Lilia completely ignored her sister's warning.
She slowly knelt in the loose dust, uncaring that her expensive, embroidered royal dress was being stained by the harsh frontier soil.
She looked at the boy at eye level, keeping her posture non-threatening. "What's your name?" she asked softly.
The boy defiantly spat into the dirt near her knee, his breathing ragged. "Kai."
"Why do you call us murderers, Kai?"
Lilia asked, her voice completely devoid of aristocratic anger, filled only with a profound, aching sadness that resonated through the quiet outpost.
The boy tried to violently wrench himself free from the elders' heavy grip, his eyes welling with angry, hot tears.
"Because you killed my mother! The Empire killed her!"
"But we've never been to this place before—"
Leon began defensively, stepping forward to protect the regime's reputation, but Commander Vior instantly placed a heavy, armored hand onto his shoulder, silencing the young apprentice instantly.
The Commander shook her head slowly, her expression incredibly grim.
"My mother got the cold, coughing sickness because we don't have enough clean water here!"
Kai sobbed openly, his ferocious anger finally giving way to raw, agonizing pain as he slumped forward.
"The village elder said we needed a real doctor to save her. But there are no doctors here! The closest apothecary is located in the provincial city."
"We didn't have horses to ride."
"We didn't have money for the jorney in the roads! I carried her myself on a wooden cart that I borrowed from a neighbor for two straight days..."
"But...but when we finally arrived there... we couldn't even pay the city gate guards to let us in without an official permit from the registry!"
Kai looked up, his face heavily streaked with tears and dirt, staring directly into Lilia's very soul.
"She died right outside the city walls. In the freezing mud. While your imperial guards laughed and threw their leftover bread to the city dogs!"
"The elder told us we must wait for the Empire to build us a deep well, but until my mom got sick and died, that well was never here!!"
"You sit in your golden castle while we die because of the lack of clean water and a single copper coin! I hate you! I hate the Empire! I hate the Royalty!"
The silence that followed his declaration was suffocating.
The dry wind howled loudly through the gaps in the stone wall, carrying the distant, war horn from the deep Forden plains, but absolutely no one in the outpost moved a single inch.
Leon slowly lowered his head, his hand falling completely away from his sword hilt.
For all his rigorous training regarding the absolute glory and honor of Regalia, nothing had prepared him for the crushing weight of a child's raw grief caused by the very empire he'd sworn an oath to protect.
Princess Maria turned her gaze away toward the horizon, looking suddenly uncomfortable, her glass of plum wine completely forgotten in her hand.
Vior stepped up directly beside Lilia, her voice dropping into a low, rumbly tone.
"This is the true face of the frontier, Princess."
"The Forden barbarians kill us quickly with their axes. The bureaucracy of the capital kills us slowly with neglect."
"I've buried far more people here because of sickness and fever than from the sharpness of the enemy blades."
Lilia closed her eyes tightly for a brief moment, absorbing the boy's words. When she opened them, the naive, sheltered girl who'd left the capital that morning was gone forever.
She reached out, gently placing her bare hand over Kai's small, trembling fist. The boy flinched at the physical contact but didn't pull away from her warmth.
"I'm truly sorry, Kai."
"I can't bring your mother back to life."
Lilia said, her voice completely steady, echoing with a quiet, unyielding power that surprised even Commander Vior.
"And I won't insult you by asking you to forgive the Empire that failed her so completely. You have every single right to hate us."
She stood up slowly, turning her back to the carriage to face the village elders, Vior, and the gathering crowd of silent onlookers.
"Leon," Lilia commanded, her tone sharp and absolute.
"Yes, Your Highness?" Leon stepped forward instantly, striking his armored chest piece in a formal military salute.
"Empty the imperial carriage's supply chests immediately."
"All the grain reserves, all the sealed barrels of fresh water, and the crates containing medical supplies and clean clothing we brought for the journey."
"Distribute everything to every family gathered here. Now."
Leon blinked in sheer astonishment, his jaw dropping slightly as he shifted his gaze from the young princess to the large box of imperial supplies stowed inside the supply carriage.
"But Princess, that leaves us with absolutely nothing for the return trip through the dangerous mountain pass—"
His frantic words were instantly cut off by Lilia's firm, unyielding tone.
"Is my voice too quiet, Soldier? We can easily purchase all the necessary supplies once our party reaches the provincial town."
"Even without eating a thing. We can still hold out for a few days since our bellies are already full. Am I right?"
Lilia's sharp eyes radiated an intense imperial authority that perfectly mirrored her father's legendary presence.
Yet, at the same time, they also held a deep, genuine warmth that had long since vanished from the Emperor himself.
"Right away, ma'am!"
Leon replied instantly, snapping his boots together as a sudden, fierce pride swelled deep within his chest, completely replacing his previous hesitation.
He immediately hurried to the rear of the carriage to execute the order.
His movements were filled with a newfound sense of righteous purpose as he began unloading the heavy crates of grain and fresh water for the desperate citizens.
Lilia then turned her gaze away from the bustling soldiers and looked directly at the battle-hardened veteran standing beside her.
"Commander Vior, the very moment we return to the capital, I will ask father to personally launch a full-scale royal inquiry into the frontier defense and regional infrastructure funds."
"If my father won't look at the decay of the border, I'll force him to."