I walked behind Ivy who was guiding me towards our unknown destination. Her paces were large and her complexion flushed from the burning heat.
Her eyes wandered around, from one side to the other, traveling long and short distances, filled with frustration and anxiousness.
Her words kept on echoing in my mind, repeatedly.
'It's Jade milady...! He was taken by the guards!'
At first, I thought this was nothing but Ivy's way of messing with my emotions but, once I saw her stern and stiff expression, everything became clear.
'I thought they would leave him alone...!' my thumb finds its way onto my mouth and I begin chewing on the skin as my body trembled with uncertainty.
I didn't help Jade out of obligation or kindness. I need him to train and to be as strong as he can, otherwise, he is nothing more than a useless tool.
Of course, I have to get rid of the annoyances lingering around, preventing his growth and stalling his purpose.
My mind returns to the reality at hand once male voices become loud enough to be spotted between the rattling of the leaves.
"We've arrived," Ivy points to the northwest, "He's over there milady."
'So you won't come...' I grin understanding how much of a coward she really was.
I take some more steps and soon the whole scenery was unveiled.
A large group of guards were surrounding Jade and trying their best to beat him but he swiftly dodges their punches and kicks. Suddenly, one of the men throws their armor to the ground, forcing Jade to lose his balance, and, without any second thought, another man grabs his shoulders and delivers a swift blow onto his abdomen.
Jade's tried to remain emotionless but I could tell by his eyes that he was holding back, he didn't want to give them the satisfaction of seeing his pained expression.
The men begin to laugh loudly and a sudden urge of ripping their heads off their bodies passed through my mind, swiftly like the Blistering breeze.
"What do you think you are doing!?" I yell but only a handful of guards hear my voice since the rest of them were too absorbed in their wrongdoings, "I order you to stop!"
Noticing my presence, some of the guards from the furthest part of the circle move and immediately bow down.
I look behind me just to see Ivy hiding in some bushes as her eyes displayed her overgrowing fear.
My attention then shifts to Jade who was still moving around and dodging all he could. Understanding he wouldn't go down so easily, one of the men places his feet in front of him and he falls straight into the dirt.
Immediately the guards proceed to grab him forcefully.
"You fucking disgusting pig," I notice that the man who was speaking was the creator of this whole incident and, coincidentally, he was also the one who had broken the teapot several days ago, "You dared to let Martin bow down to you?"
"He should learn his place, as the slave he is," another man joins in, an unfamiliar yet peculiar face.
"You are too full of yourself just because that bitch favors you," a man states and they all begin laughing loudly. Jade swings his body in a pitiful attempt to free his body.
"I know... You are fucking her aren't you?" the first man speaks loudly, "Is she good? I mean, I can already imagine her... Maybe we should all do her once the young master is done with her."
Unexpectedly, Jade moves his feet strongly and the man who was proudly speaking falls straight onto the floor.
"Feel free to imagine because that's how far you will go," Jade speaks with a grin on his lips.
"You fucking...!" the man stands up and throws him a punch onto his cheek, making him spit blood onto the dirt.
"That's enough!" I yell and finally, I was heard. The guard's complexion turns pale once they see me and the circle opens, however, that filthy man was so obsessed with Jade's remark that he didn't see or hear me.
He pushes his arm back, charging his fist, and, without a second thought, I place myself between the two of them.
"Milady!" Ivy runs towards me.
Excruciating pain runs through my cheek as the guard lands his blow and I immediately fall onto the floor. The sweet taste of blood filled my mouth and, once I regain my focus I see a monster.
Jade, who was previously behind me was now in front of me, beating the life of the pitiful guard who had, accidentally punched me. The man's eyes were almost lifeless as his face gradually became something abstract.
"Stop!" I gather my strength and yell at the top of my lungs. A sharp pain instantly hits my jaw and I groan in pain, "Jade... Stop..."
Weirdly, he looks at me and quickly heads to my side. His expression was now worried.
"Excuse me for my rudeness master," even in physical pain he holds me in his arms.
"All of you, come," I state and the guards anxiously follow.
We leave the woods and enter the mansion's back garden. The servants walking around looked at us in awe, as if their eyes were merely portraying lies.
Jade sits me on a chair that Ivy promptly brings from the inside of the mansion and the guards stop on their feet, trading confused glares with each other.
My right-hand touches my jaw and I grin as I feel the adrenaline fill my veins.
"Were we having a party gentleman? Why wasn't I invited for some of the fun?" I question them bluntly. I needed to hide my pain if I wanted to be taken seriously.
The slave's eyes were focused on the guards, especially on the one standing in the front row with a face filled with wounds as a red liquidance came out of them. The men remain quiet, each one of them waiting for the next one to take the blame.
"What's wrong? Did the cat got your tongue?" I get up and walk forward right before stopping in front of the guard who had punched me.
"No, milady..." my pressure made him reluctantly answer.
"Oh my... Where are my manners?" I smile coldly, "We should all discuss this...!"
"Milady!" a loud voice is heard alongside the clacking of metals. Martin, the knight in shining armor, arrives to save the day.
'How convenient,' I click my tongue as the man tried to catch his breath.
"Please forgive them milady, it was my fault for not teaching them properly," Martin immediately kneels on the floor, and, like the great sheep they are, the guards follow.
"I see... Do you know what your subordinates did? Or are you just taking the blame because you trust their poor judgment?" I glare over at him and see his attention focused on the beaten-up man.
"Let me enlighten you..." as I was about to speak another loud voice is heard.
"Ophelia!" another voice is heard and I quickly look behind just to see Duke Wharton walk hurriedly from the mansion to the garden, where we stood.
'Oh-Oh... This is... Perfect!' I bite my bottom lip with excitement.
"Father," I turn to him once he reaches my side.
"Are you alright? I heard something happened and...! Who did this!?" noticing my bruised cheek, Edgar snaps.
Everyone grows silent as the Duke glared at them with murderous intent.
"Sir Martin," I turn to the man kneeling on the floor, "Your subordinate punched me with all his might..."
"I'm sure that was..." as he was about to come up with an excuse I interrupt.
"Yes, it was nothing but a dreadful accident, I am aware," I smile coldly and Martin tenses up, "But accusing me of adultery wasn't."
"What did you say!?" as Martin's eyes widen in shock the Duke instantly speaks up, "Who dared!?"
"Your grace, Lady Ophelia appeared when we were brawling and was accidentally hurt," one of the men spoke courteously, "Nothing else happened."
"Even then everyone knows of the penalty of hurting the daughter of the Duke," Ivy interrupts sternly but I ignore her statement.
'This man...' it was clear he was focused on me, threatening my domain at plain sight.
"Are you accusing me of being a liar?" I frown at the man's remark.
'He is...' upon closer inspection I understood that the man was the second one that had spoken before, 'So he is the real threat.'
I realized that all the other guards were nothing but puppets and this man was their puppeteer.
"I wouldn't dare milady," he immediately bows.
"Then are you accusing me of being negligent?" I approach him.
"Of course not milady, accidents happen, that's all."
"Jade, would you mind telling us what happened in full detail?" seeing his confidence I turn around and face the Duke.
"Your grace, he is a slave owned by Lady Ophelia, of course, he will comply with her wishes," that man's calm and peaceful smile was making me lose my patience.
"Ivy..." as I was about to speak I am interrupted.
"Of course that a maid's judgment will be clouded," his continuous smile was hiding its malice.
"Enough of this nonsense!" Edgar yells angrily. It was clear he was extremely unpleased with the situation.
'Tsk...' I click my tongue seeing how fast the tables had turned. Suddenly I see a nervous, young, and naive boy kneeling in the backline with his head low.
"You, come here," I order, "You seem trustworthy."
"M-Milady..." he kneels in front of me.
"What happened?" the Duke questions.
"Father, if I may..." he looks at me conflicted but ends up giving in, "I will ask you some questions, you just need to answer with the first word that appears in your head, understand?" he nods.
'Now then...' I lower my body to his level and his eyes widen in surprise.
"What is your name?"
"A-Andrew."
"Do you like being a guard?" the questions were quick and so were his answers.
"Yes."
"What is your favorite color?"
"G-Green," he tried his best to reply quickly and truthfully but his eyes kept on swaying to the Duke's omnious presence.
"Did you beat my slave?"
"No."
"What is your favorite meat?"
"Chicken."
"What is the name of your mother?"
"Caroline."
"Are you married?"
"No."
"What is your favorite flower?"
"Hibiscus"
As I kept on asking him several questions of simple and trivial affairs his body became relaxed and his answers a lot more concise. He wasn't suspicious anymore or even feeling the pressure from the Duke since this looked like child's play.
"Was I slandered?" the key question was asked and, as a poor dumb lamb, he immediately took the bait.
"Yes," the young boy places his hands on his mouth, regretting what he had said. His eyes were shocked almost as if he wasn't understanding what had just happened.
"Who dared!?" Edgar's temperament was growing worse and a large grin was displayed on my lips once I noticed the puppeteer's smile fade.
"I did your grace," Martin steps in abruptly.
"Did you? Do you think my slave has taken my chastity away?" I grin.
'So, do you still want to receive their punishment?' his frustrated face was becoming conflicted as he struggled to make a decision.
"Then Sir Martin, can you imagine me naked in your bed, being abused by all of your subordinates once Lord Terrel has had enough of my body?" his eyes widen in shock.
"What did you say!?" Edgar's voice was displaying all his pent-up stress.
"You imbecile! Dan, you fool!" Martin gets up and runs towards the beaten-up man, grabbing him by the collar, "How could you say something like that!?"
"I-I...!" he was struggling to speak.
'That's what I thought,' the feeling of fulfillment begins to fill my body.
"It was not enough punching me, you even had to..." the theatrical display begins and, after controlling the game, I become the frail and poor victim.
"Bring me my sword and call for the doctor," the servant standing behind the Duke obeys and the guard looks at them petrified.
Several minutes pass and both the servant and the doctor arrived.
"Your grace," they bow down and Edgar gets his hands on the longsword that carried the Wharton's family crest.
"Please milord, it was an accident!" he begs but the Duke just glares down at him, showing his full disgust and hatred.
"Dan, you are well aware of the punishment for those who hurt my family, however, since your father served me well I will lighten your sentence" the Duke was glaring down at the guard, "Grab him and stretch his right arm"
"Please milord! I beg of you! I have a wife and kids!" the guards surround him and hold him steady, whispering things as 'I'm sorry' or 'It's better if you stay still'.
"Dan, I am being generous as it is, do not test my patience" he declares.
"You might wanna bite this" the doctor intervenes and places a large wooden stick in his mouth.
I look around and see both Martin and the puppeteer with pained expressions. They looked devastated.
'So he is someone of some importance...' I glance over to Edgar's eyes and see his confliction, 'His father must've been a close friend...'
As the Duke began swinging his sword slightly, the guard looked away, sweat and tears were being expelled from his body. Without any warning the Duke moves steadily and quickly, performing a quick cut.
The guard groaned as he bit the stick, the doctor quickly approached him to prevent blood loss, and Edgar cleaned the tainted sword to a beautiful purple cloth.
'Dan... You served me well...' I grin as I feel the adrenaline of witnessing his suffering run through my soul.
Blood was spurting everywhere, tainting everyone around as his arm was now on the floor. A pool of vivid red flowed out of it while the tighten in the grip of the hands softened. I saw everything, the beautiful shade of ruby that tainted that guard's bones as he screamed in pain and horror.
Tears were mixing themselves with his saliva and sweat, becoming one as they touched the floor. The guards around him looked terrified, in fact, the one who was grabbing his arm had his hands trembling uncontrollably.
Soon everything grew quiet as the leftovers of that man's soul crumbled into pieces that would never be put together again. As the doctor stitched his flesh, Dan's eyes were as dead as flowers in the Frosting, but, somehow, I found it beautiful.
"You are allowed to continue working here as a butler if you wish Dan, I won't throw you out but if this happens again... I am aware you know what will happen," the man nods with the rest of his strength and then passes out.
Maybe it was due to the shock, maybe it was due to the blood loss, or maybe it was because he would never be able to wield a sword ever again.
"My dear, I'm sorry you had to pass through such a traumatic experience... Would you like to relax over a cup of tea?" the Duke smiles at me warmly but I could see that deep down this had hurt him.
'He really liked this man's father huh...'
"I would love to but I feel like I need to bathe once again," I point at my dress who was now covered with bloodstains. He scratches his head flustered.
"Of course, please do visit me when you wish dear," he pats my head and heads towards his study room once again.