BGFV 143

Chapter 143

“How dare you enter without permission and cause a scene! What kind of impudence is this!” Gabriel stood up abruptly and scolded the intruder.

“I apologize, Your Grace. The situation is so urgent that I acted out of turn. Please forgive me!”

Before Gabriel could say anything further, Acid raised his hand to stop him.

“Let’s hear just how urgent this is. What is going on?”

“A plague has broken out…”

Suddenly, the room became restless, and both Acid and Sylvester jumped to their feet. Hestia and Luciard were also shocked.

‘Could it be that the epidemic has started earlier than expected?!’

In her past life, when she was traveling with her siblings, she didn’t know how the royal palace received urgent news or when the nobles were informed, but…

‘Even if there were some discrepancies, this is happening too quickly!’

Before arriving here, Hestia had been keeping a sharp focus. She had already ordered that if even one person in the southern regions fell ill, a report must be made, but she had heard nothing until just a week ago. It couldn’t have spread that fast.

However, the official who brought the news said something strange.

“The infection is highly contagious, and the number of patients continues to rise. Currently, the damage is being reported nationwide.”

“Where has the outbreak been concentrated?”

“The worst affected areas are the south and north.”

Bang!

“That’s nonsense!”

Hestia slammed her fist on the table and stood up suddenly. Everyone turned to look at her, but she didn’t care, her eyes burning with intensity.

“Which part of the south is affected?” she demanded.

“Y-Yes…?”

“I asked, which part of the south?”

“V-Valleron has the worst outbreak, according to the report.”

Hestia’s neck went red with anger, and just then, a scream came from another part of the room.

“J-Jeff…!”

“Damn it! My parents are there!”

The scream came from Laila and Arthur.

Valleron was within the territory of the Humphrey family.

The official then listed other regions that had been severely impacted, with the nobles who ruled those regions looking shocked and horrified.

“And now, the cause of the plague is said to be… the influx of refugees.”

“…What?”

The room fell silent as Sylvester was rendered speechless. The meeting hall started buzzing with whispers.

“This is why we should never have accepted refugees!” someone shouted.

“This is exactly why we should never have accepted them in the first place!”

Just ten minutes ago, those who were in favor of accepting refugees flipped their stance completely. They now criticized Kenneth and Hestia.

“How do you plan to take responsibility for this?!”

“My land is affected too! What if people start dying?!”

“You didn’t think something like this would happen when you accepted refugees?! Speak up, Count Oklin!”

Once the tables had turned, it was impossible to calm down. Before Kenneth could respond, the crowd began to bombard him with questions, and even if he answered, it was clear they weren’t listening.

“If His Majesty hadn’t accepted refugees, this wouldn’t have happened…”

Another voice muttered, causing the room to quiet down slightly. Nobles exchanged glances, now glancing at Sylvester.

Hestia suddenly recalled something in her mind.

‘…Sylvester’s reputation began to deteriorate after the plague started.’

In her past life, refugees weren’t actively accepted, but it was rumored that the emperor supported their aid. Though refugees weren’t officially accepted, the rumor that the emperor secretly helped them spread led to a collapse in public opinion.

Now, the same thing was happening.

Sylvester froze in place as cold stares were directed at him. The emperor’s supporters weren’t performing much better.

And then Hestia noticed something peculiar: Lasie was quietly smiling to herself.

Not only her, but Gabriel also had a strange expression on his face.

No, when Hestia looked closer, she saw something strange in his eyes.

Most notably, Acid. Normally, the emperor trusted him more than anyone else, but even now, he showed no signs of supporting Sylvester.

Instead, he just sat there with a grim expression, not offering any words of comfort.

It was then that Hestia realized one thing.

‘It was all planned.’

At first, she had thought that the nobles were trying to blame the refugees for the plague to shift the angry public’s focus. But it wasn’t that simple.

This had all been planned by the Florence family from the start. And their target wasn’t the refugees…

“…Your Majesty, what do you think about this matter? I would like to hear your opinion,” a nobleman spoke up, a person with close ties to the Florence family.

Sylvester trembled, unable to find words. Desperately, he turned to Acid, his most trusted ally.

“…Hmm…”

But Acid did nothing, not even acknowledging him.

At that moment, Sylvester felt completely alone in the massive hall. His mind went blank as he squeezed his eyes shut, muttering to himself.

“Is this really the time to be blaming someone?”

A bold female voice rang out.

Sylvester looked up, tears in his eyes, as all attention turned toward the woman.

It was Hestia Frost.

“The plague is a much bigger problem than whose fault it is,” she said. Her voice was firm and commanding, taking control of the room in an instant.

Despite the many nobles staring at her, Hestia stood tall, unfazed.

Sylvester couldn’t understand.

‘I’m terrified of all these eyes on me, but how can she stay so calm?’

“While that may be true, I don’t think it’s something that Miss Frost should be saying.”

After a brief silence, someone spoke up, openly hostile toward Hestia.

“Weren’t you also one of the people actively involved in accepting refugees, Count Oklin?”

That comment caused some of the nobles to shift their gaze, now giving Hestia disapproving looks.

“Isn’t this just a way for you to avoid responsibility?”

“What exactly are you trying to say, Count?”

Not a hint of remorse could be seen in Hestia’s response.

“Do you think slandering me will stop the plague? Will cutting off my head solve anything? No, it won’t.”

Hestia stood firm, countering each of their criticisms.

“I’m taking responsibility by speaking out. The best way to handle this is to stop the spread of the plague, and we must act now. The south must be placed under travel restrictions immediately, and we must conduct an investigation into the outbreak.”

She turned to the official who had brought the news and looked at him with sharp eyes.

“Let’s see if the plague really originated from the refugees or if it came from somewhere else.”

Hestia’s commanding presence silenced even the most vocal opponents.

“And, just so you know, I believe my responsibility isn’t over after I’ve stopped this plague. Once this is all settled, if you wish to punish me, I will accept it willingly.”

“…Tia!”

Derrick gasped, grabbing her.

“You don’t know what will happen if things go wrong! You’re taking all the blame!”

Hestia smiled faintly. “Kenneth and I were already going to bear the responsibility of the refugees. Right now, this is the best course of action.”

“But…!”

“Please trust me, Mom, Dad.”

Derrick and Anna fell silent, seeing their daughter’s resolve.

After a moment, they left to take a breath, leaving Luciard by Hestia’s side.

“This is on a whole different scale.”

“Should we just sit back and take it? Luciard, don’t you feel something is off?”

“Yeah, I do. It’s like they’re trying to pin everything on us, Kenneth, and the emperor.”

“From here on, we can’t afford to lose control. If we do, we’ll be buried. So stay sharp, Luciard.”

Hestia’s rare warning caused Luciard to gulp nervously.