18 Taking Control

The remaining nobles of the Eastern Region were all gathered in the castle of Valencia, which was occupied by the First Army. After they entered the great hall of the castle, Roland entered and had all of them line up.

Viscount Ariburke, who had abandoned Duke Wilion long before Roland arrived, suddenly spoke up. "We did not participate in Duke Wilion's unlawful rebellion so we are completely innocent in this", he spoke with a haughty air. "We are just here to renew our vassalage and then we can leave right?"

"Not quite", said Roland. Suddenly, the nobles were silent in shock. "I have plans for the Kingdom of Graycastle, very grand plans. And in order to accomplish the goal of modernizing the kingdom, there must be changes."

Roland's next statement threw the nobles into a frenzy. "The feudal system shall come to an end. You must surrender your lands and noble privileges and agree to serve me."

"That is outrageous!", said Viscount Ariburke. "You go too far. We will never surrender our rights. This is tyranny!"

Roland then motioned to the guards. "Take him away to the dungeon." Two soldiers then removed Viscount Ariburke and took him away. The rest of the nobles fell silent, seeing the army surrounding them.

"I am not unjust", said Roland. "Once you have seen what I have done in Neverwinter, you will see that there are far more opportunities available. You all can take advantage of this opportunity to gain wealth by working within the new economy."

"I am willing to accept your demands", one nobleman said. However, inside he was indignant. "Once he got away from here he would rebel. Words extracted by force are meaningless", he thought to himself.

"Very well", said Roland. "Everyone, repeat after me: I am willing to give up my lands and noble privileges if such is demanded by King Roland."

All of the nobles said it since none of them wanted to end up like Viscount Ariburke. Roland paused for a few moments as Nightingale told him which ones were telling the truth by giving him taps on the shoulder.

Only two of them were telling the truth. "You and you." Roland pointed at the two of them. "You may leave."

The two noblemen looked relieved as they left the hall. The rest of the nobles were confused by what just happened.

"Tsk tsk, it seems that most of you were insincere when you said that. However, I am generous and will give you another chance. Repeat after me: even though I am unwilling to give up my lands and noble privilege, if King Roland does so I will not rebel or act against him in any way."

This time, a few more of the nobles were telling the truth. Some of them were cowards who didn't have the guts to rebel even when pushed to the brink. Others simply decided that it would be pointless to resist. Roland then allowed those people to leave.

"It is clear what the rest of you all think", said Roland. "You can all say the truth now, repeat after me: I will never surrender my lands and power and as long as I am alive I will fight against the King to keep them."

The rest of the hall fell silent. "Your Majesty… I am loyal, I do not wish to rebel at all."

Roland smiled before saying, "You are lying."

Everyone else didn't know what to say. Then Roland began speaking, "the rest of you will be sent to the mines. Guards, seize them!"

The nobles were shocked, but one quick thinking noble said, "Capture the king, they won't dare to shoot us if we have him." The rest of the nobles all ran toward Roland, seeking to hold him hostage to escape.

Suddenly, Roland vanished. Nightingale had taken him into the mist. The nobles were dumbfounded. Then, Roland reappeared at the other end of the hall with Nightingale. "It's a witch!", one of the nobles yelled.

"Now, for the crime of attempting to assault the king, I sentence you all to death. Fire!", yelled Roland. The soldiers began shooting at the assembled nobles. The castle floor was covered in blood.

"Clean this up", Roland said as he left the room.