"When Damon's father was executed… I was there too. It happened five years ago, on December twenty-fourth, right at noon. It took place at the west gate of the city… I was right there on the street and saw Damon, who was just seventeen or eighteen back then, being held down by force while watching his father…"
The scholar stopped speaking. It seemed like the memory of that execution was too cruel for him to continue.
Execution by scorching was a brutal method where the prisoner was burned alive on red-hot copper pillars. It was only used on those guilty of treason or equally severe crimes.
After Damon's father was burned alive, his mother lost her mind from the trauma. But even after going mad, the authorities didn't let her go. They demoted the whole family into slavery, branded them, then sent his mother and sister to the military camps to serve as playthings for the soldiers. In the end, they were tortured to death.
Damon was also sent to a work pit to serve his sentence, but halfway through he heard news of his mother and sister's death. Somehow, he escaped and tried to take revenge, hoping to die together with his enemies.
But back then he was still just a teenager. Even if he was good with a bow, what could he do alone? He was caught before he could do much and almost lost his life again. Luckily, the official who received him in custody had once been a comrade of his father in the army. Damon's father had even saved that man's life. Because of this, Damon survived, but lost his freedom completely and became a prisoner.
Today… he shouldn't even be here. No one knows how he escaped from prison and even managed to take off the prison clothes and grab a bow.
While Elara was listening, Damon was finally surrounded by the city guards and pinned down.
But he was clearly very strong and knew some martial arts. He managed to throw off the guards pressing him down multiple times. Ignoring everything, with red eyes, he kept using his nearly broken bow to shoot at the building above.
He was completely focused. Even when swords were stabbing toward him, he didn't care. He was covered in wounds, but his will for revenge burned stronger than ever.
The city guards had their own methods for dealing with rebels who dared to assassinate someone like Guard Yang in public.
They wouldn't kill Damon right away. They'd first capture him, then slowly torture him to find out everyone behind him. Only then would they kill him.
After several more attempts, more than ten guards finally pinned him down and tied him up tightly.
The guard captain, exhausted and wounded during the fight, gasped heavily. As he caught his breath, he pulled out a spiked whip and was about to lash the man who didn't care about his life.
"You bastard, you're looking for death…"
But just as he raised the whip, a voice stopped him.
"Wait."
The guard captain looked up and saw Elara slowly walking toward them while cracking some nuts in her hand. She looked down at them and the man tied on the ground. Her voice was calm.
"This man belongs to me. You can leave now."
Although the guard captain didn't think much of Elara in his heart, especially under Guard Yang's influence, he still knew she was the noble princess of the capital. She was stunning and powerful. He couldn't help glancing at her a few more times before forcing a fake smile and replying:
"Your Highness, this man is guilty of trying to kill Lord Yang in public. Lord Yang insists on questioning him personally. I'm afraid you can't take him."
As he said this, Elara's casual demeanor changed. Her presence became sharp and heavy as she stepped closer, her gaze cold.
"What? Is Lord Yang's life more valuable than mine, the Princess of the Empire?"
While speaking, Elara moved her hand inside her sleeve and pulled out a broken arrow.
"This man just shot an arrow at me. I'm going to take him back and interrogate him myself. What, are you saying I don't have the right to question someone who tried to assassinate me?"
The guard captain hesitated. He looked closely at the arrow in Elara's hand and confirmed it was indeed from the man's bow.
But how could that be? That madman had been aiming only at Guard Yang from the moment he appeared. He never looked at Elara, let alone shot at her. How did that arrow end up near her?
He couldn't figure it out, but that didn't stop him from still refusing to hand over the prisoner.
"Your Highness," the captain said while giving a half-hearted bow, still holding onto Damon. He smiled with empty politeness. "Please don't worry. Since he dared to attack you too, that only makes his crime worse. When Lord Yang handles his case, he'll be sure to include that and give you justice. There's no need for you to…"
Elara took a step forward and interrupted his stalling with a sharp glare.
"I want this man. Are you going to give him to me or not?"
The captain held his ground, still smiling, and shook his head as if helpless.
"Forgive me, Your Highness. I know you're angry about what happened. But I really can't hand him over. We still have to follow the rules in the capital. Otherwise, how will I explain to Lord Yang…"
Suddenly, Elara threw the broken arrow down and looked at him from above with a cold laugh.
"Fine. Since you say you can't let him pay for the crime of attacking me, then how about you take his place and pay for it yourself?"
The captain froze. He hadn't expected this turn of events. Elara waved her hand toward a thin man who appeared at her side.
"Tres, tie him up."
The captain stiffened the moment he saw Tres.
This man had the look of someone who had killed countless times.
The captain suddenly remembered the rumors about the royal family's two shadow units. Even the best elite troops couldn't compare to them.
These people were said to be ghostlike killers who never blinked when taking lives. Their skills were ranked among the top assassins in the land. They recognized no one but their master.
The guard captain no longer had that greasy expression on his face. He took a few steps back and cautiously watched Tres while quickly saying to Elara, "Your Highness! That rebel is a rebel. I'm not the same as him. Why should I pay for his crimes? I'm the guard captain. I… I'm not under your command!"
Elara stared at him and sneered coldly.
"You're right, you're not under me. But I came here today to relax and blow off steam. Because your city guards failed to keep order and discipline, you let someone like that rebel get inside. I was nearly assassinated. Tell me, doesn't that mean you're guilty?"
But wasn't it her who first told the guards to leave and said she would watch with the people?
The guard's eyes widened. He couldn't help glaring at this sharp-tongued princess who twisted the truth better than any of them. "Your Highness! But that's not what you…"
Elara spoke slowly, cutting him off. "At the start, I dismissed the guards and let the people come in because I wanted to fully carry out Lord Gregory's orders. I wanted Old Du to experience what a truly public execution is like. I pushed you away because you were in the way. How is that my fault?"
"But you just said yourself, this man is a rebel, not one of the people. Yet you still let him slip in with the crowd and try to assassinate me and Old Du. You guards didn't even notice until it was too late. He almost succeeded. Isn't that your failure? Isn't that your mistake?"
Elara cracked the nut in her mouth and looked at the guard captain. His face had changed several times, now pale and stiff. She threw away the shells and calmly continued.
"There are so many of you city guards, and you're just a low-ranking one. Your superior is still hanging on the wall being whipped. He probably doesn't have the strength or energy to argue with me right now. Besides, it really was your fault for being careless, almost letting someone kill me and Old Du. If Old Du wakes up and hears he nearly died because his men were careless, I bet he'd be more than happy to let me choose a few of you to take the blame."
The guard listened to Elara's words, and his face grew worse.
He was used to being arrogant under Old Du, but he wasn't a complete fool. Otherwise, he wouldn't have become captain.
What Elara said was likely to happen if you just thought about it a little.
They all knew how brutal Old Du could be in private. As his men, they knew this better than anyone.
As long as something touched his interests, there was nothing Old Du wouldn't do. And they were just low-level soldiers to him…
And that rebel really had gotten in and shot Old Du with an arrow…
The captain's face no longer had any slickness or disdain. Sweat broke out on his forehead. His hand holding the whip was clenched tight.
When Tres stepped forward at Elara's signal, the captain didn't dare to delay. He directly pushed Damon forward.
"Your Highness, I didn't think things through just now. If you want this man, take him. But once Old Du finishes… the punishment, I will report everything to him in full."
After speaking, the captain gave Damon one last unwilling look. He forced himself to salute Elara, then quickly called over the other guards and left with hurried steps.
Once they were gone, Elara finally looked away. She turned to face Damon, who was tied up on the ground but looked straight at her without speaking.
His gaze was rare. It had none of the usual fear, stiffness, or fake respect that others gave her. It wasn't like the handsome young men who looked afraid or unwilling in front of the notorious princess.
He just looked directly at her. Calm and steady, with no flinch or fear, as if he only wanted to see what she would do.
Elara stared back and looked him over from head to toe. After she had seen enough and noticed that his face still had no anger, shame, or panic, just that same steady calm, she raised her eyebrows slightly. Then she withdrew her gaze and looked toward the wall, where the public whipping was nearly done. She told Tres:
"Tres, throw him onto the carriage. I'll come and interrogate him myself later."
"Yes."