Unintended Cultivator

V13 Chapter 18 – Extreme Demand

The nobles remained silent for several long seconds. Their expressions weren’t quite horrified, but they were nowhere near to happy. He supposed that was to be expected. He had dashed any hope that any of them had of taking control or even mounting an attempt to reclaim their land. Nor did he think any of them truly believed that they could stand against him if he came back with a mind to shed blood. It wasn’t so much what he’d said that bothered them. He hadn’t revealed much that they hadn’t already known or at least guessed at. What aggravated them was the stark terms in which he’d put it. He hadn’t coddled them at all, and Sen suspected that these were all people who expected to be coddled. It was the matronly woman who finally broke the awkward silence.

“And what it is that you expect us to do in this new,” she said the final word through clenched teeth, “province?”

Sen considered her for a moment before saying, “I expect you to be useful. Help maintain order. See to the needs of the mortals in your domains.”

“And what do we get in return?”

“Aside from your lives?” asked Sen in a cool tone.

While it seemed like an obvious question to him, the nobles seemed to take it as an open threat. A few of them took hasty steps back, as if to distance themselves from both him and the matronly noblewoman. Sen watched as a bead of sweat trickled down from the woman’s temple. That was the only visible sign of her distress. He had to give her credit for maintaining her composure when confronted by someone who clearly didn’t respect her nobility. Especially when that person had the power to decide her fate. After another tense silence, she swallowed hard and answered.

“Yes. Aside from our lives.”

“I’ll allow you to retain your lands, titles, and any businesses that have survived the spirit beasts’ madness. I’m aware that madness has been disastrous for merchants and most other businesses that relied on travel of any distance. But, if you have other ventures, you may keep them. I’ll even allow you to keep whatever fortunes you may have. That being said, you do not own those lands. You hold them in trust for the empire. Your titles are similarly something you hold, but you must earn the right to retain them. The same will hold true for your children and their children. Fail in your duties, and your lands, titles, and businesses will be taken from you.”

“And who will judge whether we’ve failed in our duty?” demanded the handsome, older noble.

“For the time being, the governor I appoint here,” answered Sen. “Ultimately, though, I am the final word.”

“And what is to keep that person from simply declaring that we’ve failed and stealing our lands?”

“My lands.”

“What?”

“You misspoke. Every acre of land in this kingdom belongs to me. Never forget that. It can’t be stolen from you because you do not own it. As to them depriving you of the land on false grounds, they won’t.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Because they are well aware of what I’d do if they try to subvert my will. There are many ways to die, and none of them are eager to find out how creative I can get in delivering it.”

That pronouncement seemed to weigh down on the small gathering of nobles. Sen waited in icy silence for them to gather their wits.

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Adopting a more respectful tone, the man asked, “And how are we to convince you that we’re going to be assets?”

“You want me to tell you what to say?” asked Sen, struggling to keep his incredulity in check.

The noble grimaced at the obvious criticism and shook his head.

“No, Lord Lu. It was, perhaps, a poorly formed question. Your disdain for us is obvious, so I take it as given that merely giving our words won’t be sufficient.”

“You are correct.”

“I fail to see what else we can offer. It’s not as though we have someone here who can see the truth.”

Sen didn’t answer immediately. He’d hoped that they would be more motivated to at least try to convince him based on some kind of merit. Surely, they had skills or resources that would be beneficial to either the governor specifically or to the empire as a whole. However, not a single one suggested such a thing. Instead, they waited for him to provide them with a solution. He shook his head.

“Disappointing,” he muttered, causing most of the nobles to flinch. “Very well, if none of you can come up with something on your own, have you considered offering a vow to the heavens?”

Sen honestly wasn’t sure how well that would work. Something about cultivators attracted the attention of the heavens, but with mortals…he just wasn’t sure. It wasn’t a matter of seriousness. Mortals took those vows just as seriously as cultivators did, which made them rare. But there was no guarantee that the heavens would acknowledge the vow, which was what he really needed to trust them. He wished that they would have at least attempted to come up with an

argument. There were telltale signs that he could pick up on sometimes when mortals lied. That would have at least given him somewhere to start. Maybe, if nothing else, some of those signs would appear when they gave the vow.For their part, the nobles all looked startled at the suggestion. The matronly woman even looked a little scandalized. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was considered inappropriate for rulers in what used to be this kingdom to use those vows for purely political purposes. Unfortunately for them, he wasn’t from this kingdom and didn’t share that reservation. If they weren’t even willing to consider the prospect, though, that would tell him something important in itself. It might not be an outright admission that they meant to be disruptive and uncooperative, but it would be the next best thing. He wouldn’t kill them for it. That would be going too far. They wouldn’t walk out of the throne room with their titles, though. They’d walk out to join the army in one form or another.

“Don’t you think that’s an extreme demand?” demanded one of the nobles who had been silent up until now.

She was a much younger woman who had an admirable glare. Sen lifted offered her a quizzical expression.

“In what way is that extreme?” he asked, keeping his tone mild.

“A vow to the heavens could cost us our lives!”

Sen saw both the matronly noble and the older, handsome noble wince. He locked eyes with each for a moment while wearing a bland smile.

“Would you like to explain it to her, or should I?” asked Sen.

The matronly noble turned to the younger woman and shook her head in a way that was both disapproving and sad.

“What?” demanded the younger woman.

“Yinuo,” said the older woman in a sad voice, “that would only be a concern if you intended to break the vow.”

The younger woman looked confused for a moment before her eyes went wide. She opened her mouth to object or plead, but Sen didn’t let her get that far.

“Your house no longer exists. You are all stripped of land, title, and wealth. You and your people will serve me in the army,” he said and looked at one of the soldiers guarding the nobles. “See to it that she finds her way to a room and remains there while her house is dismantled. Let her speak to no one. When her people are rounded up, see to it that she finds her way to the army.”

“Yes, Lord Lu!” barked the soldier.

The younger noble had been staring at him in disbelief, like she’d been caught in a trance. That trance shattered the moment the guard seized her arm. She tried to wrench her arm free, and, when that didn’t work, she started yelling at the man.

“Release me, at once. I will not be manhandled by the likes of you. Do you have an idea who I am?”

“A penniless peasant,” said Sen, injecting a tiny bit of qi into his voice to make it thrum in the air. “That’s all you are now, which makes that soldier infinitely more valuable than you. He, at least, has useful skills to offer the empire.”

With a nod to the soldier, the former noble was dragged away, shrieking about her status and making empty threats to have the soldier killed. Sen watched them go with a neutral expression before he looked back at the slightly smaller group of nobles.

“Now,” he said. “Who would like to go first?”