chapter 29

The execution site was crowded with an enormous crowd.

"It's not much fun once you go from the palace to the guillotine."

"Yet, a noble he remains, even facing the end."

"There he comes!"

The crowd, a macabre spectacle themselves, roared with laughter and hurled stones at Matteo, who was bound to the cart's pillar. Lost in thought, Matteo took the brunt of the flying missiles.

Public executions served as a gruesome entertainment for the throngs who gathered, their chatter a chilling counterpoint to the impending violence.

High atop a platform stood the gallows, a grim stage meticulously positioned to offer the crowd an unobstructed view of the execution. Soldiers roughly escorted Matteo to the foot of the gallows.