Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

House Alminus's first move wasn't the lawsuit, but a smear campaign.

Why?

They could have just filed the lawsuit and waited for the court to rule in their favor.

My conclusion was this:

'Count Alminus doesn't want this to go to trial.'

If that was true, the lawsuit was just a gesture.

Or rather, a threat.

It was a message: You and I are in different weight classes, so if you don't want to lose even more, settle this quietly and pay up.

'Count Alminus isn't short on money...'

So it must be about his reputation.

That's how the noble society worked.

It was a world divided into winners and losers.