Medieval: Kingdom Come: Deliverance

The nobility and the church acted this way because they were powerful and influential, and therefore fearless. If commoners dared to do the same, they would face excommunication, burning at the stake, or hanging by the church.

Therefore, Romeo, being a commoner, dared not let anyone notice his difference from others.

But he was so handsome that the girls around him were like flowers.

Anna was the most beautiful and sharpest of those flowers. She was the only daughter of Ulrich, the castle steward, and like a flower watered with rose sap, she was beautiful and delicate, yet carried thorns that no one could refuse.

She was used to the admiring gazes of the young men in the castle, but when Romeo's ever-clear grey-green eyes looked at her, there was no familiar infatuation or flattery, only a gentle, calm detachment, as she would towards any patient. This calmness, in her eyes, became the place she most wanted to conquer.

Finally, one day, Anna carefully chose a corner, dressed in her most fitting velvet dress, her cheeks flushed with a delicate blush. She stopped Romeo, who had just finished a day's work and was preparing to return to his lodgings to rest. In a deliberately sweet and cloying voice, she passionately confessed her love to Romeo.

As a result, Romeo took a half step back without making a sound, creating an uncomfortable distance, bowed his head, and politely but distantly rejected Anna's advances.

This made Anna both ashamed and angry, and she vowed that if she couldn't have it, no one else could either.

Anna's revenge was like a poisoned dagger, ruthless and swift. She collapsed at her father Ulrich's feet, weeping uncontrollably, her story a jumble of lies. She accused Romeo of being audacious enough to lay a hand on her, of having improper intentions, and of becoming enraged after being firmly rejected, verbally insulting her pure and noble status!

Ulrich's stern and cold face instantly turned frosty at his daughter's "humiliation." Because Count von Polgau was rarely at the castle, all affairs were decided by Ulrich, who considered himself the lord of the castle and the king of the land. For a commoner to dare humiliate his daughter in this way was simply unforgivable. Therefore, on the grounds of being a "witch who does not believe in God," Romeo was dragged to the execution platform, whipped, and displayed in chains for three days before being banished from the castle.

There was no chance to defend himself, no trial process, and even Grossen, who had accumulated wealth as a herbalist, was confiscated.

Having lost his reputation and possessions, and nearly dying of social straits, Romeo could only return to his grandmother's herb hut in the northern forest, where he lived off the half-acre of herb garden she had left him.

He cannot cultivate wasteland, because the forests and land belong to the lord; nor can he hunt for money, because the prey belongs to the lord; he cannot even openly prepare medicine and treat patients, because the steward forbids it.

The location is remote and few people come here. The skill level is superb, making it very suitable for a hermit like me who is burying his head in the sand to treat patients.

Around 3 p.m., Peter arrived near Romeo the Herbalist's Hut, following his memory from playing the game before.

"So this is the secluded location you were talking about, where hardly anyone comes? Hide me quickly, I don't want anyone to see my face."

The old hermit quickly covered his face. Peter carried him into the bushes and put the old man down. He then looked up to see the conflict in front of the herb hut.

In the open space in front of the herb hut, the once-grown herb garden was now a scene of utter devastation. The soil was churned up, and the lush green seedlings were uprooted and trampled mercilessly into the mud, mingling with the fallen fence fragments, creating a complete mess.

The hut's flimsy wooden door was dented inwards from the impact, hanging precariously on the frame. In the courtyard, five figures were locked in a fierce struggle. To be precise, four burly figures were viciously attacking the relatively agile figure in the middle.

Peter was also surprised by what he saw. When he used to play games, every time he came here to buy herbs, he would only see an honest man diligently wielding a hoe in the herb garden. But now he saw a fighter desperately fighting with someone.

After Romeo was driven out of the castle, although he lived in poverty, he secretly earned some copper or silver coins by treating people, even bandits. He would treat them diligently and keep their secrets. Sometimes when he was starving, he would go to the Zhelyov post station to participate in wrestling matches to earn some pocket money.

Anna didn't get to see Romeo begging for forgiveness in tears. Instead, she found that he was living a more and more fulfilling life, which only fueled her anger.

She didn't need to do anything herself; she just needed to shed a few tears of grievance in front of her most ardent suitor—Brent, the most robust and simple-minded blacksmith apprentice among the castle servants—and then embellish the story by describing how Romeo's "filthy tongue" had been secretly mocking Brent's stupidity and humility.

Brent was like a bull in heat, instantly turning red. He quickly incited several kitchen helpers and young stable boys who usually followed him in bullying the weak and freeloading, preparing to cause trouble for Romeo. They thought that "teaching" a disrespectful herbalist a lesson for the noble Miss Anna would be a good job that would both impress the lady and satisfy their own violent desires.

They began to frequently appear near the cabin on the edge of the forest where Romeo was hiding. At first, they went to provoke him, but few of them showed up, and Romeo instead knocked them down one by one.

Then they would start banging on doors late at night or smearing cow dung on the walls.

Now it's even worse. They sneaked in and vandalized Romeo's carefully tended little herb garden, trampling it into a mess. The newly sprouted purple gromwell and the precious valerian roots were uprooted and trampled into the mud.

Even worse, they smashed open the alchemy hut, destroying the tools inside the alchemy table, including the bronze mortar and pestle left by Romeo's grandmother. This enraged Romeo upon his return, leading him to fight with them.

"Hold him down! Hold this sissy down!"

"Sneak attack from behind, kick him in the back of the knee!"

The tallest and most robust man, Brent, with his bare, muscular upper body and chest hair as thick as a wild bear, roared, his face contorted with grotesque features, as he grabbed Romeo's collar with his large, fan-like hands, trying to force him to the ground.

Romeo's light brown curly hair was disheveled, covered in dirt and grass clippings. A gash at the corner of his mouth dripped blood down his chin, staining his once-clean linen shirt a glaring red. His grey-green eyes burned with humiliation and bestial rage as he gritted his teeth and struggled with all his might, his hands desperately bracing against Brent's iron-like arms.

Three other men dressed in the rough clothes of castle servants surrounded Romeo, raining blows upon him viciously at his back and ribs. The dull thuds of each punch and the venomous curses echoed in the small clearing.

"Serves you right for pretending to be so high and mighty! How dare you even think about Miss Anna?"

"Blind his seductive dog eyes!"

"Break his legs, let's see how he runs now!"

A tall, thin man grinned maliciously, brandishing a mud-covered, short-handled sickle he had stolen from Romeo's dilapidated herb garden. The blade gleamed coldly in the setting sun, and he was about to slash at Romeo's thigh!

"Damn it!"

Peter's pupils contracted sharply. This scoundrel really dared to kill. He grabbed a rock and hurled it at the enemy. The short-handled sickle clattered to the ground.

"Who? Who is it?"

The four men in the castle looked on in shock, only to see Peter, clad in chainmail, striding towards them and drawing a one-handed sword from his waist.

"The Griffin family motto: Fear not the powerful, nor bully the weak. As a knight of justice, I cannot turn a blind eye to your misdeeds. Get out, or die!"

Peter's dashing sword-drawing move startled Brent and his companions. They weren't warriors; they only wanted to avenge Miss Anna and had no intention of risking their lives against the armored knight.

"Run!"

The four castle quartet, who had been making a ruckus just moments before, scattered and fled, quickly disappearing from sight.