Aeren and Ellie stepped out from their carriage and observed the three culprits. They all appeared pitiful from the outside, but Aeren could read their thoughts like an open book.
Aeren allowed them to envision their future success without interrupting their fantasies. He approached them, then turned toward the carriage line. Standing there, he observed the 3-5 carriages aligned in formation before turning to the guards.
"Summon everyone out."
Aeren addressed one of the guards, who understood his meaning and relayed the message forward. Aeren found a chair to sit in and positioned himself across from the three culprits, who continued their act of pleading for their lives.
Aeren didn't respond to their pleas or even acknowledge them—he waited for the others to emerge. Ellie sat beside him while Rina attended to her needs.
After half an hour, everyone had exited their carriages. Aeren observed the circle formed by the assembled people, then stood from his chair and addressed them.
"Listen, people of Vorthis. I am Aeren Vorthis, Third Prince of the Vorthis Royal Family, Crown Prince of the Vorthis Empire, and future ruler of the Vorthis Empire."
Aeren paused and watched the reactions. The four girls responded to Aeren's identity revelation, while the others listened intently and took him seriously, their focus primarily on the three people bound with sealing chains.
"Now you all know my authority and understand what my words mean to the Vorthis Empire."
Aeren fell silent again, observing the quiet among the assembled people. The three bound individuals smiled, waiting for the right moment to strike from behind. As they watched Aeren, their eyes also fell upon Ellie, who remained seated, listening silently to her brother's statement.
"I want to ask all of you one question, and I demand the truth—or you die in the next moment."
Aeren issued his warning before questioning them. Everyone shivered after his threat, but they concealed their fear from Aeren and gulped nervously.
"Tell me—do any of you know these three people? I'll give you five minutes to answer. I already know how many people recognize them, and I will execute those who lie first before dealing with these three."
This declaration made everyone lose hope. They all turned to examine the three bound individuals. The three captives saw an opportunity to kill Aeren and attempted to break their chains, but the restraints didn't budge—they couldn't break free at all.
All three fell into despair. They had seen their chance but lacked the power to shatter their bonds. They turned toward the man who had provided the chains, but before they could focus on him, Rina cut him down the moment their eyes reached him. This sight filled them with complete despair.
They had all underestimated the situation. One of their allies was already dead, and everyone witnessed this. Some people began fleeing from the crowd, screaming, while others remained standing, waiting for the five-minute deadline with sweat beading on their faces. Rina proceeded to eliminate all the fleeing individuals.
Rina didn't let a single person escape alive. Aeren and Ellie watched this unfold, having expected it all. They showed no reaction to the scene as Rina eliminated twenty or more people.
As time passed, more people calmed down, and after five minutes, everything fell silent.
Aeren studied the two queues that had formed and understood their meaning—one queue consisted of those who knew the three individuals, and the other contained those who had never seen or spoken with them. Aeren could easily distinguish which people had known them and which hadn't.
Aeren nodded and commanded, "Rina, kill him, kill her, and that one." As he finished speaking, Rina executed the people he had indicated. Aeren confirmed that no one who had lied to him remained alive.
"You have all proven your loyalty by telling the truth. I will spare your lives and allow you all to continue serving the Vorthis family and empire."
Aeren paused again, turned to the three bound captives, and saw the fear in their eyes before announcing, "As for these three, they will serve as an example for all of you to remember—if you go against the Vorthis family, you will meet the same end."
A sword materialized in Aeren's right hand, visible to everyone. He gripped his weapon and placed it against one of the three necks.
Slash...
Aeren severed the head of the royal family guard who had intended to assassinate him, executing him instantly.
Everyone witnessed Aeren's cruelty. He didn't interrogate the man, didn't ask for reasons, and didn't try to understand the motives behind their actions. Aeren simply killed him, and everyone saw this.
All of them began to feel genuine fear—the real terror they had forgotten while working for the royal family, when they had thought of themselves as untouchable. Some even started crying, their tears visible to both Ellie and Rina, but both ignored such trivial displays.
"See how easy it is to cut people down? Just remember—if you betray us like them, you'll be next, and no one will stop me."
Aeren stated his words and placed his sword against the second person's head. The man began pleading, "Your Highness, don't kill me! I can tell you everything! There's still—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Aeren had already severed his head. He turned to the third person, took a step toward him, and spoke, "I already know all the culprits, so there's nothing you can tell me that I don't already know. I simply allow them to live to see another day. Unless you know about the mastermind behind you—but I don't care about such worthless individuals. They will come to me eventually anyway, and before that happens, all of you will die one by one..."
Aeren's voice echoed through the atmosphere, sending shivers through everyone present. He was essentially saying: It's not that I don't know—I'm just letting them decide what would be better for them. Either you all die, and after your deaths, the mastermind will reveal themselves anyway. You are merely puppets destined to die between two masters.
Aeren placed his sword against the final person's head and eliminated him. Everyone watched the scene, now powerless to even speak, falling into complete silence. Aeren let the atmosphere settle into quiet before turning his head toward the circular formation and observing them with no emotion or expression on his face.
Aeren stood before all of them. "This will be your end, so remember—you are not free in this world." He finished his statement and walked forward. Everyone began stepping backward when they saw Aeren approaching, but he passed by them and headed toward his carriage.
Ellie observed everything and gazed at the people, thinking: People are meant to die when they begin to fear death. That death haunts you every single day, and when you truly die, you realize this pain is actually relief, peace, satisfaction, and more...
Death has never been cruel. Death never lies. Death is never a path...
Death is one path to freedom.
After witnessing the deaths around her, Ellie comprehended a new meaning of freedom. She finally understood the freedom she had been learning from Aeren.
Ellie felt happiness from within. After grasping the meaning of freedom, she shouted at Aeren with excitement in her eyes and voice, "Brother Aeren, I will kill you one day! You will regret teaching me freedom!"
Aeren didn't turn toward her, continuing his walk to the carriage. "I'm waiting to be killed, Ellie." He replied, and this scene was witnessed and heard by all the people surrounding the Prince and Princess.
Everyone was shocked and couldn't understand the meaning behind both their statements or comprehend them at all—they couldn't find a single logical explanation.
One was saying "I will kill you," and in response, he said he was waiting to be killed. Then why was he killing these innocent people who wanted to help fulfill his dream of being killed?
All the people of the Vorthis Empire stared at the bodies, thinking the same thoughts and failing to understand the Prince and Princess.