Home/The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief of Exile/ch 58

Chapter 58

The notice at the station.

The large diamond-shaped lock emblem on the train.

The first day we visited the Deste Territory.

"That's the Clavis-affiliated subsidiaries. The Clavis symbol is a key, so all related businesses and foundations are marked with a lock."

The fact Ian had told us.

"The Clavis was officially destroyed, but don't the subsidiaries seem to be running too smoothly?"

I distinctly remembered reading in the newspaper that the imperial family would absorb the Clavis assets.

It had been over a month since I'd read that article.

I'd been checking the newspapers regularly since then, but I'd never seen an article about the Clavis assets being seized.

"It's close to delusion, but..."

I carefully began.

"Maybe the Clavis anticipated all of this?"

"Anticipated..."

Ian's eyebrow shot up.

Then, as if suddenly angry, he frowned fiercely—but after meeting my eyes, he quickly composed himself.

"No, that's a bit too..."

"Hebenia, isn't that too much of a stretch?"

Aunt Nema also quickly dismissed my opinion. At the same time, she seemed flustered, checking my expression.

I knew why the two of them reacted that way.

'If what I just said is true...'

It would mean the Clavis accepted their destruction knowing full well how the Empire would fall apart after they were gone.

And they left me alone in that mess.

To be honest, even before I said it, I thought it was a stretch.

But once I actually voiced it, I had a strange conviction that this eccentric family was exactly the type to do something like that.

Was it the conviction of blood?

In this situation, Verity, who had been silent, spoke up.

"No, the Clavis could definitely do that, but..."

His disgusted expression suggested he was taking my guess seriously.

"Even so, to be that insane..."

"Lord Verity!"

"Ian oppa, it's okay."

I stopped Ian from scolding Verity.

"It's common knowledge that the Clavis is insane. And I'd actually prefer it if this absurd guess were true."

Because it would explain why the Empire was still functioning.

So that people wouldn't die even when there was a herb shortage.

So that the family's assets wouldn't be seized by the imperial family.

So that the subsidiaries could operate without interference from others.

To protect the family and the country from the Emperor's injustice.

'They created a minimum line of defense and then accepted their destruction.'

After hearing my opinion, Ian and Aunt Nema looked uneasy.

"If that's true, it's a relief, but..."

"Why would they do such a bothersome and inefficient thing..."

Only then did the two acknowledge my opinion.

But they still couldn't understand the Clavis's eccentricity.

'I completely understand.'

Verity alone was lost in thought, resting his chin on his arm against the window frame, murmuring something.

'Verity is unusually serious.'

Whenever Verity gazes into the distance with an expressionless face, it's usually when he's stuck writing a report for work.

'That's just how office workers are.'

But Verity's thoughts went on for longer than expected, and I, Ian, and Aunt Nema grew a bit bored.

"Want to play cards?"

In the end, we played five rounds of card games and two rounds of board games.

We got hungry in between and had the lunchbox Uncle Pofina had packed for us, and even went to the restroom to brush our teeth.

Even then, Verity remained motionless.

"That demon is amazing..."

What could he be thinking so deeply about?

Even waving a hand in front of his face didn't make him flinch.

"Ian oppa, try poking him with your sword."

"You really are a Clavis, aren't you?"

"He seems to be thinking about something important, so let's not disturb him."

Just then.

"My Lady!"

"Oh, geez. You scared me."

Startled, I placed my hand on my chest as if to hold my pounding heart.

"You surprised me!"

"I think your guess is right."

"You sat still for three hours just to say that?"

I appreciated him taking my ridiculous guess seriously, but I was genuinely worried about his twisted spine and pelvis.

"No, I mean, did you come up with some evidence that my guess is right?"

"Yes."

"Oho. I might have a talent for being a detective..."

"I don't think I'll be able to help this time."

I tilted my head.

"You already said that."

Before the second village assembly.

Verity and I had made a deal.

Under the long-haired Lord's proposal, if I caught demons connected to the Emperor and handed them over, he'd bring me the items I left in Korea.

At that time, Verity had said he wouldn't be of much help.

"Fighting the demons must be done by you and the villagers."

Yes, like that.

Instead, he'd promised to protect us in dangerous moments.

'But this flow...'

I suddenly had a bad feeling.

Verity, reading my thoughts, slowly closed and opened his eyes.

"I might not be able to help at all."

"......"

"If your guess is right, it seems the Clavis have given you a 'trial.'"

"A trial?"

The unexpected word fell upon me like a trial itself.

---

Trial.

The moment I heard that word.

Ian, surprisingly, recalled a conversation with the Clavis family head he'd encountered by chance during his imperial knight days.

"More than wasting my precious steps in this shabby place, it angers me more to see you in a place like this."

The severed past was connected again.

"If this is also a trial..."

"......"

"Is it yours, or our youngest's?"

"......"

"Well, it's probably both."

The memory ended in fragments again.

'What, what is this...!'

It was a strange recollection.

A part of the memory that had sunk deep into the abyss came surging up, as if it had been waiting for this moment.

What brought Ian back to reality was Hebenia's irritated voice.

"A trial? What trial? For me?"

Hebenia let out several hollow laughs in disbelief.

"Giving a trial instead of money and power to the youngest seven-year-old?"

What a crazy family!

Ian fully understood Hebenia's frustration.

Apart from being briefly dazed by the strange recollection, inwardly he was cursing along with her, 'The Clavis is truly insane.'

'It seems Lord Verity believes the Clavis knew about all of this and even orchestrated things to flow this way...'

But even if that were true, he couldn't understand it.

'Hebenia is the Clavis's precious princess.'

Seven years ago.

Ian vividly remembered the day Hebenia was born.

On that day, to celebrate the birth of their youngest daughter, the Clavis opened their warehouses wide and distributed countless gifts to the Empire's citizens.

The Clavis subsidiaries held special sales, and the children on the streets had sweet candies and snacks in their hands.

This was a stark contrast to the imperial family, who had remained quiet even when the Crown Princess was born a few months earlier, and Hebenia naturally became the Empire's most noble princess.

'Though now she's a princess in a different sense...'

The princess of terror.

"Ugh, forget it. I'm not doing it. I'm not."

Hebenia lay flat on the floor like a drunkard and whipped off her top, baring her stomach.

"Turn the train around! Let's go home! This is our family's train anyway! If the boss's daughter says she doesn't want to, the employees have to do as she says!"

Her outburst was also that of a clueless drunkard.

"......"

"......"

"......"

The adults' gazes naturally turned to Hebenia's round belly.

"...You've really gained belly fat, haven't you?"

"I thought Hebenia's cheeks had gotten softer lately, but..."

"My Lady, have you been sneaking snacks again?"

"......"

At the continued questioning, Hebenia subtly pulled her top down to hide her belly.

"Th-that's not the point! Right now, I'm performing unpaid labor comparable to child abuse—have some pity..."

"That doesn't mean it's something you can't handle, my Lady."

"Don't say that when it's not your problem. How am I supposed to beat a demon? I'm the weakest of the weak—just using a little power makes my nose bleed!"

"You're not exactly the weakest, though."

"The more I think about it, the more unfair it is. Does this damn Clavis family have a grudge against me? If they were going to be executed, they should have died together—why did they leave me behind...!"

A torrent of crude words poured out.

'She has a point...'

Ian now found the Clavis even more incomprehensible than the Emperor.

He could vaguely guess the Emperor's motives—self-interest, twisted mind, inferiority complex toward the Clavis, and so on.

'But why are the Clavis taking this to the extreme of inefficiency...'

Just because they're eccentric?

At that moment, Ian recalled the word 'trial' once more.

'Trial...'

An old story came to mind.

It originated from ancient myths recorded in scriptures, known as the 'Three Trials of the Savior.'

A chaotic world.

God gives three trials to the faithful.

When everyone fails to overcome the trials and falls, only one person endures the hardship.

God names them the Savior, and the Savior uses the power given by God to save the world and restore peace.

'That's why priests who use healing magic are called Salvation Priests.'

Ian gently combed Hebenia's tangled bangs with his fingers as she now sat upright.

Hebenia pouted.

"I have no luck with family..."

"Since you're doing good deeds anyway, let's do them happily."

"Hmph."

"And where did you sneak your snacks from?"

"......"

Choo-choo.

Hebenia quickly closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

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