Lucia ran back to her small dwelling, tears streaming as she pulled a quilt over herself. She fought to keep her sobs quiet, though her heart felt as if it would shatter.
She did not know the full truth of Lloyd's situation, only that he was suffering unimaginably and could lose his life at any moment.
Memories of moments she once shared with Lloyd flooded her mind, making her sorrow even more intense.
She could not sleep that night. By morning her eyes were swollen and red, but she went out to work anyway. She swept the courtyard with distant eyes, still hearing Lloyd's painful cries echoing inside her head.
Since Lloyd had been taken away, few people came to this courtyard. Lucia was just beginning her tasks when heavy footsteps approached. Two men in white coats from the previous day arrived, flanked by a Golden Armored Guard.
They stopped before Lucia. The Golden Armored Guard looked down at her and asked coldly,
"Is this the one you spoke of?"
The two men in white nodded repeatedly. After returning to their duties the day before, they became more frightened by the thought that Lucia might reveal their conversation about Lloyd's condition.
So they found a Golden Armored Guard in charge of overseeing the laboratory and reported that a slave had overheard something secret.
Hearing this was only a lowly slave, the Golden Armored Guard did not take it seriously and had come immediately with the two men in white.
The Golden Armored Guard regarded Lucia with impassive eyes and asked,
"Brat, who is your Master?"
Lucia, originally trembling with fear, lifted her head and met the guard's gaze firmly,
"My Master is Saint Lloyd!"
The guard paused for a moment, thinking to himself that a slave linked to Saint Lloyd might be easier to deal with than they first suspected.
With that thought, he roughly grabbed Lucia by her clothing and hoisted her up, his tone cold,
"Oh, that makes things simpler. You heard something you should not have, now you must be made quiet forever."
With that he ignored the two men in white and began marching out while carrying Lucia.
The Figarland Family held to a brutal rule that any slave execution must be carried out outside, so that spilled blood would not contaminate the sacred land.
Alone in the world, the only person Lucia cared about was Lloyd.
The estate was vast. The Golden Armored Guard swaggered through several courtyards, carrying Lucia. Passing by a palace entrance, a noble voice called out,
"Hisse, where are you heading?"
The guard named Hisse stiffened. He turned his head and saw Garling seated on an ornate chair inlaid with gemstones. Garling watched him with cool, uninterested eyes.
The moment Hisse saw Garling, he dropped to one knee immediately, head bowed,
"Garling sama! This slave has committed a capital offense. I am about to take her away for disposal."
Garling glanced at Lucia being held in Hisse's grasp. Something about her looked familiar.
He rose from his seat, walked slowly toward the kneeling Hisse, and looked down at Lucia.
"What is your name?"
Lucia lowered her gaze and answered mechanically,
"My name is Lucia."
Such indifferent speech from a slave before Garling was unheard of. Hisse's eyebrows tightened as he threw Lucia to the ground, shouting,
"You insolent brat! How dare you speak to Garling sama like that!"
Hisse's throw was forceful. Lucia felt as if her body might break, yet she fought to rise and met his eyes without fear.
Her defiance enraged Hisse. If Garling were not nearby, he would have killed her on the spot.
Garling, however, remembered Lucia's origin. She was the slave he had once purchased as a gift for Lloyd long ago.
Garling's voice was cool as he asked,
"I recall you were Lloyd's slave. What crime did you commit?"
At the mention of Lloyd, the anger suppressed deep within Lucia's heart erupted. She shouted at Garling,
"What does it matter what crime I committed? Just kill me if you wish! Even Saint Lloyd is locked up and tortured by your family like this, so what am I as merely a slave worth to you?!"
Garling frowned at her outburst. Hisse, sensing trouble, abandoned all restraint. Turning his palm into a blade shape with his Haki, he swung fiercely at Lucia's neck.
Bang!
Before Hisse's strike could connect, he was violently kicked away by Garling. His body skidded along the ground.
Hisse groaned as he struggled to rise, clutching his dented chest armor. When he looked up, Garling's face was cold, his Conqueror's Haki emanating outward like crushing pressure. The ground beneath Hisse began to crack under the weight of Garling's will alone.
"Did I tell you to move?"
Garling's voice remained calm, yet Hisse felt as if an immense force had struck him. He crumpled to his knees, terrified,
"I deserve death, Garling sama, spare my life!"
Garling ignored him. He turned his gaze to Lucia and said in a tone that brooked no defiance,
"Tell me exactly what happened."
From the moment Hisse attacked until he was thrown aside, only moments had passed. Lucia stood frozen for a heartbeat, unsure how to respond.
Garling's impatience flared outward as his Conqueror's Haki pressed Hisse fully into the ground, forcing a miserable cry from him.
Lucia finally recovered her senses at the sight, feeling as though fate had shifted. With a tentative hope, she recounted everything she had seen and heard the day before.
Garling listened silently, his expression growing darker with each detail.
When she finished, he stepped forward and said coldly,
"You remember the location. Lead me there."
Lucia nodded and hurried ahead, guiding Garling swiftly. Garling did not spare a glance for Hisse still lying on the ground as he stepped over him.
They arrived at the stark white building where Lloyd was held. The remaining Golden Armored Guard at the entrance knelt and saluted as Garling approached with grim determination.
Garling did not speak. He simply looked at the large iron door. Even before it was opened, he could already hear suffering and groans from within—Lloyd's voice.
Without waiting for the guard to open it, Garling drew back his fist and struck the door. The heavy iron shattered like glass under the force, revealing the scene inside.
On a pristine white bed lay Lloyd, his body covered with needles. Around him stood a group of stunned men in white coats, and Gulando, bearing a cruel stare and a cone-shaped hairstyle.
At the sound of the door breaking, Lloyd struggled to lift his head. His voice was strained, barely a whisper as he saw Garling and Lucia at the entrance,
"Uncle Garling, Lucia san… help me…"
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