After giving Elaine some food, Jessi waited until the heavy rain stopped before leaving Elaine alone.
Because of what she had done, Elaine's will to survive increased. However, her willpower alone wouldn't be enough.
The fatigue had caught up to her. In addition, the cold had become even more severe.
The voice of the people kept ringing in her head, her body became extremely weak, and her breath was unstable.
She looked like she was about to collapse soon. The hot sun couldn't be compared to the hot temperature of her body.
"Ha… Ha…" Elaine panted a few times. Her body started convulsing. Hunger and thirst might not have been a problem anymore, but her consciousness had become fuzzy.
'This is not good. I still have to continue.'
Elaine kept muttering inwardly, trying to persist as much as possible. But after grueling seven days, she passed out.
…
Two hours later.
Elaine opened her eyes, looking an unfamiliar ceiling.
'Mhmm? Aren't I supposed to be looking at the ground?' Elaine thought before snapping. She hurriedly rose from the bed and looked around, realizing that she was inside a house. And Jessi was in front of her, taking care of her. "What…"
"You passed out. Don't move too much for now. Your fever is still severe."
"What have you done? I have to go back! My family is at stake." Elaine tried to jump off the bed, but Jessi stopped her. "At least rest for a bit. It's been seven days, so the lord shouldn't be coming back soon."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Elaine wanted to refute, but the word stuck in her throat. Instead, she changed it into another question. "Why do you help me? Do you know that you'll be in trouble if you help me? I have done a lot of bad things to your territory!"
"It's your family, right? Not you personally." Jessi shook her head helplessly. "Besides, how foolish are you… If you want to repent, you should live on instead of dying. Death is just an escape. If you feel bad for people, you should spend your life making them happy. That's just my own thought… I think the nobles can't understand such a simple thing."
"That's… not true." Elaine bit her lips.
Looking at her grunted expression, Jessi stood up. "I won't stop you from going back, but eat something first."
Jessi went to the back to grab some food, leaving Elaine alone.
Elaine was contemplating. She had looked down on the people because they were uneducated or their lives were cheap. But because of Jessi, she thought she was the one imposing her own ideal on them.
Unfortunately, she didn't have a lot of time to think about it as the outside was bustling with people.
"…coming!"
"The Lord…"
"…coming!"
Elaine couldn't help but hear some voices from the outside. She raised her head, wondering why it suddenly became too noisy.
"The Lord is coming!"
The moment Elaine heard the message clearly, she panicked. Right now, she isn't kneeling in front of the mansion. In addition, if she stayed here, Jessi would be implicated as well. "I have to go!"
Elaine rushed outside, forgetting the fact that she hadn't changed her clothes back.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})When Jessi returned to her room, she only found an empty room. "Mhmmm? Elaine?"
Elaine rushed to the mansion barefoot, trying to reach the spot before the Marquis.
Unfortunately for her, the moment she reached the mansion, Noel was already waiting for her. He was accompanied by Rose.
Elaine's face instantly turned ghostly pale. As if noticing her presence, Noel turned his head around.
The moment their eyes were locked onto each other, Elaine immediately kneeled once again, her body was shaking uncontrollably.
"Why are you not here?" Noel asked while pointing at the spot where she originally kneeled.
"I…" Elaine didn't know what to say. Her family was at stake.
Noel's expression turned cold. "Don't tell me. There is someone helping you?"
Elaine's heart sank. On the one hand, if she protected Jessi, her family would be destroyed. On the other hand, if she abandoned Jessi, it wouldn't change the fact that she had moved away from her position.
Elaine hurriedly replied, "No. That's not true."
The people looked stunned when Elaine tried to protect Jessi. They all knew about what happened in the past few days, especially how Elaine continued to persist despite her condition.
Only Jessi was brave enough to even approach her. When she collapsed, Jessi was the one who brought her away and treated her.
"If that's not true, then what explanation do you have for me? How are you going to explain that you're trying to escape from your punishment?" Noel asked again.
"I… I…" Elaine wanted to come up with something, but the fatigue was still too much for her body. She couldn't think of anything.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Noel walked toward her as his body leaked out some spiritual energy, pressuring Elaine. "Don't tell me. Despite all your deeds, you still threatened my people?"
Elaine bit her lips. Her family was going to die because of this anyway, so why would she hold back in the last phase of her life?
Elaine shouted back, "Yes. I threatened her! No commoner dared to refuse the order of a noble! A mere peasant should just follow my order!"
The bystanders were surprised, not by her words, but by her voice. The more she spoke, the more her voice was shaking. It was clear that she didn't mean it. In fact, she said all those words just so that Noel could direct his anger at her and at her alone.
Noel stepped on the ground, applying more pressure. His eyes were now filled with killing intent.
"Gah!" Elaine spat a mouthful of blood as the pressure was crushing down on her body. The road underneath her started to crack. Yet Elaine still raised her head, glaring at Noel as if telling him that she was the only one responsible.
Sadly, it didn't last long. Her body was giving up. She persisted for a few seconds, but her consciousness became fuzzy. Before she knew it, she had lost her consciousness.
Once her body dropped to the ground, Noel pulled out his sword and said coldly, "In that case, I shall execute you."
The people looked pale. Some were trying to look away or bring the children to the side.
But before he swung his sword, Jessi suddenly appeared and kneeled next to Elaine. "My Lord! Please spare her."
Noel glared at her while saying, "Are you the one helping her?"
"Yes," Jessi answered without hesitation.
Noel fell silent for a moment before asking, "Why?"
"I believe that everyone has the right to live. Just like how I, a lowly prostitute, am able to lead a normal life."
"Why should I forgive her? Her family was the one who started all this. Once she is forgiven, the others will think lowly of this territory. They will think that this territory can be bullied, and all of you will experience a lot of suffering because people think they can get away with it!" Noel explained with an angry tone.
"I…" Jessi clenched her hands into fists. "I… don't want the Lord, whom I admire so much, to live in the dark, ruthless world. You are the Lord the people need because you are kind, you help all of us. I don't want my lord to be known as the ruthless tyrant, even though you are just trying to help us. I believe that she has been punished severely. Instead of executing her, she should work for this land and make it better to atone for her mistake."
Noel looked at her determined expression before glancing at the others. "Do you think the same? After all, all of you are the ones impacted the most. Think about it first before making your decision."
The people looked down, not knowing what to do. Jessi was saying what they wanted to say. They didn't have the courage to answer this question.
Only one brave kid suddenly stepped forward and kneeled in front of Noel. He was the kid who threw a rock at Elaine.
His parents panicked and tried to stop him, but looking at this kid, they saw several people falling to their knees, making the parents wonder if they should stop their kids or not.
More and more people began to kneel. They had witnessed Elaine's suffering in the past few days and how she remained still no matter what happened around her or to her.
As Jessi said, if she wanted to atone for her mistake, she should survive and work for this land.
Not long after, everyone was already kneeling on the ground, begging for forgiveness.
Noel looked at his subjects for a moment as if he were contemplating whether to execute or not. In the end, he was the one giving the judgment.
After a long minute, Noel finally sheathed his sword.
"Rose. She will be under you for now. See whether she is useful or not," said Noel with a serious expression.
"Understood." Rose nodded and turned around. "Bring her inside and get her treated."
"Y-yes!" The soldiers hurriedly moved. With this decision, they felt a bit relieved since they should be spared from any punishment as well because of what Jessi did. The people looked happy.
To avoid the awkward situation, Noel and Rose entered the mansion without any more words.
But Rose couldn't help but open her mouth the moment they were inside. "It's rather surprising that you're actually willing to take her in. No, should I say that if you want to take her in, why bother with all this?"
"If I take her in just like that, will the citizens agree?" Noel asked a simple yet profound question.
Rose fell into deep thought. Elaine was still the daughter of the one responsible for the last material shortage. It would be wrong if Noel just chose to take her in. Rumors might even lead to her potentially getting married to him as a concubine.
She could understand the reason behind Noel's actions. There was one question that remained. "Still, is she useful? You should have just rejected them and crushed them, and no one will say a thing."
Noel smiled while closing his eyes.
Two weeks ago.
"By the way, what will you do if those four nobles surrender?" Anna asked.
"If they surrender? I'll probably reject them. I don't care much about their territories. Once the revolt within their territory begins, they have no other choice anyway." Noel shrugged.
"If you don't mind, how about sparing one person?"
"One person?" Noel frowned.
"Yes. It is Elaine Lesen."
"Elaine Lesen? Who is she? Judging from her name, she should be related to Count Lesen… so, his daughter?"
"Indeed."
"Give me a reason."
Anna raised one finger. "The reason is simple. In our previous lives, the one that gave you the most trouble in the north was her."
"!!!" Noel looked down, his hands rubbing his chin. "What did she do?"
"Well, it wasn't just her. To be honest, in our previous lives, Count Lesen was crushed by you. His son was dead, so his daughter, Elaine, took over the territory.
"She did several reforms in the territory and made it stronger than ever. At that point, her talent bloomed. You could say that a person who had buried her talent under the pretense of being a 'political tool' finally got the chance to release it all.
"I took advantage of her influence to strike at you as well. So, I think she is worth winning over."
Noel thought for a moment. "How about the other lords?"
"I don't have much memory about Count Yatcher. Earl Canmond is the most reasonable, but the trait is not carried by his descendants. Count Caulbot is just… pathetic."
"So, this Elaine Lesen is that special, huh?" Noel closed his eyes. "It's going to be hard for that, you know. It's not like I can just outright demand her from them without any rumors. And taking an enemy in is also frowned upon."
"I know you can do something about it." Anna smirked.
When Count Lesen came here to beg for mercy, Noel realized that the chance had come. He devised all kinds of plans and finally succeeded.
That was why, when Rose wanted to know the reason, he simply said, "Anna believes she is useful. If she is not, you are free to dispose of her."
"Alright." Rose smiled wryly. "But this is a little too much. Her condition is so bad that she can die if not treated right away. And Khalid might nag you about this, you know."
"Geh." Noel looked away with a troubled face.
