Chapter 163: Chapter Hundred And Sixty Two

Camilla looked directly into Elora’s eyes. She made sure her voice was completely clear so the magic would trigger perfectly.

"What a completely rude mouth you have," Camilla spoke coldly.

She took a deep breath. She focused her mind entirely on the white cat.

"I hope," Camilla stated clearly, emphasizing the trigger words, "that Lily doesn’t get very angry and bite you till you bleed."

The words hung in the cool night air.

At first, Elora just sneered again. She thought it was a stupid, empty threat. She hugged her pet closer.

Because Camilla said she hoped it would not happen, the magic forced the exact opposite reality to occur immediately.

The fluffy white cat, which had been meowing sadly, suddenly stopped making noise.

The cat’s blue eyes widened. Its pupils dilated into large, dark circles. The cat felt a sudden, massive surge of aggressive panic.

Lily let out a loud, terrifying, violent hiss.

Before Elora could even react, the cat twisted its head around with speed. The cat opened its jaws wide, exposing its sharp teeth.

Immediately, Lily bit Elora incredibly hard directly on her bare forearm.

The cat bit down with all of its strength, sinking its sharp teeth deeply through the skin and directly into the soft flesh of the young woman’s arm.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Elora screamed at the very top of her lungs.

It was a sharp, piercing shriek of agony. The pain was sudden and intense.

Elora opened her arms abruptly. She completely dropped Lily.

The white cat hit the stone path, landed perfectly on all four paws, and immediately ran away as fast as it could, completely disappearing into the night.

Elora grabbed her right arm with her left hand. She looked down in horror.

Two deep, bleeding puncture wounds were clearly visible on her pale skin. Bright red blood was pooling quickly from the deep bite marks, running down her arm and dripping onto the expensive pink silk of her ball gown.

"My arm! I am bleeding!" Elora cried loudly, tears of pain pain and panic streaming down her face.

The maid standing behind her went completely pale with shock.

"Oh my goodness!" the maid yelled in terror. She did not try to help her mistress. She completely panicked. She turned around and ran frantically back down the stone path toward the bright lights of the grand ballroom.

"I will call your mother! I will get help!" the maid screamed as she ran. "My Lady!"

Camilla stood calmly on the path. She watched Elora crying and holding her bleeding arm. Camilla did not feel a single drop of pity. The girl had insulted her, maltreated the cat, and acted terribly. She deserved a little bit of physical pain.

"Well," Camilla thought to herself, a small, highly satisfied smile touching her lips. "I did warn her."

In some mere seconds, loud panicked footsteps came rushing down the stone path from the mansion.

Elora’s mother appeared. She was a tall, imposing, older noblewoman wearing a highly decorated, dark purple ball gown. She had the same arrogant face as her daughter.

Running right beside the mother was a tall, heavily armored guard belonging to the old Duke’s personal security detail. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"My child!" the mother shouted loudly as she rushed forward.

She reached Elora’s side. She grabbed her daughter’s shoulders, looking her up and down in frantic worry.

"What happened?!" the mother asked. Then, her eyes fell onto the blood running down Elora’s arm. Her face turned completely white. "Why is there blood on your arm? Who attacked you?"

Elora was sobbing heavily now. She raised her shaking, uninjured hand.

Elora pointed her finger directly at Camilla, who was standing peacefully a few feet away.

"It is all her fault!" Elora wailed loudly, completely blaming Camilla for the cat’s sudden aggression. "It is all Camilla’s fault! She said crazy words to the cat! She angered Lily! She made Lily bite me!"

Elora’s mother slowly turned her head. She looked at Camilla.

The older woman’s face twisted into an expression of violent fury. She believed her daughter completely. She believed this weak, useless girl had somehow attacked her precious child.

"Don’t worry, my child," the mother said through her tightly gritted teeth, her voice shaking with rage. She patted Elora’s shoulder. "I’ll avenge you right now."

The mother let go of her daughter. She took an aggressive step forward.

She was a noblewoman, but in her rage, she completely forgot her manners. She looked around the dark garden area wildly, searching for a weapon to punish the girl who had hurt her daughter.

She saw a piece of broken wood lying on the dirt near where the guard stood. It was an old wooden post used to hold up the rose bushes.

The mother bent down quickly. She picked the wood up with both of her hands.

She raised the thick piece of wood high into the air. Her eyes were burning with hatred. She fully intended to swing the wood down and hit Camilla directly across the face.

Camilla stood perfectly still.

She saw the angry woman raise the wood. Her brain calculated the threat instantly.

"This woman is completely crazy," Camilla thought to herself, her mind completely calm and unbothered. "She is moving so incredibly slowly. I could easily duck under her swing, kick her in the knee, and drop her onto the stone path in one second."

Camilla completely relaxed her muscles, fully preparing to easily dodge the clumsy, slow attack. She did not even need to use her hands.

The angry mother stepped forward, swinging the heavy piece of wood down with all her might.

But Camilla never got the chance to dodge.

Suddenly, from the dark shadows of the garden path behind Camilla, a massive, powerful, fast blur of motion completely exploded into the scene.

Someone came rushing in.

It was Damon.

The General had arrived at the old house after finishing his urgent military business at the camp. He had walked through the ballroom looking for his wife, heard the shouting from the garden, and rushed outside immediately.

Damon saw the older woman swinging the piece of wood directly toward Camilla’s unprotected head.

Damon did not shout. He did not draw his sword. There was no time.

He moved with speed.

Before the wood could even come close to Camilla’s face, Damon threw his broad body completely forward.

He lunged directly into the middle of the fight.

He reached out his strong, muscular arms. He grabbed Camilla quickly and firmly. He pulled her forcefully against his own chest, hugging her completely tight against his body.

With a fast twist of his waist, Damon spun them both around on the stone path.

He completely shielded Camilla’s small body with his own massive frame. He turned his broad, wide back directly toward the angry mother’s swinging weapon.

THWACK!

It was a loud, heavy, sickening sound.

The thick piece of solid wood hit Damon directly, heavily, and brutally square in the middle of his broad back.

The impact was massive. The wood actually snapped perfectly in half from hitting the solid, hard muscle of the General’s back.

Damon let out a very low, muffled grunt of pain from the back of his throat. His entire body jerked slightly from the heavy, unexpected blow, but he did not fall. He kept his feet planted firmly on the stone path, holding Camilla securely in his arms, keeping her absolutely, perfectly safe.

The broken half of the wood fell from the mother’s hands and clattered loudly against the stone pavement.

The garden fell into a state of terrified silence.