Theodore took a deep breath, his lips moved. The words came to his mouth but were swallowed back. He seemed to be afraid of something.
"Hey, is your throat blocked by a stone?" Little Klein behind Simon looked at Theodore with red blood on his clothes, and couldn't help but hold his hand on the ax handle at his waist, "What do you want to say? Just say it.”
"Lord, I'm sorry to bring you some unfortunate news." Theodore found it so difficult to speak out when he actually stood in front of the lord. He still didn't know the character of this new lord. Too afraid of facing unknown punishment, “Last night, someone murdered your cattle and sheep on the ranch.”
"Hmm," Simon raised his eyebrows. It was really unforgivable that someone dared to provoke him when he had just taken office. "Who did it? How much was the loss?"
"I don't know who did it," Theodore's legs were trembling, and his voice was trembling. "A cattle and a sheep died."
Simon pondered for a while, and when he spoke again, it seemed to stimulate Theodore's highly tense nerves, causing him to jump with a "wow" sound.
The guard at the door immediately drew his weapon from his waist and rushed in, only to realize that it was a false alarm.
"Don't be so nervous. I'm not a devil, and I won't eat you." Simon rubbed his forehead and said with a headache. "Now let's start the ranch and don't let anyone in. Little Klein, send someone to ride a horse." Dehays, let Sir Bill come to Asby with his hounds, he knows what to do."
"Okay, sir." After little Klein said this, he took a deep look at Theodore and walked towards the door of the tower.
"What were you doing last night? Don't animals make any sound when they are killed?" Simon looked at Theodore with careful eyes. He always felt that there was something strange about this matter.
"This is my fault, sir." Theodore almost buried his head in the soles of his feet. "Originally, I was supposed to go to the small house next to the pasture to watch the night, but in the evening there was a businessman who came from the south path. He came to me to ask for directions, and after asking, he wanted to buy me a drink as a thank you. I thought, since nothing has happened for several years, it wouldn’t be a problem to have a drink tonight, but I didn’t expect..."
"Suspicious businessman," Simon stroked his golden curly beard, "What happens next?"
"The businessman had a strong foreigner accent. We went to the Stump Tavern together. He was extremely enthusiastic. After buying me a drink, he helped me refill it. I thought, a fool would not drink when someone invites me to drink. Then I I can’t remember anything clearly. When I woke up at dawn, the traveling merchant was gone. When I returned to the ranch, there was blood all over the pen and there were frightened animals everywhere.”
"He had accomplices and it was all carefully planned."
Simon felt very angry. Was this a threat given to the new lord by some people in the village? Or is it simply a frame-up targeting the good old Theodore? Or is it that Theodore directed and acted all of this?
As a shepherd who helped the lord raise livestock, Theodore had no motive to do such a stupid thing to harm himself. In the end, he would be punished no matter what. What's more, the villagers have a pretty good opinion of him.
So is this a prestige given to oneself by some people? The faces of Mayor Duden, Militiaman Adam, and Priest Hannes quickly flashed in Simon's mind, and each of them had varying degrees of suspicion.
"Theodore, no matter what, this is your dereliction of duty. You are responsible for the death of these two animals." Simon knocked on the wooden armrest of the armchair. "I remember that according to the previous practice, the lord was responsible for the death of these two animals every quarter. You have to be paid. Starting from this season, your salary is gone. When will it be enough? The price of these two animals will be enough, and when will your salary be restored?"
Theodore showed a hurt expression. He couldn't help but lift up the hem of his clothes that was stained with tears and dirt and wiped the sweat from his forehead, but it became dirtier and dirtier the more he wiped it. Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, Simon's next words made him feel like he was falling into an ice cave.
"If another animal dies due to your negligence during this period, you should hand over all your property to me to pay off the debt, and then get out of the territory."
"I remember, Lord Lord, I promise this will never happen again! Even if someone gives me gold next time, I will never leave the ranch again!"
………………………………
At lunch, Simon found himself a little anorexic.
It was really a frustrating thing. Day after day of bread, wheat porridge, bacon stew and cheese made Simon feel more and more nauseated, and the fish soup used to replace meat during the fasting days always had a lingering smell. The fishy smell dropped.
Simon thought he had had enough and couldn't take it anymore.
He urgently needs an iron pot and spatula for frying vegetables, so that these medieval hillbillies can see what real delicacy is.
"When I go to Deventer Church to find Brother Linde in a few days, I must bring back a blacksmith. It's really damning."
Simon's growling stomach brought Simon back to reality, and he had to suppress the unreasonable nausea and pile food into his mouth.
In the afternoon, Simon took little Klein to find the number one suspect in his mind, Mayor Duden, to learn about the situation.
The old pervert and his nephew Adam went to see the widow Susie again last night. When Duden heard the news that the ranch was attacked, the old guy was surprised.
Simon observed his expression carefully. The surprise seemed to come from his bones. Simon did not see anything wrong.
"Am I paranoid?" Simon shook his head.
Simon asked Duden a few more questions, such as whether there were any suspicious people in the village recently and whether he had witnessed the murderer last night, but he did not get satisfactory answers.
Now, Duden and his nephew Adam had a perfect alibi.
Just as Simon was about to leave, Duden asked him a question: "How to deal with Theodore who neglected his duty?"
Simon cheered up, looked into Duden's eyes again and said, "In view of the fact that this was a well-planned attack, I have decided to waive Theodore's quarterly salary until the losses of the two livestock are repaid."
For a moment, Simon caught a subtle hint of disappointment, but Duden quickly smiled and added: "Lord, I think this punishment is too light for Theodore. I heard from the tavern owner Herta Said, Theodore is an out-and-out drunkard, and God knows what losses he will bring to you in the future!"
"Oh? Then what should you do?" Simon said to Duden in as calm a tone as possible.
He vaguely felt that the fox was about to reveal its tail, but he must not let it slip away.
"Let Theodore go away, and let the miller Cliff take his place." Duden's words were about to slip out of his throat, but he was also keenly aware of the different charm in Simon's tone, so he immediately Swallowing back the words that came to his lips, he smiled flatteringly.
"You are the lord, and you are the biggest master of this land." Duden's flattering face that disgusted Simon appeared again. "Now that you have made a decision, how can I have any objection? I respect it. All your decisions, my lord."
"snort!"
Simon's face turned cold, and Duden knew that this time the flattery was on the horse's leg.
"What a moody and difficult guy to maintain." Duden secretly cursed.
…………………………
In the evening, Bill returned to Esbai Village with his hound and messenger.
"Good day, my lord." Bill smiled, jumped off the horse, and handed the reins to the stable boy.
"How is the new territory, Sir Bill?" Simon noticed that Bill had pinned the sword he had given him last time in the most conspicuous place.
"To be honest, sir, it's a little tricky," Bill smiled bitterly, "There was a guy in the lumberyard who heard the news about the old lord's escape. He took the risk and stole a carriage full of wood in the middle of the night to escape. I was I led someone to intercept him. I executed him, and now the people are a little afraid of me."
"You did the right thing," Simon patted Bill on the shoulder. "As a lord, you can't condone these things happening. At the same time, you can't guarantee that every citizen is satisfied with you. Come on, let's enter the tower. Dinner is ready."
Bill was eating bread at the dining table and listening to Simon recount what had happened last night.
"The murderer must be framing the sheepherder Theodore," Bill expressed his first opinion after hearing this. "If they just wanted to get the mutton and beef, they wouldn't just stab the animals to death and run away."
"You're right." Simon nodded in agreement. Bill was indeed a wily man, and he grasped the core of the matter in one fell swoop.
"Based on this, the murderer who killed the cattle and sheep must have received greater benefits than fresh meat from the people behind the scenes. Otherwise, I believe those greedy guys would definitely cut off a few pieces of meat and take them away as trophies. ” Bill then reasoned.
"So, do you think the person behind the scenes is in the village, and the murderer of the cattle and sheep may be a bandit wandering in the nearby forest?"
"It's very possible. Since there are bandits in the mountains and forests collecting money and operating in the village, there must be someone in the middle who is pulling the strings. I think the miller Colliff who lives by the river may have some connections with those unscrupulous people. There is contact.”
"I'll send someone to ask him tomorrow." Simon knocked on the table with his hand.
"Then, I will set out from the pasture with the hounds tomorrow to find the murderer of the cattle and sheep." Bill spat the chicken bones under the shelf table and wiped his mouth. "Since the damn thief has livestock stains on him, Blood, I don’t believe I can’t find them. Once we catch the murderer and interrogate him severely, we will know who is behind it.”
