“Everyone look here. There’s a slave who dared to touch my belongings.”
As he said this in front of the gathered slaves, Davis pointed to the side.
The girl tied up at the spot his finger pointed to was someone Beatrice knew all too well.
Eva, Evangeline.
For a moment, Beatrice wondered if she was dreaming.
Evangeline had clearly said she would go outside today to see the sun.
She had promised to show her the drawing first upon her return.
But, but why was Evangeline tied up over there?
Why was she bound and gagged like a slave caught committing a crime?
Beatrice was not the only one disturbed by this.
As Evangeline had recently become well-known among the slaves, all the gathered ones had puzzled expressions, wondering what exactly was happening.
And seeing Evangeline restrained like that, an old man among the slaves stepped forward hesitantly and spoke to Davis.
“Um, Master. I’m sorry for overstepping, but there might be some misunderstanding… That girl is kind-hearted. She wouldn’t commit theft, so please check once more…”
At the old man’s words, Davis glanced at him disdainfully and muttered.
“If you were another slave, I would have immediately punished you for speaking out of turn, but you’re a capable slave, too valuable to kill. Given your talent, I will let this slide this time. However, there’s nothing to check again. There’s clear evidence.”
Davis said firmly as he pulled a book from his coat.
Beatrice held her breath upon seeing that book.
It was too familiar in shape.
The very book Evangeline had cherished, claiming she would draw the sun on the last page.
Davis flicked his finger against the book.
At that moment, a small magic circle glowed above the book, and at the same time, a similar magic circle flashed bright red on Evangeline’s bound hands.
Davis grabbed Evangeline’s hand, presented the glowing magic circle in front of the old man, and said.
“I specially made it visible for you all, not just for my own eyes. Can you see this magic circle? This is the evidence I mentioned. I set up a simple security spell so that anything taken from my tent would have a magic circle visible only to me. But today, this little rat has it on her.”
Upon hearing those words, Beatrice realized why Evangeline’s theft, which had never been uncovered until now, had finally come to light today.
Ironically, it was because Evangeline had collected 100 coins and had gone to ask Davis to let her out that she was caught stealing.
If she had known that beforehand, could she have stopped Evangeline?
Thinking that way was pointless; the deed was already done.
Moreover, with such evident proof before them, it was almost guaranteed that Evangeline would be punished.
The remaining option was only to plead for mercy from Davis.
Perhaps the old man understood this as well and, with a serious expression, pleaded with Davis.
“…That child has made a mistake. Still, Master, I hope you can show her some leniency. It’s not a precious item, just a mere book. Isn’t she still too young to be punished over something trivial?”
However, upon hearing the old man’s words, Davis questioned him back.
“A trivial matter… How is this a trivial matter?”
The voice was so cold it felt as if it could freeze Beatrice’s heart.
“Though I shut you all in this underground mine and made you work, I tried to treat you humanely as best as I could. I didn’t force you into harsh labor, nor did I neglect your meals. Did I?”
“…That is true, Master.”
“Yet you cannot even appreciate that, but rather, this girl has audaciously touched my belongings. When I thought about putting her down before she even entered her mother’s womb, I showed mercy and spared her.”
Davis muttered, looking down at Evangeline with eyes as cold as his voice.
“Of course, I wouldn’t want to kill my property over trivial matters, so perhaps I would have considered forgiving her if that was all. But the crime this girl committed is not only unforgivable.”
At those words, Evangeline, bound up, directed her gaze at Davis.
As if asking what other sins she had committed.
Then Davis took out a pouch from his pocket, holding it up for the slaves to see.
“See? Today this girl collected 100 coins and asked me to let her go outside for five minutes. I clearly said before that I wouldn’t reverse that statement, but if she gathered it through proper means, I had no reason to deny her. However…”
Pausing for a moment, Davis showed the slaves the magic circle drawn on Evangeline’s hand.
“Would a thief collect these coins through fair means? Naturally, she must have gathered them by stealing from other slaves.”
“Ugh, mmph──!!!”
At that remark, Evangeline, who had been quietly restrained until then, began to struggle and cry out as if it was unfair.
However, all that came from her mouth while gagged were muffled sounds, and Beatrice cried out to express Evangeline’s innocence.
“No, no! The coins that Eva gathered were from drawing pictures for others─”
But seemingly uninterested in hearing her, Davis flicked his finger.
A piece of cloth appeared from nowhere and completely silenced Beatrice.
“Quiet down. Who said you could interrupt?”
“───!!!”
As her mouth was covered and she fought to break free, soon a rope flew in, tying up her hands and feet, leaving her completely immobilized.
But it was still okay for now.
There were more than a handful of people who knew Eva hadn’t stolen any coins.
If those people could testify to Evangeline’s innocence on her behalf, it would suffice.
Beatrice thought this, but…
“It seems you all haven’t heard. So I’ll say it again, especially for you.”
She soon realized what Davis’s eyes conveyed.
That he had no intention of forgiving Evangeline at all.
“This girl is not just a thief of my book but a very wicked thief who stole your coins as well.”
What mattered in this underground mine was not the truth.
“Do you understand?”
Davis asked the slaves.
It was not a question.
It was a demand to label Evangeline as a thief who stole coins regardless of the truth.
For Evangeline and the slaves who knew her, it was an incredibly frustrating and maddening situation.
“…”
None of the slaves could open their mouths.
They could not speak the truth.
Because Davis’s eyes said that he would not tolerate anyone who stood against him.
Beatrice could only blankly stare at the slaves, who remained silent under the pressure.
“I’m glad to see you’ve all understood me well.”
As silence settled around them, Davis clapped once and opened his mouth.
“Well then, let’s decide how to punish this thief… It seems the one injured by this thief is not just me. So this time, I’ll let you who were directly harmed by this thief punish her yourself.”
Davis said this as he pulled out a large sack.
Then, with a snap of his fingers, he lifted Evangeline, who was tied up, into the air and stuffed her into the sack.
Although her face couldn’t be seen while inside the sack, Beatrice could tell from its shaking that Evangeline was thrashing about in fear.
Feeling that fear made Beatrice’s breath catch, but the even more frightening part hadn’t even started yet.
“Well then, from now on, anyone who was robbed of coins by this thief should step up and strike this sack, where the thief is.”
“…”
Davis spoke while grabbing a club.
Naturally, no one stepped up.
Because there was no one who had coins stolen by Evangeline.
“How strange. There can’t be no one. Or are you planning to protect a criminal? That would be troublesome.”
Davis then stared at the slaves with cold eyes.
“I’m someone who wants this mine to run smoothly, so I don’t want any slave trying to protect someone who has committed a crime.”
This was a blatant lie.
Beatrice remembered what the old man had told her about Davis’s personality.
The old man said that Davis wanted to make everything move according to his own thoughts.
Therefore, it was clear that what Davis desired was to ensure the slaves could never rebel against him.
“But if it’s going to be like this, I’ll have no choice but to replace all of you.”
Beatrice could tell that what he said was the truth.
Once the slaves entered the mine, there was no way for them to leave alive.
Thus, to replace them meant death for the slaves.
Davis was more than capable of replacing any slave who did not follow his wishes.
And the other slaves noticed this as well.
The fear of death spread like wildfire among them.
“I-I know! You got robbed by that little brat! Hurry and come out…! I don’t want to die!”
“You, what are you… Ugh, wait a moment…! Don’t push…!”
Someone, terrified, was pushed forward by the hands of another slave.
It was a face familiar to Beatrice.
It was the balding slave who had first asked Evangeline for a drawing.
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