A low-intensity skirmish in the wilderness had concluded.
Ron patrolled the surroundings, and after confirming there was no danger, he returned to the battlefield, raising his sword to deliver a finishing blow to the wounded enemies who lay on the ground, not yet dead.
Art waved his hand, stopping Ron's action, and commanded, "Ron, no need for the finishing blow. They are still useful. Go tell Bass that he only needs to occupy the small stone fort and guard the main passage of the Manor. Don't bother with anyone else. It's been so long, and a small Manor still hasn't been taken down. The wounded Soldiers are waiting to be treated."
Bass and Kazak were ordered to take seven or eight Soldiers to occupy Winston Manor. Many Patrol Team Soldiers and serfs who had fled from the Manor had returned, so Bass and his team found it difficult to clear them out immediately.
After another moment, Bass ran over to tell Art that Winston Manor had been occupied and cleared. Art then ordered Odo to transport all the wounded Soldiers to Winston Manor.
"Escort these enemy wounded and prisoners into the Manor and lock them up. Keep a close watch on that ear-missing fat pig. Send people to guard the surroundings. I need to rush back to Tinietz.", Art commanded Bass.
"Ron, go get the horses. You'll return to Tinietz with me to see Lord Pierre.", he said, then mounted his horse and rode away.
...
Inside Tinietz City, Viscount Pierre was loudly reprimanding the Captain of the City Guard in his office: "What's the use of you reporting now? Why didn't you stop that fat pig? Tell me, what do we do now?!"
"Lord, who knew that Bob fellow would actually lead those people to ambush the Patrol Team?"
"Alright, alright. Quickly take thirty Guardsmen to Winston Manor. Pray that those Patrol Team fellows haven't had time to chop off Bob's pig head yet!"
"How do you know it's definitely Bob who was killed?" the Captain grumbled.
"What do you know? Go quickly!"
Just as the City Guard Captain was about to leave to gather Soldiers, the Attendant outside the door reported that Patrol Officer Art requested an audience.
What was bound to happen had arrived. Pierre quickly thought about how to resolve this difficult mess.
Art entered the office and stood silently before Pierre's square table.
After a while, Viscount Pierre finally spoke, "I know everything that happened. Is Bob still alive?"
Art pulled out half an ear from his pocket and placed it on Pierre's wooden table.
Pierre glanced at the half-ear, his heart relaxing, and said, "That's good. He does need a lesson, otherwise, he'll think the whole world belongs to him. However, I hope you'll consider this calmly. After all, the people behind him are not someone you or I can afford to offend. If you kill him, you won't be able to live well in Burgundy County."
"Lord, if I wanted to kill him, I wouldn't have kept him alive until now," Art replied coldly.
"However, my Soldiers suffered heavy casualties. You must give me an explanation! Otherwise, the Minister of Public Security and Bishop Olov won't let you off the hook so easily."
The Attendant Captain, standing by, seeing Art's lack of reverence for Viscount Pierre, shouted, "Art, what do you think you are? Sitting before you is a titled noble. And don't always bring up the Court and the Bishop. Who doesn't know what you used to be..."
"Jerry, shut up," Pierre reprimanded the Attendant Captain.
Pierre rose from his armchair, glanced at Art and Ron behind him, sighed, and said, "Alright, let's discuss how to clean up this foolish mess."
Art presented his conditions one by one: First, immediately dispatch Medical Officers and priests from Tinietz City to Winston Manor to treat the wounded Soldiers; Second, Tinietz would pay to redeem Bob and the Patrol Team Soldiers; Third, Eiot, the Lord of Winston Manor, would be left to the Patrol Team's discretion.
"Art, I agree to your first condition. I will immediately send Medical Officers to Winston Manor. The second condition can be considered. But I cannot agree to the third condition, because Winston Manor is land granted by Lord Deputy of the Court Bernal Capet to Eiot's father. Now that old Sir Eiot has passed away, the Manor theoretically becomes the Lord Deputy's direct fief. If you intend to seize Winston Manor, you must consider how to face the Lord Deputy's wrath. However, there are some of Eiot's personal assets in Winston Manor, which you can discuss with him."
This time, Pierre mostly did not refuse Art's conditions for three reasons. First, Art was a direct officer of the Minister of Public Security, and Tinietz County had no authority to directly deal with him. If Art truly reported the origin of this mess to the Minister of Public Security, Pierre would surely be questioned by the Court. Second, Bob and the Patrol Team Soldiers were all detained in Winston Manor. Pierre could ignore the lives of those Bastards in the Patrol Team, but he could not let Bob die within his jurisdiction; he dared not offend the Vice Minister. Third, Pierre was a man who appreciated talent. He admired this mysterious and ruthless fellow before him.
Art ultimately received two thousand five hundred fenny in ransom and five thousand pounds of grain and seeds from Viscount Pierre as compensation for the Patrol Team's battle losses. As a condition, Art had to ensure Bob and the remaining Patrol Team Soldiers, along with their weapons, were safely returned to Tinietz City. At the same time, Art had to withdraw from Winston Manor by noon the next day and ensure the Manor was not damaged or extensively plundered.
When Art returned to Winston Manor with Attendant Captain Jerry, a few Medical Officers, and priests, Odo told him another piece of bad news—shortly after they left Winston Manor, Eiot, who had escaped death in the wilderness skirmish, seeing the Manor occupied, desperately tried to retake it with a few Manor Guards and serfs. After killing a Patrol Team Soldier on watch at the Manor entrance, he was captured by Odo, who arrived in time, and had an arm chopped off.
"Bastard! How did you arrange the sentry posts?! Are your eyes all blind?!" Art was utterly enraged, as no Soldier had died in the battle, yet after the battle, one was actually killed by someone else.
"Drag that Bastard up here!"
Eiot, the Lord of Wincheston Manor, his face ashen, was dragged up like a dead dog by Bass and a few others. Art, seething with rage, ignored the Attendant Captain's dissuasion and chopped off Eiot's head with a single sword stroke.
Art looked at the Attendant Captain with bloodshot eyes and said softly, "Lord Jerry, you can take Lord Bob and his Soldiers back to report."
The Attendant Captain was also startled by Art's "brutality." "Lord Art, I don't mean to criticize you, but I'm afraid the Lord Deputy of the Court will be difficult to explain to after you killed Eiot."
"Thank you for your reminder."
"Odo, see Lord Jerry off. Then send two combat teams on armed patrol. If anyone enters or exits the Manor, kill them without exception!"
After the Attendant Captain left the Manor with the fat Bob and a group of Soldiers, Art said to Ron beside him, "Ron, go find paper and a pen. I'll write a letter, and you ride overnight to Lucerne and personally deliver it to Bishop Olov Hannes. Tell him..."
Looking at the figure on two horses galloping north, Art clenched his left hand on the sword hilt, then turned and commanded, "Odo, commandeer all oxcarts and carriages in the Manor. Take all the money, grain, and supplies that can be taken. Distribute all the grain and seeds in the granary that cannot be taken to the serfs in the Manor. Tonight, we will return south overnight."
"Yes, Lord! What about Eiot's wife and children?"
"Leave them some rations and hand them over to the priests."
"Yes!"
Upon learning of Eiot's death, Viscount Pierre arrived at Winston Manor early the next morning with over thirty City Guard Soldiers. By the time they reached the Manor, the Patrol Team, which had "looted" Winston Manor clean, had already vanished without a trace.
Seeing the Manor itself intact and no further casualties, Pierre breathed a sigh of relief and muttered to himself, "That Art fellow at least knows his limits."
...
Six days later, in the Marquis's Palace at Besançon Court, the voice of Lord Deputy of the Court Bernal Capet grew louder and louder, almost a roar, "Lord Marquis, these are the people under Lord Baldwin! They dared to openly besiege and occupy my Manor, kill the son of one of my knights, and plunder my Manor's property. Lord Marquis, I ask you to give me justice and behead that Bastard who disregards royal law."
The Minister of Public Security, who had been sitting silently on a wooden stool below Lord Deputy Bernal, suddenly stood up and retorted, "Vice Minister, you keep saying that my Patrol Officer attacked your Manor without reason, plundered your property, and killed your vassal, but the information I received is quite different from what you said." As he spoke, the Minister of Public Security took out an unsealed wax-sealed letter from his sleeve and presented it with both hands to Marquis Ivrea.
"Lord Marquis, this is a letter delivered yesterday by Bishop Olov Hannes of Lucerne. Bishop Olov Hannes is willing to vouch for the letter's authenticity. Please take a look."
The Marquis took the parchment, opened it, and read it for a while, then looked up, staring at the Lord Deputy of the Court, and asked, "Bernal, where did you get the news that Winston Manor was attacked and plundered, and its Lord killed?"
The Vice Minister glanced at the parchment letter in the Marquis's hand and replied, "It was sent by Sheriff Bob Scory of Tinietz City via fast horse. He also suffered serious injuries during the battle to rescue the occupied Manor."
The Marquis turned to the elderly Court Prime Minister sitting at the head of the table and asked, "Prime Minister, has Pierre reported this matter to you?"
"Lord Marquis, the Court only receives a post-letter from Tinietz once every five days. Based on the timing, Pierre's letter should have already arrived at the Court. I will send someone to check immediately."
"Bring it to me quickly."
In a moment, a Court Attendant handed a perfectly wax-sealed post-letter to the Marquis. He opened the post-letter and compared the two letters for a while.
"Hmph, Vice Minister, take a look." The Marquis said, throwing the two letters to the Vice Minister, whose forehead was beaded with cold sweat.
Before the Vice Minister could finish reading the letters in his hand, the Minister of Public Security's voice rang out again: "Lord Marquis, this Patrol Officer named Art has, since taking office last year, cleared out two groups of bandits and killed four robbers, including a notorious bandit who had been rampant in the Southern Border for many years. Furthermore, he has trained an elite team and is currently patrolling various parts of the Southern Border to maintain public order, suppress bandits, and apprehend thieves, all under orders."
The Minister of Public Security paused, glanced at the Vice Minister, and continued, "And as far as I know, this Tinietz Sheriff named Bob, whom the Vice Minister speaks of, in his more than a year in office, has not only failed to apprehend a single robber or vagrant, but it is also rumored that he has been committing misdeeds and oppressing the good people during his tenure as Tinietz Sheriff. Last autumn and winter, a large number of displaced people flooded into the Southern Border. The Court ordered various regions to clear out vagrants and mountain bandits, but this Sheriff not only failed to catch a single bandit, but instead chopped off the heads of many commoners to falsely claim military merits..."
The long-simmering rivalry between Lord Deputy of the Court Bernal and Minister of Public Security Baldwin was finally ignited by a small Manor incident in the Southern Border of the Earl.
One day later, the outcome of the Winston Manor incident was announced. Tinietz Sheriff Bob Scory was stripped of all his duties and recalled to Besançon to await disposition. Bob, who had hoped to be knighted after achieving military merits in the Southern Border, had his hopes dashed. As for the punishment for Southern Border Patrol Officer Art, it was rather lenient—Southern Border Patrol Officer Art was ordered to return all materials plundered from Winston Manor and was forbidden from stepping foot on Winston Manor territory ever again.
