British hegemon

Chapter 47 The Young Master is Going to Be a Knight

"...Young Master Roger, does that mean you're about to become a knight?"

"From now on, we will have to call you Sir Roger."

"He is still the new lord of Milk House Manor, and we should call him Lord Roger (note)."

As the sun set, the sea rippled and the sky darkened. A few bald, ponytail-wearing thugs sat around the lawn outside the manor's mill, fawning over Roger, who was about to be knighted and succeed as lord.

Roger is about to inherit the title and land of "Father," becoming a knight and manor lord.

When Roger first heard the news, he appeared calm on the surface, but he was genuinely excited inside.

Just as he decided to stay and return to his old ways as a small-time local gentry, an incredible opportunity came his way.

However, on the return trip, after he learned about the financial situation of Milk House Manor from Bitter Gourd Face, his excitement was greatly diminished.

The seemingly glamorous Milk House Farm is actually on the verge of bankruptcy.

Both "Father" and "Brother" are standard knights who are eager to wage war. In order to purchase warhorses, weapons and armor, and to raise soldiers and armed farm soldiers, the Milk House Manor has already borrowed forty pounds of debt. All of these were high-interest loans borrowed from Irish merchants by the uncle, with an annual interest rate of two-fifths. The longer it is delayed, the more it will snowball.

The father and son had hoped that this large-scale expedition would alleviate their financial burden, but they unexpectedly suffered a crushing defeat and lost everything.

Amid the deficit crisis, Roger has taken on a hot potato.

Based on the milk house manor's income surplus in recent years, it would take at least three to five years to pay off the debt.

So now, facing everyone's compliments, Roger's initial excitement had long since vanished.

However, at least they had a background, which meant they had gained a foothold.

Let's see how things go as we go.

Roger muttered to himself, raised his glass, and said, "Thank you, fellow men! You'll all be with me for the investiture ceremony in five days."

All the thugs wore expressions of joy and raised their glasses in celebration. What a glorious honor it was for a group of despised thugs to be invited to a knighthood ceremony!

Even though they knew they wouldn't be able to get through the gates of the Baron's mansion.

Ron tilted his head back to drink, and noticed that Sergeant Maren, who was still taciturn, was sitting quietly on the far side, holding his beer glass alone without saying a word. So he said, "Maren, you should come too."

As one of the three surviving soldiers of Milk House Manor, Roger had a good impression of this taciturn old soldier and felt that he should be of great use, so he specially invited Marne to the simple banquet tonight.

Upon hearing this, the silent Marne raised his glass to Roger, indicating his agreement.

Maren had a strange, inexplicable feeling about the young master Roger in front of him.

Ever since meeting Roger at Brodick Church, Maren felt that the once wicked and spoiled young master in front of him had become a different person. Previously, Maren had no good feelings towards this devilish second young master.

But this very evil spirit now possesses a completely different aura.

He had privately asked the old butler, Bard, who only said that young master Roger had been different since he woke up, and that everything was thanks to God's blessing.

On the way back to the island, Maren was filled with anxiety. He knew that with the simultaneous fall of the two knights, the Colin family had collapsed.

Two generations of his family had served the Campbell family, and he grew up with Colin I, the two being both master and servant and close friends.

Now that the Colin family has collapsed, what will become of him?

But after spending just two days together, Ma En suddenly felt that this young master Roger, who had changed his personality, might actually be able to save his family from ruin.

Of course, he still had reservations about Roger's continued association with a group of thugs.

However, Maren himself was just a country gentleman, essentially a commoner, so he didn't think that the bald man and the ponytail guy were any lowly; they were just a bunch of hooligans and lazybones.

He couldn't understand how young master Roger had led this group of thugs and ruffians to wipe out the pirates.

Marne was familiar with Ulf and knew their strength.

Roger ignored Marne's absent-mindedness and saw the young horseman carrying a bundle of mosquito-repellent grass and throwing it into the campfire. He instructed, "Igor, remember to have your mother cut some stewed meat and send it to Blackie later. Those wounded soldiers can't eat meat yet, so make some minced meat and wheat porridge for them."

The young stable boy shifted his gaze from the group of thugs who were feasting and drinking, turned around, put away his disdain, respectfully agreed, and then whispered in Roger's ear, "Young master, the old lady wants you to return to the manor to dine with her and young master Louis."

Roger frowned slightly after hearing this, thought for a moment, and said, "Tell the old lady that I will go over in a while."

The young stable boy left with his head down.

Over the next few days, Sergeant Marn temporarily took over the task of guarding the pirate Olaf. Roger gave the bald-headed, ponytail-haired thugs a break, as none of them had returned home since following Roger to kill the pirates.

Baldy and Ponytail have decided to work for Roger. Roger doesn't yet have the means to hire them at a high salary, so he's only temporarily granting them the status of manor guards, with the Milk House Manor providing them with food and lodging.

The two had tasted considerable success in their battles against pirates and were not short of money for the time being, so they were naturally willing to continue hanging out with Roger.

Blackie was still lying in the barn recovering from his injuries. He regarded Roger as his savior and vowed to become Roger's squire.

Roger agreed, saying that arrangements would be made after he recovered.

Marne was the first sergeant and agricultural instructor at Milk House Estate. He had a wife and children, fifty acres of land, and two tenant farmers. He also received a daily wage of one and a half pence on the estate.

Roger retained Marne's status and treatment.

As for the missing tooth and the gambling addict, they are just petty thugs. They can be used for small things, but don't count on them for big things. They are tasteless to eat but a pity to throw away.

So Roger simply made a polite gesture, saying he would ask for their help again if needed in the future, and then left with a gift.

Milk House Manor is not a charity; it can't afford to support too many idle people.

After personally presiding over the funerals of several fallen soldiers, Roger would visit the wounded soldiers every day, experimenting with the few folk remedies he had learned in his previous life. Under his tinkering, two of the three wounded soldiers miraculously survived.

The people of Milk House Manor firmly believed that "God bestowed divine skills upon them."

In addition, he would occasionally wander around the manor to understand the quality of the arable land, the distribution of water sources, and the scale of the ranch, and then call over Bitter Gourd Face and Maren to discuss how to overcome the manor's financial crisis.

Occasionally, her adoptive mother would force her to go to Brodick Church to worship and pray.

The rest of the time, he followed Sergeant Marne to learn how to use swords, practice riding and slashing, and try to understand the powerful English army and the weak Scottish warlord forces.

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