463 Province in Chaos By dawn, the entire Millfall was aware of the events at the Staples estate, where yet another local noble family had suffered significant losses.
Amid the current situation, some nobles couldn't help but fear for the future. In the space of a few months, the Irwin family had lost much of their fortune, the Symons family had been wiped out, and now the Staples family had been massacred, leaving only two survivors.
The seven remaining Barons in the city were very frightened, with all of them positioning themselves in more or less the same way at the beginning of the day, demanding answers from the army.
The city was in chaos, and the royal laws weren't working. The army had to do something to bring peace to Millfall!
That was the official strategy of virtually every local noble that morning. But while some were heading to the local army headquarters, others were looking for alternative ways to protect themselves.
Two local barons were now at the Mazzanti family residence, where Bart was resting on the estate's roof, and Rory was attending to the family's affairs.
...
"Your Graces, don't worry. The Mazzanti family is willing to provide their services to even powerful local figures like yourselves." Rory said, wearing a silver mask on his face, as well dressed as the two old men in front of him.
"Deputy, is there any chance that Cesar will sell us some of his weapons?" One of the Barons asked, sweat running down his face.
Rory smiled at the level 5 Acolyte. He would have felt pressured by such a request in the past. But now, his position was much better than that of these nobles.
"That is impossible. Everyone knows that only the Mazzanti family has these weapons. If we give them to others, how long will it be before the victims of our weapons come looking for us?
But we can provide your groups with mercenaries connected to the family and with the weapons."
"How much would you charge for each level 3 Acolyte?" The other old nobleman there asked, knowing that someone like that, armed with this family's equipment, could protect them.
Rory got right to the point. "20 gold coins a month. If Your Graces hire three men each and pay for their services in advance for a year, we can reduce the amount to 600 gold coins."
The two nobles looked at each other, for this was no small sum for them to throw away casually. However, if the Mazzanti family fulfilled Rory's promise, then these two could have three individuals in their families, each with more firepower than their families currently had, even taking all members into account.
That was a significant increase in power to achieve so easily!
'That could be the way for my family to gain the title of Viscount...' One of them thought.
Rory then added. "As much as my family is growing, let me tell you that we don't have many level 3 men at our disposal. We will have more people in the future, but right now, we only have 10 mercenaries with the characteristics you want..."
If there were only 10 individuals and they wanted 6 in total, then the demand for these men might soon be greater than the supply, which would inevitably raise the cost of such a deal.
"If that's the case..."
...
While the Mazzanti family took advantage of the crisis to make coins and increase their influence among the local nobility, Eve knew exactly what Shelby had done the night before.
After going to the woman with Nina to offer her condolences, she didn't miss the opportunity to poke Shelby and question the woman.
"You made good use of your study time with Nina last night, huh?" Eve asked as she pretended to hug Shelby in the hotel room where the woman and Levi were.
Shelby didn't hide it. "Are you judging me for this? You don't know what I've been through because of them, Eve."
"You don't have to explain yourself to me, Shelby. Even if I don't know what you've been through, I know what people, especially noble ones, are capable of. I just hope you don't abuse your current position. Remember who put you where you are." Eve reminded her.
"I know. I'm grateful to him. I'll do my best to control a family with the title of Viscount and help him in the future." Shelby thought about Vicente and her goals for the Staples family.
"Will you be able to achieve that title after all that's happened?" Eve felt it would be impossible now.
But she didn't know the kingdom as much as Shelby.
The orange-haired woman smiled subtly. "Before, the king might have appointed a nobleman from outside Millfall to the position left vacant by Viscount Symons. But now that this has happened, he will surely choose a local nobleman. That's because the local powers are scared and angry. He needs to do something to control local tempers and ease tensions in the city.
What better way to do this than to promote a noble? The appointment of a new local noble, the ascension of another, and the arrival of a new Commander in the city will bring some relief.
Now that my family has suffered this tragedy, I only have a couple of competitors." "Still..."
"If you lend me some of your men, I can quickly turn my situation around and make my family eligible for the position of Viscount. The king doesn't really care about the names and origins of his vassals. As long as I can prove my ability to work, no one will give me any trouble because so many of my family have died recently."
"We'll see what we can do about that..." Eve commented as Nina and Molly stood beside Levi.
...
While the news from inside Millfall was terrible, the news from the province was even worse!
Only a few days after the escape of several powerful inmates from Long Bay Correctional Facility, the first of the three successful High-level Mages had been found murdered!
Specifically, an old rival of Snow Claw's who had facilitated his capture was found dead this morning. Much of the province was already frightened by his escape. But now, with the news that he had begun to show his vicious claws, even more extreme fears were spreading throughout the territory.
Even in Millfall, where something terrible had happened the night before, the soldiers couldn't help but be more concerned about the events surrounding the recent escape than the death of Baron Staples.
At the local army headquarters, the soldiers of the capital were practically floundering over the current situation, with so many complex problems to solve that they didn't know what to do.
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