At noon on February 8th.

The signalmen evacuated from the front battlefield are rushing to Salvia in a panic. What happened in recent days has brought them to the brink of collapse. Now, returning to the capital with the Wall of Saint Marin has unknowingly become their last hope. However, it will take a few days to reach Salvia.

In the cities behind, people fleeing the war have formed a huge refugee wave, which has become a thorny problem that can no longer be solved at present.

Not to mention the huge enemy army that is so powerful that it makes people tremble. They are spreading rapidly on this land like a plague.

Perhaps it won't be long before it spreads to Salivia.

-

On the same day, the entire city of Salvia, which had been under blockade, regained its former vitality.

In the early morning, when the winter sun was rising, the bells of the Wester Light Tower rang. The residents who were strictly prohibited from going out thought it would be another dead day, but they soon heard shouts coming from the streets.

“Martial law lifted!”

“Martial law has been lifted!”

So on every street, windows were opened one after another, and residents who stuck their heads out could still see soldiers walking on the streets, but now most of them were police forces, and the number of people from the original Storm Special Combat Team was obviously much smaller.

And then they heard a new voice:

"Your Majesty will hold a rally at Saint-Marie Square at 2 p.m."

When such shouts rang out throughout Salivia, the people opened their locked doors, rushed out in a mess, and then began to communicate enthusiastically with each other.

In fact, the lifting of martial law will not reduce their panic too much, because the war on the front line is not going well, and the bad news that keeps coming in has made everyone feel the crisis. At this moment when everyone is in danger, the negative comments that keep circulating in the city make them even more panicked, which has led some people to question the government.

Especially after the Storm Special Combat Team took over the city's security, these direct troops of the emperor were on the streets day and night, stomping their leather boots loudly and arresting rebels with gloomy faces, and the methods they used were so harsh that made people tremble all over.

People couldn't even figure out whether those who were arrested were rebels or not, because they always cried out miserably that they were arrested by mistake.

If there were only a few people, it might have been just the rebels' excuse. But when more and more people were taken away wailing, or beaten to death on the spot and thrown into carriages like dead dogs, it really made people suspicious. Maybe those people were not all rebels.

When the suspicion reaches a certain level, more and more people feel uneasy and fearful. This fear comes from the threat from the enemy on the one hand, and from the Storm Special Forces on the other hand, no, it should be the current government.

At this time of crisis for the empire, in the midst of anxiety and fear, people became more and more eager to see their Emperor von Palen.

And now, when they heard that von Paalen would appear in Sainte-Marie Square today, both those who had believed in the government from the beginning and those who had begun to doubt it, without exception, they were all excited.

It was like a strong wind suddenly blew in the gloomy weather, blowing away a cloud. The haze that shrouded people's hearts dissipated by more than half after they heard the news.

So in a very short time, the news gradually spread throughout the streets and alleys of Salvia. People began to excitedly discuss what happened in the afternoon, and were eagerly waiting for that moment to come. Many people even rushed to St. Marin Square early.

Just to be able to see the man closer when this rally is held.

Subsequently, people from all over the place began to rush to Plaza Santa María, and at noon, in a house only one street away from Plaza Santa María.

Bota, a thirteen-year-old girl, was in trouble.

She hadn't had lunch yet, but the gas in her stomach had already made her full. At this moment, she was standing at the door of the room, with her sister Hannah blocking the door in front of her.

Looking at her sister who was blocking the door tightly with her arms outstretched, Bota wrinkled her nose and begged again:

"Just let me go."

"No." Hannah stared, her expression extremely serious, completely different from usual.

"Why not?" Botta frowned.

"I've already said it, no means no."

"I'll be back as soon as the rally is over, okay, sister, just let me go." Bota pulled Hannah's sleeve and shook it gently.

Hannah turned a blind eye and her expression became more serious: "Don't even think about leaving. I will never allow you to participate in the rally."

"I'll be watching you all day."

Having been rejected repeatedly, Bota couldn't help but get angry when she heard this, which even made the freckles on her cheeks slightly red. She didn't want to waste any more words, so she pushed her sister's hand away and rushed out of the room.

But Hannah grabbed her hand and dragged her back to the room.

"Let me go, you're hurting me..." Bota screamed as his wrist was grabbed, but her scream irritated Hannah, who slapped Bota in the face and scolded him:

"When are you going to grow up?!"

Bota, whose face was slapped red, fell on the bed. She covered her cheeks and tears immediately filled her eyes. She looked at her usually gentle and kind sister with tears in her eyes. She never thought that she would hit her today.

"Sister..." She called softly with a look of grievance.

Hannah, who had just been furious, immediately lost her anger after seeing her sister's aggrieved look. She felt extremely regretful and quickly sat down on the bed. She reached out and stroked her sister's cheek, apologizing:

"I'm sorry... I... I didn't mean to do that. Does it hurt?"

Bota sobbed softly, hugged her sister, put her face against her chest, and begged, "It doesn't hurt."

"But I really want to go to the rally, so just let me go."

"Don't go..." Although Hannah still refused, her tone was no longer so harsh.

"I want to go." Bota blinked hard, confirmed that the tears flowed out of his eyes, and quickly buried his face in his sister's warm arms.

"What were you doing at the rally? To see the soldiers with guns? Or to see that man?"

"I just want to go," Bota hummed.

"No...No."

"Please, sister, just let me..." Bota raised his face, but what he saw was his sister's face full of tears.

This immediately made Bota panic, and she quickly reached out to wipe her sister's tears: "Why are you crying, sister, I...I..." she said at a loss.

Hannah gently held her hand, looked at her with tears in her eyes and said:

"You went to the rally, didn't you know it would be dangerous? They've been arresting people everywhere these days, there are a lot of bad guys in the city."

"I... I'm not afraid, it's okay." Although Bota couldn't bear to see his sister cry, he still said this stubbornly.

"You have to learn to be more mature, Porta. There is no man in the family anymore. I have to protect you, and you have to learn to protect yourself." Hannah wiped her eyes and said helplessly.

Hearing this, Bota's eyes dimmed: "I know, sister."

"I will listen to you, just this once, let me go to the rally."

“I really want to…”

Before she finished speaking, Hannah tightly grasped Bota's hand, her face showing anger again, she even gritted her teeth and spoke:

"Why can't you be more mature?"

"We could have lived happily, but that man insisted on sending the army to another country. Look at what has happened to us now?"

Hannah became angrier and angrier, and even yelled:

"This is all his fault. He brought the devil into our country!"

"They are all murderers!"

Seeing her sister's mood change so drastically, Botta turned pale with fear and quickly reached out to cover her mouth. Hannah was still talking, but she was crying:

"He made me a widow and killed my brother! My life is ruined and our family is almost gone."

Hannah cried and tore her hair frantically, her voice becoming increasingly sad. "Oh my God, I really don't know what to do in the future. When will this war end?"

"Maybe those Yan people will come to Salivia tomorrow, what should we do? Bota! Tell me, tell me what to do?"

"I really...I really don't know how to protect you..."

"Oh my God, please save me... Someone please save me..." Hannah was in a hysterical state and broke down. She burst into tears. The pressure that had been weighing on her heart for a while was too much. Today, she could no longer suppress her emotions.

Seeing his sister like this, Bota could only comfort her helplessly:

"Don't cry, sister, I'm sorry..."

Hannah continued to cry, and even cried until she was exhausted and lay on the bed. Bota sat beside the bed and started sobbing too.

After an unknown amount of time, Hannah's crying gradually subsided, and when Bota looked again, he found that she had fallen asleep.

But even though she fell asleep from crying herself tired, Bota could still see a look of pain on her sister's face, which made her heart wrench. She leaned over and carefully wiped away the tears hanging on Hannah's nose.

Then she kissed Hannah gently on the cheek and said silently:

"Sister, don't worry about me."

"I'll be home soon."

After saying this softly, Bota wiped his face again, stood up carefully and walked towards the door.

Just as she reached the door, she stopped again, turned and walked towards the desk, grabbing a small portrait on the desk in her hand.

She lowered her head and looked at the painting quietly for several minutes, and a smile gradually appeared on her freckled face.

But this smile did not last long and disappeared without a trace.

"Go home early, Brother Ghana."

Bota stroked the portrait, muttered something with a sad face, and reluctantly put the portrait back.

Close the door and go down the stairs.

The girl Bota walked out of her house and plunged into the crowd heading towards Santa María Square.