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 n 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 ss 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 sothing," 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 implented 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 beco part of the Empire.
"Hiding his real identity, my elder brother beca 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 dicine," Nadia continued her tale.
Dempsey’s n get their salary twice a month. And during those tis, so of them go ho to their families while everyone else celebrate and get drunk till morning.
Bernardo used those opportunities to sneak and deliver food and dicine. 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 sa thod as Bernardo and beca rcenaries.
They joined Bernardo since they were tired of living like livestock. They’d rather be rcenaries than remain dependent on Count Dempsey for the rest of their lives.
With more of them working, the food and dicine 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 beca a sellsword and did jobs with my brothers such as killing monsters, hunting, or doing guard jobs. However, there was one ti when I almost died in a mission so my brothers encouraged to find another job that didn’t involve risking my life," Nadia inford.
’She experienced working as a rcenary 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 rcenary paid much more so Nadia worked several jobs at a ti to be able to contribute the sa amount she did when she was a rcenary.
However, working in diners and pubs at night made her a target of n. She got harassed by drunk custors.
Thus, Nadia cut her hair and dressed up as a man. It was only then that she got so peace.
But there was another challenge that ca with it. Getting beat up by n 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 tis. 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 et her brothers when she passed by a caravan getting attacked by bandits.
Her body moved by instinct and helped the rchants. It was one of her forr jobs a rcenary after all. They also got hired as guards for rchants who cannot afford knights. She was used to dealing with bandits.
The rchants were so grateful to her and rewarded her with a huge sum. One of them wanted to hire her as a mber of his guards.
Nadia agreed since the pay was so much better than all her jobs combined.
The rchant 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 cos 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 ant 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 rchant made Nadia earn a lot of money so she was able to send more help to Safiro. But the rchant soon fell ill and had to give up his business.
Thankfully, the rchant recomnded Nadia to soone else.
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