69novels Chapter 419 Witness of Friendship
Chapter 419 Witness of Friendship
Chapter 419 Witness of Friendship
Sir Norton was just a minor nobleman with an honorary title.
In the royal capital, such people are no different from passers-by on the street.
However, outside the royal capital, possessing a noble title means having the right to control an area.
In the past, the kingdom system required the help of nobles from all over the country to govern, which led to the nobles becoming local emperors and no one dared to provoke them.
"Your Lord Norton is not the lord of this land. What right does he have to issue martial law?"
Sir Norton only bought his noble title. He had no fiefdom and no right to recruit private soldiers.
According to what the saint saw, Sir Norton had violated the laws of the kingdom and committed the crime of usurpation.
The soldier being questioned looked indifferent.
"Lord Norton is indeed not a local lord, but his wife is."
The saint choked and was speechless.
"Everyone from the temple, you can stay in the town for two days, and then please leave."
After the soldier issued the announcement, he left with his companions, leaving behind only the three awkward saints.
"Are we going to live here?"
Edward turned and asked Lucas and the Saint, and they both shook their heads.
The town doesn't have a good feel to it.
The restlessness of machines, the deserted streets, the oppressive government decrees, and the pitiful but cunning workers.
Everyone wants to leave here, even if living in the wild with mosquitoes is much better than this.
"…At the very least, we need to buy a new tent."
The saint wanted to say that she did not need any special care, and she could also lie in the moonlight and enjoy the night breeze like Edward and Lucas.
But a voice in her heart suddenly emerged.
Can you really be like them...
The saint began to doubt herself whether she was not suitable for this journey.
The carriage turned around and Edward found a grocery store in the town.
But the shop was not open, and the door was nailed shut with a piece of wood, as if it had been robbed by robbers.
But Edward was keenly aware that someone in the store was staring at him.
"Anyone there? We need to buy something."
No one answered, and the shop became even quieter.
Edward shrugged at Saint and Lucas, indicating that their shopping plans were ruined.
"This town is dying."
"You're right."
The nobles only care about the profits they can get and don't care about the overall development of the town at all.
The man hiding in the closed shop must have been an excellent businessman in the past.
Unfortunately, the nobles' coercive decrees changed everything. The merchants chose to close their shops, guarding the property they had worked hard for in the first half of their lives, and silently waiting for death.
The carriage went out of the town. There was no pedestrian on the street, only soldiers with weapons in their hands, looking at the three people with strange eyes.
It's better to leave early...
Just as the carriage was about to leave the town, some knights caught up from behind. The one leading them was the leader of the thugs who had encountered the three men yesterday.
"Dear guests, Sir Norton invites you to visit the castle."
Not an invitation, but a notification.
A dozen men on horseback surrounded the carriage, not giving the three people a chance to leave.
The saint became visibly nervous. She was now very sensitive to the malicious intent from the outside world.
"Hey, your Lord Norton, what do you want us to do?"
"It is a good thing, Lord Knight of the Temple."
It seemed that it would not be a good idea to just turn against each other on someone else's territory, so the group had to turn back.
Led by the thugs, the three saints entered the castle.
The castle is small, with narrow corridors and poor lighting.
The three of them walked through the castle corridor and came inside.
In the center of the castle, the open space originally used for military training was turned into a manor by Sir Norton.
The manor built close to the city wall looks a bit top-heavy, and the combination of classical and modern architectural styles makes it look weird.
It is in this strange building that Sir Norton welcomes visitors to the sanctuary.
"I have been waiting for you, my distinguished guest from the temple~"
Sir Norton had curly hair on his head and stockings on his feet. Such an outfit was pure aristocratic attire in that era.
In the tower high above the castle, Norton had already prepared a long table and food.
"Top-quality fruit wine from the North, local specialty roasted lamb. I heard that you guys were going to the North to take up your posts, so I specially prepared a North-style meal~"
Norton's attitude was very enthusiastic and fully expressed his respect for the distinguished guests.
The three saints sat down opposite the long table, with the saint sitting in the middle and two knights guarding her on both sides.
Judging from the seating arrangement of the three saints, the key figure should be the saint, but Norton is so shrewd.
From the frequent glances that the Saint and Lucas gave Edward, Norton determined that Edward was the backbone of the three.
"Respected Lord Templar, I wonder if you are satisfied with this reception."
Seeing that Norton talked to him frequently, Edward couldn't just ignore him.
"Sir Norton, if you have anything to say, just say it. We have never interacted before. You are so warmly received all of a sudden. You must have something important to say."
"As expected of you, Sir Knight. Norton does have some headaches here."
Edward knew that the cunning nobles would not invite him to a banquet for no reason.
Edward put down his half-eaten food, which was a clear sign.
If Norton made excessive requests, Edward could just walk away.
"Your Excellency the Knight, you are overthinking. My request is just a small matter for you~"
Norton asked his servants to remove the untouched food and directly explained his purpose.
"It's like this. My title is useful here, but it's out of reach outside this place. I've always wanted to buy the latest machinery and equipment in the North, but no one is willing to sell it to me."
Norton sighed and poured out all his suffering.
The bad thing about the little noble is that no one in the more remote areas knows who he is.
"You want to buy machinery from the North?"
"That's right! The best machine in the North is three times more efficient than the existing machines, which means that in the same quarter, my income can be tripled!"
Edward was a little stunned. He thought Norton would make an excessive request, but it turned out that he just wanted Edward to help find a machinery seller in the North.
"As far as I know, business in the North is booming. You can send a caravan to the North to make purchases yourself..."
"No! Sir Knight, things are different now. It was possible two years ago, but things have changed this year. Those cunning guys in the North have hidden all the best things and only sold us the inferior products that have been eliminated!"
Norton fiercely attacked the North's treacherous behavior.
"The North uses efficient machines to produce better products. They want to take away all the market and not even give us a bite of soup!"
"so…"
"So, we can't fall behind. We must have what the North has! I believe the Knight is willing to help me with this. After all, no one can resist money~"
While Edward was still in a daze, Norton enthusiastically took out a bag of money and stuffed it directly into Edward's palm.
Edward weighed the purse and found it was very heavy. He opened a corner of the purse and the golden light immediately stung his eyes.
The Saint and Lucas also saw the inside of the purse, and their six eyes stared at it intently, unable to move away for a long time.
Norton smiled smugly when he saw that Edward and the other two looked naive.
"Thirty gold coins as a testimony of our friendship, Sir Knight, what do you think~"