Volume 5, Chapter 18 – Punishment and Engraving Fear

A dim dungeon lit only by a faint flame.

“One!”

Crack!

Following the crisp sound of the whip striking skin, Fia’s eyelids couldn’t help but twitch. What was currently underway was Nola’s flogging. Although Fia had been mentally prepared that it would be painful, seeing it with her own eyes still made her heart tremble. She rarely felt fear, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t afraid of pain.

Even though most beastfolk were tougher than elves, Anastasia’s single lash left a deep, bloody mark on the buttocks of the shackled Nola. The initially embarrassing atmosphere instantly became tense. Perhaps only a sadist would enjoy such an environment.

That being said, Fia didn’t feel much sympathy. This was the punishment Nola deserved. One could not cause trouble in Silvar and not pay a price. What did surprise Fia was that Anastasia actually carried a salt water soaked whip with her. Judging by the way she swung it, this didn’t seem to be her first time doing such a thing; she looked quite proficient.

It was also worth noting that Anastasia used magic to assist her swing, and the whip itself was a special magic item. Otherwise, with Nola’s Seventh-Tier strength, an ordinary person’s whip could not have inflicted any effective damage on her pale white buttocks.

After the first lash, Anastasia, standing a few steps away, looked over at Fia. The count was up to Fia; without her command, she could not swing the whip again.

Fia cleared her throat. Perhaps because she couldn’t bear to see Nola being flogged, Claire had not come this morning.

“Two!”

Crack!

Another crisp crack of the whip.

This time, however, Nola couldn’t hold back a sound. The fiery pain on her buttocks made a faint cry escape her lips.

Fia maintained a blank expression and walked around to stand in front of Nola.

“Can’t take it already? There are still twenty-eight lashes to go. If you apologize to Anastasia, I can let you pay it back in installments.”

“N-Never!”

“Three!”

“Ugh!”

With the third lash, fine beads of sweat appeared on the forehead of Nola, who was restrained in the stocks with her limbs pointing down. The pain was written all over her face.

Fia continued with a cold expression.

“It’s not that I can’t guess what you’re thinking. You simply feel that I’m too great a threat to the Cold Night, so you wanted to take the opportunity to cause trouble for me, preferably to get rid of me. You couldn’t say it in front of Claire last night, so I’ll say it for you now. The time you attacked me with a weapon in the castle, I can see it as you being desperate to save your companion. But deliberately plotting to harm royalty, if that gets out, it would be difficult not to execute you.”

“…If you understood, why wait until now to say it? Wouldn’t killing me solve everything?”

Reαd oո KаtReαdіnɡСαfe

Although her face was covered in sweat, Nola still tried to raise her head, not wanting to show weakness.

Fia raised her chin slightly.

“You think too highly of yourself. Whether I kill you or not has no effect on me. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Holy Son or the possible next heir to the Cold Night. If I want to deal with you, you cannot escape death. I am only sparing you for Claire’s sake. Keeping you alive gives me more than killing you.”

“I’ve heard about your Holy Son Faction. In the past, Silvar bought your land at a low price. You believe the deal was unfair, so you want us to return it. But even a fool knows that won’t work. In addition, Silvar has been secretly supporting a pro-Silvar faction within the Cold Night, which goes against your goal of independence. The two of you are in constant conflict, and the internal strife has weakened your national strength. So from your standpoint, you feel that Silvar has been exploiting the Cold Night for a long time and is your enemy. Killing me would clear a future obstacle for you.”

Nola did not answer, but simply lowered her head.

Fia began to pace slowly.

“Only by thinking from your opponent’s standpoint can you clearly understand what they’re thinking, and thus find the most advantageous entry point to grasp their weakness and exchange the smallest cost for the greatest benefit. You are on the weaker side; you should understand this even better. Unfortunately, while I understand your position, you have not thought about the problem from my perspective at all.”

“What I mean is, you came to Silvar with hostility towards me and even hurt my maid here. Do you think I would just let it pass as if nothing happened? If you could have understood this simple layer, and had apologized for Anastasia’s part as well last night, you wouldn’t be suffering this physical pain now. I’m not an unreasonable person. As long as you show enough sincerity, I can make concessions within my ability.”

“But considering you can’t figure this out, I guess even if I say this much, you still can’t understand what I’m trying to express. So, let me give you a simpler example. If I didn’t have my pride as a powerful individual, and simply because your Holy Son Faction, after unifying the Cold Night, would become a rival to Silvar in the future, I went to your tribe and wreaked havoc, thus solving a future threat to Silvar, what would you think?”

Nola clicked her tongue defiantly.

“It’s just the law of the jungle. The conflict between nations is no different from children fighting. If you were in my position, you would make the same choice as me.”

“That’s why I say you’re short-sighted.”

Fia held her palm out towards Nola.

“If I were you, I would first investigate how strong the Eldest Princess really is, and how big the gap in national strength is between the Cold Night and Silvar, and then formulate a countermeasure. Even a beast knows to measure its own size against its prey before making a move. A beastman can’t be worse than a beast. Even if the two sides are destined to become enemies, it’s the law of survival to hide oneself, bide one’s time, and even lower oneself when necessary to pretend to be the enemy’s friend and ask for their help to grow, only revealing one’s fangs after accumulating enough strength. As long as you can be the final winner, your so-called face is worthless.”

“Because you don’t understand this, you lost. Of course, there’s also the fact that you could never defeat me no matter how hard you tried. But defeat can be graceful or ugly. If you had known how to bide your time and accumulate strength, even if you lost to me, I would have admired your wisdom and been surprised by your forbearance. Being humiliated by the enemy after such a miserable defeat, do you think that’s graceful or ugly?”

Of course it’s ugly.

The blunt question made Nola’s face turn pale and then red. However, she did not roar like a caged lion. Fia had laid it out so plainly that even a fool could understand what she meant. These were principles she had never encountered before. Even if she was unwilling to admit it, she knew that if she could get out of here, she would benefit greatly in the future.

It was just that she didn’t understand why Fia was telling her all this. What did she want?

“What do you really want? What’s in it for you to tell me all this?”

“I’ve said it before. No matter what you do, you can never threaten me. Teaching you this brings me no loss. As for my reason, it’s simply out of pity for a tribe whose fate is in the hands of a fool.”

Although she spoke harshly, Fia had other motives. If she insisted on using the Kingdom’s laws to execute Nola, it would be difficult for Claire to stop her. However, that was definitely not the outcome Claire wanted to see. Therefore, keeping her alive was more beneficial than killing her.

Rеαⅾ оn КatRеαⅾіոgСαfе

And keeping her alive meant there was a possibility of dealing with her in the future. If a fool remained a fool, communication would always be inefficient or even ineffective. Rather than that, it was better to teach her some things for Claire’s sake and make her a little smarter. That would only be beneficial for both herself and Claire. More importantly, by combining fear and instruction, she could leave an insurmountable and unchallengeable image in Nola’s mind, creating a sense of awe. Once that impression was left, it would save a lot of trouble in the future.

At the mention of her tribe, Nola’s brow furrowed.

“Don’t look down on me. You have no idea how much I’ve done for my tribe—”

“Four.”

Crack!

Before Nola could finish, Anastasia’s fourth lash landed heavily on her buttocks. The sudden pain made Nola’s features twist instantly, and a cry of pain escaped her unprepared. It took five seconds for her to gradually recover from the dizziness brought by the intense pain. Hatred appeared in her deep purple cat eyes.

“You’re humiliating me!”

“I’m teaching you a skill a leader should have. A leader who can’t swallow their pride won’t have the last laugh. You can’t even swallow this little bit of humiliation, so how can you lead the weak Holy Son Faction to defeat the strong Royalist Faction? The power gap is so obvious, yet you dare to bare your teeth at me. Did you not hear a single word I said just now? —Five.”

“Ugh!”

In order to engrave enough fear in Nola’s mind, Fia stopped talking to her and instead, like a counting machine, counted one by one up to twenty. Nola’s cries gradually changed from whimpers to cries of pain, and then to weakening moans.

Under normal circumstances, ten lashes would have been enough to make a person lose consciousness long ago. In fact, there were already obvious bloodstains on Anastasia’s whip. But Nola was a Holy Son. Even though her magic had been drained by Fia before the punishment, leaving her in a weakened state, she was only at the point where her brain could no longer think, just on the verge of unconsciousness.

This feels like disciplining a disobedient dog. Looking at Nola’s completely drooping fiery red cat ears and limp tail, Fia felt a hint of compassion. But this was the method to use against an unruly person, not to mention Nola was a stubborn one. If she didn’t do this, Nola wouldn’t learn what it meant to retreat in the face of difficulties and be flexible.

“Your Highness, she’s about to lose consciousness. Even a beastman can’t take thirty lashes at once. Perhaps the rest can wait until this afternoon…”

“No, continue.”

Fia raised her hand and used [Beginner Water Healing] on Nola. Although she was standing in front of her and couldn’t see her back, she imagined it must be a mess of torn skin and blood.

As the cold and itching sensation that stimulated the nerves crawled over her skin, Nola’s blurred consciousness gradually cleared. She looked up, her eyes somewhat dazed. However, this only lasted for a moment. She soon remembered her situation and immediately retracted her earlier weakness.

“Is… is it over?”

There was a hint of probing and relief in Nola’s voice.

But Fia’s cold declaration instantly tensed her entire body.

“Ten more lashes.”

“Ugh.”

It seems to have had some effect. Pain is truly an unforgettable thing.

Rеad οn ΚαtReαdіոɡСаfe

Fia didn’t miss the fear and dread in Nola’s eyes. She took a step forward, feigning anger, and looked down at her.

“I’ll give you one more chance. Apologize to Anastasia, and then admit your fault for causing a disturbance in Silvar. If you can do that, I can waive the remaining lashes. At this point, you should know where you went wrong. You may have truly done your best for your people, but your current level is far from enough. Use what I said before, and you can do better. Knowing when to retreat is a form of wisdom.”

“…”

Nola lowered her head, silent.

But since she didn’t refute her, it meant she had indeed realized she had been wrong from the beginning. The reason she didn’t answer was just that she couldn’t bring herself to lose face immediately, like a child who has been punished by their parents to kneel on a washboard. They understand they did something wrong, but they still find all sorts of twisted reasons to justify themselves, unable to admit their mistake directly.

For a disobedient child, Fia had a simple and crude way of dealing with them.

“Continue. Twenty-one!”

Although Fia could also use Nola’s captured companions to threaten her into submission, doing so would be meaningless. Nola would only be admitting fault for her companions’ safety, not because she realized her own mistake. Moreover, it would only arouse her rebellious spirit and fail to leave an indelible, cold image of Fia in her heart, one that would make her remember today’s humiliation and weakness whenever she saw her.

Unfortunately, Nola’s stubbornness exceeded Fia’s expectations. She didn’t cry out and admit her mistake on the spot, even after being flogged to the point of fainting. This made Fia feel slightly regretful.

That being said, she had achieved half of her goal. Otherwise, with the arrogant attitude Nola had when they first met, she would have been baring her teeth and glaring with hatred until the very end. The reality, however, was that the final Nola was silent, as if she were atoning for yesterday’s mistake by enduring the pain. From this perspective, it could be seen that the goal had been achieved.

After Fia had the castle maids carry the unconscious Nola away and brought in Ying to receive the remaining ten lashes, this half-snake girl showed a completely different flexibility. From the very beginning, she showed a sincere attitude, kneeling and apologizing to Fia and Anastasia on behalf of both herself and Nola. She even offered a ransom of one hundred gold coins per person to buy back their captured companions.

Fia agreed to her request, but the flogging was still unavoidable. Ying’s ten lashes were not reduced, and the companions she bought back each received twenty lashes. Not a single one of them could walk out of the cell on their own two feet; they were all carried out. In fact, except for Ying, everyone lost consciousness during the punishment, and still owed Fia several lashes.

Because of this, Fia stayed in Yureidon territory for an extra half a day to let the group of beastfolk pay back the remaining portion before letting them go.

It was worth noting that during this time, Nola never came looking for Fia again, and she didn’t even complain to Claire. It was as if she had truly realized her mistake. The huge contrast made even Claire curious about what Fia had done in the cell. Nola’s personality was one that responded to kindness, not coercion. According to Claire’s impression, Nola wouldn’t have let it go so easily. Yet, the current Nola was exceptionally calm, as if something unspeakable had happened between her and Fia.

“Your Highness, the Eldest Princess, Nola asked me to pass on a few words to you.”

Before Nola’s group left, the half-snake girl quietly came up to Fia while Claire was saying goodbye to Nola.

Since only Ying and Nola had recovered their mobility, Ying had specially asked to buy a handcart from Fia so she could drag her companions, who could only lie on their stomachs, back to the Cold Night. It wasn’t that Fia was deliberately making things difficult for them by not providing a covered carriage for privacy, but that after buying back their companions, they didn’t have enough funds left and could only afford a handcart. The Cold Night was just as Fia had learned beforehand: its productivity was low, and they didn’t have much money.

Facing the slithering Ying, Fia raised an eyebrow. In her impression, this was a clever and skilled pretender.

“What words?”

“Ahem,” Ying coughed pretentiously. “She told me to say, ‘I will not forget what happened today. You were right. I can do better. When you bring Claire to the Fire Cat’s territory in the future, I will sincerely apologize to you and that maid. And also, express my gratitude. As long as you are still the Eldest Princess of the Kingdom, we will surely meet again. At that time, we will compete again.'”

“Hoh.”

Rеаⅾ on ΚatReαdіոgCαfе

Although she’s still being stubborn to the end, seeing as she has reflected on her actions, I’ll slightly change my evaluation of her. My time was not wasted.

After finishing the official business, Ying asked with a face full of curiosity.

“Your Highness, the Eldest Princess, what did you say to Nola? She hasn’t spoken to me all day. When she finally opened her mouth just now, she asked me if she was qualified to be the acting chieftain. I’ve known Nola for five or six years, and I’ve never seen her so down.”

“Just some reminders. You can ask her yourself for the specifics. You should go before I change my mind.”

“Y-yes!”

Hearing that Fia might go back on her word, Ying didn’t have time for curiosity. She hurriedly turned and slithered back to the carriage. Because the pain from the flogging still lingered on her buttocks, her slithering posture was quite comical, her movements careful not to touch her rear.

At Ying’s urging, Nola also stopped her mushy farewell with Claire. She stood by the handcart, glanced at Fia, and then, as if afraid of being glared at in return, quickly turned away before Fia could look at her and swung herself onto a horse. Fia clearly saw that when Nola’s rear made contact with the horse, her whole body jumped in pain, and she sat motionless for several seconds before recovering.

The journey ahead would definitely be an unforgettable memory for her. Hopefully, the pain in her buttocks would teach her a lesson.

“Your Highness, the Eldest Princess, are we just letting them go like this?”

Watching the backs of Nola’s group disappear into the sunset, an old man from the Elf Tower asked with a suspicious look on his face. He had seen the change in Nola’s attitude, but he still didn’t understand why Fia didn’t capture the Holy Son and make her a slave.

Fia maintained a blank expression and shook her head lightly.

“Even if I let her go back, she won’t pose a threat to the Kingdom. I have my own considerations.”

“But she is the leader of the Holy Son Faction. What if she becomes the queen of the Cold Night…”

“She will not become queen.”

“…Will not become queen?”

The old man frowned, his face full of confusion.

Fia sighed and turned to go back.

“Go find Tilulu. She needs help more than anyone. Pack up. We’re leaving immediately.”

“I see!”

In an instant, the old man’s cloudy eyes lit up. He had understood Fia’s intentions. He hurriedly followed Fia, heading straight for the castle.

Translator Note

whoa she really meant it, definitely not a mary sue. :lovelove: