CHAPTER 1020: CHAPTER 1020: THE SITUATION IN CRUX

Yet, so many people were still so wary and scared of them.

The slaves were more scared of the punishment they would receive from their masters than of Valeria.

Because they were raised that way since they were young. Some had been slaves before they could even think for themselves. And so they grew up without ever deciding anything for themselves.

They had been groomed to think the way they do and always put their masters’ words first, and believed that their masters were the most powerful, akin to gods who lord over them and decide everything for them, and believe that it’s for the best, or they simply could not go against it.

And most of the people in Crux also think this way and believe it’s normal for slaves to simply obey and that they should, that they do have the rights that normal citizens do. They were simply another form of property that was bought and sold to do whatever they were told to do.

This was how deep the culture of slavery was in Crux.

The people’s perspective of things was simply different due to how long slavery had been running in their kingdom.

Arabella eyed the people who had been made to serve as slaves, and almost all of them were thin and gaunt, and a lot of them had some sort of scar or injury here and there.

Only a few looked better than the others, probably because they were purchased by better masters.

Of course, there would also be masters who treated their slaves well, but there were more who treated their slaves badly.

The commoners did not look too good either. They also looked terrible with clear signs of suffering on their faces.

This look reminded Arabella of the sight she saw in Safiro. However, the difference was, here in Crux, most of the commoners and slaves had already resigned to their fate as the lowest of the low and given up on any hope, or never thought there was hope in the first place. They were simply doing whatever they could to survive with whatever was happening and without thinking of what could possibly be changed.

Only a few dared to hope and dream that their situation could be changed somehow, even if it was by some miracle.

The thoughts coming from everyone were so heavy that Arabella had to look away.

She let her eyes drift through the city, and it only further made it clear why Princess Seraphina and Princess Sebastian were desperate to change the situation here. It was no wonder that the two threw their pride away for an opportunity to uproot the current system.

The situation was so much worse than Arabella thought. It truly reminded her of the sight she saw from Safiro.

There was a clear difference between the area where commoners and nobles lived, and there was a huge part of the city that was visibly a worn-down slum.

It was visible from where they stood because it was one of the highest points in the palace.

The situation was visible from here, yet they did not try to do anything about the slums.

Perhaps they did, but the efforts were lacking or not enough.

And as two royals who had been branded to have been tainted and had been mistreated by their stepmother, Princess Seraphina and Prince Sebastian did not have the power to wield to change things here on their own. Thus, they chose an unconventional way to create the change they believed Crux needed.

Hopefully, they could make the change they hoped for now.

No, Arabella and everyone here from Valeria would do their best to help them achieve it.

After all, they did accept the deal.

If Crux remained the way it was, what profit would Valeria gain from them?

They were not charities to simply donate to another country in need. Especially one who bullied and enslaved their people.

They agreed to the deal not only to save their people or help Princess Seraphina and Prince Sebastian.

They also agreed on the long-term benefit.

And these were to: eliminate a nation that posed a risk to their people and create an ally that benefited them.

For them to benefit from Crux, they must first invest in it. Help it build into a more stable and successful territory. The more Crux changes and succeeds, the more taxes they can earn from them.

This was the long-term benefit they had in mind aside from saving their people, whom Crux had held hostage by making them slaves.

"Good morning! Thank you, everyone, for gathering here today," the courtier began.

The slaves were rather surprised that they were even thanked.

"We are all in the presence of the mighty and bold Emperor of Valeria, His Imperial Majesty Ferdinand Valeria! Long may he reign! By his side, the merciful and kind Empress, Her Imperial Majesty, Arabella Lobelius Valeria. Long may she reign! The wise and virtuous head of the Great Temple, His Holiness Pope Elsevier Esperanza...."

The courtier made a long introduction of all the powerful figures present here today until he finally proceeded to what everyone was waiting for.

"I humbly request His Excellency, Prime Minister Raymond Reginald, to the podium."

Raymond was the one who would do the talking for them. He rose and went to the podium, checked that the voice-amplifying magic tool worked properly, and addressed the crowd.

"I believe at least half or most of you already know the reason why the war occurred.

To clarify things, we shall inform you in detail.

Several months ago, Her Imperial Majesty hired assistants to work for her in the palace.

One of the said assistants is a former princess of Prudencia, and now, the sister of the Duke.

Her Majesty wished to get to know her assistants better and decided to visit Prudencia.

And it was then that we discovered something horribly wrong.

There were a lot of Prudencians sold against their will to be slaves here in Crux and other parts of the continent.

Ever since this was discovered, we have done our best to search for our people and return them home.

We succeeded in finding them and taking them home with us from all parts of the continent, except one kingdom.

Crux," Raymond said.

He paused to let the people process his words.