บท 105: I Will Rule
Asher was led to Rutherford's prison and there he saw a silver haired woman sitting on a wheelchair, right outside the prison gate. Behind the bars was Rutherford looking haggard, clad in a coarse linen tunic and pants.
He was already growing insane from the lack of mana in the prisonhold. It was as if the air was suffocating him with each passing minute.
Clack! Clack!
The sounds of Asher and his men's boots tapping the floor made Aquilia look toward his direction and a dangerous gleam flashed through her eyes.
Asher noticed a change in her expression and lifted up his hand, causing his men to pause.
"I need a room. Is there a place in this prisonhold where the suppression effect can be temporarily removed?"
"Yes. My office." Geriant, the warden said softly.
....
Asher walked into Geriant's office with Aquilia and sat behind the wooden table with his hands entwined.
"You look displeased."
Aquilia chuckled. There was a slight hint of anger in her seemingly light chuckle. "Of course. Didn't you see my father? He looks like a beggar."
"I saw him and his paying for the death of Ashbourne soldiers."
"Ashbourne soldiers? You!"
Aquilia's eyes flashed.
Asher cocked his head. "Don't you think the soldiers' lives are equal to your father's?"
Aquilia frowned.
"He's a lord."
"There's a slight mistake there, commander. He was a lord. Right now he's just a prisoner."
His eyes followed each of Aquilia's reactions and he saw when she clenched her fist tight.
"Would you also rank your son as a mere soldier?" She ground her teeth.
Asher leaned back. "Yes. If he's guilty, the law stands. If I am to be a fair lord and not be held accountable by any of my future vassals, I cannot allow my son to be my weakness."
"You…!"
"Your father killed men under my rule. If he doesn't spend time in jail and hard work, how do you expect their family and my commanders to look at me?"
"He's not a sacrifice!"
Aquilia screamed, causing a ball of water to form around her. Her hair levitated a bit and the water merged together before it came for Asher like a tide.
Swoosh!
He leaped from the chair and when he reached the ceiling, his fingers pierced through the ceiling and he held himself there.
The table and chair shattered and before Aquilia could launch another attack, he moved like a blur and appeared behind her.
Bam!
His hands went around her neck and he lifted her up, pinned her against the wall with just one hand and looked right into her eyes.
[Host, commander Aquilia's loyalty is decreasing.]
'I can see that. Her loyalty to her father is higher and he must have spoken words that have gotten to her.'
Staring right into the silver-haired beauty that struggled vainly to remove his hand, Asher sighed.
"Even if you became a diamond-ranked mage, the distance is too small for you to harm me. You did not think of the consequences of attacking your lord; you lack foresight and your stubbornness infuriates me."
Aquilia still glared at him but her eyes slowly moistened.
She understood what she had just done out of anger.
She never knew Asher was now a sacred-ranked swordsman. He predicted her attack right from the beginning, so he made sure they entered a room where it was possible to use mana and also said harsh words.
All was to make her do what was on her mind.
"You are important, Aquilia, but I cannot let your father roam free at the expense of mourning families. My commander also gave his word and it will be unfair to disclaim it. Dying won't help you and isn't it time you realize you are being controlled?"
He exhaled deeply.
"He's in prison and you are clothed in luxurious clothing and have a lofty position. He has fallen from grace and he wants you to fall alongside him. What do you think your actions were going to lead to? Did you think you could help him escape?"
Asher lightened his grip around her neck, allowing her to gasp for breath.
To her shock, Asher lifted her up like a princess, brought her to the windows and from there she saw Silver Leaf at the bottom of the mountain.
"I've made you a commander over a flourishing domain. I have kept my word and your father still lives despite his war crimes. Have I been an unfaithful lord to you?"
Aquilia blinked several times but couldn't come up with a word to retort. She saw things from a different point of view and when compared to her father's, she discovered Asher was completely honest.
"I apologise, My Lord."
Asher smiled a bit.
"Apologies accepted."
As he turned back, the doors were slammed open, and his men rushed in with their weapons unsheathed. When they saw Asher and Aquilia's positions, they were short of words.
"You came now?" He scowled.
Ignoring their piercing gaze, Asher dropped Aquilia whose cheeks were glowing like ripe tomatoes and proceeded to walk toward the door.
"Come. Let's go pay a visit to our prisoners."
...….
"It's been a while, Baron. We last met at the count's banquet." Asher waved his hand at Rutherford, who looked at him with boiling hatred.
"The count will surely come searching for his vassals and once he sends troops, you, a mere baron, will be consumed."
"He's no longer a baron, father. His Lordship is now a count."
Aquilia's words shook Rutherford's ears.
"What are you spitting out of those lips?" He grabbed the bars and peered right at Aquilia. She flinched and was about to take move her wheel chair back when Asher placed his hand behind her.
"What lies did you feed her?! What lies did you feed my daughter?"
"If you love her so much, why make her try to kill her lord?"
"I am her lord! You are a bastard child, a bastard!!"
Rutherford bellowed.
He exerted pressure against the steel bars but couldn't break it no matter how much he tried. However, he looked as if he could devour Aquilia. This made Aquilia shudder but Asher simply took a step forward and before Rutherford could react, Asher had grabbed his neck and lifted him up.
The man couldn't believe his eyes.
"This bastard lord you are mocking has conquered your domain and Baron Scarlet's. I will also build new dominions on them and Count William will join you here someday."
Rutherford's pupils shook.
Was this the same little bastard boy that Baron James Ashbourne had?
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