Unspeakable bubbles

Anne said calmly, "Although there was a big age difference, the businessman was nearly fifty years old, while Mary was only seventeen at the time."

"However, marrying a big businessman is equivalent to going from being the 'daughter of a gambler' to the 'wife of a rich man'."

Mary accepted this change in identity with pleasure.

Section 607, Chapter 606: Ruthless and Vicious

"Even after Mary got married, she didn't stay put. With her beauty and the power of money, she perfectly integrated into the upper class of the capital."

“Mary hosts a large banquet almost every month, and in the first year, only the wealthy were invited.”

“Starting from the second year, nobles began to appear at Mary’s banquets.”

“With Mary’s help, her husband’s business grew bigger and bigger.”

"This was originally a beautiful story, but..."

After a pause, Anne continued, "In the third year, Mary's husband fell ill and died."

"There are all sorts of versions of this story, the most popular one being that Mary poisoned her husband and took all the property for herself."

"To take all the property?"

Petty asked in surprise, "The kingdom's laws stipulate that children and spouses have the right to inherit property."

"Yes, but that merchant had no children, though he did have brothers and sisters."

"They tried to contest Mary's inheritance, but with the strong support of Mary's second husband, Mary won a great victory."

"When Mary was twenty, she inherited all the merchant's property, and then she married a court count in the capital."

"The count was two cycles older than Mary, and his son was only one year younger than Mary."

“After Mary became a countess, her influence in the capital’s high society increased further.”

"She still holds a banquet once a month, but she generally doesn't invite purely businessmen anymore."

"Most of those attending the banquet were sons of nobles, and many of them held titles."

“Mary lived the life she had always dreamed of; she was not only rich, but also became a countess.”

"You know, just three years ago she was just a 'gambler's daughter'!"

"However, two years later, at Mary's twenty-second birthday party, the court count made a decision that surprised her."

"He decided to take his only son to participate in a war against the steppe initiated by the Duke of William."

"So William launched more than one war against the steppes."

"Yes Master."

Anne said respectfully, "However, apart from the time when the Blue Wing Army was involved, the other times were all small-scale."

“Often, the Boyle family doesn’t even send their own soldiers; they always find ‘external help’ from the capital.”

"Ha ha ha ha"

Petty suddenly burst into laughter: "Dad told me about this. He said that Duke William was just fooling people into becoming cannon fodder, but the cannon fodder died one after another, and every few years they would always reappear!"

"..."

Anne's expression was somewhat subtle. How could it come from Patty's mouth that those patriotic nobles became cannon fodder for Duke William?

“Mary’s second husband, that court count, was absolutely fooled by William.”

Petty shook his head: "For every piece of land they occupy on the grassland, as long as they hold onto it for three years, the Boyle family will give up an equal amount of land in exchange."

"This move was truly ruthless and vicious, and I don't know how many court nobles it killed."

“Patty, they can choose not to go,” the little girl said, speaking up for her ally.

"You can choose not to go, but the temptation is too great. Which court noble wouldn't be tempted?"

Seeing that the little girl was a bit confused, Petty quickly gave her a crash course in common knowledge: "Court nobles and fief nobles are very different. They only have noble titles, but they don't have any real land."

“A court count is far less important than a powerful baron with a territory.”

“Court nobles with their own property are fine, but those without any assets have to queue up every month to receive relief funds from the royal family.”

"Tsk tsk, just think about it, everyone else calls them 'Viscount' or 'Earl', while they live like beggars. How can they not feel resentful?"

Before today, the little girl thought that all nobles had their own territories, but she never expected that there would be such a 'fake' one.

"Why would there be such nobles?" she asked curiously.

"Of course, the royal family needs them to be there."

Petty explained, “The court nobles have no foundation and can only rely on the royal family.”

"Therefore, the court nobles are basically staunch supporters of the royal family."

"Hmm, but what use are they?"

"He has no money and no land; it seems he only has the title of nobleman."

"..."

Petty remained silent for a while. Even when Bubble asked her this question, she hesitated about how to answer.

"I was just saying it casually, just listen and move on."

Patty looked around nervously, then lowered her voice and asked, "Bubble, will Golden Mask hear us from next door?"

"will not"

With the little girl's assurance, Petty slowly said, "A noble title is more than just a title; it's incredibly useful in crucial moments."

"Bubble, let's take your family as an example."

"what?"

"The previous head of the Yog family has died, and the successors are all in a state of 'unknown fate'."

"If Bubble doesn't show up in a few more years, then your viscountry will no longer belong to you."

"There are two situations: one is transfer of fiefdom, and the other is inheritance."

"Transferring fiefdoms means that the royal family allocates this 'no man's land' to other fiefdom nobles."

"As for inheritance..."

"That is to select a court noble of equal rank and have him inherit the surname 'Yog' to become the new Viscount Yog!"

"How could this happen!"

The little girl got angry: "That's Bubble's house, how can a stranger take it!"

"Right, that's why many feudal nobles actually dislike court nobles."

"This is especially true of noble families with a long and distinguished history."

"Duke William..."

Petty thought for a moment: "Although he is good at disguising himself, he is a typical example."

"But the feudal nobles don't like them; His Majesty the King does!"

“If handled well, he can immediately gain another powerful nobleman to support him.”

"The mainstay of the royal party is mostly from the court nobility."

“Patty, you hate these things, but you know a lot.” The little girl looked at her in surprise.

"Actually, my father saw things very clearly. For a period of time, I was being groomed as the heir. It was impossible not to know these things."

Petty sighed, "He especially loves analyzing the power struggles between Duke William and His Majesty Charles; I'm sick of hearing it."

"Ahem, let's get back to the main topic."

"Court nobles dream of having their own territory, but the chance of 'inheritance' is extremely rare, so Duke William's 'land for land' directly hit their Achilles' heel."

"This matter involves the war between Saen and the steppes. His Majesty Charles not only cannot oppose it, but must also outwardly support it."

"With the greater good of the country, there is also a chance to turn one's fortunes around."

"Any court noble with a bit of ambition will fight for it!"

Section 608, Chapter 607, Keff

"People from the grasslands generally have a wolf-like nature, and they attach great importance to the concept of 'territory'."

“In the past, some noble families banded together to conquer a region, but they were immediately met with a strong backlash from the grassland tribes and were wiped out.”

Petty shrugged. "After Duke William finished his tour guiding duties, he simply washed his hands of the matter. How could those court nobles with no real power base possibly hold out for three years?"

"At least, no court noble had succeeded before I went to Laplace Academy."

"Miss Anne, did anyone succeed later?"

"no"

Anne shook her head: "Every year or two, a group of court nobles try, but no one ever succeeds."

"Knew it."

Petty looked as if he hadn't expected it: "Even if no one has ever succeeded, there are always court nobles who think, 'If others can't do it, it's because they're incompetent, but I'm different,' and risk their lives to try."

“That was Mary’s second husband.”

Anne continued, "After marrying Mary, he indirectly acquired Mary's vast wealth, and his life became far more comfortable than before."

"As time went on, he began to have the idea of ​​'going further'."

"He recruited several frustrated knights in the capital and hired a group of hundreds of mercenaries on the way to the grasslands."

"Then......"

Anne paused for a moment: "Not long after, he and his only son were beheaded by the steppe people, and Mary became a widow again."

"By this time Mary had a lot of resources at her disposal. After some maneuvering, she became Countess Mary without inheriting her husband's surname."