Viking: Master of the Icy Sea

Chapter 203: Knighthood

To raise funds and fill the vacancies in the Royal Guard, Aslaug aggressively sold off real estate and, upon Paffis's suggestion, established a new noble title—"Knight."

The title of Knight was held for life and was non-hereditary. Aside from satisfying the holder's vanity, its only real benefit lay in personal protection.

According to established custom, if a noble accidentally killed a commoner, they only needed to pay the standard blood money for a commoner. If it was proven to be intentional murder, they would pay an additional sum of atonement money to the local lord or the King.

Furthermore, accusing a noble required reliable witnesses, and the testimony of commoners was often disregarded. Even if a judge accepted the testimony, the noble could demand a trial by combat to prove their innocence.

In contrast, vendettas between nobles drew special attention from the royal family and carried much harsher punishments. Over the years, there had been similar cases where minor nobles who committed such offenses faced three tiers of punishment:

Fines, exile, or execution coupled with the confiscation of their family estates.

In a legal sense, a Knight belonged to the ranks of the nobles. If a member of the gentry or a wealthy merchant became a Knight, they essentially fell under the protection of the royal family, forcing any enemies to think twice before making a move against them.

Therefore, this newly minted title became wildly popular across the royal domains. Aslaug quickly raked in over a thousand pounds. Overwhelmed with emotion, she hugged her son and wept tears of joy.

A few days later, more good news arrived. In his rush to quell a rebellion, Ivar the Boneless carelessly fell into an ambush in the hilly regions of western Ireland. Sustaining severe injuries, he was forced to remain in Dyfflin to recover.

"Excellent, wonderful. This is exactly how it should be. The gods have finally shown favor to this miserable mother and son," she declared.The armory held thousands of stockpiled suits of armor, along with a vast sea of iron axes, round shields, and bows and arrows. Aslaug planned to use her newfound wealth to recruit and train more soldiers for the Royal Guard, aiming to intimidate those scheming high-ranking nobles.

In July, she came up with another new idea. Rumors said the northern trade route connecting Teyne Town, the Shetland Islands, and Bergen was bustling with commerce. It would be an ideal location to establish a customs house in the Northern Marches to collect taxes. It would also serve as a convenient dumping ground for a batch of civilian officials with questionable loyalty; if Wigg ended up killing them, it would be no great loss to her.

"As long as they are not executed publicly, everything is negotiable. It is not yet time for me to fall out with him," she reasoned.

When it came to making money, Aslaug unleashed an astonishing level of efficiency. She finalized the personnel roster in just two days, urging them to establish a foothold in Teyne Town as quickly as possible and start funneling wealth back to the royal family.

Over a week later, fifteen customs employees arrived by ship at the docks of Teyne Town, utterly stunned by the settlement's prosperity.

Judging by the sheer number of vessels anchored on the river, they estimated that Teyne Town's trade volume was a third of Londinium's. Such a scale was frankly terrifying. After all, Londinium was the trade hub for all of southern Britain, gathering goods produced from countless regions. Yet Teyne Town, relying solely on the sparsely populated Northern Marches, had somehow reached this staggering level?

"By Odin, our chance to strike it rich has arrived," someone muttered.

Having witnessed the wealth and flourishing commerce of Teyne Town, the employees cast aside their anxieties, feeling that a bright and boundless future lay ahead of them.

After disembarking, they strolled around the area in search of a suitable office building. They noticed peculiar wooden tracks laid across the dock's surface, designed to support heavy cargo carriages.

It was not long before a sharp scolding rang out from behind. A driver steering one of the tracked carriages shooed the group of outsiders away. "Out of the way! Where did you country bumpkins come from? You have no manners at all."

After driving them off, the coachman snapped his reins, urging the two draft horses forward until they disappeared into the vast sea of people.

Following the path with their eyes, they saw that the wooden tracks extended deep into the town, continuously transporting all kinds of supplies. The employees observed for a few minutes, noting that the payload capacity of these tracked carriages was significantly higher than that of wagons traveling on normal roads.

"Is it cost-effective?" the employees asked, exchanging bewildered glances. Proceeding to the castle in the southwestern district, they were soon presented before Heregyth, who sat elegantly in her seat. The Anglo-Saxon woman had a pale, aloof countenance and wore a simple black linen robe, adorned with no extra ornaments. At first glance, one might easily mistake her for a nun from some secluded monastery.

'Is she pretending to be poor?' the lead employee thought to himself. Introducing himself as Sir Huck, he loudly read the Queen Mother's royal edict, demanding the establishment of a customs house in Teyne Town to levy taxes on various commodities.

"I understand. Allow me a few days to consider it," Heregyth replied.

Her expression remained perfectly placid. She neither refused nor agreed, simply instructing them to rest within the town.

Rest within the town?

According to the customary hospitality between nobles, the host was supposed to throw a grand banquet and invite their guests to stay in the castle's main keep. Sir Huck considered himself a noble and carried the authority of a royal envoy. Yet, he could not even scrounge up a single meal. Unable to hold back, he stepped forward to protest the Lady's poor hospitality.

At that exact moment, Leif, who had just returned from Stirling to deliver a letter, casually grabbed a wine cup from the long tables lining the hall and hurled it at him. "Who do you think you are, calling yourself a noble? If you keep making a scene, do not blame my axe for being merciless!"

Once Leif had made enough of a fuss, Heregyth finally stepped in to smooth things over. "He is just a child who does not know any better. He is only playing around. The castle is currently reorganizing its chambers, so we have no spare beds to offer you. My apologies."

After dismissing the guests, Heregyth instructed Leif to return to Stirling County to consult Wigg for his opinion.

A week later, she summoned the customs employees, who had been idling away their time in a local inn, and presented a seemingly reasonable proposal:

"Aside from Teyne Town, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Orkney also conduct trade with Northern Europe. If the customs house is established in Teyne Town, I worry you will not collect enough tax revenue. I suggest you change your location."

Heregyth had a maidservant unroll a rough, crudely drawn map, pointing her finger at the transit hub of the northern trade route—the Shetland Islands.

"Merchant ships traveling between the two regions will make brief stopovers in Shetland. How much you can collect will depend on your own abilities."

Rolling the map back up, Heregyth leaned against the back of her chair and said no more. Realizing he could gain no further advantage, the Knight had no choice but to leave in a huff.

Leaving Teyne, the guests muttered complaints about the Lady's stinginess. During their time waiting, they had already picked out an office building that was only a five-minute walk from the ball field and the theater, a perfect spot to balance making money with having fun. They never expected things to end up like this.

"Unacceptable. I spent four pounds to buy this title; I absolutely must recoup my costs!"

"Exactly! With the royal family's name backing us, there is no way we will fail to turn a profit."

Soon, the employees found a Knarr ship heading for Bergen. This merchant vessel was loaded with woolen cloth produced in Teyne Town, bound for merchants in Northern Europe. Along the way, it also docked in Edinburgh for two days to purchase a massive quantity of pig iron ingots.

Since it pertained to his official duties, Sir Huck swallowed his pride and chatted with the commoners, managing to gather plenty of useful information.

Recently, the political situation in Northern Europe had been plunged into chaos. The prices of military equipment and pig iron ingots had skyrocketed, dragging the cost of iron tools up with them. This provoked widespread complaints from the local farmers. The price of almost every commodity was surging; the only exception was the price of slaves, which was plummeting.

"Hmm, we should adjust the tax quotas on certain goods," he concluded.