"In that case, we'll take our leave now, Marquis." Earl Haverson politely shook Noel's hand.
"Yes. Please take care of the situation over there."
"Of course. It's time to destroy Earl Canmond economically." Earl Haverson smiled and took a step back before walking away.
Earl Havenson was the last noble he met before going home. During the day, they had been walking around the town to greet the citizens.
And after taking care of everything, they could finally return to the main city with everyone.
While looking at Earl Haverson's back, Noel's expression turned sad.
"What's wrong? Isn't the plan going well? Or is there a problem?" Anna, who was accompanying him the whole day, couldn't help but look concerned.
"It's nothing. The plan itself works very well. It's just…" Noel paused for a moment. "The ones who will suffer the most are the common people."
Anna held his hand. "I know you've done your best. Sadly, there is no other way to do this. If we seek the Greenwood Kingdom's help, the royal family will take action against us. If we engage in a territorial war, it can be seen as rebellion. That's why I know that you want to end this problem as quickly as possible, so even when the common people suffer, it will be for a brief moment. You have even prepared the relief supplies."
Noel bit his lips. As a lord, he had to be merciless to his enemies. But he knew that if he fought nobles, the common people under those nobles would suffer the most.
"I love that kindness of yours." Anna rested her head on Noel's shoulder.
"Kindness, huh? It's just my principle. It's just… I'm afraid that if I continue doing this, the bad and corrupted effects of being a noble will affect me and turn me into someone that I hate."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"When that time happens, I will surely give you a good smack."
A small smile appeared on Noel's face. He took a deep breath and said, "Let's go back, shall we?"
"En."
While Lounstein was celebrating the marriage, the four nobles were facing a huge crisis right before their eyes.
"My lord! It's not good!" A butler entered Earl Canmond's office with a panicked expression.
"What's wrong?" Earl Canmond's expression turned grim. The situation in his territory wasn't good, so he thought there might be a riot starting.
Unfortunately for him, the one that struck him was much worse than a mere riot.
"Earl Haverson has just declared economic sanctions against us. Anyone who dares to cross his territory to bring the goods will face an enormous tax. Those who try to smuggle will be cut down!"
"What?" Earl Canmond's heart sank. His brain was revolving at crazy speed, connecting all the dots. "Impossible. Check the two nobles where we sell our clothes and wool!"
"How does the Lord know?"
"Know what?"
"Those two nobles had also declared the completion of the Golden Trade Road!"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Earl Canmond was terrified. Golden Trade Road was the name Noel gave to the highway he was expanding. Their announcements were the same as their declaration of siding with the Ardagan family.
"We've been had!" Earl Canmond gasped. "We have sold a lot of our assets to them at a very low price. However, what can we do when Earl Haverson gives a sanction? Most of our trades pass through his territory first before reaching ours.
"We can pay a high price for the goods, but it's impossible to do the same for other cities in our territory. In addition, all the acquired funds will be gone in no time."
The butler's body froze. He couldn't help but say with a desperate tone, "What if we use another path?"
As he said those words, another butler came to the room. "Emergency. We have gotten an emergency letter."
The butler took this letter and read it in horror. "Count Lastis, Baron Willow, and Countess Hestia give us the same sanction!"
"!!!" Earl Canmond dropped to his chair. "It's over."
Earl Canmond imagined the map. Those three names were located around their territory. By getting their cooperation, they could isolate his territory from the rest of the kingdom.
"So, that's the real plan of Marquis Ardagan." Earl Canmond's face became white as if his soul had left his body.
"After spending so much money for the sanction, we basically damaged the foundation of the economy of this land. Then, he forced us to sell our assets at a low price instead of buying them at a much higher price as they intended through those nobles.
"After getting the fund, he placed an economic sanction against us, which would cripple our economy and tried to suck all the money we had left.
"With the economy ruined, the land became less stable and there would be great unrest among the populace. Sadly, we had cut down the army's budget, which reduced the number of soldiers, making us unable to stop the riots or even potential revolts.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"Because of the supply and demand, we had cut down our production. Even if we tried to raise it again, it wouldn't reach its peak anytime soon. No, it would already be a miracle to even operate at 50% of the original capacity.
"Ultimately, we couldn't recover our economy while being isolated completely. And the territory would definitely fall…
"Meanwhile, Marquis Ardagan might have suffered a bit economically, but this sanction allowed the other nobles to have an opportunity to make a connection with the Ardagan family directly. At the same time, the expansion of his Golden Trade Road became much faster.
"He got our goods and could easily survive the winter. With his road project's success, Lounstein's economy would reach a whole new level.'
Earl Canmond gulped down. He realized that he had lost. Even if he tried to survive, he could only last for so long.
He could try contacting the Greenwood Kingdom, but Noel's connection over there reached even the highest level, so there was no way the nobles over there would trade with him.
If everything that happened to him was according to his prediction, the other three nobles might be facing the same thing.
Earl Canmond said, "Send a message to the other three lords to help us. If they don't give any help, it means their territories will fall sooner or later."
"Y-yes." The butler didn't know what to say at this point. He had heard Earl Canmond's explanation and realized that they had been checkmated.
"There is one more thing." Earl Canmond stopped his butler from leaving. "Where is that bastard, Matthew?"
"He…" The butler looked concerned.
…
In the city, Matthew was already boarding his carriage. As soon as he closed the door, the only thing coming out of his mouth were complaints.
"This Earl Canmond is so useless. I have to get away right now. I don't want to risk my companies…" Matthew gritted his teeth. "To think that both of my companies are being pressured from all sides. Even our sales have dropped to 70%. If this continues, they might even drop below the top ten companies in this kingdom."
Matthew was angry. He never thought that Marquis Ardagan's plan was this thorough. It was no wonder he was so confident in that meeting.
And judging from what happened, those three merchants that took Noel's offer were ready to take the top spots.
His biggest miscalculation was that the young Marquis, who became a lord only for a few months, managed to do this well. It was as if he were fighting against a noble who had decades of experience.
"Wasn't he supposed to be a lazy young master? He should have no experience governing the territory." Matthew bit his lips.
The coachman who drove his carriage suddenly knocked on the carriage and opened the peephole. "Master. We have a problem here."
"What's wrong?" Matthew saw the small piece of paper in his assistant's hand. It contained the recent news, not about the economic sanction against the four nobles, but regarding the movements of Maxwell, Theressa, and Zephyr.
Unlike the merchants who didn't join Noel because of the risk, Matthew was showing his hostility openly.
And it was time for Noel to counterattack.
"Bastard!"
"Are you insane?"
He kept screaming inside the carriage, letting out all his anger.
The coachman couldn't do anything other than close the peephole and drive safely while listening to Matthew cursing for half an hour.
As Earl Canmond predicted, the other nobles also received economic sanctions at the same time.
This sanction might only last for a while because the royal family could intervene, but at that time, it was already too late. The four nobles wouldn't have any fighting power left even after getting bailed out by the royal family's decree.
In addition, if the royal family helped them by giving a decree, it would be seen as them abusing their power. If the royal family didn't help these four nobles, people would think they were just mere pieces that the royal family could throw away after using them.
Count Lesen was rampaging in his mansion for a few days when he heard the news. Count Yatcher's blood pressure went up so much that he spurted blood out of his mouth and passed out. Meanwhile, Count Caulbot was desperately struggling against the sanction. Unfortunately, the Stargaze family was also in that area and ready to crush them completely.
With this, Noel would be able to erase the royal family's power in the north. It could be said that the Ardagan family had become an overlord in the north.
However, Noel didn't have any intention of challenging the authority of the royal family. That was why he let other nobles devour those four nobles instead of himself.
His father-in-law, Kevin, had warned him not to become too big after all. If he became too big to the point where he could rival the royal family, it would be easy to make people believe he was preparing for a rebellion. After listening to what happened in the previous life from Anna, he was doing his best to avoid the same thing.
Still, Noel didn't dismiss anyone if they thought of him that way. If the demons were going to invade them, they would come from the north. If he became the overlord in the north, he could rally people to resist them together, which would become a valuable force for Noel's future battle.
And the biggest contributor to this plan was none other than his father's former ally, Countess Christina.
She was the one handling the nobles in the middle part of the kingdom.
Without her, Noel might struggle a bit against these four nobles. However, with this, he should be able to wrap up the battle against the four nobles… or so he thought.
At that time, he forgot one variable that he had thought was not possible yet.
