Little Tyrant Doesn't Want to Meet with a Bad End[1-200]

Chapter 106: Which One Do You Choose?

Nora's declaration brought a queer silence to the room. Alicia blinked her eyes blankly, and Roel looked equally confused too. Roel nudged Nora and asked her softly.

"Nora, what do you mean by protector?"

This term was, honestly, not too difficult to comprehend, but the Xeclydes had simply far too many titles, like Humanity's Guardian of Light, Mediator of the Nobles, and so on. The word, 'protector', could have connotations different from what he was expecting.

Somehow, he couldn't help but think of the mafia gangs and yakuza in his previous life, who collected protection fees from the businesses on their turf.

"It has been decades since the Xeclydes last invoked the protector policy, so it's only natural that you are unaware of it."

It was only then that Nora realized her audience didn't understand what she was saying, so she quickly elaborated. She turned to face Roel, who was standing right in front of her, and a touch of tenderness colored her face.

"Do you remember what I told you back then? I said that I'll protect and care for you. I said that I will become your guardian. Right now, I'm fulfilling the promise that I made to you.

"Most of those who receive the protection of the Xeclydes are victims of political assassination, children of soldiers who have died on the battlefield, or politicians of foreign countries who have chosen to seek refuge with the Theocracy. However, these people only qualify for 3rd tier protection..."

Nora began explaining to Roel the 'protector policy' of the royal family.

All in all, there were three tiers to the protection that the Xeclydes offered, ranging from 3rd through 1st tier. The 3rd tier protection was for those who have met with injustice or are facing certain extenuating circumstances, warranting the intervention of the royal family. The 2nd tier was for major noble houses facing crises that could potentially destabilize the Theocracy, or minor countries facing threats from evil organizations. As for the 1st tier...

... that level of protection was reserved solely for the children of the Xeclydes.

Of course, the tiers existed for a reason—the comprehensiveness of protection one would receive varied accordingly with it.

At the 3rd tier, the protection provided was limited to proclamation, which could basically be summarized as a 'I'm covering this kid!' kind of declaration. For the 2nd tier, the Xeclydes would dispatch some of its forces to ensure the target's safety or eliminate potential dangers. And, last but not least, once it reached the 1st tier, the Xeclydes would mobilize their personal army to guard the target, similar to the army of royal guards protecting Nora.

However, as a wise sage once said, 'there is no way to guard against a thief in the long-run'. Similarly, there was no such thing as absolute protection in this world. What was more key to the 'protector policy' was actually deterrence.

Most of those eligible for 3rd tier protection were civilians of the Theocracy, so it was much easier to handle it. If a person under the Xeclydes' protection were to die of unnatural causes, the Theocracy would do everything it could to apprehend the masterminds and all of the accomplices involved in the matter, and punishments could go as high as the death penalty, depending on the degree of involvement.

On the other hand, a lot of those placed under 2nd tier protection were from other countries, so it was a little more inconvenient for the Theocracy to intervene when the protectee was harmed. Nevertheless, the Theocracy would still place the country and all of the organizations involved on its blacklist and exert the greatest degree of sanctions possible for the following century. In extreme cases, the Theocracy would even consider waging war.