British hegemon

Chapter 49 Apology

The Moulin Rouge was bustling all night, with decadent music filling the air.

The next day, the sun was already shining through the stained glass window into the second-floor guest room when a slight opening of the door startled Roger awake from his half-asleep state.

The "half-penny" girl walked in carrying a basin of water, her demeanor no longer displaying the same wildness she had a few days ago.

After all, young master Roger has now become a knight and the lord of the Milk House Manor, and he recently killed a group of pirates, so Halfpenny doesn't dare to provoke him easily.

Roger still didn't get anything done last night. This time, however, he put aside his concerns and planned to pick two women he liked to enjoy the night with.

However, the celebration last night continued until midnight. The beer wasn't very strong, but it couldn't withstand the barrage of drinks from more than a dozen people. Roger, completely drunk, was in no condition to do anything and fell asleep immediately.

As it turned out, this same half-penny girl served him all night, but I guess she didn't do anything productive.

"Lord Roger, it's almost noon, you should get up and have lunch." The half-penny girl placed the basin on the washstand in the room and went to the bedside to help Roger put on his armor.

"I won't wear the armor; it's heavy and hot. Bring me my linen robe."

Roger rubbed his eyes and carefully examined the girl in front of him. Her forehead was a little wide, her makeup was a little thick, and the mole on the corner of her lip was a little out of place.

Aside from these things, the girl is actually quite good, especially her outstanding figure.

Roger put on a linen robe, walked to the basin, scooped up some water to wash his face, and asked, "Are all my guests still here?"

The half-penny girl had already neatly folded Roger's armor and carefully replied, "Lord Roger, your distinguished guest has finished breakfast and left. Sergeant Marn and the Earl and Neil brothers are still waiting for you downstairs."

Roger finished packing and instructed Halfpenny to take the weapons and armor downstairs to be loaded onto the horses.

As I strolled downstairs, I encountered Mrs. Kate coming up from the hall at the corner of the stairs.

Mrs. Kate was as alluring and charming as ever, her subtle perfume still intoxicating. But today she wore only a light blue corset, her proud breasts drawing all eyes.

Raising her clear, bright eyes, Mrs. Kate looked Roger up and down, then greeted him with a charming smile, "Oh, Mr. Roger, you're finally up. You were so drunk last night that the girls waited all night for nothing."

Roger was caught off guard by the sudden dust and grime, and after a moment, he changed the subject, "Why didn't you attend the investiture ceremony yesterday?"

Lady Kate's world-weary look vanished instantly, and she said sadly, "How dare someone of my lowly status attend a knighthood ceremony?" There was a hint of sourness in her voice.

Roger realized he had touched a nerve and coughed awkwardly.

Mrs. Kate immediately chuckled twice, composed herself, and said seriously, "Yesterday, Lord Roger sent a very generous gift. The porcelain bottle was beautiful, and the fine salt was even more precious."

"I have prepared a delicious lunch for you and your retinue as a token of my gratitude."

Yesterday afternoon, Roger had Baldy and Ponytail deliver the exquisite porcelain bottle they had seized from the pirate ship to Mrs. Kate as a return gift for the small porcelain vial of potion.

At the strong suggestion of the bald man with a ponytail, the empty porcelain bottle was filled with refined salt that he had made on the sea salt beach a few days earlier. Roger thought it was ridiculous, but the bald man with a ponytail thought it was a more valuable gift than the porcelain bottle and that he could definitely present it.

Some of them even begged to share some of the refined salt with them as payment for their trip to the Red Mill.

Roger tasted the refined salt he made and found it quite different from the salt of later generations. The filtration device could only remove insoluble impurities, so the fine salt was still not pure.

However, for people of this era, this is already the purest sea salt.

"If you like, I can send you some more when I make them next time." Roger changed the subject to avoid awkwardness.

Mrs. Kate looked delighted. "You made all this fine salt yourself?"

Roger nodded. "Yeah, I had nothing to do the other day."

"Could you sell some to the Moulin Rouge later? With this fine salt, we can sell our food for a higher price." Mrs. Kate was always thinking about making more money.

Upon hearing this, Roger felt a sense of calm. He had been pondering how to resolve the financial crisis at Milk House Manor for the past two days. Under the current circumstances, mass production of precious fine salt was a major source of revenue. However, how to achieve mass production and which processes needed improvement were questions that Roger needed to think deeply about.

"Lord Roger?"

Roger, lost in thought, was brought back to reality by Mrs. Kate. "Well, if the salt flats can produce fine salt in large quantities, I'll sell it to you first."

Mrs. Kate didn't understand the word "mass production," but she still bowed slightly in thanks.

Roger politely gestured for Mrs. Kate to go upstairs, and then walked down into the hall.

There weren't many people eating at the Moulin Rouge at noon. The long table in the middle was covered with all sorts of food, and Marn and the bald man with the ponytail had been staring at the food for quite a while.

On the long table sat salted pork soaked in almond milk and sprinkled with pepper, capons fried to a golden brown and crispy perfection, stuffed with onions, mushrooms and roasted chestnuts, snow-white cod fillets coated in breadcrumbs and served with some delicious brown sauce, and steaming hot lamb stewed with herbs.

In addition, there was yellow bread with egg yolks, pea puree, buttered turnips, and rich, mature white cheese, along with several large glasses of delicious barley beer.

It seems the gift given to Mrs. Kate is indeed very valuable; this meal would probably cost an average family half a year's income.

He took his seat at the head of the table, glanced around at the group of people who were swallowing hard and their Adam's apples bobbing, and said, "What are you waiting for? Let's eat."

The group exchanged glances and immediately began to wolf down their food. Even the usually composed Ma En had his cheeks bulging.

Roger tasted each dish; they were indeed made with care and tasted even better than the food at the Baron's mansion banquet the previous night.

Just as Roger was enjoying his meal, a waitress approached him, leaned down, and whispered, "Lord Roger, someone outside requests to see you."

Roger was using his personal knife to work on the roasted chestnuts on his plate when he casually asked, "If anyone wants to see me, just let them in."

"That is Mr. Gary from Locklanza Village. He said he came here specifically to congratulate you and is waiting for you outside the door. He hopes you can come out alone."

The waitress hesitated for a moment, "He also brought his daughter with him."

Roger stopped what he was doing when he heard this.

He remembered the entanglement between the original owner of this body and Gary, and the absurd scene from that day had replayed in his nightmares several times.

However, after Roger recovered from his injuries, he either killed bandit leaders or wiped out pirates, then recuperated on a deserted island, followed by handling funeral arrangements and inheriting the title of territory.

Gary was evasive at the investiture ceremony yesterday and left in a hurry without attending the banquet. Roger had no intention of paying attention to him anyway.

Now that he had come of his own accord, Roger was curious to know his intentions.