Chapter4

"Brother..." I managed to whisper, my lips parting weakly.

During my years of traveling, even when a high-level magical beast bit through my shoulder in Dragon Valley, I hadn't shed a single tear. But the moment I saw my brother, Damian, stepping out from the lightning, tears instantly welled up in my eyes.

Damian blurred into motion. In the next breath, the magic swordsman pinning me down was sent flying by an invisible force, and Damian pulled me firmly into his arms.

"I'm here, Rosa."

The blinding white light of an advanced Healing spell washed over my face. The agonizing pain from the corrosive poison slowly faded, and even my dangerously depleted mana core received a soothing rush of nourishment.

I leaned against his warm chest, gasping for air.

"Brother..." my voice trembled. "She cut my face... She wanted to strip my clothes off and parade me through the streets..."

"I know," he said, glancing down at me with a freezing anger buried deep in his eyes. "Let me handle the rest."

The stunned crowd finally snapped out of their daze.

"Look at the collar of his robes—those three dark gold lines... A Chief Archmage!"

"Oh my god, and Elena just called him a 'penniless brother'..."

"So what if he's a Chief Archmage? This is the North. How can he oppose the Duke of the North?"

Elena clearly heard the whispers. A flash of hesitation crossed her face, but she quickly tipped her chin back up.

"So what if you're a Chief Archmage? This is the Arthur family's territory!" She gripped her dagger and sneered. "But since you're her brother, I suppose we can negotiate."

She crossed her arms, adopting a sickeningly patronizing tone. "I saw this wand first. Your sister touched it, and now it's dirty, so you need to pay me ten times its price. She made me fall earlier and scrape my skin, so I want her to kneel in public, kowtow ten times, and slap her own face ten times."

She paused, a glimmer of provocation in her eyes. "Most importantly—she has to beg Arthur on her knees to annul this ridiculous engagement. I want to see who Arthur's true fiancée really is."

"If you do all of that," she said, as if showing great mercy, "I'll let this go. Otherwise, neither of you will leave this shop alive."

Someone in the crowd gasped.

"Is Elena crazy? She's really making demands at a time like this?"

Damian looked down at me. "Does it hurt?"

My nose stung, and I buried my face in his chest. "Yes."

He released me and turned to walk toward Elena.

"The engagement will absolutely be annulled," his voice was dead calm. "Because a blind fool like Arthur isn't worthy."

He casually raised a hand and pressed his long index finger down ever so slightly in Elena's direction.

An invisible weight instantly slammed into Elena. She froze in place as if nailed to the floor, her dagger clattering onto the stone.

"What... what are you doing!" she shrieked, but she couldn't move a single finger. Only low, muffled whimpers managed to force their way out of her throat.

The crowd fell into a dead silence, followed by a few muffled gasps.

Arthur's eyes went wide.

Yet, the ingrained arrogance of throwing his weight around his territory for so long made him stubbornly stiffen his neck against the crushing aura.

"Your Excellency... is indeed powerful," Arthur gritted out. "But this is the North! My father is the current Grand Duke! I am the future ruler of this territory! If you lay a hand on Elena today, are you trying to provoke a territory war?!"

"A territory war?" My brother turned his cold, towering gaze onto Arthur and scoffed. "Are you sure your father would wage a war against me over her?"

"Damn right!" Arthur jutted his chin out. "My father dotes on me the most! He will never stand by and do nothing!"

Someone in the crowd muttered under their breath, "There's definitely going to be another war..."

"You're quite bold with your words." My brother raised his hand and tapped the air.

Arthur's legs instantly gave way. His knees buckled uncontrollably, as if a massive, invisible hand had slammed down on his shoulders. He crashed to his knees on the stone floor with a heavy grunt, his cheek landing right next to the silver ring I had thrown down earlier.

"You..." He parted his lips, glaring at my brother with a mix of fierce reluctance and absolute terror.

Damian bent over and picked up the silver ring. He gave it a gentle squeeze. When he opened his hand, the ring was nothing but a deformed ball of scrap metal. He dropped it right in front of Arthur's face.

"Growing up, our family never let Rosa shed a single tear."

"Today, you made her kneel, you cut her face, and you wanted to strip her naked for a street parade—I am going to take my time settling this debt with you."

The crowd stayed quiet for a few seconds before someone whispered, "Who exactly is this guy? Elena was so arrogant just now, but she definitely messed with the wrong guy this time." Another person chimed in, "So what if he's dangerous? The old Duke only has one son. His son was just forced to kneel in public—can he really swallow that kind of grudge?"

My brother stood up, walked back to my side, and gently touched the faint pink scar on my face that had already mostly healed.

"Does it still hurt?"

I shook my head, then nodded, completely unable to speak.

He pulled me back into his embrace. "It's okay, I'm here. You can take your revenge however you want."