Chapter 139 Maugier Family
The city of Claudwill was an average city located in the Whitesburg Duchy, north of the Azurehelm River and close to the key trade route, The Golden Silk Road.
Apart from its impressive population and the proximity and accessibility to the Golden Silk Road, the city and its overseer Baron Maugier did not have much merit.
Baron Maugier and his family were hereditary nobles who could enjoy the noble lifestyle due to the good Karma of their ancestors. But even so, they were recently appointed nobles and only had a history of four generations.
Originally, the Maugiers were humble merchants who originally couldn't even hope for such a prosperous future. But fate was such that they found themselves in complicated situations.
At that time, the flourishing and illustrious Golden Silk Road rose to fame among the merchant community as well as the nobles who were on the precipice of this route.
This was a chaotic time when the Atrana Kingdom was busy quelling rebellions of the newly subjugated dynasties and small Kingdoms that were once independent. The barbarians were always at the doorstep, ready to pounce, and the world in its entirety was quite turbulent.
At such a time, the development of the Golden Silk Route could be said to be either a stupid or extremely ambitious idea.
This trade route was a hot potato that everybody wanted a piece of. So naturally, conflicts rose among the nobles who were situated along the route. Everyone wanted a small control over this exclusive trade route and to gain richer from the trades that would occur through the route.
And so, conflicts were inevitable. Out of nowhere, land disputes broke out among the nobles, and skirmishes became common.
As if this wasn't enough, the natural disaster also struck as famine descended all over the kingdom, making food scarce and hence increasing the value of the solid Trade Route immensely.
This was like a blessing and a curse at the same time. The crown was busy fighting and dealing with the rampant barbarians and rebels along with enemy nations that feared the rise of the kingdom. Then the famine spread out of nowhere and internal unrest was at its highest.
The crown was vexed and it truly was a precarious situation. So the crown commanded the Duchies to cease all hostilities at once so that the kingdom could focus on other important issues.
The trade route went through several Duchies and so it came upon the respective Duchies to maintain peace along the Golden Silk Road and to contain the rampant Nobles under them who were way off their heads due to greed.
However, at this juncture, it was a bit too late and some of these noble families had developed unreasonable enmity during the period of schemes and skirmishes.
Engulfed by their personal hatred, some nobles blatantly ignored the commands and continued their squabbling despite multiple warnings.
Enraged, the respective Dukes took matters into their own hands. Directly Exterminating these disobedient noble families entirely.
Many noble families were purged from their stems ruthlessly which sent a strong message to others that there was always a higher mountain.
Even though the Duke could not exterminate lesser nobles like this without the permission of the crown in normal circumstances, the situation at that time wasn't normal at all. So the unbridled lesser nobles immediately succumbed to trepidation and became as docile as a cat.
The purge, however, created a void that needed to be filled. And so the crown granted noble titles to new bloodlines that had made a name for themselves in the harsh times.
The Maugier Family was one of these lucky ones that benefited from the whole fiasco and attained a noble rank along with their very own territory.
Obviously, their meritorious deeds weren't small either. To have been granted such honor, they had accomplished great services for the Kingdom and its people in the harsh times of famine and turmoil.
Generations ago, the Maugier Family decisively set its roots along the Golden Silk Road, keeping amicable relations with the Duke of Whitesburg at the same time. However, as time passed, the crown regained its stability and all chaos ceased. The Golden Silk Route was paid special attention to and the Crown made sure that no particular party could get an excessive advantage from the route, breaking the power balance once again.
Restrictive laws were passed greatly hindering the noble houses from exploiting merchants and travelers. Strict guidelines were endorsed and punishment for breaking the were harsh.
Thus, the playing field was leveled for everyone to play on equal terms.
This became the cause of the Maugier Family's stagnation. Firstly, the Maugier Family rose abruptly, garnering much envy and scorn from the true-blooded nobles. Secondly, they originally had a merchant background and so they couldn't build a strong military presence. Thirdly, the territory of the Maugier Family did not have rich and rare natural resources that they could exploit to rise to prominence.
These became the reason why the city of Claudwill remained in obscurity and could only pass as average. Although with disadvantages, the city also had some advantages as well.
For example, the city of Claudwill was quite old, having considerable pages of history in the annals of the Atrana Kingdom. That's why, it was a well-fortified city that did not lack sturdy walls. It was also near the Azurehelm River and this was also the reason why many people preferred to live in it as it was comparatively more peaceful since no one really bothered with it.
This was the Claudwill city that bustled like always under the vast blue expanse of the sky. The sun shone brilliantly above and the people were busy below, going about their usual daily work.
One seller who was wandering near the city gates amidst the crowd somewhat in a daze suddenly bumped into someone. Jolting out of his reverie and raising his head, the man became petrified.
"Shit! Are ya' blind?!" A scary-looking soldier yelled furiously, hurling profanities while moving around the spear in his hand threateningly.
The poor street seller panicked and kneeled down immediately, intimidated by the mad soldier as he begged, "Ah! F-forgive me! I- I didn't mean to…"
Seeing the pitiful man, the soldier who looked more like some hoodlum sneered "Look at you! Here I am… Protect you worthless bastards day and night and you traumatize me like this…" the soldier said dramatically and scratched his chest as if he had suffered a grave injury.
"T-traumatize?" The seller muttered in disbelief.
"Of course! You traumatized me just now! Shouldn't you be polite or something and offer compensation?"
"Wha- but…" The seller tried to talk back but immediately shuddered and stopped upon seeing the soldier's cold gaze as well as the shining tip of the spear in his hand.
Swallowing his grievances, the man cursed profanities inwardly and smiled amiably as he blurted, "Ah! Right, sir… It was my fault. Here, this is for you as compensation."
The seller had a smile as if he had found his long-lost friend or benefactor but while curses were constantly being hurled in his mind. Eyebrows twitching, the seller reluctantly offered a small pouch from the bag and offered it to the soldier,
"Hehe, this is an item I recently acquired. Ahem, if you take one pill before going into the bedroom, your vitality will last for the entire night! You will be able to do the deed vigorously, hehe!"
The soldier's eyes brightened. The cold threatening glare from his gaze disappeared completely and he quickly snatched the pouch from the seller's hand with an ear-to-ear smile on his face that made the poor seller shriek back in trepidation, goosebumps standing on his body.
"Hmph! You can fuck off! And remember, you shouldn't traumatize your protectors like this, hehe. Understand?" The soldier said shamelessly.
"Of course of course!" The seller's mouth twitched as he scurried out to leave the dreadful presence of the soldier.
Seeing the seller scrummaging to leave, the soldier grinned and that's when another voice rang from his back, "You! Don't mess around! How many times does it need to be explained?! Tch, behave, or don't blame me when you get punished!"
The soldier frowned, turned around, and saw a large man with a ghastly scar on his right cheek wearing the same soldier uniform as himself standing with knitted brows.
"Yeah, I know! It's not gonna hurt with some fun would it?" The soldier blurted in dissatisfaction.
"Hmph!" The big man harrumphed indifferently and left, not wasting more of his time.
R𝑒ad latest chapt𝒆rs at f(r)eew𝒆bnovel.com Only