Quarry

How do all these frail individuals work here?

Issei was tall and broad, strong and resilient. For him, working in the mine would have been nothing. But for the others, it was the worst punishment, even worse than death. The pain of having to continue mining even with calloused hands sent shivers down the spines of the very heartless soldiers who supervised the slaves.

And so every day Issei woke up in an abandoned barn with other criminals, ready to work all day for the rest of his days.
In the morning, he woke early to enjoy the sunrise before starting work. He stared into the distance at the hut where the women slept, hoping to see his wife.

The days passed relentlessly, pickaxes pounding the stone, some men falling to the ground helplessly. Others tried to fight back. Issei was starting to feel tired, even his resilient body was feeling the effects.

<Hey, you big guy.>

A man his age was calling him. He was very frail, thin, and on the verge of being unable to stand. His legs were shaking, not from fear, but from senile illness.

<That's your wife, right? I have a crazy desire to kill her. Hahaha>

Issei grew nervous, struck the pickaxe hard enough to get it stuck in the rock. Then he turned to the guy who had provoked him and silenced him with a single look. The guy, however, didn't stop laughing, dropped his pickaxe, and ran toward Sofia, gait twisting.

Something about that man had driven him mad. Issei immediately followed and struck him down with a punch.
The madman fell to the ground and didn't move. Five guards rushed toward Issei and pinned him to the ground.

<Don't resist! Now come with us!>

Helpless, Issei let the soldiers crush him. Then he was taken to a cave far from the others. Now he was even further away from his wife.
As time went by, the number of guards watching Issei increased. He had become a special prisoner, known to all.

Then one day, the inevitable happened: his wife, while carrying a cart full of freshly dug coal, fell to the ground.
Issei instinctively ran toward his wife, but the guards stopped him.

<Let me go, my wife needs help! HELP!>

every day Issei went to the quarry to work, hoping to learn something about his wife, but the guards didn't even bother to answer. He even tried asking the inmates, but it was all in vain.Then, one day, he simply stopped looking for her. No one ever told him openly. She hadn't been taken for treatment; she had died.

Issei had reached the lowest point of his life.
His hands were dirty and calloused, with no one by his side. Unjustly forced into forced labor. All because of a shady magician's lie.

<Damn it!>

His wife was the most beautiful person in the world in his eyes. Long, brown hair like walnut, loose. It gave her an air of comfort. Her bright face wasn't sincere; she always tried to find the good in everything. Her every gesture was kind. She would have been a great mother. But the kingdom of Wohlstand prevented her from doing so.

Issei fell into depression; he had no reason to continue living. His late wife smiled down on him from heaven, and his knighthood had been shattered by a lie.

Issei woke early one last time, watching the sun rise over the mountains. He let a tear fall to the ground. The ground absorbed the drop as if thirsty. Then Issei returned to the barn, awaiting the beginning of a life of forced labor.

In that moment, Issei became an inanimate object, a lifeless work tool. Issei thought his life would remain the same for years, yet, just two weeks after the loss of his wife, soldiers came to take Issei.

<Has my time come?>

Issei said without expressing a single emotion. His voice was barely audible, his movements slow and mechanical.

<King Kazuma wants to speak to you. You'd better act like you should, little sissy.>

At that moment, Issei opened his eyes properly. A glimmer of hope opened before him. Even death would bring him a shred of happiness. The journey seemed quicker than when he'd arrived at the quarry.

Once he returned to the castle, everyone was looking at him, laughing even harder than when he'd been taken away. Issei covered his face as if to escape those jeering faces.

Finally arriving at the great hall, Issei found himself before King Kazuma again. He knelt, looking down. The king remained silent for a moment before revealing his thoughts.

<Issei, I heard of your loss. I'm sincerely sorry for what happened.>

Issei tried with all his might to hold back the tears. The memory of his wife buzzed in his mind. He hadn't been able to save her.

<So, I've decided that your sentence ends today. But the wise men won't hear of it, so I've found a better job.>

Any job would have been fine for him; he had nothing left to live for, even the death penalty would have been fine. Yet the king cared about Issei.

<You have to take care of my son.>

Bodyguard? But I'm a traitor, how can the king entrust me with such a task?

Issei was surprised; he would never have thought of such a job.
The king smiled with his arms crossed and looked at Issei with hope. He couldn't hold it against the person who had saved his life. An act no one remembers, but one the king cherishes to this day.

It had happened long before Issei joined the army, even before the king ascended the throne...