Chapter 303 Beggar

This winter was as cold as ever, perhaps even a little colder than usual. But fate was like an overstretched string, which would break completely if it were pressed just a little bit more - and so when early spring arrived, disaster struck with harshness and ruthlessness.

At this critical moment, a once-in-a-century cold snap struck the Batalya Highlands, the empire's main grain-producing region. Countless winter crops were severely damaged, some freezing to death in the sudden and extreme temperatures. The nation's keen grain merchants seized the opportunity to hoard grain and jack up prices. Following the cold snap, famine spread across the country.

The northern border of the empire was mired in war, the royal family took the lead in ceding territory, the Church was suspected of poisoning saints, food prices and other prices remained high, cold disasters and famine continued to spread... The destruction of a huge empire was sometimes very slow and extremely undignified. People looked at it as if they were looking at an old tramp with broken limbs, pus and sores, who could only lie in the snow, gasping for breath, and wriggling like a maggot. Maybe he could still cling on for a while, and maybe he would stop breathing in the next second.

For the residents of Amacatio, life was more or less manageable. The royal city was the empire's last remaining vestige of respectability. The wails and roars from the outside world were blocked by the high walls of the ancient city. The romantic affairs between the king and the ladies of the nobility seemed as captivating as ever.

This was Fina Wood's first time in the Royal City. A year ago, she had never imagined that a little girl from the Batalia Highlands, covered in dust and dirt, would one day find herself in the legendary capital of the empire.

To be safe, the girl dressed herself like a scruffy boy, wearing a well-worn tweed coat with frayed cuffs and crooked patches on the elbows. It was said to have been left by her grandfather to her father, who in turn had given it to her brother, who then insisted on giving it to her. While ugly, it was warm enough to keep her and her brother warm through countless winters.

But in her hometown, just this piece of clothing would make many people envious.

Along the way, Fina was dazzled by the sights. It was like a country bumpkin entering the city—in the mirror-like windows hung rose-colored wool cloaks embroidered with gold thread and sable hats inlaid with peacock feathers and large gems. In the carriages that slowly passed by, the nobles sat in elegant, luxurious, light, and warm clothing. The jewels around the necks and ears of the ladies sparkled brilliantly. Even the most ordinary streets were lined with jet lamps, and even the lampposts were clearly carefully designed.

Next to the lamppost, which was finely carved into the shape of a blooming iris, sat a young beggar with broken legs. He was dressed in rags, skinny, with his head lowered, his knuckles red and swollen from the cold, and in front of him was a faded copper box.

Fina stood before him in silence for a moment. The man's chin bore a striking resemblance to her brother's, prompting her to pull a copper coin from her pocket and gently place it on the man's copper box. This startled him, and he struggled to raise his head, looking at Fina in surprise. "Thank you, kind young man... but I'm not a beggar."

He struggled to stand up and opened the copper box. Inside was half a box of medals, each of which was polished to a bright shine.

"These prices are all different," he said, picking up the copper coin and putting it back into Fina's hand. "The cheapest is the Brafar Battle Medal, which only costs one silver coin."

Fina opened her eyes wide in surprise: "You are..."

A soldier, and a soldier who has made meritorious contributions.

She forgot to cover her voice, but the young soldier didn't show too much strangeness in her eyes. After being surprised, he smiled bitterly: "To be precise, he is a deserter, Miss."

After the land north of the Frostwhisper Mountains was ceded to the Far North nation of Fernloth, the soldiers who had once defended the northern border were reduced to an extremely awkward situation. Even some local troops who had not yet surrendered were still legally forced to become prisoners of the Northerners.

The Fernros demanded a hefty ransom from Silver Iris to redeem their soldiers—but this money was primarily used to pay the high-ranking generals, leaving the common soldiers treated as mere livestock to be used at will and slaves to waste food. A long, harsh winter passed, and many were tortured to death. Finally, spring arrived, and some survivors, after much difficulty, managed to escape home, only to be deemed shameless deserters by their homeland. No one offered them employment, especially since the young soldier was a cripple with two legs.

In the current situation, the royal city is the richest and has the most opportunities, so the soldier who calls himself Victor is unwilling to leave. He can only sell the relics that many of his comrades entrusted to him before their death and that he brought thousands of miles away from the North. He sends part of it to his comrades' families and uses the rest to keep himself alive.

"What, but this is not your fault!" Fina suppressed the urge to curse and said angrily.

In the school in Port Morris, teachers will teach them the true nature of war between nations, and will also popularize the national and even world situation to students. Fina is not one of those ignorant people who only follow the crowd.

She thought for a moment, then suddenly asked in a low voice, "Will you...come tomorrow?"

After receiving a positive answer, the girl hurriedly said "See you tomorrow" and ran away quickly.

Fina's arrival in the Royal City was naturally due to Mr. Ghost's orders. Over the past year, the Land Freedom Party has grown at an incredible pace in the Batalia Highlands. They were behind major events like the Spindleberg textile workers' riot and the Harvest Town coup. The Land Freedom Party's name has become a thorn in the side of the Batalia Highlands' elite and wealthy businessmen, but everyone knows that the Ghost and the People's Party are behind them.

Those lunatics in the Kuomintang dared to chop off anyone's head. The poor loved them, but the powerful feared them like the devil - in short, they were not to be trifled with.

As the liaison between Port Morris and the Batalia Highlands, the People's Democratic Party never hesitated to teach and train Fina, which enabled the already intelligent and studious girl to grow rapidly. She repeatedly proved her outstanding abilities and was appointed a special representative of the People's Democratic Party stationed in the Batalia region. So when she stood beside Mr. Ghost again, she was no longer the skinny, embarrassed, frightened and fawning person she had been when they first met.

Seeing Mr. Ghost again, Fina could hardly conceal her joy. In Port Morris, the person she loved most was the cheerful and sincere Marshilin, a fellow girl. But the person she feared and was most grateful to was still the ghost who had saved her and taken her away from Batalia Heights.

——Of course, after seeing the mysterious "Dragon Knight" who was inseparable from the ghost, Fina still shuddered instinctively and honestly retracted her toes that were trying to approach the black-haired young man.

…The blond youth's smile was as gentle and bright as ever, yet it still made her feel uneasy. No wonder Maxine had once given her a look of approval, as if to say, "You see through his true nature," after hearing her secretly complain about the Port Morris residents' fanatical worship of the "Dragon Knight."

Fina went to the royal city this time mainly as one of the representatives of Batalia Highlands for the Blooming Conference.

Since the defeat, the Silver Iris Empire has been vague about the public's calls for a Blooming Conference. However, as the situation became increasingly serious, protests and even riots broke out across the country. The royal family finally couldn't hold on any longer and announced that it would hold a Blooming Conference after the Day of Worship. It also required the three major parliaments to immediately formally initiate the representative qualification review and registration agenda.

Civilians and scholars belonged to the Third Council, and the People's Party and the Okensele Society happened to use this opportunity to form a unified community of interests. Both the "People's Party" and the "Land Freedom Party" were already notorious "rebel factions" in the Empire, their members' mugshots plastered on official wanted posters, the most valuable of which was Ghost himself.

Unfortunately, Ghost was now also the president of the Okensele Society. Through subtle manipulation, the People's Party quickly passed the "formal representative qualification review and registration process" and officially emerged into the public eye. This guy exploited a legal loophole, but even the other two councils couldn't say anything about it. They could only comfort themselves by saying that the Third Council's power was pitifully limited and couldn't cause any trouble.

After a simple greeting and arrangements, Fina hesitated for a moment, but still told the professor what had happened to the disabled soldier.

"I've always felt that the soldier named Victor wasn't just trying to make a living," the girl said hesitantly. "Both of his legs are broken, so he can only crawl on his front legs, yet his cuffs don't show much wear and tear. It's such a long journey from the North to the Royal City, and someone must have helped him along the way. And now they've left him on the street, uncaring. Besides, selling commemorative medals in the Royal City isn't a good idea. With so many nobles and generals here, the locals are probably used to seeing them. Would anyone actually buy them? It might even bring disaster. So I guess he's using this as an opportunity to attract someone."

"You've observed very carefully." The professor gave her an approving look. "We can go meet that 'Victor'."

Being praised, Fina smiled shyly.

"...I'm not entirely sure, actually. I'm just a little angry, and a little sorry for him," she muttered indignantly. "They gave their courage, their loyalty, their lives, to the Empire, and yet the Empire discarded them like a bunch of useless trash."

"When the birds are gone, the bows are put away; when the rabbit dies, the dogs are cooked," the professor said calmly, translating it succinctly from the common language. "Now that the royal family and the nobility have achieved their goals, they naturally no longer need to worry about the future of their tools—even if their victory comes at the cost of the nation and the people."