Punishment…
Twenty lashes…
Twenty lashes, for god’s sake! These are elders and children. Twenty lashes each could kill them, alright?
“That’s too cruel, far too cruel…”
“Exactly. These beggars are truly unlucky now.”
“They might as well be dead, sigh…”
Listening to the scattered murmurs from the surrounding crowd, Bert, who had been standing frozen, felt his face flush with a mix of green and purple.
He then quickly exclaimed:
“No, they’ll die, they truly will! My lord, if you must punish someone, punish me. Please, spare the children!”
As he spoke, he looked as though he was about to prostrate himself on the ground.
Even Harvey, usually composed, found himself somewhat unsettled at this moment.
‘Emmmmm…’
Upon careful reflection, he realized it was indeed a bit too harsh. After all, the lashes weren’t meant for him, so he naturally hadn’t fully grasped the gravity of it.
Harvey had rarely given such severe commands before.
Thus, just before Bert could actually bow his head in supplication, he waved a dismissive hand and declared:
“Twenty lashes in total. However, considering this might be your first offense, and it wasn’t intentional, I’ll reduce it by half. Ten lashes it is.”
“Three lashes for each of the two, and four lashes for the main culprit…”
‘Hmm, this way, no one should die,’ he mused.
‘Though it will still be incredibly painful…’
Ultimately, there was no other choice. Bert shook his head, accepting the revised punishment.
As for the two children, they had initially tried to seize the opportunity to escape, but were unexpectedly brought back by some strong man.
‘Surely, that should be the end of it, right? The punishment has been dealt; Debbie should be satisfied now?’
Alas…
“This… Hmph. They’re just a few beggars, yet you’re so intent on protecting them!”
“Fine, if you’re going to protect them, then go sleep with them—with that old man!—”
“Eh?”
‘What the hell!?’
‘Is there no end to this?’
Even a clay figure possesses a degree of temper, let alone Harvey, who had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth and had never suffered the slightest grievance.
He immediately grew displeased, thinking, ‘Is this ever going to end? Are we still going to enjoy meals together, go shopping, and discuss ‘life’?’
‘How could this woman be so terrifyingly selfish and narrow-minded?’ Harvey was truly at a loss.
‘Does she actually expect me to kill a few beggars in the street just to appease her anger? This is truly…’
“What’s wrong with beggars? In my opinion, some people are even worse than beggars!”
‘Exactly!’
‘Yes! Yes, yes, yes!’
‘That’s it, that’s precisely what I was thinking!’
‘Harvey had just been about to say the same thing!’
‘Uh…’
‘But…’
‘Eh?’
‘Wait, what!?’
“Who? Who dares insult me? Confound it! If you have the guts, show yourself!”
Sure enough, before Harvey could even utter a word, Debbie, beside him, sprang up like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on.
She scanned her surroundings frantically, shouting loudly, seemingly intent on finding the person who dared to mock her in secret.
‘Confound it!’
‘Normally, it wouldn’t matter. I’m already unwelcome at home anyway.’
‘Father has always favored the woman he remarried and her son, even disowning his own flesh and blood daughter, saying he’d give all the family assets to that outsider bastard!’
‘It’s one thing to endure silently and barely survive at home!’
‘But what truly infuriates her are the people outside. Debbie always feels they’re mocking and ridiculing her, even if they don’t show it on the surface.’
‘Hmm… But Debbie believes that deep down, that’s exactly what they’re thinking!’
‘Exactly!’
Thus, Debbie, with her dark and somewhat twisted inner world, encountered Harvey today.
‘Oh, heavens!’
Especially upon learning his identity, Debbie almost lost her mind!
‘The Duke’s son… and the sole heir to the dukedom! Oh, dear heavens, if only I could get close to him…’
Initially, Debbie had worried that Harvey wouldn’t be interested in her.
However, she soon realized she was mistaken; Harvey seemed to show ‘interest’ in her. ‘Mhm!’
Although, the ‘interest’ she perceived was likely not the same ‘interest’ Harvey had in mind…
Influenced by her solitary nature, Debbie had always been isolated since childhood, making friends was difficult, let alone romantic relationships.
Consequently, Debbie, with absolutely no romantic experience, was quickly captivated by Harvey—a gentle, handsome, young, and wealthy man, the epitome of a catch, a true Prince Charming!
She saw herself as the Cinderella of a fairytale, and her long days of hardship were finally drawing to a close!
Yes, she believed Harvey loved her, willing to give her everything, just as he had promised with his honeyed words.
This conviction was precisely why she had become so reckless and exceptionally volatile.
This was a rebound effect, a sudden release after long-term suppression of her personality.
She could no longer tolerate any insult or disrespect, not even the slightest hint of it.
‘Yes! Because she was different now.’
‘Because she now had Harvey, whom she believed loved her as much as she loved him. And he was the Duke’s son, commanding nearly a hundred thousand elite soldiers…’
‘Therefore, she feared nothing.’
‘No one…’
‘Absolutely no one!’
****
“Show myself, you say? Very well then…”
No sooner had the words faded than a colossal sound erupted.
Boom!
In that instant, with a deafening roar, a resplendent golden sword, radiating a powerful aura and imbued with the regal majesty of a collapsing mountain, descended from the heavens.
Everyone present instinctively ceased their actions, turning their gaze towards the source of the sound.
What met their eyes was a young maiden, clad in striking blue and white knight’s armor, radiating an awe-inspiring presence.
No one had clearly perceived her movements; it was as if the sword’s descent and her arrival were simultaneous.
Even the ‘strong man’ with Lv3 strength, the leader of the bodyguards who had been lurking not far from the crowd, was no exception.
A flicker of barely concealed astonishment crossed his pupils, and he involuntarily drew a sharp breath.
“Very well, I’ve shown myself. What now?”
As she spoke, the maiden’s gaze, which seemed almost cold and filled with proud aloofness, swept across the entire scene.
She then declared:
“The gold coins were actually thrown by me, not by them. That’s right.”
“So, you’ve targeted the wrong people and punished the wrong people. They are merely ordinary elders and children.”
“The one who truly provoked you, is me…”