He stood there, his eyes wide with shock, his lips twitching slightly. Stephen, who had been watching, spoke in an irritated tone, noticing his father’s unusual reaction.
“Father, why would you listen to a woman like that?”
Stephen’s rebellious eyes sweep me up and down. At the sight, Eric turned pale and lectured his son.
“Stephen, apologize to Noah.”
“Father! Why are you suddenly acting like this? I would never apologize to a lowly Xenos slave.”
When Stephen didn’t budge, Eric shot his son a nervous glance. Stephen looked a little frightened, but he kept his mouth shut, wanting to maintain his pride.
“Just listen to me.”
“No, I don’t want to!”
And then Eric slapped him hard across the cheek, as if his anger had gotten the best of him. Stephen was momentarily stunned by his father’s slap, but soon burst into tears.
Amidst the silence of the Xenos slaves who were watching, a murmuring sound was heard.
“Hurry up!”
Eric’s breathing became ragged and his face flushed red. Stephen, who had been crying miserably, reluctantly approached Noah under his father’s stern gaze.
In a sobbing voice, he told Noah that he was sorry. Of course, it might not have been sincere, but Noah was surprised by Stephen’s unexpected behavior.
Other children also exchanged glances with each other and approached Noah to apologize.
“I, I’m sorry. We were wrong earlier.”
Noah was stunned by the sight of sheer volume of apologies from the commoner kids who had been bullying him.
I approached Eric Caibon, or rather Paul Leobin, and whispered to him.
“Don’t you ever come near this place again. If I catch you here again, I’ll make you a slave and throw you to them like prey.”
“…….”
“Oh, and you’ll never be able to use the name Eric Caibon again. You’ve committed many sins under that name, so don’t take it too hard.”
I said, glancing over at the Xenos slaves, who were watching this way with wary eyes. As soon as I return to the Empress’s palace, I will issue a warrant of arrest for Eric Caibon.
He will be a fugitive, no longer able to use his forged identity. It’s only a matter of time before the Asha Army catches up with him, and since he’s been hiding his identity and pretending to be a commoner, he’ll be brutally tortured and hanged.
Eric’s face turned pale and he began to break out in a cold sweat. After a while, he seemed to reach a decision. Without saying a word, he grabbed Stephen’s wrist and hurriedly left, disappearing from the scene with his son in tow.
* * * * *
I entered the lounge of the servants, where the injured old man was taken. As soon as the door was opened, a strong herbal scent filled my nose. There was a terrible scar on the old man’s face from his forehead to his chin.
Because of those scars, it was impossible to imagine how his original face looked. The scars had already healed, so they must have been inflicted quite some time ago.
Every time he groaned in pain, his scarred face twisted into a strange shape. The doctor who had just finished treating him came over and reported on his condition.
“Due to his age and weakened physical condition, it will take quite some time for him to recover. We’ll have to monitor his progress, but it seems that he won’t be able to function normally with one severely injured leg.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“I know it’s impolite to say this, but I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to make the rounds for the Xenos slaves. Hmm, today was unavoidable, but…”
He seemed somewhat uncomfortable. It seemed that treating Xenos slaves was not a pleasant task for him. Perhaps Asha’s open aversion to Xenos was inevitable.
I felt my anger rising, but I held it in and calmly spoke to him.
“If you’re not willing to do it, I can call another doctor. But that means you’ll be losing a huge client that you may never meet again in your lifetime.”
The attendant next to me paid the medical fee, and the doctor’s eyes lit up as he received it.
The uncomfortable expression he had just a moment ago disappeared completely. Seeing him like that, I let out a deep sigh.
I looked at the old man lying on the bed. He was still unconscious, wrapped in bandages all over his body. Only his labored breathing proved that he was still alive.
I instructed the doctor to use any medicinal herbs that would be helpful and left the room. When I went outside, I saw Noah anxiously pacing back and forth with a worried expression on his face.
Perhaps the old man who had collapsed was his Grandpa Jake, who was very fond of him.
“Don’t worry too much, it’s going to be okay, the doctor will be by his side until he recovers.”
I spoke in a slightly brighter tone to reassure the child. Finally, Noah’s face showed a relieved expression.
I gave Noah the basket of bread that I had promised him. He looked at me with a dazed expression, as if he were touched.
A gentle smile curved on my lips as I gently patted his head. The sun had already set, and it was getting dark outside.
It was time for me to make my way back to the Empress’s Palace. I left a few trustworthy attendants behind to supervise the situation.
I couldn’t relax because there were several people among the remaining caretakers who had served under Eric Caibon.
I also made sure to remind them to send a messenger to the Empress’ Palace in case anything happened. I had to manage things carefully to prevent the influence of Duke Bledel’s power from expanding.
On my next visit, I needed to find out in detail how the farm had been running. I prepared to leave and got into the carriage.
Just before departure, Noah waved his hand over the window and shouted,
“You’re the best person I’ve ever seen among the nobles, big sister. Thank you so much for today!”
His steps seemed light as he walked toward his sister, carrying a basket of bread. I watched his back with a gentle smile.
After visiting the Briland Farm, I realized that there are many things that need to be fixed.
* * * * *
Late at night, I heard the call of the spirits. I opened the drawer where the magic notebook was kept. I still hadn’t gotten used to the way it bounced around like a strange creature.
[Hello, Master.]
[Is that the only summoning spell you have?]
[What’s wrong?]
[The notebook moving around on its own feels a bit strange to me.]
[Well, there are other ways. I could make the notebook quietly walk over to you or I could make it fly to you.]
I imagined the notebook crawling out of the drawer and sneaking up to me as the spirit suggested. Or fluttering around me like a bird or an insect. That would be the worst.
[No, absolutely not!]
[Well, then there’s nothing I can do.]
[What brought you here today?]
[I wanted to congratulate you.]
[For what?]
[You became the owner of the farm. And the biggest one in Asha, at that. Your skills are truly remarkable. I’m glad you won’t have to sell me because of financial difficulties.]
I wondered if the spirit knew that I was a beggar empress not too long ago. I felt a little sad that he was worried that I might sell him out.
[I’m not exactly the owner of the farm, just a co-manager.]
[Still, being the co-manager means you have power over the farm. Now, all that’s left is to make some money. It might be a bit difficult to deal with all the Xenos slaves, but I’m sure you’ll manage.]
As the topic of Xenos slaves came up, I remembered today’s visit to the farm and my anger boiled up again.
[After visiting the farm today, I got to know how the Xenos slaves are living. It was so infuriating that I couldn’t even speak.]
[You seem to have a serious interest in the Xenos slaves for the first time.]
[To be honest, I thought it was none of my business. I don’t have the ability to solve such a problem, but after seeing it with my own eyes, my heart felt heavy.]
[Do you care about them?]
[Even though I’m enjoying a noble life here, I can still discern right from wrong. I think it’s very wrong to persecute innocent people, even innocent children, as if they were animals. I can’t understand people who accept that as a matter of course.]
I wrote down my inner thoughts with the pen moving diligently as if confiding in someone. At the same time, today’s events unfolded before my eyes like a panorama.
Thoughts of Noah nearly drowning, the old man covered in blood, and Eric Caibon wielding his whip like a demon, all led me back to the past, to James and his mother who suffered a merciless beating from Duke Bledel.
It was a horrific sight that I never wanted to see again. Suddenly I remembered Theo’s words.
「There are so many Xenosians who are treated like that. They receive treatment worse than animals in Asha. 」
To a modern person’s eyes, there are many things in this world that are hard to understand. But among them, the atrocities committed by the Asha people towards Xenosians are beyond comprehension.
Even criminals who have committed heinous murders are entitled to human rights in the modern day.
[But now that I’m in charge of the farm, I feel like I can give them some small help.]
[Even if you can’t change the world right away, there are many things you as the owner can do for a better future. Brilland Farm might be the start.]
I slowly brooded over the words of the Spirit. What I could do for a better future, even if I couldn’t change the world… The thought of helping someone in my position seemed somewhat ridiculous, but it felt good to hear those words.
[Hearing you say that gives me courage somehow. People have such a negative view of anything related to the Xenosians.]
[A wise person among fools always suffers, as the saying goes.]
The warm words of the spirit seemed to fill me with positive energy. It was the first time in my life that I had received such sincere encouragement from someone.
As I thought about it, memories of the past when I was always ignored or mistreated, not just by my family but also by my lover, came to mind, and a bitter smile formed on my face. The spirit’s neat handwriting continued without a pause.
[Now you seem to have the leisure to look around you. Anyway, it’s a great blessing for them to have met someone as warm as you, Master. As expected, I really like you.]
The spirit’s continued praise made the dark memories fade away quickly. Nevertheless, I felt fortunate that there was a being in this world who saw me as a good person.
Thanks, gracias, obrigada….