I Became a Barbarian's Bride - Chapter 134
People fleeing the country and those sneaking away under the cover of night were increasing.
With rising taxes, many decided to become bandits or thieves, and they all ran away, leaving the number of serfs in the territories dwindling, making it impossible to farm.
Despite the increasingly dire situation inside and outside the country, the emperor showed no intention of managing the nation.
‘Why is Xieman not interfering at all?’
He had thought they would demand something, but ever since they took the princess and signed the treaty, they had remained silent.
They made no demands, and they didn’t seem to want anything.
They hadn’t even left anyone behind to keep watch, so although they’d lost the war, it hardly felt like they had truly become a vassal state.
Even the nobles, who had prepared to lose everything, were beginning to shed their fearful demeanor.
The noble who was watching the emperor noticed the vacant look in his eyes and furrowed his brow deeply.
It was maddening.
He couldn’t understand what the emperor was upset about.
In truth, the crops had started to fail after the princess disappeared.
With poor harvests, it became difficult to gather enough crops, and with that difficulty, the people’s worries deepened.
Meanwhile, taxes continued to rise, and the levies taken from the salaries of knights and soldiers increased as well, leading to unrest across the board.
Initially, they had managed to suppress the discontent with force, but now, even the soldiers were filled with resentment, like a dam on the verge of bursting.
Something had to be done, but the emperor showed no intention of taking action.
‘On top of that, there’s the bizarre rumor that the princess is the Saintess of the Red Moon.’
At first, they dismissed it as a joke, but as more and more people started demanding her return, it was impossible to ignore.
The people no longer trusted or believed in the emperor.
They had stopped praying to the god they once worshiped.
Instead, they continuously prayed to the Saint of the Red Moon, and recently, a cult had even been formed in her name.
The Saint of the Red Moon, who would appear suddenly, distribute food and money, heal the sick, and then vanish.
Even the nobles had heard rumors about her long ago.
They simply hadn’t been interested.
The murmurings of the common folk were not something those who were well-fed and comfortable needed to concern themselves with.
But now that the money was flowing elsewhere and not into the temple, resources were becoming even scarcer.
Discontent grew, heresy spread, and the emperor tried to suppress it with force while continuously raising taxes.
Even the noble himself thought the country was falling apart.
“Why do you stop talking mid-sentence?”
The emperor’s shout snapped the noble out of his thoughts.
Seeing the emperor’s wild eyes, the noble hurriedly continued.
“The- the rumors say the reason for the recovery is because of the princess! There’s talk that she possesses the power of healing. Because of that, she has quickly gained a solid base of supporters within Xieman.”
“That wench, healing powers?”
The emperor scoffed.
There’s no way that could be true.
She was a pitiful b*tch who couldn’t even do her own duties properly, too afraid to even lift her head in his presence.
An ungrateful wench who didn’t appreciate the kindness she had been shown.
She had tried to tarnish his honor and life, and in the end, she stole the Empress from him.
There was no way such a filthy, useless creature could be blessed by the gods.
There wasn’t a shred of holiness in her dirty blood.
‘Do you remember that wretched, filthy face that didn’t resemble royalty at all?’
No amount of decoration could change that pathetic appearance.
It was obvious that Xieman had dressed her up somehow.
‘Why Xieman went to such lengths to embellish her, I have no idea.’
Those barbaric tribes could have any woman they wanted.
He had watched her, but that sewer rat had never shown any useful qualities.
If she really had healing powers, she would have used them on herself or tried to show him to gain his favor.
After all, she had been desperate for his approval, always trying to win him over!
She wouldn’t have hidden it from him.
Had she shown it, he might have found a way to use that sewer rat in a more valuable, useful way.
“B*llsh*it. The rumors are surely distorted. Do you believe the words of those barbarians?”
