Chapter 172

"For his outstanding military achievements, His Majesty the King has specially granted Lord Gervas a fief of baronial size."

"Given that Baron Cain died in battle with no blood relatives or nephews to inherit, the fief will be reclaimed by the Crown before being re-granted to Lord Gervas!"

"The Cain Baronial Fief?" Old John said, stunned yet delighted.

He was delighted because a baronial fief was no small reward in terms of land area.

He was stunned because the Cain Baronial Fief also lay along the border, so it certainly wasn't as safe as lands behind the Storm Fief.

But regardless, it was land—and thus worth celebrating.

"Your Excellency the Scribe, thank you for your hard work. I shall go fetch our Lord Gervas, and we shall proceed together to the Cain Baronial Fief to confirm the boundaries!"

The scribe made no reply, only murmured a faint "hmm."

Soon, Gervas arrived on the castle's first floor.

Gervas had already learned of this scribe's attitude from the manservant.

He made no outburst now.

If the fellow was willing to stop while ahead, Gervas would let him take some advantage.

After all, since dealing with Farrio, Gervas had anticipated that dealing with Eagle City would bring difficulties.

But if this fellow didn't show some sense now and tried to pull more tricks, Gervas wasn't made of clay.

Thus, under Old John's arrangements, the group set out for the Cain Baronial Fief.

Boundary confirmation had previously been conducted only for newly granted lands with no clear borders.

The scribe would then follow official documents to guide the newly enfeoffed noble in verifying the boundaries.

But at some point, because this task offered ample opportunities for graft, it gradually became corrupted.

Even for fiefs with clearly defined boundaries, these scribes would now make a show of touring them.

If you didn't offer them a bribe, they'd find excuses to shave off one or two miles of land.

Thus, nobles, faced with these troublesome little devils, had no choice but to pay to avoid trouble.

Especially minor nobles—if you lacked powerful patrons, you had nowhere to complain, for these devils were part of a single, interconnected network, with greater nobles above them.

After more than three hours, they circled the entire Cain Baronial Fief.

Throughout this process, Scribe Nio said nothing, which relieved Old John and the others—they assumed the scribe had been sufficiently bribed.

Finally, the group arrived at Cain Baronial Castle.

"Your Excellency the Scribe, thank you for your hard work! The boundaries have now been confirmed—could you please sign the official recognition document? Of course, I understand the custom," Old John said with a beaming smile, again instructing a servant to bring out several bulging money bags.

"Confirmed? When did I say it was confirmed?"

To Old John's utter shock, Scribe Nio glanced at the servant's bags of copper and silver coins and sneered.

He pushed the parchment scroll Old John offered aside.

This time, Nio had brought two official scrolls issued by Eagle City.

One was the document confirming ownership of the Cain Baronial Fief, already bearing the seal and signature that it now belonged to Gervas.

The other described the boundaries of the Cain Baronial Fief based on the recent inspection.

This world had no cameras or satellite coordinates.

Boundaries were therefore marked by prominent landmarks.

Rivers, mountains, valleys, even forests.

These were supplemented with descriptions of distance from nearby villages or towns, allowing a general determination of boundary positions.

The second scroll already bore Gervas's seal and signature, as well as the seal of Eagle City's Civil Affairs Bureau.

The only thing missing was Scribe Nio's signature.

Once he signed, the boundaries would be officially fixed according to this document.

"Your Excellency Nio, isn't that so? You raised no objections along the way!" Old John frowned.

Nio smiled. "I raised no objections—but that doesn't mean I approved!"

"Master John, let me tell you plainly: I have serious objections to the boundaries of the Cain Baronial Fief. Several locations, I believe, are not the true historical borders of the Cain Baronial Fief!"

"That's impossible, Scribe Nio. We only learned of our own Storm Fief's boundaries after your announcement—how could we have moved the Cain Baronial Fief's boundary stones beforehand?"

"I don't know. Maybe you guessed? Or maybe you bribed someone in Eagle City to get advance word?"

"Regardless, if I believe the boundaries are flawed, I cannot sign. Otherwise, if the Kingdom's land is later encroached upon, I'll be held responsible!"

Nio grinned broadly, making everyone around him want to punch him in the face.

Yet even the usually most impulsive Migen remained silent.

Because this was the critical moment for their lord's fief—no impulsive act could jeopardize their lord's interests.

Otherwise, if the fief grant was delayed for a year or more, it would be a nightmare.

"Scribe Nio, how many gold coins will it take for you to sign?"

At that moment, a cold voice spoke—Gervas, who had remained silent until now.

Gervas's eyes had turned icy.

This Nio had truly crossed his line.

You may be greedy—but know when to stop.

And you must show sufficient respect.

Not treat us like fools in some crude circus act.

Hearing Gervas speak plainly, Nio dropped the act.

"Lord Gervas, you're wise. One hundred gold coins—I'll sign right here. What do you say, Lord Gervas?!"

Hiss!

Those around him drew sharp breaths—even Nio's own aides stared in shock.

One hundred gold coins? How brazen!

And could Gervas even afford it?

This was the borderland Storm Fief.

"No problem. One hundred gold coins—I'll give them to you. Sign now!" Gervas didn't even flinch.

"You agreed?" This time, it was Nio's turn to freeze.

But realizing his mistake, he quickly added, "Lord Gervas, I'll sign only after I see the gold!"

"No problem. I'll give it to you now!"

Gervas pulled a money bag from his robe and handed it to Old John to give to Nio.

It was the gold reserve taken from his spatial ring.

Nio's heart pounded. He snatched the bag and, without shame, opened it right before everyone, biting each gold coin to test it.

After biting over a dozen, his grin widened.

One hundred gold coins had been a wild overcharge.

He'd have been satisfied with twenty—or even ten.

But now, this Gervas was clearly rich and foolish.

"Well? Can you sign now?"

"Of course! Ha ha! Lord Gervas, if you'd just handed over the gold sooner, I wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble!"