Elena and Tess stayed by Liv’s side the entire time.
Elena did not understand why Liv had suddenly been overcome with such sorrow.
Tess, however, knew exactly why.
In the past, she had never felt there was anything remarkable about the brief, decades-long lifespans of humans.
But that day, when she saw a frail father stand before a machete to protect his wife and daughter—and a mother stand before a musket to shield her child—she felt, from the bottom of her heart, that she had been wrong.
And when that group of “mobs” was driven before the city walls, when a man raised his hands high to denounce the injustice while an old man beside him prayed silently for a fallen companion…
She felt, from the bottom of her heart, that they should not have to be “remarkable” in such a way.
They deserved peaceful, ordinary days.
Lorenzo Green also deserved those ordinary days, but he was already “dead.”
Could Liv still obtain such a peaceful life?
Only the heavens knew.
Elena tried to comfort Liv.
“Miss Liv, this isn’t your fault. It’s the fault of Domenico and his people. It’s the Council’s problem. Next time, just instruct the Elves to transport the grain ourselves and sell it to the commoners at a fair price.”
Tess sighed softly in her mind.
‘Elena… for her to be promoted, how much effort will it take to educate her? She is simply too naive.’
After a long while, as Liv sat on the pier letting the wind blow against her, her tears gradually dried.
The damp sea breeze, which originally carried a slight saltiness, now held the faint, lingering scent of decaying corpses.
Liv gradually recovered.
On the surface, she seemed to be foolishly lost in the aftermath of her weeping, but in reality, her mind was racing as she planned her next move.
“Elena, I just happened to take over the Shipbuilding Bureau. Why don’t you transfer to my department to be a Section Chief? No, Section Chief is too slow. How can you progress like that? Why don’t you just become a Vice-Director?”
“Don’t be surprised, Elena. When Julia promoted me, I was made a Vice-Director immediately as well.”
Liv deliberately avoided mentioning Lorenzo Green’s former position as a Section Chief.
She had truly wanted to say it.
Tess expressed her opposition.
“No. Liv, Elena cannot have an excessively deep relationship with the Elves. If her record of working under Elves all this time is made public, it will be very difficult to handle later.”
“I suggest that through Domenico, we entrust Elena to Emilia, who is in charge of the Navy. This will be very beneficial for her resume. Emilia is a confidant of the Governor, but not of Domenico. Practically no one could find fault with it.”
Liv was dismissive.
She felt that in the current climate, a resume showing one was promoted by Elves was something many people would practically beg for.
“Perhaps we should let Elena decide. Let’s respect her own opinion.”
Elena, being put on the spot, finally found the courage to speak her mind.
“Liv, Tess… I want to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau. I want to personally participate in the allocation of grain. I want to see exactly how they managed to speculate the price of grain to over 100 Grosso a barrel, making it so people can’t afford to eat at all.”
The Civil Affairs Bureau.
Lorenzo Green had spent two years there.
“My former classmate was there. He was finally promoted with great difficulty, and I’m sure he wanted to prove himself. But in the end… if he were still here, he would never have stood for such ridiculous things.”
“So, I want to take up his torch and finish what he wanted to do. Liv, please, speak with Lady Julia and let me go to the Civil Affairs Bureau. I heard that after Lorenzo died, the position of First Section Chief remained vacant.”
“I want to go.”
The sun dipped into the west, and ships returned to the harbor to rest.
The sound of sailors’ horns announced the end of a day’s labor.
However, among them, how many sailors would be able to afford today’s bread after disembarking?
Many sailors even prayed for dangerous, long-distance voyages.
Only then could they buy enough food to fill their bellies from distant supply points or ports—and bring a bit more back for their families.
At this critical juncture, none of these people wanted to speculate or exchange their grain for money.
Because the money exchanged for a bag of grain today might not even buy half a bag tomorrow.
There was no need to go ashore to the grain shops to ask the prices; that was merely asking for trouble.
One only had to look at the pale, bloated corpses being pushed aside by the ships’ bows to know everything.
Liv stared at those ships for a long, long time.
“Alright, Elena. I promise you. I will get you into the Civil Affairs Bureau to succeed your classmate and finish what he left undone. He would be very happy.”
Elena smiled brightly.
“Liv, you always make me feel so close to you. Just like… like you’re Lorenzo’s sister. Haha, just kidding. How could that idiot Lorenzo have an Elf sister?”
Liv did not cry again.
Instead, she looked at Elena tenderly.
“I think he would have wanted such a silly sister, too.”
Tess remained silent to the side, fiddling with a seashell she had just picked up from the beach.
She watched Liv out of the corner of her eye.
Because there were always others around, she had no chance to give Liv a hug.
But she knew that Liv desperately wanted someone to hold her right now.
These scars were being peeled back over and over again in the gentlest way possible, yet Liv still had to pretend as if nothing was wrong.
If Julia were here, she would surely say again that this was a necessary part of growth—something everyone had to experience.
What was she playing at with such pretentious talk?
But Tess also knew that Julia wasn’t just being pretentious.
Before coming to the Republic, Tess had thoroughly investigated the background of Lorenzo Green’s superior.
Julia’s current, almost performative political persona stemmed from the nightmares of her childhood.
Back then, she was very small.
Her mother was still alive, and her father was not the political fanatic he was today.
Unfortunately, none of it could ever come back.
Tess sighed.
The short life of a human could actually contain so many upheavals occurring in such a brief span of time.
And then, they could actually endure and keep going, even if they alienated themselves into a version of themselves they could have never imagined.
It seemed that she was currently the most optimistic one after all.
Tess stood up and said, “It’s all settled then. Let Elena go to the Civil Affairs Bureau. Come on, let’s go eat. It’s my treat today.”
Tess walked in front, noticing that the restaurants along the seaside boulevard all had notices posted on their doors.
They were nothing more than announcements that they temporarily would not provide staples, or that customers were welcome to bring their own, or that if they brought their own rice or wheat flour, the shop would process it and guarantee there would be no short-changing on weight.
Tess finally chose a fried fish shop.
As they sat down, a waiter immediately hurried over and asked, “Ladies, what would you like to eat?”
Tess began to order.
“A fried fish platter. Three lemonades. And a dish of pickles and cream each.”
“Right away. However, our fried fish isn’t coated in flour anymore. If you’re worried it might be fried a bit too tough, you can order a few eggs. We can coat them in egg wash before frying; it’ll make them more tender.”
“Fine, just do whatever you think is best.”
“Understood!”
After ordering, Elena looked at the waiter, feeling rather surprised.
“Right now, olive oil and eggs aren’t considered expensive, but flour is actually gone.”
Speaking of which, Tess became very curious.
“Elena, your income isn’t that high, right? What do you do for food these days?”
Elena chuckled.
“Doesn’t my family like to hoard all kinds of vegetables? Right now, I rely on stews to stay full. Since I still have quite a bit of olive oil hoarded, I don’t really feel hungry.”
Liv wanted to say she could provide her with more flour.
But the words reached her lips and were swallowed back down.
Doing so would make Elena feel like she was some disgusting noble who could still obtain grain during these hard times.
It would be better to donate some grain to her alleyway in the name of the consulate; that way, she could get a share as well.
Liv sighed inwardly.
The grain Lady Julia provided was more than enough for the two of them and the maids, but if she truly tried to distribute it, it wouldn’t be enough for many people.
The true grain hoarders were likely neither the Elves nor Julia.
Those people were the true shadow cabinet of Landinsett.
The fried fish was served.
As expected, it hadn’t been breaded with flour, so it lacked much of the aroma of a staple food.
The three of them quickly began eating, dipping the fish in cream and wrapping it with pickles.
Normally, fried fish was very greasy, and girls usually couldn’t finish it—especially a large platter.
But this time, the fried fish was almost entirely consumed.
They didn’t even spare the pickles or the cream.
After Elena confirmed that Liv and Tess were done, she used her fork to scrape the last bit of cream into her mouth, bit by bit.
Outside the door, the sailors gradually disembarked and began to search for food.
One wondered what they would find to eat.
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