Chapter 359

Watching them, Rieta nodded to herself.

Seems like they won’t open up their hearts unless it’s for money.

Rieta was somewhat concerned about having to persuade them in the future. With Elisha and Noel by her side, they wouldn’t act rashly, but still…

“Princess, we should leave if it’s okay with you.”

Elisha said, and Rieta lifted her gaze and nodded quietly.

Their first destination was nearby, the very spot where Rieta had injured her leg. They had left the carriage there and they now had to go back.

“Will Princess use them too?”

Elisha asked quietly, Rieta shrugged.

“The mercenaries are foreigners. Father employed them… They won’t necessarily be of help to me.”

It would be better if they silently went away. She would be even more grateful if they remained silent about the people who had fled to avoid taxes.

Rieta hoped that the jewels and dresses left in the abandoned carriage for a few days would still be there. It might provide some leverage in negotiating with the mercenaries.

“Understood. I will be careful.”

As they talked, the group arrived at the place where the carriage was.

The maid must have arrived a little earlier and had wiped away the traces of blood that had been on the carriage that day, so there was no sign of that day’s horror.

“Is the luggage still there?”

Rieta checked the most important thing first.

Emile nodded after opening a few boxes that were loaded in the back.

“Yes, luckily it seems that no one passed by. Well, hardly anyone would pass through these rural mountain roads.”

“Except for a Princess being sold to a neighboring country.”

“You know, Emile…”

Rieta looked at Emily with a certain hope.

Hadn’t he displayed his wit to instantly stop the confrontation between Elisha and the mercenaries before? Perhaps this time too, he could play a role between the mercenaries and Rieta.

“When the Princess looks at me like that, I feel awkward… You’re about to ask me for another difficult favor!”

Through the wind blowing through the mountains, something acrid pierced through the group. The smell of something burning unnaturally drew everyone’s gaze towards its source.

Black smoke was rising into the sky.

Rieta squinted her eyes and glanced at it. The smoke seemed to originate from the slash-and-burn village they had just left.

Were they burning something to dispose of it?

She pondered for a moment, but another gust of wind brought the distinct smell of blood.

“Aack!!”

Startled by someone’s cruel exclamation, Rieta looked around. Everyone had shocked faces, mouths open.

Something was undoubtedly amiss.

Then, a mercenary who happened to be near Rieta was the first to speak.

“Damn, those villagers!”

Rushing forward, he muttered profanities. It was the same mercenary who had turned away from the child’s greeting earlier.

Soon, the other mercenaries followed him and started heading back towards the village.

Rieta watched their figures and then quickly regained her senses, urging Elisha. She thought about who might be seeking out and causing harm to those who had fled in fear of taxes.

Of course, it was a problem that could be answered even without much thought.

* * *

The concern of the local nobles, such as Craig Wagner of Hoover, where Rieta visited, was the slash-and-burn farmers. It initially began with one or two households escaping from their tax obligations.

Wagner focused more on monitoring those who remained rather than pursuing the deserters.

He wrote a policy to have the remaining villagers cover the taxes of the deserters so the villagers would monitor each other. This method was somewhat successful, and there were no deserters for a while. Even if there were any, the villagers took care of them, beating them so there was no need for him to intervene.

However, this strange arrangement could not last forever.

The villagers started collaborating to find ways to escape the heavy taxation, leading to a large number of deserters. Unable to ignore the situation any longer, Craig Wagner had no choice but to report the matter to King Liz.

The King already had quite a few local nobles who had visited him with similar issues.

The lazy King Liz was furious with these local nobles. How dare they come running to him to fix the mess they had created?

He lost his temper for a while before resting his chin, finally muttering quietly, “Taxes are their obligation.”

Those who did not fulfill their obligations did not deserve protection under the King’s name.

“Should I clean them up?”

That would mean wiping out all the slash-and-burn farmers. But King Liz soon shook his head.

“Killing them all would only bring severe damage.”

Simple massacre was not an option if he was to bear the enormous cost of moving his military to the countryside.

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