Outside the door,
Richard stepped out, the sky nearing dusk.
Tuku and another guard stood outside, each chewing on a pie.
Spotting Richard, Tuku glanced over.
Chewing, he asked, "Lord, how did it go?"
"Nothing much," Richard waved his hand, instructing Tuku, "Finish eating, then go inside to tidy up the body."
"Got it," Tuku nodded, then asked, "Can I chop off her head, master? Her actions were despicable, trying to assassinate you!"
"Up to you, if the corpse interests you," Richard dismissed casually, turning towards the door.
Just then, young maid Lucy emerged from the kitchen, holding something.
She greeted Richard, "Young master, Alice made lots of delicious treats. Care for a taste?"
"Forget it, maybe later," Richard waved, continuing towards the gate.
Lucy curiously asked, "What are you going to do now?"
"Nothing much, just taking a walk," Richard said, stepping outside. Despite dealing with the killer, he still felt uneasy and decided to clear his mind with a stroll.
Several guards prepared to follow for protection.
Richard gestured, "No need to follow, just a short walk near the village. I'll be back soon, stay here."
"Alright," the guards reluctantly stopped.
Lucy, however, spoke up, "Master, going for a walk? I'll come too, I'll come!"
Against his better judgment, Richard allowed Lucy to join.
They walked to the edge of the village, stopping by a small river.
The sun had mostly set to the west, leaving a dim sky.
The last rays reflected on the river, shimmering like flames.
Richard sat on a stone by the river, glancing at Lucy.
Suddenly, he asked, "Lucy, today I killed someone. Do you think I did wrong?"
"Hmm?" Lucy hesitated, then shook her head firmly, "No, young master, you didn't do wrong."
"Why?"
"Because," Lucy earnestly replied, "Because she wanted to harm you. Killing is wrong, so it's right when you do it."
"In a way, haven't I still killed someone?" Richard joked.
"But," Lucy frowned, conflicted, "It's different!"
"How is it different?"
"Because you're my master! It's right when you kill, but wrong when others try to hurt you!"
"Well, alright," Richard chuckled at Lucy's clear-cut, double-standard view.
Seeing Richard smile, Lucy smiled too.
Though she knew he didn't need comforting, she felt fulfilled as his maid.
Next, Lucy handed Richard something, saying, "Master, try this."
"Hmm? What's this?" Richard looked at the burnt onion ring, frowning.
"Alice made onion rings, crispy and fragrant. They're delicious," Lucy insisted, placing it in Richard's hand, urging, "Try it, you'll like it."
Reluctantly, Richard tasted it.
Chewing and swallowing, he couldn't hide his disappointment.
Was this supposed to be an onion ring?
Just flour smeared on onion, burnt on fire.
Tasteless, bitter from overcooking, the onion limp.
If this passed for good food, then there was no good food in the world.
Seeing Richard's unchanged expression after eating the whole thing, Lucy seemed to understand something.
Tentatively, she asked, "Master, did you not like the onion ring?"
"Of course not. Not only was it not good, but it was also poorly made," Richard said.
"Poorly made?" Lucy blinked, instinctively asking, "Then what's the right way?"
"The right way is to peel the onion, cut it into rings, remove the membrane, sprinkle with salt, black pepper, marinate for ten minutes. Then coat evenly with flour. After that, dip in egg whites outside the flour, then coat with bread crumbs. Finally, fry in hot oil until golden brown. That's the right way."
Lucy's expression froze.
She never expected onion rings to be so extravagant.
Flour, egg, and oil were luxuries, and black pepper was as valuable as gold.
In some cities, large pepper grains served as currency.
People bought it by grams, not pounds.
Pharmacists would seal their doors and cover their faces to prevent any loss of precious pepper powder.
Generally, commoners never tasted pepper in their lifetime.
Only nobles had that privilege.
Some said there was once a king who was crazy about pepper, consuming at least two pounds of pepper a day: adding it to dishes, soups, and even red wine.
In the end, after only a few years, his kingdom was bankrupt and destroyed by enemies.
But now, master wanted it for an ordinary onion to eat, actually.
"What kind of approach is this?!" Lucy couldn't help but exclaim.
Richard glanced at the highly excited maid, understanding clearly what had her worked up, but he didn't elaborate further.
Looking up towards the distant horizon, where the last glimmer of the Western sun was fading, he spoke softly, "This is, how things are done back home."
"Huh?"
Lucy blinked, not quite catching Richard's meaning, but she sensed a hint of melancholy in his tone, like he was longing for something.
"I really don't know if I can go back anymore. I don't even know if I'll have the chance to eat the food I used to love," Richard continued.
Lucy cautiously glanced at Richard, tentatively asking, "Master, you seem a bit upset?"
"Upset?" Richard suddenly chuckled, swiftly masking his deeper emotions.
He nodded slightly and joked, "Of course I am."
"Why though?"
"For instance, we came out with plenty of alcohol and fine needles, right?"
"Um, yes."
"We were supposed to go and gather some plants and maybe catch a few cool bugs for our collection, but we didn't find anything at all. So, all that booze and those needles were a big waste. I'm definitely not thrilled about it."
Richard changed of topic.
"Oh." Lucy didn't know how to respond for a moment.
Eventually, she said, "Well, why don't you wait till tomorrow to go back and then try to catch some bugs??"
"That's true," Richard said, standing up.
As he did, he lightly patted Lucy's backside, "Alright, let's go. It's too damp by the river; you'll catch a cold if you stay out here too long."
"Oh, I see," Lucy stood up, pouting and rubbing her rear end, feeling a bit aggrieved.
"It really hurts."
"Alright, let's head back."
"Okay."
Richard and Lucy, one tall and one small, walked back to the courtyard of the Hughes estate.
\
The night passed quietly.
Early the next morning, the first guard unit outside the Hughes estate was ready to return to the Baron's castle.
Alice and her brother Hughes bid farewell reluctantly, but the rest of the group had no such sentiment.
With a light call from Richard, they quickly turned their horses and rode out of the village towards the direction of the Baron's castle.
Not long after, Hughes rode up on his horse to catch up.
About half an hour later, the group arrived at the desolate land where they had gathered plants the day before, riding through its center.
When they were halfway through the barren land, Richard suddenly stopped and asked, "Yesterday, that assassin appeared around here, right?"
"Um, yes," Tuku confirmed, stopping his horse and curious about Richard's inquiry.
"What's wrong, Master?"
Richard scanned the surroundings, a slight smirk playing on his lips as he sensed numerous hidden presences.
"Don't you think it's a little too quiet around here?"
"Hmm?" Tuku was puzzled at first by Richard's words, but then he noticed how eerily quiet it was around them.
Normally, such lands should be filled with insect chirps, but now...
"Be on guard!" Tuku quickly shouted, but before he could finish his sentence, over a dozen people burst out from the dense grass.
These people wore slightly tattered linen clothes and looked emaciated from malnutrition.
Yet, their eyes were fierce, and they brandished various weapons gleaming with cold light.
As soon as these people appeared, they wasted no time in yelling and swinging their weapons, charging recklessly towards them.
The only two who didn't charge immediately stayed put, each struggling to pull out a wooden bow and awkwardly shoot a few crooked arrows, accidentally hitting one of their own.
The wounded person screamed in pain and cursed aloud.
The two archers shrank back in fear, eventually dropping their bows and rushing forward with weapons in hand.
Richard watched the skirmish unfold from horseback, his expression somewhat peculiar.
He couldn't fathom where these people found the courage.
Shaking his head, he turned to Lucy, who was also on horseback beside him.
He then tied a strip of cloth over her eyes.
"Why can't I see, Master?" Lucy complained.
"Because it's going to get bloody soon. You're still too young; it's not suitable for you," Richard replied calmly.
"When can I take the blindfold off then?" Lucy asked with a hint of grievance.
"When I tell you to."
"Well." Lucy became upset, her mouth pouting high, but Richard ignored her reaction, turning back to face the attackers.
The attackers continued their charge.
On the side, Tuku watched with rising anger and felt his dignity challenged.
How dare these random attackers attempt to assassinate Master Richard?
Did they think the First Guard Unit members were just peasant farmers who had just put down their hoes?
"Kill them!" the attackers yelled.
"Die!" Tuku roared suddenly, the thunderous sound drowning out all the noise in the field.
With a swift motion, he drew his knight's sword from his back and kicked his horse's belly fiercely, charging towards the assailants with overwhelming momentum.
Clang!
As the horse accelerated, the knight's sword swung high and then struck down forcefully.
"Splat!" A head flew up, blood spraying like a fountain from the neck of the headless body, shooting up to three or four meters high, startling the remaining attackers into stunned silence.
The other members of the First Guard Unit, seeing this, smiled coldly, showing no mercy, quickly riding their horses to catch up with Tuku and launching a massacre against the attackers.
Even though the attackers fought desperately, they only caused a minor inconvenience to the First Guard Unit.
It was more of a farce than an ambush.
In just over ten minutes, all the attackers who had rushed out were dealt with, with more than half of them gruesomely decapitated—a testament to Tuku's skill.
When Richard rode up, he saw Tuku wiping the blood off his knight's sword.
"Any survivors?" Richard asked aloud.
"Um, one, over there," Tuku pointed to the side.
Richard looked over and saw a pitiful figure lying on the ground, covered in blood, pale-faced, trembling in fear.
Although he said covered in blood, most of the blood was not his, but that of his deceased companions.
As Richard approached, the man preemptively shouted, "I'll talk, I'll tell you everything I know, just don't kill me!"
Richard raised an eyebrow at this, then dismounted and looked meaningfully at the man, "Don't say anything yet. Let me guess first."
"Huh?" The man was bewildered, but before he could say more, Richard spoke.