046 Live Twice (4)
“Since his father was taken to prison, Claudine seems to have been poisoned.”
“People have completely changed. When I was young, I was naive.”
Representatives of the two villages, ‘Teddy’ and ‘Marie’, started talking with trembling voices.
I glanced over the plates of the two middle-aged men.
Perhaps it was an uncomfortable seat, the main dish that had not been touched was cooling down.
“Claudine’s father was… I enjoyed gambling. At first, only acquaintances were invited and they had a small sale, but from time to time, they started inviting villagers to the inn.”
“I heard about it. They induced the villagers to wager the bounty they received from the imperial family or nobles as a stake, and they cheated during gambling and stole all of them.”
“Yes, yes. That’s right, Prince.”
Marie sighed heavily and shook her head.
Ten years ago, Cardinal Boutier caught a scam here.
At that time, criminals were dragged away and spit on the residents, saying, ‘You are equally filthy bastards!’ He said that Benjamin clearly remembers how he used evil.
“Then, after my father was captured, Claudine worked only on the renovation of the inn for a while.”
“The villagers were also quiet. Then, a few months later, a great nobleman came, and from then on, Claudine forced me to pay a portion of the bounty as a fee.”
“Have the villagers of Lucca ever resisted as a group?”
Kristel asked Teddy. I was curious about this part too.
Even if it was the Le Sipre inn, which is a specialty of Lucca, if the whole village had united and rejected it, there would have been no way to do it.
There seemed to be about a thousand inhabitants, and the inn staff were also locals.
From https://noblemtl.com
On the other hand, Claudine, who was in her twenties, was virtually alone.
“Well, we were like, at first, what kind of fuss is this?”
“Most of them ignored what Claudine said, and no one paid the fee until the high noble Nari dropped off her bounty and left.”
“But what if…”
“Claudine gathered the people and set fire to the inn.”
“yes?”
“Are you at the Le Sipre Inn?”
Me and Kristel raised their voices at the same time.
Prince Sedric’s garnet-like eyes fluttered like lava for an instant.
“Yes. Let’s all die together, let’s see if we can live like now without the inn… I was screaming like my father when I poured oil on the porch, and then I knew something was wrong.”
Marie raised her fist and tapped my chest.
Still, she took a deep breath to see if her stuffy stomach could not be cleared.
“Then we were the ones who went out and put out the fire.”
“·················ogue.”
“Almost a third of the inn is burning, and we were the ones who jumped into the flames naked and scooped up water. Claudine didn’t move a single step. I saved the inn because I was afraid that high-ranking people would no longer come to the village… It was us.”
“I was just watching, Claudine. It’s like supervising us.”
The two voices got smaller and smaller.
They seemed to cry out of defeat, and sometimes laugh out of shame.
I took a long breath.
That day, it was as if the villagers had completely lost the initiative to Claudine.
When I think of the story I just heard and Claudine’s kind-hearted face at the same time, I get goosebumps.
I am well aware that impression and personality are not always proportional, but it was rare for a difference to be this large.
“Half of the situation, it’s like we made it up.”
Gearco Teddy blamed himself. I shook my head quickly.
“At first, when Claudine’s father gambled to lure strangers in, many locals looked at him like nothing else. That’s why there were some people who pointed the finger at why I went to the gambling house. So, this is what happened after Claudine took over the inn…”
“Don’t say things like that.”
i stopped him
The perpetrator is confident, but it was not a word for the residents to hold back their hearts.
The middle-aged man looked up at me, shaking lightly.
“When you think that something you were given will suddenly disappear, you are bound to act defensively. What’s more, if it affects the way we live and eat, there’s nothing to see. It was an act that you did for a living, and it is nothing to be ashamed of when you put out the fire. The one to be ashamed of is Claudine. Because I threatened you with your life.”
Even Mari, who raised her face, looked at me blankly.
As the four pairs of eyes turned to me, both cheeks became hot in an instant.
Still, I felt like I had to do what I wanted to say.
“The same goes for fraudulent gambling. There is an obvious criminal in prison, and I hope you don’t blame yourself for that person.”
I spoke up there and shut my mouth.
I don’t usually talk like this much, but once I get angry, my stomach oozes out like a burst of dumplings.
Teddy and Marie remained silent for a while, then slowly nodded and wiped their cheeks.
For a while, the restaurant was filled with only sniffles and mutterings of ‘thank you’.
“… go according to plan.”
The prince, who was staring at me, opened his mouth. There was no expression on her beautiful face.
The ‘plan’ meant the arrest of Claudine by the prince’s authority and sending him to the lord’s prison.
It was the simplest and most reliable method, and it was also the method that Emperor Frederick immediately put into practice ten years ago.
Last night’s prince couldn’t hide his displeasure at the fact that what his mother had solved is being done again.
I frowned slightly at his words.
Now that the situation has been grasped to a certain extent, it is time to take action and prepare to leave again.
“Let’s go out.”
The prince said to the village representatives.
In a way, he was a ‘segregious’ guest, but this time, I realized that he was thinking of the two of them and ordered it that way.
Fortunately, if they didn’t pretend, they were almost exhausted from crying over their difficult circumstances.
Besides, if Claudine saw this, there was a possibility that he would notice something.
Soon middle-aged people got up from their chairs and bowed loudly.
“I will ask you one thing.”
At that moment, Kristel opened her mouth again and again.
“If only I could go back to the day the inn was on fire. Would you like to do the same?”
“No, no. No, Princess.”
Marie shook her hands in denial. Teddy also bowed and accepted the word.
“At that time, there was a drought and we were very desperate. But now… Even if there are no bounties, if we work together, it will be enough to live without anyone starving.”
“······okay. All right.”
Christel, who had been thinking deeply about something, answered. Soon the two representatives left the restaurant.
I closed the door and then opened my mouth.
“Princess, no doubt…….”
“I think the villagers need a second chance.”
Kristel looked at me with flawless blue-gray eyes.
It was such a clear decision that I was speechless for a moment.
“According to the prince’s words, it was the act of living. But because of that, my feet were tied up, and the same thing happened to me for ten years. If the innkeeper is caught like this, the immediate difficulties will be resolved…”
She rarely muffled her words. White strength entered the fingertips holding the glass of water.
“Even if you defeat Claudine, even their broken hearts will not be opened by itself.”
Saying that, Kristel was shining like the only star in the night sky.
I looked at her a little dazed.
The fact that she is the main character of ＜I Resigned, a Princess from Another World> and Eun-seo’s beloved character has been nailed down to her ears.
When I first met her, I saw her and felt that it was her attitude and appearance. By the way······.
“I want to give the people of Lucca the new life I got. If possible, it’s a way to wake up on your own.”
It is only now that I realize that she is the ‘main character’.
Looking at the nature that cannot tolerate injustice and good intentions that do not yield.
“Sir, how about doing this?”
Kristel turned and looked up at the prince. The man’s dark eyebrows moved slightly.
*
the next morning.
Le Sipre inn in Lucca has been very busy since dawn.
It was because it was the day the prince and his party left the dormitory.
Even knowing that they didn’t have a paycheck this month, the staff worked tirelessly to unload expensive luggage and tidy up the interior.
From https://noblemtl.com
On days when the nobles came as guests, the innkeeper, Claudine Green, would notify them that their bounty was a paycheck.
This was even true of Claudine’s nephew, Maurice.
He was such a cold-hearted person even toward his family, so it wouldn’t change anything even if he had complained about it.
So the staff just worked hard today.
It was painful and sad to be a prisoner of an inn, but it was a little bearable when I remembered my neighbors and family who stood together.
“There is too much dust on the carpet. How could the prince step on such a thing? Bring a new one and put it back on!”
“Yes, Claudine.”
Claudine Green pressed and straightened her naturally wrinkled forehead.
You have to be perfect from one to ten in order to satisfy noble people, but the foolish and inexperienced villagers are inferior in every way.
Still, thanks to my father and myself for more than ten years of meticulously teaching and cracking down on them, these days, I tend to play the role of a human being.
Seeing them spend 40% of their bounty in the yard, even if they receive monthly education expenses, is a sigh of relief.
If you don’t have Le Sipre, you’ll be starving, and even though you’re trembling, you really hate to contribute to the inn.
It was pathetic and wretched.
“Woah, Your Majesty the Prince is coming.”
From https://noblemtl.com
One of the innkeepers hurried down the stairs and said:
Claudine quickly checked her hair and clothes, and, using hand gestures and glances, lined up the staff in two rows.
He didn’t forget to quickly scan everyone’s attire. There didn’t seem to be any problems.
Soon the sound of heavy footsteps and light footsteps echoed through the stairs at the same time.
-Tump, tuck, tuck
– Ttogak, Ttogak, Ttogak
A dazzlingly beautiful couple appeared on the new carpet.
Seeing the two of them, Claudine Green instantly took on the face of a compassionate and warm-hearted innkeeper.
He changed his voice to be kind.
“His Majesty the Prince, Princess. I hope that the road you take will be flat all the way. Thank you for using our Le Sipre Inn.”
Then he bowed deeply and bowed.
There was no response from either of them, but it was not surprising that the imperial family and the great nobles did not mix their words with the commoners.
She ignored her and stared at the back of the two as they walked out the front door.
Fortunately, what we feared did not happen.
Yesterday, when the prince called the village leaders and talked about having a luncheon, she was nervous inside.
Because Teddy and Marie were respected among the stupid villagers.
While he was taking care of Count So, who was sick, he was wary that they would say unnecessary things to the prince, but the warning seemed to work better than expected.
After lunch, the prince and princess walked alone in the back yard of the inn, and today they walked out of the building with their arms folded like that.
As you can see, I was so absorbed in the romance game that I didn’t want to even notice anything else.
It was a good thing for me.
“It’s a good time.”
“What is good?”
Claudine shook her head in surprise.
Bright purple eyes were looking down at him.
She blamed herself for talking to herself and quickly lowered her gaze.
“Yes, Prince Jesse.”
“Thank you so much.”
“It’s crazy. I am honored to have the prince of the new kingdom,”
“No, I was talking to Maurice.”
The prince gently cut the horse’s waist.
Claudine barely endured the fact that he nearly bit his tongue in embarrassment.
Maurice, who was standing opposite him, was hurriedly bowing to the prince.
He said that he had been in charge of the prince’s room for the past two days, and he was personally called and scolded several times.
There was no reward at all from being disciplined harshly in the past.
While she was determined to slay Maurice once and for all, the prince disappeared out of the door with his two servants.
The most important schedule for this quarter was coming to an end.
“Long live the Prince! Long live the Prince!”
“Thanks to Eun Hwang!”
All the staff of Le Sipre Inn and the villagers of Lucca came out to the square and raised their voices.
There were also a lot of people lying on the floor.
A procession of ten imperial wagons slowly turned the corner, loaded with guests.
Claudine watched with satisfaction as the last carriage disappeared.
That was then.
– Kwak!
“Aww!”
With a formidable binge, the Le Sipre Inn began to burn.