In the early morning, soft sunlight pierced the ancient castle and fell on the bed through the window.
Rubbing his tired eyes, Hudson stretched and yawned.
Yes, he decided to take a walk. After two days in bed, Hudson felt like he was about to start growing mold.
Without a phone, a computer, or any form of entertainment, staying in bed was truly a hellish kind of torture.
If it wasn't for the fear of exposing himself and being burnt at the stake as a devil, he wouldn't have bothered to pretend to be sick.
Over the past two days, all the important figures in the castle had come to visit him, and with his extraordinary memory, Hudson was sure he wouldn't mistake anyone.
He'd seen enough already. In this strictly hierarchical noble world, it was only necessary to manage the relationships with the higher-ups.
A large glass of beast milk, a piece of bread, a fruit similar to a tomato, several sauces, butter, and a sliced roast made up Hudson's breakfast.
Undoubtedly, this kind of extravagant treatment was not what an ordinary baron's son would enjoy every day.
It must have been Priest Kueen's words at work; after consuming such a large amount of energy, he naturally needed a good replenishment.
Just stepping out of his room, he bumped into the Lady Baron, who was coming opposite him. Clearly, someone had tipped her off.
There was no need to dig into this. As the mistress of the castle, it was easy enough for her to buy a few confidants.
"Hudson, it's such a relief that you're okay! Blessed by the lord of the Dawn! You have no idea how worrying these few days have been..."
Hudson only partially believed the Lady Baron's words. She had indeed been very worried these past few days, but not about the original master's health, rather, she was worried about her own son bound to the pillar.
Although he had spent the past two days in bed, Hudson was not entirely ignorant of what had happened in the castle.
From the maid, he learned that on the day of the incident, an infuriated Baron Redman had given Laisol a severe beating. Even the Lady Baron who had tried to intervene was struck with a whip.
Perhaps feeling that this was not punishing enough, or perhaps to give an answer to all parties, they had Laisol bound to a pillar.
If it wasn't for his usurpation of Hudson's position, Laisol probably would have been done for.
"Stealing the Life Essence." Small as it was, it was a prank; as large as it was, it was an attempt on a brother's life.
Awakening the Seed of Life was dangerous in the first place. During the Ancient Times, only one out of ten succeeded, until the greatest alchemist on the Continent of Aslante, Kemboy, invented the Life Essence, which changed the situation.
The success rate improved to fifty percent, and even if the awakening failed, one could still hold onto their life, unlike in the Ancient Times when failure meant death.
It was the emergence of the Life Essence that significantly increased the success rate of awakening the Seed of Life, and knights blessed by divine spirits gradually became the mainstream on the continent.
Of course, whether they were really "blessed by divine spirits" remained to be further studied. At least, that's what the history books said.
But knights who had awakened the Seed of Life did get benefits. Not only did their physical fitness increase, but their affinity with beasts also significantly improved.
Almost all of the knights had their own mounts. In a one-on-one fight, this advantage might not be as obvious, but when they appeared in formations on the battlefield, they dominated.
Noble children often matured early, and Laisol was almost fifteen. There was no way he didn't know how dangerous awakening without the Life Essence was. Calling it a prank was not enough to justify it.
"Lady Tasi, we must all take responsibility for our actions. When you do something wrong, you must pay the price. This is a rule every noble should abide by," Hudson said sarcastically.
Honestly, he did not want to clash with the Lady Baron at this moment. However, there was no option - the original master's relationship with her had always been very poor.
With the current situation, maintaining a friendly facade would be suspicious.
"Hudson, don't say that. Laisol is your brother, and he's just a kid... "
Before the Lady Baron could finish, Hudson interrupted her in feigned anger: "Yes, he is still a child.
This, however, does not prevent us from abiding by the rules of the game, unless the lady believes that Laisol is not a noble!"
His words were satirical, a blatant mockery. His mother's status had always been the Lady Baron's greatest Achilles heel, preventing her full integration into the noble circle.
Usually, anyone who mentioned it would be met with her immediate anger. But now, she couldn't – her beloved son was still hanging up on the pillar.
Seeing the Lady Baron speechless, Hudson sighed secretly. His hint was overt, but she still didn't catch the drift – acting was useless now.
After all, not every scene suits everyone.
But it made sense, if the Lady Baron was that clever, things wouldn't have happened like this, and they, her sons, probably wouldn't have grown up smoothly either.
Maybe that was why she became the Lady Baron, being too clever wasn't suitable for a stepmother's role.
After hesitating for a moment, Hudson said reluctantly: "Alright, my lady. For your sake, I can let Laisol off the hook this time, but compensation is required."
The sudden change in tone threw the Lady Baron off-balance momentarily. But perhaps it was a natural talent; when she heard the word "compensation," she was visibly startled.
"What do you want?"
No sooner had the words left her mouth, than the Lady Baron realized her mistake. Given her current unfavorable position, rushing in with an offer was clearly not in line with business practices.
Hudson frowned slightly. To him, discussing the price directly was too vulgar and certainly incompatible with his noble demeanor. But considering his slim wallet, he lost his patience.
"500 gold coins!"
It wasn't that he didn't want anything else, it's just that the real master of the castle was his father. Apart from some wealth, the Lady Baron couldn't make decisions about anything else.
"Are you trying to rob me?"
She uttered almost on instinct, clearly the figure that Hudson considered reasonable was far beyond the Baroness's expectation.
"My lady, please maintain your dignity!"
"According to the prevailing custom in the wars across the continent, the ransom for a noble knight is 500 gold coins. My price is purely in line with the rules. Please respect them, my lady," Hudson said, expressionless.
Once rules were involved, things became severe. Paying a ransom based on worth might seem absurd, but it wasn't entirely baseless.
Although the Lady Baron knew Laisol wasn't in danger, as long as Hudson didn't relent, the matter wasn't settled.
If she didn't take this opportunity to settle things before the news spread and other members of the Koslow Clan got involved, the matter wouldn't be so simple anymore.