At the entrance of the post office in Whitestag, Old Benz said apologetically to Claude, "Young Claude, it'll be the new year in another four or five days. The post office will be closed for the holidays tomorrow.
If you want to send this letter to the royal capital, you'll have to leave it here for now. We'll only send a mail coach to the royal capital on the 15th of next year. That's when you'll be able to deliver the letter. "
Looking at the letter that took him an entire night to write, Claude could only smile bitterly. The timing was far too unlucky. It happened to be right before the new year, so it was only natural that the post office would be closed for the holidays.
However, waiting for the letter to be sent on the 15th of the new year was a little too late.
"Uncle Benz, this letter is an urgent one. It's addressed to Baroness Maria.
Can you help me ask if there's anyone in the post office who's willing to do it for me? I'll pay one crown for it. "Claude could only hope that a generous reward would have the effect of a brave man's words.
For the postmen who only had a monthly salary of one thale and five riyases, a trip to the royal capital to deliver a letter for half a month could earn them more than three months' salary. There should be people who would be willing to give up their New Year's holiday to make the trip.
Old Benz looked at Claude and nodded. "I'll help you ask.
Young Claude, I sympathize with your father's situation, but I believe he'll be fine. He's a good person. "
Soon, Old Benz brought a middle-aged man with a slight limp over. "Young Claude, this is Borik. He's willing to make the trip."
Borik was a newcomer to the post office. He had just retired from the army due to a foot injury. He was from Syromikshire and was assigned to be a postman in Whitestag.
As his family hadn't come with him to Whitestag, he was willing to make the trip to the royal capital for Claude's sake to earn some extra money.
Old Benz chose Borik after some consideration. The police would be on high alert around the new year.
Borik was a citizen and a postman, so there wouldn't be too much trouble on his way to the royal capital. Be it passing through the checkpoints or finding a place to stay, the police wouldn't be too strict with him.
Claude handed the letter to Borik and paid him a thale for the trip.
At full speed, it would only take seven or eight days to travel back and forth to the capital.
However, it was winter now, and the roads were covered with snow. It was difficult to travel. If there was a snowstorm, it might delay their journey for a few days.
So, he wrote another piece of paper to prove that Borik was the messenger and asked him to stay in the royal capital for a few days. It would be best if he returned with Maria's reply.
After sending the letter away, all he could do was wait patiently.
In the following days, he spent half of his time at the lumberyard and the other half at his house.
Mother's body was finally better, and she could do some housework.
But when she thought of Mr. Morssen, she still sat in a daze, and wept.
Weliklo's father, Kubrik, gathered a group of retired soldiers and completed the proposal for taxes and donations. After that, he went to the town hall and requested to discuss the formation of a garrison with Baron Robert, only to be rejected.
The mayor, Baron Robert, said that he had already submitted the three proposals for the formation of the garrison to the prefectural city council for them to decide.
So, there was nothing for him to discuss with Kubrik and the other retired soldiers. Regardless of which proposal the prefectural city council approved, the town hall would just have to follow it.
So the bad-tempered Uncle Kubrik and Mayor Robert quarreled again. Uncle Kubrik's loud voice scolded Mayor Robert in public, forcing the red-faced and helpless Mayor Robert to hide in his office in the town hall. He closed the doors and windows, pretending that he couldn't hear Uncle Kubrik's scolding.
Kubrik may have won the argument, but it didn't affect the formation of the garrison in Whitestag in the slightest.
Unable to gain the support of the retired soldiers, Mayor Robert chose to flip the table and hand the proposal to the prefectural city council for a decision.
Even though he lost the right to lead the formation of the garrison, he could still rely on the prefectural city council's lack of understanding of the town's situation to achieve his own goals. He could even push the blame to the prefectural city council.
In that sense, the retired soldiers who opposed him in Whitestag had already lost.
Military control over the town was still in place. Some well-informed sources said that it would only end when the garrison of Whitestag was fully established.
However, for the townsfolk, the military control didn't affect their lives at all.
Apart from having to go through security checks when entering and leaving the town, some of the shops and shops in town seemed to be doing better because of the arrival of the guards who didn't lack money. The old streets of the brothel also gained a new group of shoppers.
In fact, many of the townsfolk hoped that the military control would continue. With the guards stationed at the entrances and exits of the streets, order in the town improved like never before.
Even the Blacksnakes in the slums curbed their usual arrogance and became more law-abiding.
Claude didn't pay much attention to the matters that seemed to have nothing to do with him. He was busy taking care of his mother and siblings and trying his best to find out about his father, who was locked up in the barracks.
Thanks to his tireless efforts, Pjard of the old tavern helped him by inviting a captain of the garrison to a banquet.
The man told Claude that the nine captives were treated rather well in the camp. They weren't tortured or interrogated for information.
However, during the two days they were arrested, they were interrogated by a special envoy from the royal capital and a few officers from the navy. After that, they were locked up in their cells and awaited punishment from the royal capital.
The captain said that they didn't know the real reason why the nine prisoners were arrested on the charges of endangering the kingdom. The orders they received from the prefectural city were to enforce military control in Whitestag and prevent the town from being attacked by pirates. They were also to assist in the formation of the garrison in Whitestag.
Apart from that, they were to obey the orders of the special envoy from the royal capital and arrest the nine prisoners.
The banquet cost Claude six thales and he gave the captain a crate of blueberry wine worth a crown.
That cost Claude almost all the change he had on him.
He had wanted to send something to his father through the captain, but the captain politely declined his request.
He said that it was a slight breach of military law to inform Claude of the news, but helping Claude send something to the prisoners was against the law and he didn't want to be implicated.
Claude could only hope that the letter he sent to Maria, Borik, would arrive in the royal capital as soon as possible. That way, Maria would have enough time to understand the situation and plead for her father.
The days passed one after another as Claude and his family waited anxiously.
The day before the new year, Arbeit actually returned home. That was something that none of them expected.
His mother was hopeful when she asked him about the results of his investigation of Mr. Morssen. He told her with a sad face that the situation was not good. His father and the eight men seemed to have formed a group of rebels, and if they were caught, they would probably be executed on charges of treason.
His mother almost fainted. That was the worst news she had heard in a while.
Claude almost spat out the tea in his mouth. He knew very well that Arbeit didn't try to find out anything about his father. He must've gone somewhere to fool around after taking his mother's money and only returned home when he ran out of money.
However, he didn't think that Arbeit would come up with a lie to scare his mother. It was obvious that his goal was to get more money from the family.
He slowly rotated his wrists and felt his fists itch. He would definitely let his fists have some fun that night.
"Claude, what do you think we should do?" His mother looked at him. He had become the backbone of the family.
Before he could say anything, Arbeit cut in. "Mother, what did you say to him?
I'm the only one in charge now.
I went to the prefectural capital a few days ago and asked many of my friends for information. To save money, I could only stay in those cheap, run-down inns and run around.
Fortunately, I managed to find out that father isn't the mastermind of the rebellion. He was only forced to join because of his relationship with his father. At most, he's an accomplice.
That's why the warden who gave me the information told me that if I want to save father, I have to do something right away. As long as I give him a gift and a favor, father might get a light sentence and not be executed. "
Claude was speechless. Just what was going on in that idiot's head?
Mister Morssen was locked up in the barracks in Whitestag, yet he said he went to the prefectural capital to ask for information and got news about father from the warden. How was that even possible?
It was obvious that the idiot didn't even know where his father was locked up. He didn't even come up with a good lie.
"Then … How much money do we need to save your father?" His mother was flustered.
He pretended to be serious and frowned. After some thought, he extended a hand and flipped it thrice. "I need at least 15 crowns. That way, I can go to the city and use my connections to lessen Father's punishment."
"But … but we don't have any money at all …" His mother was in despair. "You took all my money the last time. Claude has been paying for our expenses for the past few days.
Your father's bank account has also been sealed. He can't withdraw any money from it now that he's been captured. "
"Don't you still have some jewelry?
Mother, let me exchange them for money first. Even if it's not enough, we can talk about it later. The most important thing now is to lessen father's sentence.
We have to hurry. I'm worried that we won't make it in time if we take too long … W-What are you trying to do?
Ouch … Mother, save me! "
You won't die if you don't ask for it!
Claude couldn't hold back his anger when he heard that the idiot was trying to steal his mother's jewelry. He strode over and slapped the idiot to the ground.
Just as he was about to pull him up and teach him a lesson, he didn't expect the idiot to react so quickly. He crawled under the table to his mother's feet and hugged his mother's left leg, crying for help.
"K-Claude!
W-What are you trying to do?! "
His mother, who had been fooled by the idiot's lies, couldn't help but turn pale when she saw Claude suddenly hit her brother. She hurriedly stood up and shielded Arbeit behind her.
"I'm not trying to do anything, Mother. I just want to beat him up.
I haven't even settled the score with him for slapping Booker last time. He's been lying since he came back today and even tried to cheat you of your jewelry. I can't take it anymore. I'm going to teach him a lesson! "
"I'm not lying!" The idiot was still stubborn even though he was hiding behind his mother.
"Hmph, if you're not lying, then where is father now?" Claude asked with a sneer.
"The … the prefectural capital's prison …" The idiot was making a wild guess. All the major criminals in Whitestag were sent to the prefectural capital's prison, and he believed that Morssen and the others were no exception.
"Congratulations, you're wrong!"
Claude kicked him hard in the ribs. The man doubled over in pain and curled up like a shrimp.
His mother finally snapped out of it. "That's not right, Claude. Didn't you just ask around yesterday and tell me that father and the others are locked up in the barracks?"
"That's right."
Claude pointed at the idiot on the ground. "That's why he's been lying all this time. He even took it upon himself to accuse father and the others of being rebels. Just how much does he hate father that he wants to send him to his death?"
With that, Claude kicked him a few more times, causing the idiot to writhe on the ground.
"Stop hitting him, Claude. He's your brother …" His mother couldn't bear to see her younger brother beating up his own brother, even though the little girl and the chubby boy were watching happily from the side.