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Chapter 32
At the news that she was going out for a walk, Killian came rushing into my room in a panic.
“Evelyn, where do you think you’re going?!”
“What is it all of a sudden?”
I frowned and asked, and he shouted with a firm expression.
“No!”
“…?”
What is he even talking about?
“Brother, aren’t you busy?”
“That’s not the issue… You can’t go out, Evelyn!”
“Why not?”
I asked in confusion while putting on the coat Gina handed me.
I had gone outside the estate plenty of times already. Why was he suddenly forbidding me from leaving?
Killian stood awkwardly by the doorway, unable to either stop me or let me go.
“Outside is dangerous. You do realize this is near the border, don’t you?”
“The war is over, Brother. And it ended in our Empire’s glorious victory.”
“That’s a completely different matter! Public safety is still unstable!”
Hmm.
I tilted my head as I recalled the town I had secretly explored yesterday.
It hadn’t seemed particularly dangerous.
“…And here I thought you said things were being managed diligently.”
I muttered while shooting him a look.
Killian’s face reddened. Apparently he remembered saying exactly that.
Well, to be fair, the situation wasn’t exactly good.
There were beggars everywhere, and the place certainly couldn’t be called clean. It looked much like what one would expect after a war had ended.
Besides, in this era, relief efforts for the poor weren’t considered especially important.
Shrugging, I answered Killian.
“I’m going with Sir Maren. That’s fine, right?”
“Sir Maren… alone?”
I’d rather not have anyone else.
If I dragged a whole procession of knights around, I’d attract every stare in town.
I quickly came up with an excuse.
“I don’t want anyone but Sir Maren. If I have to drag those people from this estate around with me again, I’ll be the one suffering! Right?”
Killian flinched.
He must have remembered yesterday’s incident.
Perhaps he had already suspected it to some degree.
That Evelyn had been bullied throughout her time in this territory.
And he had deliberately looked away.
Maybe because he thought it wasn’t his problem.
Or perhaps because he believed everything was Evelyn’s fault.
“…Then.”
He raised his head with a solemn expression.
“I’ll come too.”
“…What?”
Did I hear that correctly?
Things really couldn’t have gone more wrong than this.
“Damn it. There’s no way I can slip away now!”
My plan had been to wander around with Sir Maren and escape when an opportunity presented itself.
“Brother, aren’t you busy?”
“It isn’t difficult to make time for a short while.”
I turned my head with an annoyed expression.
How was I supposed to shake off that blockhead?
As if he wanted everyone to know he was a noble, he was dressed in extravagant clothes and even wore a sword at his waist.
He constantly scanned the surroundings with wary eyes.
Naturally, he attracted everyone’s attention.
“Ugh.”
I let out a long sigh.
I guessed this walk was a lost cause.
…Or so I thought.
“Evelyn! It’s dangerous!”
Woof!
A stray dog approached me and started acting cute.
“Evelyn! Danger—!”
Whoooosh.
A carriage rolled by more than a hundred meters away while a lonely gust of wind blew between us.
“Stop! Don’t come any closer!”
“…?”
Several farmers carrying tools glanced at us and walked past.
“Danger—”
“That’s enough, Brother!”
Unable to endure it any longer, I finally shouted.
Seriously, what was wrong with him all of a sudden?
Usually he treated me like baggage!
Startled, Killian immediately shut his mouth.
“You’re really unbelievable! I can’t even walk properly! If you’re going to be like this, just go back!”
“E-Evelyn, I…”
“Hmph! I’m already irritated enough being stuck in this backwater countryside, and now you’re going to make things even more annoying?”
“…”
“So please! Just shut up and quietly follow me!”
After I fired off my complaints, Killian finally fell silent.
“…At last, some peace and quiet.”
People only understood when you got angry.
Being polite never worked.
I could feel Maren, who was walking behind us, carefully watching my mood.
No matter how favorably he viewed me, I supposed an angry Evelyn was still frightening.
Honestly, that was more convenient.
I spun around and strode forward.
Killian and Maren hurried after me.
“W-Wait and walk with us!”
“Then keep up!”
The place I led the finally-silent Killian to was none other than the tent village.
The place where people still hadn’t returned to normal life because of the scars left by the war.
“Evelyn! That place…!”
Killian hurried to my side and whispered.
As though he were sharing some great secret.
“You shouldn’t go there.”
“Why not?”
“Well… that’s…”
Unable to explain, he stammered.
Why can’t you just say it’s a refugee camp?!
Thanks to that, I snorted and continued heading there as if doing whatever I pleased.
“It’s my choice! Just quietly follow me, Brother!”
“E-Evelyn!”
[Warning: Unauthorized Area — You have entered the “Rosenthal Territory War Refugee Camp.”]
[If you remain for more than 30 minutes, all quests will immediately fail and Reputation -1,000.]
My freedom level had definitely increased.
This was an unauthorized area—a place Evelyn would never have been allowed to enter before.
Yet now the system was permitting me to stay for a full thirty minutes.
Closing the flood of warning windows, I looked around.
“Hmm…”
When I had slipped out recently, I’d been too distracted by quests to look properly.
But now that I examined everything carefully, the reality was even worse than I had imagined.
“Ugh, the smell.”
I hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief and covered my nose.
Beside me, Killian and Maren kept their hands on their sword hilts while watching the surroundings.
Killian moved close to me and whispered.
“I told you we shouldn’t have come here!”
“W-What is this place?”
With my nose covered, my voice came out nasally.
Pretending not to know, I pressed him for answers.
Though flustered, Killian tried to explain.
“Two years ago… there was a war, remember? This tent settlement was created then. It’s where people who lost their homes gathered.”
“They lost their homes? Then why not just give them new ones?”
Killian became even more flustered.
“It… it isn’t that simple. We can’t simply hand out houses. Besides, there are so many people…”
“Wouldn’t it be solved if we told His Highness the Crown Prince? It’s so embarrassing that a place like this exists in our territory!”
“Of course the Imperial Family has made considerable efforts. For example, they maintained the field hospital that was used during the war…”
The tents labeled Field Hospital were all on the verge of collapse.
“…And there’s a food distribution center as well…”
I couldn’t find one no matter how hard I looked.
“…The soldiers dispatched by the Imperial Family also help maintain public order…”
A group of soldiers in shabby uniforms were drinking and playing poker in one corner.
With every sentence he spoke, Killian’s face grew redder.
“…Does our family provide any support?”
“Of course… we do. We’re responsible for managing all the aid sent by the Imperial Family… The amount allocated is actually quite large… the funds…”
His voice trailed off as he stared blankly around.
Apparently this was Killian’s first time coming this far inside as well.
“Tch. As expected, ideals and reality are different things.”
Most nobles didn’t personally inspect every corner of their territory.
They relied on reports from their subordinates.
And it seemed that some of the Crown Prince’s people had been involved in managing this place.
I knew several people had been arrested after the recent incident.
It looked like they had been happily pocketing the imperial aid money all this time.
Not a single thing here seemed properly maintained.
“…Brother?”
I called out when I saw him frowning.
Killian flinched and came back to his senses.
“Ah…”
“Are you alright?”
“…It’s nothing. I’m just… a little shocked.”
“Why?”
“The situation is far worse than I thought.”
He muttered.
“I thought things had improved after two years. The most recent reports I received said everything was progressing well. I thought recovery was underway, but…”
“Anyone can see that it isn’t.”
“Th-That’s…”
At that moment, one of the soldiers who had been playing poker sauntered toward us.
Maren noticed him first and stepped forward defensively.
But the soldier walked over as if nothing was wrong.
“What brings noble lords to a filthy corner like this?”
He didn’t seem to recognize Killian.
That wasn’t surprising. A low-ranking soldier wouldn’t necessarily know him.
“…Please step back. If you come any closer, I won’t remain idle.”
Maren spoke bluntly.
It was an unexpected side of him.
“He’s more knightly than I thought.”
Then again, he was a knight of a ducal house.
His abilities were guaranteed.
But despite Maren’s warning, Killian hurriedly stepped forward and asked:
“You there, which unit are you assigned to? Would you mind telling me how long this camp has been neglected?”
“What?”
The soldier spat on the ground.
Disgusting.
A crooked grin spread across his face, revealing uneven teeth beneath his filthy mustache.
“How long has it been neglected? What kind of question is that?”
“There should be an imperial budget allocated for this place. I know supplies are supposed to arrive regularly. What happened to them?”
“Listen here, noble sir. Do you really think those high-and-mighty people care about a dump like this?”
At his words, Killian’s face turned pale.
