Lessons

Jingle, jingle!

The camels’ bells rang out in frightened alarm, their heavy hooves clattering together, and in an instant, the entire camel shed was thrown into disarray.

“Damn it! Stop squirming and come with me!” A burly man, his head wrapped in a blue kerchief, dragged a camel forward.

The animal clearly resisted the stranger’s tug, its head shaking incessantly against the pull.

“Brother! This one won’t move!” Another scrawny subordinate couldn’t budge his camel.

The beast’s gaze seemed to hold pure contempt as its shaggy head lunged forward, nearly sending the skinny bandit flying to the shed’s ceiling.

“Shit!” The skinny man tumbled to the ground, knocked over by the camel.

His dust-covered face made the burly man shake his head in exasperation.

“Useless fool! You can’t even lead this beast! Our brothers outside are waiting!” The burly man tied his own camel securely.

Then, he drew his gleaming saber and swung it before the herd, startling the entire group of camels into stampeding out of the shed!

“There, that’s better! Just use your blade to control the lead camel, and the rest will follow naturally!”

“Brother truly has vast experience!”

Only then did the skinny man rest the large saber from his waist upon the stubborn camel.

The animal’s eyes grew even more disdainful, and relying on its thick fur, it tried to butt the skinny man again.

“Beast, do you want to die?!” The skinny man met its charge with his upward-swinging blade.

This time, the camel was cowed, not by the skinny man’s presence, but by the sharp edge that sheared off a large swath of its fur.

Dona, hidden within the empty camel shed, trembled uncontrollably.

Through a crack in the wooden partition, she glimpsed the bandits’ fierce expressions, which terrified her into utter silence.

Thump-thump-thump!

A flurry of pursuing footsteps rapidly approached, instantly putting the two camel-thieves on high alert.

“Damn it! Someone’s coming!”

“Brother, what do we do?!”

“Hide here! In this empty shed!”

The two adults entered the empty shed with almost no hesitation, their eyes falling immediately upon Dona.

“[Flight]!” Dona cried out, attempting to fly away.

However, the confined space hindered her, and the two bandits seized her legs, yanking her from the air.

Thump!

A flurry of dry straw erupted within the empty shed.

As a few stray pieces settled, silence quickly returned.

Outside the shed, the pursuing footsteps sent the camel herd scattering.

It turned out to be the villagers, armed with pitchforks and torches, chasing another group of bandits.

Their attention was entirely focused elsewhere, completely overlooking the possibility of anyone hiding in the empty shed.

“Catch those bandits!”

“Get our camels back!”

“Don’t let me catch any of you! I’ll string you up on a flagpole and dry you into jerky!”

The enraged villagers trampled past, utterly oblivious to the possibility of people hiding in the empty shed.

“Wuwuwu…!” Dona’s mouth was covered by the burly man’s hand.

The three crouched sideways beneath the partition, remaining still until the villagers’ voices gradually faded into the distance.

“Brother! What should we do now? The camels all ran off.” The skinny man sat up from the pile of dry straw, scratching his head as he looked at his leader, who still held the girl captive.

“What do we do? We leave! We head back to the stronghold.” The burly man, still clamping a hand over Dona’s mouth, stood up.

He clearly intended to abandon his accomplices being chased by the villagers.

“Huh? Brother, are we just taking this little brat back?” The skinny man was immediately confused.

He saw Dona as small and utterly worthless.

“You don’t know what you’re looking at! This little brat just used magic in Wahatu territory! We’ve found a treasure!” The burly man’s lips thinned, his vicious gaze filled with greed as he looked at Dona.

“Magic? What magic?” The skinny man blinked, clearly unaware.

“Let’s just go! Sell this little brat to a nearby s*ave trader, and we’ll make a fortune!”

The burly man was quite shrewd.

Even before his exile, he had been involved in human trafficking.

Any individual with unique abilities could fetch a good price from discerning buyers in various kingdoms.

Whether a wizard or someone from the White Empire, anyone capable of using magic despite Wahatu’s anti-magic restrictions was an invaluable treasure!

Dona’s eyes fluttered wildly.

She wanted to scream to draw attention, but the bandit’s filthy hand clamped her mouth shut, allowing her to smell only captivity and death.

‘I don’t want to be sold!’

Dona bit down hard on the burly man’s palm!

“Ouch!” The burly man cried out in pain, releasing her.

Dona fell to the ground, attempting to chant a spell to escape, but she was met with a resounding slap from the skinny man!

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

Smack!

Dona was almost knocked unconscious by the skinny man’s blow.

Her body slumped sideways onto the straw pile.

The enraged burly man immediately raised his foot and pressed it onto her face.

“You little b*tch! You bite, do you?! Gag her mouth!”

“Yes, Brother!”

The skinny man grabbed a handful of dry straw and stuffed it into Dona’s small mouth.

It was then that Dona realized the immense disparity in their sizes and how utterly insignificant her nascent magic was.

‘My face hurts so much. Their hands are so dirty. I was wrong! Brother! Save me!’

“What are you muttering about, huh? You were quite fierce with your biting earlier!” The burly man twisted his foot, leaving a mark on Dona’s face.

A princess of a kingdom was captured so easily.

“Brother! She has quite a few good things on her too!” The skinny man noticed several items in a nearby pile of straw, a mix of jewelry and coins.

“Grab the valuables! Once she’s tied up, we’ll slip away!” The burly man examined his palm, where the faint red tooth marks still throbbed painfully.

As the skinny man gathered the loot, the burly man raised his leg and kicked Dona in the stomach once more.

“Damn it! That little b*tch has strong teeth!”

The moment Dona was kicked, her vision blurred.

The churning sensation in her gut made her feel as though she might vomit.

As the burly man raised his foot again, in those few short seconds, Dona seemed to see her family in a phantom vision.

Beside the palace throne, her Imperial Father turned to Hal.

“Hal, Dona is no longer a child. It’s time for her to experience the outside world, starting with basic etiquette lessons in the countryside.”

“But Imperial Father, you know Dona’s temperament. I fear she might cause trouble. Perhaps I should accompany her.”

“Ah! You, her elder brother, always protect her so much. But she must face some setbacks and learn from them, mustn’t she?”

“But Imperial Father…”

The conversation between her Imperial Father and her brother vanished from Dona’s mind.

A sudden realization dawned upon her.

‘Brother Hal has always silently protected me, yet I’ve repeatedly caused him worry and even argued with him, making him angry. I’ve truly been too much.’

However, Dona’s current regret could not summon her brother.

She was kicked in the stomach again, and this time, before she could even regret it further, she succumbed to unconsciousness.

“Brother! Go easy on her!”

“She won’t die! Hmph! Still playing dead!”

The burly man nudged Dona’s body with his foot.

Dona was already unconscious, only a faint whisper escaping her lips.

“Brother… I’m sorry.”

The moonlight shone brightly as Chen Zeyu finally flew to the last known location of the magic signature.

“Dona, you can really fly that far.” Chen Zeyu felt her scalp tingle; she had less than a tenth of her magic left.

She estimated she could fly another ten kilometers and cast one white flame fireball.

Chen Zeyu descended into Sand Camel Town, illuminated by torchlight, landing right beside the camel sheds.

She noticed a distinct drag mark and footprints on the dunes, along with faint traces of pale golden magic.

‘Dona… has she been abducted?’