“So that’s what happened.” Roland tapped with his quill on the table, a sign he had previously agreed on with Nightingale, telling her to check whether the other side had lied. Soon he could feel how Nightingale pinched his left scapula, which represented that the other side had told the truth… but this pinch was slightly too hard, letting Roland a little flinch. “Are you able to read and write?”
“Uh…” Now it was Ferlin’s time to get startled, showing that he clearly was unable to follow the Prince’s train of thoughts, “I can.”
“Then I’ll announce my verdict now,” Roland gave him the same choices that he had given to Prius, “… what is your choice?”
“Your Highness, do you not want me to fight for you? Whether it is a solitary riding duel or a group battle, I -”
“No, I do not,” interrupted Roland him, “there are no aristocrats within my army, and in the future, I won’t be recruiting any of them. They are a fully-armed civilian army, and you yourself, during the rest of your life you won’t ever get the opportunity to again take up a weapon.”
“Yes… so?” Ferlin was silent for a long time before he finally nodded, “I understand, that being the case, I choose to become a teacher.”
“You made a wise choice. Teachers can get free housing and their salary is also very good. I will send someone back to your home, to get your wife, so that you can live continue to live a good life here together.” After giving his judgment, Roland gave the signal that Ferlin could now leave.
“Wait, Your Highness, I beg you please let me ask a favor of you,” Ferlin, however, did not leave. “Did you mean that the other knights, as long as they are unable to become a teacher, the only option left to them is to work in the mines for twenty years?
“That’s exactly what I said.”
“Your Royal Highness… I have a man named Harlon, he is an experienced and old knight, but he is unable to read. Can I pay for him with gold royals, so that he won’t be sent into the mine?”
“Of course not,” Roland directly disagreed, “if you could redeem your crime with money, you would just go back to the stronghold.”
“But he’s almost fifty years old, and this kind of work where he doesn’t get to see the light of the day would only destroy his body.”
“He isn’t strong enough to mine, but he was still able to attack Border Town? Furthermore, my ore mine isn’t such a dark coal mine as you’re imaging. I also have a steam engine, which helps with the pumping and transportation and the staff even have a fixed holiday, don’t you think that’s good enough? Roland picked up the bell, ready to call for the next prisoner.
“My Lord!” Ferlin got frantic and went once more down on his knee. “My family has a treasure map, which is at least four hundred years old and I am willing to use that to buy his freedom.”
“A treasure map with an age of more than four hundred years…” The Prince became uncertain, “Are you sure that it wasn’t one of your ancestors who took some charcoal and casually drew a map to coax the younger generation?
“No, it’s not written with charcoal or ink,” the knight shook his head. Then he placed his hand on head as if was trying to recall the drawing. “I can’t tell you out of what material it is made of. The lines are very delicate, smooth and supple, and it’s been stored in our basements for decades, but the drawings and the text don’t have any signs of discoloration. My father told me that it was handed down from generation to generation and it describes the location of a treasure. It should be hidden deep in the Northwest of the Concealing Forest, but to get there you would have to cross past the Desolate Lands, so to us it was simply impossible to go there.
Roland tapped his quill once more against the table, and once more Nightingale pinched his left side.
“Well, even in the case that what you said was the truth, there is still the problem that this treasure map should be hidden in the basement of your family home. You have already given up the right of your inheritance, and I’m afraid they won’t willingly see you ever again.”
“What you say is the truth,” he firmly nodded, “But I have completely memorized the content of the drawings, the above patterns and the text I can roughly depict it”.
“Then draw it for me,” Roland pushed his quill and paper over the table into his direction. “If what you said is true, I can make an exception to your request.”
“His Royal Highness is too kind.” Ferlin went to the table and began to depict the treasure map.
It was true, Morning Light wasn’t only good at fighting; no, he was also talented in painting and calligraphy. Soon, a rough topographical map appeared in front of Roland.
The map actually showed the area behind the Impassable Mountain Range, the lower right corner of the map was occupied by mountains. Then around the center, he drew an equilateral triangle, and the three corners pointed to different places. One corner ended at the foot of the Northern Slope,