Chapter 141

Cornered Fools (2)
"If you make even the slightest move, I won't show mercy."

"Don't propose any more unnecessary resolutions."

The venue of the Noble Council was currently under occupation. It all started with the pressure being exerted on Merchants' Guild headquarters throughout the Kingdom. Alicetia labeled it as pressure on the Merchants' Guilds and issued a resolution condemning it.

The resolution declared that the head of the Viceroy family was placing unjust pressure on merchants and Merchants' Guilds, which would destroy a healthy market. It demanded that the princess immediately restrain herself from such unjust actions.

The next day, the council was surrounded by knights and citizens.

"Strip those bastards of their titles! A lowlife like you has no right to meddle with the princess!"

The verbal abuse was relentless, but in Arland, this was the general attitude toward nobles affiliated with the Council. While they usually received minimal respect due to their noble status, most of them were oblivious to how the people actually viewed them. They believed they were rulers of the Kingdom, just like other nobles. But they were wrong. The citizens knew—they were scum.

If asked to choose between the scum and the princess, everyone would pick the princess. It was a matter of track record. Nobles, uselessly confined to the Council, versus the princess celebrated as a saint with exceptional magic prowess.

How would the people feel about incompetent nobles being kept on their taxes?

While they were obligated to show some level of respect to nobles, these same nobles were unbearably arrogant and constantly proposed policies like tax increases to further burden the populace.

Grievances had been simmering for a long time. Until now, the citizens tolerated it because occasionally, some council members were ashamed of the current state and improved themselves enough to be entrusted with roles as officials or lords. But this time, they could no longer bear it.

The Noble Council was a relatively new institution. In the past, they held no real positions. However, during the reign of the previous king—Alicetia's grandfather—nobles had gained too much power. While the previous king had been a fierce general in his youth, he fell ill in his thirties. Normally, a king unable to fight should abdicate, as royals who can't take to the battlefield are considered unfit to rule in Arland.

But at the same time, the Viceroy’s family line died out, and all royal family members except for Sylvia, the direct descendant, perished in battle. This marked the rise of the nobles.

At that time, the royal family's power was at its weakest. To be precise, it had dwindled excessively. Adding to that, the royal family had focused so heavily on war that domestic governance had been neglected, leading to a fragile state.

Bribery became rampant, and the Kingdom's strength declined. In this era of unchecked, incompetent lords, the Noble Council was established.

The Council was created as an advisory body to the Kingdom, granting titles to surplus noble offspring. However, they acted as they pleased. The ailing king was powerless to stop them. Incompetent nobles multiplied faster than capable ones.

This tide was stemmed by Gilbert, the Commander of the Royal Guards and at that time the prime minister's assistant, Volken, along with the current King Draconia.

The previous king sought the mightiest warrior, someone capable of protecting both his daughter and the Kingdom. Draconia was exactly that—a new hero who had defeated the Divine Dragon.

The previous king died of illness, but the catalyst was his duel with Draconia. He tested Draconia's abilities despite his frail, sickly body, hastening his demise.

Afterwards, Draconia took control and immediately turned his blade against the nobles. Corrupt aristocrats were executed, while their offspring were relegated to the Noble Council as an act of mercy. While purging corruption was an effective way to unite the country, it was also a double-edged sword. Relying solely on such measures could erode central authority.

Hence, minimal acts of mercy were shown. This strategy prevented capable nobles from labeling Draconia as the "Purge King."

At the time, there were still competent nobles, and Draconia's actions were well-received. The Kingdom, riddled with corruption, experienced a revival.

However, nearly 20 years later, corruption crept back into the Noble Council, as it was composed of people already predisposed to such behavior.

Until now, the Council of National Defense and the restored royal family had kept them in check. But that would no longer suffice.

The Kingdom made a decision: to further downsize the Noble Council. Public sentiment against the Council was strong, and the Kingdom intended to leverage this situation.

Moreover, the Kingdom's finances were still tight. Keeping incompetents on the payroll was no longer feasible. The resolution targeting Alicetia, essentially a declaration of war against her, presented a prime opportunity to remove this headache.

The government dispatched knights to the Noble Council's venue and detained the gathered nobles. The charge was issuing an unjust resolution against the royal family.

On the surface, Alicetia had done nothing to the Noble Council. She had almost no connections with the various lords. Ostensibly, Alicetia had done nothing at all.

"Now then, some of you will be relinquishing your titles."

Gilbert surveyed the Council members with a wicked smile. That smile of his was a telltale sign of scheming. The knights behind him saw it as a given, though they also pitied the nobles, wondering if surrendering their titles would truly suffice.

"We have done nothing shameful! This is tyranny!"

"Tyranny, you say? You lot incited needless unrest in the Kingdom.

You must take responsibility for that, no? After all, Alicetia did nothing—she merely bought out a trading company."

The nobles glared at Gilbert, the crown prince.

“The royal family cannot be allowed to acquire a trading company!”

“Legally, there’s no issue. This Kingdom doesn’t prohibit members of the royal family from managing merchant companies. There’s nothing wrong with purchasing a debt-laden business.”

It all began when Alicetia acquired the Ponpoko Company and established the Viceroy Company. Legally, this posed no problems. The royal family had the authority to grant commercial permits at their discretion, leaving no one the power to stop them.

“B-But it’s morally wrong! It undermines the integrity of the market…”

“There’s nothing wrong with it. Alicetia isn’t the one managing it. She’s merely entrusting her technology and assets. It has nothing to do with you.”

That was the most infuriating part. Alicetia channeled profits to the Kingdom, claiming it as compensation for handling troublesome tasks. However, the Noble Council derived no benefit from it.

These useless individuals could not be allowed to grow more arrogant. The profits and privileges generated by Alicetia’s efforts were monopolized by the Kingdom and used for its benefit. The nobility’s pensions remained stagnant. Worse yet, there were attempts to cut the Council’s budget, citing insufficiency.

The Kingdom’s view was that allowing these individuals to remain nobles was itself an act of mercy. They had no intention of granting further privileges. If the nobility wanted rights or privileges, they had to rise through their current status. Those who failed to do so and merely dragged down competent individuals were abandoned without hesitation.

“The very fact that you remain nobles is due to the Kingdom’s leniency. Rights? Privileges? You’re too spoiled. Why don’t you try to emulate Alicetia a bit? My dear sister puts in several times more effort than most people. Instead of trying to be a proper adult, you not only fail to learn from her but actively hinder her. You are a blight on the Kingdom.”

The means to rise had always been available. They simply failed to take advantage of them, opting instead for an easy life. These men, biting their lips, had no retort.

The truth was they were still being privileged. As nobles, they received pensions. Though not large, they were incomes granted by their noble status. By honing their skills with the sword or spear, they could become knights. By sharpening their intellect, they could become bureaucrats. They were born into a life of privilege. Those who failed to capitalize on it had no place.

Even Gilbert, who spoke those words, pushed himself relentlessly in politics and swordsmanship, foregoing sleep to refine his skills. His words carried weight.

The knights felt the same. Through effort and achievement, they could potentially earn a noble title.

The Kingdom’s knights were divided into professional knights and noble knights. All aimed for the status of noble knight, relentlessly honing themselves to avoid losing the competition. The sight of the bloated nobles before them filled them with disgust. Why didn’t they take up a sword or spear? Why didn’t they study to become bureaucrats?

Professional knights weren’t in a privileged position. Their careers were short-lived due to the lack of peace in these times. They seethed with anger. The odds were slim for them to become nobles, yet the lazy individuals before them were born into that status. Those who strove resented the indolent ones deeply. Some even voiced extreme opinions, suggesting that if they antagonized Alicetia, they should obliterate the Noble Council’s chamber with magic and claim it was an accident.

The knights were close to Alicetia. She was their benefactor, and they would destroy her enemies without hesitation.

“Now, who shall it be? First, you, then you, and you as well. You’ll all renounce your titles. I won’t seize your assets, so do your best as commoners from now on.”

With a smile, Gilbert pointed to the Council’s chairman, deputy chairman, and secretary.

A few more individuals were selected. The chosen nobles cried out, but the others merely lowered their heads in silence. Gilbert seemed to enjoy stripping nobles of their titles. Any dissent would result in their own title being stripped as well.

They had misjudged their opponents. They finally understood that they were merely nobles and should not have meddled with the royal family.

From that day on, the influence of the Noble Council waned, and the Kingdom’s government found itself free of one of its persistent headaches.

×××

“My, my, this is quite troubling. Why did you allow yourselves to get caught?”

The knights lay collapsed. They had been transporting the former Council chairman and deputy chairman to the prison.

“Silence! You failed to warn us of the princess’s immense influence! What now? We’ve lost everything!”

“That’s right! We can’t do anything anymore. Worse, we’re now criminals on the run. This is the end for us.”

The Kingdom, enraged by the death of its knights, would surely hunt them down and kill them. They wanted to flee the Kingdom immediately.

“Nope. You still have a role to play. Look into my brother’s eyes.”

A girl in a cloak grabbed the former chairman and deputy chairman’s faces, dragging them toward another man.

“Stop… No, don’t…”

“Release me! Do you know who I am…?”

They resisted, but their strength was no match for the girl’s grip. They looked into the man’s eyes, and their bodies went limp, their eyes glazing over.

In just five minutes, they had become ‘puppets.’ Their sense of self was gone.

“That was fast. How weak are these guys? Haha!”

“Don’t mock them. They’re not chosen ones like us. Now, use your old connections to smuggle these guys into the capital.”

The boy gestured at the vacant-eyed men standing behind him.

“”Understood.””

The former chairman and deputy chairman disfigured their faces to avoid recognition, disguised themselves as injured, and made their way back to the capital.

“Brother, you could’ve just used random people to infiltrate. Why go through all this trouble?”

“Where’s the fun in that? I want Iris to lose everything *again*. Watching a woman in despair grovel and beg for her life is entertaining, isn’t it?

I mean, I could use my powers, but altering souls takes a toll on me. I can’t use it repeatedly in a short time. Besides, there’s a chance that witch might notice the tampering.”

“Fair point. Let’s destroy her head-on~”

The group returned to the Empire. They knew they might have drawn unwanted attention. While confident in their strength, they acknowledged that this Kingdom defied logic. Merchants who could kill an Orc barehanded roamed the roads. In truth, they just wanted to return home and enjoy their harem.