Chapter 6: Extorting a Hunter?

Facing the arrival of Gervas and his party, the hunter Karl was deeply terrified.

This was naturally because his guilty conscience made him fear exposure.

He forced himself to appear calm and invited the noble young master before him into the wooden hut.

"Noble lord, this is rabbit soup; please enjoy it!" Enduring the pain, he ladled the freshly simmered rabbit soup before the other, hoping only that the noble would finish quickly and leave soon.

Gervas nodded and immediately began to taste it.

It had to be said that the game in this world was truly fresh and fragrant; even with the simplest cooking and coarse salt seasoning, it was so.

Of course, what Gervas did not know was that Karl's heart was already bleeding beside him.

He rarely could bear to drink this rabbit soup himself; it was meant to be sent to the castle to exchange for grain and to pay taxes.

But today, by luck, he had obtained a tricolor rabbit, so he had prepared to indulge himself a little.

Who would have thought that as soon as it was stewed, it would still end up benefiting a noble.

After a long wait, as the noble young master before him finished the rabbit meat, Karl's heart was full of hope that the other would leave quickly.

Yet he did not expect that the noble young master had no intention of leaving at all, and said carelessly, "Karl, are there any magical beasts roaming near this forest?"

Karl was startled, so frightened that cold sweat broke out on him. "Noble lord, there are no magical beasts nearby, because magical beasts are extremely dangerous!"

"Is that so? Then why did I hear others say that you just captured a tricolor rabbit?"

With a thud, Karl fell directly to his knees on the ground in terror.

And the knight squires around him looked at Gervas with disbelief.

He had eaten the rabbit meat, yet he still intended to extort this hunter; since when had young master Gervas become so shameless? Why hadn't they noticed this before?

But before such thoughts of theirs could settle, they heard Karl begin to kowtow hard, "Noble lord, spare my life! I did not intend to deceive you, noble lord, spare my life, I know my mistake!"

"Stand up first. Speak, where is the tricolor rabbit? Bring it for me to see!" Gervas spoke with a expressionless face.

Amidst the dumbfounded stares of the knight squires, Karl moved the small wooden table in the corner of the room, then lifted a wooden board, revealing a large wooden basin underneath.

And in the large wooden basin lay a rabbit whose size was comparable to a sheep.

The fur on the rabbit's tail had three colors: black, white, and yellow.

"It really is a magical beast!"

They had originally thought young master Gervas was extorting, but who would have thought that this hunter had actually been secretly hoarding a magical beast.

Instantly, the gaze of the knight squires toward Karl turned cold.

Within a noble's territory, all resources belong to the nobles, especially magical beasts of extremely high value.

This Karl was obviously preparing to hoard the prey; this was a capital offense.

"Noble lord, spare my life, I know my mistake, I was momentarily confused!"

Gervas stood up without a sound, his hand slowly reaching toward his waist, where a brand-new long sword hung.

Karl felt his body freeze, waiting despairingly for death to descend.

Clatter!

"These five silver coins are for you; I am taking the tricolor rabbit. But remember, the same mistake cannot be made a second time; there will not be such luck again in the future!"

Five silver coins rolled across the wooden table. Gervas gave an order to the several knight squires, then departed directly with the tricolor rabbit.

Only Karl, collapsed on the ground, was left with a face full of disbelief.

"Young master Gervas, that hunter committed a capital offense; there was no need to buy him off with silver coins at all!" Knight Mi Gen did not understand; sparing that hunter's life was already mercy.

Why pay money at all, and moreover, as much as five silver coins?

"Knight Mi Gen, do you think the serfs' lives are bitter?"

Knight Mi Gen paused for a moment, confirming that Gervas's expression showed no anomaly. "My lord Gervas, the serfs' lives are indeed quite bitter!"

Knight Mi Gen was also of serf origin; only because his physique was strong and he was luckily selected by the castle did he become a knight squire.

Therefore, he knew clearly how bitter the serfs' lives were; even in years of abundant harvest, serfs could only eat half-full every day.

This was not only because the wheat yield was truly too low, but also because of the heavy taxes amounting to fifty or sixty percent.

"Yes, the serfs live very bitterly, and I also know that the main reason the serfs suffer so much is because they pay taxes!"

"I pity the serfs, so I am willing to give him a chance; I believe he will not dare to do so again in the future!"

"As for the silver coins, consider them a reward given to him. This tricolor rabbit is worth at least fifty silver coins; if he had sent it to the castle, he would have received a small reward as well!"

The knight squires stood in solemn respect, and their gaze toward Gervas changed.

Seeing this, Gervas naturally understood that his purpose had been achieved.

That was right; he was putting on a show, buying hearts and minds.

In the coming days, his safety would depend on these few knight squires; he must first win over their hearts.

Of course, as a transmigrator, he had his bottom line; in the future, doing what he could to let his subjects live better was also certain.

"Old John, is this the territory of Viscount Pat?"

"Yes, young master Gervas!"

Old John was nearly fifty years old; in this world, he was considered an elder, and in another ten-plus years, he would very likely reach the end of his life.

The reason he was specially brought along was that Old John had once been the steward of the Gale family castle.

Only two years ago, due to declining energy, he had retired and was assigned to manage a quiet manor outside a small town.

In a world where even literacy counted as talent, an existence like Old John, who had assisted two generations of barons and served as castle steward for nearly thirty years, was undoubtedly top-tier talent.

Furthermore, he was utterly loyal to the Gale family and very reliable.

In the past, when Gervas was marginalized by Lady Mary and his biological father was unknown, it was Old John who protected him.

"Let us spend the night here! Old John, you take these few to set up camp; Knight Mi Gen, you two come with me!"

"Yes, young master Gervas!"

Everyone moved; Gervas, accompanied by Knight Mi Gen and another knight squire, pressed deep into Viscount Pat's territory.

Not long after, a dark pine forest appeared ahead.

Outside the dark pine forest, horses and carriages were parked.

Gervas's eyes lit up; he knew he had found it.

According to the intelligence, Viscount Pat's knight commander would be secretly executed within the dark pine forest at dusk.

Such a titled knight; Gervas was clearly unwilling to let him be killed.

After all, his own squad did not even have a single true knight.

A noble without knight protection is not a noble; that is a fat sheep!

More importantly, this was a knight with hope of advancing to a Golden Knight.

What concept is a Golden Knight?

Gervas's cheap father was still only a Silver Knight even now, and his probability of breaking through to a Golden Knight was zero.

Giving two low instructions to the two, Mi Gen and the other, who wore full of confusion, Gervas directly led the two into the dark pine forest.

"Who goes there?"

The three's movements were immediately detected.

"Baron Bolo, it is I, Gervas, the second son of the Gail family!"

"The second son of the Gail family? You know me?" Seeing the other call out his name, Bolo frowned and stepped forward.

Using the dim light to size them up for a moment, he realized he had never seen this youth before.

"Yes, Baron Bolo; one year ago, my father was invited to attend Viscount Pat's banquet, and that is when I saw you!"

"Is that so? The second son of the Gail family, then what are you doing here? It is dangerous here; go to the small town!" Bolo no longer suspected, and the other's attire and the knight squire beside him confirmed his identity.

The Gail family and the Pat family were separated by only fifty-plus li; they could be considered neighbors, so his tone immediately became much friendlier.

"Baron Bolo, what are you doing? Eh, isn't that Knight Commander Lei Meng? Why is he tied up?!" Gervas clearly could not leave; instead, he cried out in surprise!