NOVGO.NET Chapter 529: Why should I be quiet?
Chapter 529: Why should I be quiet?
“Now,
Please ask your questions.”
Kael spoke as he stared at the crowd.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Ten thousand people stood in the cold, staring at him as if the air itself had turned into glass. A few opened their mouths, then closed them again. Some looked at the Elders on the platform. Some looked at Morvain. Some turned in the direction of the quarter that had been assigned to the Stonefangs, as if they could already see ghosts walking through its streets.
Kael didn’t move either, he didn’t glare at anyone, neither did he threaten them. He could tell that these people were hesitating, probably because of what he had done today, or maybe because they were overwhelmed. There could be many reasons, but the fact remained the same—
People were hesitating, which might be a good thing since the fewer the questions, the faster he could move on, but—
Kael wasn’t a tyrant.
He didn’t want obedience built from fear. The urgency had forced his hand, yes. The decisions made today were made quickly, forcefully too.
But if people had genuine doubts, Kael wanted them spoken out loud.
Therefore, he waited.
For the people to calm down and let go of their hesitation.
And slowly, the crowd began to feel it.
They began to realize that he wasn’t trying to silence them now.
He was giving them a chance.
A man near the middle finally cleared his throat. He raised his hand halfway, unsure, then lifted it higher when Kael’s eyes landed on him.
“Lord Kael.”
He began in a shaky voice.
“The five-household rule… if I need to visit my mother in another quarter… do I need those five names every time?”
“The arrangements will be done so the immediate family members are almost always in the same quarters.”
Kael answered immediately.
“What about… those who are not immediate family or just friends?”
“You can request a change of quarters if you desire, but yes, I understand your question and your intent. You fear this might affect people’s personal relationships.”
The man nodded slowly.
“It will definitely make movement slower.”
Kael admitted.
“But that is the point. We are doing this because we are trying to control chaos. We are not closing the quarters. If the person you wish to visit lives in another quarter, you can still visit. You will just do it properly. You will enter with consent. You will leave with consent. And no one will be able to say you sneaked in to start trouble.
And again, keep in mind that these rules are temporary. Once things calm down, these extreme rules will be lifted.”
Kael answered. The man nodded at his words, not fully happy, but… satisfied enough.
Just then—
“What about the tribunal?”
Another voice was heard, this time, it was a woman.
“You said judgment will be served in one hearing. What if someone lies? What if someone is framed? How can everything be investigated thoroughly like you said in one hearing?”
She asked with a suspicious look on her face.
“You leave that to me.”
Kael answered confidently.
“I give you my word that no one will be punished unjustly. If there is a single lie told—”
His cold blue eyes began to shine and—
“—I will know.”
He answered. His words were so… oddly reassuring that the woman lowered her hand on her own and nodded softly.
“What if they refuse to work?”
Then, a broad-shouldered man asked in a rough voice.
“What if they become deadweight and we are forced to feed them anyway?”
A few people murmured agreement. That fear was common.
Kael looked at him for a moment, he had already made this clear in the rules, but for now, he decided to play along.
“Work duty applies to everyone. If anyone refuses, then as mentioned in the rules, their household ration will be cut for a short period and their duty will double. And if someone refuses again and again, they will be confined and put to hard labor.
No one will be allowed to sit idle while others carry the city.
This includes them.”
He repeated those words, his eyes never leaving the man, and the man in question lowered his head.
Kael let go of the matter, not pointing out how he had to repeat the same thing again.
The questions kept coming. People asked about mediator stations. About the duty marks. About what counted as intimidation. About the quarter watch posts.
Kael answered their questions briefly, in a calm, direct way. Some of those questions were answered by the Council Elders according to their field of authority.
The entire process was much smoother than what the elders were expecting, and just when things seemed good, just when it felt like they might actually be able to end this peacefully—
That was when Draksis stepped forward.
The previous Council Elder had been quiet again, watching the way Kael answered, watching how the people’s fear softened into thoughts, and he… he did not like that sight.
He narrowed his eyes, and the instant he found a small opening—
“You said you will bring the Stonefangs today,”
He asked in a loud, clear voice.
“Was that the truth?”
At those words, the square stiffened again. Even the Elders seemed a little tense. It would have been fine if someone else had asked this instead, but when it was Draksis…
They could sense his… intentions.
Kael, however, just turned his head slightly and looked at the previous Council Member.
“Yes,”
He answered.
At those words, Draksis’s eyes sharpened further.
“Then you must have already made arrangements, have you not?”
He asked.
“Moving a thousand people without the other tribes noticing… without chaos at the gates… without confusion inside the city… I assume that cannot be done without preparations.”
Kael didn’t deny it.
“Yes, that is true as well.”
A faint wave moved through the crowd. People looked at each other, the meaning of those words settling in.
Draksis’s mouth curved slightly.
“So everything was prepared beforehand,”
The previous Council Elder said slowly, then, he looked right into Kael’s eyes and—
“That means you never intended to give the people an option to refuse, did you?”
He spoke, and this time, the crowd reacted strongly. Faces changed. Eyes widened.
The anger that had been cooling… flared again.
Kael’s gaze turned colder. He stared at Draksis for a long moment. For a moment, he didn’t understand if this man was doing it out of concern for his people or… was he just being petty now.
But right now, he didn’t have time to waste on these questions.
“As I said before,”
He answered in a low voice.
“I did what had to be done.”
He lifted his chin slightly as he looked into the man’s eyes.
“This is an emergency. We did not have time to consider every single thing. We did not have time to argue while the enemy gathered.”
Draksis, however, didn’t stop.
He pressed forward.
“So you did not even consider the opinion of the people you call yours?”
He asked as he lifted his eyebrows.
His words sounded sweet, but Kael could sense the ugly intent behind them and it made him narrow his eyes. Lavinia was no exception either; she too could see what the elder was trying to do.
But before she or Kael could say anything—
Another sharp and… offended voice was heard.
“How is it still hard to understand?”
The voice asked, attracting all the attention toward her.
“Lord Kael did what was necessary. He has done nothing else since the day he arrived.”
It was Vandra.
And as the people stared at her, she turned her head toward Draksis with a deep frown, and she didn’t come alone. The instant she spoke, more and more voices of those who had clustered near the Faith Tree together with her began as well—
“Yes!”
“He saved us! He fed us! He fought for us!”
“How can you constantly question him!?”
“Are you trying to go against him purposefully!?”
“Is that the reason you were thrown out of the Iron Council?”
“Are you taking revenge because you were thrown out of the Iron Council?”
More and more voices rose, voices that pushed back Draksis’s words and split the crowd—half uneasy, half nodding, some furious, some relieved to hear someone defend Kael before joining in.
Draksis’s jaw tightened at that sight. He could see more and more people looking at him with suspicious looks on their faces, and immediately, he realized this couldn’t go on.
The previous Council Elder instantly turned toward Vandra and—
“You be quiet.”
He snapped.
“You do not understand what you’re saying.”
Vandra tilted her head slightly, as if his anger didn’t impress her at all.
“Why should I be quiet?”
She asked in a steady voice.
“I am as much a Velmourn as you are.
Then how is it that you get to speak, but I do not?”
And she didn’t stop there. Vandra was much more vicious than she let on.
“You hold no seat.
No authority.
No power.
Then what makes you different?
Are you perhaps… suggesting you are superior to us all for some reason?”
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