CHAPTER 1025: CHAPTER 1025: THE RESULT OF THEIR DEAL

They also raised a toast to them.

Seeing the twins much closer, Arabella noticed that their eyes were still red and puffy and filled with emotion. She saw them cry in glee and embrace each other in relief when Ferdinand made the official announcement and signed the decree.

Yet, they looked like they cried a lot again before the banquet started, and makeup and healing could not hide it because they cried again from so much emotion.

"Our deepest gratitude for everything," Prince Sebastian, Princess Seraphina, Duke Alba, and the leaders of the anti-slavery faction said in unison in heartfelt and sincere gratitude.

Their table was far from the others and Alwin had already put up a barrier so that whatever confidential information mentioned here would not be spread.

The Pope and his people, who were here with them, would likely not spread the word either.

[We had been working on anti-slavery changes and policies for several decades, but nothing we did worked. And yet, one single announcement from them had changed everything. This is what true power can do. Slavery in Crux is finally completely abolished! There will surely be issues, but what’s most important is that it was finally officially announced. I’m glad I lived this long to witness this. I wish my daughter could have witnessed this and how her twins courageously played a part in it.] Duke Alba thought.

[It’s finally official! There’s no more slavery in Crux!] Princess Seraphina thought, her eyes getting teary-eyed again, and her brother, now King Sebastian, gave her his handkerchief.

As the new leader of Crux, Sebastian did his best not to show his tears, but it was clear from his puffy eyes that he had also cried again earlier.

[They keep crying even when I tell them to save it for later since we have run out of mana to heal them.]

Arabella learned from their thoughts that the twins’ adopted father and mother, who were also their magicians, had run out of mana from healing wounded soldiers and commoners who could not afford medicine or healing.

Most magicians from the magic tower were reassigned to the locked-down territories after the war, so only a few remained here to help heal their knights and soldiers. Everyone injured among Valerian knights and soldiers had been completely healed by them but the same was not true with the people of Crux.

The healing of the Prudencians and the situation had been prioritized after all, so most of their magicians were focused there after their task here was done.

Thus, the few left thought they helped heal knights and soldiers or any people injured here in Crux were not done with the task yet, since there were simply too many people who needed healing here.

Most of those injured because of the war were already healed, but there were still many who had a lot of injuries and wounds because of the slavery that had been practiced here for so long and had been completely abolished just today.

"You are most welcome," Arabella replied, since Ferdinand merely nodded.

He was not used to getting thanked sincerely by others aside from her and his closest people, so he was awkward with it, so he merely nodded..

"We have fulfilled our agreement. And it was thanks to you that we were able to save our people," Arabella added.

She meant they did not need to take all the credit for them since what they did was part of the agreement they had beforehand.

[Ah, I see. No wonder the interactions of their people were like that. They had a prior arrangement before the war.]

The Pope immediately figured out what was going on and telepathically explained it to Cassandra and his right-hand man, who were also here with them today. He once again brought them with him for experience and perspective broadening.

{Why would anyone have their own country attacked and be grateful for it?!} one of the Pope’s companions asked. He was assigned to a different area, so he did not know what exactly had been happening here.

{They did not ask for it. It was already inevitable. They likely simply ask for a deal in exchange for something. And it seems it was related to the abolishment of slavery here and saving Valerians who were forcefully made slaves here.} The Pope explained.

{Then, does it also involve making them the next leaders?}

{Yes. It’s highly likely. And it seems they are the best choice since they care enough for the people to be emotionally grateful about the announcements earlier.}

{I see... The long-lived races don’t seem as bad as I thought. They even set aside a budget for this place, even when they could simply let them build and recover on their own.}

{I already told you so many times. If they left Crux to recover on their own, it would take so many years, or they might even fall apart in a few years if they could not survive the sudden changes.}

The Pope’s plan to educate and broaden the perspective of his companions was succeeding.

Arabella was glad the Pope was doing this. He was letting his companions know that Valeria and the long-lived races were not evil but simply another nation, another group of people that also live according to rules and have emotions and rationality.

As for the budget his companion mentioned, Ferdinand made Arabella announce it publicly to further her image.

They already originally planned to invest it in Crux when they decided to make it a vassal state since they knew the situation here needed a lot of effort and budget to improve.

This was one of the reasons why they never conquered Crux, even when skirmishes repeatedly occurred in the past. They did not want to take in a territory that had an entirely different culture that was against their established rules in Valeria.

However, the need arises due to the trafficking of Prudencians and the refusal of Crux to return them.

They could have simply attacked Crux, taken back their people, and left them on their own without making them a vassal state and simply a defeated territory, but Princess Seraphina approaching Arabella changed with the deal, changed their plans.

The deal they made that day changed the fate of Crux and so many people.