The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

At this time, Isa was at a post station in the countryside of Anjou.

Although Anjou's transportation was far less convenient than Capena's, and its infrastructure and roads were very backward, with dirt roads and gravel roads everywhere in these rural areas, it was not as bad as Isa had imagined. At least Alberto had built many relay stations for transmitting information, and the roads connecting these relay stations were still quite accessible.

However, Anjou was still dominated by aristocratic politics. Especially after Alberto left, these post stations gradually came under the control of local nobles. These local nobles even dared to set up checkpoints at the post stations to collect tolls and used the maintenance of the post stations as a cover to evade the investigation by officials sent by the empire.

Whether in Anjou or the present empire, there is no such thing as a toll at post stations. You only need to pay the post station if you want to rest and eat. However, in these rural post stations, the toll is just the basic fee. If you want to eat and stay, you have to pay extra.

But for those rural nobles, not only were tolls waived, but food and lodging were also free. Moreover, these nobles could squeeze out the lodging space of those who actually paid money. Even the messengers who genuinely used the post stations did not live as well as the nobles at the post stations.

Isa, dressed in ordinary clothes, sat in the post station, carefully observing the group of nobles who were passing by and reveling there.

Isa originally intended to dress up as a country girl, but who has such a fierce aura as a country girl, accompanied by two servants? Although they could be explained as fellow villagers, Isa really didn't look like an ordinary country girl. Even though the two servants were very good at acting, they only made Isa seem more out of place.

So in the end, Isa went with the flow and disguised herself as a merchant's daughter. With the fake identity provided by Lind, almost no one suspected Isa along the way.

Apart from Isa, the rest of the inn was filled with noblemen. Although they were a group of country nobles, the innkeepers did not dare to neglect them. It was obvious that the food for these noblemen was much better than that for ordinary travelers like Isa, and they didn't have to pay. The inn, which was meant to be a place for people to rest, was turned into a tavern by these noblemen, with noise everywhere.

Looking at the delicacies on the inn's table that ordinary people could never afford, and the wine on the counter that was clearly not for ordinary travelers, Isa began to understand why, despite the ever-increasing prices at Anjou's inn during her investigation, it was still losing money year after year.

Even if the post station's income increased several times over, it still couldn't withstand the extravagance of these nobles. The nobles indulged in singing and dancing in a large open space in the post station's hall, while people like Isa who had only paid the toll could only shrink into a corner.

At this moment, a clueless nobleman approached Isa, seemingly inviting her to dance. However, Isa slapped his hand away, which only excited the nobleman more. He said, "Fine, you've got guts! I like people like you who dare to fight back!"

Isa, however, seemed not to have heard the nobleman's foul language and asked in return, "Is this how you usually arrest people at the post station?"

The nobleman tried to step forward, but was stopped by two servants beside Isa. Hearing Isa's words, the other nobles also stopped and looked over with curious eyes.

"So what if it is?" the nobleman said disdainfully. "I don't know how many people would beg me to spend a night with them in a warm guest room."

The other nobles laughed, but Isa said, "Neither the imperial law nor the original Anjou law stipulates that post stations can arbitrarily charge tolls."

Isa looked at the group of silent nobles and said, "But this post station not only charges tolls to travelers, but it also doesn't charge you for food and lodging, right? You noble families not only take public property for your own use, but you even turn it into a tool for your exploitation."

Just as Isha was about to continue, an elderly woman sitting in the noble quarter stood up and said, "Miss, you're exaggerating. We are merely travelers passing through, with only a few small privileges. After all, without these privileges, how would the world feel the glory of our nobility?"

The lady glanced at the freshly baked bread on her table and said, "And it didn't cost much."

At the same time, the guards surrounding the noblewoman secretly gripped their weapons.

Seeing the unusually cold atmosphere, a waitress kindly tugged at Isabella's sleeve and whispered, "They're from the local Randolph family. Miss, please apologize."

But Isa ignored all that and asked, "Are there any officials recently dispatched by the Empire around here?"

"Humph!"

Hearing Isa say this, the noblewoman assumed that Isa had pinned her hopes on those officials. After scoffing, she said, "I don't know what imperial officials are, but Bunir, our Randolph family has treated you well, hasn't it?"

One of the nobles, who had been sitting among them and was wearing light half-body armor, stood up.

"Yes ma'am."

“Baze, we should be old allies.”

A young nobleman approached the old woman and said, "For the ancient covenant."

“Jason, the armor your father wore on the battlefield was sponsored by us.”

A burly warrior, who looked nothing like a nobleman, also approached the lady.

"At your service."

The roll call continued, and more than half of the nobles in the post station stood up and gathered around the old woman.

The old woman looked up and said, "Young man, if you're going to be in this world, you need power and connections. Don't act rashly."

In this isolated place, the Randolph family was the de facto kings.

But after the old woman finished speaking, she discovered that Isa was taking notes in a small notebook.

"what are you writing?"

The old woman was puzzled; she had never seen anyone remain calm and composed in such a situation.

"Of course, it's those noble families you just mentioned."

Isa closed her notebook and said, "I believe the new officials will be very happy to see this achievement."

After saying that, Isa got up to leave.

Just as the old woman was about to take action, she noticed that everyone else in the inn was also getting up.

These travelers, who were originally hunched over, suddenly became tall and straight, and their movements were perfectly synchronized.

The nobles surrounding the old woman realized what had happened after hearing the click of bullets being chambered among the travelers.

"correct."

Isa turned around and reached out to the waitress who had reminded her: "Come over here too, be a witness."

The once bustling post station was now empty except for the group of nobles who had just been reveling.

The noble children who were singing and dancing just a moment ago were all stunned in that instant. Those nobles who had some knowledge seemed to understand something and wanted to run back to tell their families, but their legs inexplicably trembled on the spot.

"Grandma? What's wrong with you all? Quickly, stop that woman!"

The nobleman who had just invited Isabella to dance was still saying coquettishly, "Such a beautiful woman, once she leaves, you won't find another one!"

The old woman looked at her grandson, who was still acting spoiled in front of her, and wanted to say something, but the words stuck in her throat.

She might not know what the sound of a musket being cocked is like, but when that group of people left, she saw the priest's robe under the Tibetan traveler's robe worn by the woman's attendant. The pattern and color of that robe were something the old woman had only seen once before, when she accompanied her husband to the capital. It was a social class that the Randolph family could never curry favor with in their entire lives.

Who could possibly become a priest of the Church of War's servant?

This wasn't just kicking a steel plate; it was kicking into lava.