TGS - Chapter 79
Chapter 79: Anomaly
Inside the tent, a small brazier used for warmth continuously radiated heat, its flames flickering.
Alyuin shuffled the papers, making a faint rustling sound as she turned the pages.
"The supplies sent from the royal city shouldn't have been used up this quickly."
Leaving aside the thick winter clothes and medicine, the consumption of food alone clearly didn't match the actual situation.
When the group first arrived at the camp, they had witnessed the scene of disaster victims crowding, pushing, and fighting over rations at the food distribution point.
A few soldiers stood lazily to the side, maintaining order. They didn't stop people from fighting, watching with grins as if it were a monkey show. Only when they saw someone take too much would they lash out with a whip.
The victims who managed to grab food and squeeze out of the crowd carefully held nothing more than a piece of dry bread the size of an egg and a small bowl of soup. The beans and vegetable leaves floating on the surface were pitifully few, and the broth was clear enough to see the bottom.
When the soup barrel was empty and not a crumb of bread was left, the soldiers would push the cart away.
The victims who got nothing were left behind. They lingered for a while before dispersing, their expressions haggard and sorrowful.
This level of food supply, no matter how you looked at it, shouldn't have caused the relief supplies to be depleted so quickly.
Moreover, every household had stored food for the winter, and the city's granaries were piled high. Even after an earthquake, some should have remained. Could all of that have been exhausted already?
Lotus remembered the girl who had cried and begged for food. She pressed her lips together and remained silent.
Alyuin looked down at the paper filled with numbers and mused, "And the number of deaths this time is too high."
The death toll tallied so far was on par with earthquakes of the same magnitude recorded in the kingdom's history. But only a few days had passed, and these numbers would continue to rise.
If one had to explain it, it could be that the extreme cold of winter caused more people to freeze to death, creating this abnormal comparison. But the Princess's intuition told her it wasn't that simple.
"The city lord has probably embezzled most of the supplies. And it's not just him; the nobles who didn't leave Disimeng City after the earthquake are also aware and involved."
Lotus leaned over, gazing at the Princess's handwriting on the paper. "If that's the case, they haven't covered their tracks very well. Anyone who looks into it even a little will notice something is wrong."
"Not only that, they knew Romuer and the others would arrive today, yet they didn't improve the quality of the food distributed to the victims. They didn't even bother with a superficial cover-up. Aren't they worried the visitors from the royal city would become suspicious?"
The two looked at each other. The Princess tightened her grip on the corner of the paper, her eyes cold.
"...They aren't afraid because they have nothing to fear."
The Lord of Disimeng City probably has connections with some of the people Romuer brought. He isn't afraid of the visitors from Akhet discovering the anomaly, perhaps because both sides are already well aware of it.
Is that possible?
Would the people sent by Horst condone the city's nobles embezzling the funds and supplies he sent?
The Princess pressed her temples. On one hand, she found it absurd; on the other, she knew she couldn't jump to conclusions based on such scant clues.
Further investigation was needed.
As for the Crown Prince, who seemed unaware...
Alyuin's eyes were half-lidded, her expression slightly gloomy.
Earlier, when their discussion had ended, Romuer had called out to her.
For her own reasons, Alyuin had stopped and sat back down by the bonfire, wanting to hear what he had to say.
She hadn't expected Romuer to start with an apology.
"I'm sorry, Alyuin," the Crown Prince said with a sincere expression.
Alyuin's expression didn't change. "Cousin, I don't quite understand what you mean."
Romuer took a deep breath. "Back then, in a fit of anger, Father transferred his resentment for your mother onto you and made the decision to send you to Kadera... I'm very sorry I couldn't change his decision."
Alyuin found this laughable. "In a fit of anger? Is that what Uncle told you?"
"Father never said so, but during that time, he would fly into a rage whenever he heard the late Queen's name. After all, he and my uncle were very close."
The Princess: "..."
Was Horst treating reality like a play, acting every single moment?
Romuer continued, "But in recent years, Father's mood has gradually calmed down. He has always regretted the decree he issued in a moment of impulse, but he's just too proud to admit it."
Alyuin said nonchalantly, "Is that so."
Romuer lowered his head, saying dejectedly, "I know an apology doesn't mean much. You must have suffered a great deal on the remote border. It's only right for you to resent us. Both Father and I will do our best to compensate you."
"Is that all you wanted to say?"
Romuer nodded, then shook his head, looking as if he wanted to say more but was holding back.
A cold smile touched the Princess's lips. "How touching, Cousin. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
With that, she turned and left. Finding the whole thing so absurdly laughable, she didn't even bother wasting energy thinking about any underlying possibilities worth analyzing.
Thinking back on it now, Romuer's expression didn't seem fake. He seemed to completely believe the version of events his father had presented, and he was overly naive.
If Romuer wasn't acting...
How could a man like Horst raise such a simple, sweet, and naive son?
Alyuin couldn't make sense of it. In the end, she could only guess that Horst truly loved acting, never forgetting to wear a mask even in front of his own son.
Not far away, the clapper of a patrolling guard sounded the hour. Three short, clear strikes meant it was now the third hour of the night.
Lotus said, "You should sleep."
Rest and gather your strength. Tomorrow might be very busy.
Alyuin immediately put Horst and his son out of her mind, gathered her things, and prepared to rest. She was already lying down when she saw Lotus still sitting to the side, showing no signs of intending to sleep.
"Aren't you going to rest?"
Gods didn't need sleep. Lotus said simply, "I'll keep watch here."
"You don't have to—"
She stopped mid-sentence, gazing at the River Goddess's profile.
Those blue chalcedony eyes stared straight ahead, her lips pressed lightly together. She seemed natural, but her straight, slightly tense back betrayed that she was not as calm and composed as she appeared.
First, she went to the main chamber of the temporary palace alone, and now in the tent, she was unwilling to share a bed.
Had she noticed something? Was she unwilling to face it? Or perhaps...
Lotus sensed the Princess's thoughtful gaze and, for some reason, felt her ears grow warm.
"What are you thinking about?"
"..." Alyuin turned over and closed her eyes, her long lashes casting a faint shadow beneath them. "Nothing. Good night, Lotus."
The next day, the sky was clear and wide.
The winter sun, for once, carried some warmth, shining down on the land, but it couldn't dispel the despair left by the disaster.
Another night passed, and several more people didn't make it, closing their eyes forever in the winter night.
Most of them were the weak—the elderly, women, and children. Some of the deceased's relatives could no longer shed tears, merely preparing the bodies for burial in silent numbness.
As for the bodies of those with no relatives, they were tossed into a cart by guards with impatient expressions and unceremoniously dumped outside the camp, in the ruins of what was once the poor district.
The head maidservant, Kurda, rose early. At the crack of dawn, she slung her usual medicine box over her shoulder and went to treat the commoners' illnesses and injuries nearby.
She treated a festering wound on an injured man's leg and said, "You need to rest, or you might be left with a permanent disability."
The injured man gave a bitter smile. "Healer, I want to rest too, but if I don't go to work, if I don't help those lords repair their houses, we won't even get to eat."
"Compared to starving to death, what's a crippled leg?"
The head maidservant fell silent. She took a piece of dried meat from her pocket and handed it to the injured man. He left, thanking her profusely, while many others nearby cast longing glances.
Everyone knew this small favor was just a drop in the bucket. Just like that injured man, after eating the dried meat, he would still have to drag his injured leg back to work.
After seeing a dozen or so patients in a row, the head maidservant wiped her sweat, packed up her medicine box, and bowed to the Princess who had arrived. "Your Highness."
Alyuin: "How is the situation?"
"It's not good. If this continues—" The head maidservant glanced around and lowered her voice. "More people will die. Your Highness, I've seen the food they're providing. It's not even enough to fill a child's stomach, barely enough to sustain life. The problem is, it's so cold now..."
Alyuin nodded and turned to the caravan master.
"What's the status of the supplies we brought?"
The merchant wiped the usual foxy smile from his face and said grimly, "Some of the clothing has been handed over to the officials of Disimeng City, but all the food and medicine are still here. After what you said last night, I found an excuse to keep the rest in our possession."
Alyuin nodded. "Good. There's no time to lose. Make a rough estimate, and let's distribute it to the victims today."
The merchant was taken aback. "Your Highness, isn't this a bit..." Too fast?
"We could take our time to investigate the situation, but the people here can't wait," the Princess said in a low voice. "I'll have to trouble your caravan with the food preparation and distribution. Motis and the others will be in charge of maintaining order. I'm counting on you."
The merchant waved his hands repeatedly. "Don't mention it. I guarantee I'll handle this matter beautifully."
Motis stretched lazily. "Maintaining order, huh? I'm the best at that. Lena, in a bit, you just stand over there—"
Lena ignored him. "Your Highness, where are you going?"
The Princess pulled down her hood, hiding her brilliant and unique pure gold eyes beneath its brim.
"I'm going to check Disimeng's granaries."
Meanwhile, even though it wasn't time yet, a long line had already formed outside the food distribution point run by Disimeng's officials.
In her spiritual form, Lotus looked down at the poor girl who had fallen into an eternal sleep on the ground.
Her body was curled up in an inconspicuous corner, her lips blue. She had probably wanted to wait here for the morning's bread and bean soup but couldn't withstand the hunger and cold of the night.
A yawning guard came over and found the body. Muttering about how there was another one here, he disgustedly dragged the cold corpse away, preparing to toss it outside.
"The number of deaths this time is too high..."
The Princess's words still echoed in her ears.
Lotus was considering whether to follow when she caught sight of the Crown Prince's party out of the corner of her eye.
She paused for a moment and turned to look at them.
It wasn't strange for the person in charge of disaster relief to inspect the food distribution point. Romuer was likely here for that reason.
Just then, a few soldiers came this way, pushing a basket of bread and a barrel full of bean soup.
They didn't recognize Romuer, only noting his expensive clothes and guessing he was some nobleman.
Romuer had probably never seen a scene of people scrambling for food in his entire life.
The Crown Prince was startled by the sight of the victims swarming forward. Only after that did he have the presence of mind to notice what they were getting. He craned his neck to look and immediately frowned.
"Why is this all there is?"
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