**Chapter 77: Rossius (Part 2)**
“They won’t even pay the landowners of Emerald City enough for the livestock’s winter feed, and the food they practically snatched away will be flipped at high prices to various merchant associations or to local lords who are in dire need,” Rossius said, a sneer creeping onto his face.
“That’s nearly ten times the price, Your Highness, and this figure might even double by the end of this year.”
With that, the man with the Forgiveness Head laughed.
His smile was thick with disdain: “If you don’t want to starve to d*ath and get overthrown by famished mobs, you’ll have to figure out a way to liquidate your assets, gather the cash to buy my food, or, if you can’t manage that, you can trade your land for grain…”
“As for how much you sell and how you exchange it, that’s up to me. A third of the value is a decent deal; even if you sell at one tenth, you still won’t d*e of hunger. What’s that? Not satisfied? Just think about the cost of flipping tables; half the Church Knights Order is funded by the Rossius family. Why not test your luck?”
After delivering those painful words with the face of an exploiter, he raised an eyebrow at me: “Guess how much of this reckless, madly plundered wealth… will actually be used for the post-disaster reconstruction in the southern Republic?”
“One-tenth? If that,” I rubbed my forehead and threw out a number.
“Hehe.” Rect chuckled again, not revealing whether I was right or not. “If you’re interested, I can let you take a look at those documents later… stacked up they’re nearly a meter high, dense with account records that are shocking. The mentions of South Silgaya or Alectine City appear so few they’re barely worth counting.”
“In contrast, the places where the money goes the most are the Temple Church, the hometown of the Second Knights Order commander, Firingle Fortress, the war expenses of the Fourth Knights, the so-called ‘missionary’ expenses from the archbishops, repairs to the underground prison, and the rebuilding of the reporting agency… Among them, you already know which one comes up the most.”
He paused for a moment, pointed to the table with his finger, squinting his eyes: “Fort of Silence.”
“Fort of Silence.”
We both said it almost in unison and then fell silent at the same time.
I understood…
Rect—
No, Viki now held the key to the Church’s throat. That account must be clearly detailing the experiments conducted at the Fort of Silence, even the entire phase four of the Destiny Plan, every singular expense associated with harming the populace.
And that costing was just as much funded by the bl**d of the people.
If the Royal Palace chose to expose this matter, the already disgruntled citizens of the Western Continent, including those merchants and nobles…
What choice would they make?
I think the answer is quite obvious.
“They want to play the same trick in Ethanbel, attempting to completely control Her Majesty the Queen’s advisory council.”
After a brief silence, Rect spoke again: “Plus inciting interference in your Winter Moon’s war, the ambitions of the Rossius family are glaringly obvious. The so-called heir family of the Sacred Doctrine wants the entire Western Continent!”
“Hehe.”
Hearing his words, I forcefully chuckled a couple of times, expressionless.
“What are you laughing at, Princess?” Rect frowned slightly.
“Nothing.”
I shook my head gently, then wrinkled my nose and glared at him: “Stop calling me Princess already. It’s getting old.”
“Aren’t you going to say something?” The man with the Forgiveness Head seemed a bit taken aback.
“What’s there to say?”
I leaned back in my chair, shifting into a comfy position: “A newly minted aristocrat who finally climbed to the peak, barely getting steady before thinking he can do anything he wants, what a cliché… Just tell me what you need next. I’m too lazy to rack my brains over this.”
With that, I took a moment to slowly close my eyes.
“But one thing, Rect, I remind you: don’t let Grandma Claire fall into danger again. She’s not in great health and can’t take any shocks, you know. If anything happens, come to me, but don’t let it involve her.”
“……”
The man with the Forgiveness Head seemed to be staring at me, unblinking. Though my eyes remained closed, I felt his gaze.
“You’ve changed.”
After a pause, he said, “I can’t quite pin it down, but it feels like you’ve changed a lot. The former you would never have reacted this way to what I said.”
“Really?”
I shrugged nonchalantly: “Can’t say where exactly, maybe it’s because we weren’t that familiar to begin with.”
“Hey!”
Rect, hearing this, looked a bit bemused.
“So what about the kids? Where did they come from?” I asked again.
“Kids?”
He seemed momentarily confused by my sudden shift in topic, then realized: “Ah, you mean tonight’s… you’re asking where they came from? You’ve seen those black thorny flower cloaks, you should know better than I do about their origins.”
“The Choir of Saints reserve troops?”
“Who knows.”
Rect shrugged: “But that’s one way to look at it… Let’s check on the Cataloma orphanage later. They recently took in a new batch of kids, and I bet when we go to check tomorrow morning, a few will be missing.”
“Why would the Choir of Saints be working with the Rossius family?” That was the one mystery bothering me.
“Well, about that…”
Rect pretended to think deeply: “Of course, someone doesn’t want to lose control of the Royal City’s currency exchange and can’t let the Church’s evidence fall into our hands. It’s a big hassle; I don’t know what conditions they used to convince the Choir… It’s not something Hogtus could pull off by himself; someone is helping him. As for who… you might need to ask the Pope; he probably knows best… Unless, of course, you can still get into the Holy City.”
“Or, once we catch that old Hogtus, you can just ask him, assuming he’s willing to tell you the truth.”
“I don’t know so I don’t need your long-winded explanation.” I can’t help but scrunch my face.
Before he had a chance to retort, I immediately posed another question: “Where’s Her Majesty the Queen? I’ve been here all day, and I haven’t even caught a glimpse of her.”
“She’s still in the Royal Palace, probably busy with this and that,” Rect replied, raising an eyebrow. “What’s wrong? Are you waiting for her to come back home? My advice would be to rest up; she’s likely going to stay in her chamber tonight. Otherwise, the maids would have already received a notice… Didn’t she send someone to inform you?”
“No.”
I shook my head, pouting: “I thought you were here to notify me, to let me know when Her Majesty wishes to summon me, so I could prepare myself.”
“……”
Rect suddenly went silent.
Unable to resist, I half-opened one eye and was met with his slightly mischievous, cheeky face.
“… Why are you looking at me like that?”
I asked, knowing full well I shouldn’t have said anything more.
“Ahem, ahem.”
The man coughed lightly, rubbed his nose, and lowered his head, as if hiding the uncontrollable smile on his face: “Well, um… Her Majesty has quite a few pressing matters to handle lately. You know, going to the Church isn’t just a matter of shouting slogans… So there are many differing opinions. She needs to preside over meetings, so she’s been resting in the palace these days…”
“You don’t need to explain this to me.”
Before he could finish, I impatiently interrupted: “I couldn’t care less. When she sees me is not something you can decide.”
“Uh—”
Rect seemed at a loss for words.
Just then, a breeze rustled overhead, and a graceful woman suddenly appeared, crouching on the railing of a nearby terrace, whispering: “Captain, that girl has awakened.”
