As Nevalis walked quickly, trying to get out of the poor districts, a small crowd in a narrow alley caught his attention. Despite his desire to leave this place as quickly as possible, curiosity got the better of him, and he cautiously approached to see what was happening.
The scene before him was that of a thin woman, barely wearing clothes to cover her body, kneeling on the ground, holding a small child who seemed gravely ill. The child cried weakly, almost inaudibly, as if he had exhausted all his energy. The woman was pleading with a man standing before her, his face cold and his features expressionless.
"Please, just one more day. I'll gather the money, I promise!"
The man replied in a cold tone, showing no sympathy: "Your time's up. Either you pay now, or you know the consequences."
The woman pleaded, crying bitterly: "He's just a child! He's sick, he can't take any more. Please, I'll work twice as hard, just give me more time."
But the man showed no response. He grabbed the woman's arm and pulled her roughly, causing the child to fall from her arms and begin crying softly.
Nevalis stood at a short distance, watching the scene without moving. He felt something strange inside him. The sight of the woman crying for her child, her desperate pleas, and the man's indifference—all of it felt like a stab to his heart.
Inside, he wanted to ignore it all. "This isn't my business. This is their life. These people failed because they are weak." But his inner words weren't as convincing as he'd thought.
Suddenly, he saw something he couldn't forget. Despite his severe weakness, the child was slowly crawling toward his mother. His small hand reached out in an attempt to get to her, as if saying, "Don't leave me alone."
Nevalis froze in place. The movement reminded him of something from his past, the feeling of loneliness that had haunted him in the palace. Although he had been surrounded by opulence and wealth, loneliness had been a part of his life. He knew what it felt like to reach out to someone, knowing that no one would answer.
For the first time, Nevalis's arrogant view of the poor wavered. For the first time, he saw something different in these people. It wasn't weakness or failure that defined them, but the harsh circumstances they were placed in.
"Isn't that the only difference between me and them? That I was born in the palace and they were born here?"
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his confused mind. But he couldn't stop thinking about the scene. The child trying to reach his mother at any cost, the woman giving everything she had to save him, even if it meant sacrificing herself.
Despite all his attempts to ignore what he saw, Nevalis knew that this scene would stay with him. It was a small turning point, but he knew its impact would grow over time.
Nevalis turned and walked away, but his steps were slower, heavier than before. For the first time, he began to doubt his thoughts and principles. For the first time, he began to see the world as more complicated than he had believed.
He didn't know how many hours he had spent walking aimlessly, just trying to get out of this miserable place. His legs ached from the constant walking, a feeling he was unaccustomed to. Throughout his life, he had always ridden in luxurious carriages wherever he went, and sitting on cushioned seats had been the closest thing to comfort he knew. However, he couldn't ignore the words of Edward, who used to whisper in his ear:
"Even a sorcerer needs a strong body, there's no difference between you and a swordsman if you're unable to stand in a long battle."
Nevalis sighed wearily as he remembered his training under Edward's watch. He had never liked those training sessions, but now he understood their value. Each new step made his tired legs heavier, and whenever he thought about stopping to rest, he found himself unable to find a decent place to sit. The streets were full of filth, the walls threatened to collapse at any moment, and even the ground was muddy, unsuitable for any kind of comfort.
The scene he had witnessed hours earlier still haunted him. The child trying to reach his mother at any cost, the look of pain and helplessness in the woman's eyes, and the man's indifference as he only cared about money. Nevalis tried repeatedly to push those images out of his mind, but failed. Every time he closed his eyes or turned his head, the memory came back stronger, as though it was engraved in his mind.
"Why is this scene haunting me?" he muttered angrily to himself, trying to convince himself that it didn't matter. "These people are failures. A burden on society. It can't be my fault."
But deep down, there was a new feeling creeping inside him. A feeling he didn't recognize or admit to before. Maybe it was just pity, or maybe something deeper, but he couldn't pinpoint it yet.
After a while of walking, the scenes began to slowly change in front of Nevalis. The filthy districts gradually lightened, and in their place, streets appeared that looked more organized, though far from the luxury he was used to in his family's palace. The houses here, though modest, seemed sturdier and less likely to collapse.
The people, too, looked different. They weren't as frighteningly thin as those in the poor districts, and the children weren't completely naked, though their clothes were modest and simple. There was a sense of life in this class, though it seemed faded compared to the world Nevalis had come from.
Nevalis paused for a moment, taking in his surroundings. He noticed some small markets along the side of the road, where vendors displayed their limited wares of vegetables and fruits at low prices. He also saw children playing in the alleyways, despite their clear dirtiness, and the sounds of their laughter cut through the noise of the place.
Nevalis stopped for a moment, trying to comprehend the change in the scenes around him. He knew he had begun entering the second class of the kingdom's society, the class that included artisans, workers, and some low-ranking soldiers. However, he didn't feel comfortable here either.
"They're not like those in the poor districts, but they're not much better. At least these people can work and support themselves. Maybe that's the only difference."
Finally, Nevalis sat down on the edge of a low wall by the road, trying to catch his breath. He felt incredibly exhausted, but his mind wouldn't stop thinking.
"Is this the life most people live in the kingdom? Far from the luxury of palaces and noble life? How can they continue to live like this?"
These thoughts ran through his mind as he sat there, watching the people around him. For the first time, he began to see that the world he had thought was simple and straightforward was much more complicated than he had believed.