CHAPTER 36 - ELISE AINDREA P4
~36.4~
*****
I shook my head. “No matter how I respond to this, it’s an insult to the royal family. If I admit to mocking the fifth prince, it’s an insult. If I deny it, I’m saying the fifth prince is lying, and that’s an insult.”
“You’re intelligent, at least,” the third prince said with a scoff. He turned to his brother. “Allan, what is the truth? Did you lie, or did she mock you?”
Without the slightest hint of remorse, the third prince doubled down. “She mocked me. And now she’s calling me a liar.”
Prince Wallace gritted his teeth and turned back to me. “So then you’ve insulted the royal family.”
Without a shred of fear, I answered, “Prince Allan is lying to you.”
“Brazen aren’t you?” He sighed and placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. “Are you aware of the punishment for insulting a member of the royal family?”
“The tongue is cut out.”
He glanced at the guards behind him, and they immediately moved to seize me. They grabbed me and tried to shove me to the ground to receive said punishment, but they couldn’t move me. I remained standing, not moving even an inch.
“What are you waiting for? Put her on the ground.”
“Your Highness, she won’t budge. I can’t move her.”
Sorry, but you C and B ranks can’t budge even an S, much less me.
Murmurs could be heard among the class behind us, but the third prince quickly squashed them. “Silence!” He glared at me, but he found no fear in my eyes. “You are willfully refusing your punishment?”
“That’s correct. I don’t want my tongue cut out simply because a prince claimed I said something I did not say.”
“Guards, one of you retrieve a chopping block, and one go retrieve Captain Reddick.”
Two of the three guards ran off, and the other stood next to the prince. “What is that look on your face?” He noticed right away. The mention of a chopping block and retrieving the Captain of the Royal Guard in one breath bothered me. I felt anger for the first time in that life.
“Do you mean to order my execution and have somebody else carry it out?”
“That’s precisely what I’m doing.”
The class gasped, and Maya started to step forward, but I held up a hand before she could move a single step. “None of you get involved. Keep your own safety in mind.”
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“That’s right,” Prince Wallace said. “I’d rather not have to issue punishments to multiple people.”
“You say that, but you are unwilling to carry out the punishment you issue yourself.”
“Excuse me?”
I stepped toward him, not bothering to hide either the anger on my face or in my voice. “You heard what I said.” The guard moved to step in front of me, but I moved him aside as if moving a stray branch out of my path. “The one who passes the sentence should swing the sword.”
He scoffed at me, not stepped back in the slightest, despite how close I’d gotten. With a smirk, he added, “Why dirty my own hands?”
“You were going to cut my tongue out yourself, but you won’t take my head? Is bearing the weight of taking a life too much for you?” I sighed and stepped back to where I was standing before. “It doesn’t matter. Neither you nor your guard captain are capable of taking my head.”
“Are you saying you’ll fight the royal guard captain?”
I shook my head. “I’m not saying I’ll fight anyone. I do not take the oath of my house lightly. I will not raise a weapon against you, be it a blade, a spell, or a fist.”
“Then how exactly do you mean to stop us from taking your head?”
“Your swords are simply not capable of that. You can’t even draw an ounce of blood from my body.”
“For somebody who says she takes her oath seriously, you certainly are throwing some fiery words at us.”
“Are you so weak that you cannot handle words? Is that how badly you need oaths from your nobility? Words can be weapons, but these are no more than feathers tickling one’s skin.” I shook my head. “Our oaths are to defend our kingdom and protect the royal family. Does this not give you cause to question this situation? You are passing an execution sentence over mere words.”
“As is my prerogative as a royal.”
“And if that is your choice, you clearly have a lesson to learn from this situation.
“Just be silent and wait.”
*****
A few minutes later, the royal guard captain arrived. The other students had been escorted away by the instructor, except for the children of ducal and royal households.
Of that class, that included only Maya and the fifth prince.
“Why are you still here?” Prince Wallace asked.
“She is my friend. I will not abandon her.”
“I know you’re from a ducal house in Weltwald. If you feel it’s your duty to stay until this is done, so be it, but stay out of the way.”
Maya smirked at him, but he ignored it.
They tried again to put me on the ground, this time with the captain’s help, but not even the captain could move me.
“I told you that you are incapable of taking my head.”
The prince sighed. “Captain, take her head where she stands. You’ll have to put a lot of power behind your sword to do that.”
Undaunted, I said, “You’re going to break your sword if you try that.”
The captain turned to the prince and asked, “If this woman is strong enough to not only resist being pushed to the ground, but not be budged an inch, why are you insisting on executing her?”
“Her insults to the royal family and refusal to accept punishment are unacceptable.”
“I understand that, but this woman is clearly very strong. Would she not be a valuable asset to our nation?”
“A disobedient knight is no asset.”
The captain turned back to me. Unlike the prince, I saw hesitation and reluctance in his eyes.
He had no desire to carry out this order.
I sighed and spoke my mind. “Prince Wallace, rather than sacrifice a perfectly good sword to find out he cannot carry out your order, why not simply have me give you a demonstration to both prove you can’t execute me and that my life is more valuable to this nation than your pride.”
The third prince smirked. “Fine, I’ll call your bluff. Show me something that proves your words.”
“As you wish.” I held out my hand and formed a mass of mana.
*****
Revision: 2025-2-7