Extra: Yandere Milfs Obsessed with me!-Chapter 213: Delicate hortensia of the duchy Valerius

The Elven domain is divided into two distinct kingdoms: the elves of Yggdrasil, a lush and verdant territory, and that of Babylon, an essentially industrial zone even though between the two territories there was a vast and rather mysterious forest that separated them and therefore if one wanted to pass from one zone to the other, it was preferable to go by sea... Apart from Ragnar who had survived for years in a cabin in this forest, the survival percentage was very low, it is said to be due to an abnormal concentration of elemental mana...

The Theocratic Empire of Alexandria presented itself as a model of purity and order. The bells of the Holy Cathedral in the distance at Sky City set the rhythm of the days, sacred banners floated over every public square and statues of the Seraphs dominated the crossroads.

However, behind this religious facade, the daily reality of the commoners was quite different.

In the popular quarters of the capital as well as in the duchies, the streets were narrow, the buildings old and poorly maintained. Workshops opened even before dawn with artisans, dockworkers, day laborers worked to exhaustion to earn a few copper coins.

Even if it was harsh, it was much less bad than for the commoners who lived in rural areas, peasants working the land relentlessly or in the factories.

One morning, near the southern market, two men were talking while loading sacks of flour.

"Have you paid the protection tax?" asked the older one.

"You’re kidding, man," replied the other through clenched teeth. "As if we had a choice."

The protection tax was officially intended to fund the knights capable of containing a rift if one appeared in the city. Unofficially, it mostly reminded the commoners of their position. Because when a rift opened, only nobles trained in Aura or gifted with magical talents were allowed to intervene. They alone had received the education, training and resources necessary to counter them. Even though the commoners had to pay, they were the ones who died much more often as human shields.

As if that were not enough, the Holy Cathedral collected the tithe. A fixed percentage on incomes that were already meager.

In an adjacent alley, a woman was talking with a plump priest who had come to collect the contributions. This pig had traveled many kilometers from Sky City to here, just to bother a woman who was already destitute.

"Father, I implore the mercy of the angels... My son is sick," she said in a weary voice. "I cannot give more this week."

The priest replied without raising his voice:

"Faith demands sacrifices. The Seraphs watch over those who give with sincerity. Do you think the angels were resting when they fought the demons for us?"

"Father... I beg you..."

The priest crossed his hands behind his back while narrowing his eyes.

"Your faith has weakened in recent months, my daughter. Have you been approached by those vile—"

Before he could finish, she finally held out the coins. She did not have the strength to argue, after all she was on the verge of being accused of heresy and even though she gave the 20 copper coins that her husband had hardly earned the day before, in that shitty factory...

"At least our heads won’t be on the guillotine." She murmured as cold sweat ran down her back.

...

Thus, the commoner population was gradually dividing into two categories.

On one side, the convinced fanatics. Those who repeated that the angels were benevolent, that the Seraphs had a higher plan. They asked no questions and accepted their condition thinking that their obedience would be rewarded after death.

Believing that paradise exists... Nothing in their moldy minds ever questioned the scriptures, anyway it was a vicious circle.

Religious people are mostly the poorest and did not have the adequate education to think logically and they too produce children as stupid as them. The powerful only have to use religion as a tool of manipulation.

Paradise did exist indeed, but the reality of what it was was very different from what these priests sold, and besides, even if a life after death exists nothing prevents us from improving our current existence...

In a dark tavern, a man raised his glass.

"If the Seraphs blessed the legendary families, it’s because they have their reasons. We are not worthy, that’s all."

A few heads nodded.

But at the other table, a group of young workers exchanged bitter looks.

"Not worthy?" murmured one of them. "We work harder than them and we pay for their wars."

"If the Seraphs are so benevolent, why did they bless Dantalion and Pendragon, and not us?"

"Maybe the Holy Cathedral manipulates everything," added a third. "Maybe they control the accounts of the millennial war, if it even took place."

A silence followed.

They were not yet ready to conclude that angels and demons were the same hypocrites. This idea remained dangerous, under penalty of being heretics. However, many had come to think that the Holy Cathedral distorted reality to keep the population under control.

The recent tensions between the two legendary families, Dantalion and Pendragon, had not helped matters.

At the southern market, an old woman sighed upon hearing rumors.

"They are going to fight each other again," she said. "And it’s us who are going to suffer everything."

Her neighbor nodded.

"Our lives are already hard enough. We just hope not to end up crushed when they decide to kill each other. This tension is already causing inflation."

Overall, most nobles inspired only contempt. Arrogant, disconnected, protected by their lineages and their magical talents, they lived in opulence while the population survived.

There were however some exceptions.

"If all nobles were like Duchess Dyana, we wouldn’t have so much hatred in this country."

Beside her, a young boy added:

"And the Valerius family too. They are not like the others."

Duchess Dyana was known for her kindness and her concrete actions in favor of the poor neighborhoods. She funded dispensaries, reduced certain local taxes and intervened personally during crises. She was therefore very loved, the same was true for their long-time ally, the Valerius duchy, who lived in the delicate hortensia of the duchy...

Scarlet Valerius.