At this critical moment, I did not dodge.

I simply watched as Griffin’s hand drew near.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch my sleeve, a long, dark gold whip appeared from nowhere and struck hard across the back of his hand.

“Ahh!” Griffin let out a shrill scream as he yanked his hand back.

On that once-arrogant hand lay a bloody gash so deep that the bone was visible. Blood poured from the wound.

“Who dares to wound our general?!”

Leo flew into a rage. He drew his blade from his waist as his eyes widened with fury. He looked toward the direction from which the whip had come.

Several hundred household guards of the Quenell family fell into formation in an instant.

Spears bristled on all sides as the air turned into a deadly stillness.

Joan let out a shriek. She clutched her infant tightly and hid behind Wilma. Wilma was also startled, but she quickly regained her composure with anger flashing in her eyes.

“Who is so bold as to cause trouble before the gates of the general of the northern frontier? Do you have a death wish?”

From the far end of the long street came the thunder of hooves in perfect unison. Each beat shook every heart that heard it. The hoofbeats brought with them a deadly chill. The air grew sharply colder.

The crowd parted into a wide passage.

A troop of cavalrymen clad in black heavy armor emerged. They looked like demons walking out from the depths of hell. Every horse was a tall steed. Every rider wore a black iron mask. Only their eyes were exposed.

Their murderous gazes were cold and ruthless.

The faces of the arrogant household guards of the Quenell family instantly turned pale the moment they saw this cavalry. Leo was so terrified that he could barely hold his sword steady, and his legs started trembling uncontrollably.

“T-The Black Guard...” he stammered through quivering lips. It was as if he had seen some ghosts.

Where the Black Guard passed, the very earth turned barren. Griffin clutched his bleeding hand as he stared at the cavalry with shock and uncertainty. He could not understand why the Black Guards had been summoned. He was merely taking in a second wife!

The cavalry halted ten paces in front of the carriage.

The formation split in the middle and made way for a magnificent black Ferghana horse.

On the horse’s back sat a young man.

He had extremely handsome features. However, they carried an air of unshakeable gloominess and arrogance.

His eyes glanced coldly at the crowd as if they were corpses.

“Which yapping jackal tried to pressure Isolde into doing something she refused to do?”

His voice was calm, but to Griffin and Wilma, it landed like a blow to their chest.

He was Jasper Xiberras, the youngest marquess of the kingdom. The new king was still a child. As regent, Jasper held all the power of the royal court. He had a violent and cruel nature. He made decisions with resolute action.

He was known throughout the capital as the Living Devil.

Wilma’s body went limp. She collapsed into her maid’s arms, and her lion-headed cane fell to the ground with a dull thud.

Griffin’s face turned pale. He endured the sharp pain on the back of his hand and lowered himself to one knee.

“My lord Marquess,” he gritted through his teeth as cold sweat dripped down his forehead.

Jasper did not spare him a single glance. He dismounted his horse in one swift motion.

He stepped on the red-carpeted stairs and strode to the front of my carriage before casually tossing the long, dark gold whips still wet with Griffin’s blood to the guards behind him.

Then, he parted the curtain and extended his slender hand toward me.

The sinister and bloodthirsty gaze became tender with care as he said, “Isolde, I have come to take you home.”