When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

#553 - Dashed hopes

Compared to those relatively impoverished regions, the nobles of Hothamm County have always adhered to an absentee landlord system.

Their territories consist of fragmented enclaves and manors, making it difficult to pinpoint a geographical center of governance.

The only places where nobles genuinely reside are their ancestral family castles and the Count's court near or within the city.

Centuries ago, the Count's court was considered a sign of societal breakdown.

But nowadays, even wealthy merchants like Catherine can build palaces, so what's a Count's entire court?

Upon receiving news of Prince Condé, the Edict Legion stationed at Swiftstream Fortress swiftly raided Samboli's county court.

However, Samboli, as the de facto leader of Hothamm County's nobles, was not an easy target to deal with.

Before news of Wayne's death even arrived, he had already transferred important account books, personnel, and belongings back to his old home.

His wife and children were sent to his Léa relatives in the nearby Xian Stone Township for refuge overnight.

Samboli himself, however, had not left yet; he hadn't even left the vicinity of Swiftstream Fortress, and was now sitting upright in an elegant study.

Outside the door and windows, the sounds of rumbling wheels and clamor filled the air, with the bright candlelight casting shadows into the study.

At this wedding banquet for the niece of Earl Nathaniel, counts, bishops, and deans of all ranks had arrived.

Yet amidst the crowded celebrations, the high-ranking counts, unable to hold their liquor, began to depart.

After passing through the small garden and washing their faces to clear their heads, five counts gathered in the small study.

They stood or sat, listening as Samboli recounted the entire affair in detail.

"You've all seen what Prince Condé has done," Samboli said, wearing a silk shirt stained with dust and a ripped robe, indicating he hadn't washed or rested in days but had been on the move.

"Rebellion is our only remaining option," Samboli declared, his bloodshot eyes sweeping over each count present.

Earl Nathaniel, as the head of the family, swallowed hard, as if trying to suppress his fear: "Has it really come to that point?"

"After arresting Gerrynon, he'll arrest me, and after arresting me, he'll arrest all of you! Then he'll pack us all off to North County to eat snow, and you'll all be obedient!" Samboli roared in a hoarse voice.

The counts present all shuddered in unison.

Their actions couldn't be investigated, or rather, any investigation would uncover major scandals.

It was like the case of the Demon Hunter Grandmaster Noron and the Green Shirts, which almost implicated the Pope himself.

Prince Condé thought he had suffered a setback this time, and was just venting his anger by arresting someone.

But in the eyes of the Hothamm County nobles, who had heard rumors for some time, this was a signal.

If Prince Condé truly regarded the so-called 'evidence of treason' as a divisive tactic, as he claimed, then why would he arrest Samboli?

This clearly indicated that he believed they were traitors, but simply lacked evidence.

Now that Wayne was dead, the so-called 'evidence' was completely gone, which, in Prince Condé's view, was blatant proof.

Neither Gerrynon nor Samboli had direct evidence to prove their treason, but the charges for their arrest and imprisonment were both treason and collusion with heretics.

This completely extinguished the nobles' hopes and illusions.

One noble might be an accident, but two nobles indicate a conspiracy, and this clearly meant an expansion of the crackdown.

Who knew how many 'accomplices' Gerrynon would implicate? He had already been 'convicted' of treason, so his words would be considered confessions.

Most importantly, these nobles were indeed traitors, and evidence was abundant.

They didn't want to end up starving and freezing in those mountainous counties!

"We've known each other for over a decade, and our fathers knew each other for decades, even centuries," Samboli earnestly pleaded with these powerful counts. "When have I ever done anything detrimental to you all? In such a critical moment, we should learn from the lords of Red Leaf Hill!"

The so-called lords of Red Leaf Hill, in essence, referred to a situation where the Duke of Red Leaf Hill sided with the royal family in the sugar and spice trade, attempting to collect high spice taxes from the local lords.

As a result, those lords outwardly agreed, but launched a rebellion when the Duke of Red Leaf Hill left to meet the King, creating the impression that they were seceding from Fran and joining Léa.

Faced with immense resistance, King Gobaud IX had no choice but to publicly declare the Red Leaf Hill people's rights to trade in spices and sugar.

To this day, the unfortunate heir of the Duke of Red Leaf Hill lives in poverty in the Fran capital, Flower Hill City, bearing this title.

Under Samboli's relentless persuasion, and with the nobles feeling a sense of shared misfortune after Gerrynon's arrest, they finally changed their attitudes and voiced their agreement with Samboli's words.

In fact, anyone who could attend this wedding banquet was basically confirmed to be leaning towards resistance.

The two counts who felt it was none of their business didn't even bother to come.

After unifying the opinions of most of the Hothamm County nobles, a new problem arose.

"Lord Samboli, if we rebel, we're not going to fight Prince Condé ourselves, are we? Is that even possible?"

"Of course not. We need to find someone who can defeat Prince Condé to fight him."

"The Grand Duchess? Hasn't she already clashed with His Highness the Prince?"

Taking a deep breath, Samboli shook his head: "It's the Salvation Army."

"The Salvation Army? Are you insane?"

This answer clearly took everyone by surprise, and the counts became suspicious and uncertain, even beginning to wonder if Samboli had been bewitched by that sorcerer Hohn.

But after a moment's thought, they realized that this was indeed the most suitable answer.

The Kingdom of Léa was still in civil war and clearly couldn't spare any resources. Until the Léa civil war ended, the two Popes would likely find it difficult to mediate a resolution.

Neither the Empire nor the Church could offer assistance in the short term, making it difficult to restrain His Highness the Prince. Even the Pope could only write a few letters, which wouldn't have much effect.

Within Thousand River Valley, there were only two forces capable of defeating the Edict Legion.

Mélisande was clearly isolated and helpless, and they themselves were no match for Prince Condé, which left only Hohn and his Salvation Army.

"Welcoming the Salvation Army into Hothamm County? What if he wants to divide our territories?"

"Is Hohn such a fool? Does he not understand the situation?" Samboli coughed. "André, the leader of the Holy Son's Army, said that if we can revolt, the Salvation Army will enter Hothamm County without taking a single inch of land.

Besides, within their own territories, only the Kush fiefdom has been divided. Have they divided the land in Gold River Township or Lower River County?

Even if he breaks his promise, he won't have the manpower to divide our land. At most, we'll endure under the Grand Duchess for a year, until the King's army comes to quell the rebellion."

Taking a map from the bookcase, Samboli spread it out on the table: "We just need to handle one key point well."

"What?"

"This!"

Samboli heavily pointed his finger at the location of Stillwater Dock.