Chapter 93: The Careful Old Man
Leon settled Charles down and let him rest for a while. Just as he was about to go out, Baron Hereward found Leon.
He had heard about Oden's death and came to find out the details.
Hereward was sixty years old, about the same age as Lord Oden, but he looked younger, probably because his full beard hid the wrinkles on his face.
He has a close relationship with Earl Oden, even closer than Ralph . It was Hereward who first supported Earl Oden to become the Grand Master of the Horncaller Rangers.
He also helped Oden build Fletcher Village.
Twenty years ago, after Oden became rich in Brave Shield, he helped Hereward fight in the west and made great contributions. As a result, Hereward obtained the territory of Misty Marsh.
These are two old friends.
Perhaps it is for this reason that their fiefdoms were deliberately divided at both ends of the kingdom.
After entering Leon's room, Hereward closed the door directly.
"Mr. Leon, Charles told me about Oden's death... I also saw you and Charles chatting alone for a long time. I think Oden should have mentioned Charles to you?"
Older people are indeed more calm. Hereward did not show any sadness, but he kept his voice very low, perhaps because he didn't want anyone to hear.
Leon didn't quite understand Hereward's intention, so he pretended to be confused: "Lord Hereward, please sit down... What do you mean by Charles?"
"Oden told me that he had a bastard, Lord Leon."
Hereward shook his head and walked over to Leon instead of sitting down.
"In fact, he originally wanted me to help Charles get a knighthood, but my territory is too far from Brave Shield Castle, so I asked him to find a lord closer so that he can meet Charles often..."
Leon breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that it was Hereward who gave Oden the idea. Judging from this incident, Hereward must be Count Oden's most trusted comrade-in-arms.
"A few days ago at the Sava River Fort, he told me that I should be able to help, and asked me to help you and Charles... So when I heard that there was a war here, I rushed over, but I didn't expect to encounter such bad news as soon as I arrived..."
Although Hereward controlled his expression very well, he couldn't help choking up when he said this.
Leon poured Hereward a glass of wine: "Earl Oden did ask me to get Charles a knighthood."
Hereward drank the wine in the cup in one gulp, finally calmed down, and continued: "I saw Charles wearing your coat of arms this afternoon, and I know that you are a trustworthy person, so I came to find you. Since you gave Charles the status of knight, you must want him to go to Brave Shield Castle to take back the Fletcher family name, right?"
Li Ang nodded. The old man's intelligence was beyond his imagination.
"Lord Hereward, I will let Charles renounce all his inheritance rights in exchange for the surname. Is there anything wrong with doing this?"
Li Ang began to ask for advice sincerely, and the old baron seemed to have considered things very carefully.
"Of course this is the best way to do it! The Countess will definitely agree. But you have to be quick and finish it before Lehman and his family find out..."
Hereward looked at Leon seriously and said, "Lehman is in White Hart Castle, right? You'd better block the news and don't let Lehman know about Oden's death."
Li Ang was stunned.
Then he also poured a glass of wine and drank it all.
"Lord Hereward, do you mean that Sir Lehman is unreliable?"
Hereward shook his head and walked over to pour himself a glass of wine: "This is not a question of whether it is reliable or not..."
"Joanna lives in Ibion, the territory of the Leiman family, which is very close to my Misty Swamp Castle. I know her and I also know the Leiman family..."
"Joanna is Oden's first heir. She is just an ordinary and gentle girl, and she and Leiman don't have any children yet... Lord Leon, you can't use this kind of thing to gamble on Leiman's character."
hiss……
The Lord took a breath of cold air.
He understood what Hereward meant - the Lehman family would not want to see Oden have a son, even if it was an illegitimate one.
With Oden dead, both Joanna and the Countess would be in danger.
Joanna herself is an "ordinary and gentle" lady who lives in the Lehman family's territory, which means she has no ability to protect herself.
If Joanna died, then Lehman himself would inherit everything that belonged to Count Oden.
Maybe Lehman won't do that... but as Hereward said, you can't gamble on your character with such things.
Faced with a fiefdom of an entire county and the strongest military force in the entire eastern region, who can guarantee that Lehman will not be tempted?
Even if Leiman was not tempted, what if Leiman's family killed Joanna behind his back?
But if Charles took the surname of Oden, if his sister Joanna died and Joanna had no children, then as a blood relative, Charles would become Joanna's first heir.
In this way, the Lehman family will no longer have any bad intentions.
This is Pendor, where bloodline is more important than marriage. The order of succession here is as follows:
Children—parents—brothers and sisters—husband or wife—other cousins who were formally adopted—nationalized…
To put it simply, blood relatives come first, and in-laws come second.
Therefore, the existence of Charles, her biological brother, can be regarded as a short-term security guarantee , at least it can ensure the birth of her child.
Charles gave up his inheritance, which only meant giving up his father Oden's estate. But when the estate fell into the hands of his sister Joanna, it was another matter.
"I see... I'll take Charles away once he's had some rest. Will you go with us to Brave Shield?"
Leon looked at Hereward, marveling at the old man's meticulous thinking.
"I must go to Sarleon. My nephew Andrew has been accused of being the murderer..."
Hereward shook his head and curled his lips: "Eldred is a lunatic! Andrew is also King Ulric's nephew . He dares to make such a casual connection, just to make the king avoid suspicion. He wants to use this to reduce the king's direct troops!"
It seems that there are still some clear-headed people. It's a pity that there may not be many nobles like Hereward in the Sarleon Kingdom...
Leon quickly pulled Hereward aside and told the sober old man his judgment.
"Your nephew's matter is easy to handle. Let's do this... Lord Hereward, Governor Justus of the Bacchus Empire is in my hands now. I think it will be effective!"
Li Ang planned to use everything he had.
"Fighting false accusation with false accusation? What a good plan! No wonder Oden said you are a cunning fellow... Leave it to me."
Hereward's brows relaxed, and he twirled his beard and nodded.
"I suppose Count Oden would call me a 'shameless fellow'?"
The Lord shook his head and sighed deeply: "Shamelessness and cunning are virtues for a lord, Lord Hereward."
