20demayo Chapter 158 Nami and Machi are captured?
Chapter 158 Nami and Machi are captured?
Chapter 158 Nami and Machi are captured?
The girl, wearing a faded dress, her face pale with nervousness, held the flower basket, which was far too heavy for her, and trembled slightly.
Rozward's eyes narrowed, as if he had discovered some interesting toy.
He walked over with faltering steps, his fat fingers lifting the girl's chin and forcing her to look up.
The girl was so frightened that tears welled up in her eyes, but she dared not cry out.
"Tsk, she's not bad looking."
Roswald sized her up as if assessing a piece of merchandise. "She's just too thin and frail; she hasn't been properly cared for. But—it's nice to have this kind of uncultivated wildflower once in a while, a change of pace."
He released his grip, turned to the butler beside him, and casually said, "Make a note of this. I'll take this. Take it back, clean it thoroughly, and let it heal properly for a while."
"Once I'm tired of the current sixteen, I'll make her the seventeenth queen."
A seemingly casual remark, yet it carries the weight of a death sentence.
The girl's mother let out a short, mournful cry from the crowd not far away, and was immediately covered by a soldier next to her and dragged away.
The girl froze completely, and the flower basket in her hand fell to the ground with a clatter, scattering petals all over the ground.
Roswald didn't even glance at her again, as if he had just decided what to eat for dinner.
He waved his hand listlessly: "Let's go, let's check out the auction house. Hopefully, this time we'll find something decent."
The group began to proceed along the pre-cleared main road toward the core of Zone 1—the magnificent, palatial "Human Auction House."
The civilians forced to "welcome" them on both sides of the road kept their heads down numbly. Only the children occasionally peeked out curiously, but were immediately pressed down on their heads by the adults next to them.
Roswald sat lazily yawning in a lavishly decorated, open palanquin carried by four strong slaves.
All he saw along the way were groveling figures and monotonous fawning, which made him increasingly bored. When he passed Square No. 3, he didn't even bother to glance at the huge bubble fountain in the center of the square.
However, just as his palanquin was about to cross the edge of the square and turn onto the quieter tree-lined path leading to the auction house, something unexpected happened in his peripheral vision.
On one side of the square, a delicate two-story building with a sign that reads "Colorful Bubble Boutique" suddenly had its stained glass door pushed open.
The first thing to step out was a calf with a healthy complexion and beautiful lines, wearing simple sandals.
Immediately afterwards, a figure appeared fully in the bright midday light.
Her short orange hair almost glowed in the sunlight, like leaping flames.
A delicate face with a touch of playfulness and cunning, clear blue eyes curiously observing the bubble fountain in the square.
She wore a fitted white short-sleeved shirt and denim shorts, which accentuated her youthful curves. On her wrists were several bracelets woven from seashells and gemstones, which jingled with her movements.
She was holding a newly bought, adorable bubble wand, trying to blow a huge bubble, her face beaming with a bright, carefree smile befitting a young girl.
That smile stood out so brightly against the backdrop of the oppressed and numb crowd, brimming with vibrant life.
Almost simultaneously, another figure walked out of the store and stood next to Nami.
This is a woman with a completely different temperament. Tall and aloof, with long pink hair tied into a neat ponytail at the back of her head, and a few strands falling down her cheeks.
She wore a well-tailored dark purple sleeveless top and black trousers, which accentuated her slender figure, yet exuded a sense of aloofness that kept strangers at bay.
Machi.
Her features were exquisite, like a doll's. Her icy blue eyes calmly swept across the square, finally landing on the large bubble that Nami had blown. On her perpetually frozen face, a rare and extremely subtle upward curve appeared at the corner of her lips.
One is as vibrant and lively as the summer sun, the other as cool and mysterious as a winter night's cold star.
Two extreme forms of beauty, at the same time and place, unexpectedly and vividly entered Rozwald Saint-Na's vision, a vision filled with countless ordinary women and numb, slave-like faces.
Roswald's yawn froze halfway through.
His eyes, which were squeezed into slits by his fat, suddenly widened slightly, and a burning light burst forth from his cloudy pupils, a mixture of amazement, greed, possessiveness, and perverse excitement.
The string of gemstone prayer beads he was playing with fell onto the cushions of the sedan chair with a "clatter".
He had seen countless beautiful women, including princesses from various countries and rare treasures from different ethnic groups among the slaves, but in those women's eyes there was either fear, empty obedience, or deliberate flattery.
He had never seen two women like these before—so natural, so vibrant, so free, radiating their unique charm!
Especially the pink-haired girl, whose cold and aloof temperament aroused his strong desire to conquer and destroy.
"Stop!" Roswald suddenly raised his hand, his voice trembling with excitement.
The entire procession came to an instant.
He stared intently at the two graceful figures standing dozens of meters away at the boutique entrance, his finger trembling as he pointed at them. He commanded the head guard beside him, his tone urgent and brooking no argument: "Go! Bring that woman—no, those two women! Here! Immediately! Right now!"
I want to get to know them better!
The head guard was taken aback, but following his master's gaze, he immediately understood.
Without the slightest hesitation, he bowed and said, "Yes! Saint Roswald!"
Immediately, he waved his hand, and a squad of fierce, fully armed private guards broke away from the main force and menacingly approached the boutique entrance, quickly surrounding Nami and Machi, who were unaware of the approaching "danger."
Under the sunlight, the bubbles still reflect a dreamlike brilliance.
But a chilling prelude to the hunt had already begun to permeate the air.
The soldiers approached cautiously, fearing both to offend the "tribute" and to anger the Celestial Dragons.
"Ladies, His Holiness Lord Roswald requests your presence. Please come in." The colonel's tone softened, yet carried an undeniable air of authority. Nami seemed terrified by this display, trembling as if she were about to hide behind Machi. Her eyes quickly reddened, tears welling up but not falling. Her pitiful appearance was enough to stir even the hardest heart.
Machi snorted coldly, not only refusing to back down, but also raising her chin even higher, her icy blue eyes clearly reflecting disgust and resistance.
This undisguised resistance was nothing short of the most potent stimulant for Roswald, who was accustomed to absolute obedience.
This stark contrast between "softness and strength," "timidity and stubbornness," completely satisfied Roswald's twisted desire for conquest.
His fat face flushed red, and he waved his hand impatiently: "Hurry up! What are you dawdling for! Bring them before me!"
The soldiers had no choice but to almost form a semi-encirclement and carefully "invite" the two men to move towards the palanquin.
Nami was "forced" to take small steps, her head bowed and sobbing.
Machi walked with stiff, unsteady steps, as if enduring immense humiliation, yet her eyes remained stubbornly fixed on the front.
Finally, the two were brought to the palanquin, just a few feet from Roswald.