As she went a little further, she heard the Imperial language.
Rieta thought she would be glad to hear the Imperial language after a few days, but she frowned instead.
Because their words and actions were too frivolous.
It was words mainly used to seduce the opposite sex, so Rieta had almost no chance to hear such words in person even in the Empire.
If anyone had said that to her, the Duke wouldn’t have let the other party off.
She went to the source of the noise and saw young men dressed like nobles surrounding a young maid.
Watching them pretend to be friendly, the maid was just standing still, unaware that she was being insulted.
Rieta took the little maid’s arm and sent the maid behind her back, then looked at the men.
“What business does a foreigner like you have with my people?”
They seemed to be surprised by Rieta’s fluent Imperial language for a moment. But they took a few steps back as they noticed Rieta’s true identity.
“Well… we were just talking to her because she was pretty, Princess.”
The moment a mercenary opened his mouth, Rieta noticed one thing.
These were the mercenaries who brought Rieta here from the Empire.
The voice was familiar, so Rieta was sure.
Someone laughed at Rieta’s words.
She thought she heard a “So what?”
Rieta took a step closer to them and smiled.
“Well, I’m sure Duke Mayer will be curious.”
She made eye contact with each and every one of them. As though she was deeply imprinting their features in her memory.
Then, among them, the one who had silently stayed at the back came forward.
Although a little nervous, Rieta looked at him without taking a single step back.
The short standoff passed.
The man suddenly laughed and bowed deeply.
“It’ll be a bit scary if you talk to Duke Mayer, so please don’t. Alright?”
He pressed his hands together as though begging her.
“It was because we’re good at it. We worked hard to make a living, so we ended up like this.”
Listening to the man’s story, she didn’t want to get even more angry for no reason.
Rieta sighed deeply.
“… If you understand, go away.”
“Would it be okay?”
The mercenaries hurriedly left. That servile attitude was probably not sincere.
Since clashing would be annoying, they must have willingly bowed down.
“They’re bad people.”
Rieta murmured. She turned anxiously to the maid, who stood close behind her.
“Are you okay?”
The maid only nodded her head belatedly with a pale blue face.
She stood in front of them pretending to be calm, but in fact, she was afraid of the smiling men who were talking to her in a language she didn’t know.
“Tha, thank you, Princess.”
The maid bowed her back.
“N, no. I’m sorry that there are no soldiers in the castle. Which palace are you from? Shall I take you?”
The maid shook her head at Rieta’s kindness.
“No. I have work to do here.”
As the maid said that, there was a basket full of small stones.
“Here? No way… are you picking up stones?”
“Yes…”
Rieta tilted her head. She wondered if picking up stones was one of the maid’s jobs.
In the first place, it was strange that the palace was full of stone fragments.
Wondering what was going on, Rieta looked up and saw that the high walls had collapsed a little.
Why did it collapse? The maid cautiously opened her mouth to Rieta, who was staring at it.
“That, that’s… the mercenaries.”
“Mercenary?”
At Rieta’s question, she glanced at Agnes who was behind her bowing her who head and said, “It’s nothing.”
It seemed that Agnes was too afraid to talk about it.
Eventually, Agnes, who had been keeping silent, explained.
“There was backlash because His Majesty did not pay the promised reward.”
As she explained, the maid lowered her head slightly and began to pick up stones that had fallen nearby.
As Rieta looked at the basket where the small stones were stacked one on top of the other, she asked Agnes a question.
“So what happened? Were they paid?”
“I guess you could say they got it.”
“…?”
“Liz’s mercenaries stole some things from the concubines. And they knocked down the wall on the way.”
Fortunately, none of the soldiers or mercenaries were injured or lost their lives.
Of course, the king’s concubines were all safe. Except for a few missing pieces of gold.
“It’s a shame that the King didn’t give them the money he promised.”
Rieta looked up at the demolished wall and sighed.
So, the reason why the Imperial mercenaries roam around the castle is because most of Liz’s mercenaries have run away.
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