Punished

Laif winced in pain as he stood up properly.

The sound of footsteps approached him. As Commander Irvine stopped in front of him, the expression on Laif's face immediately vanished.

For a few seconds, Commander Irvine continued to stare at Laif with his scrutinizing gaze.

"You do understand why I have to punish you?" Commander Irvine broke the silence.

"Yes, sir," Laif spoke. "I shouldn't encourage Her Highness and took her out of the palace without your approval."

Previously, Laif had helped Princess Amelia to escape the palace and because of that, he had to accept his punishment. He received twenty hits on his behind with a long, wide cane.

It was painful and Laif was sure that his buttock and thigh area was bleeding at the moment.

However, now that he was facing Commander Irvine, Laif could not show him a trace of his pain or his weakness.

It was not as if he had never had to suffer a harsh punishment before. Previously when he was still the Crown Prince of Hase, the King had given him a punishment worse than this.

A country would depend on a ruler, and if he continued to make a mistake, then, sooner or later, the country would collapse.

As a Crown Prince, he had to suffer something harsher so that he will remember and never make a mistake again.

"Then why did you do it?"

Laif pursed his lips and did not come out with his answer.

When he found Princess Amelia at the stable, her magic was flaring. At that moment, Laif had decided to take her out of the palace and let her catch her breath before something bad happened.

The Noa Kingdom was a place where magic was forbidden.

If he did not take her out, someone might be able to find out that Princess Amelia was someone who possessed magic. If that happened, then, both the Princess and the Kingdom will be in peril.

Moreover...

"Do you know what you've done?" Commander Irvine continued to scold. "Noa Kingdom is in a very unstable situation with the news of the King's sudden passing. What if something happens to the princess while you took her out?"

Laif fully knew of the consequences and the risk. However, he could not bear to see the Princess looking at him as she held back her tears. Princess Amelia was suffocated with her environment after the sudden news.

To let her stay in the palace and ignore her cry for help would be too cruel.

In his defense, the Princess was not without protection. He was the Princess's Royal Guard and had stayed beside her to protect her.

However, even if he could argue with the Commander, Laif chose to keep his mouth shut. It was not wise for him to add oil to the Commander's anger. It was best to let Commander Irvine calm down.

Seeing that Laif had chosen not to say anything, Commander Irvine felt his anger surging. He much preferred Laif to argue with him so that he would have a reason to punish him severely and vented.

An angry huff escaped the Commander. He turned around and waved a hand.

Instantly, the two men dressed in the palace guards' uniforms walked up to the Commander's side and stood straight as they waited for his instruction.

"Take him away," Commander Irvine instructed. "Without my order, he was not allowed to see anyone."

"Yes, sir," the guards answered. Swiftly, they took Laif by his hand and dragged him out to prison.

"Do you really have to be that harsh to him?" Adviser Damian appeared from behind the door as soon as Laif's figure can no longer be seen.

Commander Irvine turned to his friend but did not say a thing.

"What Laif did has helped Her Highness," Adviser Damian continued. "Her Highness must be the one who begged him to let her out. After receiving the news, staying in the palace for a while longer would torment her."

As someone close to Princess Amelia, Adviser Damian was able to guess at the situation.

Princess Amelia was heartbroken after they received news that the King has passed away in a tragedy.

It was the same for him.

Adviser Damian had stayed by King Asher's side for too long. Though he was saddened over the news of his death, he could not let others see his grieve. At this time, there was nothing else he could do but to be strong so that he could protect the Princess in King Asher's stead.

"Princess Amelia is safe with him," Damian continued. "You've seen his skills. The guard, Laif Hue, is very capable to protect Her Highness."

"Do you think I didn't know that?" Commander Irvine snapped. "I am aware of his skills. I am the one who oversaw the training and the recruitment process. I could turn a blind eye towards this incident, but it's impossible to something like that at a time like this. Too many eyes have seen them when they took off with the horse. If I did not punish Laif, the nobles are going to find fault with the Princess."

Adviser Damian continued to stare at his friend. "But you didn't have to be that harsh to him. The Princess will be furious once she heard this news."

"This is all for her sake," Commander Irvine countered. "Princess Amelia needs to learn that from now on, everything she says and does will reflect the people around her, especially her subordinates. If she made a wrong move, her subordinates will have to suffer. Now that King Asher is no longer around, things are only going to get hard for her and Her Highness needed to get stronger quickly if she wanted to continue to stay in this Kingdom."

Damian heaved a long sigh.

Although Commander Irvine's words were the truth, Damian thought that it was too harsh for the Princess to bear. After all, she had just lost her brother.

However, Damian understood that if he continued to be soft to the Princess, he will only let her die faster. Since he was unable to be tough on the Princess, Damian could only let Commander Irvine be the bad guy.

As the two were discussing the recent development in the Kingdom, a knock sounded on the door. The Commander gave his permission to enter and the door swung open.

A young man in uniform bowed his head towards them before he went over to the commander to whisper something. In just seconds, Commander Irvine's expression turned uglier.

"Something happened?" Damian asked once the young man finished his report and left the room.

Commander Irvine slumped into his chair and a frown appeared as he was in deep thought after receiving the report.

"I don't know." The Commander answered softly. "Things are a little bit strange around recently." He turned to his friend with a serious look on his face. "Baron Ake is gathering some men, but we don't know what he was going to do with them." A light flickered in his eyes and there was a sense of panic. "I am worried that he was up to something."