Chapter 56
Gripping my bow, I shifted my focus to the three young noblemen standing like sentries around Tedrick.
“This applies to the rest of you as well,” I challenged. “Are you prepared to act with the dignity expected of your rank?”
I anticipated at least a flicker of hesitation or discomfort from them, but they remained unmoved. They clearly assumed Tedrick would shoulder any fallout from this. Furthermore, their eagerness to participate in such a reckless stunt suggested a total lack of concern; they were certain they wouldn’t actually graze me.
To them, this was merely a cruel intimidation tactic.
Logic, however, rarely quiets the heart. A faint, uncontrollable tremor began to rattle my limbs. Tedrick, possessing a predatory instinct for weakness, caught the movement instantly and let out a sharp laugh.
“Is the mighty Tulia actually shaking?” he sneered, his gaze dancing with malice. “Relax. My marksmanship is legendary. I’ve never missed a bullseye in my life.”
He leaned in, his voice dripping with venom. “Then again, who can say? By your own estimate, I’m nothing more than a ‘pest,’ right?”
I remained silent. Unless Tedrick and his cronies had completely lost their minds, they wouldn’t dare wound me with a crowd watching. Their real goal was singular: they wanted me to collapse in a heap of terror as arrows whistled past. If I tripped over my own skirts and made a fool of myself, they would have a story to laugh about over drinks for the rest of their lives.
This was about breaking me. Tedrick wanted to see Tulia’s pride ground into the dirt. He had suffered enough humiliations at my hand to want blood—or at least the appearance of it. It seemed he had conveniently forgotten the long history of his own transgressions against me. If he were capable of self-reflection, he wouldn’t be the monster he was today.
“Stand over there,” Tedrick commanded.
One of his lackeys hurried forward, ushering me toward a specific patch of ground.
“Right here?” I asked.
“Perfectly situated,” he replied with a smirk.
The distance was calculated. It was far enough to be daunting, yet close enough for them to manipulate their aim with ease. I reminded myself that the arrows weren’t meant to hit. To win, I simply had to stand my ground. Once their twenty shots were spent, I fully intended to put an arrow through Tedrick’s foot.
He was too caught up in his power trip to realize how badly the odds were stacked against him. Everyone knew he was a skilled archer, but I was a total mystery. If a complete amateur like me ‘accidentally’ botched a shot and maimed him, who could blame me?
I wondered if I should aim for his groin. Ending the Lilius bloodline right here felt like a tempting prospect.
Despite my inward bravado, being treated like a tethered target in the middle of the woods was horrifying. The sight of those polished arrowheads leveled at me made my stomach churn. Hearing them whisper and giggle about where the shots might land—pretending to worry about a ‘mistake’—was a calculated psychological assault. I knew my status as the daughter of Marquis Frazier was my armor, but my body wasn’t listening to my brain.
My fingers began to twitch, so I balled them into the fabric of my dress. I hated that I couldn’t stop the shivering.
I am a mountain, I told myself. I am a world tree. I will not move.
Suddenly, the air was sliced open.
The magic bows, massive and imposing, began to hum as they unleashed their payload. Tedrick and his companions were undeniably talented; they knew exactly how to thread the needle. I expected the arrows to thud into the dirt by my boots or snag the hem of my gown—a terrifying display of precision meant to shatter my resolve.
Instead, a scream tore through the clearing.
It took a second to realize the sound had come from me. Then, the agony hit. It was a searing, white-hot sensation as a steel tip tore through the flesh of my foot.
“Miss Tulia!”
“Good god, she’s hit!”
“Her arm too! What have you done?”
The panicked shouts of the onlookers blurred into a dull roar. Through the haze of pain radiating from my limbs, I forced my eyes to stay on Tedrick. Had he done this on purpose? Was he actually bold enough to attempt a public execution?
But Tedrick looked like a ghost. His face was a sickly, ashen grey, devoid of any triumph. He looked as terrified as everyone else. The other young lords were equally pale, their bows trembling in their hands. This hadn’t been their intention.
An intrusive thought forced its way into my mind. I didn’t want to believe it, but the realization was unavoidable.
A penalty?
I didn’t need to look for the golden star that usually hovered nearby. I knew it was there, watching this disaster with its usual indifference.
Status Window! I screamed internally.
The blue interface flickered into existence immediately.
[System: Status Window]
Name: Tulia Frazier (15)
Coins: 10 (Savings: 1,000)
Charisma: 1
Beauty: 8
Skill: 5
Wealth: 0
Luck: -10
Rank: D-
(! Warning: Luck penalty active. All incoming attacks will result in a direct hit.)
You have to be kidding me! I raged. A warning would have been useful before the shooting started!
I tried to dump my remaining coins into the luck stat to fix the deficit.
[System: Insufficient funds.]
What?
[System: Insufficient funds.]
Ten coins weren’t even enough to move the needle from negative ten? The cost was astronomical.
Another wave of pain crashed over me as another arrow found its mark, this time in my shoulder. I let out a jagged laugh despite the agony. I recognized this. I had seen this exact image in the game—Tulia Frazier, the ultimate villainess, meeting her end at the hands of ‘righteous’ nobles. It was one of the many execution endings I had played through.
But something felt wrong. Was I still the monster? Were these people truly the heroes?
Tears began to stream down my face, a mix of physical suffering and overwhelming frustration. The initial volley had come from Tedrick and his friends, but the magic bow in Tedrick’s hand was a multi-shot weapon. It wasn’t finished.
As I collapsed to the grass, the clearing erupted into chaos.
“Get a medic!”
“Help her!”
Amidst the screaming, I saw Tedrick struggling with his bow. He was aiming at me again, his eyes wide with horror.
“Tedrick, stop!” someone yelled. “Drop the weapon!”
“I can’t!” he shrieked, his voice cracking. “It’s a three-shot cycle! I can’t stop the mechanism!”
I watched through a blur of tears as the world seemed to slow to a crawl. The final two arrows were coming. They were large, jagged things—the pride of Viscount Lilius’s collection. They looked like they were designed to kill.
“Get down!” a knight shouted, sprinting toward me, but he was miles away.
I couldn’t move. My foot was useless, and the system’s curse ensured those arrows wouldn’t miss.
To hell with the interest, I thought. I reached for my savings account, ready to break the lock and buy my survival.
“You absolute maniac!”
A sharp curse sliced through the air, and suddenly, a broad shadow fell over me.
Thud.
The sickening sound of metal tearing through fine wool and sinking deep into muscle echoed in the silence.
“…Leon?”
