On one side was Maya, the closest person to her, whom she had thought of as her own family. And the others were people from the villages. These people really knew how to toy with human life.
Aisha could feel cold sweat running down her back. If she said something wrong here, one of them could get hurt. She absolutely couldn't make a mistake!
Archibald saw her hesitating and felt bored. "If you have nothing to say, shall we get to the main event next? Bring in the executioner!"
The village prisoners immediately prostrated themselves in fright upon hearing that. Especially when a big man holding a huge axe suddenly stepped into the field. The axe still had some blood stains on it, making the man look even more menacing.
The villagers were so frightened they profusely begged for mercy from the tyrant.
Aisha shuddered when she saw the executioner playing with the axe with ease. Was he planning to behead the villagers in front of her?
Panic overwhelmed her sense as she shouted, "Wait! Please wait!"
"Oh? You finally got your voice now? That's good. Now, say your last words to your former people so we can continue the show." Archibald sneered while languidly leaning back against the backrest. "Come on, Priestess. Don't make our people wait."
Fearing their death, the villagers couldn't help but shout out in desperation.
"Please give us mercy! We are just ordinary people who know nothing!"
"Yes, we are just some people without power who got dragged into the mess."
"The Priestess... Yes! You already have our Priestess, so please let us go!"
"If you want to take our Priestess, then you are free to take her!"
"The one you come here for is already in your hand, so we humbly plead for your magnanimity to let us go!"
Aisha's eyes widened in shock while Archibald smirked in satisfaction. He subtly glanced at her, who looked like she had just gotten a slap on the face.
"Isn't she your precious Priestess? I heard your village can't live in peace without her. You had just pleaded with her to save you, but you easily threw her away when your life was at risk."
None of them dared to utter anything, so he continued. "What if I told you I would torture her and use her body for my men to play with?"
The villagers flinched. They exchanged glances before one of them said, "The Priestess surely would be glad if she could be of any use to Your Majesty."
Aisha felt extremely cold, both inside and outside. Even though she knew these people had no choice but to say that, it still hurt when she heard it directly.
Archibald smiled before shifting his attention to her. "That's what they say. What do you think? I only said it as a joke, but they agreed quite fast. Don't you resent their hypocrisy? How about you give the executioner the command? After all, this show is for you, so I will just sit back and watch this time."
The villagers shuddered in fright, and the next moment, they slammed their foreheads to the ground as they begged for mercy again.
Aisha looked at Archibald contemptuously, not even bother hiding her disgust anymore. He knew she never really submitted to him, so he devised a wicked plan to use these people to corner her. He wanted her to kill these people to prove her oath.
What a cruel and despicable man!
Aisha abruptly stood up, and Archibald didn't stop her this time.
Instead, he observed her closely while propping his chin with his hand, looking forward to the upcoming show. Now that those people had already abandoned her, there was no reason for her to protect them anymore.
He couldn't wait to see her pure and clean hands slowly tainted by the blood of her people. The sight of her discarding her people undoubtedly would be entertaining to see.
Besides, he could discipline her this way and give her a glimpse of the cruel world.
However, contrary to his expectation, instead of ordering the executioner to kill them or begging him to spare their life, Aisha walked to the table full of food used for the banquet before returning to his side with some food and a glass of beer in her hand. Archibald frowned in confusion.
"What are you doing?"
"Since the show will begin soon, why don't we enjoy it while eating? I also fetch some food for Your Majesty since you haven't eaten yet." Aisha smiled fawningly. "How about we make a toast first? For your glorious victory today."
Her action elicited various kinds of reactions. The villagers looked at her with betrayed and resentful looks on their faces while the soldiers whispered among themselves, thinking that Aisha had gone mad.
Among them, only Archibald seemed relatively calm. He silently scanned Aisha, who was still holding up a plate in front of him, and sensed no malice from her.
What was this woman planning?
Archibald was immensely intrigued, but his expression betrayed none of that feeling. He wanted to see what she had in her sleeve, so he played along.
"Alright. Since I prepared this for you, I will listen to you this time."
"Thank you for going along with me, Your Majesty." Aisha flashed her sweetest smile before taking a sip of her own drink.
Archibald was still skeptical, so he didn't touch the food and drinks she had bought him and gave them to the man beside him.
"Cough!"
*SPLURT
The coughing sound made him turn his head back at her. His shock couldn't be described in words seeing Aisha's blood-covered face.
The next moment, she coughed violently and vomited more blood from her mouth. Archibald's facial expression hardened.
The glass slipped from her hand and fell to the ground, crashing to pieces. The sound immediately brought everyone to their senses.
Unable to keep herself steady, Aisha almost fell from his lap, but Archibald held her body tightly in his arms.
"Aisha!" Archibald's eyes widened in horror, especially when he saw the amount of blood she vomited. It dyed most of her upper body in red blood. The white outfit made the sight look even more aghast.
He didn't even care that some blood was smeared onto his royal garment and roared, "Call the physician to come here! Quickly!"
"W-wait…"
Aisha's whole body trembled as she painstakingly forced some words out of her bloody mouth. Her gaze was unfocused, but she held on to his lapel tightly.
"There is….something in the food and drinks. Your Majesty, please don't touch them. You will...be hurt."
That was everything she could say before she passed out. Archibald felt like his heart almost dropped to the ground when he felt her body limp in his arms.
"Test the food and drinks for poison. Find the culprit and bring that person to me!"
"Your Majesty, what about these people?"
Archibald couldn't care less about them anymore. He only brought them out because he wanted to test her. However, it didn't seem like that would be necessary anymore.
There was no further proof needed after what he had just witnessed.
"Release them and make sure they never appear before me again!"