"No! Please, Your Highness! We never defamed you. We wouldn't dare to!"
"That's right, Your Highness! Please believe the truth," The Marlowe Brothers shouted in indignation, one after the other as they timidly struggled in the grasps of the Crimson Crops soldiers.
Damien wrinkled his brows, "Truth? Are you saying my Will Protector is lying to me? Now you are trying to defame her as well? I already heard there are many witnesses where they saw you looking down on her and even dared to trash talk with her. Do you know the punishment for speaking profanity against a Will Protector? It is to have their tongues cut out."
'Just shut the fuck up, Noel!' Reve shouted to Noel through a mental transmission. He had never shouted at his little brother before.
However, this time he had to since he was afraid that Noel was going to worsen the situation with his loose tongue.
But when he heard the last part of Damien's words, his tongue immediately tightened, just like Noel's.
Reve's expression became grave as he cried out, "No! Your Highness, it was all just a misunderstanding. If we had known her identity, we wouldn't even dare to look at her, let alone speak. Please understand, we beseech you!"
Damien's expression didn't soften at all, and he said in a stern voice, "Are you telling me you two are two have deaf ears? My Will Protector announced her identity to you countless times, yet you both treated her air as words. And now you both have the audacity to lie to me as well, HUH?!"
The sudden escalation in his tone startled both the Marlowe Brothers, wondering if the second prince was really this scary. They considered him as a debauched prince who was privileged enough to enjoy the resources of his empire to turn himself into a genius. They didn't want to believe he was someone who was inherently a genius.
But now, their beliefs were being twisted slowly, and they also couldn't understand why this prince would care about a plain-looking girl so much. If she was a beauty, they could still understand, considering the nature of the second prince.
But, a Will Protector? Who would believe that let alone them? Still, now was not the time for them to argue about it with Tristen. They knew if they slight his Will Protector again, then they would be definitely done for and should choose their next words carefully.
Still, even now, their situations were looking bad enough. Even though they were coming from a prestigious noble family, they were still not exempt from any punishments if they offended the imperial family.
If it were anybody else they offended, they could still get by. But offending the imperial family was taboo, and there's no escaping from punishment for such an offense.
That's the reason the Marlowe Brothers were scared and panicking inwardly. They also didn't dare to think what their father was going to say about it or whether he would also be dragged into this. That would be the last thing they ever want.
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Otherwise, they would be known as the people who dragged the Marlowe Family's reputation through the mud.
"Please, Your Highness. We committed the grave mistake of not being able to see Mount Gale. Please forgive us!" Reve knew if they kept on denying the things they said to his Will Protector, then they would only be making Tristen angrier.
So, he thought it was prudent to admit it and somehow survive this storm.
"Please forgive us!" Noel also finally joined in while his robes became sweaty.
The three elders who were cowering in silence could only helplessly look at their young masters suffering from such an interrogation from the prince.
They could only pray that this situation does not worsen even further lest their patriarch has to bear some brunt of this whole thing.
The manager was standing still as a statue behind those soldiers. He didn't know what to do now and whether he would be punished as well for trying to make Valentina vacate.
He was sure that if Valentina told Tristen about what he tried to do, then his fate would be sealed.
However, so far, she didn't say anything about him to Tristen, but that didn't reduce his anxiety even by a fraction.
Damien scoffed, "Forgive you? It took a while for you two to even admit your crimes. And since you admitted your crimes, how could we easily forgive you without exacting out punishments? If people came to know that we let you go, they would look down on our empire as a corrupt one that caters only to the privileged. Are you two telling me that you want our people or people from other empires to consider our empire to be a corrupt one?"
Reve and Noel felt as if they lit their own feet on fire by themselves. Reve regretted admitting his mistakes, thinking that he only made the situation worse, and now the prince definitely had a reason to punish him. And since it came from his mouth, there was no way to wriggle out of this.
But in his defense, he felt that the situation would have worsened anyway if he didn't admit what he did.
So, he took the path of a 'righteous' criminal and admitted his mistakes, thinking that it would lighten the offenses he had committed accidentally.
But he had no choice but to plead like a beggar, "Of course, not! We promise never to repeat such an offense again. If we do it again, we are ready to accept any punishment."
"How convenient!" Valentina finally spoke up and continued with a cold glint in her eyes, "Your Highness, if we let them go, who knows if they think that the imperial family is nothing before their eyes. We shouldn't let it get to their heads and teach them a good lesson. They wanted to cut off my tongue, so shouldn't their tongues be cut off for defaming your respected self and me?"
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Damien nodded with a thoughtful expression and said in a serious tone, "You are right. Guards, cut off their tongues!"
"NO, no! Have mercy, Your Highness!"
"NO! Not my tongue!"
However, before they could struggle any further, the soldiers behind them clutched their necks and made their heads rest on the table.
"Hrghhhh!!"
"Mmhh!!!"
The two refused to open their mouths, and the soldiers were about to pry open their mouths using their ethereal energy.
However, Damien gestured to them not to and said, "You two want to resist? Then I would have to report this matter to His Majesty, who would obviously summon the patriarch of the Marlowe Family to cut your tongues himself. Even I dare not imagine how angry my royal father would be regarding this matter. Do you really want to make matters difficult for your family? Remember, if it were any other person in your shoes, their heads would have gotten cut off already."
Damien wanted them to willingly open their mouths to have their tongues cut off since that would be more satisfying for him and Valentina.
The Marlowe Brothers stopped struggling, shuddering at the fact of the Gale Emperor and their father, the patriarch of the Marlowe Family, getting involved in this.
If the situation worsened to such an extent, then their Marlowe Family would surely take a heavy blow to their reputation and prestige and might even lose their standing against other equally powerful noble families.
For noble families as influential as them, they can't afford to make any mistakes in public or show any kind of weakness lest their enemies take advantage of them.
The Marlowe Brothers knew better than to be criminals who destroyed their family's name.
So they bitterly cried inwardly in indignation as they stopped struggling and put out their shivering tongues.
"Dogs indeed know when to put their tongues out," Valentina chuckled and made sure only the Marlowe Brothers heard it.
The Marlowe Brother's eyes almost popped out at her comment. But they had to stifle their anger, feeling aggrieved.
Seeing their tongues come out slowly like lizards putting out their tongues, the soldiers readied their daggers, ready to cut the moment they fully put out their tongues.
*SHING!*
"MHHH!"
"AHHHH!"
Their daggers came down, and as two pieces of soft flesh got separated from their mouth, it was followed by cries of pain from the Marlowe Brothers.
But…
*SHING!*
The sounds of daggers cutting through flesh resounded, completely shocking the Marlowe Brothers.
However, seeing two other pieces of flesh other than their tongues, they slowly moved their hands towards their ears to make sure what they were seeing was right.
Due to their shock, the pain only kicked in later.
MY EARS!...They both inwardly cried out in shock and panic as they could only feel the cold blood in place of their ears and how the pain was slowly settling in.
"AHHHHHH!!" They both howled like dogs in pain while Damien and Valentina high-fived each other mentally.