Chapter 263 Back to the Palace
After notifying Kellor and making their way back to the Kingdom of Lanthanor, Daneel looked into Faxul's eyes and let out a deep sigh before parting ways with him in the Royal Palace.
This expedition had definitely changed his friend, but he had no idea exactly how and how much.
The feeling he had for the people of the Black Raven Kingdom had clearly been strengthened after witnessing them for himself.
Of course, he had no way of knowing how this would affect the future.
Never did he think there would come a day when he would have to think about taking countermeasures against his closest friend.
Sadly, today was that day. He was not the naïve kid like before who would have trusted in the 'power of friendship' to keep them together. No, how much ever it hurt his heart, he knew that he had to consider the possibility of being backstabbed.
After all, the images of the hundreds of people who had died due to him were still fresh in his mind, no matter how many months had passed since the incident. It was as if their dead eyes were watching his every movement, making sure that he wouldn't act in a way that might cause more people reaching the same fate as them if there was a way to prevent it.
At the last moment before entering his chamber, he said, "Faxul. I repeat what I said before. Harden your heart. A lot more blood will flow. And it is necessary if you do not want even more blood to flow in the long run."
Faxul, who was walking along the corridor to his own room, turned around at these words. Again, without a word, he only nodded and left.
Observing this and entering his room, Daneel collapsed onto the bed. It had been a very tiring expedition, and right now, he felt tired to the bone.
After all, following the system's instructions precisely to escape the traps in the Valley of Mist wasn't simple. They had even had to do it fast without any errors because the Black Raven soldiers had been hot on their tails.
By that point, Daneel had already been very tired due to the stress he felt during the hostage situation. It had actually gone smoothly in the beginning: after threatening the civilians in the restaurants and making all of them leave, he had simply destroyed the foundations using controlled fire to make the entire inn collapse in order to cause a scene and draw the crowds.
After doing so, the problem had arisen when the soldiers had reacted much faster than he imagined. He had almost been unable to hide himself underground before using the clone to hoodwink those watching that the perpetrator was in the middle of the civilians.
During the waiting time, he had even had to teleport underground multiple times as the Black Raven soldiers had kept expanding the space lock trinket around the hostages. Besides, he had also had to be on high alert in case someone decided to check underground for some reason.
He had only gotten a chance to relax when Faxul arrived.
Although the bed was very comfortable and Daneel wished he could fall asleep right away, he grumbled to himself slightly before picking himself up again.
There was a more pressing matter to be settled right now.
It seemed that Faxul was headed to his private training room, which meant that it was finally time to complete the system's development of the 'Human-Beast Link' technique.
...
Seeing the sight in front of her, Helena felt more shocked than any other time in her life.
In front of her stood over 100 people, all looking at her with eyes of hope, as if she was their salvation.
At first, before realizing what their looks meant, she had actually been scared whether they were here to cause trouble. After all, she was just a single weak lady who wouldn't be able to put up a fight even if a dog attacked. Even though the police might try to help her, she might already be dead in case this crowd did try to attack.
Yet, the meaning behind their expressions completely threw her off. How was she supposed to help these people?
"Let me through! Mum, I did it!"
The voice almost startled Helena, who had been completely immersed in the stillness brought on by the utter silence of the group.
Seeing her little daughter sprinting forward towards her while wading through the watching women and men, Helena blurted out, "Dalia, what have you done?! I can't possibly employ these many people!"
This was, of course, true. Although the King might have great plans for her, she was still only a single embroiderer whose love for her work brought out brilliant designs that were applauded by everyone in the Kingdom.
Hearing the admonishment in her Mother's tone, Dalia first frowned slightly. Yet, understanding that an explanation was required, she said, "Mom, they aren't here to work for you! They are here to work WITH you!"
Work with her? What?
Just as she was about to ask her daughter for more details, a bent-over old lady wearing a white silk gown that was exquisitely embroidered with rose petals walked over.
Seeing the wisdom in her eyes that came from her age, Helena respectfully greeted her, saying, "Hello, Madam. I do not know what my daughter has told you, but I simply do not have the money to pay you all. I am sorry if she caused trouble."
Hearing this, the old lady smiled, her wrinkled face lighting up with happiness and the same hope Helena had seen in the faces of the others.
Reaching the doorstep, the old lady first patted Dalia's head sweetly and said, "Your child is wonderful. By a single thought of hers, she has found a way out for all of us. We are all struggling embroidery shops whose orders have dried up because others have started to buy imported goods rather than ours. The traders sell those imported goods both at a cheaper price and with many discounts which draw the people to them. All of us, who have only humbly practiced our creed passed down from our ancestors, are at the stage where we might have to live on the streets if something doesn't change soon."
Hearing the plight of the people in the group in front of her, Helena sighed and shook her head with remorse. She knew exactly how it must feel to have no other option but to give up the business which was now their life and pride.
"Where do I come into this?", she asked, as the old lady paused to wet her lips.
"You don't know your status right now. Anything with your name sells like hotcakes. Do you know that there are people who set up shop with goods made by you and are selling them at prices 10 times greater than what you sold it for? People have even started making copies, but thankfully, none have flooded the market yet. You are something special, Helena. And we want to join with you to borrow that specialty."
"MUM, THEY WANNA SELL THEIR WORK WITH OUR NAME AND GIVE US A PART OF THE PROFIT!"
Unable to hold it in anymore, Dalia screamed out these words before blushing and lowering her head.
As the old lady chuckled, Helena looked on with a shocked expression on her face.
She would be paid just by letting people use her name?
Wasn't that too simple?
No, there was definitely something wrong.
Her tough life had taught her that if something sounded too good to be true, then it probably was. Hence, she put her mind to thinking about everything again.
If she let them use her name…then the people buying would think that she made them.
If so… they would be expecting the same level of attention to detail that had made her famous in the market in the first place.
Yet, if others made the product and it wasn't so…the people would feel cheated.
Angry.
Scammed.
And who would be to blame? Her!
As someone who abhorred such things especially due to her sad past, there was no way Helena could agree to something like this.
Realizing that her daughter had actually brought something like this which had such a looming danger for them, she panicked as she wondered what she could do now.
Would saying no make them angry? After all, hope could turn into desperation and then anger quite easily?
What could she say to diffuse the situation?
As Helena started thinking about how she could phrase the rejection, the old woman continued looking at her with a speculative expression on her face.