be kept a secret for now, but anyone with ambitions in the manor and castle was welcome to come along.
After announcing the three matters, Laurist first sent Old Manager Kleis back, causing Young Miss Bai Sha, who wanted to find him and give him a good scolding, to be extremely angry.
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