Archer approached the tree as the child predator struggled against the ropes. He spoke with an evil smile, "You know one thing I hate the most? Child abuse because I know how it feels to be on the other end of it."
He stopped before the sweating human who couldn't move thanks to fear. Archer continued, "Now you will suffer, and everyone will see until your corpse turns to bones; even then, I will ground them down before feeding them to some pigs."
Following that, Archer stripped the man as he spoke with a dark expression that frightened the criminal even more, "Do you know the difference between suffering and pain? Suffering is what I'm about to show you."
The man trembled and started begging for forgiveness, but his pleading was ignored. None of the White Dragon Knights dared intervene as they kept the growing crowd back. Archer then sensed the two women approaching and turned around with a smile.
***
[Edith's POV]
Edith stopped walking when she saw her Master turn around, but something was different about him. His violet eyes glowed with malice, and his smile was anything but charming, sending a shiver crawling down her spine.
'He doesn't look right; Master looks like a villain,' she thought as Elara stepped forward.
"Arch. I know his crimes are horrible; can't we execute them normally?" the Dragon Marshal questioned, causing Archer to glance at her.
Edith noticed the look of pure rage on his face before he spoke in a menacing tone, "Draconia won't be home to child abusers, Lara! I will personally torture them myself so the people learn that the punishment will never fit the crime because I will deter any form of it."Fịndd new updates at novelhall.com
Following that, she watched Archer turn to the man and start cutting, which caused a horrifying scream to ring out, causing the growing crowd beyond the knight's cordon to back off with wide eyes.
She was at a loss for words as she saw the blood pooling at his feet. So the rumors were true, she thought. 'If the abuse had been that severe, it must have scarred him beyond repair. I've heard the Ashguard Family beat, starved, and neglected him for years.'
"No wonder he's a troubled young man and does this sort of thing,' Edith muttered as Archer skinned the screaming man.
While this happened, she noticed the knights bringing more prisoners that started shaking when seeing the child predator being flayed alive. Archer's torture went on for twenty minutes as he cut away the man's muscles, leaving a bloody mess behind.
'His covered in blood, the people will think he's a demon,' she pondered, but the screaming stopped as the man feinted.
Afterward, Archer turned to the crowd with a smile and spoke to them all, "I will only do this to child abusers, murderers, and wife beaters. There's no room in Draconia for such scum, and I'll personally dish out the punishments, but I do this for your children and women; they will forever be safe in my kingdom."
Edith assumed the people wouldn't believe him, but the opposite was true. They started cheering with fanaticism as they agreed with him, causing her to think, 'He truly does want to create a better world for everyone.'
Once Archer spoke, he continued with his grim torture, which included crucifying, impaling, and many other punishments. The crowd cheered with every new criminal that was put to death.
Edith continued watching as the blood-covered Archer approached Elara and grabbed her hand before walking toward the carriage, casting a spell to clean himself up, and stepping inside.
She entered only to see the Dragon Marshal straddling his lap while the two shared a kiss, causing her to think, 'This king is something else, after torturing a dozen men and women only to be all over his own general right after.'
Hours passed, and the door flew open as Ella walked in and announced, "Breakfast is nearly done, you four! Come now if you want it hot."
Following that, Demetra and Halime quickly jumped up, but Teuila wasn't moving as she
nuzzled her head into his neck, "'I don't want to get up, darling. It's so warm under the blankets," she muttered tiredly.
Archer laughed before kissing her forehead and replied, "I want to eat; my stomach is
empty."
The two of them crawled out of bed and headed toward the dining hall, where maids did their duties while taking sneak peeks at Archer. This made Teuila laugh before speaking, "Looks like you have caught the gazes of the maids."'
"I don't care about those Teu; I don't need loads of maids fawning over me," Archer said with
a smile as the couple entered the dining room.
Ella, Sera, Halime, Demetra, Mary, Llynie, Kassandra, and Lucrezia turned to them and
smiled. The women greeted Archer with kisses and cuddles before returning to their
breakfast.
The half-elf ushered them into their seats and placed a plate of meat along with some mash
that smelled delicious.
Archer started eating but asked Ella where everyone else was. She told him that they were all
at work in the kingdom.
He learned Nefertiti, Leira, and Hemera were busy in the library, researching spells to benefit the kingdom, while Sia was training with her legion to the west. "Interesting," Archer mused with a smile. "At least they're keeping busy."
The half-elf then informed him that Nala, Meave, and Talila were actively engaged with the legions. Meanwhile, Aisha, Olivia, Edith, Fianna, Elara, and Brooke were contributing their
efforts to the government, navy, and army.
After gathering all the information, Archer began eating while the others conversed. Struggling to develop new ideas, he focused on developing more laws, policies, and other
improvements for the kingdom.
Once finishing the delicious breakfast, Archer thanked Ella for the paper and pen. Sitting down to brainstorm new ideas, he struggled to make progress. Recognizing the creative block, he stood up and told the girls he needed to step away for a while.