Chapter 143 (1/2)

Chapter 143 Migrants

The sailboat coming from Longsong Stronghold slowly docked at the pier of Border Town.

After the gangway was lowered, the people on the ship began to walk down the gangway while carrying all kinds of bags. For most of them, it was the first time that they had set foot on this strange land, so they appeared to be somewhat at a loss by what they saw, but the sailors behind them urged them to move further and disregard their uneasy feelings.

When the crowd began to push forward, a middle-aged woman’s foot accidentally slipped. Her body became so unbalanced that she was already falling over the gangway. However, another woman quickly stepped ahead and caught the middle-aged woman’s wrist, stopping her fall.

“Thank… thank you,” the rescued woman’s chest was still rising and falling quickly, showing her lingering fear as she said thank you several times.

The other woman, however, just cheerfully waved her hand, indicating that a thank you wasn’t necessary.

Standing on the pier and waiting for the arriving travelers was Ferlin Eltek. he immediately saw that the skillfully acting woman was Irene, his beloved wife. She wore a white dress, and her long hair was coiled up on top of her head; she always looked beautiful and refined.

The knight was no longer able to suppress his excitement. The moment Irene finally set foot on the pier, he immediately began to quickly approach her, forcing the poor woman who was still clinging on to her away from her while totally disregarding the shouts of the people around him. Getting approached so unexpectedly, Irene became shocked, but the moment she recognized that it was Ferlin who had hugged her, she fell into his arms.

“When I heard the news of the Duke’s defeat, I got really scared. And when I later tried to meet you in Longsong Stronghold, I never got the chance,” Irene immediately began to speak, “Fortunately, you are safe now.”

“I was imprisoned in the dungeon of the Lord ‘s castle, and it was impossible for the guards to let you in,” Ferlin explained as he let go of his wife. “How was your time during the last half month, was it okay?

“…” For a moment she didn’t give him an answer but then she quietly said, “I left the theater.”

Ferlin immediately understood the meaning behind his wife’s words. During the time when he was still the First Knight in the Western Territories, only the Duke dared to lay his hands on her body. However, when he had become His Royal Highness’ prisoner, the men in Irene’s theater group no longer had to hide their malicious intents. They were only waiting for the right opportunity to assault her. So if she had still gone to the theater to work, it would be the same as sending a sheep into a tiger’s den.

“That does not matter, I got a job here, and the salary also isn’t low.” Ferlin tried to comfort her, “Let us first go home. There, we can talk in peace.”

“Home?” Irene was clearly surprised, “We do not have to live separately?”

Usually, the prisoners who weren’t killed during the fight and who weren’t bought free were mostly used as coolies. These prisoners were packed in bunches and had to live in tents or barracks, laying on the ground which was only covered with straw. At the same time, the families of such prisoners weren’t treated any better. The women had to live in special camps, where they also had to sleep on the floor. During the time the men worked, the women had to clean up the men’s homes and wash their laundry.

Thinking of this, Ferlin got a warm feeling within his heart. At the farm near the Longsong Stronghold, Irene at least had her own spacious room with a comfortable and soft bed. Yet, she still chose to come to Border Town on her own. Even though she knew that she had to live with other women in a small house or tent and would have to do forced labor every day she didn’t flinch.

“I am now a teacher.” in one hand he took Irene’s luggage and with the other he grabbed her hand. They walked side by side in the direction of the “New Civilization” district, “As a teacher, I get my own house for free.”

To tell the truth, when he had first heard the teachers’ treatment from the Prince, he hadn’t expected too much. As a prisoner, having his own room could be seen as good. Even if the room had leaks where the wind or the rain could come through, it would still be a good living area after repairing it himself. Thinking of this, the actual result was totally unexpected for him; he had never thought that the assigned houses for the teachers would be so… regular.

Entering the new district, the streets suddenly become spacious, and the ground became covered with gray gravel. The stones on the ground were smooth and flat and even after walking on them for a long while, their feet wouldn’t hurt. At first, Ferlin didn’t understand the reason for all of this; this was clearly a waste of manpower and the masons’ time. He didn’t understand the reason for it until he saw rainwater flowing along the gaps in the stones sinking into the ground on a day with heavy rain. The rainwater was lead into drainage ditches on both sides of the road. In Longsong Stronghold, every time when it rained, the streets became muddy and were covered with puddles, so the new streets in Border Town were many times better.

Irene, who was taking in her surroundings, showed a puzzled expression and asked, “Here all the houses seem to be new, are you sure you went the right way?”