Chapter 175 Investigation

The rain stopped on the second day, but the sky was still overcast.

Kande Territory is shrouded in a long-term cloud. The last rain before winter is always reluctant to leave. In the next few days, this land should usher in several more It is a sub-medium rainfall, and such abundant rainfall is extremely beneficial to the territory’s specialty—magic potions.

Most magic potions will also grow in winter. Although their roots and plants appear dry and dead, spellcasters all know that their "spiritual plants" are still affected by the magical environment. They will be nourished and will come back to life in the second year of the Recovery Moon. How much they can grow in winter depends in part on the last rain before frost and snow.

Gawain had breakfast with Viscount Victor Conte in the restaurant of the castle. Since the Viscountess was too sick to see guests, and the Viscount's only son was not in the territory, they were the only two people at the huge dining table. During the meal, even though the tableware was gorgeous and the food was delicious, the atmosphere of having breakfast made Gawain quite uncomfortable.

He prefers the atmosphere of a large group of people sitting around the table, rather than like now, where he and an old aristocratic man are facing each other across a long table and talking to each other. Every word can't help but create a delay.

"I hope you have a good rest in this old house," Victor Kant said while cutting the bread in front of him. "This castle is too old. I plan to use it again in my lifetime." Renovate it."

"It's very comfortable here, more comfortable than I thought," Gawain praised somewhat sincerely. "The old castle gives people a sense of security."

Vic. Duo smiled and looked at Gawain: "It seems that your two followers left early in the morning?"

"They are not used to restraint. I asked them to go to the town to relax. They are more comfortable in the messy tavern."

"It's understandable. In fact, when I was young, I preferred the tavern to the quiet castle." The old Viscount raised the wine glass in front of him." Of course, I am still just a junior in front of you."

Gaowen raised his glass and said smoothly: "The Viscountess's health is very worrying. What disease is she suffering from?"

Victor's movements paused for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face: "Have you already seen her?"

According to Lilith Kant, obviously The old viscount should have arranged for her to say hello to Gawain, but at this time Victor acted as if he knew about it for the first time!

Gao Wen concealed his psychological changes and maintained a faint smile: "After yesterday's dinner, she came to say hello to me, but her face was very bad."

"I Poor Lilith," Viscount Victor sighed, "Her physical condition has never been very good. She can't see the sun and can't bear the noise, so she can only live in the North Tower for a long time and can only come out at night. But she is a very kind person, and I love her peopleMy tolerant attitude is largely due to her influence - she always advises me to consider the feelings of those who cannot afford to live in a good house or eat meat, but her own health is getting worse and worse. ”

Viscount Kant’s kindness and tolerance towards the common people in his territory was something Gawain heard about yesterday when he heard some servants chatting in the castle. This was also one of the things that surprised him. 1: He had already preconceived the idea that Victor Kant was likely to be a cultist of the Eternal Sleep Order, or at least had been controlled and bewitched by the cultists, so he would arrest refugees and perform evil rituals. , but he never expected that all the talk he heard after entering the Kant Territory was praising the old lord!

He could not judge how much gossip he heard from the castle servants! Whether it is true or not, at this time, I can only go on and say: "It is the duty of every lord to treat his subjects well. We opened up this kingdom to protect the people, not to ride on their heads and lord it over them. . "

"Yes, but unfortunately few people still remember this," Victor sighed as if from the bottom of his heart, "More and more nobles have forgotten their ancestors. What is the purpose of picking up a sword? We were originally a barrier to protect the common people, a reliance for them to live in peace of mind, and a guide to lead them to wealth and warmth. But now most nobles grow up in castles and manors. Big ones, they take other people's service and offerings for granted, and completely forget that they still have some responsibilities...ahem..."

Victor seemed to be a little excited when he said it, and couldn't help it. He started coughing, and after finally calming down, he took a deep breath: "I spend a lot of time every year inspecting every farm and medicinal field in the territory to accurately grasp the harvest of that year and prevent excessive tax pressure from overpowering the territory. The people are hungry, and they have to spend a lot of energy dealing with merchants to ensure that the surplus medicinal materials and food in the territory can find buyers, so that my people can have enough money to repair their houses and buy fuel. He spent the winter, but because of this he missed many so-called 'gentle parties', so that he was regarded by the vulgar southern nobles as a reclusive weirdo, a mediocre person without taste... Sigh. "

Viscount Victor said a lot in one breath. After he finished speaking, he smiled awkwardly and said: "Sorry, I have the habit of talking too much as I get older, but I think you should You can understand me - because I heard that you are also very kind to your subjects. "

"Of course," Gawain smiled and raised his glass, "This is the obligation of every lord. "

...

At the same time, in the town outside the castle, Amber was holding a glass of foaming ale, listening to the farmers and craftsmen who had nothing to do. They were bragging about their meager and boring daily life, pretending to be interested, but in their hearts they were planning how many more glasses of wine they would need to get what they wanted to hear.

The farming work has ended, and the weather has also changed. Not suitable for any outside work, so rich peasants who still have some spare moneyand craftsmen would spend their worthless time in the town's tavern. Kande Territory, like Tanzania Town, is one of the few wealthy territories in the south. The civilians living here will naturally visit places such as Places like pubs and casinos, and for these people, all it takes is a few glasses of ale and a few compliments, and Amber can reveal all their secrets.

For Amber, who has been involved in such occasions since childhood, this is a very pleasant process.

This feeling is even more pleasant when you don’t have to pay for the wine yourself.

She put on an outfit that suited her status: black leather armor and a slightly worn cloak, plus a dagger that poked out from time to time at her waist and a "lucky" tied to her wrist. "Stone", the image of a wandering warrior is complete, and civilians are in awe and curiosity of this kind of person, and it becomes easy to make clichés.

After three rounds of drinking and talking about the ghost stories in the farmland and the old house, Amber felt it was time to talk about the lord, so she looked at the man sitting at the table and on the territory with a curious expression. Blacksmith: "I heard that your lord is a man who is very good at managing the territory. Is it true?"

"I don't understand what it is like to manage the territory," the blacksmith said, his mouth full of alcohol. He said with confused eyes, "But Mr. Victor is indeed a very good person... Hiccup, with him here, everyone can have a full stomach, even in winter, they can still be half full. There are already more than a dozen people in the territory." No one has starved to death this year!”

Further south, there is a place where the common people not only do not starve to death, but also occasionally have meat to eat.

Hubo muttered in her heart, but with admiration on her face: "That's not easy!"

"No, Mr. Victor is really the most charitable lord I have ever seen," Another elderly drinker took over, "But I heard from those who delivered vegetables and milk to the castle that the castle was quite eerie, and there was always a feeling that there was a draft somewhere..."

A slightly fat tavern maid banged the wooden cup in front of the drinker: "Don't talk nonsense! The castle is not your shabby thatched house. The old George who delivered the food was probably drunk and put himself in the mud puddle. The cold wind blowing inside was like being in the castle!"

The fat maid told a joke that was not funny, but it caused a burst of laughter.

"It seems that Victor is really a good lord," Amber said shaking her head, "I just don't know how the Viscountess is-"

As soon as she said this , but the scene was strangely quiet for a moment.

Some people were looking at each other, some were lowering their heads to drink, and the older people were frowning, as if they were thinking of something bad. When Amber saw this, he immediately realized that there was something inside, and became curious. They asked indifferently: "What's wrong? Why did you react like this?"

"You are a foreigner, so it's normal that you don't know," an old man who seemed to be the oldest spoke. He should be a wealthy man. Landowners or retired craftsmen are rare among poor people.Old people who have not yet died of injuries and illnesses, and such people not only understand the lives of civilians, but also know something about the lord, "Viscountess...even if it has been decades? She died When..."

"The Viscountess died decades ago?" Amber was suddenly shocked, "How did she die?"

"That was a poor woman. , the whole thing is extremely miserable, that kind of thing should not happen to a good person." The old man frowned, he seemed unwilling to say more, but the alcohol made it difficult for him to control his words, and some people next to him didn't know much about the past. The young man was also urging him to speak: "Mr. Sandro, tell me, I have heard people talk about this matter since I was a child, but I have never heard it all - you are old, you should know what happened back then. ."

Hubo looked at the young man who urged him with admiration and decided to use the money Gawain gave him to buy him another drink.

The old man who seemed to have experienced the events of that year sighed, and after taking a sip of wine, he slowly said: "That was thirty...about thirty years ago, maybe longer, then It also rained in this month of the year, but the rain was extremely heavy, and it rained for several days...

"Mr. Victor was still young at that time, and he was the same as he is now. A good lord who was just and kind, he was returning from an inspection of the barns in the next town, and the Viscountess was with him, and their only son, Master Bellme. They drove the carriage back from the west road. Although it rained heavily, they still got on the road... They really should have stayed in the next town for one more day, alas.

"I don’t have to tell you, but you can guess that with such heavy rain and slippery conditions, something will definitely happen - the carriage had an accident on the old hillside. The carriage overturned and slid. It fell from the highest part of the old hillside into the mountain stream, and the whole car was broken into pieces... The whole night passed, and no one knew that something happened to the lord and his family outside, until the sun came out the next day and the rain stopped. At that time, the Viscountess appeared in the town covered in blood... She almost crawled into the town, covered with bruises, and almost died from crying. She said that she watched the master and the young master being dumped in front of her. They fell somewhere outside the carriage. Let’s rescue them quickly.”

After saying this, the old man couldn’t help but sigh for a while, and then he took another sip of wine before continuing: “Let’s save Mrs. We escorted them back to the castle, and then immediately sent people to the old hillside to search for the whereabouts of the carriage and the master and the young master. However, for three days, except for some blood stains and fragments of the carriage, we only found the bodies of two horses.

"On the fourth day, Master Victor and Master Bellm returned to the castle alive. They were not dead."