I Became a Lord in t Chapter 161 : Chapter 161

Chapter : 161

What was bound to co finally ca.

I had thought that the Estates-General would be convened after the autumn wheat harvest ended, but it was called earlier than I had expected.

It was the height of sumr, when the sowing had just finished and everything should have been ripening.

Of course, it was not incomprehensible. As Magician Agpiel had said before, the situation was not normal. It was because a spring drought had hit most domains, and the sprouts had not properly co up from the seeds that had been sown.

Now they were finally starting to notice.

That [The Great Famine] was approaching.

That was why the king of the Elang Kingdom was moving so quickly.

It was because he was trying to stop his power base from being shaken, no matter what.

“Are you saying the Estates-General was convened?”

“Oh, Magician Agpiel. You have co.”

While I was thinking that, Magician Agpiel walked into the office with a surprised expression and asked.

It made sense, because the Estates-General was being held for the first ti in nearly eight years.

“As far as I know, the king of the Elang Kingdom decided that he would not hold it himself, and now he is saying he will do it. Hahaha.”

The noble class.

The clerical class.

The bourgeois class of urban nobles, led by rchants.

The Estates-General was where the king gathered these three estates and discussed matters of national importance.

Usually, the matters decided at this assembly had powerful binding force, to the point that even the king could not casually overturn them.

That was why the king of the Elang Kingdom had not convened the Estates-General until now, for the sake of strengthening his own authority.

“Doesn’t that an the situation is that urgent, Magician Agpiel?”

“Urgent, my foot. It is all because of his greed. If the king of the Elang Kingdom had conceded just a little and ruled the kingdom, it would not have co to this.”

Magician Agpiel clicked his tongue as he spoke, but I did not agree in my heart.

To say that, the nobles under him had been far too ambitious.

Not only the Duke of Bourgogne in the northeast who always dread of independence, but also the great nobles in the northwest and central regions, and even the Crusader Knight Order that had planted itself across the kingdom.

There were simply too many people who would sink their claws in the mont he showed even a little weakness.

And on top of that, I had newly possessed the body of the Margrave of Bellua and was also seeking even greater power….

“Still, isn’t this move exquisite?”

I hid my true thoughts and asked in that guarded way. Magician Agpiel nodded.

“It is. He is turning the dissatisfaction that would pour onto him toward sothing else. Co to think of it, his political decisiveness is fairly decent. In any case, he has joined hands with the Holy See, which had been no different from an enemy….”

“He really is impressive.”

If abnormal weather reduced the harvest, the ones who struggled to eat and live were ordinary commoners in the end.

Each of them had no choice but to borrow food from their lord just to survive.

The problem was that since this abnormal weather had gone on for more than two years, even the lords had no money. Which ant.

‘It ans everyone is exposed to usury.’

As harvests shrank while spending stayed the sa, the lords borrowed money without hesitation to maintain their dignity(?), and the commoners borrowed money to survive.

The problem arose here.

The lords, at least, were dealing with their own domain people, so they tried to show a certain asure of rcy, but the usual moneylenders did not consider such things at all.

Nearly fifty percent.

They were squeezing people dry with truly enormous usurious interest.

And the ones who were best at doing that were.

“Still, the Crusader Knight Order people really were too much.”

They were the Crusader Knight Order that Magician Agpiel was talking about.

“No matter how much it is moneylending authorized by the Holy See, they are still doing it under the na of the Church, and yet they exploit people like that. Sotis, rcy and giving are what protect them….”

“Thanks to that, didn’t we gain a huge benefit from the Pope?”

“Tsk tsk. Still, you should be careful too. It will not be only the Crusader Knight Order people who take damage from this matter. You will have to conduct yourself well.”

Magician Agpiel clicked his tongue as if it was regrettable and said that to .

This loan interest rate cap targeted the Crusader Knight Order, but it was also a asure that would deal a major blow to the rchant class.

In other words, to the urban nobles who could engage in moneylending. Usually, they had lent a lot of money to nobles.

If I stepped forward and openly sided with the king of the Elang Kingdom’s opinion, it was obvious that I would earn the wrath of the urban nobles.

Of course, I had prepared for this matter to so extent, but still.

You never knew.

Didn’t they say that you could never be too careful?

It would be best to always be cautious.

“Mm, thank you for the advice.”

That was why I expressed my gratitude to Magician Agpiel, who always gave

good advice, and said so.

---

The preparations were not long.

It was within the kingdom anyway.

And since I was not going there to flatter the king of the Elang Kingdom, the preparations for this trip were finished very quickly.

Three hundred knights and six hundred guards.

The composition had increased even more than last ti.

It was thanks to the kingdom’s chaotic atmosphere. Still, it was not because I was preparing like this in case royalist nobles tried to attack .

It was because the number of vagrants had increased enormously due to the continuing drought. They called them vagrants, but with hunger driving them mad, they were nothing but bands of robbers.

On top of that, I was hearing unsettling news about small domains that had fallen to peasant revolts.

The nobles of each region were gradually losing control.

The enormous period of turmoil that [The Great Famine] would bring. I could feel in my skin that the ti of each man for himself was drawing closer.

-Whoa!

-Stop! We have arrived-!

Even so, my soldiers and I were able to reach the king’s residence, the kingdom’s capital, at a very fast pace without any clashes.

There was no lunatic with the nerve to pick a fight with an army of nearly a thousand, especially a force bristling with armor and sharp spears and blades.

“Hm, it has been a while since I ca to the capital of the Elang Kingdom.”

“Oh, have you ever co here before, Magician Agpiel?”

“I once helped when they expanded the outer fortifications of this city. It was quite a spectacle. That construction, back then.”

Magician Agpiel spoke with a proud voice as he pointed at the capital’s walls.

Just as Magician Agpiel said, that outer expansion construction must have been trendous. The shape of the outer capital, Parsiorum, was staggering.

A deeply dug moat and a tall stone wall that had to be a full ten ters.

And on top of that, a vast size worthy of a nation’s capital. Although it was smaller than Romulus, the capital of the Holy See that had been passed down since the days of the Ancient Empire, it was still a bustling city that ranked among the top on the continent.

“eeeee. This place is quite decent too. hr.”

And it seed our goat beastman, Bishop Marco, felt the sa way. As we passed through the gate, he bleated in excitent at the sight of the capital, Parsiorum.

The way his rectangular goat eyes blinked and glittered made it look as if he was planning to pocket sothing big in this city.

“…Make sure you manage that fellow well.”

“Surely he will not cause trouble.”

“You know it now too, don’t you? That ‘surely’ really does get people killed. It is already unsettled, and there is no need to cause trouble for nothing.”

“…….”

How had a bishop of all people ended up getting this kind of evaluation? Still, I could not help thinking that it might be self-inflicted.

“Oh? It has been a while, Margrave of Bellua.”

Just then, a familiar woman’s voice ca from the side.

When I turned my head, I saw a woman with a veil around her head standing there under the escort of knights.

“Who…?”

I tilted my head and asked carefully. Was there a woman who knew ? I had to avoid any possible mishap.

Then the veiled woman suddenly laughed in a gentle voice and asked back in a teasing tone.

“Hoho. It has been a while since I have seen this, but you seem the sa as ever? Surely you have not forgotten? I am disappointed….”

“Huh?”

Only then did I cry out in surprise.

“Princess Maceania?”

“Hm. It has been a while since I have heard that title. Now I have beco the ruler of Aquitaine. Just like soone said.”

“Ah, my apologies. Your Grace, the Duke of Aquitaine.”

“Oh, no. You can make mistakes. Still, our margrave seems to make a mistake every ti he sees ? You know that I feel hurt, right?”

Damn. She really was not an easy woman. Even in an era that should have been [Pangea Universalise], she had such a distinctive, lively personality.

I smiled bitterly.

“I am sorry. I find it a bit difficult to deal with won.”

“Oh my? That is unexpected?”

“Unexpected?”

“I thought you must have made quite a few won cry.”

“…….”

“I am joking. Joking.”

“C, cough. I know.”

My mind went hazy at her sudden jab. For so reason, every ti I t this woman, I felt like I was getting pulled into her pace.

“By the way, it seems Your Grace, the Duke of Aquitaine, has also been invited to this Estates-General?”

“Well, I must be one of the few great nobles who are u. pr. ight, so wouldn’t they need ? Of course, I do not know whether it will go the way Father wants. Hehe.”

“Surely that will not happen.”

At my words, Duke Maceania of Aquitaine gave a wink with her characteristically beautiful face and shrugged.

Then she looked at

and whispered softly.

“Do you have a mont? There is sothing I want to talk about.”

“Right now? I have just arrived at the capital, so I need to take care of so things.”

Why did she suddenly want to talk? What was going on? Did she need help with sothing?

I subtly leaned back and sized up Duke Maceania of Aquitaine.

If it was urgent, she would try to grab , and if it was just for casual socializing, she would let it slide.

But Duke Maceania of Aquitaine seed sowhat urgent.

“Hm…. Then let’s et once you have rested and before the Estates-General begins. How about it?”

She seed to think for a mont, then imdiately asked . With things like this, there was no need for

to avoid it.

At the very least, before going into the Estates-General, I needed to exchange opinions with the great nobles once.

“Fine. There is no harm in it.”

“Good. Then I will send soone. See you then.”

“Understood. I will see you then.”

Duke Maceania of Aquitaine accepted my greeting and imdiately turned away again. From the looks of it, she seed to be arranging etings with other nobles as well.

She really did seem to be in a hurry.