Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress
Chapter 63: Slavery

Chapter 63: Slavery

[Her Majesty turned pale.]

"Your Majesty, shall we go to another location?" Raymond blocked her eyes with his palm without daring to touch her face.

"No. I need to see this. Why do those ladies look familiar?"

[Familiar? She had seen them before?] Raymond was puzzled.

Arabella meanwhile, was still trying to recall what they were.

She flinched when Gulliver brought out a whip and mercilessly whipped one of the ladies.

"Your Majesty, you shouldn’t look at such a disturbing sight," Raymond warned again and prepared his hand to cover her eyes again if she allowed him to.

[What if she assumed this kind of thing was normal in the Empire? She might get terrified of His Majesty again. His Majesty would kill me if I let Her Majesty misunderstand him more.]

Raymond was panicking if he should cover her eyes even if she gets annoyed with him. He was thinking it was better if she got irritated at him than get traumatized by her first visit around the Empire and get scared of Ferdinand again.

[Should I undo the enhancement spell on her eyes? I might get punished by my lord again if I allow her to keep watching this.]

Even Alwin wanted to stop her. She raised her hands to stop them both.

"I have to see this just a bit more."

[What would she want to see in such a terrible scenario? Is she thinking she has to understand how the Empire works so she had to see this too? But this is not at all how Valeria works. We do not torture our women like this.]

[Why would she want to keep looking at this perversion?]

The two were horrified but she had to push through. She was still trying to recall what the ladies were. She was sure she knew what they were. It was at the tip of her tongue but she couldn’t seem to make it surface.

Arabella didn’t want to look anymore either especially when Gulliver kept whipping the lady whom he had made kneel on all fours.

’This is what he was going to do to Odette?’

She was horrified that the beautiful and gentle-looking Odette would be beaten up like this in the future once she becomes Gulliver’s wife. It was simply terrible.

Aside from the obvious age gap between Gulliver and Odette, the Marquess was even violent and abusive, probably not just in bed, but also on a daily basis. Odette would be beaten up black and blue.

’I have to stop Odette’s wedding with this horrible man! Am I allowed to engage my assistants with someone else? Can I bestow her marriage so she wouldn’t have to be wed to this scumbag? Or can I just get rid of this trash?’

She was beginning to plot Gulliver’s death in her mind when she realized she probably had other ways of getting rid of him aside from killing him.

’I shouldn’t revert to committing crimes just because of this trash. Gulliver was obviously abusing his power. He wasn’t supposed to be this obscene and overbearing in the territory he was supposed to be guiding.’

Raymond and Alwin have also witnessed it. They were clearly triggered by it as well. She decided to wait and see. If they do not do anything about it, only then would she try to interfere.

Arabella stared at the ladies more closely again. She gasped when aside from the collars on their necks, wrists, and ankles, there were also marks on the ladies’ hands.

She gulped when she finally realized what they were.

Slaves.

’What is going on?!! Isn’t slavery prohibited in Valeria? I didn’t hear Prudencia welcomed slavery.’

No, Prudencia didn’t. She didn’t see any slaves in the city. Since no one else but Gulliver was using slaves, it was probably his idea.

Now Arabella understood what Odette meant by failing to protect their people. Odette was probably referring to the issue related to slavery.

"Prime Minister, does Prudencia allow slavery? I heard it was prohibited in the entire Empire. Is it allowed for those who are still in transition?"

[!!!]

[She recognized they were slaves? Lobelius also do not permit slavery. Nor does Medeus, Hazania, or Lahar. I haven’t heard of her ever visiting a kingdom with slaves. How did she recognize them? It was easy to mistake them for prisoners getting punished for their crimes.]

Raymond and Alwin both wondered how she would recognize the mark on the ladies’ hands.

After all, in most kingdoms in Eliora, those who commit severe crimes were usually executed. Those who plead otherwise either have to pay with money or whatever it was they could promise such as properties or working for the kingdom for life as proof of loyalty and repentance.

But of course, there was another truth behind-the-scenes. There were kingdoms that treat prisoners inhumanely. Prisoners were made to do a lot of things if they had committed severe crimes and were not executed. And female prisoners secretly being made to serve in bed wasn’t new, especially on conquered territories.

’What are they so surprised about? I have read a lot of books even if have not seen them yet in this life. There were records about slavery in some kingdoms in Eliora. I at least know the marks of some of these kingdoms before I saw them myself in my past life.’

Raymond and Alwin truly thought she was just a pampered princess. Well, she was. But in exchange for getting what she wanted, she had to study hard and do her duties as the eldest princess of Lobelius.

She was educated at a young age about the political system of various countries in Eliora for the sake of the success of her future marriage.

Arabella was groomed to be a Queen who could support her future King so Lobelius would gain more power and fame. In the end, she ended up becoming someone with so much more power.

But her parents especially prohibited her from ever choosing or falling in love with a royal or nobleman from a kingdom that hasn’t abolished slavery.

Lobelius also had their reservations and her parents were good rulers. Slavery was not welcome in Lobelius and they didn’t want to be joined in marriage with a kingdom who welcomed slavery. This was why she was educated about the kingdoms that welcome slavery and the mark given to their slaves.

The marks vary from kingdom to kingdom but there was a generic mark usually used in Eliora, made especially for slave trading between territories. And it was what she saw on the ladies’ hands.

Since they have that mark, it meant Gulliver could have bought them.

But judging from how he was treating them harshly without holding back; it was clear he did not spend a dime on them.

It meant they were his right from the start so he thought he could decide their fates. This meant Gulliver was gathering and trading slaves. He probably had more of them hidden somewhere. And she surmised, they were probably people of Prudencia.

She shivered as Gulliver continued to be cruel to the ladies.

It was a horrible sight. She didn’t encounter this in Valeria in her past life.

"Valeria condemns slavery, Your Majesty. All conquered territories that practice slavery has to abolish it within a year and free the former slaves. And as far as I know, Prudencia was not a kingdom that practiced slavery. I didn’t see any slaves in this territory before. I believe this was something the Marquess himself was into."

Raymond clarified since he didn’t want her to misunderstand Ferdinand as a truly cruel ruler who allowed slavery.

"Doesn’t this mean the Marquess should be punished for violating the laws of the Empire? Or are there exceptions?" Arabella pretended to be innocent about the laws of Valeria. She wanted Gulliver punished as soon as possible so no one has to suffer from his hands again.

"There are no exceptions, Your Majesty. Even His Majesty can be punished if he got a slave. Please be rest assured that I will ensure Marquess Gulliver gets punished for his crimes," Raymond promised.

"Thank you. I was worried my assistant would have had to marry such a violent and vile person. Their engagement would also end once he gets arrested for such a crime, right?"

[Oh, she looks out for her people.]

"Yes, Your Majesty. This shall be further investigated. His entire family may be implicated if they have also practiced slavery. The Prudencia Household would also surely no longer welcome a marriage with him."

She was so relieved to hear this. Her visit to Prudencia was fruitful. A further investigation would also reveal Gulliver’s other crimes.

This may not solve all of Odette’s problems but this would ease her burdens greatly. Odette would likely no longer hate Ferdinand or the Empire if she doesn’t get the same experiences she had from Gulliver in the past.

The people of Prudencia wouldn’t have to suffer from Gulliver’s hands either.

’But aside from the issue with Gulliver and his crimes, why was Odette so desperate to help his brothers earn money?’ Arabella tilted her head in wonder as she finally allowed Alwin to stop the enhancement spell on her eyes.