The path grew increasingly secluded. Upon reaching an intersection, the sharp-faced man suddenly accelerated, darting into an adjacent alley and vanishing.

Luo Wei lifted her skirt and followed for a few steps, but soon lost her way in the maze-like alleys.

"Slap, slap—"

A strange footstep echoed through the narrow alley, as if someone was shuffling their shoes and scraping against the wall as they approached.

Luo Wei turned around to see a burly, drunken man staggering into the alley. His clothes, as filthy as ox intestines, hung loosely on him, exposing his chest hair and navel.

Seeming to notice her, the man changed direction and stumbled towards her. "Oh, look what we have here, a little beauty~"

The closer he got, the more nauseating his stench of alcohol and sweat became.

Beneath his messy hair, a pair of lecherous eyes fixed on Luo Wei, like a wolf eyeing its prey.

Luo Wei scanned her surroundings, seeing no one else appear, then returned her gaze to the burly man.

"Who sent you, Axina or Vina?"

"Hic~ What are you talking about?" The man let out a sour, stinking burp, scratching his chest with a bewildered expression.

"A real thug wouldn't be so clean," Luo Wei frowned, glancing at his chest. "No fleas, and your chest hair isn't matted. What are you scratching?"

A flash of shock appeared in the man's eyes, quickly replaced by darkness. "So what if you've figured it out? You're still in my hands."

A bloodthirsty, brutal smile spread across his face as he suddenly smashed his bottle. "Pity you've offended someone you shouldn't have. Otherwise, with your looks, I could have played with you a few more times!"

"What a waste on those scum!"

As the bottle shattered, a red liquid spilled out, filling the air with a rotten sweet fragrance.

Luo Wei immediately covered her nose and mouth with a handkerchief. "Troy!"

"Zing—"

A sword rang out, its sharp light slashing across the burly man's eyes, sending him flying.

Troy appeared in front of Luo Wei, holding her with one arm as he leapt onto the rooftop.

"Keep him alive."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Understood."

Troy jumped back into the alley, wetting a short cloth with the flask he carried and covering his nose and mouth.

The burly man, thrown against the wall by Troy's sword wind, had crashed heavily to the ground. He got up painfully and quickly pulled out the whip at his waist.

"Who are you?"

He saw the hilt of Troy's sword and was shocked, realizing it was the high-level wind magic rune carved on the hilt that had sent him flying.

Didn't the princess say Luo Wei was just a commoner? How could a commoner have a magic swordsman by her side?

Troy gripped his sword and walked towards him step by step. "You don't need to know my background. Tell me, who sent you?"

The burly man trembled. "I can't reveal my master's identity."

"Troy," Luo Wei commanded coldly from the rooftop, "If he won't talk, kill him."

On the other side of the wall, Vina heard the voices from the alley and turned back disappointedly. "Is this the good show you mentioned? A swordsman slaying a thug?"

Axina's face darkened. She hadn't expected Luo Wei to have a swordsman protecting her.

But a flash of displeasure crossed her eyes. How dare a mere earl's daughter treat her with such disdain? The ignorant fool.

"There's been a slight hitch in the plan, but it doesn't matter. At least we can test if she's really impersonating a noble," Axina said calmly.

Vina looked at her incredulously. "What else do you need to test? Her guard is about to kill your man, and you still doubt she's a noble?"

"Enough!" Axina suppressed her irritation, trying to explain in a calm tone. "That might not necessarily be her guard. It could be a swordsman friend she's made."

"Just wait and see. As long as Nick Lace reveals his identity, Luo Wei absolutely won't dare kill him," Axina said proudly. "Because commoners are weak and cowardly, they don't dare kill a noble."

Vina was half-convinced, half-doubtful as she turned back to peer through the cracks in the wall.

In the alley, the guard disguised as a thug still refused to confess, trying Luo Wei's patience.

"Troy, kill him."

"Yes." Troy nodded, raising his long sword, its sharp tip pointing directly at the burly man's throat.

"No, stop, stop!" The burly man shouted in fear. "I'm a noble, you can't kill me!"

"My father is Viscount Priestley of the Kingdom of Yate, I'm his son, his heir, you can't kill me!"

"Yate..." Troy gripped his sword hilt tightly and looked towards Luo Wei. "Still kill him?"

"Huh, how can we trust a thug's words," Luo Wei said coldly from the rooftop. "Dislocate his jaw, then kill him."

On the other side of the alley, Vina whipped her head around to look at Axina.

"Didn't you say she wouldn't dare kill him?"

"I overestimated her intelligence. She probably doesn't know how severe the consequences of killing a noble would be," Axina said, her face gloomy.

Vina mocked her, "She doesn't know how severe the consequences are? A commoner killing a noble would be subjected to the most extreme punishment, but a noble killing another noble wouldn't."

"I told you, she's not a noble," Axina said, her eyes reddening with anger at Vina's stupidity.

"You'd better hurry and save your poor guard," Vina said, enjoying the spectacle. "In a while, my friend will be here with the city guard."

"Who authorized them to find the city guard!" Axina's voice turned vicious.

Vina smiled smugly. "Didn't you like using me? What's wrong, not to your satisfaction?"

Axina could no longer stand by and watch. She quickly rounded the wall and shouted sternly, "Stop!"

Seeing Axina appear, Luo Wei's face showed surprise. "Axina, what are you doing here?"

"You deliberately dawdled, not taking action, weren't you just waiting for me to come out?"

Axina gave her a cold look. "Tell your man to let him go. He's a noble, killing him will only bring you trouble."

Luo Wei said in surprise, "Axina, what are you talking about? He's just a lecherous thug. Leaving someone like this in the world will only harm more people."

A flash of anger crossed Axina's eyes as she directly ordered Troy, "You, let him go. You can't bear the consequences of killing a viscount's heir."

Troy seemed not to have heard her voice, not even sparing her a glance.

Axina clenched her fists, feeling utterly humiliated and looking at Luo Wei with hatred. "You fool, if you kill him, you'll be subjected to the most severe punishment!"

"A commoner killing a noble is treated as blasphemy. Blasphemers are subjected to three punishments in sequence: stigma, disembowelment, and burning at the stake. They die in the great fire. Aren't you afraid?"

Nick Lace was Viscount Priestley's only son. If he died, Viscount Priestley would probably go mad. Axina truly wanted to save him.

She wasn't lying to Luo Wei either. A commoner killing a noble would indeed be convicted of blasphemy and suffer those three punishments.

Stigma meant stripping the criminal's clothes and tying them to a pillory to receive the condemnation and abuse of the public. Disembowelment involved cutting open the criminal's stomach and pulling out their intestines. Burning at the stake was a dual punishment for both soul and body, making the criminal repent for their sins in the flames, burning them to a charred corpse.

No one wasn't afraid of these three cruel punishments. She believed that after saying these things, Luo Wei would definitely release Nick Lace.

Axina looked at Luo Wei confidently. "If you don't want to die, let him go."

"Axina, you've truly gone mad," Luo Wei shook her head with a smile. "I'm not a commoner, and he's not a noble. It's just killing a thug who attempted to offend me, how could that be a crime?"

"Troy, do it."

To be continued