"Arthur, come to my room after the dinner. A very beautiful girl asked me to give you something."
Walking towards Nightingale Castle, making sure no one was eavesdropping, Tsepesh said to Arthur in a slightly teasing tone.
"I'm not interested. Keep it for yourself."
Arthur's expression of seeing through the world of the world might even make people mistakenly think that he has the intention of going to the monastery to become an ascetic.
This guy now becomes like this whenever he hears the word "girl".
"Miss Gina asked me to bring you a handwritten letter. Since you are not interested, I will just throw it into the moat when I enter the castle."
"No! Tsepesh, give me Gina's letter now!"
Gina's name, like the secret medicine prepared by the warlocks, instantly put Arthur into a semi-crazy state.
A pair of strong hands like bear paws grabbed Tsepesh's collar directly. Fortunately, Tsepesh reacted quickly and jumped back to avoid it.
"You damn fool, don't go crazy, okay? Do you want the whole world to know that you and your eldest brother's fiancee are having an affair?"
Arthur, who was in a state of madness, was awakened by Tsepesh's cold water, and his face was covered with a look of disillusionment.
"I didn't want to steal Ferco's fiancee. Forget it, I accept my fate. You can throw the letter into the moat later."
After saying this, Arthur walked towards the city gate quickly without saying a word. He didn't want Tsepesh to see the two lines of tears on his cheeks.
Tsepesh was about to catch up, but the sound of horse hooves sounded behind him. The captain of the guard, Litam, rode an Arabian horse and stopped beside Tsepesh.
This guy neither invited Tepesh to mount his horse nor sped away. He just followed Tepesh like he was watching a prisoner.
No, I seem to have been a hostage of these damn Ottomans.
I was so immersed in the play these two days that I even forgot my own identity. Damn Litam, he must be afraid that I would take the opportunity to escape.
With a follower, it was impossible to talk about private topics. Tepesh simply let Arthur, the silly boy, run back to his room and cry with his pillow in his arms.
As for Miss Gina's letter, Tepesh certainly would not throw it into the moat. He believed that within 24 hours, Arthur would come to him to ask for the letter.
After crossing the drawbridge and entering Nightingale Castle, Tepesh slowed down and observed the layout and personnel in the castle.
As soon as he entered the city gate, there was a square with a wide view. The ground of the square was paved with neat long stones, and the gaps between the stones were filled with fine sand.
After crossing the square, Tepesh turned around and looked at the towering walls of the castle.
The walls are about nine meters high, with two rows of cross stairs for soldiers to go up and down.
On both sides of the square, close to the walls, there are four tower buildings, which can be used as watchtowers or arrow towers during battles.
In the field of vision, Tepesh quickly counted the soldiers on the watchtowers and walls, and there were only thirty people in total.
Of course, perhaps because of Braye's arrival, Count Sandria did not want to arouse the other party's suspicion, so he withdrew a group of soldiers on the walls.
Turning back and moving forward, there are long rows of stables on the left and right sides of the back of the square.
The inside of the stable is made of bricks and stones, and there is a low wooden wall between each grid.
The roof of the stable is the same as the stables that Tepesh has seen before, both on wooden frames and covered with thick straw.
A quick count of the horses showed that there were more than 60 horses in total, and it was basically certain that there were 60 cavalrymen in the castle.
Adding together the cavalry, infantry and archers, Tsepesh initially judged that the number of troops in the castle did not exceed 300.
Of course, this was only the permanent force. If a war broke out, Count Sandria could recruit soldiers in the territory.
However, at most, the number of troops that could be recruited would not exceed 1,200.
This was the basic base of a wealthy earl with a castle in this era. He could recruit 600 to 1,200 soldiers, and no more.
In fact, most of the earl's castles did not have the function of a military fortress, and could only be used as an upgraded version of a manor.
There were probably no more than ten castles with walls and moats like Nightingale Castle in the entire Wallachia.
Of course, in addition to the castles of the nobles, there were also specially built military fortresses with even stronger war capabilities.
After doing a mental count, Tepesh continued forward, bypassing the stables and coming to two wide stone streets that separated to the left and right.
On both sides of the street, there were a few small houses scattered around, with white walls and red tile roofs, standard Orthodox-style buildings.
There were blacksmiths forging iron in front of the houses, and leatherworkers tanning leather. These people were all hired workers of the Sandria family.
Everything they produced, even waste, belonged to the Sandria family.
Of course, Count Sandria would also pay them. In addition to money, protecting their safety was also a kind of reward.
Passing through the workers and continuing forward, Tepesh came to a small garden, behind which was a neatly trimmed lawn.
In addition, between the small garden and the street, there was a row of low shrubs, which clearly and conspicuously divided people of different classes.
However, standing outside the shrubs, you can still see the core of Nightingale Castle, an ancient castle built of white stone.
Under the spire at the top of the castle, there is a huge copper emblem.
The edge of the brass is painted red in the middle, and then an abstract nightingale is outlined with black lines.
Compared with the nightingale flag on the outer wall, the eyes of this nightingale seem calmer, as if they can see through everything.
After observing quietly for half a minute, Tepesh bypassed the bushes, stepped on the soft lawn, and came to the front of the castle.
Behind the bushes, the guards holding long-handled axes saw Tepesh wearing gorgeous aristocratic clothes, and no one stopped him from crossing.
What's more, beside Tepesh, there was Litam, who was obviously very powerful.
This guy was dressed in standard Ottoman clothes, which clearly told the guards that he came with today's guests.
Since Tepesh entered the castle, this guy has been following him quietly, like a silent ghost.
In front of the castle, Braye and Count Sandria and others have also arrived. I don't know what they are talking about.
Two minutes later, an old butler dressed in aristocratic butler's clothes came out of the castle, seemingly telling the count that the dinner was ready.
Braye and Sandria entered the castle hand in hand. It can be basically determined that Count Sandria is also on the side of the Ottomans.
As soon as he entered the castle, Tsepesh counted the troops. His purpose was self-evident, that is, he was thinking about whether he could use Sandria's power to help himself out of trouble.
After all, everyone has been friends for many years, and Tsepesh is also polite to call Sandria uncle.
But now it seems that the friendship between the nobles is far less than the actual interests.
The word "interest first" has always been the creed of the nobles.
Sandria turned to the Ottomans. I don't know if Arthur is the same as his father. Maybe this trip to Nightingale Castle will not be rewarded.
As Tepesh was thinking this, he was suddenly patted on the back. Arthur, who was angry and crying before, was behind him at some point.
Arthur leaned close to Tepesh's ear and said with some stammering: "Gina... Miss Gina's letter, you didn't really throw it into the moat, did you?"
Tepesh knew that this guy would definitely come to find him, but he didn't expect him to come so soon.
"I told you to come to me after the dinner, and then you will know whether the letter is still there."
Tepesh needed to know Arthur's attitude towards the Ottomans now. Only if he is trustworthy, the subsequent plan will proceed as usual.