Ragged Territory
"W-What?! Are you crazy? Who are you to close this place down! The Azure family owns this property!"
"But do your family own the land?" I say.
"Y-You... I don't want to entertain you, security! Take this guy out."
"Do you know I can report you if you construct on land without permission?"
Lupus clicks her tongue and walks into the room behind her. She comes and throws some documents off the platform. It flies down in a mess but I manipulate the surrounding mana to catch them into a neat pile of paper.
!
I look at it, it is the contract of Igniz and Azure family. The Igniz family will allow the Azure family to build on their land provided that they get a share of their profits.
I grab hold of the contract and tear it in front of everyone.
!!!!!!!!
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GUARDS! SEIZE HIM!"
The knight guards stare at one another as they gulp.
"Hey! Do something! Stop standing there!" Says Lupus.
I sigh and show her a silver plate.
!!
"T-That's..."
"Igniz family have been exiled from the capital and my family have taken over the position of Baron. This land now belongs to us and this contract is now void."
"No! That cannot be real!"
I click my tongue. I am getting sick of their stubborn trait.
I inject mana into the plate and it starts to glow, indicating that it is indeed real.
"No... This cannot be, this is a dream..."
Nami has her eyes wide open. There's a hint of sadness in her eyes.
Lupus collapsed on the floor as she clenches her fist.
She gulps before standing back up and saying "H-How about this, we establish another contract with you-"
"No thanks." I blurt out.
"B-But... There are so many workers here! Almost all of them are locals and need money-"
"Don't worry about them, worry about yourself."
...
Lupus grits her teeth. "You will pay for this and regret your decision."
"I've heard that line too much, be more creative."
Lupus holds in her visible anger as she storms out.
All the workers stare at me, some in rage.
"Don't worry everyone, wait for further notices, my family will give you an occupation soon," I say as I walk out. The workers there don't believe me as I can feel their glare on the way.
People who work in the processing plants have technical and engineering skills, how can they not be useful? There are so many positions and jobs I can think of for every one of them.
The smoke stops appearing from the chimneys. They stopped operations.
I walk back to the carriage and our trip continued. There are two towns on the land Igniz owned. The bigger one contains the mansion for the lord of the land.
The carriage runs through the first smaller town.
It's a disaster.
Buildings decomposing and collapsing. Nobody bothered to welcome us, not even throw a glance. There's not a single glimpse of light in their eyes.
The number of homeless beggars on the streets is countless, and every corner of the town is filled with rogue and thieves.
...
We left the town and enter the second one, the bigger one.
There's not much difference, only slightly better-conditioned buildings. Also, knights are patrolling the streets and it seems that the locals avoid eye contact with them, some are even trembling...
The knights get into position and bow to us when they see the carriage. We stop in front of a white large mansion with a large gate. Five maids behind a fat guy greet us.
"Welcome my lord! I am the head butler, Fate." The fat guy says as he pinches his moustache.
As I step down from the carriage, I notice the maids' legs are trembling. Most of them attempt to hold down their long skirt to hide them but their foot gave them away.
They are not afraid of us... They are afraid of this fatty.
I have a bad feeling about him...
Once my mother shows herself, the fatty's eyes widen as his smile slightly becomes bigger.
My father notices it and places his hand on the fatty's shoulder. "What are you doing?"
!!
The fatty struggles to stand as my father continues to increase the pressure on the fatty's shoulder.
"M--My apologies, I will show you around the mansion." And the fatty opens the gate.
I walk past the maids as they avoid eye contact.
Something weird is going on here... The Igniz family influence on this land...
I feel like I am in a bandit's village where everybody is a hostage and is forced to work.
The fatty shows us around the mansion. The dining hall is at the ground level, directly in front of the main door. The rooms and kitchens are on the second level. The top level is only an attic, a place to store stuff.
...
My mother has a serious face throughout the tour. She notices everything and is glaring at the fatty.
I sigh.
Instead of a reward, it feels like a punishment, that shitty bastard king.
As a knight walks past us, he accidentally steps on my feet.
!?
"Hey! You bastard!" The fatty shouts
"H-Huh?" Says the knight.
"How dare you step on the lord's feet, execute him!"
"W-Wait what! This wasn't what you promised-"
A knight from behind decapitates the knight that stepped on my feet.
!!!!!!!!!!
A group of maids quickly appear and proceeds to mop and clean the bloodstains. Some even carried a bag to store the corpse in.
Now that they are working, I can see it clearer, all of the maids here have some sort of injury. Not only that, I cannot feel any excessive yin energy from these maids, which means they are not virgins.
I cannot believe it... They look no older than me, all of these maids...were they...
I clench my fist as I hold in my anger.
This fucking hellhole...
My mother and father try to hold in their anger as they cover Mane, Lee, and Christina to prevent them from seeing this monstrosity.
"Stop!" My mother finally says as she walks to the maids.
?
She takes a sponge dip it in the bucket of soap and begins scraping the floor.
?!
"M-My lady, what are you doing-"
"Shut the fuck up fat ass." My mother says.
!!
Wow, this is the first time I've heard her swear.
"W-Well then since the lady wants to do that, why don't we-"
"No, I'm helping her. Loi, look after your siblings." My father says.
...
I throw a glance at the fatty, he is confused. He probably thought that every single noble would be corrupted. Too bad, my family came from a commoner background and can sympathize with the maids.
Judging by that fatty's command, he seems to be the one behind the scenes controlling all the knights in this kingdom.
Everything I've observed up until now points to the fact that the knights are the "rulers" of this land and suppressing every local for their greed.
What's even more fascinating is that I expected this, it's the Igniz family after all.
...
I've decided. This fatty needs to go.
I need to find his room, the place where he sleeps. Assassination might be a good idea... But I have something better.
----------------
Our family settles down in the living room, a huge room decorated with chandeliers, a warm fireplace at the side and couches for maximum comfort. There's a balcony at the front, leading to the view of two terrible villages and decaying land.
My parents look troubled.
"Hey dad, why don't you retire from being a general. Since we are nobles now, solving the problems in our land is much more important." I say.
"Sure... Are you still going to stay in the army?" My father asks.
"Yeah, for a while more. I still have unfinished business there."
Orland is still alive and I suspect that the army might be a dwelling for cultists.
"That fat ass... I..." My mother says.
"I know, don't worry about him. Just leave him to me." I say.
My mother throws her glance at me. "You..."
"Why? Are you going to tell me not to resort to dirty techniques or assassination?" I mumble.
My mother reads my lips and shakes her head. "I don't care what happens to him. I care about you, be safe."
I nod.
"I will do the administration and planning of what to do with this land. Your father and I will discuss ways to help the people of this land... As for that fat ass and the knights... Can I leave them to you?" My mother finally says.
There's a hint of worry and anxiety but she finally acknowledged the fact that I am not the young Loi anymore and I can take care of myself.
I smile and nod.
Blood will be shed tonight.