Chapter 102: Dealing with Vincent Ashcroft

"And what exactly do we have here?"

The moment my voice rang out, all eyes snapped toward me.

"B—Brother..." Lenora smiled in relief at the sight of me.

"Lu—Lumiel..."

Vincent, on the other hand, immediately released his grip on Lenora’s arm and stumbled a step back.

Good for him. I had been half a second away from cutting it off.

"Is ’Lumiel’ how you are supposed to address me, Vincent?" I asked with a sigh, my footsteps ringing softly against the stone as I approached.

He looked at me nervously, his fists clenching at his sides.

He opened his mouth to say something, but I stepped forward, closing the distance between us in a fraction of a second.

He flinched, trying to back away, but my fist was already sinking deep into his solar plexus.

"Gahhhh!"

His mouth flew open in a silent gasp as I knocked every ounce of air from his lungs.

Before a string of disgusting saliva could trail past his lips, I drove my fist harder into his abdomen, forcing him downward.

He groaned, doubling over and stumbling several steps back, clutching his stomach tightly before finally collapsing to his knees, spitting blood onto the floor.

I stepped toward him. He raised his head, fixing me with a tearful glare.

"Ughnn!"

It didn’t last long. I swung my foot and caught him squarely under the chin.

He collapsed onto his back immediately.

I raised my boot and brought it down hard upon his hand, the very same hand he had used to grab my sister and strike Regina.

"Who do you think you are, Vincent?" I asked, my voice deadly cold as I ground my weight into his hand.

"Ugnn! W—Wait!!" He choked out, tears of pain spilling down his cheeks.

"You touched my sister. What exactly were you attempting to do?" I asked, narrowing my eyes dangerously.

I raised my open palm, and golden-amber flames flickered slowly to life above my skin.

When Vincent saw the fire, his eyes widened in horror.

He shook his head vehemently.

Crackk!!

I pressed my boot down harder, crushing the bones of his hand against the stone.

"AGRHHH!!"

A tearing scream ripped from his throat as he thrashed wildly on the ground, but I wasn’t nearly finished.

"Speak, Vincent," I said, my voice dropping further. "What were you attempting to do with my sister?"

"N—Nothing!!" He shrieked.

"Is that so?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as the flames in my palm flared brighter, casting dancing shadows across his pale, terrified face. "To attack a royal princess warrants execution in almost every case, regardless of whether you hold noble blood or not. Are you aware of that?"

He tried to stammer out an answer, but I shifted my weight again, grinding my heel deeper into his already pulverized hand. The crunch of breaking finger bones echoed down the corridor. He groaned and screamed louder.

"Brother!"

Just as I was about to act on pure, blinding anger, Lenora grabbed my arm.

I snapped my gaze toward her.

She shook her head.

"It is fine, Brother. I am fine, and I would never have let him best me," she said.

"It does not matter," I replied.

"Brother, please," Lenora insisted. "He is still the Marquis Ashcroft’s heir, and Ravenna’s brother. And you are the King."

"And I am your older brother," I replied.

"Then listen to your little sister. Let him go, and let him face proper judgment," she told me, her expression serious.

Looking at her standing there so composed and unbothered, I felt a sudden swell of pride.

With a sigh, I lifted my foot.

I turned my attention to her, taking her arm gently to inspect it. The pale skin was already bruised and angry red from his grip.

This bastard...

It was exactly like in my previous life on Earth.

I had seen so many similar bruises left on women by husbands, boyfriends, or simply random, entitled men.

Every last one of them was a piece of shit.

"I am fine, Brother," Lenora said with a reassuring smile, though her eyes quickly flicked toward Regina. "Rather..."

I turned my gaze to Regina. She stood a few paces away, one hand cupped over her reddened cheek.

I walked toward her.

"Your Majesty."

Seeing me approach, she lowered her head in a slight, trembling bow.

I reached out and gently laid my hand against her bruised cheek.

"Hmngh..." She held back a groan of pain, her brow knitting tightly together.

I caressed the swollen skin as softly as I could.

A thin line of blood was trickling from the corner of her lips.

I gently brushed my thumb against it, wiping it away.

"Does it hurt?" I asked.

It was a stupid question, considering the state of her face.

"It is fine, Your Majesty," she replied, raising her eyes to meet mine with a faint, resilient smile.

"You are not fine," I said, my brow furrowing in displeasure. "Your beautiful skin has been stained by a third-rate piece of trash."

Regina hesitated for a moment before raising her own hand, her fingers brushing softly against mine.

"I am simply glad Your Majesty has returned safely," she said quietly.

I smiled, then turned my attention back to Lenora.

"Lenora, can you take care of her and inform our mother of what has transpired?" I asked.

"Of course," Lenora nodded with a warm smile, gesturing for Regina to follow her.

The two of them walked off down the corridor together.

I then turned my gaze back toward the corner where I had left Ravenna. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Ravenna, could you call—oh?"

Before I could even finish asking her to fetch the guards, she had already returned with one in tow, and not just an ordinary guard.

It was Sienna.

"You have returned, Your Majesty," she said, placing a hand over her heart as she bowed her head.

"It is good to see you, Sienna. Now, could you take care of this trash?" I said, lightly nudging Vincent’s groaning face with the toe of my boot.

Sienna looked down at the writhing man on the floor, her bright orange eyes widening slightly in shock the moment she recognized him.

"He laid his hands on my sister. I wish to kill him, but unfortunately, I cannot. Keep him under guard somewhere secure until his father arrives," I ordered.

"As you command, Your Majesty," she nodded, signaling the knight behind her to haul Vincent to his feet.

Vincent groaned pathetically as he was hauled to his feet and dragged away.

I watched him go with cold, hard eyes before letting out a sigh and turning back to Ravenna with a small smile.

"It must have been tough dealing with such a stupid brother your entire life. I truly pity you, Ravenna," I said, resuming my walk down the corridor.

"He was supposed to have left the capital with our father, but he chose to stay behind. I should have known he was plotting something as pitiful as this," she replied, not bothering to mince her words in the slightest.

Glancing at her, I could see her dark blue eyes swimming with pure, unfiltered contempt as she watched her broken brother being dragged away. There was even the faintest trace of a delighted smile touching her lips.

This woman... I was really starting to love her.

"Well, he has always been like this. It would do him well to finally understand that I will not let him near my sister in a thousand lifetimes. I will never allow that piece of trash to lay eyes on her again," I said. "You had best send word for your parents to come to the capital. I need to make them understand this as well."

She nodded her head in agreement.

"Oh, wait," I added, pausing mid-step.

I had personally ordered the Marquis to secure and watch over the borders with Radhamantia. I could hardly demand he abandon his post right after I had sent him there.

"Just call your mother. I commanded the Marquis to oversee the borders, so he will be far too occupied to return," I corrected.

There was a noticeable pause from Ravenna at my words.

I glanced over at her.

She stood perfectly still and silent.

"Ravenna?"

She slowly raised her eyes to meet mine, and after a moment, she finally gave a stiff nod.

"I will summon her, Your Majesty," she said quietly, dipping her head.

There was no need to ask why she had fallen so silent the moment I instructed her to summon her mother. But someone had to deal with Vincent’s punishment, and under the circumstances, I had no other choice.

"Then go ahead," I told her.

She gave a final nod and quietly took her leave.

I turned around to face Sienna, who had been following silently in our wake.

"Has anything unusual occurred during my absence?" I asked.

"We managed to capture a few spies," she reported, her expression tightening. "However, they have revealed very little. The few who actually attempted to speak died before we could extract any meaningful information from them."

"As expected," I said, unsurprised by the Black Sun’s methods. "It is fine. Just continue doing your job exactly as you have been, Sienna."

She gave a serious nod.

Now, at last, we were entering the very days when my assassination was fated to occur.