Bab 161: Refugee crisis and slavery
As she continued pondering, she passed by another cell. There were so many that she stopped counting already. All of them were empty as well. However, as she passed by one, she heard a cough from inside. Elizabeth was surprised. She thought there was no one else. However, when she glanced through the window of the door, her face flushed red in fury. Inside… were at least ten children! Some were as young as six or eight, but there were some as old as Elizabeth. On the surface, they were healthy as could be. Their complexions were perfect. The girls had perky figures or cute faces, while the boys had muscular forearms or sharp faces. Except, it was hard to tell if they were alive. Their eyes… showed the level of despair and resentment they had!
There's no way that children should be kept here! Elizabeth fumed.
Admittedly, age had no bearing on crime. A person had to be held accountable for their actions no matter the age. The Alzar Kingdom would judge everyone equally. If these children committed a severe crime, then it was natural to be imprisoned. But there were six-year-olds! What could a six-year-old commit?
Elizabeth thought for a second before asking, "Excuse me… This might be a silly question, but what are you all doing in here?"
One of the older boys glanced in her direction. Although it was dark, she could feel his piercing gaze. "You… You're not the usual guard. Who are you?" Saying this, the other children looked up as a sliver of life flashed through their faces.
A young girl could not help herself and shouted, "Are you… are you here to rescue us?"
An older girl murmured, "We've been here for months already. There's no way anyone would look for us." Elizabeth could tell they were probably sisters.
"Is someone leaving again?" someone said.
The second those words were said, an overwhelming sense of dread and melancholy filled the room. The younger children started sobbing while the older ones were quivering. Their fear was so overpowering that Elizabeth abandoned all her suspicion. She realized immediately who these people were! When the Second Great Kingdom War broke out, the Xingyuu Empire ruthlessly invaded the coastlines of the Desterina Ocean. Later, this expanded to what is now known as the Teria Sea Campaign.
The damage was tremendous, and the Alzar Kingdom suffered enormous losses. Multiple provinces were directly raided, and countless settlements were destroyed. It was truly a tragedy of the greatest degree! The drain on resources to repair the military and economy was unprecedented. Even now, the Alzar Kingdom had troubles. According to what Elizabeth read, it was estimated that it would take two or three decades to rebuild the infrastructure! To setback a civilization as mighty as the Alzar Kingdom for so long, it was hard to imagine the sheer scale of destruction.
Except… that was only a small part. Reconstruction was one problem but the real problem was the massive refugee crisis! People were not ants that accepted their fate. As soon as the war broke out, the citizens fled! Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands… Regardless of whether they were peasants or nobles, everyone flocked to the inner provinces for safety! But how could the kingdom handle such a mass migration? King Harth and Lord Korogin acted quickly to try and suppress it, but it was too late. Fear was contagious. Once it spread, it would be hard to stop. Consequently, the people scattered everyone, flooding towns or cities. This, in turn, began to cripple the kingdom! If the Xingyuu Empire was the external threat, then this was the internal one!
While the kingdom was suffering, there would undoubtedly be people who looked to profit. The Whispering Shadow was the best-known example. They kidnapped orphans in droves and sold them for sky-high prices! The kingdom was helpless against this. There were simply too many people. A hundred might go missing, but there were still hundreds of thousands to replace them. No one could keep track of everyone! Using such a method, the Whispering Shadow amassed power and expanded rapidly. It dominated the underworld and rose to become one of the largest criminal organizations in the world! Even the Alzar Kingdom could not move against it carelessly.
Elizabeth realized that these were exactly those war orphans. They would be sold as slaves for nobility which would also explain how healthy they looked. No one would buy defective goods and the same went for slaves as well. It was the seller's best interests to ensure their products were top-notch. Judging by the children's reactions, it was clear that they gave up living. No matter what, being a slave could not be called living, could it? This made Elizabeth curse inside left and right. Seeing and hearing were two different things. Although she heard a few times how serious the issue was, she could not ignore it this time.
The Whispering Shadow… has gone too far! She nearly exploded.
Attacking her was one thing. Her aunt was also critically injured by Vice-captain Julie so she would never forgive the Whispering Shadow. However… when she saw the young girls in there, she was reminded of her own little sister, Aisa. Elizabeth's memory flashed back to New Havens. She could remember the last face Aisa had before dying. Her face was etched into her memory so hard that she might never forget. That sensation of hopelessness, fear, resignation, and death… Everything merged on that little girl's face. For a pure eight-year-old girl like her, who would cry if she killed a fly, to experience such a horrible ending… Indeed, the Whispering Shadow had finally thoroughly crossed Elizabeth's bottom line! For once, her murderous aura surged. She wanted to use her status to annihilate this organization completely!
Elizabeth grew silent for a second, which caused the children inside to continue wailing. Yet, she ignored it and opened the door with her keys. Her face was clouded in fury, but when she looked up, the children saw only a gentle smile. This was Elizabeth's older sister side! The Whispering Shadow would have to wait. Right now, she would scare the children if she maintained her bloodthirsty face. The children grew nervous and exchanged pitiful glances. They thought this was a ruse. Their trust for others had long since deteriorated!
"If you're going to take us away, why bother acting?" a girl asked quietly. "Just tell us who our new owners will be. It's not like we have a choice anyways…"
"No… That's not right," Elizabeth shook her head. "I really am here to rescue you. You might not believe me, but I am… Princess Elizabeth Etuvel Reindel!"
"Princess Elizabeth?" Many were confused. Except for a few, they were here for so long that they knew nothing of the outside world.
"Are you really Princess Elizabeth?" A boy was suspicious. Although Elizabeth wore a pretty dress from her party with the Grand Nobility, it was currently ripped and torn. Her hair was messed up, her face was dirty, and there were traces of blood from her nose. Overall, she looked more pathetic than they did… Forget rescuing them, she looked like she needed help more!
Elizabeth's lips twitched. "You might not believe me, but will you believe this?"
She pulled out a golden medallion from her dress. It immediately drew everyone's attention like moths to a fire. The dark room could not suppress its unrivaled glamor. With the beautiful designs of a lion and snake, it was the Holy Reingolian Medallion, the symbol of the Royal Family! While she appeared suspicious, the Holy Reingolian Medallion was undeniable proof! But they remained wary and quiet. They were commoners or low nobles with scant education. How could they verify her words? They could not!
"If you're really here to rescue us, then where is your help?" someone shook their head. "I don't believe you could have broken in here by yourself."
"I really am…" Elizabeth smiled bitterly when she heard footsteps approaching.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone