Building a World Class Empire in another World-Chapter 26: Building the wall Part 4

The lady sat on his bed, her eyes snapped to Aric as soon as he walked in. It was evident that she was still scared. Aric walked to her carefully and placed the cup of noodles near her and the dress beside her.

"You don't have to worry, everything that I got for you is completely safe," he assured her. She stared at the cup of noodles, the beautiful smell wafting into her nose.

She hadn't eaten in days, so there was no way she could resist, even though she had never laid eyes on this sort of food before.

But she had used a fork before, and she could imagine how this would work. She fetched the noodles with her fork and took them to her mouth, eating without a moment of hesitation.

She didn't even flinch at the heat, which showed Aric just how hungry she was. Immediately after tasting the first bite, she started rushing through it as fast as she could, not pausing for even a second.

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In a few minutes, the cup was empty. She placed it on the ground and stared at Aric.

"I'll get you more later, but before that, you need to rest, and I also have some questions," Aric said. The mention of getting her more noodles excited her, but she didn't show it.

"So what's your name?" he asked. She stared at him for a while before speaking.

"My name is Elisa Astrid. I am from the family of a fallen Baron Astrid, in the kingdom of Aragon," she said, giving Aric a little more detail than he had asked for.

But what she said intrigued him, so he decided to ask more. "What do you mean by fallen Baron? Does it mean your family somehow lost everything and lost its nobility as well?" Aric asked.

Elisa looked hesitant to talk, but after a pause, she let out a tired sigh and spoke. "It is common information in my hometown, so there is no point in hiding it.

My father's lands started becoming barren and unproductive. He was suffering heavy losses, and people were moving to other towns.

He was faced with the choice of marrying me off to the son of a Duke or using the Noble's Duel. My father loved me too much, and he knew of the things the Duke's son did to women.

So he swore to never let that happen, and so he called for the Noble's Duel," she said. Her face became very sad when she reached that point, her lips trembling.

"It's fine if you don't want to tell me about that," Aric said.

"No, it's fine. You did save my life, and I have been nothing but trouble so far," she said. "The Noble's Duel is a duel that a noble family can call for once every generation.

It is a duel fought by the leader to gain a favor from the king, and the king is bound by law to honor your wish, even if it meant him forfeiting the throne.

But in all honesty, all nobles know that the duel is nothing but a losing game. In all of history, there has only ever been one person to win the duel, and even that is believed to be a rumor meant to make nobles think it was possible.

The duel worked simply: no matter your wish, big or small, if you lose the duel, you will die, and your family and nobility will be dissolved.

The men that fight for the king are his strongest champions, trained specifically for this duel. There was no defeating them.

But my father, he was a fighter. He didn't just want to sit and watch until everything vanished, and he didn't want to give me away, so he decided to fight the duel.

My two brothers and I begged him and tried to sway him, but he refused to back down, saying his pride and name were on the line. I even offered to marry the Duke's son of my own will, but he refused, saying I was only doing it for him.

My father walked into the arena of the duel on that day, and the champion rose to fight him. But it was not a fight—it was an extermination. A single slash was all it took, and my father was dead.

According to the laws of the duel, his body would be left for the ravens and vultures to eat. There would be no burial.

After his death and the dissolving of our family, both my brothers decided to join the army, and I decided to be an adventurer," she finished talking and then looked Aric in the eye.

"I don't even know why I am telling you all this. I guess I needed someone to talk to and get things off my chest. Thank you," she said.

"No, it should be me thanking you for sharing such a painful experience with me. I'll remember all you said forever," Aric said and got up. "You should dress up. I'll be leaving now. I'll bring more food later," he said and started walking out.

"She was jealous, you know? When you hugged me. The elf. I think you should talk to her. That should help," Elisa said.

Aric heard her. He flashed a smile and nodded before walking out. When he stepped outside, he saw that the goblins had made progress across the stream, but now they were waiting for Aric to make more planks.

"Alright, let's get this whole thing over with," Aric said and picked up his saw, ready to get to work.