Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress
Chapter 269: Good News and Bad News

Chapter 269: Good News and Bad News

Arabella said she wanted to discuss it while they were eating.

But it wasn’t a topic fit to be discussed during a meal so she waited until they were done.

They had eaten silently and once they were having tea after their meal, Arabella had Eunice recover her list from her study.

She then presented it to the two.

"This quite a detailed list," Ferdinand and Alwin were both wide-eyed after Arabella handed each of them a copy of the list she made.

They read way too quickly.

"How were you able to obtain this information?" Ferdinand stared at her.

"Oh, it’s just something I have been hearing the past few days while having chats here and there during tea parties," Arabella began.

During tea parties Arabella was usually invited in; Rendell had to wait outside the venue since the talks were for ladies only.

All their personal guards had to wait elsewhere at a good distance.

This was why Arabella could use this as a reason.

It wasn’t a lie as well since tea parties were indeed where most of this information was verified.

Asking the right questions triggered the people to think about it which was why she was able to obtain such details.

"Some are just rumors but some are information given to me by those who are trying to butter up now that I’m an Empress," she reasoned so she wouldn’t have to say a specific source.

"I’m not sure about the veracity of the information but I collated it and made a list since I believe it’s important to check just in case there are truths in them," Arabella continued.

[She gathered this much information from the tea parties she was attending?!] Ferdinand repeatedly blinked as he stared at the list.

[Some of these I already know about after the reactions of the nobles when I pressured the King of Crux.

Alwin and the others had done some covert investigations as well.

We are planning to bring them home soon.

But for most of these, we did not have a clue about since the Prudencians were passed from one slave trader to another and from one master to another.]

Ferdinand and Alwin glanced at each other.

After all, even the possible locations and the number of slaves were jotted down as well.

’Did I overdo it? Should I have given information bit by bit?’ Arabella was beginning to regret her decision.

However, if she told them about the other slaves later, they might not be able to save them anymore.

What if they were killed while the others were being saved?

Knowing that she could have helped reveal where they were, Arabella simply didn’t want to just stay silent.

Giving a detailed list to Ferdinand and Alwin was quite a risky move.

But she had to do it or else a lot of the people from Prudencia that these nobles have might end up dead before they were found and rescued.

"Why are the others underlined?" Alwin inquired.

"The underlined ones are those that are urgent.

They need to be checked as soon as possible since the masters were apparently already sending letters home with instructions on how to deal with the Prudencians they have.

They want to come clean while we have not yet discovered they have them."

Arabella hinted it was a matter of life and death.

Alwin and Ferdinand exchanged glances once again.

They understood what she meant and the Prudencians there were in grave danger.

"I see.

This needs to be checked soonest then.

Thank you for informing us about this," Ferdinand kissed the back of her hand.

"I was just doing my job since I’m the Empress after all. I hope it would be useful," Arabella replied and Ferdinand kissed the back of her hand again.

"Please be rest assured I will have this investigated immediately," her husband promised.

Arabella sighed in relief.

She was worried about this for several days already so she was glad Ferdinand accepted it without much questioning.

"Alwin, lead the mages of the Magic Tower and check all these locations tonight.

Have some of our most elite knights with you as well.

If you find Prudencians, recover them immediately.

If their masters or their cohorts put up a fight, you may use force as you see fit.

It shall serve as a warning to everyone here," Ferdinand was quick to make a decision and take action.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Alwin then departed while Riley was left with them in case something happened.

When Alwin returned the next day, he had both good news and bad news.

All the people on Arabella’s list indeed have Prudencians as slaves.

Alwin and the magicians rescued all the Prudencians they found.

Those who were in good health were to be interviewed for their statements before they would be returned to their families.

However, a lot of the Prudencians who were sold to nobles with strong hostility and malice towards Valeria had suffered all sorts of traumatic experiences.

They cannot be returned to Prudencia yet.

They had to be healed from minor to severe injuries and trauma.

Thus, they had to stay in the Magic Tower in the meantime until they recover.

And worst yet, there were some Prudencians who already died months ago or even longer due to the treatment they received from their masters.

Their corpses were retrieved so their families could at least give them a proper burial.

It was a cruel truth they had to accept.

After all, one of the reasons some nobles in Crux cannot return the people they bought was because they had already treated their slaves too cruelly until they sustained a lot of injuries or lost their lives.

This was true as well in some of those on Arabella’s list.

It was disheartening that they could not save them all.

But at least, they were able to rescue most of the Prudencians who were enslaved by the people on her list before the nobles could eliminate them.

The royals and nobles who had Prudencian slaves were all on Arabella and Ferdinand’s list of people not to cooperate with.

They could not impose punishment on foreign nations since they had their own rules to follow.

They were able to give warnings and threats but that was it.

However, if the law to abolish slavery was approved by most nations during this Assembly, they might be able to get justice for their people even if at a later date.

It would have been easy to get revenge by killing someone important to those royals and nobles.

Ferdinand wanted to do it.

However, such actions could lead to war with several nations so Raymond and the ministers were against it.

Even Ferdinand cannot declare war on several kingdoms all at the same time.

Their knights were strong but it was inevitable in a war that they would also have casualties on their side.

Thus, the ministers would not approve of it either since it would only mean they would lose more people than they already had.

The ministers only approved of declaring war against Crux since most of the Prudencians who were made as slaves were in Crux.

It was a valid reason enough to declare war.

As rulers, they had to choose the path that leads to lesser losses and casualties and what after-effects it will have on the Empire and the lives of their people.

Even Ferdinand whom everyone thought of as a warmonger understood that.

Still, if accidents happen to those who harmed their people, no one could blame them.

Ferdinand wasn’t so forgiving to those who pissed him off.

Thus, someone among his magicians still laid out traps for the masters who killed their Prudencian slaves.

It was made to look like an accident so the Empire would not be blamed directly even though it was among Ferdinand’s people who did it.

Arabella was not informed about it but she learned about it through their thoughts several days later as the news of some nobles dying reached the Assembly.

The royals and nobles in the Assembly feared they would be next.