Chapter 132

Camp

The management of ordinary people in the wizarding world had always followed the principle of high autonomy.

It was not that the wizards were unaware of the oppression nobles inflicted upon commoners, nor that no one had ever reported such injustices to them.

But ever since humanity had left the Old Lands and broken free from theocracy, the aristocratic system had persisted for over three thousand years.

Wizards were obsessed with exploring the mysteries of the arcane and had never delved into the study of social structures.

They rarely interacted directly with commoners—whether in recruiting apprentices or obtaining supplies, everything was handled through the nobility.

Therefore, most wizards had no real concept of the lives of the lower classes.

Even if they did know, judging by Lucy’s understanding of wizards, they would likely still remain indifferent.

More precisely, they simply did not know how to change such circumstances—this world’s political economy was still an uncultivated wasteland.

...

The convoy stopped at a crude campsite at dusk.

The firelight from the distant mine had yet to die out; faint explosions could still be heard, though far weaker than the first time.

Olivia stepped down from the carriage and gazed at the sky stained red by smoke and dust.

She remained downcast during dinner.

The Kingdom of Atley showed no trace of exotic charm—only barren fields, ruined forests, and oppressed commoners.

It was as if... as if what she saw was exactly the same as in the Principality of Kolo.

Lucy had already noticed the princess’s unusual mood, yet she said nothing.

The airship port was about three days away from Steel City by carriage, meaning they still needed to spend two more nights resting in the wild.

When night fell over the camp, Lucy was reading the Anatomy Notes by the dim light of the campfire.

Olivia lay with her head on Lucy’s lap, seemingly asleep but Lucy knew every subtle rhythm of her breathing and understood that the girl was merely pretending.

She remembered the first time she had met Olivia—when the princess quarreled with Prince Kaelde over a commoner’s carriage.

In the end, she had even used magic to throw him into the roadside mud, thus revealing her identity as a witch.

Lucy reached out and gently stroked Olivia’s smooth black hair. The girl unconsciously let out a soft hum and rubbed closer into her arms.

“Don’t move!”

A roar tore through the silence of the night.

More than ten masked men rushed into the crude camp, brandishing mining picks and hatchets.

A few mercenaries, realizing something was wrong, dropped their weapons and fled; the rest were left pale as death.

“Don’t move! We only want a few carriages—we won’t hurt you.”

From afar, the sound of horses’ hooves and the clatter of armor could be faintly heard along the main road.

The bearded leader barked at his companions who were attempting to snatch supplies and shouted, “The nobles’ dogs are almost here! Get the miners and the wounded on the carts!”

“Boss, there’s someone already in this carriage!”

“We don’t have time for that! Move!”

In the chaos, several injured masked rebels were shoved into the wagon.

Just as Olivia was about to speak, Lucy tugged at her sleeve.

“Don’t you want to learn more about these ‘rebels’?”

The question startled the princess; the words that had reached her lips were swallowed back, and she silently allowed the carriage to roll onto the muddy road.

Soon after, the cavalry caught up to the battered carriages.

From the last one, the bearded man suddenly pulled a black lump from his cloth pouch, lit it, and hurled it at the pursuers.

A series of explosions roared, and the chase abruptly ended.

“Hahaha! That kid Karash is a genius! The explosives he mixed work like a charm!”

He turned to look at the halted riders. “When you report to your master, remember this—the ones who attacked the mine were the Anvil Brotherhood! Hyah!”

After three hours of jolting travel, the carriages entered a secluded valley.

The valley was filled with many huts made of straw and wood.

At the sound of approaching wheels, many elderly, sick, and young people came out from the huts to welcome them.

The wounded inside the wagons were quickly carried into the houses for treatment.

Only then did Lucy and Olivia realize that the other wagons were also carrying many people.

Judging from their gaunt bodies and the branded iron marks on their skin, these were miners from the royal mines they had passed earlier that day.

Just as the two stepped down from the carriage,

“I’m Hawke of the Anvil Brotherhood,” the bearded man said, handing them some coarse black bread. “Don’t be afraid, ladies. Once things quiet down in a few days, we’ll send you back to the main road.”

“Aunt Susan, arrange a place for these two ladies.”

A plump woman of about fifty came forward.

For a commoner to have such a figure was indeed rare.

“Don’t worry, Chief, I’ll see to them,” Susan said with a kind smile to the two. “Oh my, it’s been ages since such lovely girls have come to our camp.”

Aunt Susan lifted an oil lamp and led them toward a thatched hut at the edge of the camp. “Many miners arrived tonight, so I’m afraid you’ll have to make do here for now.”

When she lifted the patched curtain, the musty air mixed with the bitterness of herbs immediately greeted them.

In the dim light, Lucy saw a little girl of about seven or eight crouched on a straw mat, feeding water to a bedridden woman with a wooden spoon.

When the strangers entered, the girl quickly stood up, twisting the frayed hem of her worn dress with shy restraint.

Her eyes were bright, but her skin carried the dull hue of malnutrition.

“This is Annie and her mother,” Susan sighed, placing half a piece of black bread down. “A widow and her child left behind after the mine collapse.”

“Cough, cough…” The girl’s mother was seized by a violent coughing fit, and Annie immediately bent over to help ease her breathing.

“Don’t worry, it’s only lung dust disease—it isn’t contagious,” Susan quickly explained, fearing the two might misunderstand. “Almost everyone here has it.”

After a few more words, Aunt Susan took her oil lamp and left the hut.

Lucy crouched down and took out a piece of honey candy from the Abyss of Nightmares.

The little girl’s thin fingers accepted the candy but immediately pressed it against her mother’s cracked lips instead.

“Why did you come here?” Lucy asked as she took out another piece of candy and crouched beside her.

After tasting the sweetness of the candy, Annie’s face flushed with happiness as she spoke innocently.

“The tax officer said Papa’s pension had to be taxed by the king…” She lifted her mother’s clothing, revealing whip marks on her body. “When they were beating Mama, I was taken away by a carriage from the brothel.”

“Later, the Chief destroyed that carriage and saved me, so Mama and I came here.”

Olivia’s fingernails dug deep into her palms.

It made her think of those strange taxes reported from the Principality of Kolo—how many of them might conceal costs high enough to drive an entire family to sell their children?

At that moment, another bout of violent coughing wracked the woman’s frail body, as though she might cough up her lungs.

Annie immediately ran to her side to tend to her.

After the fit subsided, the woman seemed to regain a bit of strength.

Following Annie’s gesture, she looked toward Lucy and Olivia, surprise flickering in her gaze.

“Sorry for disturbing you.”

“We’re just lodging here as well.” The woman shook her head apologetically. “I hope my coughing doesn’t trouble you.”

“Mama, look! Aunt Susan gave me another half piece of black bread!”

“Did she now? That must be because my Annie’s such a good girl.”

“Heehee, I’m the most obedient one!” Annie said happily. “Oh, right—have some porridge while it’s still warm! The bearded Chief said if you eat enough, you’ll get better soon!”

“All right, Mama will drink it right away.”

As she struggled to sit up, a wisp of black mist flickered briefly at the back of her neck.

“Is it too hot?” Annie asked anxiously.

“It’s not.” The woman smiled faintly and set the bowl down. In truth, she could no longer swallow anything. “I just want to rest for a while before drinking it… let Mama… sleep a little longer.”

“Okay then…”

Annie pouted, pouring the barely touched porridge back into the pot.

Lucy narrowed her eyes slightly.

Under the enhancement of Soul Scent, she detected something on the woman’s body—something that did not belong to this plane.