Chapter 424 Melancholic Queen
Isabel explained softly, "It's like a piece of canvas, with only a few outlines. Or like a piece of music, with a beat but no 'theme'."
"Whether within or outside the outline, there are only 'blanks' that have not yet been written. I know there are still many gaps, but I don't know how to start."
“…It’s a truly artistic answer.”
Aiwass commented: "That sounds like something you would say."
But surprisingly fitting, he thought.
Isabel closed her eyes slightly, straightened her back, and recalled softly, "Those cities had no opera houses, no commercial centers, no museums, no universities. No alchemy shops, no tall buildings like Lloyd's. No meeting places like the Round Table Hall, and the city center was even smaller than the villa I gave you.
"Most cities have only one library, and some have none at all, because many people can't read. Two-thirds of the cities have no paved streets, and there are only a few local newspapers, not even the Glass Steps. A town has no more than three churches, and if people get sick, they have to go to the hospital, and even then, few are decent.
"Prisons in many places are overcrowded, and even the walls are leaky. Some prisoners starve to death or freeze to death in prison. In some cities, people are hanged for a month or two without anyone coming to take them down. This is because they have no family left.
"On Glass Island, underage workers must be at least fourteen years old; in the harshest factories, the maximum working day is twelve hours. But in some cities west of Avalon, I've even seen child laborers as young as ten. Their wages are very low, almost nonexistent, with only one meal or even half a meal. They have to wake up at four or five in the morning to work, wear only a thin layer of clothing in the middle of winter, and sleep less than six hours a day...
"Most cities have no lights at night. Less than half have electricity, and most residents still use kerosene lamps. They still have legendary adventurers, but they are more like mercenaries and bandits. The most common commissions they accept are to deal with the undead—those who died in the wilderness and had no one to collect their remains..."
Isabel didn't want to say anything at first, but once she started talking, it was like she had opened a box and couldn't stop.
Aiwass just listened quietly and said softly: "To be honest, I'm surprised."
"...For the fate of these children and the residents of these cities?" Isabel opened her eyes and looked at Aiwass.
"No, I'm surprised you even have the opportunity to reach them."
Aiwass shook his head and uttered a sharp and somewhat harsh remark: "No sense of confidentiality at all—and Her Majesty the Queen actually saw the truth."
If he were the manager of these cities, he would definitely do a good job of preserving the appearance of the city, at least during the Queen's visit.
Everyone will work together to weave a beautiful dream for Your Majesty - how could Her Majesty the Queen possibly see such a thing?
“…And that’s exactly what they did.”
Isabel sighed softly and explained, "But I didn't stay in the cities I was supposed to visit. Instead, after the tour, I took a griffin to a city outside of my planned itinerary, arriving at the next city before the next tour was due. Therefore, I've actually visited twice as many cities as I visited. And half of those cities didn't even know I was coming, or that I'd even been there."
"Oh, I see."
Upon hearing this, Aiwass understood: "You think that since this is a rare opportunity to come out, you must have a good time...right?"
Isabel nodded silently.
Because in a city where everyone knows her, there is no room for Isabel to have a good time.
Her schedule is strictly arranged, which naturally does not give her the opportunity and time to contact other people.
Unexpectedly, their young queen was so naughty, even more so than Queen Sofia. In her packed itinerary, she managed to squeeze out time to visit twice as many cities.
Without a doubt, she must have rushed there excitedly at first. She went incognito, disguised herself, and sneaked into various cities with a griffin and the arbitrators acting as guards.
I'm afraid he didn't even bring any guards with him.
Although Aiwass didn't know how Isabel found out the truth, it was undoubtedly very difficult.
And she did this with great sincerity.
The price is that I almost look depressed.
Although the schedule for the new king's pilgrimage was quite flexible, if she "utilized" the time even more, she might not be able to free up much time. And this shocking information must have made her sleep poorly.
...No wonder she looks so tired.
I'm afraid it's not just physical fatigue or lack of sleep, but mental fatigue due to worry and sadness.
"Those kids in the factories... I talked to them. More than one factory, more than one conversation."
Isabel sighed, fatigue visible in her eyes. "I was angry for them, even trying to stand up for them, demanding more pay and more reasonable work hours. But the working children didn't understand why I was angry... They just thought I was baffling and even tried to stop me. They were just trying to earn a little extra food and didn't want to cause any trouble.
"You know what, Aiwass? This is the first time I've learned that people can starve to death... In some towns outside of Glass Island, there are people who die of starvation even if they work hard. Logically, the church should be responsible for providing free food, but... why is this happening?"
Isabel looked very painful, with a frown on her face and an expression of great discomfort.
Aiwass shook his head and said softly, "Because the church's income mainly comes from providing powerful treatments to the wealthy and blessing specific places and objects. In fact, not all cities have such wealthy people.
"Because of the Round Table Hall and the harbor, the truly wealthy tend to congregate on Glass Island. Local merchants may not have much money, and local churches may not be able to provide much free food. Most clergy trained in church schools are often exiled to this remote countryside."
"...Do they know their future?" Isabel couldn't help but ask.
"Most people don't know. Only the most talented can stay on Glass Island or in a few relatively wealthy cities. Because of this, many clergymen can't stand the hardship and leave within a year. Those who remain can generally awaken their true hearts of dedication."
Aiwass sighed.
In his opinion, this is somewhat immoral.
But there was really no other way—even if healing injuries could be left to doctors, even in a small village, someone had to preside over funerals and exorcise the dead. Adding weddings, celebrations, and other rituals, it would take at least several years of dedicated study.
Who would want to suffer in a small city when they can enjoy the good life in a big city? It is definitely not enough to rely solely on "devotees" who have awakened their hearts of dedication to fill this huge hole.
(End of this chapter)
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