Chapter 422: The Kindhearted Princess Irene

At dusk, people in the city were in panic, just like the gloomy sunset in the sky.

In contrast, Thunder City, located on the coast of the Whirlpool Sea, has unique scenery and a prosperous scene.

Especially the emerging industrial area in the suburbs, which used to be a dirty refugee camp. Now the towering chimneys have replaced the shabby tents, and the tireless roar of steam has drowned out the groans and cries of the past.

And all this is thanks to the beautiful and kind-hearted Princess Eileen Campbell.

Her friendship with Prince Colin became the most reliable source of power for this small principality to prosper.

Saint Sith, it would be perfect if the two families could become relatives!

In addition, those who should be thanked are naturally the hardworking and brave Campbell people.

Or to be more precise, Hollus felt that the credit should belong to himself because of his hard work and courage.

It was because of his extraordinary business acumen and untiring hard work that he built this palace of wealth in this mud and brought a better life to his family.

"...I don't want to eat dry bread."

On the dining table in the morning.

Horace's young son grumbled and grumbled as he poked miserably at the dry bread on his plate.

"Dad, we're so rich, why do we still have to eat this every morning? Little Tom told me that they eat wheat cakes with honey every meal..."

The mansion was decent for Thunder City, but that was about it. The furnishings were functional but aesthetically pleasing, and the cold walls were bare, without a single tapestry or decorative painting in sight.

Even the vase on the dining table was empty, as if it was being used as a kettle.

Horace's wife also had many complaints about this, but this shrewd businessman always found a way to convince her.

Including your own children.

Hearing his son's childish speech, Horace, who was reading the newspaper, curled his lips in disdain and spoke slowly.

"...Whole grains aid digestion and are good for your health. I'm doing this for your own good. Also, thriftiness is a virtue passed down from generation to generation in our family. Why are you comparing yourself to Tom's family? When that kid turns into a fat pig someday, you'll thank me for keeping your mouth shut."

When the boy heard this, he was like a deflated ball and said nothing more.

However, Horace did not seem satisfied with the brat's retreat and continued speaking in a lecturing tone.

"Don't think Dad is stingy. I'm doing this for our family. Every gold coin we save now can buy one more share of Colin Group stock. Just wait and see. When His Highness Colin returns from overseas, every share we hold will increase in value tenfold, or even twentyfold! By then, our family will have endless money to spend, and you'll thank me."

A child obviously does not understand what stocks are, but he knows that 1 gold coin is equivalent to about 100 silver coins, and 1 silver coin is equivalent to about 100 copper coins.

Saint Sith, if I save money by tightening my belt, how long will it take me to save up a single gold coin?

And he knew his father would never sell the stock.

Because he remembered clearly that last winter, the shares of Colin Group seemed to be 10 gold coins. At that time, his father did not sell a single one, but bought a lot instead.

"Then...what if His Highness Colin doesn't come back?" he asked carefully.

"That's impossible," Horace chuckled, glancing at the ignorant brat. "He has a serious relationship with our Princess Irene. He'll definitely come back. Every Campbell knows that... Okay, stop talking nonsense. Finish your meal and get to school. Or do you want to end up like those homeless paupers on the street?"

Although he knew in his heart that those poor people ended up on the streets not because they did not study hard, but because the nobles outside joined forces to drive them out of their territory, causing them to end up like this.

However, this did not prevent him from using these "negative examples" to educate his children, so that they could understand the cruelty of competition from an early age.

And there is only one disease in this world.

That's poverty.

The boy sighed and thought to himself, aren’t you the one talking nonsense all the time?

But he was used to silence, because talking back to his dad would only make the situation worse.

After finishing his breakfast in silence, he took the plate to the kitchen and washed the dishes with his silent mother.

Having taught his son another lesson, Horace felt relieved. He glanced at the wall clock and figured it was almost time, so he put the newspaper he had finished reading on the table.

"I'm going to the factory soon and will probably be back late. You don't have to wait for me."

After saying that, he walked to the door, took off a smart and decent suit, put it on over the torn old sweater, and walked out with his head held high.

Although the factory is on track, he still has to go there every day to check on it to prevent anyone from slacking off and taking his salary for free.

As he passed the bakery he often went to, Hollus took a special look at the door.

Looking at the wooden sign hanging on the door, he felt happy.

Excellent! A loaf of bread still costs four coppers!

After walking away calmly, Horace clenched his fists excitedly and muttered to himself.

"...It seems that the price of food has really dropped!"

Hollus remembered clearly that at this time a year ago, a piece of bread cost 5 copper coins, but now it has become 4 copper coins.

The nobles outside Thunder City had just begun to grab land, and some pretentious guys started spreading nonsense in the newspapers, saying that converting farmland into pasture would lead to an increase in food prices, in order to spread the fear of famine.

However, the actual situation is quite the opposite.

There is more than one duchy, Campbell, on the continent of Os. Although not everyone has enough to eat, the thing that people lack the least is food.

Due to the prosperity of the import and export industry, the royal family used part of the industrial tax revenue to subsidize the dining tables of the citizens of Leiming City. Instead of rising, the price of food in Leiming City became cheaper.

What does this have to do with him?

That’s a huge deal!

It's not just because he can save an extra copper coin, but also because he can gain greater bargaining chips in labor costs!

If 400 copper coins can keep someone alive until next month, why should he pay them an extra 500 copper coins as salary?

What Thunder City lacks the least is people, especially those serfs who suddenly gained freedom overnight.

Those guys have nothing but their strength, and there will always be people who will accept lower wages just in exchange for a stable job.

certainly.

Horace is merciful.

Considering that most families in the Duchy of Campbell have two children, and a total of four people including the non-working wife, 1,600 copper coins would be a more reasonable amount than last year's 1,800 copper coins.

That's 400 loaves of bread.

They should be content.

Horace was thinking about this all the way to the textile factory. If he could save 2 silver coins from each person, the net profit for 100 people would be 2 gold coins!

Operating a textile machine is not a complicated job. Most of the physical work is done by machines. He even feels that the hundreds of employees in the factory are redundant.

However, just as he was wondering how to get these peasants to willingly accept a pay cut, a harsh sound of metal friction suddenly caught his attention.

Not far away, a steam loom stopped. He instinctively panicked, but then he felt happy.

I saw a young man's arm being caught in the transmission device due to careless operation. Half of his arm was covered in blood and the white cotton yarn was stained bright red. The scene was extremely tragic.

The workers from the countryside were all stunned. Finally, a few skilled textile workers reacted first. They quickly rushed over to stop the machine and carried out the young man who had lost his right hand.

"Quick! Go find a doctor!"

"Hand me some gauze! We have to stop his bleeding first!"

"Oh, by Saint-Sis..."

Saint Sissi above——

This is a great opportunity!

Horace became excited, stepped forward with an angry look, and yelled at the stunned foreman next to him.

"Get him out of the way! Don't let his blood get stuck on the gears! Look what you've done, you hapless bastards!"

Looking at the boss who suddenly appeared, the foreman who was scolded shuddered instinctively and stammered subconsciously.

"First, sir, he is injured and needs treatment..."

"Of course I know he's injured. Can't I see that myself? He's just injured, not dead. The healers in the Adventurer's Guild have plenty of ways to heal him!"

"But, but...even the healer can't make the regrown bones return to their original state—"

"What? Were his bones valuable before? Or do you want me to compensate him? Stop dreaming. I'm lucky I didn't ask him for the money for the damaged machine!"

Horace glanced at the fainted young man with disgust and said viciously.

"Get up! Stop playing dead! You clumsy piece of shit, you're fired! Go to the accountant's office to get your pay for this month, and get the hell out of here!"

This sentence was like a basin of ice-cold water poured over everyone's head, and it also brought angry expressions to those numb or confused faces.

The hard work all day had already made them angry, and now someone poured fuel on their anger.

The workers around stopped their work at the same time, the roar of the machinery gradually died down, and the entire workshop fell into a terrible silence.

"What? Do you still want to rebel?"

Horace was not afraid at all when he saw this. Instead, he raised his eyebrows as if he was interested and waved his hand to call the security guard of the textile factory over.

Two sturdy men holding sticks came over and stood on the boss's left and right.

With his helpers backing him up, Horace raised his chin even more arrogantly and spoke in a harsh voice.

"I'm telling you, if you don't want to work, get out. Thunder City has no shortage of people like you! I think I've been too nice to you. Starting today, everyone's salary will be reduced to 1,600 copper coins! If I see you slacking off again, you'll starve!"

1600 copper coins!

The moment Hollus finished speaking, everyone present except the security guards was in an uproar.

A year ago, their wages were 2,000 copper coins, but later it was reduced to 1,800 copper coins.

They endured it for the sake of the hungry children at home.

However, they didn't expect that their tolerance would be rewarded with this miser's further encroachment. In less than a year, he actually reached his greedy hands into their pockets again!

"1600 copper coins!? You must be kidding! This amount of money isn't even enough for us to survive!"

"Don't go too far!"

"Why don't you just let us work for you for free?"

Looking at the angry crowd, Horace was completely unaware of the approaching danger and continued to speak confidently.

"Stop pretending to be pathetic. I went to the market and saw that a loaf of bread that used to cost five copper coins is now only four! 1,600 copper coins is more than enough to survive!"

As if he felt that his words were a bit harsh, he rolled his eyes and added another sentence.

"Of course, this pay cut is only temporary. After all, it's too unfair for me to pay you 100% of your salary to hire a group of guys who can't even operate machines! Unless you prove that you are capable of this job, I will naturally increase your salary when the time comes—"

"Fuck you!" Before Horace could finish his words, a wrench was thrown at him.

Startled by the sudden wrench, he quickly dodged backwards and called for two bodyguards to come forward.

"What do you want to do! Who threw the wrench? I want to fire him—"

“This bastard!”

"Brothers! Fuck him!"

Horace's speech completely ignited the workers' long-simmering anger. Someone shouted the first roar, and then the entire workshop erupted in turmoil, nearly overwhelmed by the angry crowd.

The textile workers surged towards Horace like a tide. The two bodyguards had never seen such a scene before and were frightened so much that they retreated again and again. Finally, they fled into the office on the third floor with their boss in a panic and locked the door tightly.

The sound of banging on the door was like raindrops, as if the thin iron door could be destroyed at any time.

Horace, who had pushed down the cabinet to hold the door, was so frightened that his face turned pale and he was dazed, as if he had seen a ghost.

When did these peasants become so noisy?

He clearly remembered that half a year ago, when he used the same trick, those people could only lower their heads and remain silent, not even daring to breathe.

Are they crazy?!

Feeling the surging impact behind the door, he shouted for help outside the window with a hoarse voice.

"Help!"

"Someone come quickly, call the guards! These peasants are crazy!"

The pig-slaughtering howls eventually attracted the attention of people outside. The mounted police from the new industrial zone were the first to arrive, but they panicked when they saw the huge crowds of people.

Thousands of people gathered outside the small factory. Some were protesting, some were throwing stones, and some were taking advantage of the situation to loot... They simply couldn't believe that such a thing was happening in the Thunder City illuminated by the holy light!

"Are these poor guys crazy..." An old guard muttered to himself, staring blankly at the scene in front of him.

He had lived in Thunder City all his life, and this was the first time he had seen such a scene.

The captain of the mounted police acted decisively, realizing that the situation was no longer within his control. He summoned the guards around him to maintain order, and at the same time sent a mounted policeman to the nearby military camp for help.

Soon, the Campbell family's flag appeared at the entrance of the industrial zone. As a team of fully armed cavalry arrived, they finally deterred the scoundrels who took advantage of the chaos to cause trouble.

However, the crowd did not completely disperse, and a large number of workers still remained at the factory gate.

They were weavers at the Hollus Mill.

Facing Campbell's flag, they looked silently at the tall and strong cavalrymen, with anger, fear and hesitation on their faces.

Just as Horace didn't expect the workers to be so angry, the rioters didn't expect things to develop like this.

These farmers from the fields still had a deep fear of the Campbell family's flag.

Many people have already started to back off.

If there wasn't a factory building and a wall behind them, most people would have run away.

At this time, a young cavalryman rode his horse to the front of the formation and suddenly took off his helmet, revealing his golden hair and handsome face.

"Your Highness?!"

The moment they saw that face, everyone showed expressions of surprise, and the next second they all knelt on the ground.

"What are you doing? Please get up!"

Seeing everyone suddenly kneeling down, Irene quickly dismounted, took a few steps forward and supported the weaver closest to her.

The man took two steps back in embarrassment, but he did not continue to kneel. He just kept his head down submissively, not daring to look into her eyes, let alone the legendary light at her waist.

Theresa stood silently behind Irene, alert to the danger in the crowd.

Although Irene no longer needs her protection, she still faithfully performs her duties as a squire knight.

"Please tell me what happened here? I swear on my last name that I will do you justice!" Irene looked into his eyes, her voice sincere and gentle, without any trace of the arrogance of a superior.

At first everyone was silent, but perhaps moved by her sincerity, an elderly weaver finally couldn't help but speak, muttering indignantly.

"…It's Horace!"

Irene looked at the man and asked.

"Who is he? What did he do?"

Hearing that Her Royal Highness the Princess actually responded to them, a buzz of chatter immediately spread among the crowd, with everyone talking one after another.

"He's the factory manager here! Alan's hand was cut off by a machine, and not only did he not help at all, he even wanted to fire him!"

"That's right, he's also going to deduct our wages!"

"Why does he do this?! We've been working for him since we opened our eyes, and he still doesn't think it's enough. What does he want from us?"

"We want an explanation!"

"Raise your wages!"

Irene listened to their words calmly, and then suddenly realized that there was a wounded man lying in the factory. She quickly sent a therapist from her entourage to treat the young man's wound.

Under the illumination of the holy light, the pale young man's face finally regained a trace of color, and his bloody arm finally returned to its original appearance.

Although he has not fully recovered, at least he will not die.

"...This is the only way to deal with it temporarily. He is too seriously injured, and I'm afraid it will take a gold-level or higher healing technique to be effective." The therapist returned to Irene's side and said solemnly.

After all, the Kingdom of Ryan is a land of knights, not a land of healers. These knights only have a basic knowledge of healing magic, not to mention being proficient in it, and have never tried to treat this kind of strange injury.

In comparison, sword wounds or gunshot wounds are much easier to deal with, and their own resistance can also withstand some of the damage.

After understanding, Irene nodded and said seriously.

"I understand. I'll find a way later."

Although only a civilian was injured, she would not leave her people alone.

Theresa glanced at the captain of the guard who was approaching and pointed at the crowd at the door with her chin.

"Does this textile factory have so many workers?"

There were so many people that the factory was almost full, and she found it hard to imagine that they were all employees here.

The captain of the guard scratched his beard and said awkwardly.

"That... I don't know either. Only Mr. Hollus knows."

However, based on his experience, there must be some people here who are taking advantage of the situation to rob, but when the army arrived, they were too slow, so they simply mixed in with this group of textile workers.

Theresa nodded and was about to say something else when she was interrupted by Irene.

"It's not their identity that matters, Theresa, it's their voice that matters."

Looking at her loyal knight, Irene said in a serious voice.

"I've heard their request. Now I need you to bring Horace here."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Theresa obeyed the order respectfully and without hesitation, she walked through the crowd with two guards and entered the factory.

The crowd consciously made way for them and no one dared to stop them.

After entering the factory, Theresa went straight to the third floor, came to a crooked iron door, and waved.

A guard stepped forward, slammed the door twice with the hilt of his sword, and shouted loudly.

"Horace, Her Royal Highness the Princess invites you over!"

Horace, who had been lying by the window and saw what was happening outside, crawled to the door and opened it, forcing a smile of relief onto his pale face.

"Thank you, thank you! Saint Sith, you're finally here! I thought I was dead!"

If the female knight's gaze had not been so sharp, he would have probably hugged her thighs.

The same thing happened to the two bodyguards following behind him. The two extraordinary people who were suspected to have Black Iron level strength were actually scared like dogs.

Theresa didn't say anything more. She signaled him to follow with her eyes, and then led him through the crowd to Irene Campbell.

"Your Highness, I have brought the person you requested."

Erin looked at Theresa and nodded.

"Very well, Theresa, stand down."

"yes."

Theresa nodded respectfully, then left Horace and retreated into the queue.

There was no one around him. Horace quickly glanced at the angry weavers around him, and couldn't help swallowing his saliva. His previous arrogance disappeared completely.

Seeing His Highness looking at him, he quickly forced a smile on his face again, cleared his throat in a pretentiously generous manner and spoke.

"Praise Saint Sis, praise the glory of the Campbell family! Your Highness, your beauty is still so stunning—"

Irene coughed softly.

Hollus's shoulders shuddered, and he quickly changed his tone, speaking out the compromising statement that had been stuck in his throat.

"Okay, I changed my mind! You win! The wages are still 1,800 copper coins—"

"One thousand eight hundred copper coins?" Irene interrupted him, glaring at him sharply. "I heard the average salary here is two thousand. Who's right, my steward or you?"

"Of course, they are both correct..."

Hollus nervously wiped the sweat from his face and explained tremblingly, "It was indeed two thousand last year, but as you know, business isn't very good this year... The cashmere products we produce far exceed market demand, so, so..."

Erin raised her hand, interrupting his excuses, and continued in a calm voice.

"Mr. Horace, no one knows better than me what the price of wool is in the market, and whether your business is doing well... Do you know what it means to lie to the Campbell family?"

"I, I, I don't dare!" Hollus was so scared that his legs went weak and he said with a sad face.

Irene looked at him expressionlessly, unmoved, and gave orders in a stern voice.

"In the name of the Campbell family, I order you to swear to my flag that you will not use today's events as an excuse to punish any of the rioters, and you will not reduce the workers' wages in any form or under any pretext. You must pay full compensation to the injured worker and cover all his medical expenses!"

The moment the words fell, cheers and whistles rang out all around, and the faces of those workers, who had originally looked as pale as death, were once again filled with hope, as if they saw the hope of life.

However, in contrast, cold sweat broke out on Hollus' forehead like rain.

The majesty of the principality's royal family is indeed terrifying.

But forcing him to accept such unequal conditions would be better than chopping him off with a knife!

The originally bent spine straightened up again, and he let out a hoarse howl from his mouth like a drake with its neck pinched.

"Your Highness! Your orders are against the laws of the Principality! I am his employer, and I have the right to decide our employees' wages and whether to continue employing them!"

"Shut up," Theresa glared at him and shouted, "You ungrateful fellow, can't you see that His Highness is saving you?"

Horace: "I'm safe!"

Theresa: “…”

This idiot has forgotten the pain now that the wound has healed.

She wanted to grab him by the neck, throw him back into that shabby office, and watch him squeal like a pig.

Of course, she also knew that this was not a solution.

Your Highness the Princess is here to solve problems, not to create new troubles.

"That's enough, Theresa."

Seeing her subordinate about to say something, Irene raised her hand to stop her. Then she looked at Horace calmly and said, "You just reminded me that my actions were indeed inappropriate."

Hollus was stunned at first, not expecting that the respected prince would admit his mistake. Then an expression of ecstasy appeared on his face.

However, before he could be happy for too long, Irene paused for a moment and then continued.

"A prince once told me that a king should solve everyone's problems, not just the problems of one person or one factory. I once suggested to my brother that we solve this problem, but he was always decisive and hesitant on this matter, thinking that the time was not right..."

"But I want to say that now is the time to do this. If you delay any further, more and more people like you will sell their souls to the devil."

"Sell out to the devil?!" Horace's face turned as pale as paper, and his lips couldn't help but tremble.

This is a serious accusation.

and……

Is it that so?

But Irene's expression told him that.

The vast majority of Campbell people live in their own little corner of the world and have no idea of ​​the tragic events happening in the neighboring Twilight Province.

There is no corruption from the Demon King, no invasion from Chaos, yet everyone there seems to have turned into a devil, killing and devouring each other in the most cruel ways.

The Duchy of Campbell must take this as a warning.

The land protected by the soul of the former king must not be stained by dirty blood!

An unprecedented determination was written on that young face. Irene paused and announced in a majestic voice.

"Starting today, Thunder County will implement the minimum wage standard. All employers in Thunder City may not hire employees for a salary lower than 2,000 copper coins per month. Furthermore, no employer may arbitrarily fire a worker without their consent and without major fault. If a worker must be fired, compensation must be paid based on the hours worked."

"Secondly, all employers in Thunder City must contribute 10% of their monthly revenue to a public account overseen by the City Hall as a workers' security fund. Any worker who loses their job can use this to receive up to three months of living assistance. Workers who are unable to continue working due to work-related injuries will also receive medical compensation from this fund."

“The relevant details will be announced tomorrow and will be Act No. 6 for the new industrial zone.”

"Or rather, labor law."

Since the establishment of the new industrial zone in Thunder City, most of the citizens of Thunder City have lived a good life. She has no doubt that she has done the right thing and is proud of it.

However, she also knows that there is still a considerable number of people living in dire straits, struggling below the level of survival.

Especially those peasants who lost their land due to the nobles' land grabbing.

They did not gain their freedom voluntarily, but were forced to leave the land where they had lived for generations and were brutally driven away by their lords with whips.

She once fell into deep self-blame for this and was depressed for a long time.

Fortunately, when she was at her lowest point, Mr. Colin's letters from afar stayed with her, enlightened her troubles, and pointed out a clear path for her -

It is not money, nor power, nor stupidity, short-sightedness, or anything else that tempts people to sell their souls to the devil.

It's unbridled desire.

And power!

That's exactly what she's going to do now.

In the name of the Campbell family, she will lock the unrestrained desires and power into a cage called order!

Hollus felt as if a thunderclap had exploded in his mind, as if the legendary light had struck his forehead with a sword.

Looking at the soldiers returning home and the crowd dispersing one after another, he screamed in despair.

"You might as well kill me! If you really want to do that, my textile factory will have to close down tomorrow!"

"Then turn it off!"

Irene turned over and rode on the horse without looking back. She just turned her back to Horace and said coldly.

"I will never allow anyone to oppress my people under my nose."

(End of this chapter)