Book 2, Chapter 168 (1/2)
Meeting(2)
Richard surveyed the room, finding that the little Baron was secretly watching the expressions of the middle-aged man. He asked gently, “Lord Fontaine, your father and I fought side by side not too long ago. Out families should only be growing closer.”
Before the young Baron could answer, his uncle snickered, “A frontier knight wishes to have a close relationship with a Baron’s family? Wait till you become a titled knight!”
Richard glanced calmly at the man, “Indeed, a frontier knight is not a noble.”
“A frontier knight clearly isn’t a titled knight!” the Baron’s uncle burst into laughter, “Wait till you have your own territory, and earn the recognition of the royal family. Only then are you a true noble. You need to be a title knight!”
Richard chuckled, but refused to explain further. Since the man couldn’t understand the meaning behind his words, there was no need to say any more. His gaze landed on the little Baron once more, “Lord Fontaine, it seems like you don’t want me building a castle in my lands?”
“Ah, no… Wait, what does your castle’s construction have to do with me?!” the youth answered in a panicky manner. Although he had a row of warriors behind him, they gave him no comfort.
At that moment, the silent middle-aged man finally spoke up, “Lord Richard, the location of your castle doesn’t seem to match up with the lands you’ve registered for yourself. If my memory doesn’t fail me, that piece of land should belong to the Direwolf Duke.”
Richard took a look at him, answering without a change in expression, “Yes. His Grace knighted me officially a few days ago. That piece of land is mine.”
The man frowned, “That land is much larger than a normal knight’s. This doesn’t seem quite right.”
“May I know who you are?” Richard asked with a smile.
The fellow waved his arm around, “It doesn’t matter who I am—”
“If it doesn’t matter,” Richard immediately interrupted him, “then shut up.”
The other party’s face flashed with indignance, and he even opened his mouth to rage, but in the end he quieted down. Although he looked extremely grumpy, he was cunning enough not to fall for the trap. He clearly had great background and status.
Still, Richard had already discovered that this middle-aged noble was the key to the Fontaines’ change in attitude. The uncle obviously held all the power over the youth, using the child as a figurehead for his own purposes. Most interesting was that Lord Moonbear was nowhere to be seen; the Lord had planned to stay behind to defend the barony for some time.
“Lord Fontaine. I have basically no residents in my territory. I need wood, stone, and people to hire. Can you provide them?”