For so reason, all the won and children were dragged into an old building in the town. The only building that no one had touched for years because of its a long history.
Kept in one particular room like sardines, the won trembled in fear. In their arms were children who were still crying for their fathers, grandparents, or uncles. Yet, all the won could offer was a reassuring hug to these innocent children they failed to protect.
"What is going to happen to my father?" one child asked the woman—originally his neighbor—who was trying to calm him down. "Is Papa going to be in trouble?"
The woman sniffed, holding back her tears. She pressed her trembling lips together, pulling the boy into her arms, and then the other children she was trying to take care of.
It was the sa for the other won.
There weren’t many children in Gigante, and most of them were either blessings or just the fruit of a traumatic experience. After all, won—not just in Gigante, but all across the territory—had the scariest fate in this territory.
Unless, of course, they were born with money. Then, they did not have to worry about anything.
The only reason Gigante had been safe for these won before was because of Old Himari. Sohow, that old woman still carried power, and the governor or his n hadn’t touched this place. Even so, that didn’t an the governor wasn’t trying to cripple them by increasing their contribution.
As the quiet cries of the won and the sniffling of children created their own depressing harmony in the room, Lola’s voice sounded clearer.
"You should’ve told them about the old hag in that brothel with a frog statue."
Everyone paused, turning their heads in the direction from which the voice ca. Once their eyes landed on Lola, their brows knitted.
For a second, they almost forgot about her.
Lola let out a shallow breath, looking at everyone in this cramped room. If not for the broken windows, she could already see all of them suffocating.
"The governor wouldn’t touch her," she said. "You all know that. It was better if you just told soone about what she was doing instead of putting all your lives at risk."
The won’s eyes burned with fury as they ground their teeth. Most of them wanted to ask who she was and why she was here. But with everything Lola had said, it filled their hearts with nothing but bitterness.
"You have no idea what you are talking about," one woman finally broke her silence, though her voice was shaky. She sniffed hard, releasing the children in her arms and then rising to her feet. "Old Himari was... we didn’t know—we really didn’t!"
Lola arched a brow, studying all of them. Though they all shared the sa look, Lola could tell.
"Liars," she blurted out, earning so scolding from them. However, she didn’t care. Instead, she raised her chin and cut them all off. "You knew what that old hag was doing, and so of you even helped her."
Their voices went silent, their breaths hitching.
"You should’ve listened to her when she told you to report her," she continued. "If you did, nothing like this would have happened."
Her calm voice echoed, making others bite their quivering lips.
"How... how did you know?" one of the won asked, her voice shaky.
How did Lola know that Old Himari advised them to report her? That she asked them not to help her?
Lola let out a shallow breath and shrugged. "Because... I know that stubborn old hag."
As those words slipped past her lips, so mories resurfaced in her head. After all, Himari was kept alive because the governor—or rather, Jarvis—knew that one of these days, Haji would co back for her.
And Jarvis understood that if they had leverage, it was easy to make Haji surrender.
Not to ntion, Himari—the forr lady of this region before it was nad New Gehran by the narcissistic pig—was supported and loved by many. If she were to be executed or killed, it would surely outrage those who had been suppressed by this governnt.
Though it had been decades, there were still a lot of people who supported and hoped that Himari or her grandson would reclaim this region.
In other words, Himari wouldn’t be in so much trouble if any of these people reported what she was doing.
"You don’t understand," one of the won whispered, tears streaking down her cheeks. "Old Himari has helped Gigante and all of us in ways we couldn’t even describe."
She pressed her lips together, then looked up at Lola. "We could sleep peacefully at night because of her."
"How could we turn our backs on the only person who stood up for all of us?" another one added, tears falling from her eyes. "She sacrificed everything and lived her life to protect her people. She thought we didn’t know, but we knew how her grandson tried to take her away from here."
They knew that Haji and Old Himari had a huge fight before the forr left the territory.
That fight was because Himari didn’t want to go with him.
For her, Ravah was the place she should spend her days and the place where she would take her last breath. After all, for Old Himari, she had a duty to her people. And never—even at the cost of her life—would she turn her back on any of them.
Silence followed the last woman’s remarks as the won quietly welled up. They still held the children, forcing themselves to be pillars these children could lean on at this mont.
Even for a mont, they wanted to give these children just a brief space of safety.
A safety they knew would be taken away very soon.
As for Lola, her eyes swept across all of them, and she shook her head. She massaged her brow as she thought about it.
"What a foolish bunch," she whispered, loud enough to be heard. "So foolish... it’s annoying."
At the sa ti, the door suddenly flew open.
A man stood outside, his eyes sweeping across everyone’s faces.
"Hey!" he called, jerking his chin at Lola. "You there, co out here!"
All the won perked up, then instinctively turned to Lola. The latter let out a short huff and got up, walking past a few of them and heading straight to the door.
But before she stepped out, she looked back at all of them.
"Co on!" the man tugged her arm, making her shoot him a look.
"Careful," she warned softly, and voluntarily followed him.
The man glared at her but said nothing. After all, he got to take this woman to their boss. She was his.
"You there," he yelled, eyeing everyone in the room. "Do anything silly, and you’re dead!"
With that, he slamd the door shut without waiting for anyone to answer.
Everyone inside flinched at the loud sound. What followed was pure silence. The won pressed their lips into thin lines, slight worry flickering in their eyes.
They didn’t like what Lola said, but they also knew that what Lola would go through wouldn’t be sothing she deserved. After all, they could tell what was going to happen to that young lady.
They’d seen how the man in charge gawked at her, and they knew he would definitely toy with her.
"That beauty in this land... is definitely a sin," one of them uttered. "Just like Old Himari."
"Auntie, is the pretty auntie going to be in trouble?" one of the girls asked, making the adults look at her.
They didn’t answer, their eyes lowering in worry. They didn’t have the heart to answer that question.
But then, to everyone’s surprise, the door creaked open once more.
Everyone looked up on instinct, only to see Lola leaning against the door fra.
"Get up," she said, tilting her head to the side. "Before I change my mind."
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