Chapter 296: 295 This noble, I am truly deserving! Chapter 296: 295 This noble, I am truly deserving! Nobles are generally divided into two types.

One type is the land-holding Kingdom Nobles.

The other type is the landless Honorary Nobles.

As the name suggests, the former are nobles who have been granted territories by the Kingdom and, with these lands as their base, rule as Lords and regard the development of their territories as their own duty.

These nobles have the right to form Private knight groups, can own armies, and have immense powers; they control all affairs within their territories. Unless they commit a major crime or fail to contribute to the development of their lands over the years, their lands would be taken back and they would be stripped of their noble status. Otherwise, aside from the obligation to give two-tenths of their territory’s income to the Kingdom annually, within their land, these nobles’ powers are the highest and greatest, with even the Royal Family having no right to meddle arbitrarily.

The latter, however, do not receive territories, yet they have the same level of rights as the former. They can not only establish a Private knight group and a private army, but they also receive an annual tribute from the Kingdom that varies according to the rank of their title.

Some of them hold positions within the Kingdom, becoming powers in the Kingdom and other territories in various capacities, while others choose to be self-employed, to travel everywhere, and even a considerable number become Honorary Nobles who are Adventurers.

For example, the Lazahad family that Migis and Riley belong to is an Honorary Noble family with the rank of Marquis, responsible for all matters of the Adventurer’s Guild, with generations of the family managing the Adventurer’s Guild. The Elbein family, where Aridia is from, is the same, holding positions in the Knight Order and also being an Honorary Noble family, with the rank of Marquis as well.

And of course, the Kingdom Nobles who have territories are more deeply entwined with the Kingdom.

After all, with the connection through their lands, even if they do not wish to be involved, it’s hardly possible to avoid.

The Honorary Nobles have more freedom unless they choose a position in the Kingdom’s governing bodies. Unless they commit acts that endanger the Kingdom, the Kingdom does not control what they wish to do.

The Honorary Nobles not serving in the Kingdom’s governing bodies have only one obligation.

That is to offer assistance when the Kingdom faces danger.

Given this, for someone like Shane, becoming an Honorary Noble is undoubtedly more suitable.

Luoqi then indicated that Shane could make a choice between becoming a Territory Noble and an Honorary Noble.

“Then I shall become an Honorary Noble.”

Shane made this decision without any hesitation.

Thus, Luoqi immediately promised on behalf of the Royal Family.

“Since you’ve decided to become an Honorary Noble, the Kingdom will not grant you a territory. However, you still possess the rights to establish a Knight Order and a private army, although the scale of the Knight Order and the army will be influenced by your title.”

“For instance, among the nobles, the lowest-ranked Barons only have the right to establish a Knight Order of a hundred and an army of a thousand; neither the Knight Order nor the private army can exceed this limit.”

“A Viscount can form a Knight Order of a thousand and an army of ten thousand.”

“An Earl can establish a Knight Order of ten thousand and an army of a hundred thousand.”

“A Marquis can form a Knight Order of a hundred thousand and an army of a million.”

“A Duke can establish a Knight Order of a million and an army of ten million.”

“These are the apparent rules that must not be violated.”

As long as it’s within the prescribed scale, nobles can decide how to form their Knight Orders and private armies.

Shane really wanted to comment.

“The earlier ones are okay, but is it even possible to go into the millions and tens of millions?”

Taking the Knight Order as an example, even the Kingdom Knights have less than a hundred thousand. If a Marquis, despite having the right to establish a Knight Order of a hundred thousand, what about it?

Can he actually gather that many heads?

Not to mention a Duke, isn’t the notion of establishing a Knight Order of a million and an army of ten million a joke?

Shane couldn’t help but sneer to himself.

However, Shane also understood that this was merely a boundary set in place, used to limit the relatively numerous lesser nobles from maintaining an excessive number of private soldiers, while the Great Nobles were granted this appealing right. As for whether they could assemble a knight order and army of such scale, that depended on their own capabilities.

As for Shane’s words…

“In view of the merits you’ve established on two separate occasions, the Kingdom has decided to bestow upon you the title of a Viscount,” Luoqi said to Shane.

“A Viscount may form a knight order of a thousand and an army of ten thousand, enjoy an annual stipend of ten thousand gold coins, which means you can collect ten thousand gold coins from the Kingdom every year as a stipend. Besides that, you will also get a house in the Noble District; that house will be chosen by the Kingdom for you. If you are not satisfied with it, you can opt to collect a thousand gold coins and purchase one yourself in the Noble District.”

Within Luoqi’s words, Shane was only concerned with the annual stipend of ten thousand gold coins and the ownership of the house.

Because this signified something.

“So not only am I a guy with tens of thousands of gold coins… no, wait, a houseowner with tens of thousands of coins, but I also own a house directly?”

Was this the rhythm of a pauper turning into a tycoon?

Unaware of Shane’s thoughts, Luoqi continued to explain.

“After becoming an Honorary Viscount, if you wish to hold a position within the Kingdom, you can apply directly to the Royal Palace. After verification is complete, the Kingdom will assign an appropriate position to you.”

“The higher the title, the better the position. If one is able to become an Honorary Earl, then one will be appointed to positions of high authority and qualify to attend the Kingdom Council.”

“Of course, I am guessing you wouldn’t really want to hold a position.”

Luoqi proceeded to introduce Shane to the various rights and even the privileges of being a noble.

This suddenly made Shane feel that becoming a noble didn’t seem like such a bad thing.

Even if he wasn’t interested in holding any positions, he still found certain rights and privileges quite appealing.

If that weren’t the case, why would so many people wish to become nobles?

Especially since…

“The Kingdom has explicit regulations that commoners may not take concubines, and they are only allowed one wife. Only merchants who have contributed to the Kingdom may take an additional concubine.”

“Nobles, on the other hand, have the right of polygamy, but that too depends on the rank of their title.”

“Barons may have one wife and one concubine.”

“Viscounts may have one wife and two concubines.”

“Earls may have two wives and three concubines.”

“Marquises may have three wives and four concubines.”

“Dukes may have four wives and five concubines.”

“Only the Royal Family has no restrictions; the size of their harem is as large as they can manage in terms of concubines, but the offspring of concubines do not possess the right to inherit the throne. When deciding the King of the same generation, their offspring will also not be granted the title of Duke. Only the children of the main wife have the right to succession. If they do not ascend to the throne in the end, they can be granted the title of Duke, and so the number of main wives is also not too large, at most five.”

When Luoqi spoke these words, she was staring intently at Shane.

And Shane?

Upon hearing that a Viscount could marry one wife and two concubines, he had already stood up.

“My loyalty to the Kingdom is as clear as the sun and moon; it’s witnessed by all. Thus, this noble title, I am truly worthy of it!”

Shane’s utterly serious and solemn words caused Luoqi’s mouth to twitch, making her want to bite him twice.

Weren’t you quite tough before?

Keep being tough then! Damn you!