Chapter 36
“Shut your mouth! I will never forgive anyone who dares speak carelessly about Hestia. If not for her, we could never have even dreamed of rebuilding the kingdom. She may be the duke’s daughter, but she does not share his cause.”
When Luzhenbik’s demeanor suddenly changed, the people of Felmon Kingdom looked at him awkwardly.
He probably disliked creating such awkwardness between them, yet he still made sure they wouldn’t speak recklessly about me.
“I… I apologize, Your Highness. I didn’t know.”
When one or two people apologized to Luzhenbik, he told them to apologize directly to me.
It wasn’t really necessary, but they did so anyway.
“How should we address you… Should we call you ‘Her Majesty the Queen’?”
He shook his head and said they could call me “Lady Hestia.” One by one, the people bowed to me in apology.
“We’re sorry, Lady Hestia. We spoke about you without knowing the truth. We promise such a thing will never happen again.”
“It’s fine. It’s only natural to feel that way. Regarding the things my father has done… I have no intention of pretending ignorance just because I wasn’t the one who did them.”
At that, they looked at one another, as if realizing their perception of me was different from what they had thought.
“Where have you been staying?”
When Luzhenbik asked, they looked uncomfortable.
“We dug a pit to shelter ourselves from the rain at least. We heard there’s a place here where the destitute can stay, but since we’re fugitives, we were worried about entering such a place.”
The man who spoke was the youngest and most sturdy-looking among them.
Looking at his hands and arms, I guessed he might have been a swordsman.
“What’s your name?”
“Jermin, Your Highness.”
“I see. Jermin, if I were to find you a place to stay, would you be willing to go there together?”
Jermin looked at the others.
His expression immediately brightened, as if he truly wished for such a thing.
“If there’s a way we can remain by Your Highness’s side, we could ask for nothing more. We may have escaped, but we have no purpose. On our own, there’s nothing we can accomplish, and we’ve been wasting away each day. But now that we’ve met you, we’ll help you.”
They made their resolve clear.
Luzhenbik turned to Cassia, asking if she knew of a place they could stay.
Cassia nodded without the slightest hesitation.
“There are plenty of rooms in the trading company building. If they stay there, I think it would be a great help to us as well. As you know, the building can be dangerous, so the more residents we have, the better, Your Highness.”
Luzhenbik looked back at them.
“Hestia is staying at the trading company, and the King of Sedpol visits her often. He’s an impatient, eccentric man—there’s no telling what he might do. Living there could be dangerous. Still, I want you to stay there and lend your strength when needed. What do you say?”
“There’s nothing to think about, Your Highness. Of course, we’ll do it. If there’s even a small way to help, we’ll do it immediately. Even without providing us lodging, we’d still do what must be done.”
They agreed readily, and the matter was settled quickly.
“Jermin, do you know where the others are?”
“We’ve only met one or two people by chance while living here, so we don’t know where the others are. But if we could get weapons, I believe we could rescue the Felmon people still in captivity, Your Highness.”
Luzhenbik nodded.
“I’ll join that effort as well.”
The faces of the Felmon people lit up with emotion.
“Thank you, Your Highness. We knew you wouldn’t forget us.”
Some of them even asked about Beatrice, and Luzhenbik told them she was staying with us.
Some people sighed in relief, their eyes turning red, saying this felt like a good place to start.
However, some cautious individuals wondered aloud whether it was safe to discuss Felmon’s restoration in front of us.
“Hestia and Sir Cassia can be trusted,” Luzhenbik assured them.
He then explained the concept of something called a “guarantee magic,” telling them that the people here had mutually bound themselves with it as proof of trust.
I felt there was a reason he revealed this.
After all, even among Felmon’s prisoners, it was entirely possible there were those who couldn’t be trusted.
When the time came for a grand uprising to restore Felmon, there could be people planted to report everything to Sedpol’s officials and ruin the plan.
“Guarantee… magic?” someone asked with interest. Luzhenbik seemed to seize the opportunity.
“Yes. With this magic, if someone bound by it breaks their promise, their heart vanishes and they die. It was made by the Tower Master, so it’s very powerful. I think it would be good if you all did it too—then we could trust one another completely.”
Guarantee magic was expensive to perform, and Luzhenbik surely knew that.
Even so, his suggestion told me he didn’t trust everyone here completely.
A few people’s faces stiffened instantly, and they subtly began to edge away so others wouldn’t notice.
Noticing his intent, I saw those movements clearly.
“I never imagined something like that was possible. Actually, several times we tried to rescue others, but our plans were leaked and we suffered great losses. Many died,” Jermin said, his eyes shining. Others nodded in agreement.
Those without any intention of deceiving Luzhenbik welcomed the idea enthusiastically, while those who did looked reluctant, unable to hide their expressions.
They must have known that reaction alone could make them suspicious, yet changing one’s expression so suddenly wasn’t easy.
I watched them with interest.
When Luzhenbik gave Jermin a slight nod, Jermin suddenly turned to those beside him and twisted their arms behind their backs.
These were the ones who had looked awkward earlier.
From their perspective, it might have seemed unfair, but there was enough reason to check them out.
Sensing what was happening, others quickly joined Jermin and subdued a few more people. In an instant, a split formed among the group.
Some tried to run at full speed, but they were swiftly caught by Luzhenbik.
He showed them no mercy.
“Who are you? Who gave you the right to torment my people?”
They insisted they knew nothing.
“Your Highness, we’re Felmon citizens too. We were captured and brought here after the war was lost. Why are you treating us like this? We’re innocent.”
But Luzhenbik was unmoved.
“Then you must know exactly where in Felmon you lived. You must know your local lord’s name, the names of the surrounding villages, and what festivals were held and when. I’ll give you each a chance to speak.”
He spoke casually, but the captives’ faces showed growing panic.
I found the scene fascinating.
Those who first claimed innocence suddenly went silent.
It seemed they were struggling to come up with answers.
Knowing the name of a territory’s lord might not be too hard, but recalling every neighboring village’s name was difficult without having truly lived there.
And on top of that, naming the festivals was a harsh demand.
“I’ll take the lives of you scoundrels as payment for the lives of my people you’ve killed!”
At that, one or two dropped to their knees.
“Please forgive us! Just once, Your Highness! We were only paid to do it.”
In the end, six people knelt and begged.
Had it been only two or three, I might have thought it understandable, but the sheer number made me feel pity.
If the people here had met Luzhenbik even a little later, they might all have died because of these traitors’ reports.
“Your Highness, if you intend to execute them, why not give them to me instead?” Cassia suddenly spoke up, seeing Luzhenbik’s barely restrained fury.
“Do you have use for them, Sir Cassia?” Luzhenbik asked curiously.
Cassia nodded.
“The trading company is always short on labor. We could work them to death instead. There’s a prison in the basement where they can be chained up and forced to labor constantly. That’s far better than simply killing them.”
Luzhenbik slowly nodded.
“Then do so. If you need them, of course you should have them.”
“Thank you very much. The work keeps piling up, and finding reliable people has been nearly impossible. I’ve been at a complete standstill.”
I hadn’t known he was having that problem.
