Chapter 261 - The Dragon, the Duchess, and Vengeance

Hugo Riverclimb:

After handing over the nobles to the servants and watching them being taken to Margaery, I stayed to talk with my wife. Martha looked worried, still without news of Nathan.

"Still no sign of the young master," she said, her expression tense.

We had searched every corner of the castle. We captured those we didn’t kill, and all prisoners were sent to wait at the front of the wall. But as soon as they saw the dragon flying overhead, they too dropped to their knees, mimicking the soldiers who remained kneeling under the sun, not daring to stand.

"Looks like he really went after Nikolaus Wolves in the dungeons..." I commented, considering what to do next.

"What should I do?" Martha asked me, waiting for an answer.

I thought for a moment. Katherine was by Margaery’s side, watching the nobles. Interrupting the two of them wasn’t a viable option, especially with that threatening dragon nearby. I wasn’t crazy enough to go there.

Knowing Nathan, it would be best to let him take his revenge. I would do the same if they had hurt Martha or any of my daughters.

"Better let the young master handle things his way," I suggested.

Martha sighed, clearly dissatisfied with my answer.

"What is it?" I asked, teasing her a little. "Do you want me to risk going over there near that thing and talk to Katherine?"

"It’s just Cylla. You’re so scared," she replied, smiling playfully.

I laughed. "My love, look at the size of that thing. Just because it likes your food doesn’t mean it’s friendly to other people."

She left laughing, and I watched her, wondering if I was truly the only sensible one there. After all, there was a giant dragon above us.

She should be supporting me, not wanting her husband to walk straight into danger...

I stayed back, watching Margaery deal with the other nobles. As a guard, it was my duty to protect her, but looking at the scene, it seemed my presence there was irrelevant.

Next to her was a Moon Panther, a lethal and deadly creature. Above us, a massive dragon ruled the skies, imposing and terrifying. And around her, Katherine, with her ability to command an army of plant-infested soldiers, seemed more than enough for any threat.

And me? I could shoot fire from my hands.

My daughters are right… I think I need to start training more.

I looked at Katherine, who remained silent, but from the look in her eyes, I knew she was gathering every ounce of strength she had not to kill those nobles. If someone said the wrong thing, she wouldn’t hesitate to kill. Margaery, with her imposing stance, handled the nobles as though they were discarded pieces in a game she had already won. Martha, always so efficient, watched everything with cold calm, and the servants… well, they looked ready to act at any moment, lethal and precise.

I think Sifu is right. We’re surrounded by dangerous women…

I approached, watching the nobles slowly regain their senses. One of them wasn’t so lucky; his mind had completely collapsed. His vacant gaze and frozen expression made it clear that the shock of seeing the dragon had broken something inside him. I even tried talking to him, but it was like speaking to a standing corpse. He was no longer there. We sent him as food to the giant plant. Katherine explained that it was an efficient way to dispose of bodies. The plant, which had been growing nonstop, now began to swell, absorbing all the bodies we threw into it. According to Katherine, the creature was at the end of its cycle.

I looked again at Margaery, imposing, and then at the nobles. Some of them had urinated themselves, and the dragon stared at them with rage.

“How is it going to be?” Margaery asked, her calm demeanor chilling.

The men, overwhelmed by terror, knelt down, placing their heads against the floor, trembling in fear. The silence was suffocating, and the weight of Margaery's words made the air around us feel denser.

“You tried to harm my family in the past. Not a single day went by that I didn’t think of exacting my revenge on you, but I was fair. I agreed to the peace treaty we signed, and at no point did I retaliate. I didn’t raise taxes, I didn’t sabotage your economies, and I didn’t even orchestrate your murders. And I assure you, I could have done all of that,” her voice was cold and cutting. “My family knows very well how to kill someone and make it look like an accident. But I moved on, even with my anger, and let you continue your lives.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

The men trembled even more, lost in the agonizing silence that followed. There was no response that could save their lives in that moment.

“Please...” one of them murmured, his voice weak and desperate. “I swear we didn’t send that assassin to try to kill your daughter! We would never harm her.”

Margaery’s face hardened, her expression becoming even darker. It was the same look she had when assuming the role of the feared Torture Witch.

“But you ordered the death of my other child!” she screamed, standing up with fury. “You had my nephew assassinated!”

In a swift motion, she pulled a chain from her storage bracelet and threw it over the noble. He screamed in agony, falling to the ground, his body writhing in pain as the chain wrapped around him.

The other nobles remained still, paralyzed by fear. They didn’t dare move a muscle while Margaery, with burning rage, whipped the man.

“You ordered the death of my child!” The chain cracked through the air, each strike echoing, accompanied by the desperate screams of the noble. “My boy!” she repeated with every lash.

With a cold look, Margaery finally stopped and returned to her chair, sitting and observing the man sprawled in agony on the floor.

“I want to know everything! Give me everything!” Margaery shouted, her voice heavy with fury. “If you lie, if you beat around the bush with your explanations, I will show no mercy. Don’t test my patience! It’s already gone!”

The nobles lifted their faces, hesitating, fear stamped on their expressions. They didn’t know what to say, who should speak first, terrified of saying the wrong thing and worsening their chances of survival.

She sighed heavily, the tension in the air palpable.

“Speed up!” she shouted again, authority in her voice echoing through the hall. “Who came up with the idea?”

“It was Nikolaus Wolves!” Count Laurence shouted, in a burst of desperation. “He’s the one who suggested killing the heir, Nathan Evenhart!”

The air around them seemed to heat up suddenly, the great dragon above them snorted with fury, its nostrils releasing smoke as its eyes glared at them with a threatening gleam. The nobles, terrified, immediately prostrated themselves again, fearing what might happen.

Margaery laughed bitterly. “But look at this… a noble, leader of your faction, suggests you kill your own duke, and you just accept it!?” Her voice now overflowed with hatred. “You’re all equally guilty! All of you funded the murder of my nephew, which led to the attack on my daughter!”

The silence was deafening. Some of the nobles were on the brink of tears, unable to decide whether they should speak or not.

"My family has followed an ancient rule for two thousand years. We always remain humble, acting like simple people. We never show more than necessary. But you... you tried to kill the ruler! An unforgivable crime! Just thinking about it deserves a death sentence."

She stared at them coldly, causing them all to shudder under her penetrating gaze.

Margaery adjusted herself in the chair, her eyes shining with dangerous sarcasm. "But I’m a good duchess, aren’t I? Isn’t that what you think of me? Actually, I think the term was 'foolish duchess.' In two thousand years, this has never happened in my family, and it happened with me. I must have done something wrong, don’t you agree?" She chuckled softly, the tension in the air growing.

The nobles exchanged nervous glances, unable to respond. Fear permeated each of them.

"I will be a good duchess, and I won’t kill you," she said, settling calmly.

One of the men, desperate, quickly lifted his head. "Thank you!" he exclaimed, tears in his eyes.

"Who will kill you is the dragon!" Margaery completed, smiling coldly.

The massive dragon lowered its gigantic head and, before the nobles could react, grabbed one of them in its enormous jaws. Screams of terror echoed as Cylla threw the man so high into the sky that he disappeared from sight, obscured by the sunlight.

The creature stretched its neck and, in a swift and brutal motion, grabbed the noble back with a great bite. The sound of flesh tearing resonated throughout the place, followed by an explosion of flames that shot from Cylla’s mouth as she chewed. The other nobles were paralyzed, in shock, watching the horror with wide eyes.

The fear was absolute.

Count Laurence fell to his knees, desperate, tears streaming down his face. "Mercy! I beg you!" he cried, and soon other nobles followed suit, sobbing and begging for forgiveness.

"Please, have mercy! I beg for your forgiveness!"

Margaery watched them for a moment, her face unyielding.

Katherine, who had been silent up until now, pointed a finger at one of them. "Kill this one too. The crying didn’t convince me."

Cylla didn’t hesitate. In a swift motion, she descended and grabbed a noble, who was crying and screaming desperately, begging for his life. He was thrown up like a toy. In the middle of the sky, before he could fall, Cylla opened her mouth and released an immense burst of fire. The explosion was so powerful that the sound reverberated like thunder, and all that remained were charred bone fragments falling like black ash from the sky.

The terror of the other nobles was palpable. No one dared to speak anymore, overcome by absolute fear.

Margaery looked at the kneeling, bloodied nobles with a chilling calm, while Katherine watched with a satisfied smile.

"Did the crying convince you, Katie?" Margaery asked, casually.

Katherine shook her head, without hesitation. "No! I want one more dead!" her voice was cold and unrelenting.

"You heard your mother, Cylla," said Margaery.

In response, the dragon lowered its colossal neck and, in a single motion, bit one of the nobles, crushing him between its teeth. The bloodied torso of the noble fell to the ground, splashing blood on the others, who trembled in fear. They watched her chew and eat, and the creature’s face glared at them with anger as she did so.

Count Laurence screamed in desperation: "I beg you! I’ll do anything! Please!"

Another noble, almost breathless from fear, joined in: "We beg! Please, have mercy!"

Margaery sighed heavily, as if tired, but a slow smile began to form on her lips. "I think now we can make some negotiations, what do you say?" she asked, laughing with a terrifying lightness, while the tension between the nobles grew and one of them froze in his position.

She sighed as she rubbed her temples.

"Great..." she muttered irritably. "Another one whose mind has collapsed..."