After all, he just needed to ennoble some loyal subjects with simple family backgrounds who would work hard without complaint.
If his descendants proved unworthy, there were plenty of ways to reclaim the fiefs.
In the heartland of the empire, the lives of the nobility resembled a never-ending shadow war.
Here, there was no smoke and fire of the borderlands, no barbarian raids or plunder—only the roiling undercurrents of conspiracy and calculation beneath a tranquil surface.
For the sake of a single, unremarkable village, they would willingly spend years meticulously laying their plans.
It might be a remote hamlet with barren land and a sparse population, but in the eyes of a noble, it held endless value.
It could be a key node on an important trade route, hint at a hidden vein of rare ore, or perhaps simply sit on the border between the spheres of influence of two families.
Whoever controlled it would gain a slight edge in the great game of family power.
