Chapter 122 - Young Duchess of the I

  Emma:

  The irls and I exged gnces, huddling together.

  "It's okay, he won't attack you," said a girl as she walked past the ice wolf.

  She came closer, swiftly cutting through the ropes and removing s with a knife. Her movements were precise, quick, yet careful enough not to hurt us. I could tell by her clothes that she wasn't just anyone.

  "A noble? Did you e to help us?" I asked.

  She smiled.

  "Of course, you are my people," she said as she freed us.

  "Go ahead, our soldiers are ing in, and they will take care of you. First, we’ll need you to firm the identity of a man, then you'll be taken somewhere safe, and we’ll find your families."

  Hearing those words, I burst into tears, but they were tears of relief. I ran to her and hugged her.

  "Thank you," I said, holdiightly.

  "It's alright," she replied, returning the embrace.

  "I'll just o get some clothes for a few of you first," she added as she stood up a.

  "e with me, but be careful; part of the hallway colpsed," she said, leading the irls out.

  I looked toward the hole in the ground and suddenly colpsed.

  What happened?

  My legs started shaking, and fear crept in.

  "You ’t look! He told me it causes fear," the girl said.

  "He?"

  "Miss?" a voice called in the background as she walked toward the others.

  As I was about to stand up, I heard a noise and looked toward the hole.

  "Ah!" I screamed, seeing the bandit leader again.

  "Help!" I cried, calling out for the girl.

  "Who freed you, bitch?" the bandit leader grabbed me.

  Help!

  'Woof!' the wolf, still in the room, barked.

  "Damn it!" the bandit leader cursed, and I was released.

  "Shit! I o get out of here with this bitch!"

  I ran away, and the girl passed by me.

  "A wolf!" he shouted from the room.

  'Grrrr...'

  "A golem? A fug i!"

  'Grrrr...'

  "Attack!" the girl anded.

  "You’re dead!"

  I watched as the wolf pihe man to the ground by his neck, its cold, icy gaze refleg the severity of the situation. The girl approached, her eyes sharp.

  "If you try anything, he’ll crush your neck," she said with an undeniable authority in her voice.

  The man struggled, but the ice wolf tightes grip, panic flooding his face.

  "Okay! Please! Mercy!" he screamed, desperation dripping from his words.

  I felt a chill run down my spine as a boy stepped out of the shadows, his calm stride trasting with the terror that surrounded us.

  "Mercy?" he asked, his voice ced with such ess that it made me shiver. "What about the families who refused to give up their daughters? Did you show them any mercy?" He stepped closer to the fallen bandit, each word a nation.

  Curled up and half-naked, I felt a wave of shame for being in this situation before him. The boy was handsome, ae the horror surrounding us, the disfort of being seen like this grew stronger.

  "We o leave someone alive, ahe only o," the girl said, breaking the heavy silence.

  The boy clicked his tourning his attention to me. "Are you alright?" he asked, his voiow gentler.

  "Yes... thank you so much," I replied, still embarrassed by my situation.

  "Stop staring at her!" the girl snapped, ping his arm, maki out a small nervous smile.

  "I wasn't looking at her like that!" he protested, trying to escape the awkwardness.

  "Then why were you looking?"

  "I just wao see if she was okay," he mumbled, clearly trying to avoid further trouble.

  The girl sighed in annoyance. "I'm going to tell Cyl..." she murmured.

  "Hey! That's not fair!" he retorted, almost in desperation.

  The sound of heavy footsteps approached, and I froze in fear as armed soldiers ehe room. But the girl stepped forward.

  "Don't worry, they're with us," she said with a reassuring nod, easing my fears.

  The soldiers approached, and one of them made a formal salute.

  "Lady Chloe and Lord Nathan!" he announced. "Sifu has arrived with the man."

  "Finally!" the boy responded, his tone lighter. He g me again and stepped forward.

  "Get her something to cover up," he said before moving away.

  Then, he paused for a moment and snapped his fingers. The sound of metal shifting made me look toward a hole where a sword floated into the air and into his hand. He grabbed the bde naturally, stored it in his bracelet, a without another word.

  I stood there, still in shock, until a soldier handed me a cloak. I quickly covered myself, feeling a small sense of relief at st.

  The crowd parted as an old fn man in blue robes appeared, dragging a man at his mercy. The man was nearly naked, beaten, and burned, his body covered in wounds. The most horrifyiail was the pce where his eye should have been—now filled with a wooden stake driven deep into his socket. I was stunned by the sight, my stomach turning in pure horror.

  "I need your final firmation!" the old man shouted, throwing the man to the ground before me. His eyes, as well as the girl's beside him, were fixed on me.

  "Is this the man who came to evaluate you?" the old man asked, awaiting my response while the soldiers watched me expetly.

  I was terrified, but I knew I had to answer. "Am I supposed to firm his identity?" I asked, hesitating.

  "Yes. Better get closer and check his face," the girl said.

  With my heart pounding, I sloroached the man, whose expression of fear grew as I neared. When I finally saw his barely reizable face, my body froze. It was him—the man who came to appraise the price of each of us for sale. Despite his pitiful state, I reized him.

  "It's him," I said in a near whisper. "He's the man who came... to give me a price... to be sold."

  The man began to sob, clutg at my legs in desperation. "No! Please!" he begged, but his plea was quickly silenced by the old man.

  "Quiet!" the old man barked, pulling him bad dragging him closer to the girl.

  "Give your sentence, princess. What is his punishment?" the old man asked coldly.

  Without hesitation, the girl gripped the man's face tightly and responded, "Death!"

  The man's terrified scream echoed, but it was soon silenced as his head began to freeze. Ice spread quickly, and with a soft 'bam,' his head shattered into frozen fragments. The girl had crushed his frozen skull. His life was over, and I watched the entire se unfold, horrified.

  These people are dangerous.

  I swallowed hard in fear.

  "The maids gathered good information," the girl said, her tone cold and ued.

  "They're w hard. There have been many is tely. It was good you left one alive. Natha usually leave survivors. We'll take the bandit, and the maids will extract everything he knows," the old man replied, gng at the bandit leader.

  The bandit, seeing the state of the sver's body, colpsed to the ground, sobbing. "Please! I'll tell you everything! There's o torture me, I'll tell you whatever you want!" he begged, utterly terrified.

  "You will tell us everything, but only after we're sure you're cooperating. Take him to the torture chambers," the girl ordered.

  Soldiers appeared, dragging the weeping bandit leader away, while the old man spoke again. "Lady Chloe, you'd better hurry. You o prepare for your jouro the Royal Capital."

  Still in shock, I felt the girl's eyes turn to me. She noticed my fusion and stepped closer, her tone softening. "Don't worry, you'll be reunited with your family soon. You're with the Evenhart family now."

  The Evenhart...? My heart raced, struggling to process everything that had just happened.

  Author's Note:

  Hello, dear readers!

  We've just fihe prologue of Book 3, and I hope you e.

  Now, we're about to ehe 'school arc'. I've kept a good baweetles and the world's mysteries because I know a school arc is a o in many stories. So, I've crafted it in a way that allows you to uhe mysteries of this world while also witnessing the magical growth of our young general.

  Enjoy it, because there will e a point in this book where, even as the writer, I felt tense, excited, and surprised by the events that unfolded.