Chapter 548: Lady

“Oh! We must go into the castle immediately… My Tanasha and little Owen must follow me. They mustn’t go anywhere else!”

Wu Ming followed Lori’an into the mansion, walking down a corridor when suddenly a high-pitched soprano voice came from inside the hall.

“Madam, please remain calm!”

Another deep male voice said: “Although the young lady and young master are still small, they both carry noble blood and have reached the age to take on responsibilities… This time, if Viscount Garcia demands attendants, only the two legitimate children will satisfy him…”

“Heaven forbid! May the dragon take him away!”

A woman’s crying voice came: “My poor Tanasha, she’s only nine years old!”

“Cough cough!”

At this moment, Lori’an finally couldn’t hold back and coughed once, then entered the hall.

“Madam, I’ve brought William for you. He held out until the last moment on the battlefield and might know more information…”

“Respected madam!”

Wu Ming secretly rolled his eyes but still bowed meticulously, as he had not yet mastered the power to earn respect.

“I don’t want to see any William… I only want my Tanasha and Owen to be safe!”

Wu Ming stole a glance at the baroness. She wore a black dress, seemed to be under thirty, but heavy makeup masked her original face. Her eyes were swollen and dark-rimmed, clearly showing signs of neurosis.

“I must write to my father immediately! The Tout family won’t sit idly by for this!”

The baroness kissed the foreheads of the two children in front of her. It was clear that they were both frightened.

“We have blue blood and are born noble! We will never surrender!”

“Cough cough!”

At this moment, an old silver-haired man beside her, dressed neatly like a butler with his hair slicked back, coughed once: “Respected madam, I must remind you that your father, Baron Tout, is also one of the captives this time. Moreover, although Viscount Garcia is an outsider, he has inherited the bloodline of the Highland Lion and is also nobility…”

“Nine layers of hell…”

The baroness despairingly covered her forehead: “I must head to the castle immediately! Then summon knights Off and Takur, bringing their best men, immediately!”

“Your will shall be carried out!”

The old butler sighed helplessly as he bowed.

Seeing this, Lori’an shrugged helplessly at Wu Ming: “Then I’ll take my leave, madam!”

After leaving the lord’s mansion, Wu Ming let out a sigh of relief.

The baroness’ attitude allowed him to pass easily, which was also a relief.

From now on, no one could bring up his experience as a deserter.

Of course, knowing this, Wu Ming immediately expressed his gratitude to Lori’an.

“It’s what you deserve!”

Lori’an patted Wu Ming’s shoulder: “Also, after this, your military service for this year is considered completed. If the baron calls upon you again, he must pay compensation… Of course, I suggest you take it on voluntarily to build up merits. There are quite a few vacancies in the guards this time…”

He looked at Wu Ming with a knowing expression before striding away.

“That’s strange…”

Wu Ming watched the man leave, his eyes filled with confusion.

Lori’an had always been indifferent to him before, so why did he seem to treat him differently this time?

Could it be because he heard about Wu Ming’s performance on the battlefield and started to appreciate his talent? Unfortunately, if he knew that William had been paralyzed by fear, he might have a completely different expression.

“Of course, this is also an opportunity!”

William’s memories told Wu Ming how rare this opportunity was.

In the entire territory, most people were peasants, slaves, and other lower classes. If he could be recommended by Lori’an and truly become a regular soldier, although it wouldn’t immediately elevate him to the upper class, at least his status would be greatly improved.

Only by establishing merits or gaining the lord’s recognition could one obtain the status of a freeman!

“Getting closer to the castle will allow me to obtain more information about this world, such as knight training…”

Wu Ming recalled William’s memories.

To become a knight, one must first become a squire.

This profession was usually filled by younger sons of minor nobles or knights. They would be sent to a familiar knight’s family from an early age, living with the lord and learning to care for horses, polish armor, and use lances and greatswords in combat.

Once their family accumulated a set of knight armor and earned sufficient merits for the lord, they might be granted an estate as a fief and officially become part of the knight class, the reserve nobility.

As for the true noble heirs? They were either trained from childhood as heirs or sent to serve larger nobles as pages, as proof of loyalty, while learning various knowledge, with a hint of being a hostage.

“With my true soul essence, I’m more inclined towards magic… But now having a physical world power system as a reference is also good…”

Wu Ming was quite open-minded.

Although he didn’t know what secrets this knight heritage held, he believed it must have some unique aspects that could benefit him now.

“William?”

He casually walked to a tavern, where a woman in an apron happened to come out and stared at him in disbelief.

“Oh! Poor little William!”

Her face first showed disbelief, then delight: “May the gods bless you! You’re alive!”

“I’m sorry to have worried you, Aunt Roa!”

Wu Ming slightly bowed.

William’s memories contained impressions of this woman. He had been an orphan since childhood, surviving by working for Aunt Roa, who ran a tavern, and she had taken good care of him.

Of course, there was also her daughter—Sophia, a seventeen-year-old girl in her most youthful and beautiful time.

The young William had already started pursuing this girl, seriously considering the possibility of marrying her, until he went to war…

“It’s okay, you’re safe!”

Aunt Roa wiped her eyes and pulled Wu Ming into the tavern: “You haven’t eaten yet, right?”

“Yes, please give me a bowl of cream mushroom soup and three oatmeal breads!”

Wu Ming patted his stomach, took out a dozen copper coins, and firmly placed them in Aunt Roa’s hand.

After a round on the battlefield, he had at least gained this much.

“Okay, wait a moment…”

After watching Aunt Roa go to the back, Wu Ming sat down at a table in the corner, quietly observing his surroundings.

As the only tavern in the small town, Aunt Roa’s business was fairly decent. The spacious hall was currently occupied by several people, but there were no adventurers or bards to be seen. Most were locals drinking low-alcohol barley wine from oak cups and chatting casually to pass the time.

“Look! Little William is back!”

A man with a red nose teased: “I hope you haven’t lost any parts on the battlefield… hic…”

“Thanks to your blessing, I’m safe and sound!”

Wu Ming didn’t mind his joke, knowing it was just harmless teasing.

“William, here you go!”

At this moment, a girl wearing a coarse linen dress ran out like the wind, carrying a wooden tray with a bowl of soup and three thick brown bread slices, especially a piece of bacon that had been fried in oil, emitting a fragrant aroma of meat.

“Everyone!”

Sophia announced loudly: “My mother said to celebrate William’s safe return, the next round of ale is on us!”

“Oh!”

The drunks were delighted and raised their cups again: “To that lucky young man, cheers!”

Wu Ming looked at Sophia, who had run back to the kitchen but was secretly watching him, touched his nose, and felt a bit embarrassed.

From William’s perspective, Sophia was naturally like a fairy.

But he wasn’t William, and he certainly didn’t want to get involved with that person’s past anymore.

The mushroom soup was fragrant and rich in flavor. Aunt Roa’s cooking skills were obviously quite good. The oatmeal bread was much softer and tastier than the lowest quality black bread.

Wu Ming sandwiched the bacon between two slices of bread and ate heartily, a string of memories resurfacing.

As a member of the lower class, William had naturally endured much hardship. His staple food was usually hard black bread as tough as bricks. The coarse, sawdust-like texture was unforgettable to William, especially if eaten dry without soaking first, it could definitely knock out a few teeth and was so difficult to swallow that you might want to use the handle of a knife to push it down your throat.

“This body is too weak and congenitally deficient…”

Wu Ming sighed inwardly.

After gaining a stable life, the first thing to do was to improve his physical condition.

Without this foundation, no matter how much training or improvement he pursued, it would all be in vain.

After eating his fill and thanking Aunt Roa repeatedly, Wu Ming finally arrived at his residence—William’s small cottage.

It was located at the edge of the town, crooked and leaning, looking like a shack ready to collapse at any moment, which made Wu Ming feel speechless.

Creak!

He pushed open the door, and a musty smell immediately wafted out. The murky air was filled with dust, causing him to frown involuntarily.

“There’s not much worth tidying up… except…”

Wu Ming went to the corner of the room, moved aside a stone slab, and dug into the earth, finally unearthing a small black pouch.

He shook it slightly, and a crisp sound came from inside.

He opened the pouch and poured out its contents. A few silver coins and copper coins rolled out, gleaming with silver light.

“Three silver thalers and some copper coins—that’s all of William’s worldly possessions…”

Wu Ming sighed.

Even though he had left the battlefield and picked up a bit of loot from the dead, it was still much more than this, making him feel the disparity.

“Fortunately, this person is an orphan, and the only person with any connection is Aunt Roa’s family. Being free of attachments means the least amount of karmic entanglements…”

This was the aspect Wu Ming was most satisfied with.