Count Lesen's daughter, Elaine Lesen, had been kneeling for a whole day in front of the mansion.
The rumor about her had spread to the entire city. Obviously, people wanted to see her figure.
But when people saw her state, they somehow stopped in their tracks. Elaine had yet to move for a whole day.
"Isn't a noble's daughter always having their belly full?"
"I have been watching her for a while. I don't think she has moved, let alone eaten or drunk anything."
"Is that so? Even though the temperature has become a bit chilly, during the day, it's still quite hot. Are you sure she hasn't done anything?"
"Yeah. It's real."
"You two… Are you trying to pity her? She is the one responsible for our recent suffering."
"Right? The Marquis has announced her punishment as well."
"…"
The people continued watching her. Those who had work continued their job like normal.
Elaine remained silent the whole time. It was hot. She felt like she was being dried like a vegetable. In addition, she was exhausted, hungry, and thirsty.
During the night, the chilling wind brushed her skin. Because she didn't get any sleep, the night felt so long. It might be the longest night she has ever experienced.
She was convinced that she would be dying sooner or later. However, she didn't intend to stop because the survival of her family depended on her performance.
Still, her headache was quite severe, due to the kid throwing a rock at her head.
However, her trial had yet to end.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})On the second day, the rain was pouring down pretty heavily.
Elaine was completely drenched. Her entire body were aching, especially her back, her knees, and her hands.
It was freezing cold. Elaine was shivering the whole time. In addition to the fatigue from the previous day, she almost collapsed.
"Ha… Ha…" Elaine breathed heavily. Even though her body had been strengthened by the energy from the demon crystal, it was extremely hard to endure two harsh days without food and drink.
Due to her wet clothes, the chilling wind ended up penetrating her skin and seeping into her bones.
Even when the sun was up, she kept shivering. Fortunately, there was no rain the next day. The sun naturally dried her clothes, but it was still bad for her body. Her body temperature felt like it was increasing.
There was only one thought in her mind at this point. She would die sooner or later. According to her prediction, she could only last for another two or three days before she died.
She just thought this was just torture before her execution and resigned to her fate. At the very least, her 'salvation' would come in a few days.
On the third day, the people were quite shocked to see Elaine remain on her spot.
"Did she…"
"Yeah. She must have been under the rain the whole time."
"This…"
The people exchanged looks. After they saw her shivering continuously, they realized that she was nearing her limit.
They imagined themselves in her place. They might have collapsed to the ground and died.
Yet the sheltered young lady managed to persist for three days.
The third night had finally come. Elaine's body temperature continued rising. Her consciousness became a bit fuzzy. It didn't take too long before she realized she had caught a cold.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Her body wanted to give up. The exhaustion had finally caught up to her. Because she hadn't slept for three days, she almost fell unconscious.
'No. I have to continue,' Elaine kept muttering inwardly. 'The only time I can collapse will be the time I die… I need to persist a bit more.'
When the fourth day came, the people started to have a change of heart. They could imagine the physical pain she was enduring, but she didn't say a single word the whole time.
In fact, the only thing that came out of her mouth were coughs. People knew that she had fallen sick.
No one was saying anything about her anymore. They hated her because it was just her punishment, but getting tortured this way somehow invoked empathy in the people's hearts.
All of a sudden, Elaine noticed that there was a shadow covering her entire body.
Elaine didn't turn her head to see the person, but the latter ended up squatting next to her.
"Hey… Isn't that…"
"Lady Jessi. What are you doing there?"
"Lady Jessi? Who is she?"
"Ah. Isn't she one of the popular prostitutes?"
Elaine's body shuddered, reacting to that information. She thought that this prostitute would take her chance to humiliate her. After all, this was her one and only chance to do anything to her.
But to her surprise, the lady just put down the umbrella she was holding so that it could cover Elaine's body.
"What are you doing?" Two soldiers suddenly emerged from the crowd as if trying to apprehend her.
Jessi only glared at them and shouted, "What? Am I not allowed to do this?"
"You're not allowed to do it. The Marquis has given the order that no one can help her."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"What are you saying? I'm not helping her. I just want to put my umbrella on this spot and she just happens to be underneath it!" Jessi snarled back.
"This…" The soldiers looked stunned, not being able to rebuke her.
"Look. I haven't done anything wrong. If you still want to punish someone, you can punish me. Just tell the Marquis that I'm the one messing with his punishment." Jessi glared at them.
The soldiers were confused, not knowing what they should do. In the end, they returned to ask their superior.
Elaine was taken aback. Why would this person help her?
"What are… you doing?" Elaine couldn't help but ask, her voice was shaking and sounded very weak. Her lips were already dry as she hadn't drunk anything in the past few days.
"I already told the soldiers what I'm doing. Don't tell me, a noble daughter like you can't understand it?"
"You're… going to… be punished…"
"I don't really care. I should be the one asking you… Aren't you tired about this? If you just stop, you don't really need to endure all this."
Elaine didn't want to talk to her since her throat was sore. However, Jessi's words simply struck deep into her heart. "I have… to endure… for the sake… of my family's survival."
"Why do you even care about that? Once you die, you won't be there to witness your family's survival. And who knows if your family can even survive."
"A commoner… like you… won't… understand." The moment she finished her words, Elaine shuddered, realizing the mistake in her words.
Jessi's voice soon sounded annoyed. "Suit yourself." She took the umbrella back as if showing her discontent that, despite her kindness, Elaine would only insult her.
Elaine wanted to say something, but she couldn't. There was a tinge of regret in her heart.
Jessi once again surprised her when she returned and put down the umbrella on the ground to shield her again. But this time, she didn't say anything. She just harrumphed and walked away.
Elaine somehow felt empty in her heart. When she was a noble daughter, she didn't think much about commoners. She thought they could easily be replaced.
However, once Jessi left, she realized no one was like her. In fact, even the people had stopped scorning her.
She didn't need their pity, but the change affected her heart and point of view.
As if the heavens were trying to make her pay for what she had done, the rain started pouring down. Because of the umbrella, the rain didn't hit her body directly.
But the rain was heavier than the one from two days ago. The wind ended up blowing the umbrella away, causing her to be drenched again.
In that dark hour, another ray of light illuminated her. Jessi actually returned with another umbrella.
"As expected, it's really being swept by the wind."
"Why are… you back?" Elaine asked.
"What? I guess, a noble daughter like you can look down on a prostitute like me. Anyway, not many customers during a pouring rain like this, so why not?" Jessi snorted.
"But I've said… mean things to you."
Jessi harrumphed. "I couldn't care less. You can look down on me in any way. All I want is to survive. If I don't become a prostitute, I won't have money to sustain myself. Unlike you, who was born into a noble household, I don't have a choice."
"…" Elaine fell silent for a moment. Because of this punishment, she realized that, for the first time in her life, she didn't have any choice but to endure it. Jessi did it for the sake of survival, while she did it for her family's survival. They were pretty much the same.
Yet, the only thing she had been thinking about was when she would die. Meanwhile, Jessi kept enduring all that shame and continued to live on.
When she opened her mouth again, an unexpected word came out. "Sorry."
Jessi was taken aback by her apology.
"Hmph. I guess I will just stay here for the time being." Jessi harrumphed and put down a basket filled with bread and water. "Eat and drink. I don't think anyone will see it under this kind of rain."
"I can't…" Elaine rejected it because she shouldn't move.
Jessi remained silent for a while, making Elaine think she would leave again out of anger.
For the first time, Elaine started the conversation as though she wanted her to be by her side for a bit longer.
"Why are… you doing this? I did horrible… things… not deserve… your pity."
Jessi didn't reply immediately. Elaine thought Jessi was thoroughly angry this time. When she resigned to her fate, Jessi opened her mouth. "I'm nothing but a prostitute. I have no choice but to let the men touch my body just to put food on my plate.
"However, the Marquis has changed it. Because of him, there is an unlimited amount of water in my little room. I don't have to work hard to procure water for washing clothes, cleaning my body, and drinking.
"Not just me; the others are the same. They now have more money to spend, which results in me getting more money. More importantly, because of all these improvements, the customers don't live under too much stress like previously, so the way they treat me or other women isn't that bad now.
"The Marquis has changed my life, making me a bit more greedy, like having a better life in the future. I admire the Marquis, not only is he generous, but he is also kind.
"When I look at your punishment like this, I just can't help but wonder if he is still the same. I believe that the marquis doesn't give punishment beyond someone's ability. And I also don't want to have Marquis kill you. I want him to remain kind.
"That's why I want you to survive. I believe that the Marquis will let you go sooner or later." Jessi grabbed the water and stuck the straw at the entrance of her mouth. "Well, you can consider it my own selfishness… but I want you to survive."
"…" Elaine fell silent. This was the first time she heard of Noel's reputation from his citizens. For the people, Noel was like their savior. That was why they were so hostile to her at the beginning.
The Marquis was just doing what he was supposed to do as a good lord, but they chose to destroy him because of the royal family and their own greed.
Elaine suddenly stopped resisting and opened her mouth, taking a sip of the water.
Jessi seemed to know that Elaine wouldn't move no matter what. Hence, she held the bread and moved it to her mouth.
Jessi smiled. "Is it good?"
Elaine bit her lips. This might be her first meal after starving for days, but more importantly, this was the first bread that she got from kindness. She didn't know why, but she wanted to cry.
"En."
"That's good." Jessi smiled.
