31. Execution?

I touched the wall and it felt warm. I also noticed that there weren't any piles of ice near the walls outside. Yes, this really looked like hell in the middle of a sea of ​​ice.

Several waiters were arguing in the kitchen. Out of curiosity, I took a peek. I saw Ane and the maid who were very enthusiastic listening to my story about Aras at that time were discussing food items that could not be delivered. Some ingredients such as dried meat and fish didn't seem to be able to be delivered today.

I looked outside, there might be a storm today, so the delivery was delayed. Thousands of black clouds resembling the hull of a ship sailing slowly carrying tons of frozen steam above, then docked with each other to form a larger cloud with a jet black color.

I helped some of the servants carry the coal from the storage, as well as the cut firewood. We took them to the kitchen to cook. There were more than fifty traditional stoves here, with one being the largest, and four traditional charcoal-fired ovens.

Wood charcoal was used as oven fuel because the fire produced was more stable, so that the bread baked would expand well. Meanwhile, wood was used for cooking because the scent of water would change if you used coal, while the fire made was too big to bake bread. Coal was used for fireplaces, especially those in the kitchen, where the servants used to gather over hot lemon tea with honey.

Ane lit the stove on low heat, then she placed the freshly slaughtered lamb on it, and turned it slowly using an iron handle that was inserted into the lamb. The fire also burned the remaining hair on the meat, while I was helping to prepare the spices with the others. This lamb was preserved in smoked meat. This preservation method was very helpful because it made it easier to cook later and lasted a long time.

Azalea's bodyguard called out, asking me to help another maid clean up the snow piled up blocking the entrance. Using our shovels and two large drums of salt, we started shoveling the snow that was blocking the entrance of Alpha camp. I didn't know winter could be this bad. It felt like every breath I took in made my nose and chest sting. Honestly, I hated winter.

"Clean the back part, too," the guard told us.

We could only say 'yes'. Pulling a wooden cart containing two salt drums towards the rear of camp alpha, then, I saw the other side of this prison. 'Strange, is this maybe new? Or have I never seen one before?' I thought.

Three meters high of wooden pillars were stuck, there were about ten pillars with bloodstains that looked contrast with the white snow. I didn't know what the punishment was here, so there's so much blood that it was not even cleaned. The iron fence surrounding this place also had dried blood splatter, I felt horrified to be here.

"You've never seen an execution?" Asked one of the maids, who probably looked at me in amazement at this place

"Execution?" 'Did he mean executed prisoners?,' I thought.

The maid nodded. "Heavy class criminals will usually be executed here. Their bodies are tied to a pole with their heads covered with cloth, someone will stand beside them, then cut off their heads until they roll into the pool. In the pool there is a crocodile. If no prisoners are executed, we usually give chicken meat to the crocodiles." he explained.

Hearing it made my bones ache, imagining their heads rolled, fell and be eaten by a crocodile under them. "What crime did they commit to receive such a severe punishment?." Hanging in hell was already very terrible, especially if it had to be fed to crocodiles.

"Most of them are intentional murders, premeditated or massacres," said another servant.

"In the past, Antonie would also be executed here for killing a human by shooting him, but then he committed suicide," the first servant said again.

"I heard, he didn't kill himself, but used someone else's body" Apparently, the two of them had a pleasant conversation.

I saw a horrible place at alpha camp, apart from another hell. "Then, how about their bodies?" If the head was eaten by the crocodile, then what about the body? I was curious.

"Will be fed to the crocodiles too," She replied lightly.

I chose to be silent and hoped not to know. I started shoveling snow that barely swallowed my knees, then sprinkled some salt on the cleaned part of the pavement leading to this execution site. Ignoring their story was the best I guessed. I didn't want to know more, I was afraid if that would make me uncomfortable living here.

…

I liked sitting on the bed with my knees bent, while enjoying hot tea with a little sugar. Finally, today, I could rest after a few days of constantly doing assignments from Azalea. Before the following day I would deliver some of the finest damascus steel for forging, at least I wanted to rest my body and enjoy the few hours I had.

I looked at my cell phone which had been dead since a few days ago due to running out of battery. I put it in the drawer with my watch and the camera I brought with me. Piles of dirty clothes filled up the basket and needed to be washed immediately. My big suitcase was still standing, and I was very reluctant to move my clothes into the closet.

…

After finishing a cup of tea and a few slices of raisin bread, I immediately got up to wash my clothes. I hated winter, because I had to wash a lot of clothes. Just as I was about to soak my clothes with soap, someone knocked on my door. I immediately ran to open it.

It was Azalea standing in front of my door. "What are you doing?" She asked coldly, even beating the temperature outside.

"Wanna wash," I said shortly.