British hegemon

Chapter 48 Conferring of the Title of Knight

The date is August 15, 1305 AD.

At noon, the weather was clear, sunny, and breezy.

On the road to Brodick Castle, a tall young master was carried on the back of a short, stubby, spotted horse.

The young master was tall and strong, with long, slightly curly, yellowish brown hair. His narrow, elongated eyes stared coldly ahead, carrying a hint of gloom.

Chainmail, throat guard, shoulder guards, gauntlets, neck guard, knight's longsword and helmet, one after another, armed him to the teeth. These were all relics of his "father and brother", and naturally became his private property.

A brand-new tartan blanket was draped over the shoulders of his chainmail, the ends of which were tucked into a leather belt around his waist. This flamboyant combination was the minimum respect a Scotsman should show for important occasions, even though he didn't like it.

At this moment, young master Roger was no longer the spoiled brat he had been when he appeared in Lockranza Village a month or so ago; he was now a valiant knight.

Behind Zama followed three fully armed foot guards.

Following closely behind Roger was Sergeant Marne, whose worn-out brown clothes and woolen cloak had finally been replaced with cloth armor. He wore a disc helmet seized from pirates, and a half-sword hung from his leather belt. His muscular build, combined with his excellent weapons and armor, made him look no less shabby than the average knight.

Beside Marne stood two people: one bald and one with a ponytail.

Now that the two are guards at the Milk House Manor, they no longer have official status as thugs, so their clothing and appearance are naturally different from before.

The two were similar in build and dressed alike—two show-offs who, to attract attention, disregarded the sweltering heat and wore a layer of cotton armor under their half-body chainmail. They held an iron-winged short spear in one hand and a kite shield in the other, with a single-handed sword hanging at their waist, a symbol of their status, even though neither of them knew how to use a sword.

Sitting on horseback, Roger glanced at the two conspicuous bags, which were covered in sweat under the scorching sun, and couldn't help but shake his head.

Beside the bald man with the ponytail, the sour-faced Bud and the young stable boy Igor followed closely behind in a mule-drawn carriage. At the front of the carriage sat Roger's stepmother—the haggard-looking Mrs. Mary—and Roger's brother Louis.

At the back of the carriage were neatly stacked the inheritance tax Roger had "promised" to pay to the lord—weapons and armor.

Roger certainly couldn't obediently hand over all the weapons and armor as Baron John demanded; that wasn't his style.

In addition to the weapons and armor already worn by Marne and the bald man with the ponytail, they also secretly kept two sets of cotton armor and belts, four disc helmets, four short spears, four shields, two swords, three crossbows and arrows, all of which were carefully selected.

Of course, Roger wouldn't hand over the clothes and boots that had already been distributed to him by the bald man and the ponytail man, along with the leather armor and Viking battle axe that Roger usually wore, which he had taken from the pirate captain.

All the remaining miscellaneous weapons were put on this carriage. In order not to embarrass Baron John too much, Roger even specially scavenged some old and moldy leather armor, short swords, spearheads and round shields from the armory of Milk House Manor.

They even stuffed tattered thick clothes inside to make up the numbers, so that if you didn't look closely, it would still look like a huge pile.

Upon arriving in the town, we entered the castle amidst the watchful eyes of the crowd.

Although the news that Roger Colin was about to inherit his father's title and become the owner of Milk House Manor had been released two days ago, not many people came to attend the ceremony, far fewer than at the funeral two days prior.

Clearly, young master Roger has little prestige on Arran Island.

However, there were still twenty or thirty people, after all, this was an important ceremony personally convened by Baron John. Ordinary islanders could not be forced to participate, but the island's lords and gentry had no choice but to attend.

The four knights or their families and servants, the baron's officials, the gentry and wealthy families from a dozen villages on the island, including the elusive village chief Gary of Locklandza, and Campbell's "family" except for Whiteface John.

The investiture ceremony was held in the castle church. Because Baldy and Ponytail were delayed by their dressing, Roger and his companions arrived at the church to find that all the people who had come to witness the ceremony had already arrived.

As the protagonist was late, no one was angry. After all, compared to the outrageous things Roger had done in the past, being late was insignificant.

Under Baron John's unfriendly gaze, Roger handed over the weapons and armor from the mule wagon to the castle's armory.

It was clear that Baron John wanted to reprimand him several times, but he hesitated to speak. In the end, he reluctantly accepted the inheritance tax of the newly appointed knight Roger, as if he had swallowed a fly.

The island of Arran had just experienced a funeral, and at Baron John's behest, the ceremony was kept simple, with all the tedious preparatory work such as fasting, bathing, keeping armor, and praying omitted.

Roger's knighthood and lordship were inherited from his adoptive father, so even his coat of arms, banner, seal, and family motto were readily available, so Roger didn't have to worry about them.

The investiture ceremony in the church proceeded directly to the core part, the "sword presentation ceremony."

With everyone present as witnesses, Roger knelt before Baron John.

Baron John touched Roger's nape and shoulders with the sword Roger had brought, then led Roger in swearing an oath of loyalty and honor in the name of Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Saint Andrew.

After a few oaths and vows, Baron John symbolically adjusted Roger's armor, put on a pair of hastily found spurs, and then pinned the blessed knight's sword to Roger's belt.

"Sir Roger Campbell, the new lord of Milkhouse Manor, you must remember the Campbell family motto: Never yield." Baron John said, slowly removing his right glove, and suddenly slapped Roger across the face, nearly making him stagger.

Roger suddenly felt a surge of anger, and his gaze toward Baron John turned fierce.

It wasn't until a sparse round of applause broke out that Roger suddenly remembered this was the final step in the knighthood ceremony.

But Baron John's slap didn't seem like a formality.

The knighthood and lordship ceremony was completed in less than half an hour. The subsequent procedures were all in writing and would be completed by Baron John's scribe.

John knew about the financial crisis at Milk House Manor, so he waived the expense of Roger's grand celebration and announced that dinner would be held at the Baron's manor as a way to celebrate Roger's knighthood.

From now on, Roger will be one of the lords of Arlen Island. The lords and gentry who come to witness the ceremony will naturally send some gifts as a token of their respect, even if it is just a formality.

So, on the afternoon after the investiture ceremony, Roger received a saddle, a silver-inlaid dagger, two short swords, three barrels of beer, four sheep, several bolts of wool cloth, and some chicken, duck, fish, and meat as gifts, which filled almost half a cart.

Roger had his stepmother, who was in poor health, send her and Louis back to the Milk House Manor with half a cart of gifts. He then led Marne to a celebratory dinner at the Baron's manor that was neither particularly delicious nor unpleasant.

At the banquet, in order to boost morale and inspire everyone, Baron John announced that a tournament would be held after the autumn harvest, inviting warriors from all over the world to come to the island to participate. In addition to knights, squires, servants, and soldiers were also allowed to participate.

Baron John planned to recruit talent through a tournament to restore the army's fighting strength, and also to revitalize trade on Arron Island.

To attract more participants, Baron John offered his 200-acre estate on the western part of Arron Island as the grand prize for the tournament. The original owner of the estate had just died in battle and had no male heir, so the baron reclaimed the land.

Baron John is clearly recruiting knights, which will attract many wandering knights or noble sons without fiefs.

After the simple banquet, Roger led Marne and invited the lords and gentry who had given gifts to gather again at the Moulin Rouge.

Meanwhile, Baldy and Ponytail were already busy at the Moulin Rouge. Yesterday, they invited the "warriors" who had participated in the bandit suppression battle to come here to celebrate the victory and Roger's promotion to knighthood.

The long-lost all-night hustle and bustle of the Moulin Rouge...