Unintended Cultivator

V13 Chapter 17 – You Heard Correctly

The nobles, who had been shifting uncomfortably, all froze in place. Sen could actually hear their hearts start beating even faster than the already rapid pace they had when he entered the room. He wasn’t even trying to intimidate them. They’d simply worked themselves up so much that anything he did or said at this point was interpreted as a prelude to death. To be fair, it might still be if they acted foolishly. Nonetheless, he’d had reasons to spare these particular nobles. It wouldn’t be wise to act hastily.

“I imagine you’re wondering just why it is that you didn’t join the rest of the nobles in death,” he said. “I won’t keep you in suspense. Despite anything you might have heard, it wasn’t to subject you to a slow, gruesome, public execution.”

There was an explosion of air as half of the nobles released the breaths they’d been holding. That was a little too relaxed for Sen’s purposes.

“If I do decide to execute you, I promise it will be swift,” he added.

The abruptly relieved nobles stiffened up again.

“Will you execute us?” asked a matronly woman with hard eyes.

Sen hadn’t bothered to learn their names. It had been laziness, more than anything. The truth was that his memory was so good now that he could memorize almost any basic information with little more than a glance at a document. That realization had let him understand just how it was that patriarchs and matriarchs had maintained control of their sects. They really could know everything, or everything that was reported to them. In this case, though, Sen just didn’t imagine he’d ever speak to any of these people again. That made learning their names of limited value. Someday in the future, if they survived, he might learn their names in a report he read.

“I haven’t decided,” said Sen. “I spared you this long because you were the best of a not very impressive group.”

“The way I hear it, you don’t have a use for any nobles,” said the woman.

She was trying very hard to project a presence of elder dignity, but the heart he could hear pounding gave away her true feelings. She was afraid.

“You heard correctly,” agreed Sen. “It’s been my experience that most nobles demand a great deal from everyone while offering nothing in return but spite and betrayal. You live today because most people agreed that you didn’t abuse the mortals under your care. Nor was there any evidence that you plotted to betray your queen. That bought you this opportunity.”

“What opportunity?” she asked.

“The opportunity to convince me that you’re going to be more of an asset than a problem. Now, before any of you grow any foolish ideas, let me explain the reality to you.”

One of the other nobles, a handsome, older man, opened his mouth to speak, but the woman put a hand on his arm. He gave her an opaque look, and she gave him a slight shake of the head. The way he pursed his lips suggested he didn’t like being told to stay quiet, but he didn’t speak. When the noble saw that Sen was staring at him, the man flinched a little. Sen waited to see if he would speak, but it seemed the matronly woman’s warning had proven sufficient.

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“Good,” said Sen. “First things first. Your lands are conquered. Your royals are dead. The kingdom you served no longer exists, and it will never return. You live in a province of my empire. You can resign yourself to this fact and choose to be helpful. Or you can cling to a nation that doesn’t exist anymore and accept the consequences. I don’t know any of you, so I have no particular preference about whether you live or die.

“Second, I will appoint a ruler for this province. It will not be one of you. It will never be one of you. It will never be one of your children, or your children’s children. Simply put, you cannot be trusted with that kind of authority. I have no interest in returning to this place in five or ten years to put down an insurrection led by one of you. Nor do I wish to return here in twenty or thirty years to crush a pointless insurrection led by your children or grandchildren. It would be a waste of my time and the lives of the people you or yours misled.”

Sen could see anger and frustration in the eyes of several of the nobles. He didn’t know if they’d arrived in the room imagining they might be handed a de facto throne if they could convince him. It seemed that some of them had dared to dream when he said they had a chance to convince him. Now, they knew better, and they weren’t happy about it.

The handsome older man couldn’t remain silent after that.

“You think strangers can rule us better than we can rule ourselves.”

“Of course not. They will, however, be more reliably in my service. It will be someone who has seen what I can do in a battle when I wasn’t trying to limit the number of dead. Someone who understands what a calamity it would be if I’m ever forced to come here and retake this city by force,” said Sen. “Every noble dreams of a crown. I advise you to bury that dream. There is no crown here for you, and there never will be.”

Sen met the man’s eyes and waited. The noble looked away first. Apparently, he’d been one who dreamed of a crown. He honestly didn’t understand why nobles lusted after being the king or queen. It was nothing but responsibility on top of more responsibility. Then again, maybe they imagined being one of those kings or queens who shamelessly abused their power while never actually working. Kingdoms could limp along like that for a while, but they always fell. Anyone who wanted their kingdom to last had no choice but to work ceaselessly. Why any mortal would want to work that hard was simply beyond him.

It made even less sense when the world was trying to rip itself apart. The best they could hope for in that circumstance was to oversee the deaths of thousands of their people. Sen didn’t pretend that conquering all of these kingdoms was an act of pure altruism. It wasn’t, but it would spare these people from the worst of that particularly awful responsibility. Maybe they just couldn’t see past the power. Or, maybe, they just didn’t want to see past it. Why they imagined that their rule wouldn’t be plagued by plots from their nobles baffled him. Did they think that all of that scheming would suddenly disappear the moment they took the throne? Were they deluded enough to imagine that all of those other nobles would love them and stop wanting the throne for themselves? If they did, it was willful blindness. Shaking his head a little, he continued.

“Finally, most of your army and cultivators will be coming with me. I will not leave you undefended, but I will not leave you with an army that’s sympathetic to the already doomed cause of reclaiming your lands. The soldiers who remain here will be ones loyal to me and whoever I appoint to rule here. You will not be permitted to raise a private army beyond what is necessary to defend your respective domains.”

He saw more frustration in their eyes. It seemed that most of them had been at least contemplating the idea of seizing back this territory after he left.

“And who will decide what is adequate?” asked the matronly woman.

“I will. Or the imperial governor I assign here. I assure you, they’ll understand perfectly well what is and is not required. Especially since I’ve already cleared your lands of spirit beasts. I’ll add that these are not terms to be negotiated. This is how things are and will be. Now, unless there are any questions, you can take this time to convince me.”