Chapter 1070 Punished

Chapter 1070 Punished

After giving Elaine some food, Jessi waited until the heavy rain stopped before leaving Elaine alone.

Because of what she had done, Elaine's will to survive increased. However, her willpower alone wouldn't be enough.

The fatigue had caught up to her. In addition, the cold had become even more severe.

The voice of the people kept ringing in her head, her body became extremely weak, and her breath was unstable.

She looked like she was about to collapse soon. The hot sun couldn't be compared to the hot temperature of her body.

"Ha... Ha..." Elaine panted a few times. Her body started convulsing. Hunger and thirst might not have been a problem anymore, but her consciousness had become fuzzy.

'This is not good. I still have to continue.'

Elaine kept muttering inwardly, trying to persist as much as possible. But after grueling seven days, she passed out.

...

Two hours later.

Elaine opened her eyes, looking an unfamiliar ceiling.

'Mhmm? Aren't I supposed to be looking at the ground?' Elaine thought before snapping. She hurriedly rose from the bed and looked around, realizing that she was inside a house. And Jessi was in front of her, taking care of her. "What..."

"You passed out. Don't move too much for now. Your fever is still severe."

"What have you done? I have to go back! My family is at stake." Elaine tried to jump off the bed, but Jessi stopped her. "At least rest for a bit. It's been seven days, so the lord shouldn't be coming back soon."

Elaine wanted to refute, but the word stuck in her throat. Instead, she changed it into another question. "Why do you help me? Do you know that you'll be in trouble if you help me? I have done a lot of bad things to your territory!"

"It's your family, right? Not you personally." Jessi shook her head helplessly. "Besides, how foolish are you... If you want to repent, you should live on instead of dying. Death is just an escape. If you feel bad for people, you should spend your life making them happy. That's just my own thought... I think the nobles can't understand such a simple thing."

"That's... not true." Elaine bit her lips.

Looking at her grunted expression, Jessi stood up. "I won't stop you from going back, but eat something first."

Jessi went to the back to grab some food, leaving Elaine alone.

Elaine was contemplating. She had looked down on the people because they were uneducated or their lives were cheap. But because of Jessi, she thought she was the one imposing her own ideal on them.

Unfortunately, she didn't have a lot of time to think about it as the outside was bustling with people.

"...coming!"

"The Lord..."

"...coming!"

Elaine couldn't help but hear some voices from the outside. She raised her head, wondering why it suddenly became too noisy.

"The Lord is coming!"

The moment Elaine heard the message clearly, she panicked. Right now, she isn't kneeling in front of the mansion. In addition, if she stayed here, Jessi would be implicated as well. "I have to go!"

Elaine rushed outside, forgetting the fact that she hadn't changed her clothes back.

When Jessi returned to her room, she only found an empty room. "Mhmmm? Elaine?"

Elaine rushed to the mansion barefoot, trying to reach the spot before the Marquis.

Unfortunately for her, the moment she reached the mansion, Noel was already waiting for her. He was accompanied by Rose.

Elaine's face instantly turned ghostly pale. As if noticing her presence, Noel turned his head around.

Noel looked at his subjects for a moment as if he were contemplating whether to execute or not. In the end, he was the one giving the judgment.

After a long minute, Noel finally sheathed his sword.

"Rose. She will be under you for now. See whether she is useful or not," said Noel with a serious expression.

"Understood." Rose nodded and turned around. "Bring her inside and get her treated."

"Y-yes!" The soldiers hurriedly moved. With this decision, they felt a bit relieved since they should be spared from any punishment as well because of what Jessi did. The people looked happy.

To avoid the awkward situation, Noel and Rose entered the mansion without any more words.

But Rose couldn't help but open her mouth the moment they were inside. "It's rather surprising that you're actually willing to take her in. No, should I say that if you want to take her in, why bother with all this?"

"If I take her in just like that, will the citizens agree?" Noel asked a simple yet profound question.

Rose fell into deep thought. Elaine was still the daughter of the one responsible for the last material shortage. It would be wrong if Noel just chose to take her in. Rumors might even lead to her potentially getting married to him as a concubine.

She could understand the reason behind Noel's actions. There was one question that remained. "Still, is she useful? You should have just rejected them and crushed them, and no one will say a thing."

Noel smiled while closing his eyes.

Two weeks ago.

"By the way, what will you do if those four nobles surrender?" Anna asked.

"If they surrender? I'll probably reject them. I don't care much about their territories. Once the revolt within their territory begins, they have no other choice anyway." Noel shrugged.

"If you don't mind, how about sparing one person?"

"One person?" Noel frowned.

"Yes. It is Elaine Lesen."

"Elaine Lesen? Who is she? Judging from her name, she should be related to Count Lesen... so, his daughter?"

"Indeed."

"Give me a reason."

Anna raised one finger. "The reason is simple. In our previous lives, the one that gave you the most trouble in the north was her."

"!!!" Noel looked down, his hands rubbing his chin. "What did she do?"

"Well, it wasn't just her. To be honest, in our previous lives, Count Lesen was crushed by you. His son was dead, so his daughter, Elaine, took over the territory.

"She did several reforms in the territory and made it stronger than ever. At that point, her talent bloomed. You could say that a person who had buried her talent under the pretense of being a 'political tool' finally got the chance to release it all.

"I took advantage of her influence to strike at you as well. So, I think she is worth winning over."

Noel thought for a moment. "How about the other lords?"

"I don't have much memory about Count Yatcher. Earl Canmond is the most reasonable, but the trait is not carried by his descendants. Count Caulbot is just... pathetic."

"So, this Elaine Lesen is that special, huh?" Noel closed his eyes. "It's going to be hard for that, you know. It's not like I can just outright demand her from them without any rumors. And taking an enemy in is also frowned upon."

"I know you can do something about it." Anna smirked.

When Count Lesen came here to beg for mercy, Noel realized that the chance had come. He devised all kinds of plans and finally succeeded.

That was why, when Rose wanted to know the reason, he simply said, "Anna believes she is useful. If she is not, you are free to dispose of her."

"Alright." Rose smiled wryly. "But this is a little too much. Her condition is so bad that she can die if not treated right away. And Khalid might nag you about this, you know."

"Geh." Noel looked away with a troubled face.