Chapter 192: Chapter Hundred And Ninety One

The four rough men took a slow, trembling step backward away from Allen. They pressed their backs hard against the brick wall of the building.

Their faces had completely lost all of their healthy color. They were shaking so violently that their leather vests rustled in the quiet alley. The clubs and rusty daggers in their hands trembled, making soft scraping sounds.

Camilla walked slowly and confidently toward them. Her soft leather shoes made no sound in the wet mud.

"What is going on here?" Camilla spoke out loud.

Her voice was not loud. But it was smooth, calm, and filled with a dark, freezing authority that instantly cut through the heavy tension of the alley.

The largest thug, the bald man who had been holding the club, swallowed hard. His throat felt dry. His knees shook so much they almost knocked together under his trousers. He looked at her silk dress, realizing she was dressed like a wealthy noblewoman of the highest class. He now knew how to address her.

"N... Nothing," the bald man stammered nervously. He quickly lowered his eyes, not daring to look directly into her gaze. "Nothing, my lady."

He looked at her with an expression of submission, trying desperately to look like a harmless servant.

Camilla took another slow step forward, closing the distance between them. Zade stood firmly right behind her shoulder, his arms crossed over his purple coat, keeping a careful watch. Allen was still pressed against the brick wall in the corner, his face pale with shock.

Camilla glared at the four men.

"How dare you try to rob my family member?" Camilla asked. Her voice dropped into a quiet, deadly whisper that made the thugs shiver with fear.

The men looked at each other in confusion. Their faces were twisted in panic. They looked at Camilla, and then they looked at Zade standing right behind her.

They recognized Zade. They remembered beating him and his friend Austin at the Old Man’s Rye Tavern. They thought Camilla was talking about Zade.

The skinny thug with the greasy black hair completely lost his courage. He dropped his rusty dagger. The weapon hit the wet ground with a soft clack.

He fell heavily onto his knees in the cold mud. He pressed his hands together in a desperate gesture of prayer.

"We did not touch your brother, I swear my lady!" the skinny thug begged frantically, his voice high and squeaky with terror. He looked up at her with wide, pleading eyes. "We did not lay a single finger on him! We haven’t seen him since the last incident. We did not even go near him! I swear on my life, we have done nothing to your brother!"

The other thugs quickly realized what he was doing. They looked at Camilla’s raised hand.

Camilla did not look at the kneeling man. She slowly raised her hand and pointed her finger directly at Allen, who was still standing frozen in the corner.

"He is my brother-in-law," Camilla said clearly, her voice echoing in the narrow alleyway. "And that makes him my brother too."

The four thugs completely froze.

Their eyes darted from Camilla’s pointing finger to Allen’s expensive grey coat. They realized with horror that he was directly related to the terrifying woman standing in front of them. Robbing him was the same as committing suicide.

The remaining three thugs, including the huge bald leader, did not hesitate for a single second. They dropped their weapons. The clubs and rusty daggers hit the wet mud with soft thuds.

They all went down on their knees in the cold mud. They knelt in a straight row in front of her boots, bowing their heads in submission.

"Please have mercy, please have mercy my lady!" they chorused together, their voices shaking violently with fear. "We did not know! We did not know he was associated with you! If we knew, we would never have dared to even look at him! Please spare our lives!" 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Allen stood in his corner, his mouth slightly open. He looked at the four dangerous, rough kidnappers who had just been threatening to cut his throat. Now, they were kneeling in the dirt, crying and begging like small children in front of his quiet, delicate sister-in-law. He felt completely bewildered. He thought he was having a very strange dream.

Camilla looked down at the kneeling men. Her face was like cold, unfeeling statue. She did not show a single drop of pity.

"Don’t let me see you again," Camilla warned them. Her voice was steady, quiet, and carried an freezing threat. "Otherwise, you will face the consequences."

The thugs nodded their heads rapidly, their hair flying around their pale faces.

"Yes, my lady! We understand! We will leave the city immediately!" they promised frantically.

"We will never return, we swear!" another one cried out.

The bald leader slowly began to push himself up from the wet mud. "Thank you, my lady.

Thank you," they chorused together, their voices full of deep, profound relief.

The other three men began to stand up with him, preparing to turn around and run out of the alleyway as fast as their legs could carry them.

But before they could take a single step, Camilla slowly cleared her throat.

Ahem.

The sound was not loud, but it was incredibly sharp.

The four men instantly froze in their tracks. Their bodies went perfectly stiff. They turned their heads slowly, looking back at her with expressions of terrified confusion. They did not understand what she wanted. They thought they had successfully earned their freedom.

Camilla stood with her arms crossed over her chest. She did not say a word. She slowly lowered her eyes, looking down at the hands of the bald man, and then at the hands of the skinny thug.

The bald leader looked down at his own hands.

His eyes went wide. He realized with horror that he was still holding Allen’s shiny gold ring and the beautiful silver pocket watch. The other thug was still holding the diamond-encrusted pin. They had completely forgotten to return the stolen items in their panic to run away.

The bald man’s face turned white.

"Quickly! Give them back!" the leader whispered frantically to his men, his voice shaking with terror.