19 Ch 19: Overcoming trouble
Thalida, with an exasperated tone, questioned, "On what basis do you claim that my handmaiden is lying?"
"Have you ever heard of a dragon lying to his master?" Lord Khaleji said calmly,
"You mean...?" Thalida's voice trailed off in disbelief.
"Yes, Armand here is a dragon, my very own battle companion with whom I went to war. He can discern lies from truth and is extremely loyal and truthful to me. The statement he made about your handmaiden is undoubtedly the truth. She has wrongly accused my son!"
This revelation was enough to shut Thalida up.
"Father, I feel strongly wronged. Please do me justice," Valerius said, seizing the opportunity to add fuel to the fire. He purposefully addressed Lord Khaleji as 'father', echoing the term of endearment Khaleji had just used for him. This deliberate choice of words was not only to reinforce their familial bond in the eyes of those present but also to subtly remind Lord Khaleji of his duty to protect and stand up for him, especially since Khaleji had publicly acknowledged him as his son. This strategic move by Valerius was designed to sway the situation in his favor and strengthen his position in the ongoing conflict.
Lord Khaleji nodded and then posed a question to Armand, "How do we deal with lying rats in our house?"
Armand replied, "We punish them. The punishment varies depending on the severity of the lie. A false accusation made against a descendant of the main family usually results in being flogged 100 times with the Spirit Severing Stick. And if the person was acting under someone else's orders, then they would be punished together with the person giving the orders."
The Spirit Severing Stick was a formidable tool of discipline within the House of Khaleji. To explain it fancily, it could penetrate the defensive powers of a wizard and harm their mortal coil. In simpler, more crude terms, before this stick, even the mightiest of wizards could be whacked to death if they act out of place!
The stick was a symbol of ultimate authority within Serphendale and beyond, feared by all for its ability to subdue even those with formidable magical powers.
The mere thought of facing such a punishment left the maid utterly terrified.
She was right to feel so afraid.
The stick had a notorious reputation. It was said that ten strikes from it would swell the buttocks, fifty strikes would shatter bones, and a hundred strikes had the power to reap a soul. No one had ever survived a hundred strikes. She would die if she faced this punishment.
Lord Khaleji then asked the maid, "Were you acting on your own, or is someone else involved?"
Before the maid could respond, Thalida's voice reached her ears. Thalida promised, "I will save your life, but you cannot betray me. If you dare rat me out, I will not forgive you."
The maid's loyalty to Thalida was unwavering. More than the fear of punishment, she dreaded being ignored and abandoned by her. Even without Thalida's threat, she would have still protected her.
"No, it was only me," she said firmly.
"She is lying," Armand communicated mentally to Lord Khaleji
Lord Khaleji's expression remained unchanged. He was aware of the maid's deceit, but he had to proceed as if she was telling the truth to protect the house's reputation and save his wife from harm and himself from embarrassment.
Thalida, his wife, was the real culprit behind this family drama. Only she could have compelled Elara into wrongfully accusing Valerius. Lord Khaleji was already aware of this fact.
He also knew that if he pursued this matter to its conclusion, Thalida's involvement would inevitably be exposed, leading to her being punished by the elders of the punishment hall.
As a man, how could he allow his woman to be punished by others?
However, if he didn't allow it, he risked being admonished by the elders for rejecting the teachings of the ancestors and playing favoritism, among other accusations.
Furthermore, while all the people in the manor were his servants, word of such incidents was bound to leak out. This would lead to Thalida's reputation being tarnished, and his own standing would suffer as well, with people criticizing him for failing to control his wife.
As the face of the entire family, Lord Khaleji's reputation taking a hit would lead to questions about the family's integrity, potentially causing their stock prices to plummet.
The consequences were too dire and the loss too heavy to bear. Lord Khaleji could foresee the aftermath if he tried to use this incident to deal with Thalida and rein in her temper, and they weren't good for him or the family he was working day and night to grow.
He had other ways to handle her. He didn't need to use this matter to teach her a lesson.
Thus, he unanimously decided to let the matter end with the maid being punished, without giving a batshit about what Valerius wanted or felt.
"Then why are you still here? Go to the punishment hall and receive your punishment," Lord Khaleji said coldly.
The maid's legs gave out, and she dropped to her knees, begging Lord Khaleji for mercy. "Please spare me, my lord," she pleaded desperately. "I don't know what came over me to make such a mistake. I swear it will not happen again."
Lord Khaleji did not spare her a glance. Instead, he turned to the servants nearby and commanded, "What are you all waiting for? Drag her out and carry out her punishment!"
"Yes, master," two servants responded promptly. They approached the maid, grabbed her, and began dragging her away.
As she was being dragged away, the maid turned to Thalida, her mistress, begging, "Please save me, Mistress!"
"Please, show some mercy for her," Thalida begged her husband.
Lord Khaleji, after a brief pause, commanded, "Stop."
The servants dragging the maid halted and looked to the lord for further instructions.
"Considering she has served the mistress of the house until now, she deserves some leniency. Lower her punishment to 50 strikes," he decreed.
Though a punishment of 50 strikes would not be fatal, it was enough to leave Elara crippled. Still, it was better than death. The master and servant duo couldn't ask for more.
"Yes, master," the servants said before dragging Elara away to the hall of punishment. There her punishment began and she was whacked brutally until not a single piece of her skin was left intact.
'She received what she deserved. There's no injustice in it,' Valerius was aware of the grim fate that awaited the maid. He believed she deserved it, so he was content with the verdict. He also hoped that this would serve as a deterrent to people who harbored ill intentions against him, and make them think twice before targeting him.
"Is this sufficient enough?" Lord Khaleji asked his adopted son.
Of course, it wasn't sufficient for Valerius. He would have preferred if the actual culprit was also beaten half to death. That would be the only way to quell his rage. But he knew that was an impossibility. The Lord of the House did not want the actual culprit harmed, and considering his strength and status, Valerius couldn't possibly go against his will.
He knew when to take a step back. So, he readily agreed, bobbing his head up and down like a cute little squirrel.
Lord Khaleji patted Valerius on the shoulder and said, "I heard you took first place in the awakening ceremony. Good job. I am proud of you, son."
Valerius was taken aback by this display of affection. They never had such an interaction; in the past 12 years, this was the first day Lord Khaleji had called him his son. Prior to this day, he had never used such a term, preferring to refer to him by his name.
Valerius pondered what had caused this change. Even the potential he had shown shouldn't warrant such warmth.
His achievements should've only granted him his help and the right to stay in the main house, not his fatherly affection.
'Just why is he treating me this way?' he silently wondered but kept his confusion to himself.
Outwardly, with a warm smile, he replied, "I'm glad you feel that way."
He wasn't going to reject his adopted father's fatherly affection. After all, he needed his protection. So he acted this way.
"You look like you had a pretty rough day," Lord Khaleji said as he looked at his nephew gently, "Go to your room and rest."
"Then please excuse me," Valerius said as he ascended the stairs, turned a corner, and vanished from sight.
Back in the hall, Lord Khaleji commanded the surrounding people, "Alright, disperse."
They immediately followed his order.
He then turned to his wife with a cold expression that said she owed him money and said, "Thalida, follow me."
