British hegemon

Chapter 77: Fishing for people

Gildonan is a knightly fief, and the manor lord is an old knight over sixty years old, who outlived his son.

The old knight is a typical traditional knight, with a full white beard, both brave and fearless, and "benevolent" at heart.

He was a close friend of Roger's father, Sir Colin, so at Roger's knighting ceremony, the old knight presented him with a saddle, one of the few decent gifts he could receive.

After Roger led Olaf and Ponytail to Gildonan, they met up with Marn and Olaf, who were confronting the villagers in the village.

Instead of rushing to the village to rescue the black dog, he first visited the old knight's mansion—a gloomy, three-story, round tower-shaped stone house standing amidst a cluster of low-lying buildings.

The old knight was very polite and didn't treat Roger as a junior.

"Sir Roger, when I learned that the fellow was your servant, I sent men to take him to the village barn and lock him up. You know, if we hadn't locked him up and kept him under guard, those brutes in the manor might have done something foolish."

"I've already sent someone to look into it. It's not a big deal. It's normal for men to have trouble controlling themselves. But he shouldn't have resorted to violence over a few words, and he hit him so hard..."

The old knight patiently explained the whole story to Roger.

It all comes down to that little thing in the crotch. Roger already knew about Blackie and Gildonian the Widow, but what Roger didn't know was that the widow had more than just Blackie as a lover.

Last night, Blackie sneaked off to Gildonian in the dark. The large bag of things he bought in Dublin allowed him to successfully knock on the widow's broken door. Despite the earth shaking all night, nothing serious happened.

This morning, the widow's other lover was unaware that Blackie had returned. The lonely man, who had been suffering all night, couldn't hold back any longer and climbed over the widow's courtyard wall before dawn. He found two boys sleeping outside the door and a naked man and woman lying on the broken wooden bed inside the house.

This is where things should have gone wrong, but surprisingly, nothing happened. The three of them just stared at each other for a moment, then went back to dressing and pulling up their pants.

It turns out that the relationship between the three of them is all out in the open, and they are all aware of each other's existence.

The problem arose in the conversation that followed.

"You don't need to come anymore. I'll take care of her and her two children."

Mistress B: "Who do you think you are, a lazy scoundrel who dares to say such things?"

The mistress, A, remained unperturbed. "I work for Sir Roger now, so I dare to say such a thing."

Mistress B scoffed, "Following around with that wicked young master, he's still just a lazy bum and a scoundrel in the end."

The mistress, A, said with a grim expression, "You can curse me, but if you dare to speak disrespectfully to a nobleman again, watch your tongue."

Mistress B, becoming more subdued, said, "I've been taking care of them and their child all these years, what right do you have to kick me out?"

The mistress, A, said with pride, "Because that little guy is my son."

Mistress B, shocked and furious, exclaimed, "What nonsense are you talking about? He's clearly my son, my own biological son!"

The lover, Jia, rushed up to him, saying, "If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll beat you to death."

The widow immediately fled the dilapidated house, and then the dull thuds of lover A's fists hitting flesh and lover B's wailing in his inability to dodge echoed from inside the house.

The sounds of fighting alerted the villagers who were out working. The local thug, Black Dog, had beaten up the people of Gildonan Manor—this was outrageous!

Before long, the black dog was cornered in the dilapidated house by the angry villagers.

"...Luckily, the fat widow dissuaded the angry villagers, otherwise, by the time my guards arrived, that guy would probably already be meeting God."

Roger's face turned from black to red, then from red to black, and he wished he could rush into the manor, drag the black dog out, and beat him up again.

It wasn't for a woman or for dignity, but for some bastard whose origins were unknown, and he was even cornered in a dilapidated house and nearly beaten to death.

Seeing Roger's increasingly grim expression, the old knight offered words of comfort, "Sir Roger, these lowly people are shameless and not worth your anger."

"Fortunately, he wasn't seriously injured. You can take him away in a bit. But since he injured someone first, you'll have to pay a price for your servant's recklessness. One penny, I'll handle the rest."

Black Dog attacked and injured someone, and this happened on Gildonan's territory. The old knight must make Roger pay compensation; this is a matter of principle, otherwise he cannot convince the public.

If it were any other lord, Roger might have argued vehemently to protect his own, but Gildonan was one of the few friendly units in Milk House Manor. The old knight was righteous and kind, and his handling of the situation was quite appropriate. Roger really didn't have the temperament to stand up for himself.

"Old Sir, thank you for your kindness. If it weren't for your protection, I'm afraid I would be collecting my servant's corpse by now."

As he spoke, Roger took out three gold coins from his purse. "Since my servant was at fault first, I should take full responsibility. These three gold coins are compensation for the guy who was beaten; it's enough for him to stay home for several months."

"But you must tell him that from now on, that widow and her two sons are the family of my servants, and if he dares to have any further thoughts, I will go to him in person."

The old gentleman was taken aback by Roger's seemingly gentle yet firm approach.

But the troublesome widow had neither land nor labor on the estate; she was a useless free woman who would only be a nuisance if left behind. It was better to give her away as a favor.

"Yes, I will convey your message." The old nobleman gestured for the butler to accept Roger's compensation.

Roger's words will probably reach that guy's ears, but whether the money will actually end up in his hands is uncertain.

After negotiating with the lord, Roger prepared to go to the manor barn to bail out the man, but the old knight quickly stood up to stop him, saying, "Why would you personally go to fetch a servant?"

After saying that, he instructed those behind him, "Go and bring Sir Roger's servants here."

The butler bowed to the two men and went out.

"Sir Roger, please sit down and wait a moment. There's something else I'd like to ask you today."

The old knight coughed twice, patted his chest to calm himself for a few moments, and continued, "I'm old now, and this year's military service will be carried out in my place by my seventeen-year-old grandson."

"But that boy has been weak since childhood. This time, he followed the Baron on the expedition and did not achieve any merit. In fact, he lost most of his territory, farmers, and soldiers."

"You know that a knight's status requires investiture by a lord. If I die in the future, given his abilities, I'm afraid he won't be able to receive the investiture."

"I was thinking of sending him to Milk House Manor to be your servant. If possible, you could plead with the Baron on his behalf to get him a knighthood so that he can be eligible to inherit Gildonan's territory."

Firstly, the old knight had high hopes for Roger, this dark horse who had suddenly emerged, and wanted to send his cowardly grandson to join him.

Secondly, the old knight felt that his grandson was too weak and needed to be around a villain to absorb some evil influence. Looking around Arlen Island, was there anyone more vicious than Roger?

"Sir, the place where vassals train their servants is the lord's residence. You should send your grandson to Brodick Castle. I don't think the Baron will refuse."

The old knight shook his head. "My grandson is a bastard; he offended Master John."

Offending Whiteface John was only a secondary reason; the main reason was that Baron John deeply resented that spineless grandson and would never accept him as a servant.

Roger, unaware of the deeper reasons, pondered for a moment and said, "How about this, we'll have your grandson visit Milk House Manor another day, and then I'll give you an answer, okay?"

Although he didn't get a direct answer, Roger had already given a partial nod, which naturally pleased the old knight...

............

On the way back to Milk House Manor, Roger rode in front, while Marne Olaf and the bald man with the ponytail squeezed into the carriage pulled by the dappled horse.

The black dog, its body torn and tattered, lowered its head and led Roger's horse.

"Blackie, you're really something. You broke the widow's bed last night," the bald man on the carriage taunted.

The black dog didn't reply and lowered its head even further.

The woman with the ponytail slapped the bald man and changed the subject, "Hey Blackie, you really have to thank the fat widow. If it weren't for her protecting you, those farmers would have torn you to pieces."

The black dog turned its head to look behind it in the direction of Gildonan, and nodded to the ponytail.

Roger couldn't bear to look at the dejected look of the mangy dog ​​in front of him, so he raised his foot from the footrest and kicked the black dog in the back.

The black dog immediately turned to look at Roger, "Sir?"

Roger said irritably, "Blackie, putting aside whose child that is, I'm just asking you, do you want that widow or not?"

"Of course I want it!" The black dog suddenly straightened his back and answered decisively.

Are you sure?

"affim!"

"Go to Gildonan the day after tomorrow and bring that woman and her two little bastards back to Milk House Estate. When I have time, I'll ask a priest to officiate a wedding for you," Roger said calmly.

"Really? I can marry her?" The black dog couldn't believe it.

"I can't let you embarrass me on someone else's turf again. Since you're determined to have that ugly woman, I'll get her for you. There's nothing in this world that I can't do."

"Yes, sir, thank you. I'll go to the manor tomorrow to rent a cottage and get some supplies." The black dog was already rubbing his hands excitedly and daydreaming.

As he rubbed the black dog, he frowned again. "Sir, do you think that little guy is really my offspring?" The black dog himself was starting to have doubts.

Roger had no idea about such sordid matters, but he had already secured a woman and child for Blackie, and he couldn't let him live with a cuckold's horns forever. As for the widow's shameless behavior of cheating people out of money, men, and hearts, Roger didn't find it unforgivable. For a poor, helpless widow, having multiple lovers was simply a way to increase her chances of survival.

"That little bastard has such an ugly, dark face, whose child could it be if not yours?" Roger finally gave the black dog a placebo.

Blackie's tightly furrowed brow finally relaxed. He hadn't believed Roger's words, but had suddenly convinced himself that it didn't matter whose child it was; what mattered was that the child's mother was his.

......