I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 173 St. Vincent's Church
Luc rode on his horse, staring at the simple map in his hand amidst the bumpy ride.

In this slightly old picture album, almost the entire southern France is recorded.

From Brittany to Aquitaine and then to Toulouse, everyone who passed by would draw here.

"Hugo is truly an experienced monk."

Luc glanced around for a while and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

Macon County is clearly listed on the map.

The County of Mâcon is located in the westernmost part of the Duchy of Burgundy. Unlike all of its northern tributaries, such as the Agate River, which flow into the Seine, Mâcon does not intersect with the Seine. Instead, the Saône River flows from north to south through the county.

The Saône department, the superior administrative region of the Mâcon County, was named after this.

Luc put away the map and looked at the bright sun.

It has been three days since we left Cooper Castle. Although we have war horses, the speed is not fast because the others are walking. However, we will reach Macon County City by tonight at the latest.

"Hurry up and try to get into the city before sunset!" Luke squeezed his horse's belly and instructed everyone around him.

"It's my lord!"

The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the dirt road, and in the dust raised by the horse's hooves, a black dot finally appeared in front of the horizon.

Luke and his party walked forward quickly, but the surprise on their faces gradually turned into solemnity as they were about to approach the county town.

"What's going on here?"

Luc frowned and looked towards the city gate. He saw a huge crowd of people dressed in tattered linen, who looked like farmers, gathered at the narrow entrance. They crowded and blocked the narrow aisle, looking like a group of flies flying at rotting meat.

"Is this... a riot?" Ryan held the heraldic spear and opened his mouth in surprise.

He had never seen anything like it.

"It's not a riot." Luke pulled the reins and took a closer look, denying Ryan's guess.

How could a group of unarmed and hungry serfs rebel?
What’s more, it is in Macon County City?
The first thought that popped into Luc's mind when he saw the county town of Macon for the first time was - these damn guys are so fucking rich!

The reason is simple: this county town is actually built of stone!

A fifteen-foot-high, roughly hewn limestone wall stood majestically on the east bank of Thorne. There was an arrow tower ten feet higher than the wall on the side of the oval-shaped county town near the city gate. Although we hadn't gotten close yet, we could guess from the depth of the city gate that the stone wall was at least six feet thick.

Such a magnificent fortress, even if a viscount led his troops and catapults, he might not be able to capture it. How could a riot by a few farmers be considered a riot?
“It seems there are still a group of excellent stonemasons.”

"I wish I had a stonemason."

Luc held his breath. If the stone wall was beyond his expectations, the lingering smell of feces under his nostrils made him feel disgusted.

“It’s right next to the river, but it still stinks.”

Only Luc was able to clean and collect the feces. All other lords allowed their subjects to urinate and defecate anywhere. The pungent stench could be smelled even from a long distance away from the city of Macon.

What a shame for such a great fort.

As Luc was lost in thought, the chaos at the city gate began to subside.

As if to confirm his earlier suspicions, the serfs had only been huddled together for a moment when a large group of thugs, dressed as gangsters, suddenly emerged from the county town. Each thug, armed with a wooden club, attacked the serfs without a word. The muffled thud of the clubs and the shrieks of agony echoed through the air, and soon the gates were cleared.

Seeing the serfs fleeing in all directions and running back to the huts outside the wall, Luc came to his senses, tightened his horse's calves, and called Ryan and others to enter Macon County.

"How do I get to St. Vincent's Church?"

At the city gate, the thugs were still beating a man in a black robe. He raised his head violently when he heard the sound and was about to curse, but when he saw the clothes of Luke and others, he swallowed the curse words. He glanced at the stag emblem on Ryan's short spear. The man with a ponytail lowered his head slightly and said:
"Sir, St. Vincent's Church is in the southeast. Once you enter, just turn left at the Free Market and go straight ahead."

"Well, thank you."

"I don't deserve your thanks." Ponytail lowered her head even deeper and responded humbly.

Luc looked at him twice. These two sentences did not sound like those said by a gangster.

While the two of them were talking, the black-robed man, who was lying on the ground and rolling around after being beaten, took off his hood and screamed at the top of his lungs, "Is this how you treat a pilgrim? You damned devils, you filthy pigs, you don't deserve God's glory at all! Ah!!"

Ponytail, who had seemed humble just now, suddenly had a fierce look in his eyes when he heard this. He hit the arm of the man who claimed to be a pilgrim with a stick. With a click, the stick and the arm were deformed at the same time, and a pig-killing scream resounded in the doorway. Ponytail apologized to Luc and ordered people to carry the pilgrim away and throw him out of the city gate like garbage.

Luc glanced at it calmly without interfering.

Macon County had a large population, nearly two thousand in total, including the serfs outside the city. There were about twelve hundred people living in the county, and their houses were low and dilapidated, standing next to each other, and looked extremely inconsistent with the outer stone walls.

The three of them walked through the free market. When they passed by the grain merchant's shop, Luc couldn't help but take a look inside. The mule tied to the door gave him a familiar feeling.

It was already evening, and Luc didn't look around any longer. He followed Ponytail's instructions, turned left, and walked to the end. Sure enough, a vaulted Romanesque bell tower that rose from the ground and was several times more magnificent than the Abbey of Saint-Martin appeared before his eyes.

"This is it."

"Lian, hand over the letter from Dean Pierre."

Ryan strode up to the gatekeeper, his head held high and he said, "The one before you is Lord Luc, Knight of Upper Lorraine and Burgundy, owner of the Telf Bridge. He has been invited to see Abbot Pierre. Go and inform him!"

Having a noble status is powerful, but Pierre's name is more useful than Finny. The monk, who was originally a little angry, heard the personal invitation from the dean, and hurriedly took the letter and hurried to the church.

"It seems that Dean Pierre is running this place very well."

It's only been half a year since he was transferred here, but he has already made his reputation so effective that Luke praised him and became extremely alert.

This Pierre is not much more difficult to deal with than Berry!
After a while, the monk with the Mediterranean hair hurried back and politely invited Luc to come in, but asked him to take off all his weapons.

Leaving Hans and the others behind outside, Luc led Ryan into the magnificent building. After going around left and right, they finally entered a church hall that was as white as snow.

Pushing open the ancient and heavy door, Luc was immediately attracted by the silver candlesticks lined up on both sides of the corridor.

The slightly dazzling silver-white light holds up a beeswax eternal lamp, the wick burning olive oil, which seems to have honey added to it, and a faint fragrance lingers around the nose.

The walls are covered with colorful precious tapestries, and the plush floor leading directly to the nave feels like a road to heaven.

At the end of the road, the slightly overweight Pierre sat on the mahogany chair, wearing a fine woolen cloth and a coral bracelet. He looked at Luc, his eyes forming crescents, and said with a smile:

"My dear and loyal knight, welcome to St. Vincent's Church!"

(End of this chapter)