Finally arriving at the city gate, they crossed the gate and made their way into the bustling city filled with people walking up and down the streets.
Layah glanced around and her brow furrowed at seeing the people acting as if they saw something that could kill them.
They were all backing away the instant they glimpsed the carriage in which Damien was.
"What is going on?" she asked, and Mishak shook his head at her. "They are afraid of him. Remember what I told you earlier?" he replied, and she slowly nodded her head in realization.
"They seem really afraid of him." She commented and clutched her arm, which has become quite sore by now.
"Is it aching badly?" Mishak, who noticed the grimace on her face, asked with concern evident in his tone, and she nodded at him. "Yes, It's hurting more than before."
"I am sorry, okay. Just hold on for a bit more. We have arrived in the city. I will find a way for us to escape and take you for treatment." He smiled at her in comfort, and she half smiled at him. "Okay."
...
The carriage moved for a few more hours, and finally, when the sky began to get a bit cloudy, showing that it was going to rain soon, they finally arrived at the palace gate and royal guards immediately rolled the gate up for them.
They rode inside and halted when they arrived at the location where royal guards stood in a straight line as though they had been awaiting their return.
The soldier with blonde hair, who goes by the name of Leon, got down from the horse and walked over to stand near the carriage.
Damien pushed the door of the carriage open and got down, then glanced at Leon.
He signaled him to get Layah and Mishak out of the cage, then began to make his way towards the royal hall, where he knew the emperor and the crown prince would be waiting for him.
He arrived at the huge door in a few minutes, and the guards standing watch at the door announced his arrival before pushing it open for him.
With his head held high and no emotion evident on his face, he stepped in and began to walk further, only stopping when he arrived at the stairs that led up to the throne, where the middle-aged emperor sat with a smile evident on his face.
"Your Majesty." He cupped his hands together and bowed deeply in respect.
"Rise." The emperor said to him, and he straightened up, then turned to bow to Dorian, who was seated on a lower throne beside the emperor. He was now a fine young man with not that much of a muscular body compared to Damien.
He nodded at Damien, and Damien straightened up to look at them with his emotionless eyes.
"How did your journey go?" The emperor asked
"It went very well. The slaves we got were no more or less than forty. They are enough to fill in for the dead slaves according to our last calculations." He replied, and the emperor nodded his head in satisfaction. "That's great. You may return to your chamber now. I believe you need as much rest as you can get. Also, if you need entertainment, I can send you one."
"Thank you, your majesty, but there is no need for that." He slightly shook his head and turned to look at the door. "I do have something I wish to present to you." He said, and the emperor, including Dorian, gazed at the door in curiosity.
A few seconds passed, and the door was pushed open, revealing Leon and two other royal guards, apprehending none other than Layah and Mishak.
They dragged them into the hall and halted beside Damien, immediately going down on one knee and bowing respectfully to the emperor and Dorian.
The emperor nodded at them in response, and they stood up on their feet.
"They are?" He asked, and Damien glanced at Layah and Mishak before returning his gaze to him. "They are citizens of the Ducrya empire," he answered, and the emperor's brows raised in a bit of surprise.
"Oh...Ducrya empire..." he repeated, and Damien nodded. "Yes. She's Emperor Lurconis's first daughter. The crown princess of the Ducrya empire." He clarified, and Layah, including Mishak's jaw, fell.
Impossible! This was absolutely impossible. No one knows who the princess is! She had never even shown her face to the public, and it was only those within the palace who knew her, so how? How does he know who the princess is?
They stared at him in shock, and the emperor, who was very surprised by this, shifted his gaze to Layah and stared intently at her.
Feeling his gaze on her, Layah turned her head to look at him, and her face darkened so deeply that the emperor couldn't help but frown at such disrespect. "Undisciplined, aren't you?" He remarked with displeasure in his tone, and Mishak, who was unwilling to see anyone talk to the princess in such a manner, glared at the emperor with a balled fist, but what he didn't expect next was for Leon to heavily kick him on his back knee, causing an injury which had him fall to his knees.
He screamed in pain, and on seeing this, Layah moved to push Leon away, but Damien instantly drew his sword and appeared before her in the blink of an eye with the blade of his sword positioned at her neck.
He stared deep into her eyes, and Layah's lashes flickered rapidly on noticing that their faces were just two inches apart.
"If you try me, I won't take a second to slit your head off your neck! Behave. Yourself!" He threatened with a deadly glint in his eyes, and Layah's body trembled in fear she had never felt before. His eyes! She could feel it staring into her soul.
Noticing the deep fear in her eyes, Damien immediately stepped back and turned to the emperor. "She will make a perfect shield. She has very good fighting skills that are on par with the royal soldiers, so I hope you will allow me to train her myself." he requested, and the emperor nodded in agreement. "Alright then. You're in charge of her. "