Chapter 25: Unexpected Hospitality
Led by Andrea and others, Ronin walked into the castle on the lake.
The noble castles in this world are generally divided into three structures: inner, outer, and fortress.
The outer castle focuses on defence. It includes solid walls, gates, fortifications, traps, etc. Many houses where servants of noble families live are also built between the outer castle and the inner castle.
After passing through the inner city gate, you enter the inner castle, which is where the nobles usually live. The environment is naturally more than one level higher than that of the outer castle.
The houses where nobles usually live do not have much defensive power, and some nobles even like to live in houses built purely of wood.
Therefore, once an enemy attack or an attack on the castle occurred, the nobles would hide in the fortress.
In addition, some important occasions are also held in the fortress.
When Luo Ning first travelled through time, the Wushan Fortress was the place where the Wushan family and the Hyde family discussed matters.
It is said that not only were high-quality stones used to build the Wushan Fortress, but there was also a defensive magic circle inside the Wushan Fortress. Once activated, even several Golden Knights working together would find it difficult to break through in a short period of time.
The scale of Lake Castle is naturally not comparable to that of Wushan Castle, but it should be ranked among all the baronial castles because the aquatic business of Lake Town is good, which has brought considerable assets to the Green family.
"Lord Ronin, please wait a moment. Baron Germann may need some time to come over because we are not prepared yet."
Andrea ordered the servants to bring fruits and juice and then left the fortress.
Luo Ning sat on the chair and looked around.
The furnishings in this fortress hall evoke an aristocratic atmosphere. On the left side of the hall, a tall stone fireplace stands. When winter comes, and the fire is lit, it will surely warm the entire hall.
Roning glanced at the seats of his men. Although made of wood, they were carved with flowers, and even the front end of the armrests was gold-plated.
"This isn't gold, is it?"
He tried to pick it off but couldn't get it off.
I tried harder, but it was too embarrassing.
Luo Ning stopped his little movements and looked at the high seat in the hall. The chair seemed made of pure iron, with complicated lines and patterns, but he only recognized a fish in the middle of the pattern.
In addition, a complete bear skin is spread behind the seat. Look at the huge and terrifying bear skinhead. It must have been a powerful monster when it was alive.
At this time, Roning recalled some past events of the Baron's family in Lake Town.
About eighteen years ago, in the winter, the previous Baron of Lake Town, Luton Green, went hunting with his wife, son, daughter-in-law, grandson, and granddaughter.
This is an entertainment activity that many nobles engage in, and some even enjoy it.
But no one expected that on that day, a huge level 5 monster, the jungle bear, appeared on the forest farm, which was supposed to be safe!
Although there was a team of knights to protect them, and Baron Luton himself was a high-level knight, in that battle, the jungle bear almost wiped out the entire family of the Baron of Lake Town.
In the end, only Hermann, who was still a son at the time, survived. He is the current lord of Lake Town.
Although this incident dealt a heavy blow to the Green family, fortunately, Hermann had a high prestige in the family and was very talented in cultivation, so the situation of the Green family gradually improved.
But his fate was unfortunate. Ten years ago, at the knight's tournament, Hermann faced Baron Reisen of the Sean Territory. In that battle, Baron Reisen cut off Hermann's left arm.
The relationship between the two families, which had not been very good to begin with, became even worse.
After a while of depression, Hermann, who had his arm broken, was unexpectedly promoted to Bronze Knight, so he got the title of "One-Armed Lone Wolf".
"This should be the fifth-level monster, the jungle bear, right?"
Roning stood up and walked forward to observe.
But at this moment, a female voice came from the door.
"Nice to meet you, Baron of Hillwood!"
Roning turned around and saw a noble lady in a formal dress slowly walking into the hall. She bowed slightly to Roning and said, "Flavia Lawley salutes you. Thank you for your help. The bloodline of the Green family is lucky enough to survive!"
Flavia Rawli is Baron Hermann's second wife.
Behind her, Malik, who had changed into a formal suit, also bowed.
Roning felt a little puzzled. Shouldn't Baron Hermann be the one appearing in the hall? Why would it be this mother and son?
Although he was confused, Roning still showed proper courtesy.
"Greetings, Lady Flavia."
Flavia motioned for Ronin to take a seat, and then she and Malik sat on the chairs opposite.
"I'm sorry, Lord Ronin, my father's chest injury hasn't healed yet, and he can't move freely, so he can't come to the Lake Castle to personally thank you for saving me and my sister."
Roning pretended to be surprised, then smiled slightly, "The Baron's injury is serious!"
Earlier, outside the castle, Andrea told Malik and Marina that Baron Hermann's injuries had almost healed. Judging from his relaxed attitude at the time, it was estimated that there would be no problem with his normal movements.
But now Malik says that German's injury has not healed, and he cannot move freely. This is interesting.
The first thing Ronin ruled out was any drama about the Green family fighting for the title of Baron. After all, Hermann was the Bronze Knight and the fighting force of the Green family. His death would be a loss to the Green family.
Moreover, Hermann has only one son, Malik, who is still young, and it is impossible for him to seize the title of Baron.
That could only mean that Baron Hermann didn't want to come out and see him.
Luo Ning couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth and reveal a barely perceptible bitter smile. The other party did this, apparently not wanting to have anything to do with him.
Why is this happening?
Luo Ning thought about it and realized that the other party was deliberately avoiding suspicion because he was obviously afraid that the outside world would mistakenly think that the Green family wanted to make friends with him.
Being on good terms with a person whose inheritance rights had been taken away would make people mistakenly think that the Green family had the ambition to support the new master.
After all, after the old marquis died, it was still unclear what the situation in Wushan Territory would become.
So Roning guessed that Hermann did not show up to show it to the Hyde family.
"Mr. Luo Ning, thank you very much for this time!"
Lady Flavia's grateful voice interrupted Ronin's thoughts.
"German told me that Shanlin Town is remote, the land is barren, and the resources are scarce. He specifically asked me to prepare a batch of materials and money for you, which can not only help you build Shanlin Town, but also express Lake Castle's gratitude to you!"
Luo Ning came out of his thoughts and couldn't help laughing when he heard this.
"Express my gratitude to Baron German for me. I believe that with his support, the construction of Hillwood Town will be faster than expected!"
It doesn't matter whether we meet or not. It's just a loss of face; if it gets out, people will laugh at you.
That's not the point; the point is getting something.
Wasn't that why he sent Malik and his sister home?
Flavia and Malik looked at each other and were both surprised that Ronin didn't show any displeasure. After all, it was said that Ronin, like his father, had a bad temper and often swore.
But that doesn't appear to be the case at this time.
Flavia sat up straighter. "Considering the poverty of Hillwood Town, we will provide you with a total of 3,000 kilograms of food."
"Also, I heard from Malik that your team doesn't have enough horses. We will give you three extra carriages, five ordinary horses, and two ordinary war horses."
"In addition, to express our gratitude and in case you need it, we have also prepared 200 gold coins!"
The more Luo Ning listened, the more comfortable he felt.
Although Hermann did not show up, their gratitude was still very great.
Three thousand kilograms of food is a small deal. Ten horses should add up to 200 gold coins. Adding 200 gold coins, the harvest from a trip to Lake Town exceeds 400 gold coins. It's a good profit!
He stood up and bowed to Lady Flavia, "Thank you for your generosity, Madam. Please convey my most sincere gratitude to Baron German!"
He added: "If possible, please exchange some of the gold coins for copper coins. After all, you know, in a poor place like Shanlin Town, gold and silver coins may not be easy to spend."
Madam Flavia and Malik also stood up. "You are very thoughtful."