Chapter 122 - Trouble (1/2)

The slave trafficker nicknamed ‘Golden-Eyed Piegel’ was brought over. He was a stout man with shrewd eyes, and he was like most of the slave traffickers in this era: his body was decorated with vulgar accessories and meaningless sealed ribbons. Slave traffickers were normally very rich, and their wealth would be comparable to minor noble clans at times. However, in the laws of various nations and most of the churches’ traditional mindset, slave traffickers were people who had tainted their souls. As such, even the wealthiest slave traffickers wouldn’t be permitted to possess the status of a noble. They weren’t allowed to donate money and become a ‘phony knight’ or an ‘honorary knight’. Therefore, these wealthy people liked to display on themselves a bunch of luxurious decorations and self-designed sealed ribbons to show off their status and also to find relief.

Two other serfs were brought over with Piegel, a male and a female who were the elder brother and younger sister of the deceased serf ‘Sam’. The three siblings were sold together to this place, but before they could even have a mouthful of hot soup, their brother had died on the dock.

However, on the faces of the elder brother and the younger sister, their fear and anxiety had suppressed the mournful and grieving emotions they ought to have.

It was sad to lose a brother, but the fear of the possible punishment that might descend on them was worth more. They knew clearly and acknowledged as fact that in the eyes of nobles, serfs weren’t considered humans. A slave had just exploded on the dock, and to a noble, it was an unforgivable loss. He didn’t just lose a slave, the ground had also been dirtied.

Therefore, they were fearful and worried about the anger that would be vented on them. Furthermore, they believed that the feudal lord had called for them to come over to receive punishment. It would be fine if the two of them were requested to do the work of three individuals. They were more worried about getting whipped and getting starved. In this era, these two punishments might just take the lives of the slaves that committed mistakes.

The slave trafficker called ‘Golden-Eyed Piegel’ was also in fear, and he was even more terrified. Because he was the one who brought over the serf that had been transformed into a living bomb by sorcery. Being covered in gold and silver didn’t bring this stout man any sense of security. He knew what his status was and knew that in justified situations, a duke could simply execute a slave trafficker, and no one would plead for him.

“Golden-Eyed Piegel?” Gawain asked. When Gawain spoke, the fatty whose entire body was covered with pieces of gold and silver was so frightened that he shivered. “Are you the one that brought the serf Sam over?”

“Yes… yes, my lord.” Piegel nodded while feeling terrified. “But I absolutely do not have any malicious intent, my lord! It is also impossible for me to be associated with a sorcerer or an evil cult follower! I am an honest businessman, and I have never done anything…”

Sir Philip used his sheathed longsword to knock on Piegel’s face and said, “You will only answer the things that are being asked!”

Piegel quickly shut his mouth and looked down at the tip of his shoes while Gawain continued to ask, “Before the deceased was brought over, who had he been in contact with? What did he eat? Did he behave strangely?”

Pittman had already inspected the slave trafficker for a magical reaction and didn’t discover any remaining presence of druid spells. Seeing his reaction, it wasn’t likely for him to be a subordinate of an evil cult follower. It was possible that Piegel had been made use of, and Gawain would still have to determine that.

Piegel wiped his sweat and replied, “My—my lord. The serfs had been closed up in a dwelling for several days before they boarded the ship. All of them ate the same food, the same food—”

“You better tell the truth.” Amber stood behind Gawain and was speaking in support while trying to intimidate by making use of Gawain’s authority. As she spoke, she twirled the dagger in her hand. “We have mages, a druid, and even a Shadow Grandmaster! We can even draw your soul out to interrogate you… Don’t invite trouble.”

Gawain remained calm and cast a glance at the half-elf, but he didn’t expose her nonsense. Piegel, on the other hand, had large beads of sweat that were constantly flowing down. His cold sweat was lined up into a single file like how a Korean Starcraft player would direct his soldiers. To ordinary people who didn’t understand magic, they weren’t able to differentiate between each extraordinary profession. They wouldn’t know which profession would be able to use soul magic. In their minds, the mysterious magic professions were probably omnipotent; therefore, Amber’s random nonsense and threat were actually effective.

“Yes… my lord, I am telling the truth!” Piegel frantically replied. “Actually… actually that serf Sam is a little special…”

Gawain knocked on the table and responded, “Special?”

“Yes. I was originally scheduled to deliver him to Viscount Andrew’s castle to work,” Piegel said everything in his mind, “but Sir Knight that you sent to the town had offered a better price to purchase large numbers of various slaves. I did not have a lot of slaves, so… so…”

“So you used the serfs that were scheduled for the castle to make up the numbers?” Gawain frowned and asked, “Why were serfs being sent to the castle?”

“Sam was a diligent and agile serf. He didn’t just do farm work, he also knew how to feed the horses and clean up the animal sheds. Viscount Andrew just happened to need a new servant…” Piegel rubbed his finger awkwardly and said, “This was also an opportunity for Sam. The slaves on my hands can be serfs, slave workers, or contracted slaves. Once they entered feudal lands, they would be a serf forever. But if they were delivered into castles, they might become servants—”

“But Sir Byron had offered four more silver coins, and you brought Sam back for the slave transport ships,” Gawain interrupted Piegel’s words and turned to look at Sam’s siblings. “You may raise your heads. Don’t be nervous. Before you came here, did your brother behave abnormally?”

The elder brother seemed to be bolder and was first to reply. “Yes. Recently, Sam had been constantly saying he was very tired, and he would frequently stop talking midway. Sometimes, he would even sleep while standing.”

Gawain raised his head to look at Pittman, and the latter had a pensive expression. Subsequently, the old druid asked, “When did this situation start?”

The malnourished serf younger sister replied, “Seven days… or eight days ago. It wouldn’t be more than ten days.”

No one could expect them to remember the exact date.