Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress
Chapter 68: Be Calm

Chapter 68: Be Calm

Arabella frowned as the men continued to collect money from each house.

Her companions also knit their brows as they watched with obvious displeasure as the people who had just survived a flood and were already suffering from a financial crisis and food shortage, were paying money to suspicious men.

Alwin used a magic barrier so no one would notice them watching from the forest.

[They look like mercenaries. Is this also Marquess Gulliver’s doing? Aside from slavery, he is extorting money from the common people? Isn’t this too much? Just how many laws of the Empire is he breaking? I knew I felt something was weird about him before. I should have listened to my instinct. We shouldn’t have assigned him to take care of Prudencia. Back then he was the most suitable candidate since his fief was just beside Prudencia. But look at what he’s done. I have to take care of this personally.]

Arabella blinked twice when she realized it was Raymond and the ministers who have appointed Gulliver.

Gulliver had apparently volunteered and when the ministers checked his records, he had the qualifications and they share borders so it was approved. Thus, as the one who approved it, Raymond felt responsible for what was happening to Prudencia.

After all, it would have been hard to find a civil servant with a high rank willing to be assigned to a territory so far from Riva. Especially when it was a newly conquered territory.

Raymond and the ministers had good intentions and high expectations when they assigned Gulliver since he had always performed well in his tasks so far. His fief was prosperous and well-managed as well.

She learned from Raymond’s thoughts that Gulliver was the fifth son from a dukedom near Prudencia. He was far from becoming the next duke since he was the fifth son.

Thus, Gulliver took the Exam in Riva to be a Civil Servant since he knew he would not get an important position from his family. He passed and was a civil servant for two years and performed well.

However, he soon joined the ranks of the knights instead of continuing to be a civil servant. Gulliver achieved great feats as a knight until he was given a fief and the title of Marquess.

Gulliver had been managing his fief well and continued performing well in the knighthood. He had great contributions in the war with Prudencia and thus, further made the ministers think it was fine for Gulliver to be the one to guide Prudencia with the ways of the Empire.

But who would have thought Gulliver was something else behind his mask as a competent Marquess?

’What a waste! He was competent both as a civil servant and as a knight but he fails in personality. He would have been very useful if he wasn’t like this.’

She wondered what was driving Gulliver to violate Valeria’s laws and abuse his power. He would have had eventually earned a higher rank if he just continued to perform well for a few more years.

Was he impatient?

Was it money and power?

Ah, she does recall Odette in her previous life saying Gulliver was a heavy gambler. He would need a lot of money for such a vice.

Arabella grimaced as she continued watching the collectors. Gathering money from the villagers was quick since most houses just opened their doors, and handed it without saying anything.

However, things began to became even more tense when there were households who did not have enough money for the amount being collected.

Arabella gasped when the heads of such households were made to kneel and their backs were whipped ruthlessly by the mercenaries.

She glanced at Alwin and Raymond wondering why they were not stopping any of this.

"Please do not watch such violence, Your Majesty," Raymond covered her view.

"Shouldn’t we stop this?" she frowned at him.

"I promise we will make them pay for this, Your Majesty. But we cannot interfere yet. I would have to go back to Riva to sign the necessary papers for the knights and investigators to be mobilized. If we stop this now, it will still happen again in other parts of Prudencia and it will only alarm the ringleader if we interfere now. If we don’t want this to happen again, we have to pluck it from its roots," Raymond explained and she was silenced.

He was right. Even if they stop this now, Gulliver could just send his other men to collect tributes again on another day or in another part of Prudencia.

She was just supposed to take a look today. Her goal was just to let Ferdinand know about the problems happening in Prudencia and Safiro. She didn’t need to directly meddle in it.

After all, the permission was for her to just get a look from afar. She was not given the power to just interfere with what was happening when she wanted.

Even if she’s the Empress now, she cannot just do as she pleases. There are processes to be followed.

But should she just keep watching this? These suffering people were getting extorted right in front of her. Should she do nothing?

Ah, right. What hypocrisy. She once had the Empire in flames. What was she acting all goody-two-shoes now? She had done much worse than this.

Unnecessary meddling might complicate things. Gulliver could make excuses these people were not related to him at all. They need evidence first before they could move.

How could they use a secret visit as evidence? The nobles may end up thinking they were just eliminating people they didn’t like and the visit was just a farce.

If the nobles were made to think they could just be disposed of without solid evidence of a crime, they would grow restless and shaken. They would begin to take action. Factions against Ferdinand would increase if they think he was unreasonable.

Every action they do would be blamed on Ferdinand.

Just one mistake would create a ripple across the vast Empire.

After all, it was easy to misunderstand things depending on how the news was delivered. She had once manipulated rumors so she should know about this perfectly well.

"I understand. But please don’t block my view. I need to see this too," she relented about interfering and Raymond sighed as he stopped blocking her view.

[His Majesty might just kill me. Even if I was busy with the wedding preparations, I should have sent people to keep watch over the territories so things wouldn’t come to these. Her Majesty already saw slaves which shouldn’t be allowed in Valeria, she even witnessed Marquess Gulliver satisfying his perversion, she saw the crisis the people were experiencing, and now this! I might as well cut my own neck.]

Raymond sighed deeply as the whipping of household heads continued right outside households that cannot give enough money.

’How can he think of cutting his own neck? Would Ferdinand really punish even Raymond so severely just because I saw all this? He wouldn’t, right?’

Who else would be the Prime Minister if not Raymond? Alwin didn’t seem to like politics since he was almost always isolated in the magic tower if he was not with Ferdinand or guarding her.

Her thoughts were distracted when in one of the houses, it was a woman who opened the door. It was clear she could not pay the money since she was repeatedly bowing to the collectors.

Arabella paled when even the woman in her thirties was made to kneel on all fours too and the collectors began whipping her back.

’No, stop it! How could she take so many lashing forms those buff-looking men?!’

[They would whip even a woman?!!]

Her companions were also alarmed.

’Are we still not going to interfere?!’

She glanced at them. They were watching with clenched fists and gritted teeth. But as their thoughts reach her mind, she understood they were still not planning to interfere.

’Right. I shouldn’t be emotional. Keep calm . . . Keep calm . . .’ she repeatedly chanted in her mind.

But all of a sudden, a boy about five years old got out of the house and punched the collector in the groin. The collector fell to his knees in pain but he grabbed the child by the hair and threw him to the ground. Blood dripped from the boy’s head. Yet, the collector was preparing to give another blow.

"NO! Stop!" Arabella couldn’t help but scream. She covered her mouth when she realized her voice was loud but thankfully Alwin used magic so it wasn’t heard.

She instantly recalled Fermin. She would never forgive anyone who does this to Fermin. She would never want to see her child get hurt like this. Seeing such a scene made her so furious and frustrated.

She glanced at Raymond and was surprised that Rendell was holding him back.

[Those bastards! I will kill them myself! That child is probably just as old as my son.] Raymond was also so furious. There were veins popping from his temples and Arabella could see the bulge of his muscles through his clothes as he tried to struggle out of Rendell’s hold.

’Right, Raymond has a child too. He won’t just let this be.’