Melancholy Queen

Isabel explained softly, "It's like a canvas with only a rough outline. Or like a piece of music with a rhythm, but lacking a 'theme'."

"Whether within or outside the outline, there is only the 'blank' that has not yet been written. I know that there are still many gaps, but I don't know how to start writing."

"... That's quite an artistic answer."

Iver commented, "That sounds like something you would say."

But surprisingly, it was quite fitting, he thought.

Isabel closed her eyes slightly, straightened her back, and whispered in recollection, "Those cities had no Opera House, no commercial centers, no museums, no universities. No Alchemy Shop, no skyscrapers like Lloyd's's. No meeting places like the Round Table Hall; the city center wasn't even as big as the villa I gave you."

"Most cities have only one library, some have none; because many people are illiterate. Two-thirds of the cities don't have paved roads, and there are only a few local newspapers, or even the Glass Staircase Newspaper is unavailable. A town may have at most three churches, and people can only go to hospitals when they are sick, but even those hospitals are few and far between."

"Many prisons are overcrowded, and the walls are even drafty. Some prisoners starve or freeze to death in prison. In some cities, people who have hanged themselves have been left hanging for one or two months without anyone coming to take them down because they have no family left."

"On Glass Island, underage workers must be at least fourteen years old; in the most stingy factories, the working hours are no more than twelve hours. But in some cities west of Avalon, I even saw child laborers as young as ten. Their income is very little, or even nonexistent, with only one or even half a meal, and they have to get up at four or five in the morning to work, wearing only a thin layer of clothing in the dead of winter, and getting less than six hours of sleep a day..."

"In most cities, the lights go out at night. Less than half of the cities have electricity, and most residents still use kerosene lamps. They still have legendary adventurers, but they are more like mercenaries and bandits. The most common jobs they take are to deal with the undead—those who died in the wilderness and were left unburied..."

Isabel hadn't intended to say anything. But once she started talking, it was as if she had opened a floodgate and couldn't stop.

Iver listened quietly, then said softly, "To be honest, I'm quite surprised."

"... For these Children, for the fate of these city residents?" Isabel opened her eyes and looked at Iver.

"No, I'm surprised that you had the opportunity to get in touch with them."

Iver shook his head, uttering sharp and somewhat sarcastic words. "Completely lacking in secrecy— the Her Majesty the Queen actually saw the truth."

If he were the administrator of these cities, he would certainly make sure the prestige projects were done well, at least during the Queen's visit.

Everyone would work together to weave a beautiful dream for Her Majesty—how could they possibly let the esteemed Her Majesty the Queen see such a thing? "... And that's exactly what they did."

Isabel sighed softly and explained, "But I didn't stay overnight in the cities I was supposed to visit. Instead, I took a griffin to a city that wasn't on the itinerary after the pilgrimage ended, and then rushed to the next city before the next pilgrimage was scheduled. So I actually visited twice as many cities as I had planned to visit. And half of those cities were places where no one knew I was coming or that I had been there."

"Oh, I understand."

Hearing this, Iver understood. "You're thinking that since you finally have a chance to come out, you must have a great time... right?"

Isabel nodded silently.

Because in a city where everyone knows her, Isabel has absolutely no chance to have a good time.

Her schedule was strictly planned, so naturally she wouldn't have the opportunity or time to meet other people.

Unexpectedly, their young Queen was so mischievous, even more so than Queen Sophia. Despite the tightly packed itinerary, she managed to squeeze in twice as many cities for herself.

Without a doubt, she must have initially been excited to go there. Disguised and disguised, she infiltrated various cities with a griffin and arbitrators acting as her guards.

They probably didn't even bring any guards.

Although Iver didn't know how Isabel had found out the truth, it was undoubtedly very difficult.

And she did it with utmost seriousness.

The price I paid was that I looked like I was on the verge of depression.

Although the schedule for the New King's pilgrimage was quite flexible, if the time were to be "utilized" further, there might not be much free time left. And this shocking information definitely meant she hadn't slept well at all.

... No wonder she looked so tired.

It's probably not just physical fatigue or lack of sleep, but mental exhaustion caused by worry and sadness.

"Those Children in the factories... I talked to them. Not just in one factory, and not just once."

Isabel sighed, her eyes showing visible weariness. "I was angry for them, and even planned to stand up for them, demanding more pay and more reasonable working hours. But the Children working there didn't understand why I was angry... They just thought I was being unreasonable, and even tried to stop me. Because they just wanted to earn some extra food and didn't want to cause trouble."

"You know what, Iver? This is the first time I've ever heard of people starving to death... In some towns outside of Glass Island, there are people who starve to death even after working hard. Logically, the church should be responsible for providing free food, but... why is this happening?"

Isabel looked to be in pain, her brow furrowed and she appeared to be in great discomfort.

Iver shook his head and said softly, "Because the church's income mainly comes from providing powerful treatments to the wealthy and bestowing blessings on specific places and items. In fact, not all cities have such wealthy people."

"Because of the existence of the Round Table Hall and the port area, the truly wealthy people tend to gather on Glass Island. Local merchants may not have much money, and local churches may not be able to provide much free food. Most of the clergy trained by church schools will be sent to these remote rural areas."

"... Do they know their own future?" Isabel couldn't help but ask.

"Most of them don't know. Only the best can stay on Glass Island, or in a few relatively wealthy cities. That's why many clergy members can't endure the hardship and leave within a year. The rest are basically able to awaken a true Heart of Dedication."

Iver sighed.

In his view, this was somewhat unethical.

But there's really no other way—even if healing injuries and illnesses can be handled by doctors, even the smallest village needs someone to preside over funerals and Dispel Undead. Add to that other ceremonies like weddings and celebrations, and it would take at least several years of dedicated learning.

Who would want to suffer in a small city when they can enjoy a comfortable life in a big city? It's definitely not enough to fill this huge hole by relying solely on "sacrificers" who have awakened their Heart of Dedication.