Chapter 55: Comparing Titles

"Ah~~~"

The drunken noble let out a scream like a slaughtered pig; it was truly enough to make those who heard it weep and those who listened feel sorrow.

"My lord, spare me! My lord, spare me! I know what 'that's enough' means, I understand now~"

Held in Arthur's iron grip, the drunken noble immediately begged for mercy.

He felt as though the bones in his right hand had already been crushed.

But this was not enough.

"Admit the fact that you touched the young girl first and tried to use the opportunity to extort them, then promise never to trouble this family again, and I will let go," Arthur demanded.

"I did it, I did it, I promise not to cause trouble, no more trouble."

The drunken noble cried out repeatedly, terrified that Arthur might increase the pressure.

The pain radiating from his right hand was so intense that he would have agreed to anything.

If he were squeezed any further, he would have nodded and agreed without hesitation even if asked to admit that he had killed the Mad King Aerys II.

Arthur let go, then told him to repeat what he had just said.

The drunken noble was no fool, and after this ordeal, his drunkenness had mostly worn off.

So he repeated his words again and promised never to seek revenge in the future.

*As if I won't seek revenge, * the drunken noble thought to himself.

Seeing that the man's attitude was reasonably sincere, Arthur waved his hand, telling him to leave.

The man's four attendants also stumbled over, helped their master up, and supported him to a corner to sit and recover.

Since they couldn't win a fight, they had no choice but to endure it in silence.

"Thank you, thank you, my lord." The young girl had also recovered; she stood up and thanked Arthur repeatedly.

Although Arthur enjoyed being thanked, he pretended to be indifferent. "It's nothing, just a small favor."

Seeing the situation calm down, the tavern owner and his wife approached cautiously; they first knelt to apologize to the drunken noble, then sternly scolded their daughter, sending her crying to the back kitchen, before finally walking to Arthur's table.

"Thank you for your help; you don't need to pay for your meal today."

They whispered, terrified that the drunken noble might hear them and vent his anger on them again.

Arthur, however, was not very satisfied with the couple's attitude.

He was a man of principle; standing up for the young girl was because he couldn't stand this thug of a noble, not for the sake of a free lunch.

There are many things that can be easily solved if just one person stands up and says, "That's enough."

"That won't be necessary."

Arthur glanced at the prices written on the wall and took out three Silver Stags, paying for everyone's meal in advance.

Throughout their journey, Patrick, the eldest young master accompanying them, had no concept of paying; Desmond was both an old hand and held the position of Master-at-arms at Riverrun, the seat of the Riverlands liege lord, so he carried himself as if he were entitled to freebies wherever he went.

That left only Arthur, who couldn't stand it, to pay every time.

Bullying commoners who relied on selling food to make a living was not in Arthur's nature.

Although the tavern owner said it wasn't necessary, he still nimbly accepted the money, not even offering the copper coins for change.

The group finished eating quickly and prepared to get up and leave.

"What, you want to slip away after causing trouble in King's Landing?" a captain leading several Gold Cloaks demanded as they entered the tavern.

The Gold Cloaks were the garrison of King's Landing, usually responsible for maintaining order.

"Do you take us for freeloaders?"

*Aren't you? * Arthur thought to himself.

Seeing this, most of the tavern customers didn't even pay their bills and slipped away in a flash.

The seven or eight who remained were also of noble status, just waiting to watch the spectacle.

The drunken noble's fifth attendant, who had slipped away earlier, followed the Gold Cloaks inside, looking at Arthur with extreme smugness as he mocked:

"You were so good at fighting, weren't you? Try fighting us again in front of these gentlemen!"

Seeing the Gold Cloaks arrive, the drunken noble immediately regained his confidence; he stood up with a start and shouted:

"Just a wild commoner from who knows where, daring to hit me! Gold Cloaks, seize them for me."

Seeing both the victim and the perpetrator present, the Gold Cloak captain sneered:

"What a coincidence, just in time to seize you."

He then turned his head and looked fawningly at the drunken noble. "My lord, I apologize for not being able to protect you."

The Gold Cloaks following him received the order and walked over, intending to grab Arthur and his companions.

Arthur smiled helplessly and prepared to clench his fists and start fighting.

These Gold Cloaks, with the skill level of mere veterans, were no match for him.

Just then, Patrick stopped him and turned toward the Gold Cloaks.

"Open your dog eyes and look at what my family crest is."

As he spoke, he shook his collar, making the Purple Field Silver Eagle emblem of Seagard on his lapel even more conspicuous.

The Gold Cloak soldiers might not have recognized the emblem, but they knew this was a noble lord, not someone their lot could touch.

"Didn't you say these people were commoners?" The captain glared fiercely at the attendant who had brought them there, his eyes wide.

Because of that man's words, he had assumed from the start that Arthur's group were commoners; even after entering and seeing the leaders dressed somewhat luxuriously, he had assumed they were merely merchants.

He hadn't expected this group to be nobles as well.

The attendant thought to himself that if he had said two groups of nobles were fighting, the guards probably wouldn't have shown up even if someone had been beaten to death.

But he had to provide an answer, so he replied, "I didn't notice."

The captain cursed his bad luck; he had thought he could stand up for a noble lord and build a connection, but he hadn't expected them all to be lords.

And the side that had done the hitting seemed to be from the count's family of Seagard.

This is a difficult situation.

On one side is a lord, and on the other is also a lord; judging who is in the right will offend the other party.

Helpless, he first tried to smooth things over:

"I was wondering what kind of person would dare to start a fight in King's Landing; so it is a young lord from the Count of Seagard's house."

Seeing the change in the Golden Cloak captain's attitude, the drunken noble felt something was wrong, so he whispered to an attendant beside him who could still move:

"Go quickly and call my cousin; tell him to bring more men and come fast. If he's late, we're going to suffer a big loss."

The attendant understood and, taking advantage of everyone's focus being on the Golden Cloak captain, slipped away silently.

Seeing that he had a backup plan, the drunken noble's confidence returned.

Thus, he said with a tough attitude: "What, you Golden Cloaks don't want to uphold justice anymore? Besides, I am determined to have that woman's first night. I don't care which count's son you are."

The Golden Cloak captain was caught in the middle and, while hesitating, suddenly remembered the experience passed down by his predecessors and immediately had a way to handle it.

"This matter is very clear; none of us from the King's Landing City Watch were present, and you each have your own version of the story; if we keep dragging this out, who knows how long it will take."

"How about this: you both reveal your titles and status; whoever has the higher title and status is in the right."

Titles represent the strength of a family, and status represents the position each person holds within their family.

Using this method to handle it is the most fair.

Seeing that the drunken noble's house crest was not that of a great family, Patrick said with full confidence:

"You Golden Cloaks are still reasonable after all. I am the first heir to the Count of Seagard, Patrick Mallister. Do you dare to reveal your status?"

He lifted his chin and looked at the drunken noble proudly.

Arthur also thought this method was good, so he no longer stepped forward and sat on the bench watching the spectacle.

He even had the leisure to take a sip of rice wine.

PS: Seeking recommendation votes and monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)