Chapter 61: The End of Greed
After King Rience left Camelot Castle, he returned to his residence with a grief-stricken expression.
Soon, his faction members gathered around him.
Some wanted to know whether the dozen or so captured nobles could be released, while others sought to understand if the King intended to take action against the southern nobles.
Then...
King Rience revealed that there were no more nobles left in the south.
"No more nobles... Your Majesty, what do you mean..." King Lucan, one of the Six Southern Kings belonging to King Rience's faction, vaguely understood the implication but couldn't believe it, so he prepared to ask again.
Once more.
Then King Rience continued with that sorrowful expression and disclosed the more detailed outcome.
"Just now when I went to Camelot Castle to see the King, he told me that all 1,105 noble houses in the south—except for the dozen or so brought to Camelot—are completely gone!"
Noah had spared several dozen houses, but King Rience had no intention of keeping them.
Those the King hadn't killed, he would return to eliminate root and branch!
Moreover, Noah had instructed him on how to deal with these people and tacitly permitted him to kill them all!
Even the charges against these nobles...
Noah had already prepared them for him.
A not entirely false excuse...
"The King said those nobles colluded with the Saxon Barbarians, and some even defected to Vortigern, so he had no choice but to take such drastic measures!"
After King Rience finished speaking, his other subordinates looked at each other. Once they confirmed King Rience was telling the truth, those with poor control over their expressions immediately covered their mouths and laughed.
Most of them were King Rience's loyal followers.
Trusted aides who could be brought to Camelot!
While some of them had to pretend to be on good terms with the nobles, and would inevitably plead for mercy when the dozen nobles encountered problems—these were actually sleeper agents King Rience had planted to cooperate with King Uther's cleanup operation after defeating Vortigern.
But now that all the nobles were eliminated, they no longer needed to maintain the pretense.
As for why they and King Rience were still acting...
Part of the reason was that among those present were some who maintained neutrality between King Rience and the noble faction, their position remaining uncertain.
But the main reason was that among those present, there was one who wasn't King Rience's sleeper agent, but originally belonged to the noble faction—though not entirely considered a noble himself.
That person was... King Lucan!
Most of the neutral faction members had been brought by him.
Moreover, this was the very person Noah had Morgan temporarily spare—one of the Six Southern Kings who would be eliminated after his replacement was decided.
Currently at King Rience's side, everyone was still maintaining their surface-level acting mainly for his benefit.
After all, they hadn't received word from King Rience that they could stop acting—even King Rience himself was still performing, so naturally they couldn't laugh out loud.
Otherwise, some of them might have suggested holding a banquet today!
Even if not that, they'd probably be able to happily eat three large bowls at noon today!
While the neutral faction members were momentarily stunned, they quickly began considering future situations.
Only King Lucan's complexion had truly turned somewhat unpleasant.
He bid a perfunctory farewell to King Rience and the others before hastily departing in the direction of Camelot Castle.
Watching him leave, King Rience's gaze gradually deepened.
He understood why King Lucan was behaving this way.
His wife was of noble birth, and among the dozen or so nobles Morgan had detained and brought to Camelot, the most prominent one was his father-in-law.
King Rience genuinely admired King Lucan's capabilities.
But if he were to become obstinate over this matter...
At this thought, King Rience dispatched several men to follow him.
He had no intention of killing the other outright in Camelot, but if the man truly lost his senses, he would restrain him at once and hand him over to the king for judgment!
If before, even after signing the agreement, King Rience had held more awe than genuine submission toward Noah, now Noah's act of uprooting the southern nobility entirely had won his true allegiance.
After all, for King Rience's lineage, who had governed southern Britain for generations, the nobility were like a dark cloud looming over the region!
It was a pity these individuals had existed even before Rome invaded Britain, and after the invasion, they quickly leveraged the Romans' authority.
Even his own clan had been elevated by the nobility during that era.
And now, this oppressive cloud had finally been dispelled!
For King Rience, this was more crucial than the salt trade.
Thus, he inwardly pledged his loyalty to Noah and resolved to keep watch over the other five kings in the south, especially King Lucan.
If any of them harbored treacherous intentions and sought to challenge the king, they would have to step over his dead body first!
He would keep his word!
...
After leaving King Rience, King Lucan intended to head to Camelot Castle to see his father-in-law.
Noah had granted his request.
Having experienced numerous simulated memories, Noah already knew him well and had even marked him for Morgan long ago, so such a minor request was easily approved.
Noah also wanted to observe King Lucan's stance on this matter.
He was well aware of the difficult position the other was in.
But there was no helping it.
The southern nobility had crossed the line in many regards!
Although in his simulations, Noah had never made an example of them through public execution as he did now, he was unaware of the full extent of their misdeeds.
Yet he knew the number of their crimes was undoubtedly vast—so much so that even in simulations, he had been unwilling to scrutinize them in detail!
It could truly be said that their offenses were too numerous to record!
Sighing, Noah reviewed the list of charges Morgan had compiled against King Lucan's father-in-law and his family.
Before inspecting the family vault, the accusations did not involve any unforgivable transgressions.
It was still possible to spare the family, provided their wealth was confiscated and their titles revoked.
King Lucan's wife had not been implicated.
Thus, Noah was prepared to give him a chance.
If he maintained the right attitude throughout this affair and if the inspection of his father-in-law's vault...
If no crimes crossing the bottom line are ultimately found, it wouldn't be impossible to spare one more household!
So...
Let their family's fate be decided by the gods.
If King Lucan performs well in this matter, then after his successor is properly trained, he and his father-in-law's family can die together—and die without too much suffering.
Originally, this was what Noah thought, and King Lucan's thoughts were quite similar, though his were slightly more refined.
After meeting his father-in-law, he made it clear that in this matter, he would not side with the nobility but with the king, hoping that the king might show mercy.
He was a neutral faction, not purely aligned with the nobility, which was why, over the years, he had never allowed his father-in-law to commit acts that truly crossed the bottom line.
Thus, the only thing he needed to confirm during this visit was one matter.
That was...
"Father-in-law, tell me the truth—how much money did you actually leave in the treasury? If it's not too much, there might still be a sliver of hope. If it's a lot... then there's nothing I can do."
Hearing King Lucan's words, his father-in-law, who had initially lost all hope upon realizing that the king had no intention of helping him, suddenly brightened up.
"Not much, truly not much... Most of the family's wealth was sent to other nobles some time ago due to business dealings and settling old debts. So now, that massive treasury is no longer filled to the brim with treasures—only a small portion remains!"
At this thought, King Lucan's father-in-law smiled.
As a high-ranking noble, he never expected that after all the chaotic deeds he had committed over the years, he could still survive after being caught!
For him, as long as he could live, nothing else mattered!
Whether his wealth was confiscated or his title stripped—it was all irrelevant!
As long as his son-in-law remained King Lucan, once he moved to his territory, even without the noble title, he would still live like a noble lord!
He never imagined that the incident where he had been severely swindled earlier, causing him to lose most of his family's wealth and nearly break his heart, would turn out to be a blessing in disguise!
As long as he could live, it was enough...
Money lost could always be extorted back from the commoners sooner or later.
But if his life was gone, everything would be over.
Seeing his father-in-law's reaction, King Lucan felt somewhat relieved but also heavy-hearted.
As a family member, he knew the situation all too well.
If his father-in-law hadn't amassed such immense wealth, why would he need such a massive treasury in the first place...?
He was well aware that his father-in-law deserved death a thousand times over.
But...
Alas.
He could only hope that after this incident, they would repent and reform.
However, neither King Lucan nor his father-in-law could have anticipated that it was precisely because their family's treasury was the largest among the southern nobles that it could hold treasures far beyond what others' vaults could accommodate.
Otherwise, even Vortigern wouldn't have been able to cram so much wealth into their family's treasury.
Perhaps...
This was the consequence of greed.