Anna looks at Ez who walks in front of her. He looks nervous and silent. It's already a few minute walks but they still don't talk to each other. Anna knew Ez has something he want to say but like always his cowardice hinder his genius mind.
So before they waste time much longer, Anna asks directly "Ez what do you want to talk about? I think we are quite far from Ui and others". Anna thought that Ez was scared because of the threatening stares from Ui or Anna's other maids.
"Huh? uh... No.. I'm not trying to keep you away from your maids" said Ez stutter.
"Then why do you keep silent?" once again, Anna asks straightforwardly.
Ez got goosebumps hearing that. He knew he had been silent for too long and this made Anna suspicious. But Ez didn't know where to start. Even though he knows the gist of what he is talking about, it is not easy to explain it in detail so that it can be understood by the listener.
Ez racked his brains again and for a while, he didn't answer Anna's question. Anna's brows furrowed when she saw that Ez returned silent, but she sensed that Ez was composing his words. Anna takes a long sigh and silently waits.
It wasn't long before a voice came from Ez's mouth, "Anna, what do you think is going on with the girls?"
Anna's frown formed again, she didn't understand why Ez was asking this question. Even though she had confined herself for these two weeks, she still got news about the girls' lives so far from her maids. Maybe they felt that the news from the girls would comfort Anna and help her get out of depression.
"Hmm... Claire and Widya help the alraune treat the orcs and goblins who were injured in the battle with the five mages. While Lina and Vivi help the goblins to renovate the carriage and make the equipment for the winter" Anna repeated what her maid had told her.
Ez didn't reply for a while. He seemed to be waiting for Anna to finish her words, but she know nothing but what she had just heard from the maids. Ez was smiling, but his expression could not be seen by Anna who was behind him.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Only that?" asked Ez.
Anna felt that there was something wrong with the information she got so she asked Ez back "Is there something wrong with what I said?"
Ez shook his head but the smile on his face grew wider "Nothing's wrong, I was just asking if you know anything other than what you just said"
Anna was annoyed with Ez who liked to talk with riddled. "Ez, if you have something to say, just say it, don't talk in circles!"
Ez felt that if Anna was getting annoyed by the rising intonation of her voice, he stop smiling and speak in a more serious tone.
"Anna, do you know the real reason Claire is helping the alraune?"
Anna was silent for a moment and thought but she couldn't answer Ez's question with certainty "perhaps because she wants to learn medicine from the alraune" Anna said doubtfully.
Ez shook his head and held back the smile that was about to form. With the same intonation, he again asked "Do you know if Lina's finger was injured when she was sewing?"
"Lina is hurt?" said Anna in shock.
Ez couldn't hold back his smile anymore, Ez stopped walking, turned around, and looked at Anna right in her icy blue eyes. "Anna, how do you think girls view orcs?"
Instead of getting an answer, she was asked again a confusing question. "What do you mean Ez? How is Lina doing" her frustration piled up.
"I mean, do you think girls are disgusted by orcs? Or are they afraid of orcs? How do you think orcs have treated girls all this time?" said Ez with a smile that turned into a grin.
Seeing the grin on his face, Anna got even more annoyed, if she didn't think that Ez was sent by Moku to meet her then Anna would have already thrown her fist at this annoying goblin's face.
Full of annoyance, Anna said threateningly "Ez, I told you, I don't like riddles! Hurry up and say what you want to say!"
Ez stopped grinning and his voice became even more serious "Anna, did you know that Claire was the one who took care of Boku until he recovered? During that time he talked to Boku with a cheerful face. There was no fear or disgust in her intonation. I can't read. someone's mind but I can read the intonation of the voice, and I can tell if she's enjoying their conversation."
"Hah?" Anna gasped in disbelief.
Claire is indeed a gentle and brave girl, she always helps without expecting anything in return. However, Claire was still a former noble. She has a fear of blood and terrible creatures like orcs. Coupled with her trauma to men due to her father and brother, it did not occur to Anna that Claire would have a cheerful conversation with Boku, a male orc.
"Anna, did you know that Lina also locked herself up? She didn't speak at all for several days and was just staring blankly. The worried goblins asked her to help them make winter clothes for the monsters. Lina got the task of sewing the orcs' clothes apart from Moku's. But instead of making 14 clothes, she made 15 clothes. When the goblins told her about the excess, she don't answer even the needle stab her finger."
"What? What happened to Lina?" Anna was getting confused.
Lina was a skillful tailor, even Silvie who was the daughter of a famous tailor in Heles City adored Lina's clothes. Anna herself saw with her own eyes how Lina turned a sheet of animal skin into a gorgeous dress with her thread and needle. Anna couldn't imagine if Lina miscalculated the clothes to be made or didn't focus on sewing so that her hand was pricked by a needle.
"Anna, how do you think the orcs have been treating you? Don't they treat you with the utmost respect? Do they look at you the way they look at delicious meat? Do they look, sound, or feel like the orcs in the stories that are widely circulated the human territory?"
Anna didn't answer, because she now realized what Ez wanted to say. The orcs in the Dawnmist Tribe were very different from the orcs described in Heles City. They have always heard that orcs are brutal, vicious, and uncivilized creatures from childhood. They would capture the women and then rape them to death. There was only suffering for the women the orcs managed to capture.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmHowever, what Anna and the girls felt was very different from those stories. They were provided with plenty of food, a warm tent, a soft mattress, and a pleasant bathhouse. There is no misery, if there is it is just boredom because they cannot get out of the tribal camp. Even so, it was one of the orcs' ways of protecting them from the danger inside the Bog forest.
None of the orcs raped them and forced them to give birth to their children. They respect the girls and care for them as a brother cares for their sister. When delivering food to their tents, the orcs didn't even dare to look the girls in the face.
For Anna, she would not be able to forget life in the Dawnmist Tribe. This is the place where she met her heart partner, Moku. And their love produces a miracle that makes Anna's life more meaningful, Nash.
Anna believed this for sure. The orcs won't force the girls to have sex with them even if Moku returns them to the tribe. However, it never crossed Anna's mind that women would be as happy as she is now.
So Anna didn't answer Ez's question. With trembling lips, Anna turned to ask "Why can't girls accept orcs?"
Ez smiled, he turned back and took a walking step. Anna followed behind him but this time with a heart full of curiosity more than before.
"Anna, a woman's heart is very difficult to predict even impossible to predict. This is not only because a man cannot feel what a woman feels but also because a woman herself does not understand what she is feeling.
"Therefore we cannot enter the motions to guess a woman's heart but we can use logic to understand what she is thinking. Women are creatures who are given the blessing and ability to give birth to offspring in the world. Because of that, they are looking for a man who can protect them when they are weak while pregnant, so the ability to protect them is one of the main factors for women to choose a partner.
"In the cruel Bog forest, there are no monsters as strong as orcs, because it can be said that orcs are the ideal partner for women throughout the Bog forest. When you came to this place, it was the orcs who protected you from the cruelty of the Bog forest, so It's only natural that you have a passion for them. Plus the gentle treatment from the orcs is outside your expectation. As the saying goes miracle came from something you don't expect.
"However, it's strange that even with that logic, the girls still reject the orcs. It's not because they feel afraid or disgusted with the orcs, but it's because they don't know what their hearts want. It was the same with you when Nash wasn't born yet."
Ez stopped and turned back to look at Anna's eyes. "Anna, your real job is to show women what they want"
Anna was stunned. An idea flashed in her mind. An idea that can destroy the family that is core to a civilization. But for the problems they are facing, this idea is a very bright ideological breakthrough. Feminism.