Release That Witch

Before entering the room, Prius was searched again. This time the search was much more detailed. From top to bottom, any place that could hide a knife or dagger was checked again, even his soles were searched.     

Then he saw the men who defeated the Duke the Coalition—Roland Wimbledon, the Fourth Prince of Graycastle, the lord of the Border Town, and the new lord of the Western Region.     

The prince had long gray hair, a symbol of his royal blood. His face looked very young, at most 20 years old. His hair was not bounded, and he did wear any crown. The fingers holding the quill pen were slender, and you could not see any jewelry or rings on his hand, not even a bracelet. This was very rare for the noble.     

"Prius Dessau, Knight of the Earl of the Elk Family?" Roland leaned against the chair and looked over his list.     

"Yes, Your Highness." Prius knelt down on one knee.     

He still could not believe that this man, who had no beard on his face, could lead a group of miners and hunters to defeat Duke Ryan.     

"Are you literate? Can you read or write? Please stand up and answer my questions."     

"I am, Your Highness. This is the most basic requirement of a knight." Swinging up, Prius stood wobbling. He suddenly remembered that being adept with both the pen and the sword did not apply to some of older knights that had been conferred in the Kingdom of Graycastle, so he added, "I mean, the new knights."     

Over the past three decades, battle accomplishments and battle skills had had a reduced role in the appointment of new knights, as many other considerations had been added. If you could not read or write, it was difficult to be chosen by the lord. The rise of Frostwind Knight in the king's city, and Morning Light in the Western Region had also taken the requirements to a new level.     

So if one desired to become a trainee knight, the first thing to learn would be reading. To reach a higher level, he also had to be proficient in all kinds of etiquette.     

But Prius did not understand why His Highness asked this question.     

"Well," said the prince, "Then I'll make the verdict now."     

This made him hold his breath instantly.     

"You have two choices. One is to become a miner in the North Slope Mine for two decades to redeem your sins. The other one is to become a teacher, teaching my people to read and write. Miners aren't slaves, rather you would be getting a salary, and you could have three days off per month. If you were to be a teacher, in addition to salary, there would also be free housing for you, and you could have two days off per week. However, if you choose the latter option, you must work until the age of 50. At that time, even if you quit the position, you'll continue to receive your salary."     

Hearing this, Prius felt relieved. It was like he had expected before, no execution or exile. But these two choices puzzled him, mining sounded like hard work, but His Highness had said there were salaries and holiday? To be a teacher, that was supposed to be the job of knowledgeable people, wasn't it? He could only write and read. And His Highness had said that he should teach his people, what did he mean? Did he mean to cultivate the civilians like noble?     

The important thing was that in that both choices there had been no remark of how his territory would be handled.     

Prius looked up at the prince, and asked carefully, "Your Highness, I don't know, if I choose one of the two, how my territory will be..."     

"From the moment you lifted the sword to me, your territory was no longer yours," Roland said bluntly, "and I've reached an agreement with the successor of the Elk Family. Your estate will be converted to gold royals as compensation to you, and when you make your choice, the new earl will send the compensation together with your family to Border Town so that he can vacate the place to recruit knights."     

Prius was worried, for there were only a house and a flock of chickens and ducks in his territory. How much could these things be worth? The new earl would certainly take a big discount. It was hard to say if there were 30 gold royals or not. The earl had just died, and his successor would abandon him. Prius was disappointed.     

"As an accomplice to the rebels, this is a minor verdict," said Roland. "Why regret a bare territory? Whether you choose to be a miner or a teacher, you would have enough money to buy land in Border Town."     

Hearing this, Prius resumed a little again. He did not want to be a miner, as for the other choice... "Your Highness, how much is a teacher's salary?"     

"Junior teachers receive 20 silver royals per month, with an increase of five each year until the age of 50. After the age of 50, the salary will be calculated on the basis of the maximum growth. Incidentally, the right can't be inherited or transferred."     

Prius calculated that with nearly three gold royals every year, in addition to the increase every year, in about four or five years, he would have the revenue of his territory's. "Your Highness, what does junior teacher mean? Are there other categories?"     

"Of course. The junior teachers only teach reading and writing, while secondary and senior teachers have to teach all subjects, as long as you have the ability which is beneficial to the development of Border Town, you can take the job." Roland sat up. "Do you have any good skills? I don't need riding and fencing."     

"I'm not good at these skills anyway," Prius thought. He hesitated and then spoke, "Your Highness, I'm good at raising chickens and ducks, and I'm also good at fishing. Do these skills work?" The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted it. The skills he had said could not be considered skills. Chicken and ducks could be alive in the wild by themselves. And noblemen liked to raise birds and cats, but this was just their hobby. They never dedicated to raising these small animals. As for fishing, this was the same as the hunting which was just a personal hobby.     

His Highness was actually interested in the first part of his sentence. "Oh, how to raise poultry? Please tell me about it."     

"Well, according to the experience I've gained in the territory, they'll grow faster if fed with some corn, rather than the full stocking. And if the grain is mixed with sand, they'll also grow fast, meanwhile, the food can be saved. You need to build a shed in a ventilated place, which can keep out rain, wind and sun. Especially in summer, if there's no shed, the hen will probably stop laying eggs. And in winter, if you put straw inside, you can avoid the chickens freezing to death. In addition, if the chickens are fed some fish every month, then the flocks are less likely to get sick. Of course, the cleaning of chicken manure is also very important..."     

His Highness started laughing. "Not bad! It seems that the noble of the Western Region isn't completely useless."     

"Your Highness?" Prius did not understand.     

Fortunately, Roland Wimbledon quickly solved his worries. "I'll let people buy some chickens and ducks from Longsong Stronghold, and I'll give some land west of the border to you to raise the poultry there. If you do well and teach the raising method to others, the remuneration will be the same as the secondary teachers. The salary starts with 50 silver royals per month in the first year, with an increase of ten each year. But if it fails, North Slope is your only choice."