Padugel.
The city without war, the city of peace.
It is said that ever since its founding, this city has been known for its peace.
For a thousand years, no war has ever touched this place.
Even during the war four hundred years ago, when the hero Haide overthrew the old regime—a war that swept across the entire nation—not even the slightest ripple reached here.
It’s not that this place is too barren to be worth fighting over.
On the contrary, because of years of peace, Padugel could be considered the only relatively prosperous city during times of war.
The reason it has remained peaceful to this day is because of its rulers, the Beier Family.
The Ancestor of the Beier Family once held the title of Dragon Slayer.
It is said that he was a companion of the second Hero several thousand years ago, and single-handedly slew a traitor of the dragon race—a wicked dragon loyal to the Demon King at that time.
Though his achievements did not quite match those of the Hero, his fame was still resounding.
Yet, despite bearing such a grand title as Dragon Slayer, the Bela Family has always cherished peace and avoided conflict.
Thus, to this day, they remain mere Barons.
So, when Hero Haide launched his revolution four hundred years ago, the head of the Bela Family did not resist.
The corruption of the old empire had already eroded their loyalty, so they simply surrendered and pledged allegiance to Haide.
At that time, Hero Haide respected the Bela Family’s ancestor for his dragon-slaying deeds, and was also moved by how the Bela Family, even in an era of decaying nobility, still cared for the people.
Thus, he did not make things difficult for the city of Padugel.
To this day, the Bela Family is still the lord of Padugel, and the current city lord is Baron Fried Bela.
“It’s actually more prosperous than I imagined.”
As she approached the town, Lanafit looked at everything on the street.
Compared to other cities with more resounding names, Padugel wasn’t all that famous, nor was its territory very large.
She’d heard there were only about two thousand residents.
But even so, it was clear that compared to some nobles who only knew how to exploit the people, Padugel under Fried’s rule was obviously much livelier.
Smiles and hope for the future could be seen on the faces of the people.
Merchants enthusiastically hawked their wares, and from time to time patrolling soldiers could be seen maintaining order.
There was no doubt—this was an ideal town.
Lanafit walked down the street.
At some point, a bright red fruit had appeared in her hand.
She took a bite, and the sweet juice danced on her taste buds, the crisp flesh whetting her appetite.
However…
Her gaze couldn’t help but drift toward a small alley in the corner.
Compared to the bustle of the main street, it was as if she had fallen from heaven into hell.
Starving paupers, clad in rags and skin and bones, held broken bowls containing unidentifiable “food.” Flies danced above, as if they wanted to share in the “delicacy” with the owners of those bowls.
“So, there are refugees here too.”
They were not beggars—or rather, they hadn’t always been.
Some had their whole families with them, carrying large bundles of belongings.
Some knelt in grief beside relatives whose fate—dead or alive—was unknown.
Others stared blankly, their eyes devoid of any spark.
The atmosphere of despair stood in sharp contrast to the vibrant, hopeful streets outside.
These were people with no future.
And all of this was caused by war.
Currently, the area around the capital of the Haide Empire was still relatively stable, but chaos had already broken out everywhere else.
Uprisings to overthrow local nobles had become a common occurrence in the Haide Empire in recent years.
They had no choice—they simply couldn’t survive any longer.
The current emperor, the Sixteenth Emperor Sifente Moto Haide, had been a benevolent ruler in his early years, caring for the people and governing wisely—a model of virtue.
But now, in his old age, he seemed to have become a completely different person.
He indulged in debauchery, caring only for luxury and spoiling the imperial consort.
Because she liked jewels, he collected treasures from all over, increasing taxes. With the nobles’ exploitation and the droughts in the north in recent years, the borders were already filled with corpses, and the people lived in misery.
It was said that the emperor had always been like this in his younger days, but the former imperial consort had kept him in check.
After she fell ill and passed away, his eldest son—the former crown prince—helped shoulder government affairs, so the country remained stable.
But a few years ago, the crown prince was suddenly stripped of his title and exiled to the frontier, and soon after came news of his death from illness.
Whether he truly died of illness or not, anyone with a brain could see the truth.
The reason for his exile was utterly baseless—attempting to violate the current imperial consort? Given the crown prince’s character, almost no one believed it.
With no restraints left, Sifente Moto Haide no longer suppressed his desires.
In just a few short years, he turned the once-mighty Haide Empire into its current state.
Lanafit couldn’t help but recall the fate of the crown prince, sighing inwardly.
His hatred might only be resolved with the fall of the Haide Empire and the death of the royal family.
And now, the Haide Empire was heading step by step toward that very end.
People who could no longer survive knew that if they didn’t resist, only death awaited them.
Think of the first king of the Haide Empire, Hero Haide.
The reason he wanted to overthrow the old kingdom was simply to help the suffering people.
She’d heard from Sefare that the hero was a pure-hearted man.
Yet now, the nation he founded hadn’t even lasted four hundred years before becoming as corrupt as the old kingdom.
It was both laughable and tragic.
Those with courage picked up weapons, while the powerless—elderly, women, and children—could only leave their homes to escape the chaos.
After all, even though the people’s uprising had formed the Rebel Army, after capturing a city, most of them showed no mercy to the ordinary people who’d suffered just like them.
People who suffered the same fate—one side became the exploiters, while the other continued to be exploited.
Lanafit walked up to a scrawny little boy, about ten years old—the same age as the Heir of the Bela Baron.
Yet compared to the Baron’s daughter named Bela, this child was like a helpless mouse, struggling to survive in filthy mud, with no one caring whether he lived or died.
Clink—! A crisp sound echoed in the bowl.
It was a few copper coins from Lanafit’s hand.
The boy reacted to the “wonderful” sound, his previously dull eyes suddenly lighting up.
He looked up at Lanafit, saw her elegant mage’s robe, saw the tall staff in her hand, but because of his own inferiority and timidity, he didn’t dare look at her face.
“Thank you, kind mage.”
He seemed to have no family, sitting all alone at the mouth of the alley, but didn’t dare leave to beg on the street.
It seemed someone was driving them away, unwilling to let these filthy “rats” taint the beautiful streets.
Lanafit said nothing, simply leaving.
Though countless hungry eyes watched her from the alley, pleading, envious, Lanafit knew she couldn’t help them.
And those few coins she’d given—perhaps, they were just to fill the nauseating sense of hypocrisy in her own heart…
At that thought, Lanafit couldn’t help but laugh at herself.
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