20 years had passed when I woke up! ~ The villain's daughter’s thereafter and after that ~ - Chapter 47 

Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse

The Abolishment of Nobles’ Property Rights was an act of reform in which the nobles lost all of their rights to own property, and all land within the Tristan Kingdom came under the direct control of the royal house.

As this reform came at the same time as Fioria’s acceptance of her new role as prime minister, the policy caused a good amount of agitation within the Tristan nobility. 

“You mean to oust us from our seats in the nobility?!”

“You’ve shown your true colors, at last, you scheming she-fox!”

“At this rate, the entire Tristan Kingdom will be taken over by Fioria!”

As expected, many voices of opposition were raised…  However, all of the clamoring nobles had three things in common.

The first was that they were sloppy with the management of their lands. The second was that despite their sloppy business practices, they continued to live in luxury, and all of them had accrued debt as a result. The third was that they were completely unrepentant on the first two points.  

To put it simply, they could be described in one word – incompetent.

“Incompetent, indeed,” said Fioria when she heard of the nobles’ reaction to the new reform. She sighed in disappointment.

“They didn’t work hard enough to meet the demands of their positions, and they were punished for it. If they don’t like how things are turning out, they should prove themselves by starting to contribute to the improvement of the political system… Well, I’m sure that won’t happen,” said Fioria.

She was correct in her prediction.

The rebellious nobles began a shady conspiracy to oust Fioria and force her resignation. The number of nobles who agreed to cooperate and work towards improving the state was scant. It seemed unavoidable that the nobles would be hit with the heavy hammer of justice, soon.

On the other hand, the common people had accepted The Abolishment of Nobles’ Property Rights with open arms.

“The point is, Fioria-sama is looking out for us, too, y’know? We gotta cheer for that.”

“Those goddamn landlords only ever think about their own cushy lives. Ain’t nobody surprised that they got the boot.”

“Serves those bastards right!”

The reaction from the townspeople was, in large part, favorable. It was due to Fioria’s popularity… But, it wasn’t just that. Newspapers were playing a large role in this, as well. 

The Valentine News Company was a newspaper publication that Fioria had established twenty years prior, and by now, it had spread its circulation to not only the entire Tristan Kingdom but throughout all of the Belgarian continent, as well. 

The influence of this publication was tremendous, and the tactic of information warfare used in favor of her newly established Protestant sect was a brand-new concept.

The Valentine News Company was fully backing Fioria yet again, and intensely pushing her agenda… Fioria was not explicitly ordering them to do this, but it was an expected course of action.

Amid this political climate, an edict was delivered to all nobles in King Vincent’s name:

A briefing on the topic of The Abolishment of Nobles’ Property Rights will be held at the assembly hall of the royal court. All that can attend must appear at this meeting.

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The briefing was held a week after the dispatching of the edict, in the middle of April.

At the assembly hall, more than a hundred nobles from barons to dukes had gathered. At this point, the Tristan Kingdom has 112 noble houses.

An ordinary meeting of nobles had an attendance rate of under sixty percent. 

This time around, the attendance rate was something to be marveled at, but it was also evidence pointing to the fact that many nobles were concerned about The Abolishment of Nobles’ Property Rights, and perhaps even felt threatened by it.  

“Thank you for taking the time to come. I am Prime Minister Fioria Di Florence,” said Fioria. She was under the gaze of more than a hundred people, and yet, she felt no fear, and began to talk, but… 

“We don’t need your formalities! Hurry up and explain this! What is your reason for stealing away our noble ranks?”

A skinny middle-aged man was raising an angry voice. It was Count Dungess Di Sain. He was known for his greediness, and yet, his house’s financial affairs were in shambles.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]

“You misunderstand, Count Sain,” said Fioria, with an extremely calm tone.

“I am simply calling for the abolishment of land ownership by noblemen. No one has said anything about dismantling the system of nobility or taking anyone’s ranks away,” she said.

“Wha…!?” said Count Sain, darting his eyes about, flustered. He was met with an answer he hadn’t even imagined would come and was left speechless.

He was not the only one. A commotion of bafflement spread throughout the nobles in the assembly hall. 

“Please quiet down. Have you forgotten the manners you learned at your noble schools? When someone is speaking, it is polite to keep your mouth shut,” said Fioria. After mumbling some more words of reproach, Fioria began to explain for a second time.

“From the time I took on the position of prime minister up until today, I have been researching the financial situations of each of your noble houses. Is there anyone here that can proudly say that they are not in a deficit? You need not answer. Your downturned faces are answer enough,” she said.

Just as she had said, almost all of the nobles had turned away in shame and averted their eyes from Fioria.

“The times have already changed. Nobility can no longer exist solely for the sake of having an upper class… Yet, there are very few who have adapted well to this turbulent time. Most of you are faced with a miserable situation. You are drowning in debt, or getting involved in new ventures only to be burned, or being fooled by prospectors and con artists and losing everything,” she said.

“Urgh…” 

Count Sain groaned in anger. All three situations that Fioria had mentioned applied to him.  Without reforming his land management, he had indulged in every possible luxury, and in a panic, attempted to establish a company, which failed and only put him deeper in debt. 

He was then fooled by a rumor that said there was a great treasure waiting to be found in the Southern Islands. He financed a group of adventurers who ran off on him and left him hanging.

“I do not intend to condemn you all excessively, though. All people have their strengths and weaknesses. And yet, just because you have been born into a noble house, you have been forced into land management. This is the crux of the nobles’ property rights issue,” she said.

At this point, only a few people had realized that Fioria had slightly shifted the topic of discussion.

Most of the nobles were thinking, “Yeah, I’m not the type to be good at land management, but I was forced to do it. That’s why things ended up this bad.” They were busy shifting the blame off of themselves. “It’s not me that’s in the wrong,” they thought, “What’s wrong is this system.

“I want to release you all from the shackles of land ownership, and not only that. As a fellow member of the aristocracy, I want you to escape this debtor’s hell you are in. That is why I am giving you these options. In one month, every noble house must give up their land to the king of the Tristan Kingdom. In return, all debts will be taken on and paid off by the royal house. Of course, rest assured, no ranks or official positions will be taken away from anyone. You will all continue being Tristan noblemen, just as you have been thus far.

After that, Fioria announced the blueprint of the political system that would be established after the Abolishment of Nobles’ Property Rights went into effect. The plan was as follows:

“All lands currently owned by nobility will be reorganized into partitioned areas called “prefectures”. A consul will be dispatched from the palace to each prefecture to govern within each of these prefectures.

We will be in charge of appointing the consuls, but if you have any nominations, please submit their names to us. We will take their previous financial records into considerations and decide whether they are fit or unfit for the position.

At the same time, we will proceed with an establishment of a parliament for the nobility. Each noble house will employ their current head of household as their representative, and we will supply each house with a stipend to support their current household… Of course, if any fraud is committed, those nobles will be discharged from their positions.

Do you have any questions? What will become of the dukedom of Florence? Of course, all of its lands will be given up to the royal house.

That is all I have to announce. I am giving you all one month to think about this. Please give it due consideration,” she finished.

When the explanation was finished, a majority of the nobles felt as though The Abolishment of Nobles’ Property Rights was actually good news. 

After all, not only would their debts be erased, they would be freed from having to manage their lands, and they were still guaranteed a stipend.

Thirteen noble houses turned in their property rights that day, and within half a month, seventy-two more had.

Most of them had failed to realize a very important detail. The reason why they had been able to stand above the commoners in society was not because of their status as nobility. It was ownership – they were the owners of the land the commoners lived on, and though they did not govern well, they were the reigning governors over all who lived there.

The Abolishment of Nobles’ Property Rights was designed to do away with all of that. 

Most of the nobles went to the gallows without realizing what they were doing and even tied the nooses around their necks by themselves.

Of course, some did realize what was happening, as Fioria expected, but most of them didn’t speak out in rebellion. The current system was on the verge of collapse. They understood this, and they chose the only route of survival, which was to accept the new system.

That said, not every noble house agreed to The Abolishment of Nobles’ Property Rights.

“I won’t listen to anything that woman says!”

“I’d like to see them try to take away the land of my ancestors!”

“To hell with this country! I’m going to claim independence!”

About ten noble houses announced their secession from the Tristan Kingdom. 

They thought that this was their one way out.

Even Fioria planned to accept their decision, thinking, “If that’s really what they want, then let them have it.”

However, a new narrative was formed.

“The king has been deceived by Fioria’s charms, and he is now plotting the downfall of the Tristan Kingdom with her! Down with Vincent!”

They formed an alliance and raised an army for a revolt. They made the mistake of declaring war on the Tristan Kingdom.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]