The Next Example

Every inch of the luxurious, refined room exuded the scent of money. The priceless artworks, gold, and jewels visible everywhere gave anyone who entered the illusion--

That the things scattered everywhere actually weren't worth much!

But that only applied while they were here. Once they left this place, where wealth overflowed within arm's reach, and stood outside in the cold wind to clear their heads, they would realize that some things weren't as wonderful as they had imagined.

Artworks were valuable, and so were gold and jewels, but noble titles were worth even more.

There were two kinds of noble titles in the Gefra Empire. The first was hereditary nobility. Most of these nobles had been lords active in Gefra since the era of warring lords.

They had been nobles for generations, and even now, they remained nobles.

The Emperor couldn't casually alter the titles of these nobles. Only after a vote by all the nobles of the Privy Council could their titles possibly be changed slightly—and even then, only slightly, not completely.

Hereditary nobility was the foundation of the Privy Council. The nobles understood this perfectly, and they would never allow the Emperor to casually alter the titles of hereditary nobles.

The other kind of nobility had been born during the "post-Gefra era," after the Imperial Family had entered the political stage and unified the entire Gefra.

During this period, the "lords" had not yet completely withdrawn from the historical stage, but their era was already nearing its end. When the Emperor bestowed titles, he no longer bestowed hereditary titles.

In essence, hereditary nobles brought a country few benefits.

They held all kinds of privileges. One only had to look at the capitalists to understand. For capitalists to develop and grow, they couldn't do without the support of the