Chapter 453: Dealing with the Aftermath
The Stronghold’s castle office was larger than anything Roland had worked in at the small town — bookcases with gilded edges lining every wall, filled floor to ceiling with epics and travel notes and whatever else a noble family collected over generations to suggest they read. A wooden ladder leaned against one shelf for the upper levels. The single window was waist-high, fitted with iron railings on the outside, and when the daylight fell at the right angle it threw a stripe of sunlight across the old fur rug, giving the room a quality of composed, deliberate solitude — the kind that suited a different temperament than his.
Anna would love this, he thought. The high shelves, the filtered light, the stillness.
He preferred his own office in Border Town: bright, crowded with large windows, small enough that you couldn’t get too comfortable with your own thoughts.
And Nightingale, given her preference for sleeping by the fireplace, would find this place intolerable within the hour.
A knock. He shelved the Secret History of the Western Region he’d been holding and called out.
Petrov Hull entered and set a stack of papers on the desk. “The data you asked for, Your Highness.”
Roland ran through the list carefully. “These are all the nobles remaining in the Western Region?”
“Yes.” Petrov stood at attention, explaining as Roland read. “Two categories — guilty and innocent. Alphabetized within each. Sixty-four guilty. A hundred and thirty-seven who refused to join the rebellion or had no knowledge of it. The innocent are mostly free knights, common knights, and lower-ranking nobles.”
He turned to the first page. Roman Candy, Earl of the Maple Leaf Family, topped the list. According to Iron Axe’s report, this great noble had hidden in a wine barrel in his own basement when the castle fell, and soiled himself when the First Army found him. Highest-ranking prisoner in the entire campaign. Roland moved on — the next page was nothing but Maple Leaf associates, two sons, cousins, knights, the full household.
He finished the list and set it down. “Good work.”
Six families had composed the Western Region’s nobility. They were history now. Lion Ryan, Maple Leaf, Wolf, Wild Rose — crushed entirely. Honeysuckle and Elk remained, but stripped of their feudal standing, they answered to him. Every acre of this territory answered to him.
“Your Highness…” Petrov hesitated. “Sir Iron Axe compiled the guilty list. Is there any chance of — misjudgment?”
Roland allowed himself a short laugh. “He’s a skilled interrogator and used no torture. His judgments are trustworthy.” He paused, deciding how much to say. Nightingale’s involvement was straightforward but not widely advertised: after the nobles were locked up, she had checked each one — a few simple questions were all it took to separate liars from the genuinely innocent. With her, he didn’t have to choose between suspicion and mercy. The list was accurate in a way no conventional court could have produced. “You can rely on the list.”
Petrov nodded slowly. “Then — what do you plan to do with the guilty ones?”
Roland looked up. “Why do you ask? Are some of these men friends of yours?”
“No, Your Highness.” His voice was flat, honest. “I just think that hanging all of them might complicate your future governance.”
“Last week you were calling for an eye for an eye.” Roland raised an eyebrow. “And now you want to spare them?”
“I want every one of them in hell.” The words came out low, measured. “But strangling them all myself wouldn’t change anything. It would give the surviving nobles reason to hate the Honeysuckle Family, and it would give other cities reason to resist you. The math isn’t in favor of it.”
Roland studied him for a moment. This battle didn’t make him harder. It made him clearer. That was the thing about real loss — it either collapsed a person or sharpened them into something more useful than they’d been.
He stood and walked to the window. “I’ll tell you what I’ve already decided.” The city below was white and still, buried in a late-winter snow that showed no intention of relenting. “I’m going to hold an open trial in the public square and announce everything — the rebellion, the casualties, the conspirators. Nobles, guards, squires, mercenaries — all of them tried in the open. The ringleaders and direct organizers, and anyone with civilian blood on their hands: hanged. Those who followed orders will lose their titles and serve at the North Slope Mine.”
He turned from the window. “Five or six nobles will hang. The Earl of the Elk Family and the Viscount of the Wolf Family died in the fighting, so those who survived trade their titles for their lives. When that becomes known, I don’t expect anyone to call it excessive. Rebellion against the king is a capital offense — and they’re alive.”
Petrov let out a slow breath. “Your Highness is merciful.”
When the eldest son of the Honeysuckle Family left, Roland stood alone in the room for a moment. An unfamiliar thing settled over him — not pride, but something adjacent to it. Satisfaction at a problem solved cleanly.
The operation had cleared every obstacle in the Western Region. He could legislate and administer this land without the constant threat of old blood asserting itself. More than that, he had retained the nobles who would be useful. Strip a man of his feudal power and he becomes dependent on trade and policy — and a noble who was dependent would become, out of simple self-interest, his most effective advocate. Low-ranking nobles had never prospered under the old system anyway; many had spent their lives in slow debt to their own territories. Once they discovered what could be made under different rules, they would not look back.
He wiped the condensation from the window and looked out at Longsong Stronghold under snow. He would be here long enough to have a hand in how it was governed. He might as well make the space livable.
Starting with the windows. He would put in French windows — large ones, floor to ceiling, facing south.
Chapter 453: Dealing with the Aftermath
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
The Stronghold’s castle office was much roomier than that of the small town. Tall bookshelves with gilded edges lined the walls to his left and right and were filled with all kinds of books. The bookshelves provided any subject he could dream of, from epics to travel notes. In order to reach the books on the upper levels, a wooden ladder was placed next to the bookshelves for easy access.
Probably out of safety concerns, the only waist-high window in the office was equipped with metal railings on the outside. When the daylight hit the room, he could clearly see a stripe of sun ray splash over the old fur rug while feeling a sense of aloofness as if he were standing against the world.
“Anna would definitely love this place,” Roland couldn’t help thinking. However, to him, the brightly lit town office with large windows suited his taste better. Even though it was small, it was comfortable.
As for Nightingale, he could tell by her habit of sleeping by the fireplace that she would not like it here at all.
Suddenly, someone knocked on his door.
“Come in.” Roland placed the Secret History of the Western Region he was holding back onto the bookshelf.
“Your Highness.” Petrov Hull entered the office and placed a stack of paper onto his desk. “I’ve finished collecting the data you asked for.”
Roland walked back to his desk and read through the list of the nobles carefully. “These are all the nobles left in the Western Region?”
“Yes.” Petrov explained, “They’re divided into two main categories, guilty and innocent. After that, I ranked them by family names. There are 64 people who are guilty, and 137 people who refused to rebel or had no knowledge of the rebellion. The innocent people are mostly free knights, knights, and lower-level nobles.”
Roland flipped to the first page and saw the name of Roman Candy, the Earl of Maple Leaf Family, listed on the top. According to Iron Axe’s report, this great noble hid in a wine barrel in his basement after his castle was seized, and he soiled his pants out of fear when the First Army found him. He was also the noble with the highest rank among the captured in the war of unification.
Next was an entire page of the nobles from the Maple Family, which included two sons, other relatives, and knights.
Roland quickly finished reading the list and felt very satisfied. “Great job.”
The six families of the Western Region had literally become history—Lion Ryan, Maple Leaf, Wolf, and Wild Rose were completely crushed, and although Honeysuckle and Elk still remained, they were no longer feudal nobles. Now, all the power in the Western Region belonged to Roland.
“Your Highness…” Petrov hesitated for a bit before asking, “Sir Iron Axe convicted the people on that list. Could there be any… misjudgment?”
Roland couldn’t help chuckling. “He’s a very skilled interrogator and didn’t use torture to force confessions, so I think his final judgment is trustworthy.”
Meanwhile, his interrogation was just a matter of formality. After all the nobles were locked into prison, Nightingale double checked each of them—it only took her a few simple questions to determine if they had involved in the rebellion. This was also why Roland felt confident in addressing the noble with a heavy hand. With Nightingale’s help, he could ensure that he wasn’t missing any guilty people or condemning any innocent ones. He didn’t have to worry about shedding innocent blood or exonerating the real culprits.
“So… what do you plan to do with the guilty nobles?”
“Why do you ask?” Roland raised his head and glanced at Petrov. “Are some of these men your friends?”
“No, Your Highness.” He shook his head. “I just think that if you hanged them all, it might harm your future rule.”
“You were talking about an eye for an eye a week ago.” The prince raised his eyebrow curiously. “Now you want to spare them?”
“I do want all these people to go to hell, but even if I strangle them all to death myself, it wouldn’t change anything… It might even cause the other nobles to hate the Honeysuckle Family. Also, if everyone learns that you’ve executed the nobles, other cities might resist your rule.”
After hearing this, Roland was quite surprised. This was the logic of a seasoned politician, who set aside personal emotion while weighing the pros and cons… “It seems that this battle hasn’t made him hate fighting but actually helped him become mature.”
“It doesn’t hurt to tell you this beforehand.” He stood up and walked to the window. “I’m going to announce everything about this matter to the people and hold an open trial for all the rebels at the square, including the nobilities, guards, squires, and mercenaries… the ringleaders and direct organizers of the rebellion, as well as scoundrels with the people’s blood on their hands. They will all be hanged. People who are guilty of following their orders will be stripped of their titles and sent to the North Slope Mine.”
“This way, only five or six noblemen will be hanged. The Earl of the Elk Family and the Viscount of the Wolf Family died in battles, so those who survived will be trading their titles for their lives. When the message gets out, I don’t think anyone will see this as too harsh a punishment—after all, rebelling against the king is a capital offense.”
Petrov sighed in relief. “Your Highness is merciful.”
When the eldest son of the Honeysuckle Family left, Roland felt an unfamiliar feeling of satisfaction.
This operation had cleared all the obstacles for him in the Western Region, so he could easily make laws and distribute orders throughout this vast land.
More importantly, he gained the support from many people and nobles—after the rebels were removed, only supporters would remain.
This was especially true for the nobles—after losing their feudal and legislative power, they would have to wholeheartedly follow and spread his policies if they wanted to continue living a comfortable life. Since the nobles had more resources than civilians, it wouldn’t take them much thought to figure out how to profit from them.
Once they started to gain small profits, they wouldn’t ever want to go back to their old lives —after all, these low-level nobles had never gained much from their territories, and sometimes even went into debt if they didn’t manage them well. They would soon realize that as long as they played by the rules, they would live an unimaginably comfortable life.
There was no doubt that he had taken a big step toward his city-building plan.
Roland wiped off the water vapor on his window and looked at the city enveloped in snow—since he still had to stay in Longsong Stronghold for a while to deal with governmental affairs, he might as well refurbish this office to his own liking.
For example… he would start with the French windows.