To you:After the end

A carriage! I raised my arm to flag it down. Conveniently, it turned out to be Mr. Smith's carriage. The familiar driver pulled the reins to a stop, his sharp eyes scanning us both. His gaze lingered on Johan, taking in the unfamiliar figure in his fine tuxedo. Johan simply nodded with an easy smile, giving off the air of a man who belonged wherever he stood.

Finally, Mr. Smith's eyes settled on me, softening slightly. With a brief nod, he motioned for us to climb aboard.

"Good morning, Mr. Smith," I greeted him, flashing a polite smile as I stepped closer. "I'm running really late for class today, and I was wondering—could you not take any passengers on this trip? I'd really appreciate a private ride."

Smith's brow furrowed, and he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I could do that, Leor," he said after a moment. "But this time of day is when I get most of my customers. So… I'd have to charge you around fifteen silver pounds." It was already a lot cheaper compared to alternative private ride options, I Can't really bargain this one, That would be too shameless. As If reading my thoughts Smith offered in a polite tone. "If that's too much, I can start a tab for you, and you can pay it off gradually."

As expected, it's a bad day for my wallet. I looked at Johan with cold eyes, but the bastard refused to meet my gaze. He was suddenly very interested in the cobblestones beneath his feet.

"Thank you for the offer, Mr. Smith," I replied, forcing a tight smile. "No need for a tab. I'll pay you upfront—better to avoid the hassle." My hand dipped into my brown leather wallet, and my fingers brushed against exactly fifteen silver pounds. Tears welled up in my eyes. My face twitching unnaturally. 'Exactly fifteen silver pounds, HAHAHAHAHA Johan you better be worth it.'

If my gaze had any weight, Johan would've already been crushed to nothing by it. But instead of begging for forgiveness, he leaned back, gazing at the overcast sky as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world. The clouds? Beautiful. The breeze? Lovely. Me? Invisible.

We climbed into the carriage, and with a sharp snap of the reins, Mr. Smith urged the horses forward. The wheels clattered against the cobblestones, the rhythmic sound filling the air as we headed toward the towering walls of the Imperial Gardens.

"What exactly is this Imperial Gardens place, anyway?" Johan asked, his gaze unfocused, lost in thought.

Smith glanced back briefly, his eyebrows raised in mild surprise. "Are you not from around here, sir?" he asked, his tone carrying a mix of curiosity and pride. Without waiting for a reply, he continued with enthusiasm.

"That's the heart of the Thornfield Empire! It's said to be the most beautiful place in the world. Lush green gardens that stretch as far as the eye can see, fields of vibrant flowers, towering castles that touch the sky, and enough luxury to make a king jealous. There are thousands of fine restaurants, hundreds of... well, brothels." He coughed awkwardly before pressing on. "But most importantly, the Monarch's castle is there."

He paused for a moment, catching his breath, then added, "I don't know all the finer details, of course. I'm just a common man. But Leor, you must've learned plenty about it at university, right? You probably meet folks from there all the time!"

I leaned back against the seat, crossing my arms with a faint sigh. "Well yes, I learn a few things here and there, I can share some of them if you both really want to know…" Eh, I saw both of their glittering eyes staring at me, shining as bright as the sun, demanding an explanation.

 "Alright, Alright…" I looked at both of them while staring at Smith, ordering him to drive the carriage properly with my gaze. "The palace is Buckingham Palace, It's at the center of the Imperial Gardens. It's said to be surrounded by headquarters of three churches, goddess of stars Aethira, Goddess of Blood Valoria, and Goddess of Harvest Maelis. They all surround the palace in a triangular shape." I could see their eyes shining more and more brightly if that was possible. While Johan was grinning for some reason, I ignored the madman. It's time to break their fantasies and ruin their day. I smiled maliciously inside my heart, Don't blame me you asked for it.

I continued, adopting a solemn tone. "But it's not all flowers and sunshine. Smith you probably already know that only Nobles are allowed inside, Nobles own all the restaurants, businesses, etc you mentioned. Commoners only go inside to be servants, butlers, Gardners, sex workers, Gardners, etc. Now for a decade or so after Queen Victoria, and a lot of backlash from the Parliament of common people, nobles are allowed to sell their businesses, Mansions, and land to people who can afford them. It resulted in Wealthy merchants, Politicians, and all the high-class people from outside the walls migrating inside. Of course, They probably paid Millions of Gold pounds for it. Nobles only inherited it, So those who started facing financial problems, Sold some of their extra land for hundreds of times more than its original value, Wealthy commoners still brought them happily.

After taking a deep breath I continued with a dark expression"There are thousands of Royal guards surrounding the walls, hundreds of thousands roaming inside, Their purpose? Protecting the people living inside. This all doesn't sound half bad until you learn the reality of everything. Where do you think slave traders sell their 'product'? At auctions held inside! Keeping slaves is Illegal even for nobles, So they're rebranded as 'Servants'. Those Nobles themselves control many slave traders and hold auctions. They order their goons to look for the most beautiful women outside the walls, Kidnap them, and Most likely kill everyone they know, so word doesn't get out, Then keep them as 'maids', In reality, they're just sex slaves. When they get too old for those filthy Nobles around 20-21, they're sold to luxury Brothels, where they catch some disease and die from it in their 30s."

I could see their eyes getting dimmer and dimmer, their face darkening, their innocence fleeting away.

"Didn't you say your University is inside Imperial Gardens, How could you, Mr. Smith's carriage could enter? You both are also commoners right?" Johan asked, forcing himself to stay calm.

"Right, and that was why no commoner could imagine going to that University, But after they were allowed, solutions found themselves, The University council basically spent a lot on extending it to the outside of the walls, So we don't really need to go through the gardens to get there, But we technically would still be in the Gardens, and students could also romme around nearby area even as commoners. This is all because Chancellor Fydor VIncent holds way more power than a common noble, nearly comparable to the King in status, No one would dare question his decision, And for safety, there are already Royal guards." 

Phew. My mouth was dry due to all that explaining, But it was worth it. More people should know the truth about the world they live in rather than holding onto their unrealistic fantasies. Smith is also an impressionable young man, people like him should know about it even more. I still kept out some secrets like cults, Politics, illegal research, etc which I learned from Vane and Alya.

"We're here!" Smith's sharp voice broke my monologue, I looked up and it was 64th Square of Wellington, The area was filled with bustling noises of people shopping, or just talking. Here most High middle-class people lived. 

"These people are truly the most obnoxious, people-pleasing scum I have ever seen," Johan whispered in my ear in a quiet voice, Surprising I couldn't agree more.

"They care about their reputation and status a lot, So don't ever dare say it out loud," I whispered back, warning him.

Just above us, there were two towering gates, and a small doorway, which was the only entrance inside the University. On the towering walls, there were some Royal guards keeping an eye on people from above. It's necessary to huge amounts of terrorist attacks these days.

We both leisurely walked towards the small doorway, where an intimidating man glanced towards us, motioning us to halt.

To be continued...….

Author's Note, Extras: It's rumored that when the Thornfield Imperial Academy expanded outside the walls, There were thousands of Houses of the Middle working class completely destroyed by their construction. They were fairly compensated for it, but still, they forcefully destroyed their houses, Making them homeless, People couldn't go to their jobs and basically wandered in the cold winter until they paid some hotel high price for a night. Many people actually went completely broke due to this, forcing them to move to the outskirts, or Some to work 10 times more in hard labour. Some middle-class people who couldn't afford to keep their children were forced to sell them to slavery. This incident tarnished the university's reputation to a threatening degree, and then afterward if any reporter even mentioned this incident, mysteriously disappeared.