'!?!'
"S-sorry?" The Mayor from the South Province seemed to have misheard what the Marquess just said, prompting him to look towards the head of the table, narrowing his eyes in anticipation that what he heard wasn't correct—something that only he could understand.
For someone to be told to hand over all their wealth, which they had collected with their sweat and blood, was not something to be taken lightly.
"I said, bring back all of your assets outside the territory," Avendial said, his hand tapping on the table as he observed the reactions he had anticipated forming on the faces of all the mayors.
They appeared as if they could not believe what they had just heard, prompting him to repeat himself.
"You have to be joking, Marquess." Finally realizing that his words were serious, one of the mayors voiced his concern, his eyes turning cold as he expressed his dissatisfaction with such a declaration from the Marquess.
