Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress
Chapter 112: Working for Her Homeland

Chapter 112: Working for Her Homeland

Due to the hopelessness of the situation, Nadia’s second older brother Bernardo faked his own death for a chance to take the risk of getting out of Safiro.

A loyal warrior who was sick and dying proposed to have his corpse be used so that even if Dempsey’s men dug up the grave, they would find it had a corpse in it.

With this, Bernardo who was among the best warriors left in Safiro was able to escape.

’They have to go that far?! Would Count Dempsey truly have graves checked?! That’s too much.’

Arabella was horrified. Wasn’t it a human being’s barest minimum to at least respect the dead’s body and not mess with it anymore? Why would Count Dempsey go as far as having it dug up?

"Count Dempsey was wary of us siblings. He had already imprisoned the Chief and the first heir but he still feared we might be able to do something," Nadia answered Arabella’s unvoiced question. It was obvious because of her expression.

[That’s understandable. The siblings can lead the people to revolt. But with everyone hungry and sick, there was nothing they could do.] Alwin thought.

[What a cowardly person to use the citizens like this. Since when were people like him allowed to guide new territories?] Ferdinand frowned.

[The rules should be implemented strictly. Did this Count Dempsey even take the Imperial Exams?] Ferdinand thought of having it checked.

’That’s right. According to the rules, only those who had passed the Civil Service Exam and had a year or two of experience serving as a Civil Servant in Riva should be allowed to serve as a guide or governor to new territories. Gulliver’s case was different since he had the credentials and qualifications,’ Arabella recalled.

Nobility who got their title and position from their parents and did not take the exams cannot just serve as a governor or guide to territories who have recently become part of the Empire.

"Hiding his real identity, my elder brother became a sellsword in the nearby territories. He accepted any job he can do. And once or twice a month, when the guards are lax, he returns to Safiro at night to bring us food supplies and medicine," Nadia continued her tale.

Dempsey’s men get their salary twice a month. And during those times, some of them go home to their families while everyone else celebrate and get drunk till morning.

Bernardo used those opportunities to sneak and deliver food and medicine. It greatly helped from preventing more children from dying of malnutrition and sickness in Safiro.

However, it was still very much lacking since the jobs Bernardo could take without revealing his face were also limited.

It was then that Nadia’s other siblings also faked their deaths by the same method as Bernardo and became mercenaries.

They joined Bernardo since they were tired of living like livestock. They’d rather be mercenaries than remain dependent on Count Dempsey for the rest of their lives.

With more of them working, the food and medicine they were able to bring increased and were a great help to Safiro. But they still needed more.

Soon, Nadia decided to she wanted to go out too to help out by working outside as well. With her prowess in martial arts, she was also able to escape Safiro.

"I also became a sellsword and did jobs with my brothers such as killing monsters, hunting, or doing guard jobs. However, there was one time when I almost died in a mission so my brothers encouraged me to find another job that didn’t involve risking my life," Nadia informed.

’She experienced working as a mercenary too?!’ Arabella was shocked by this revelation.

It was then that Nadia experienced working as a waitress, vendor, or whatever job she could. Nadia tried every job she could manage.

Being a mercenary paid much more so Nadia worked several jobs at a time to be able to contribute the same amount she did when she was a mercenary.

However, working in diners and pubs at night made her a target of men. She got harassed by drunk customers.

Thus, Nadia cut her hair and dressed up as a man. It was only then that she got some peace.

But there was another challenge that came with it. Getting beat up by men who got irked at her and thought she was truly a man.

Of course, she fought back when she had to but it led her to lose her job several times. She also didn’t want to make enemies since it might lead to her identity getting exposed.

One day, Nadia was on her way to meet her brothers when she passed by a caravan getting attacked by bandits.

Her body moved by instinct and helped the merchants. It was one of her former jobs a mercenary after all. They also got hired as guards for merchants who cannot afford knights. She was used to dealing with bandits.

The merchants were so grateful to her and rewarded her with a huge sum. One of them wanted to hire her as a member of his guards.

Nadia agreed since the pay was so much better than all her jobs combined.

The merchant was from Cordelia. It was then that she was able to go to Cordelia and she was astounded to know that a territory so close to Safiro was so progressive.

Safiro and Cordelia shared a bit of a border. So Nadia was surprised that it was so different in Cordelia.

The land was fruitful. The water was abundant. The rain comes when it should.

It made her wonder why was there drought in Safiro only.

Nadia realized that in all the nearby territories she went to as she was working here and there, only Safiro was experiencing drought.

She wondered if it meant their guardian deity died on the day the forest was burned. Or if they were getting punished for failing to protect the Sacred Tree.

Still, Nadia focused on earning money to help provide for their people.

Working for the merchant made Nadia earn a lot of money so she was able to send more help to Safiro. But the merchant soon fell ill and had to give up his business.

Thankfully, the merchant recommended Nadia to someone else.