Chapter 153: The Curse of Glamorgan

"Earl of Glamorgan? Or an actual fief!"

Lei En felt a little stunned when he heard about the conferral of this title.

At the Empire's founding, each rank had a corresponding domain, and the formal address for nobles always prefixed the title with the name of the fief.

For example, Viola's Winter Thunder Earl—"Winter Thunder" refers to her domain, and "Earl" is her rank.

Since the royal house vanished over a thousand years ago and the Kemiatis Supreme Council seized power, the aristocratic system has gradually changed, giving rise to many nominal titles.

Nominal nobles have no lands; their titles merely symbolize status, making the address simpler.

Bolok, who was just ennobled today, was granted a baronial rank by the Silver Star Duke without any territorial designation, so calling him simply "Baron" suffices.

But the Earl of Glamorgan clearly has a domain!

From its name, the land is called Glamorgan, and as an earl's domain, its area must be considerable.

An actual earl in the Empire automatically gains a seat as an Imperial Councilor, entering the Imperial Council.

Oriense Empire Council!

It is the Empire's power center, with fewer than three hundred councilors, each a renowned figure or extraordinary being.

"Glamorgan…"

Lei En's thoughts raced; in his memory, only three earldoms existed within the Longshande Duke's domain, Winter Thunder Earl being one of them, and none called Glamorgan.

"The name rings a bell; I think I've seen it somewhere,"

Lei En lowered his head, unsure whether to accept.

From the guests' reactions, this title is certainly no trivial matter; the Silver Star Duke's sudden bestowal likely heralds trouble.

Lei En wasn't knocked out by a pie falling from the sky.

He covertly opened his mobile library, about to search Glamorgan's origins, when a force pressed against his shoulder.

From the corner of his eye, he saw the Silver Star Duke's staff resting on his shoulder gently pressing down.

"Hm?"

The Silver Star Duke let out a low hum, seeming displeased.

Leaning on one knee, Lei En felt a heavy pressure—not from magic, nor the staff's power, nor any mental influence, but the intimidating authority of a superior.

In just two or three seconds, no room was left for Lei En to choose.

All eyes in the Grand Hall fixed on him, awaiting his response.

Resigned, Lei En recited the rehearsed oath aloud: "I, Ryan Augustus, pledge my loyalty to the lady, my life to the Empire, and my faith to the goddess."

Clap! Clap!

The staff tapped each side of his shoulder, signalling the title's conferment.

Immediately, the Silver Star Duke produced a brand‑new ceremonial robe, the parchment of the ennoblement, and a family crest.

The crest's design matched the surname, just as Lei En had previously submitted to City Hall.

About the size of half a palm, the golden crest was roughly circular, encircled by wheat ears on a red base, with a crossed war‑hammer and crescent moon at its center—simple and powerful.

A few days earlier, when Lei En handed his self‑designed crest to Darenni, the latter glanced at it and oddly asked why the crescent moon bore a handle.

Lei En gave no answer, only a knowing smile.

He took the robe, parchment, and crest, and a wave of gasps and roaring applause filled the Grand Hall.

As he rose, he saw the Silver Star Duke's mouth curve slightly, revealing an inscrutable smile.

Not only the Silver Star Duke, Lei En noticed several front‑row nobles whose pallor was odd; their gazes held shock, sympathy, and doubt, their auras shifting back and forth—clearly they knew the inside story.

Those unaware of the details were either intensely envious or wildly excited.

His father Bade was now so excited he could barely speak, his face flushed, his whole body trembling with excitement.

Lei En returned to his seat and exchanged a glance with Viola beside him; she shook her head slightly, indicating it wasn't time for explanations.

At that moment, Mayor Yalas announced the end of the ennoblement ceremony, and everyone rose to see off the Silver Star Duke and several legendary wizards.

The attending guests also dispersed in an orderly manner.

The newly titled nobles remained immersed in joy, chatting with those nearby and receiving congratulations.

As today's two protagonists, Lei En and Viola merely exchanged brief greetings with acquaintances before hurrying away.

Outside the Grand Hall, Lei En had his family board a carriage home, while he followed Viola.

The inner workings of the ennoblement need not be revealed to them for now.

Just as Lei En settled into Viola's car, she instructed the driver, "Head to the Wizard Tower immediately."

"Are we going to see the duke?" Lei En asked while searching for Glamorgan information in his mobile library.

The results were few, but they revealed the crucial details.

The Earl of Glamorgan's domain, astonishingly, lies in Mo Du!

Moreover, the land isn't a remote outskirts area near Mo Du; it sits both within Mo Du City and beyond its walls.

The domain isn't vast—about a thousand square li, much smaller than a typical earldom—but it encompasses a large swath of Mo Du's eastern coastline, covering nearly a quarter of the entire city!

Lei En had never been to Mo Du, but his mobile library contained maps.

This world's most bustling trade capital sits on the south bank of the mouth of the Empire's longest river, the Na Qu Mo He, between the river and the Heaven Bay, forming a plain spanning several thousand square li.

The plain forms an irregular triangle with its point eastward, and the Earl of Glamorgan's domain lies at that very tip!

Within Mo Du City, a tributary of the Na Qu Mo He winds through, called the Yelu River.

The city is built along both banks; most districts and residents occupy the western bank, while the eastern bank to the coast is almost entirely the Earl of Glamorgan's land.

Though not the most densely populated area, the domain remains vital to Mo Du, housing two of its three major ports and hundreds of factories and estates built over years, comparable to an industrial new zone of ancient Earth.

The value of the Glamorgan domain is virtually incalculable.

"Whoa!"

Lei En couldn't help shouting inside, "What the heck is going on?"

He didn't wait for Viola's reply and asked repeatedly, "How does Your Grace the Duke have an earl's fief in Mo Du? Does she have the right to grant it to me?"

"Yes." Viola's face showed worry as she nodded, "It is legal."

"What's going on?" Lei En was even more puzzled.

The Empire's Twelve Holy Soul Wizards are officially ennobled as Dukes, and each may designate an area no larger than a province as their own domain.

Within the domain, personnel, legions and taxes are all managed by the Duke, like a principality.

The Duke only needs to remit taxes to the Empire each year.

However, not every Holy Soul Wizard likes to be a great lord; some voluntarily relinquish the Duke title, marking only a tiny parcel of land for building a Wu Shi Ta or Fu Kong Cheng.

Some even refuse a Wu Shi Ta, retreating to an unknown place.

These Holy Soul Wizards are commonly addressed as Master rather than Duke.

The ruler of the Weizelan Fu Kong Cheng, Master Anxiwodasi, is such a case.

This Holy Soul Wizard has no domain, only a Fu Kong Cheng; thus the Weizelan Fu Kong Cheng floats above Mo Du, yet he is not Mo Du's lord. In fact, his Fu Kong Cheng was not built by himself, but grew from a wizard apprentice, advancing to Holy Soul and becoming the city's leader.

Even so, it should not fall to the Silver Star Duke to intervene in Mo Du and ennoble an earl.

Because it is evident that Mo Du lies within Master Anxiwodasi's sphere of influence.

"Master Anxiwodasi rarely meddles in Mo Du affairs," Viola said. "Lei En, Mo Du differs from our Longshande; its history predates the Empire's founding. Emperor Alfar the Great divided it and surrounding areas into many fiefs, enfeoffing them to over a dozen nobles."

"After all these years, Mo Du City remains in the hands of those old nobles."

"They are the Empire's wealthiest noble class, jointly funding the construction of the Weizelan Fu Kong Cheng; within their families are also extremely powerful transcendents, who have a very complex relationship with the Fu Kong Cheng."

"The former Earl of Glamorgan, the Dukagen family, was one of those nobles."

Lei En caught the subtext, "Formerly?"

"Yes, about eighty years ago."

Viola pondered briefly, then replied: "The conflicts among Mo Du's nobles are also fierce; initially there were over a dozen great nobles, each with actual fiefs, and now only seven remain."

"More than eighty years ago, a legendary wizard allied with the Dukagen family suddenly died, the family was wiped out, and only the Earl of Glamorgan himself escaped, severely wounded."

"That Earl fled to Longshande; for reasons unknown, on his deathbed he swore loyalty to Your Grace the Duke."

"The Duke immediately agreed."

"According to Empire law, the Earl of Glamorgan becomes the Duke's subordinate vassal; lacking direct descendants, the Duke has the right to appoint a new earl."

Lei En, hearing this, couldn't help but feel doubtful.

The Silver Star Duke has long been amassing wealth to build a Fu Kong Cheng; faced with such great profit, it would be strange if he disagreed.

For a Holy Soul Wizard to make others swear loyalty is far from easy.

Moreover, behind this matter, the Silver Star Duke's hand may be involved.

"What happened next?" Lei En asked.

Viola replied: "Your Grace the Duke appointed a new Earl of Glamorgan to take over that Mo Du territory, but it did not go smoothly."

Lei En shook his head; needless to say, it surely met fierce resistance from Mo Du's local nobles.

"The new earl the Duke appointed died less than half a year after arriving in Mo Du," Viola said gravely. "The Duke of course would not give up so easily; he continued to appoint and dispatched the Secret Fire Guard to accompany, protecting the earl's safety."

"In the subsequent twenty years, a total of seven Earls of Glamorgan were appointed."

"The last of those seven earls was a legendary wizard; he spent the longest time in Mo Du, over ten years, and was assassinated in his own fief. Though he did not die on the spot, he was gravely wounded, voluntarily relinquished the earl title, and after leaving Mo Du died of his injuries a few years later."

Lei En was greatly astonished.

Even the legendary wizard died an untimely death, and with the Silver Star Duke backing him, none escaped; this shows how ruthless the Mo Du nobles are— for profit, even Holy Soul Wizards dare to act against them.

It can almost be said with certainty that the Weizelan Fu Kong Cheng also intervened.

Viola continued: "After that legendary wizard returned, the Duke never appointed another Earl of Glamorgan."

"As far as I know, Master Anxiwodasi stepped forward and personally negotiated with the Duke."

"Both sides each yielded a step; the Duke would no longer appoint new Earls of Glamorgan. As a deal, each of Mo Du's noble families presents the Duke each year with a Gold Shield; I don't know the exact amount."

Lei En slowly nodded, finally understanding why those guests had sympathized with him earlier.

It is likely that the Silver Star Duke is short of funds again.

So he appointed himself Earl of Glamorgan, reigniting conflict with Mo Du's nobles, hoping to extort more money.

Unfortunately, he became a pawn in the Silver Star Duke's hand.

Viola clearly thought the same, her brows furrowed, she held Lei En's hand and asked, "The Duke will certainly send you to Mo Du; what will you do?"

Lei En looked out the car window, saying nothing.

The car entered the Silver Star Academy, stopped beneath the Wu Shi Ta; as soon as the two alighted, a wizard stepped forward and said, "Earl Dong Ting Bo Ju, Earl of Glamorgan, please follow me."

(End of chapter)