Gareth, who stood beside Mr. Yu, also walked to Elara's side. While watching the male slave being cursed and mocked by the crowd in the distance, he sighed softly.
"When I first heard that you were implementing a reform system, I was surprised for a long time. But later, after thinking it over carefully, I felt that what you did was right."
"There are many slaves who are born with exceptional talents. Their low status should not cover up their brilliance. Unfortunately, bound by systems and ideas passed down through countless generations, we used to ignore and neglect this fact."
Gareth withdrew his deep red gaze from the distance with regret. Looking at Elara with a gentle expression, admiration and delight flickered in his eyes.
"It was not until I saw you break the ancient shackles that I suddenly realized how much we had missed. Unfortunately, we and most other nations do not have the opportunity to break and rebuild like Plumera. The old systems are already solid as mountains, and the cost of reshaping them is too high."
Back when Mr. Yu and Leif witnessed Elara abolish the old system and slavery in Marigold City and implement a new system of equality regardless of status, they were extremely surprised at first. Then they became eager to see how she would develop this completely unprecedented system that the entire continent had never seen before.
Whether it was the rapid prosperity of Marigold City or how she used that foundation to swiftly sweep north to Plumera City and ascend the throne as emperor, then quickly revived the capital with the same strategy.
Even though her new system had only just begun and had not yet reached its peak, Mr. Yu, Leif, and Gareth were all intelligent people. Which of them could not see that under her new system, Plumera had already regained vitality far beyond the past?
Just from the massive changes in Plumera alone, they had to admit that Elara was right.
Especially Leif.
Before being recognized by Sargassum, Leif had lived his first sixteen years entirely as a slave.
He understood too well the cruelty inflicted on slaves in this era and knew all too well the misery and sorrow of being one.
So when he witnessed Elara abolishing slavery, even though he did not yet know how she would implement her ideas, he could not help but feel drawn to her.
Afterward, when he saw that Elara was not just making promises, but truly removed all slave statuses and gave them a chance to live again as ordinary people, no one knew how deeply moved Leif was. They only knew that he began looking toward Plumera more and more often.
The slaves in Plumera were luckier than him.
If only he had met Elara back then, perhaps he and his pitiful, tragic father would not have died so miserably. Perhaps his childhood would not have been so painful.
That was why among the three of them, Leif was probably the first to feel a sense of affection for Elara and Plumera.
Because of that, later on, he personally invited the Bai Family's Business into his Zhaiyun Pavilion. He was willing to trade at the lowest price and even let the Bai Family use the trade routes his pavilion had painstakingly established over many years.
After Mr. Yu left Marigold City, Gareth heard about Plumera from him. So he also used some family resources and began to follow Plumera's developments together with Mr. Yu.
The more they observed the changes in Plumera, the more they realized that in every aspect, things were going even better than they had expected.
Mr. Yu even began to consider abolishing slavery and reforming the structures within his own nation.
But unfortunately, although Dahlia is currently a powerful country among the third-tier nations, that strength was built on its ancient systems.
Unlike Plumera, which had been completely broken and rebuilt by Elara, Dahlia's old system was its foundation. Before meeting Elara, they had never questioned those deeply rooted traditions.
Now, even though they had a revelation, there were too many entrenched and powerful clans within Dahlia that were founded on those ancient principles.
That included Gareth and Giles's family.
So even if Mr. Yu could be ruthless, and Gareth and Giles could follow his reforms, there were still many noble families in Dahlia. All of their interests were tied to those ancient foundations.
They would never allow Mr. Yu and the Gareth family to make changes without consequence. If forced, they would choose mutual destruction and drag Dahlia into chaos and decline.
Therefore, no matter how much Mr. Yu admired Elara, and no matter how much Gareth praised her, Dahlia could not currently reform like Plumera.
If they wanted to change without severely harming the nation, it would have to happen slowly over ten or even dozens of years through subtle and gradual influence.
While Gareth was saying these things, Emory and Mr. Gong behind Elara said nothing.
One was a direct beneficiary of the new system that abolished slavery. The other was a personal witness of it. They had both seen and experienced the changes in Plumera firsthand, far more deeply than Mr. Yu and Gareth.
Mr. Gong and Emory silently looked toward Elara.
Emory's eyes were complex. If he were not burdened by blood-deep revenge, Plumera was indeed a place he would be willing to settle in. If he could survive after fulfilling his revenge, he thought he might be willing to return to Plumera, buy a house, and live out the rest of his life there.
Mr. Gong, on the other hand, was filled with gratitude. Without Elara, he might have died long ago, let alone pursued revenge or risen to his current position.
No matter what Elara asked him to do, he would do it seriously and meticulously, giving it his all.
To repay even a drop of kindness with a spring in return was the ancestral teaching of the Gong family, and Mr. Gong had memorized it since childhood.
Her kindness toward him was as great as rebirth itself, so no matter what happened in the future, Mr. Gong would always follow her and do everything she wanted.
While everyone had different emotions, a new situation unfolded ahead in the circle surrounded by merchants from various nations.
The male slave, who had not been moved even when five attendants pushed him together, under the scornful gazes of the onlookers and the equally contemptuous look from the steward, presented the scrolls he had carefully held in his arms:
"If you think I have insulted the entrance of the Gathering Pavilion, I will not enter. But these scrolls contain the insights I gained after studying major historical books and sacred texts for over ten years. The thoughts written here come from ancient sages. I am a slave, but knowledge has no hierarchy. I hope the Gathering Pavilion will not hesitate to read them."
The male slave's voice was firm and clear. The surrounding contempt, ridicule, and curses seemed to leave no trace on him.
He stared directly at the Gathering Pavilion, holding up his scrolls high.
Unfortunately, to those around him who didn't even regard him as human, his persistence was nothing more than a foolish joke and a sign of not knowing his place.
"Hahaha, this is hilarious. What did that slave say? He actually claims to have studied the sages' classics for over ten years? Does he think those books are for people like him? This is an insult to learning and a disgrace to the sages."
"Exactly. Does he really think he understands the ancient texts? He even wrote his own reflections? Reflections on what? His life as a slave?"
"This is truly disgraceful. If the Gathering Pavilion dares to accept his bamboo scrolls today, they can forget about recruiting any scholars in the future. No nobles will ever come here again. Who would want to work with a slave? They might as well put him in a pigsty."
The spectators wore clothing from all parts of the continent, showing their various origins, yet their views on slaves were surprisingly consistent.
Slaves were not people. They were lowly and disposable, no different from animals.
Could animals read books? Of course not. That would be a humiliation to the sages.
The steward in front of the Gathering Pavilion looked even more disgusted. He strode to the male slave, reached out to touch the scrolls, and with a sudden movement, flung them aside.
The neatly stacked scrolls scattered onto the muddy ground, their clean surfaces stained with filth.
Pointing at the stunned male slave, the steward shouted again, "Get out. Take these disgraceful things and leave. What do you think you are? You dare to bring up the sages in front of the Gathering Pavilion? Let me tell you, leave now or I'll report you to the authorities and have you beaten to death like a rebellious slave."
The attendants started pushing the male slave again, not caring about the scrolls on the ground. They stepped on them, breaking several bamboo strips.
Finally, the male slave moved. He bent down to pick up the scrolls, but just as he lowered his body, a hidden force struck the back of his legs.
With a muffled sound, he collapsed to his knees.
The crowd roared with laughter.
The male slave had stayed stiff like a rock, unaffected by insults and humiliation, which had bored the crowd.
Now that he finally knelt down, it felt satisfying. The mockery around him grew even louder.
From a distance, Elara observed everything. She looked toward the rooftop of an inn in the southeast corner.
After practicing martial arts, her senses had become sharp. She clearly sensed the internal force that had just been released. It came from the rooftop of that inn.
But when she looked up, she only saw a flash of a disappearing figure.
Elara narrowed her eyes. She clearly saw a token on the waist of the vanishing figure.
It was a dark red token with the character for "death" written on it. She had seen the same token on the assassins from the Blood Garment Tower that Lord Gregory once hired during the sacrificial ceremony to kill her.
The Blood Garment Tower was a second-tier power on the continent. They had come to the Banquet of Nations too?
Elara frowned slightly and watched the direction where the Blood Garment Tower assassin disappeared.
In the crowd, the male slave, who had been struck by the Blood Garment Tower's internal force and could now be pushed by the attendants, struggled to pick up every last piece of his broken scrolls.
Covered in dirt, he got up, and under the attendants' kicks and shoves, silently left the Gathering Pavilion.