Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress
Chapter 109: Another Magician

Chapter 109: Another Magician

With Safiro’s situation it was no wonder Nadia had dropped all pretenses and let go of her pride as the Chief’s daughter. Finding a way to help their suffering people was indeed more important.

Arabella was even more in awe of Nadia’s strength now. It made her want to help Nadia and Safiro even more.

She formerly thought that what was happening in Safiro could be hidden by whoever had grabbed the seat of the leader so she wanted her visit to be in secret.

But this cannot be hidden no matter what one did to try to hide it. It was clear at a glance that Safiro was in a dire state.

No wonder Nadia was elated and instantly thought Safiro was saved when Arabella said she would visit her assistants’ territories.

Nadia wished for just a single visit because everything was clear at a glance. Safiro was in need of help. And soonest was best.

"Uhm, before we leave, did you see where the ladies came from?" Arabella asked. She needed to know more if she was to try to help.

She heard from her maids in Lobelius that farmers wake up early to till the fields and take care of their crops while the sun was not yet that hot. But there was no farm to till nor plants to take care of here in Safiro. There were no other buildings close by either.

What exactly was on the other side of the mountain?

’Right, are there more residential houses there?’

[She didn’t hear us talking about it?] Ferdinand and Alwin stared at her.

Arabella realized she had indeed been so focused that she didn’t hear anything.

"There was a mine on the other side of the mountain, Your Majesty. The ladies seem to work there," Alwin informed her.

’Ladies are working in mines? Is that even allowed?’

But then again, she recalled that in Safiro, even ladies were warriors.

[I just answered the same question from His Majesty. He even asked me to check it, so I did. How come she didn’t hear a thing? Ah, is it because of this sight? I was also taken aback to see this in Valeria. But I have seen humanity suffering so much more than this.]

’This was a first for me.’

"Where? I want to see the mines?"

Alwin teleported them to the other side of the mountain where they could see the mine. There were more people in it than in the village.

Men, women, and even children and the elderly were there. It seems to be breakfast time so they gathered right outside the entrance of the mine to eat.

’So the mothers just went home to bring food to their family? They also work during the night?’

"What are they mining?"

"Magic ores."

Magic ores? She doesn’t remember a magic ore in Safiro in her past life.

Magic ore mines should have been reported to Riva since it was under the Magic Tower’s jurisdiction. Alwin should know about it beforehand but it seems today was his first time seeing it.

Arabella frowned when she noticed there were armed men. They were the ones guarding and distributing the food.

"!!!"

Arabella flinched when someone in a hooded cloak looked up at their location.

The next instant, they were back at the palace.

"That was close. There was a magician among them."

[Investigating this gets more complicated with a magician involved. Should I go back and capture him? But we have to know what’s going on first.]

Alwin explained that the magician probably teleported where he felt their presence to see who they were. Thus, Alwin teleported them back.

[I truly should have sent Alwin to check Safiro first. Now my wife saw something terrible again. I can’t even explain since I don’t know what’s going on and I would only look like a fool making excuses. How can I even face her after letting her see two territories in bad condition? She must be very disappointed in me.]

"I’ll have Alwin and the investigators check on this. In the interim, Raymond and I will work on the obvious problems. Please go back to your chambers in the meantime," Ferdinand said without looking her in the eye. He turned his back to leave without waiting for her reply.

Was he like this every time he did something he thought would disappoint Arabella in the past life?

Since all of Valeria was his territory, they could say Ferdinand was also at fault for what was happening in Safiro.

After all, he had capable magicians that he could have sent to check on various parts of Valeria to ensure that no territory would reach a point where the people were suffering from so much poverty.

But even Nadia was not blaming Ferdinand yet, for what was happening in Safiro so Arabella had no right to do so.

Moreover, she recalled the person Alwin called as ’Count Dempsey’ who was occupying the residence of the Safiro family here in Riva.

He sounded suspicious. He must be the person Nadia kept thinking about as the one who prohibited her from leaving Safiro.

Arabella caught Ferdinand’s hand. She won’t just let him slip away.

"I’ll summon my assistant. She’s the daughter of the Chief. She must know something about what’s going on in Safiro," she reasoned so that Nadia would be involved in whatever plan they would formulate.

Moreover, after what she saw in Safiro, she couldn’t just stay in her room as if nothing happened. She won’t be able to sit still.

[Right. Her assistant is the daughter of the Chief. But I can’t even look my wife in the eyes right now. I’m so ashamed that I don’t want her to see me until the matters in Safiro are resolved.]

"My assistant called Nadia looked so thin. I thought it was her preference but now I know it wasn’t. She must have first-hand experience with what’s going on. Can’t we hear her out?"

Arabella didn’t let Ferdinand escape. She wanted to be part of the plan. This time, maybe she could help even if it’s just by distributing cooked meals to the children. She wanted them to have a decent meal.

"Alright," Ferdinand had no choice but to agree since she was insistent and repeatedly mentioned her assistant. It meant she was saying the issue was also her concern since her assistant was part of it. Thus, she shouldn’t be left out of the planning.

They headed to Arabella’s office instead as Rendell went to fetch Nadia.

Eunice and Aletha who had just finished cleaning up her office were so surprised that they returned so soon when it had just been several minutes since they departed.

Meanwhile, Ferdinand was silent the whole time but his mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts.

Arabella learned from his thoughts that Duke Arno was in charge of conquering Safiro. Ferdinand didn’t go himself since he was busy with another location at the time. He just sent a number of his knights and Duke Arno led them to conquer Safiro.

Of course, it was successful. Ferdinand’s knights had never seen defeat ever since he was the Emperor.

But after that, Ferdinand didn’t know what happened to Safiro. All he knew about it was from reports.

And the reports that had been arriving to Riva all this time said Safiro was doing fine.

Moreover, the existence of a magic ore mine was not at all reported. Nor the fact that Safiro was suffering from drought and poverty.

. . .

[Did I get caught applying for another job I can work on during the night? Lady Odette hasn’t returned yet. Her room was just beside mine but I haven’t seen her since she was summoned. Was she fired because she was looking for a part-time job? Does it mean they would fire me too since I planned to work two jobs at a time?!!]

Nadia paled when she entered Arabella’s office and realized that even Ferdinand was there.

"Greetings to His Majesty, the Emperor. Greetings to Her Majesty, the Empress," Nadia was shaking as she greeted them.

Arabella gestured for Nadia to be at ease and be seated.

"Nadia, I summoned you because there are things we would like to hear from you. His Majesty and I just returned from Safiro."

"Just returned from Safiro?" Nadia tilted her head.

[Did I hear it wrong? Is Her Majesty saying they went to Safiro and returned?]

Nadia thought she misheard or misunderstood since travel to Safiro would take two weeks or more.

"Yes. We teleported. It was just for a bit but we saw the state Safiro was in and we would like to know how it came to be. As the daughter of the Tribe’s Chief, you must be aware of what happened."

[They have truly gone to Safiro!!] Nadia was wide-eyed at Arabella’s words and the next instant, she groveled in front of them.

[I don’t care if I get executed after this. As long as they help Safiro, it’s all that matters.]

"Please help the people of Safiro, Your Majesties. Everyone’s growing weaker by the day. Even the children are hungry and sick because there’s no longer any source of food or clean water. A great number of the population has died. Please help Safiro," Nadia begged repeatedly.

"Rise and be seated, Nadia. That’s exactly why we summoned you."

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A/N:

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