After five days of hard travel, Om led more than eighty mounted men to the outskirts of Manchuni. Vast oak forests stretched across the landscape, their leaves dyed golden by the touch of autumn. In the clearings between the trees, villagers' pigs roamed freely, rooting through the fallen acorns scattered across the ground.
While resting at a relay station, Om deliberately sent a messenger ahead to notify Leonard of their arrival—an action that puzzled Frode.
Suppressing his curiosity, Frode nibbled on dried rations and watched the Fourth Infantry Regiment working nearby on road construction.
They had traveled all the way from Londonium, and only this short stretch remained unfinished. Judging by the pace of work, Frode estimated it would take another half month to complete.
"Londonium to York to Tainburg…
Londonium to Manchuni…
What is Father planning next?"
Arrival at Manchuni
After resting, the party rode toward the southern gate of Manchuni, where the count and his attendants were already waiting.
Following brief formalities, Om stated his purpose plainly:
they had come to investigate the accounts of the textile works, and the count was required to cooperate fully.
Before he had even finished speaking, Frode noticed Leonard and his companions' expressions shift slightly—evidence that the intelligence service's suspicions had been correct.
Having been struck at a sensitive point, Leonard forced himself to remain calm and quickly changed the subject to Frode. He announced that the finest rooms and most lavish banquet had been prepared to welcome the Crown Prince.
Instantly, waves of flattery flooded Frode's ears. Feeling overwhelmed, he slipped closer to Om, using the minister's stern presence as a shield.
"Your Excellency," Om said firmly,
"the Crown Prince is merely here to observe. He is not involved in this case. You are addressing the wrong person."
He then insisted on proceeding directly to the textile works.
Memories of an Old Battle
Along the way, Om suddenly recalled the Battle of Manchuni twenty years earlier. Back then, the Viking coalition had surged through a breach in the city wall, only to encounter the Northumbrian royal guard unexpectedly. The attackers were forced into a humiliating retreat, fleeing eastward.
Perhaps too much time had passed; most details had faded.
The only thing Om clearly remembered was losing a small pouch of silver coins during the retreat.
"Was it twenty silver pennies… or fifty?"
The Prosperous Town
Behind him, Frode observed the settlement carefully.
Manchuni was the most prosperous town in western Britannia. Its streets were narrow and crowded, filled with pedestrians. Sheep were driven through the lanes, their bleating mixing with the calls of Anglo merchants hawking their goods.
Its greatest advantage was simple:
twenty years of uninterrupted peace.
The population had grown steadily to more than 5,000 people, making it more prosperous than most settlements.
Soon, the group reached the northwestern district near the River Mersey, an ideal location for transporting goods by water. Leonard's textile works stood there.
The complex covered a vast area:
A water-powered washing mill stood along the riverbank
Piles of wool towered like small hills in open yards
Rows of workshops lined the eastern side
Inside were dozens of newly designed spinning machines
At first glance, the factory appeared to operate smoothly. Even under normal management, it should have produced substantial profits. If Frode had been in charge, he thought, he would never have resorted to deceitful tricks.
A Failing Enterprise
While Om and his officials audited the accounts, Frode wandered around under guard protection.
He soon noticed something odd:
There was no dye workshop, meaning the factory produced only plain, undyed cloth. Worse, the stitching was uneven—quality slightly below average.
Unable to hold back, he asked the count:
"Why?"
Leonard forced a helpless smile.
"I don't know the exact reason. I spent a fortune building the workshops, buying raw materials, and hiring workers. But the cloth we produce has never matched the quality of merchants like Harley. I've dismissed several managers, yet nothing improves."
Standing beside the Crown Prince, Leonard spoke at length about the business that had troubled him for two years. At first, it made some profit—but as competition intensified, revenues declined until they barely covered operating costs.
Ten minutes passed. Frode listened quietly without offering judgment.
"Your Excellency," he finally said,
"I am only here to observe. You should tell this to the Minister of Justice."
It was obvious that Leonard had concealed unfavorable facts and portrayed himself as a misguided noble misled by subordinates, shifting blame onto his steward and factory manager.
The Truth Emerges
Over the following days, Om's team remained at the textile works, painstakingly reviewing the accounts.
Watching the process, Frode realized his earlier assumption had been wrong.
The factory was not merely struggling— it was rotten to the core.
Profit was nearly impossible.
At this stage, Leonard cooperated fully. He surrendered the steward and the factory manager to investigators. With the annual tribute payment approaching, he promised to travel personally to Londonium to explain the matter directly to the king.
Before their departure, Leonard escorted Om and the others outside the city. His attitude was surprisingly carefree.
"As a count, many people depend on me for support. So I accepted my steward's foolish suggestion. Ah well—it seems I'll have to live frugally from now on… unless the king leads us to raid West Francia and bring back a proper haul."
Hearing this casual remark, Frode was left speechless.
The Old Nobility
He realized that many of the older Viking nobles shared the same mindset:
Go to war
Seize loot
Spend lavishly
Go to war again
They lacked habits of saving money or managing their estates efficiently.
Even their military methods were becoming outdated. They still relied on the traditional shield-wall tactic, struggling to adapt to increasingly complex battlefields.
If this continued, the influence of the old nobility would inevitably decline—while the influence of townspeople and merchants would steadily rise.
"Was this also part of Father's plan?"
What Is a Noble?
After returning to Londonium, Frode asked Vig this very question.
Vig set down his pen and responded with one of his own:
"What do you think a noble is?"
Frode hesitated.
"A hereditary warrior who owns land?"
Vig nodded slightly.
"More precisely, a hereditary warrior supported by the manorial economy.
Take a knight's estate of a thousand acres. The peasants provide labor and rent in goods, sustaining the knight and his retainers. That allows them to focus on training—combat, horsemanship, and occasionally hunting. In a sense, the kingdom uses part of its tax revenue to maintain a supply of high-quality soldiers."
He continued:
"But in prosperous commercial regions, entertainment and luxury distract nobles from martial discipline. Their finances weaken. Meanwhile, people move more freely, and the old dependency relationships found in rural estates begin to disappear."
A Turning Point in Understanding
After listening to the long explanation, Frode distilled the core idea:
The foundation of noble power is the manorial system.
In rural areas:
Communities are closed
Self-sufficiency is high
Noble authority remains strong
Near towns:
Mobility increases
Economic independence grows
Noble influence steadily declines
And that decline, once begun, is almost impossible to reverse.
Realizing the weight of this historical trend, Frode felt shaken to the core. He had many thoughts swirling in his mind, yet could not find the right words.
He stood silently in the office for a long time—
until Vig finally waved him away and ordered him back to school to continue his studies.
—------------------------------
Pat reon Advance Chapters: patreon.com/YonkoSlayer