"Yes, let’s stay here for now and observe," Alwin agreed.
They silently waited and watched as the carriage entered the village.
It headed and stopped at the largest house.
"Oh, there’s movent in all the houses when they heard the carriage," Alwin said.
"You can see them?"
Arabella let her eyes wander around the village, but she still could not see a single person. Nor did she see any movent aside from those who had just arrived.
"I can sense their presence and see their movents. Oh, look, they’re peeking at the windows now..."
Arabella eyed one of the windows facing the road and indeed saw soone peeking through it.
She checked the other houses, and it was the sa.
It seems they were checking if the people who arrived were friend or foe.
Soone finally got out of the carriage, and it was a man. When he turned at an angle, they could see his face...
"!!!"
Arabella and Alwin’s eyes t upon seeing the man.
Both of them recognized him imdiately.
It was the second son of the second most powerful household in Sibruh.
"He is the second son of the Hal Household, right?" Arabella asked Alwin for verification in case she was making a mistake.
Alwin’s mory was better than hers, so she was sure he would rember correctly.
If she was right, this man was around on Arabella’s first visit, and he was also there this morning during the public hearing.
He changed his clothes before heading here, but she was almost sure it was him since she just read the profile of nobles a few hours ago.
"Yes, he is in the profile of nobles in Sibruh we just read. Third page," Alwin said as he handed Arabella a copy of the profiles he made.
Arabella checked the profiles and compared them to the man who just got out of the carriage.
It was indeed the second son of the Hal Household.
Eugene Hal.
"It’s him, indeed. He is Eugene Hal, born of the second wife," Arabella said as she closed the booklet and handed it back to Alwin.
Alwin rechecked the profiles as well before he returned them to his storage ring.
"It seems we have to stay here for a bit more. It seems they are really up to sothing," Alwin said.
When Eugene Hal entered the largest house in the area, the n from the other houses got out.
They followed Hal into the largest house.
"Let’s head closer," Alwin said, and Arabella nodded.
They teleported just outside the largest house, beside an open window.
"It seems they are here for a eting," Arabella noted as she watched the n gather inside.
"If they must gather in a place like this for a eting, then it’s definitely suspicious. Especially with all those weapons on their waist," Alwin pointed out.
Arabella glanced from one person to another, and everyone indeed had a weapon
Among their weapons were daggers, swords, clubs, and maces.
’No wonder the Imperial Knights got injured during the revolt. They had weapons like this in hand!’
Arabella felt bad for their knights, who, despite knowing they would get hurt, still did not use their weapons and simply defended because they knew they were far more trained than these people.
"Judging from their stance and build, they are likely farrs or miners. They have a good build due to their laborious work, but they do not have enough combat training," Alwin said.
He could tell since he was also trained by Ferdinand and his elders for years in Estrella.
It was why he could also wield a sword properly and accurately let the arrow hit his palm during the war in Crux.
Once all the n from the village were gathered, Eugene rose.
"... I just ca from the public hearing that the Empress and her assistants held. I was also there yesterday when they first arrived. The Empress made their stance clear. The Imperial Family is indeed siding with the Marquess," Eugene said, and the people had grim expressions on their faces.
"What the! This bastard is making up things! I never said," Arabella frowned.
Thanks to Alwin’s magic spells, none of their conversations can be heard by these people.
"The Empress even verbally defended the Sibruh Household and said that we should forgive them. She even publicly scolded everyone who attended for going against the Marquess," Eugene continued.
He mixed lies with truths to make his statent more believable.
"But why?!! The Marquess is rotten and incapable! If not because of him, this would not have happened to all of us!"
"Indeed!! Our village would not have beco like this if only he had given it a chance. But he didn’t! Why should we give him a chance?!!!"
There were a lot more comnts from the n, and it was all negative.
They were all hateful and angry towards the Forr Marquess, and they hated the whole Sibruh family for it.
Arabella learned from their thoughts and complaints that this was once a teeming village, but it ended up like this because the Forr Marquess refused to develop it for so reason.
"I know.
I understand your plight.
I feel the sa.
I am also frustrated that they keep supporting that household even after they turned our land into this.
We just want change for this land, but they are suppressing us and supporting the Sibruh Household instead.
Because of them, we cannot move freely, and a lot of our comrades were caught by the Emperor’s knights.
I thought there was finally hope for us, but the Emperor sided with the Marquess instead.
And now, even the Empress.
The Emperor must have just pretended to punish the Forr Marquess, but he will still have control of the territory since it’s his son who was made the next Marquess.
I was also hoping for change.
But they are here to crush us instead..."
Eugene made a long speech riddled with lies.
He pretended he was only worried about this land and their people; that just like these people, he wanted sothing better for their future.
But Arabella heard the truth from Eugene’s thoughts.
It was sothing else he wanted.
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