As August passed and September arrived, the weather gradually turned cooler.
There were gradually more pedestrians on the streets of Will City, and all kinds of commercial activity flourished by the day.
That afternoon, Kebir, vice president of the Will City Grain Association and father of Brian, a second-year student in Class Five at Will Knight Academy, returned to his family villa in his carriage after attending a noble tea party.
Commoners had no surnames, but Kebir's family had endured for more than a dozen generations. More than a dozen generations ago, his ancestors had still been farmers. Through the intelligence of each successive generation, they had slowly become wealthy farmers, then wealthy merchants, until they reached their present standing.
Kebir was not only the vice president of the Grain Association; he also wielded considerable influence throughout Will City. Including real estate, his family assets amounted to at least two thousand Gold Coins.
The family owned a vineyard and a farm outside the city, as well as three villas within it. One of them stood at 67 Wright Street.
Centered around the family was a large household staff, including a butler, male and female servants, gardeners, coachmen, and grooms.
Moreover, thanks to his talent for business, Kebir maintained fairly good personal relationships with several nobles from the Grain Association. In short, aside from lacking a noble surname, Kebir's family's living conditions and social circle were practically equivalent to those of nobles.
Yet the status conferred by a noble surname was like the distance between heaven and earth. Although every generation of the family had sent their sons to Will Knight Academy for training, and some had even become Transcendents, not one had ever obtained a noble surname.
Inside the exquisite, luxurious carriage, Kebir sat on a red leather sofa. He was forty-five this year, yet looked only thirty. His features were ordinary, but his build was exceptionally muscular.
When he was young, he had also studied at Will Knight Academy. There, he had become a Quasi-Knight and learned much about the manners and speech of nobles.
Thinking back to the afternoon tea he had shared with several noble lords earlier, Kebir could not help curling his lips into a faint smile.
Under his leadership, the entire family had reached the pinnacle of its history. The war in the eastern Empire this time would drive grain prices sharply upward. He had already taken out a huge loan from the Imperial Bank and invested it all in this wheat trade.
Once the wheat was harvested and resold, the family's wealth would soar.
"Although wealth is increasing, the crucial thing is still a noble surname. No matter how hard I work, it will be difficult for me to go any further. The key lies with my son, Brian." Kebir rubbed the sapphire ring on his left hand, but anger rose in his heart.
What Brian had done at school had long since reached his ears. Narrow-minded by nature, he had immediately driven Smith out of the Ministry of Finance, then interfered with Colin Russell's tuition for the following year, cutting off the Russell family's Transcendent Path.
Even as he did so, he cursed his son for being useless, unable to defeat even a boy from a fallen noble family.
After all, he had spared no expense for Brian's development, purchasing many costly magical potions.
Fortunately, Brian still had some ability. He had actually managed to ingratiate himself with Lyon Brown, heir to the Brown family.
"The Brown family has extensive connections and tremendous influence throughout the marquisate. With this ship to ride on, I'll earn even more Gold Coins. Then I'll throw all that money at Brian. Making Brian a Transcendent shouldn't be a problem. The key is how to make him a more powerful Transcendent and secure a noble surname." Kebir raised a hand and rubbed his temples, seeing stars before his eyes.
The thought of a noble surname made his eyes burn nearly to madness, the flames of jealousy raging within him.
"Why are people's fates so different? Those three Russell family orphans were born nobles. Even living in such dire straits, they were still more respectable than us. Forget Brian—I want to pounce on them and take a bite myself."
Fortunately, this seasoned merchant had more self-control than his son. Kebir quickly adjusted his breathing and suppressed the jealousy in his heart. By then, the Kebir family villa had arrived.
67 Wright Street.
This villa was a true villa. Not only did it have high walls and imposing iron gates, but on land as precious as that on Wright Street, it also had longhouses for servants, stables, warehouses, and even a carriage house.
Seven exquisite carriages were parked in the carriage house. Kebir could choose a different type of carriage depending entirely on his mood that day.
Unlike the Russell family's old house, which was only called a villa to maintain appearances.
The coachman opened the carriage door, and Kebir stepped down. To his surprise, his butler Hank was standing outside the gate. The meticulously dressed butler, always so steady and composed, wore an unusually anxious expression.
Kebir was shrewd with age and experience, and his heart immediately sank.
"Master." Upon seeing Kebir, Butler Hank let out a breath and hurried forward.
"Let's talk in the sitting room," Kebir said in a low voice. Butler Hank nodded. The two then went to the Kebir family's sitting room, a spacious hall lavishly decorated and carpeted with high-grade handmade Donggelan rugs.
Kebir took his seat of honor, while Butler Hank stood impeccably at his side.
"Master, a company called Noah is buying up wheat from farmers in bulk. Almost all of it comes from the territories controlled by you and several wealthy merchant lords."
Butler Hank took a deep breath before delivering this startling news.
Territory. It was industry jargon. As an experienced grain merchant, Kebir, along with several other wealthy merchants, each controlled their own sphere of influence in Will City. They negotiated with farmers in advance, offering prices to purchase grain ahead of time. They also signed legally binding contracts.
Ordinary people could not interfere. Anyone who did was a red dragon crossing the river.
"It must be those nobles eyeing the grain trade, those sinister, cunning, greedy bastards." Kebir ground his teeth inwardly, nearly certain of it. He then steadied his breathing, raised his head, and asked, "What is this company's background? Who controls it?"
"Who controls the company has not yet been determined. However, the ones currently appearing to purchase grain in advance are five Imperial Knights. All of them once served in the Gale Knight Order, including Sir Victor Williams and Sir Abel Miller."
Butler Hank rattled off the names of five prominent Imperial Knights with considerable influence in Will City.
"Five Imperial Knights?!" Kebir nearly fainted. If it were fair competition, he would not be afraid at all. After all, he had signed contracts with those farmers.
But the other side was composed of nobles—and five Imperial Knights at that.
The laws of the Van Gogh Empire differed for commoners and nobles. For instance, if a commoner committed a crime, a single constable could settle the matter.
If the case was extensive and complicated, the city hall would establish a court and require both sides to hire lawyers and fight it out.
But if a noble committed a crime, the Nobility Council would always take over.
Kebir had already signed contracts with the farmers. Victor and the others had forcibly inserted themselves into the matter, which was outright illegal.
But once the case reached the Nobility Council, given its tendency to protect nobles, he would naturally lose home-field advantage there. Even if he could win, it would take a great deal of time and effort.
Overbearing, sinister, hypocritical, greedy, brutal, elegant, composed, noble.
Nobles were complex creatures embodying all of those words.
Kebir knew that his family had reached a moment of life and death. He had invested not only a vast amount of capital into this business, but also taken out a loan from the Imperial Bank. If the business failed, even the interest would become a crushing burden.
"Damn it. I have to find a way to solve this."
"And who exactly controls this company, to make five Imperial Knights personally step in?"