The meat was for the archers.
Technically, it should have been his. They were his subjects, hunting on his land. By every rule that mattered, the animals belonged to the Baron.
He was even sure the archers wouldn't object. If he told them that they had done a good job and then claimed all the meat for the castle, they would probably just nod and accept it.
Not because they didn't want the meat, but because that was what they expected. That was how things had always worked under the old Barons.
You served, you obeyed, and you didn't question where the rewards went. The fact that he had already praised them, told them he was proud, told them they had done well, had made them proud.
You could see it in the way they stood, the way they held their heads higher than when they had first walked through the gate. They had come back expecting maybe a nod of acknowledgment.
