Past Events (1)

Lucia ran back to her quarters in tears, buried herself under the blanket, and used all her strength to keep from making a sound.

She did not know what Gigue was going through. She only knew that he was suffering unimaginable pain and might even lose his life at any moment.

Thinking back on every moment she had spent with Gigue only made her heart ache even more.

After a sleepless night, Lucia went out to work the next day with red, swollen eyes. She swept the courtyard with vacant eyes, Gigue's agonized screams seeming to still echo in her ears.

Ever since Gigue had been taken away, hardly anyone had come to this courtyard. But not long after Lucia arrived that day, a set of heavy footsteps approached. It was the two men in white from yesterday, along with a Golden Armor Guard.

They stopped in front of Lucia. The Golden Armor Guard pointed at Lucia, who barely reached his knees in height, and said coldly,

"Is this the one you were talking about?"

The two men in white nodded repeatedly. The more they thought about it after returning yesterday, the more frightened they became. They feared that Lucia would reveal what she had overheard from their conversation and implicate them.

So they found a Golden Armor Guard responsible for overseeing the laboratory and claimed that a slave had overheard confidential information.

Hearing that it was merely a lowly slave, the Golden Armor Guard did not take it seriously and came here directly with the two men in white.

The Golden Armor Guard looked calm as he asked,

"Brat, who is your master?"

Lucia had been somewhat afraid, but upon hearing that, she raised her head and said firmly,

"My master is Saint Gigue!"

The Golden Armor Guard nodded slightly, calculating inwardly.

A slave belonging to Saint Gigue? Doesn't that make her an ownerless slave? Dealing with a slave like this will be much easier!

He grabbed the back of Lucia's clothes and roughly lifted her up, saying coldly,

"Oh, then this will be easy. You heard something you should not have yesterday, so now I have to make sure you keep quiet forever."

After saying that, he ignored the two men in white and carried Lucia toward the outside.

The Figarland Family had a rule: slaves to be executed had to be taken outside, lest their lowly blood defile the noble grounds of the Figarland Family.

All alone in the world, the only person Lucia still cared about was Gigue.

The Figarland Family's grounds were enormous. Carrying Lucia, the Golden Armor Guard strode brazenly through several courtyards. As they passed a Royal Chamber, a majestic voice called out to him.

"Hissay, where are you going?"

The Golden Armor Guard called Hissay stiffened. He slowly turned his head and saw Garling seated in a chair inlaid with all manner of gemstones, his arms folded as he watched him with an indifferent gaze.

The instant Hissay saw Garling, he dropped to one knee and lowered his head.

"Saint Garling! This slave committed a capital offense. I was just taking her outside to deal with her."

Garling glanced at Lucia in Hissay's grip, raised a brow, and found her somewhat familiar.

He rose from his chair, slowly walked before the kneeling Hissay, and looked down at Lucia.

"What is your name?"

Lucia lowered her eyes and answered mechanically,

"Lucia."

Such an indifferent attitude was an absolute act of disrespect for a slave. Hissay's brows drew together as he threw Lucia to the ground and shouted,

"You damned brat! How dare you speak to Saint Garling like that!"

Hissay had not held back. Lucia felt as though her entire body had fallen apart, but she still struggled up from the ground and fearlessly met his gaze.

Lucia's behavior filled Hissay with rage. If Garling had not been standing nearby, he would have killed this slave who knew no respect for rank and status on the spot.

But Garling remembered Lucia's origins. Was she not the birthday gift he had bought for Gigue all those years ago?

He asked,

"If I remember correctly, you are Gigue's slave. What crime did you commit?"

At the mention of Gigue, the fury Lucia had been suppressing instantly erupted. She shouted at Garling,

"What does it matter what crime I committed? If you want to kill me, then just kill me! Even Saint Gigue has been locked up and tortured like that by you people. What does a slave like me amount to?!"

"Hm? What did you say?"

Garling frowned. Hissay immediately sensed that something was wrong. No longer caring about any rules, he turned his hand into a blade and viciously chopped toward Lucia's neck.

Thud! Garling kicked Hissay away, sending him skidding across the ground.

Clutching the dented armor over his chest, Hissay struggled to his feet. The moment he looked up, he saw Garling's ice-cold face. An overwhelmingly domineering aura slowly radiated from him, and under its pressure, the ground beneath Hissay's feet began to crack apart.

"Did I tell you to move?"

Garling did not make a single move, yet Hissay seemed to have suffered a heavy blow. With a bang, he dropped to both knees and cried out in terror,

"I deserve death! Please spare me, Saint Garling!"

Garling ignored him and turned to Lucia, speaking in an unquestionable tone.

"Tell me exactly what happened."

From the moment Hissay attacked to the moment he was struck down, only an instant had passed. Lucia had yet to react and was still standing there blankly.

Garling had already become extremely impatient. His aura suddenly intensified, pressing Hissay flat onto the ground and drawing out a scream of agony.

Lucia finally came to her senses. Seeing Hissay's miserable state, she vaguely felt that things might have taken a turn. So, with the mindset of giving it a try, she told Garling everything she had seen and heard yesterday.

Garling listened silently, the expression on his face growing darker and darker.

After Lucia finished, he walked wordlessly to her and said coldly,

"You should still remember where that place is. Take me there."

Lucia nodded forcefully and hurried ahead to lead Garling. Without even sparing Hissay a glance, Garling stepped over his body and walked past.

When they arrived before the white building where Gigue was being held, the remaining Golden Armor Guard at the entrance hurriedly knelt in greeting upon seeing Garling's grim expression.

Garling merely stared at the door before him. With his exceptional hearing, he had already caught the groans coming from within. They belonged to his nephew, Gigue.

Without waiting for the guard to open the door, he threw a punch. The heavy iron door shattered like a fragile mirror, revealing the scene inside.

Gigue lay on a snow-white bed with needles and tubes inserted all over his body. Around him stood a group of terrified men in white, as well as Gurando, whose face resembled Garling's, though his hair was shaped like a cone.

Hearing the commotion, Gigue laboriously raised his head. Looking at Garling and Lucia at the doorway, he painfully murmured,

"Uncle Garling, Lucia, save me..."