"In the name of my paladinhood! Wretched and filthy woman, you have desecrated the pure and unblemished etiquette of our nation! For the great King of Silvermoon, you must immediately return the stolen items and humbly beg for the forgiveness of the paladins and His Majesty!"
Innocent Aiya had no idea what her sister had done. Being accused by the knights had already frightened her to the point of mental paralysis. The memory of her parents being beaten to death by the knights resurfaced in her mind. Her eyes, filled with fear, showed confusion and helplessness.
"I... I don't know anything about stealing..."
"Ignorant and foolish woman! Still resisting the divine majesty of His Majesty!" The knight conducting the interrogation seemed to be the leader of this group. He spread his fan-like hand and struck Aiya's face with a heavy slap, knocking her to the ground! It appeared that her mouth was split open, as trickles of blood flowed from the corners.
The surrounding populace was angry but dared not speak out. Who would dare to offend the knightly order? The bloody suppression of the past was still vivid in everyone's eyes, and before reigniting the flames of anger, everyone weighed their own strength.
The leading knight glanced around with pride, seeing that no one dared to step forward, he appeared even more triumphant. He grabbed Aiya by the collar, lifted her high, and laughed arrogantly and wildly, "No one can stop the justice of the Paladin Order! Our radiance comes from His Majesty's grace! Petty woman, to doubt our words is to doubt the great His Majesty! I generously grant you ten more seconds to confess your sins. Otherwise, do not blame the merciful sacred paladin for not giving you a chance for redemption!"
The knight let go of Aiya, allowing her to fall to the ground. He then drew his long sword from his waist, placing the blade flat on her body. This gesture was meant to show that he would never turn his blade against the people of his country, even in disagreement. But now, the symbolic meaning of this gesture had far exceeded its actual meaning.
"Ten! Nine! Eight! ... Three! Two! One! Fine, foolish and lowly woman, you have squandered the grace bestowed upon you by the sacred paladin. Now, I, Knight Saren, captain of the third Paladin squadron's sixth squad, will take you to the court for the crime of indecent theft! Bind her!"
"Yes—!"
"Wait a minute!"
Just as a soldier was coming with handcuffs and shackles to bind Aiya, a pleasant female voice suddenly came from behind the crowd. Hearing this voice, the crowd gradually parted. A girl about fifteen or sixteen years old, with long black hair tied with a white ribbon, walked through the crowd.
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The moment they saw this girl, all the soldiers, including the righteous and moral knight captain, were stunned. Their eyes, unable to move, were fixated on the girl, trembling with her every move. Even in the simplest peasant clothes, her beauty was unmistakable. The curves of her delicate body were perfectly outlined under her clothes, and the slight smile on her face was as sweet as honey, embedding itself into everyone's heart.
"Mengdie Miss?!"
"Mengdie Miss, don't go! They... they are...!"
"Mengdie Miss!!!"
Mengdie ignored the persuasions of the people around her and walked up to the captain, putting her hands together in a gesture of respect. With the intention of pacifying the situation, she forced herself to smile and asked in the gentlest way, "Excuse me, could you wait a moment?"
Her voice, like celestial music, entered the captain's ears as if a gentle hand was lightly scratching his heart. The man shivered and promptly stood up straight. Seeing his subordinates still drooling over the girl, he immediately swung his sword and scolded loudly! After scolding his subordinates, he coughed deliberately and looked down at Mengdie from a lofty position, pretending to be dignified, "Hmm, like the pure Malari Mountains, Miss, following His Majesty's will, any act of injustice is a defilement to your inviolable sanctity! Please allow me, the humble one, along with all the insignificant soldiers, to escort you, noble, beautiful, and kind, to my insignificant camp, undisturbed, to admire your lofty beauty!"
The captain spoke these bone-chilling words clearly and without hesitation. He even took off his helmet, tucking it under his arm, revealing his scarred face, and disgustingly bowed to Mengdie. But...
His flattering words only filled the girl in front of him with question marks.
Mengdie looked a bit embarrassed; she twitched the corner of her mouth and glanced at the people around her. Seeing dissatisfaction and anger on their faces, she felt strange. Then she turned to the crowd, pointed at the captain, and quietly asked, "That... what did he say?"
Obviously, Mengdie, who had only learned the language for just over a month, couldn't understand the captain's rambling words.
The crowd looked at each other, not knowing whether Mengdie was deliberately provoking or truly ignorant, and no one dared to answer.
Seeing that Mengdie did not respond, the captain thought she hadn't heard clearly, so he repeated his verbose speech. Mengdie still did not understand. However, judging from the captain's respectful and non-aggressive demeanor, he seemed to hold her in high regard. Since he had shown a friendly face, she also did not wish to be rude. So, Mengdie once again put her hands together in a gesture and thought to affirm the captain's words, saying...
"En, lapona."
At that moment, the faces of all the people around turned pale. Even the captain's expression became extremely ugly!
"Hey... did you hear that? Mengdie Miss... called him 'en lapona'!"
"'Roll, stupid pig'? Unbelievable, someone as beautiful as Mengdie Miss... to actually, actually...!"
"This is bad! The knight's face doesn't look good! What to do? What to do? Mengdie Miss is openly provoking!"
"She's going to be hit! Mengdie Miss, such a delicate girl... is going to be tormented by those fierce and evil knights!"
Mengdie was curious about why her response suddenly scared everyone half to death. She looked at the captain in front of her, seeing his face clearly suppressing anger! This was a very bad sign for negotiations. Did her words just now not reach him? Did he think she was deliberately neglecting him? But that's impossible, I spoke loudly, he should have heard... Well, just to be safe, I'll affirm him again.
With that thought, Mengdie once again revealed her stunningly charming smile and uttered that "affirmative reply" with her voice sweet to the extreme. To ensure that the possibly hard-of-hearing knight could hear her clearly, she leaned close to his ear and repeated the word—clearly—articulated—once again—
"En, lapona."