DABRIA FOREST
"Help! Please help us! Please! Help! He-Ahhhhh!"
Haru was stunned. Except for him and Mr. Ambroise, there should not be anyone in this forest. How could there suddenly be people here? Also as he noted another call for help, these voices sounded young.
Different possibilities ran through Haru's mind before abruptly recalling that conversation about Magurd. Wasn't the bad guy talking about giving children to that pig noble? While a real 6-year-old may not understand the bad guy's intention, Haru had memories of a 16-year-old boy. While his actions and thought process may just be that of a 6-year-old, he still had lived 16 years and the knowledge he had accumulated in that time can't simply vanish. Haru very well knew those bad guys' intentions.
While Haru wasn't a Saint, though Ambroise begged to differ with that theory, he also wasn't ready to let such small children face such a horrific fate.
So without wasting any more time and sending a mental apology to Ambroise, Haru dashed out of his house and reached where the noise came from.
A large cage on top of a cart, drawn by a horse, was filled with rags clothed children who were crying as they piled on one end of the cage, while a man with a leather wipe in his hand scowled furiously. He raised the wipe and wiped it against the cage.
"One more sound and I will cut off your tongues! Then we will see if you can make any more sound."The man spat on the floor in amusement and once again raised the wipe and struck against the cage.
"Why did the silence stone had to run out now? My ears are still ringing," the man, annoyed, once again struck the wipe against the cage.
The children brought their hands to their mouths to muffle any sound from escaping, though tears flowed from their eyes freely.
Haru watched this while hidden behind a tree with a thick trunk. The children wore rags and were quite dirty. They had no body fat, rather their bodies were so thin that they all looked sick. They were obviously not looked after and were probably homeless. He watched as the man, who he had dubbed, 'Bastard A', pulled out a cigar from his pocket and lighted it with a matchstick, mumbling about how tiring this 'job' was.
Aigle was a prosperous Empire that was ruled by a benevolent ruler. Even a man who could barely earn could buy a loaf of bread to feed himself and his family. However, as every perfect thing has a flaw, this huge prosperous Empire also had a big flaw and that was, Corruption.
The former Emperor was a drunkard as well as a womanizer. He won the throne with the help of Nobles who assassinated the heirs as well as the Emperor of that time. He had made uncountable promises to them for the throne and after sitting on the throne, he lost himself to a lascivious life while letting himself be the puppet of his own people. He made policies that suited the interests of Nobles. One such policy was that it required the vote of a majority of nobles to bring a noble who was suspected or had done a crime to the court. Though, it is mentioned in the novel that the policy was removed 10 years before the story takes place, meaning that when the protagonist started solving peoples' problem, to bring the suspected nobles to the court, the writer had already taken care of this issue by mentioning that the current Emperor's dear friend was killed by the nobles so to take revenge against the nobles who were responsible for his death, the Emperor abolished this policy. There is no mention of the name of the friend who died, however it was mentioned that the friend was a head of the duke family and to take revenge, the Emperor executed all the nobles and their family who were involved in his death. He didn't appoint the new duke, instead the position was taken over by the protagonist in response to her humanitarian work. The author didn't fully mention the details as they were unrelated to the story, however they did mention how the current Emperor rose to power and the impact of the former emperor actions.
The former Emperor as well as his offsprings were drunk on power except for one. Alroy Alberstine, the father of the male lead, and also the current Emperor who killed the emperor as well as his brothers and sisters and became the Emperor, ending the Era of Evildoer Emperor.
However, the seeds sowed by the former Emperor had already reaped and Nobles secretly exploited the people. The novel had some plots of the heroine dealing with corruption by being a damsel of distress or accidentally stumbling on it. The heroine had never gone to the roots of corruption, so even though she helped to bring a noble to court, she rarely ever took the initiative.
Now that Haru looked at the cart filled with homeless and mistreated children, it was obvious they were the victims of corruption.
The man with the whip sat in the front and slapped the horse with a whip and the cart started moving, with the children having devastating expressions, looking resigned and broken.
Haru knew at that moment, looking at the broken and resigned expression, that he would protect them. No one, especially a child, should ever look so broken. Without any other thought, he started following the cart, making sure neither the man nor the children could see him. However, he didn't know, that when Ambroise comes to an empty hut would lead to the unleashing of a monster.
****
Ambroise had finished hunting for food, gathering quite a good amount of food and meat in a sack, made of tree roots.
'Till now, Bentick must have known about my disappearance. I need to get Haru out of here as soon as possible. He is malnourished and needs a planned nutrition diet. There are small scars and bruises all over his body. I need to get it checked by Barlowe to ensure there is no infection.'
Ambroise musings were cut off by a very familiar 'Kwit' and he looked above to find a White-bellied Sea Eagle who was flying towards him at a very fast speed.
"Zaya!" Ambroise said in disbelief as the eagle moved to sit on his shoulder, rubbing its face on his own in affection.
"If you are here, does that mean Bentick is near?" Ambroise asked and heard a yell of his name.
"Bentick!" He shouted back.
It was quiet for a moment before he heard a loud, 'His Grace!' and seconds later, a tall man with impressive muscles stood with a sword in his hand. He had Brown hair, golden eyes, and a well-sculpted face.
The man's tensed face broke out in relief.
"Duke!"Hearing the commander shout, the other squad members with him also gathered.
"Duke! We are so happy that you are safe."
Barlowe came running to him, taking his hand in his own, and scanning him for any injuries.
"Your Grace! Are you injured?"
"No, I am fine. I do not require any immediate treatment."
Bentick let out a sigh of relief. "Then there is no need for us to stay here any longer. Guards, ready the horse."
"No. There is someone else who will also come with us," Ambroise said.The others were confused at hearing this, looking at him questionably.
"Who are you talking about, Your Grace? In your meeting with Lord Ion, no one had accompanied you other than a few guards at your insistence. Is one of those guards with you? I thought all those guards worked under Lord Magnus," Barlowe questioned.
"No, Ranger. The one who is with me is my son," he said casually, as if he was not dropping off a thunder by announcing the existence of the heir of Ironheart family.