- The Beloved Ally

The city of 『Schneefel』 lay at the western edge of the Empire.

When the rebellion broke out in Dreihart, a rebellion broke out here as well.

Schneefel was not a city with as many slaves as Dreihart.

But its people were worked to the bone by the lord, effectively living as slaves.

The root of the problem was 『usury』.

On the surface, the lord of Schneefel did not violate Imperial law.

However, he used taxes such as tolls, customs duties, and water taxes with remarkable ingenuity to oppress his subjects, ultimately forcing them to borrow money from usurers he supported.

Backed by the lord, the usurers exploited the people with the staggering annual interest rate of 240%.

Even when the people sued the usurer, the case was summarily dismissed through the lord's influence, and the people either disappeared or became slaves.

Then, one day, around the same time as the Dreihart Rebellion, the usurer was assassinated...