Chapter 27

Ferdinand and Walker personally escorted a long procession along the road back to Visas and Komoy Fort.

The procession was made up entirely of Trak Kingdom people sent over by the Nagabi Merchant Guild.

There were men and women, the elderly and children.

Their hands and feet were all bound in heavy shackles. They trudged forward unsteadily, and every one of them bore a distinct circular brand near the base of their necks, burned there with iron.

The marks were deep, twisted, and ugly, showing just how careless the executioners had been.

The lingering chill of early morning had yet to completely fade.

Fortunately, as noon approached, the sun emerged and drove away some of the "cool" wind.

The Trak Kingdom people remained silent the entire way.

They wore thin clothes, torn and filthy in many places. The elderly and children were protected in the center of the procession, with the women beside them and the men on the outermost edges.

The soldiers led by Ferdinand and Walker guarded both sides of the procession.

Renogue Masi was the illegitimate son of the old king of the Trak Kingdom.

He had no right of succession and no desire for the throne. He had only wished to live peacefully.

But who could have imagined that the Trak Kingdom would fall overnight?

The old king and his two sons with succession rights were all killed, while Renogue and Sara Masi, the youngest and least favored daughter of the crown prince, had survived by luck.

Renogue Masi walked on the outer edge of the procession, occasionally glancing inconspicuously at the two youths walking side by side in the middle.

One of them had black hair and was taller. He was Renogue's friend, Yadai Ben.

The other "youth" had brown hair, golden-brown eyes, and a smaller, slimmer build. Shackles dragged around her ankles, making her sway as she walked.

Her face was smeared with dirt and ash, but her tightly furrowed brow and pained expression were still visible.

Rather, it should have been said that she was in pain.

This "youth" was Renogue Masi's little niece, the crown prince's youngest daughter—Sara Masi.

When the Trak Kingdom palace was mercilessly slaughtered, Renogue escaped with his little niece Sara.

Sara cut off her long hair, smeared her face with grime, changed into men's clothing, and disguised herself as a young boy.

Afterward, they met Yadai in the city.

But by then, the Trak Kingdom's city was already filled with invading knights from the Anas Empire, who were searching everywhere and arresting people.

The three of them failed to escape and were captured.

When nobles became slaves, especially female nobles, they were usually extremely "popular" in the slave market.

They would most likely be sold separately at auction, and their fate would be nothing more than... becoming entertainment for others.

That was the fate of noblewomen, let alone Sara, a princess.

Thus, under Renogue and Yadai's careful concealment, Sara continued posing as a young boy. Her face could not be seen clearly, and her identity had not yet been discovered.

Yadai whispered, "Sara, hold on a little longer. When we stop to rest, I'll take a look at your wound..."

Sara pressed together her dry, peeling lips and said hoarsely, "I'm fine... Don't worry, I can still keep going."

Not long after.

Ferdinand gave the order to rest in a forest they were passing through.

Yadai hurriedly helped Sara over to a tree and gently supported her as she sat down.

Renogue also found an opportunity to come over and quietly ask how they were doing.

Yadai slowly pulled open Sara's collar and examined the branded wound that had still not healed.

The skin around the slave brand was red and inflamed. Parts of it had even begun to fester, threaded with dark blood and emitting a foul smell...

One glance was enough to make Renogue and Yadai's faces turn grim.

Yadai said, "The wound has worsened."

"I don't know whether there are any useful herbs in this forest... If we could find some and apply them to Sara's wound, she might improve greatly, but..."

But they had no way to move about freely now. How could they possibly search the surrounding forest for herbs?

Besides, there might not even be any Littleleaf Herb here that Yadai recognized as capable of treating external wounds.

"If Teacher were still alive... he would definitely have a way to ease Sara's pain..."

Yadai could not help clenching his fists, grief on his face.

His teacher had been an alchemist of the Trak Kingdom, but he had already been killed by knights of the Anas Empire.

Renogue and Yadai were at a loss as they faced Sara's wound.

Ferdinand and Walker were also discussing whether they should remove the shackles from the hands and feet of the Trak Kingdom's elderly and children first.

That would make it easier to increase their pace.

The shackles truly made it inconvenient for the Trak Kingdom people to walk.

In particular, the youngest child in the procession was only around five years old and could not drag the heavy chains at all. The child could only be carried in an adult's arms.

But that was also a burden on the adults.

According to the count's instructions.

Ferdinand and Walker were to bring the Trak Kingdom people back safely to Visas or Komoy Fort to settle them down. Considering the shackles on them, the two had deliberately slowed their pace.

But along the way, Ferdinand noticed that some of them were not in very good mental condition.

After observing them more carefully, he understood why.

After becoming slaves, the Trak Kingdom people had to accept the fate of being branded.

But how could the wounds left by slave branding possibly be bandaged and treated?

As a result, some people's wounds had still not fully healed. They had then immediately boarded ships to Gadayat and endured the rough journey all the way here...

The fact that the Trak Kingdom people could still keep walking showed that they were indeed much stronger than ordinary people.

Walker said, "We can remove the shackles from children under ten."

"But forget about everyone else."

"The Trak Kingdom people are fierce and wild. What if... There are more than a thousand of them. Even without weapons, they would not be easy to handle. We should remain cautious until we return to Visas and Komoy Fort."

Ferdinand nodded.

The keys to the shackles provided by the Nagabi Merchant Guild were on him.

Ferdinand and Walker stood and slowly approached where the Trak Kingdom people were resting, walking toward a woman holding a child.

When the woman saw the two knight commanders who had been leading the group approach, her expression turned tense and uneasy.

She held her child, who was barely over four years old, tightly against her chest. The men sitting nearby could not help standing, glaring fiercely at Ferdinand and Walker.

They wanted to gather around to protect the woman and child, but the soldiers guarding them nearby blocked them with spears.

Walker waved a hand, signaling the soldiers to lower their weapons. He stood where he was and smiled. "No need to be so nervous. We mean no harm."

Ferdinand showed the woman the key in his hand and said, "We'll remove your child's shackles. He'll feel much better."

The woman froze when she heard that.

Ferdinand had already walked over to her. In just a few movements, he unlocked the shackles around the child's hands and feet.

Then he stepped back several paces.

The Trak Kingdom people around them could not help staring at the two men, their expressions changing slightly.

Ferdinand said, "All children under ten may have their shackles removed."

The tense atmosphere around them gradually relaxed.

Yadai withdrew his gaze and said quietly to Renogue, "Sara is already twelve, but she's frail and looks much smaller than other children her age. Could we lie to that knight commander about Sara's age...?"

If she had to keep walking in those heavy shackles.

He feared Sara's body might not be able to endure it.

Renogue hesitated.

It was not that he did not want to, but Sara's identity was somewhat... If she drew too much attention, it might bring unnecessary trouble.

The Trak Kingdom people were not completely united either.

If someone recognized her... some people might reveal Princess Sara's identity for their own benefit in exchange for favors.

They had been carefully hiding among the crowd all this time.

On the Western Continent, being illegitimate was an extremely disgraceful status, and such people were mostly scorned and looked down upon.

Therefore, in the Trak Kingdom, very few people knew that Renogue was also the old king's biological son. His usual identity was merely that of an ordinary viscount.

Yes, his status was that low.

And Yadai Ben and Sara Masi were Renogue's only friend and closest family.

Seeing Sara already leaning against the tree in a daze, her eyes closed and her appearance utterly weak.

Renogue finally nodded in agreement. "All right, we'll try..."

Once Ferdinand came near them.

Renogue spoke up. "My lord, my nephew is ten years old. Could you remove his shackles too...?"

Ferdinand glanced at him and walked over.

Walker raised a brow and followed behind.

Renogue and Yadai grew nervous and slowly shifted aside a little, though they still remained beside Sara.

Ferdinand silently watched Sara, his brown eyes unfathomably deep. "He's only ten?"

Yadai swallowed. "Y-Yes, my lord."

He could not help feeling that this knight commander might have noticed something.

Ferdinand suddenly said, "He seems to have a fever."

The young boy leaning against the tree had his eyes closed as though asleep. Yet beneath the dirt covering her face, her skin was somewhat flushed, her breathing slightly rapid, and her chest rising and falling more quickly... She was indeed showing signs of a fever.

Renogue's expression tightened at once. Lowering his posture even further, he said, "My nephew is only feeling a little unwell, my lord. He'll be fine soon."

Renogue could not help feeling a little regret.

He feared that if these two knight commanders truly discovered something... they might consider her unlucky and simply abandon Sara by the roadside to live or die.

He should not have called them over...

Ferdinand said nothing. Instead, he crouched and removed Sara's shackles. When he stood, however, he called out to Walker.

Walker clicked his tongue. "You're always meddling out of kindness."

He came over from behind them and, under Renogue and Yadai's wary gazes, pulled a small stack of palm-sized parchment sheets from his clothes.

Walker drew out two sheets of parchment stuck together and handed them to Ferdinand.

Ferdinand accepted them. "I'll return them later."

Walker snorted. "Of course you will. They were a gift from the count. You don't even carry them on you, not even a little—"

Ferdinand ignored Walker's nonsense.

He handed the item to Renogue and said directly, "There's ointment between the two sheets of parchment. Apply it to his wound, and it will heal faster."

After saying that, he turned and left with Walker.

Renogue stared blankly at the thing that had been tossed into his arms.

Yadai hurriedly said, "Is it really medicine? Let me see it, Renogue."

Renogue hummed and passed it to him.

Yadai was the apprentice of a famous alchemist in the Trak Kingdom.

With careful movements, Yadai slowly peeled back one side of the parchment, revealing a black, paste-like substance inside.

He brought it to his nose and sniffed. A strong scent unique to medicinal herbs rushed into his nostrils.

"Well?" Renogue asked.

Yadai said, "It should really be medicine."

"After all, we're slaves now. As knight commanders, they have no reason to toy with us like this. Let's apply it to Sara."

"All right."

The ointment took effect quickly.

By the time they arrived at Komoy Fort.

Sara's complexion had visibly improved. With the shackles removed, walking had become much easier, and the wound on her shoulder was slowly healing as well...

Under Ferdinand and Walker's lead, all the Trak Kingdom people were gathered in an open field.

Not long afterward, a carriage bearing Desinia's crest stopped at the front of the field.

The Trak Kingdom people watched as the carriage curtain was lifted and a small head suddenly poked out from the window.