"Sir, why did you let them go just like that?"
After the anticlimactic interrogation, Claude ordered the signaller to bring the three of them to an empty room on the second floor of the wooden building. Makeqi asked after they left.
"What can you do to them?"
Claude asked as he pointed at the gun parts on the table. "If Baroness Vakusili's father is really that master gunsmith, the famous Miloski of Askilin, we can't afford to offend her at all. Her father is a talent our superiors need.
If the master gunsmith isn't willing to serve the kingdom because of us, the superiors might punish us for trying to please the father and daughter.
So, it's best that we do everything according to protocol and don't make any personal mistakes.
As for the parts for these two guns, there is no need for us to investigate them thoroughly. Right now, many legions are equipped with these Aubass Mark III standard guns, and many of them have been seized by the enemy. Otherwise, the enemy wouldn't have made their accurate aiming guns based on our guns.
"As a famous master gunsmith in the eastern part of the continent, it's only normal for him to be interested in two guns for research purposes. Even if the superiors find out about it, they'll just laugh it off and feel proud of it.
After all, it's not easy for our kingdom's standard firearms to pique the interest of a Firearm Mechanic Master. It's something worth bragging about.
"Of course, if Baroness Vakusili lied to us, it's not that great.
We don't know her or the master gunsmith, so we don't know if they're really related.
"So, I'll leave them here and report to headquarters to send someone to Pacathia to investigate.
"If what she says is true, we'll let her go. If she's lying, we can deal with her later.
"They're right here. Are you afraid they'll run away?
We'll know whether it's true or not in a few days. It's best if we treat them with courtesy for now. "
Mazik understood. "Sir, you're really thoughtful.
I thought it was because we caught an enemy spy, so I'm really happy. This way, I'll be able to add some merit to my tally. I hope I can become a second lieutenant like you soon. "
At the mention of that, Claude was a little puzzled. "By the way, it's been half a month. Why haven't we received any merit for taking Blackmaple Castle yet?
Also, nobody mentioned our hard work in the Pikleite Mountains. At the very least, 1st Ranger Tribe should be rewarded. As pioneers, even if we don't get any merit, we should at least be rewarded for our hard work. "
However, Claude only complained a little. His superiors were more concerned about Bluefeather. Taking over the three southern prefectures of Askilin was like stabbing a sharp blade into the heart of the enemy. Be it Rimodra's anti-Auerian alliance or Askilin, the situation wasn't looking good. When the rainy season ended in March, the decisive victory in the eastern part of the continent would be right in front of them.
Claude wrote a document regarding Baroness Vakusili and got a signalman to make two copies of it and send them out on the legs of a carrier pigeon. That way, he would receive a reply from headquarters the next morning.
Aueran's military relied on three main methods of communication. The most advanced was the kite eagle, which was bred from a young age to deliver messages quickly and securely.
However, they were few in number and couldn't be used on a large scale.
The second method was carrier pigeons, but they had to send three at a time to deliver three copies of the same message. That was to prevent mishaps from happening along the way and losing the message.
The last method was fast horses. The horses didn't stop to rest and could cover more than 800 kilometres a day.
As for Baroness Vakusili and her two servants, Claude arranged for them to stay in the guest room on the second floor of the wooden building.
The two-storey wooden building that Claude used had a total of four rooms in a row. It was built by the original lord, Baron Noverik Wei Flinsland, as a resting place for him and his friends during the autumn.
The four rooms on the second floor were all suites with their own toilets.
The largest room on the first floor was the dining room, which was said to be where the lord would hold a banquet with his friends after hunting.
The other room on the second floor was the kitchen, while the last one was the servants' quarters.
Claude stayed in the leftmost room on the second floor. As his attendants, Myjack and Gum wanted to stay in the servants' quarters on the first floor, but they were chased upstairs by Macik. He told them that as attendants of the lord, they should be as close to the lord as possible so that they could listen to his orders at all times.
He then took the servants' quarters on the first floor. Claude wanted him to go upstairs, but Macik said that as a platoon jarl, he should stay downstairs so that it would be more convenient for him to patrol the sentry posts at night.
Nobody was willing to stay upstairs with Claude, apart from Myjack and Gum. That was probably how the hierarchy of the royal army was.
Even though Mazik was a sergeant major and a platoon jarl, he was still a far cry from Claude, an official officer of the kingdom. Living in the same room with Claude made him feel rather restricted and restricted, so he might as well stay downstairs.
The two signalmen occupied the first floor's storeroom. As they had six carrier pigeons with them, they needed a quiet space in case they startled the pigeons and couldn't carry out their mission.
So, there were two empty rooms on the second floor. Claude used the one on the right as a study and his office, leaving the other as a guest room for the officers to use when they came for a patrol.
Now, it was the perfect place to put Baroness Wakshiri and her servants under house arrest.
As for the medic, two artillery crews and the platoon's soldiers, they were all placed in the empty stone storeroom. The storeroom had two floors and was more than enough to house a platoon's men.
Furthermore, there was now a sentry post on the mountain path that required a squad of soldiers to go down and patrol. So, the living quarters for the 60 soldiers were rather spacious.
It was still winter, so it wasn't suitable for them to start digging. After the rainy season, Claude would have to arrange for the soldiers to build up the camp.
After all, the mountain path that the sentry post was on led to the Great Plains of Canas and the eastern part of Askilin. It could be said to be the border between the three factions.
Even if the two mountain paths weren't convenient for a large corps to pass through, the thought of Bluefeather crossing the Pikleite Mountains through the smuggling route made Claude feel that he couldn't let his guard down. He had to prevent the enemy from doing the same thing.
At the moment, Claude could only send out scouts to patrol the mountain path from afar. If he discovered any signs of enemy activity, he could only report it to his superiors and put up some resistance before retreating. He didn't want to lose his life there.
After all, his orders were to set up a checkpoint to prevent spies and small enemy squads from infiltrating and suppressing the local rebels.
If the enemy decided to launch a full-scale attack, he wouldn't be able to hold his ground there. Sending a warning and retreating was the best choice.
He hoped that the enemy wouldn't move during the rainy season. After the rainy season, when the earth warmed up and the soil became soft, he would have to build up the camp properly so that it would be able to hold off the attack of at least a company of the enemy.
During that time, Claude had already checked out the terrain and had an idea to turn the camp into a small fortress that was easy to defend and hard to attack.
Perhaps when the enemy came to attack, he would only be rewarded with battle merits.
Someone knocked on the door and Claude retracted his feet from the table. Only then did he realize that he had been thinking too much. The sky was already dark and Myjack had probably brought him dinner.
"Come in," said Claude.
The door opened, but it wasn't Myjack who entered. It was Baroness Vakusili.
The beautiful madam pouted, her face was full of anger, and she was holding a plate in her hand.
Claude hurriedly stood up and apologised, "My apologies. How could I let the esteemed lady do the work of a servant? I'll teach that lazy servant a lesson so that he won't trouble you in the future."
She didn't think Claude would say something like that. She giggled and said, "This is my dinner, not yours."
"Huh?" Claude was a little confused. If it's your dinner, why did you bring it to me?
She placed the tray on Claude's table and pointed at him angrily. "Young Sir, is this how you treat us after keeping us here?"
Claude looked at the food on the tray. There was no mistake about it. It was a standard portion of rye bread, two slices of bacon, a sausage, a cup of black tea and a plate of stewed beef with potatoes.
Even as a second lieutenant, that was what he ate. It was just an extra fried egg and some candied fruits.
"What's wrong?
It doesn't suit your taste? "Claude asked.
"Of course!
She glared at him angrily. "If you keep us here, I can cooperate with your investigation to prove that I'm not a secret agent.
But you must treat me as a noble, and such food as this, which is very proper to my maids, is an insult to me.
That's why I'm here to ask for food and drink befitting my noble status. Only then will I be able to forgive you for your carelessness. "
Claude felt a headache coming on. So, the lady was asking for noble treatment befitting her status?
Elder sister, you were detained by us on your way to escape, and you are suspected to be a spy. Can you please restrain yourself a little? This is the garrison of the army, not the noble manor that you met on your journey. Where can I find the food that suits your noble status?
Had it not been for the fact that he had sent a messenger pigeon to headquarters in the afternoon, Claude would have ordered for her to be released right away.
Ma Keqi wasn't trying to catch a secret agent. He was just finding trouble for himself. He had to treat him like an ancestor.
If the lady was really Liboyd's beloved daughter, Claude would have to endure it. Even if he had to suffer, he had to satisfy her.
His father, Liboyd, was a famed firearms expert in the eastern part of the continent. He was a talent the kingdom desperately needed and was on the internal list.
Even if Askilin was destroyed, the gunsmith would still be treated with great respect in the kingdom.
As his daughter, Claude had to treat her well to prevent her from speaking ill of him in front of her father. Even if she submitted to the kingdom in the future, it wouldn't do him any good.
Claude stood at attention and bowed slightly as a noble greeting. "My apologies, Baroness. It was my oversight. I'll have them correct it right away.
Please wait here for a moment. I'll prepare a meal befitting of your status. "
The lady's eyes lit up. "You're a noble too?"
She asked because she saw that Claude's bow was very standard.
Claude pulled on the bell in the corner and shook his head. "I'm not a noble. I was born a commoner.
However, my herbalism teacher is a noble of the kingdom. She's a baroness just like you.
She forced me to learn all these noble etiquettes. She believed that I would one day become one of the kingdom's nobles.
Now that I've been promoted to second lieutenant, I'm considered a quasi-noble. I can now follow these etiquettes. "
Myjack knocked on the door and entered. "Sir, what are your orders?"
"Bring a bottle of good fruit wine from my bedroom and light up the silver candlestick. I'd like to invite Baroness Vakusili for dinner," Claude said, turning to the lady.
"Baroness, you can have a taste of the fine wine I've collected. I'll get someone to prepare dinner for you."