Chapter 158: 70.1

Confusion in the Kingdom of Caenista

A shadow fell over the Kingdom of Caenista, the great land of Humans.

The Spirit’s power throughout the country had been diminished, the forests withered, water sources dried up, and crop yields dropped to less than half of what they had been a few years earlier.

Fortunately, thanks to the presence of a girl who was the “Beloved Child of the Spirits,” the withered lands visibly recovered when the girl went to visit, but this was only temporary, and after a few weeks, even the lands that were not yet withered began to wither. The lords also forced heavy taxation on the people in need of funds to give priority to the [Beloved Child].

The taxes were so high that those who were still able to stay in the country could not survive, and as they left, many conveniences were taken away from them. To compensate, the people were forced into slavery, further complicating their lives and increasing their dissatisfaction. 

However, the nobles in the Royal Capital did not see this as a big problem because the area around the Royal Capital was more fertile and full of spirit power than ever before. Some of the lower nobles in the provinces, who were closer to the people in power, complained about the anomaly and asked for tax exemptions, but the nobles in the Royal Capital scoffed at them for their negligence.

Then bandits began to appear along the roads leading from the Royal Capital.

No one was born a bandit. Most of them were peasants who required food.To survive, they tried to satisfy their hunger by attacking merchants returning from the Royal Capital, and if that wasn’t enough, they attacked the nobles’ farmlands to obtain fertile crops around the Royal Capital, but when the damage began, the knights and soldiers suppressed them.

Banditry was often caught in areas far from the city and was usually executed on the spot without trial.

One soldier who retaliated against bandits who attacked his farmland was surprised to find old men, women, and children among the dead bandits, and his complexion turned blue, and he swallowed his spit in anxiety.

The country began to wither from the outside, and only the central area, centered on the Royal Capital, flourished.

Every night there was an evening party in honor of the [Beloved Child], and the nobles rubbed up against each other to get a share of the concessions she was getting.

“You’ve come! Camille-sama!”

“…Miss Alice?”

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As the younger brother of the king who lost his fiancée, Camille was unable to refuse the invitation of high-ranking nobles who wanted to sell their daughters to him. So he responded coldly to Alice, who approached him without common sense or knowing the customs of the nobility.

“I’m sorry, but I’m already…”

“I know! Carol-san and I were “friends”, so if I tell you about my memories with Carol-san, it will make you feel a little better.”

“…”

Camille clenched his fists and gritted his back teeth as he replied with a smile that sounded as if he was remembering the deceased.

Alice had chosen Camille as the only person she really wanted to talk to about Carol, but the way she spoke to him, with no sense of distance, as if she were stepping into his shoes, made Camille feel a dark sensation, as if his insides were becoming heavy.

Even so, the other party was [Beloved Child of the Spirits], the only person who was believed to be able to suppress the Spirit anomalies in the country, and was also a candidate for the Crown Prince’s fiancée.

Unable to treat Alice with such disregard, Camille played along with her with a blank smile on his face, and the gossiping nobles irresponsibly asked if this was a love affair between the Beloved Child and the King’s Brother.

“…I’m sorry, I don’t feel well, you’ll have to excuse me.”

“Really? Let’s talk again!”

“…Phew”

“Good evening, Camille-sama.”

Nicholas chuckled as he offered Camille a glass of water flavored with citrus fruits.

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