Viktor realized with clinical detachment that he had seen those eyes before, in a past life when he was killing those soldiers by setting up the trap in the final battle between his kingdom and the empire.
Several soldiers did that because the empire was holding their families hostage. Some of them even fed strange kinds of insects to confirm their loyalty. Those eyes.
People who don't have the courage to kill themselves but have the courage to provoke someone into doing it for them.
"You're supposed to help us," the man said, his voice rising as his courage built on itself.
He'd seen Viktor distribute bread rather than wield a whip, seen him heal the old woman instead of demanding taxes.
And in his starving, desperate mind, he'd decided this was his moment.
If he couldn't find the strength to end his own life, perhaps he could provoke this nobleman into doing it for him. "Give us food. Give us hope!"
