Chapter 166: Nobles’ Release Method |
In the study inside the castle…
“Are you not going to go shopping with Anri and the others?” Liu Feng propped his head with one hand, his black eyes fixated on Mina sitting at the corner of the desk. She only occupied half of the desk, with her petite feet dangling.
“…” Mina shook her head, munching on fried fish in her mouth. Her blue eyes met Liu Feng’s gaze, and she soon blushed and looked away in defeat.
Knock knock.
Someone knocked on the door, and Niu Ben’s voice ran out. “Young Master, I’ve brought the person here.”
“Damn peasants, how dare you treat a noble like this?” Niu Ben’s voice was soon followed by a disgusting one, which made both Liu Feng and Mina frown.
“Come in!” Liu Feng raised an eyebrow, rested his elbow on the table, and clasped his hands together as he watched the two enter the room.
Niu Ben carried Omar into the study by his collar and pushed him down onto a chair in front of the desk. Omar’s were tied to the armrests.
“Who are you people? Don’t you know that arresting a baron is a capital offense? You’re going to be hanged!” Baron Omar’s eyes were bloodshot, his anger burning.
“Yes, sir!” Niu Ben nodded slightly. He had been with Liu Feng for a while, and he knew some of Liu Feng’s bad habits noble manners- things must be orderly and symmetrical.
Slap!
Omar was confused. His intact cheek was slapped, and he felt a bit dizzy. In the dungeon, I was slapped as soon as I started cursing. How come I got awarded with a slap just for shouting a few words?
“Mhmm, much better,” Liu Feng said, looking at Omar’s symmetrically swollen face, relaxing his furrowed brows.
“Who are you? Where am I?” Omar obediently sat on the chair, staring at Liu Feng. In a stern voice, he asked, “Do you know who I am?”
“Baron Omar, planner and greatest beneficiary of the horse thieves’ attack on North Wind City. Is that right?” Liu Feng said calmly.
“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Omar’s expression changed slightly. He said angrily, “You’re slandering me! Slandering a nobleman like me, I want to du…”
“You want to what?” Mina toyed with the military knife in her hand, her blue eyes narrowing slightly.
“I… nothing!” Omar shrunk his neck. Scared, he said, “I am a noble with morals. How could I plan an attack on North Wind City with horse thieves?” Whether or not they’ve actually found out, I just have to keep denying it. Since they’ve locked me up and kept me alive for 2 days, they must have something they want.
“Oh?” Liu Feng raised an eyebrow. Denying it? He took out a sheepskin scroll from a drawer and held it up in front of Omar. “So, is this sheepskin scroll with your signature also fake?”
“This…” Omar’s pupils contracted, his heart tightening. How could it be fake? He had signed the scroll himself. How did it end up here? Where’s Carter? Did he betray me?
“Yes, it’s fake, it’s definitely fake. The horse thieves must have forged it,” Omar insisted, refusing to admit it. If he did, he would basically be sending himself to his death.
“I see, so this is fake.” Liu Feng smirked. He said slowly, “But this sheepskin scroll was handed to me by the envoy of Blazing Horse City. Was he a fake? Or perhaps, you are not Baron Omar?”
“What?” Omar stared at Liu Feng, his gums almost bleeding from clenching his teeth too hard. I can’t believe it’s because of that Lyan. And to think that I trusted his character!
“Sure enough, I’d rather trust envoy Lyan,” Liu Feng’s eyes flashed with a hint of amusement. He said in a deep voice, “Take this fake Baron Omar to be hanged publicly.”
“Yes!” Niu Ben moved to grab Omar.
“No, no… that, that scroll was signed by me, it was me! I am Baron Omar!” Omar yelled desperately upon hearing that he was going to be hanged.
“Oh?” Liu Feng raised an eyebrow. In a low voice, he said, “So, you admit that you planned and organized the horse thieves’ attack on North Wind City?”
“What if I did?” Omar straightened his back. If he couldn’t fool them, he might as well admit it. He didn’t believe that Liu Feng would dare to kill him.
“Interesting, a noble turned out to be the biggest bandit,” Liu Feng said, his hands resting on the table, his black eyes sharp. “I think that killing you now won’t cause any trouble, even if you are a noble.”
“No! Who the hell are you? Privately prosecuting a noble is a crime! You will be sent to be hanged by the king!” Omar yelled anxiously.
“It doesn’t matter who I am, what matters is that you will die.” Liu Feng said calmly.
“No, you can’t kill me. My father is a count, Count Pulley. If you kill me, my lord father won’t let you off,” Omar panicked, trying to intimidate Liu Feng with his father.
“Oh? Count Pulley?” Liu Feng raised an eyebrow. That’s the first piece of information.
“Yes!” Omar saw Liu Feng’s hesitation and hurriedly shouted, “Count Pulley has 200 knights. They are in another league compared to the horse thieves under me.
“So what? If I secretly kill you, Count Pulley won’t know.” Liu Feng narrowed his eyes. Second piece of information, get! 200 knights, quite a strong force. If he forcibly conscripts civilians, he’ll be able to make a force of a thousand people.
“No! I can have my father send ransom!” Omar hastily shouted. In this world, there were 3 ways to deal with a captive noble: kill them, enslave them, or return them after the other party paid ransom. In most cases, noble captives were dealt with by ransom, as that was the most beneficial.
“Oh? How much ransom do you think Count Pulley would offer?” Liu Feng asked curiously.
“50 gold coins.” Omar blurted out. Seeing no change in Liu Feng’s expression, he quickly said, “No, 100 gold coins.”
“A hundred gold coins?” Liu Feng’s lips curved up, his voice calm. “100 gold coins are hardly tempting.”
“You?” Omar widened his eyes. 100 gold coins was the ransom for a viscount.
“Take him to the black ore mine,” Liu Feng said, waving his hand. “You mine for me for 100 years. If you are still alive by then, I’ll let you go.”
“Understood!” Niu Ben nodded.
“What? 100 years? Mining? In the black ore mine?” Omar’s eyes bulged, and he desperately shouted, “No, no, please, just kill me…”
“Shut up!”
Slap!
