Damien had subtly gestured to the Crimson Corps soldiers to cut off their ears as well, and thus it came as a shock to the Marlowe Brothers.
The Marlowe Brothers looked at Tristen with reddened eyes, feeling extremely humiliated and angry. But despite the pain they were in, they quickly hid it lest they wanted to undergo more punishment from him.
Damien spoke in a serious tone, "I cut your tongue as punishment for defaming my Will Protector and me. As for your ears, I decided to cut it since you let the words of my Will Protector fall on deaf ears. What's the use for ears if you don't use them? Do you two feel angry at me?"
The Marlowe Brother's eyes widened at his explanation, feeling that the prince was too cruel. However, hearing his question, they frantically shook their heads. They didn't dare to imagine what offense Tristen would pin on them if they directed any anger towards him.
Even now, they felt as if Tristen unfairly punished them, especially for a non-existent offense such as defaming the imperial prince. Those were just nonsense spouted by his Will Protector, and they knew it all too well.
But alas, Tristen didn't seem to believe their words and only his Will Protector. They knew it was natural since Will Protectors act as advisors as well, and thus why would their Masters believe someone else over their words?
And thus, they were feeling more anger and indignation towards Valentina for lying to Tristen.
Seeing them shake their heads, Damien said with a smile, "Good. After you get home, make sure you let your patriarch know the truth...because if any one of you twists your words...then this punishment would be nothing. Is that understood? I am asking you three as well," Damien looked towards the three cowering elders.
They all nodded like hens pecking on their food. Of course, even if they didn't like it, they knew they would have to tell the truth unless they wanted to complicate the matter further.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})For families like theirs, reputation was sacred. They couldn't afford to have a small smudge on the reputation they had built over the centuries.
"Now, get out of my sight!" Damien said in a severe tone.
The Marlowe Brothers sealed the bleeding with their ethereal energy, and with Tristen's permission, they grabbed their severed tongues and ears and ran away along with the three elders after bowing to Tristen.
They had no strange fetish for collecting their severed parts, but it was because they could use them to reattach their tongues and ears with the help of a good physician.
But Damien knew that even if they could reattach their tongues and ears, it would take some time for them to recover completely. Until then, he was sure they wouldn't dare to step outside their mansions.
The elders had to cover the Marlowe Brothers in cloaks since they couldn't let people see their current state. If news got out, then the Marlowe Brothers and the Marlowe Family would be the joke of the town.
After all, who in the right mind would offend the Will Protector of an imperial prince? Since rumors would be exaggerated once the news gets out, people wouldn't know the real facts.
Damien also gestured to the Crimson Corps soldiers and general to leave. After making sure there weren't any dangers, they left.
Princes with some influence like Tristen had the power to gather at least a few of the Crimson Corps soldiers for any situation that needed their assistance.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})If it was any other prince without any influence, they wouldn't have been able to do the same.
Damien was, in fact, worried if the patriarch of the Marlowe Family would press onto this fact and appeal to the emperor for carrying out an unjustified punishment.
That was why he repeated the offenses the Marlowe Brothers had made and made them admit it even though half of it was complete nonsense.
He didn't hesitate to punish them in a humiliating way since he had learned of the crude and crass curses they had hurled at Valentina with their tongues and for unfairly trying to kick her out.
The manager was finally able to take in a deep breath once the soldiers with intimidating auras left. He felt as if he was standing on top of needles all this time.
However, he didn't feel relieved for too long when he saw Tristen looking at him and gesturing at him to come near.
The manager gulped and bent his back as he slowly walked towards Tristen with shaky steps. He saw the humiliating and cruel way in which Tristen punished two famous young figures like the Marlowe Brothers and thus felt apprehensive about what he was about to face.
He wondered if Tristen would punish him for not believing Valentina's words and have his ears cut off as well.
As he got near, Damien asked, "Were you going to force her to vacate?" He also looked at the two Sky Ethereal Realm guards standing in the corner with their backs bent.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})He wasn't surprised that the manager had such powerful guards, even if it was only two since this inn was quite popular, with the owner having many connections to influential people, especially since it was located so close to the imperial palace.
Even if the owner wasn't able to afford such guards, their connections could help them hire some.
Beads of sweat trickled down the manager's back, hearing Tristen's question. He somehow mustered up some courage and said truthfully, "Your Highness, I am willing to accept punishment for not being able to recognize the Will Protector."
The manager didn't want the inn's reputation or its owner to suffer any damages because of him. So, he decided to take responsibility by admitting that he did wrong to the prince's Will Protector.
"There's no need for all that. I already heard how you tried to reason with those foolish geniuses and how you didn't use force to make her vacate. If you had...it would have been a totally different story," Damien said bluntly.
He knew that the manager was in a cornered situation. Apparently, Valentina was in her disguise with ordinary looks. At the same time, Will Protectors usually had either a look of seniority or a powerful aura around them.
Valentina wasn't powerful enough to be a Will Protector, so he knew it was natural for people not to believe her. However, he didn't care about all that if someone tried to hurt her mentally or physically.
That was why he didn't punish the manager since he did his best not to offend any party while making sure that this inn does not suffer any damages.
The manager was surprised to hear that the prince was going to let him go just like that. He was ready to accept a brutal punishment since he knew imperial punishments were the worst, and members of the imperial family wouldn't even tolerate the slightest of the offenses.
That was why he wasn't surprised at how Tristen punished the Marlowe Brothers.
Damien said, noticing the manager's astonishment, "No need to feel surprised. I don't exact out punishments for no reason. However, my Will Protector and my friend would be staying here for a while, and you are to make sure they both are not disturbed ever again like this. Do you understand your responsibility?"
The manager eagerly nodded, feeling that this was a golden opportunity to make up for his incompetence and appease the prince, "Of course, Your Highness. I will make sure that they are never disturbed and that such an incident will never take place again. If I let someone disturb them, let my head roll," The manager said with sincere passion as if he was ready to lay down his life in case someone tried to disturb his Will Protector.
Damien nodded in an appreciative manner, "Good. I will believe you and take my leave."
He then looked at Valentina and said, "You can continue to watch over my friend." He then took out a talisman and a badge, "Here is my messaging talisman and your Will Protector badge in case some fools want to question your identity again."
Valentina bowed as she accepted the talisman and the badge and said, "Thank you, Your Highness. I won't fail in the task you have assigned me."
Damien nodded and left with the guards who were waiting outside to escort him back.
Damien was feeling very comfortable and satisfied with the life of a prince, seeing how things were so easy for him and how he could get things done without lifting a finger, but just using his influence and status.
Now he realized why it was so easy for those lofty young masters to fall into the pit of arrogance and conceit.
Such power had the potential to make a normal person drunk with power easily and would need a steady and strong will to stay true to their values.
