Chapter 416
Athena gently broke free from Alexandra’s hand and patted it lightly.
“I’ll be alright, trust me.”
She smiled at Alexandra, her eyes shining brightly. “They want a femme fatale, then I’ll show them who is the real troublemaker.”
“But, how can I let you go alone?” Alexandra said.
Alexandra took her hand and said firmly, “Since we have to face it, then we’ll face it together. I don’t believe those people would dare tear apart this old bone of mine.”
Athena was pregnant, and the child in her womb was the future of the Xander Manor. If something happened to her and the child, she didn’t know how to explain it to Xander.
She was a mother and would naturally stand in front of her child.
Alexandra’s attitude was firm. “If you don’t let me go with you, then you can’t go out either.”
Having weathered many storms, Athena hesitated for a moment, then agreed.
“Okay, we’ll face it together,” Athena said.
So they headed to the entrance together.
Athena gave an order. “Open the door.”
With a creak, the door slowly opened, and the shouting outside abruptly stopped.
The people, holding torches, looked as if an invisible hand had gripped their throats, watching as the Princess Consort, whom they had condemned as a scourge, walked out of the mansion step by step.
Accompanying her was Alexandra. Alexandra looked stern, with piercing eyes.
With a stern gaze sweeping over the crowd, she said sharply, “My son fought battle after battle across the land, spending three long years to win this fragile peace. The scars that mar his body–more than a dozen–are all tokens of the wars he waged for this nation!
“When the northern tribes battered at our gates, he stood at Fouver Pass with the Aegis Guards for three relentless months–seven arrows in his flesh, and not a single step back.
“The flagstones beneath your feet were relaid only after he drove the invaders away. The grain in your storehouses, the fresh food you eat today–it reached Pidence City because he opened the river routes with his own hands!”
A gasp went through the crowd, and some people subconsciously touched their food bags. During the great drought last year, Xander opened the granary to release food, which prevented the people in the city from starving to death.
“Now that the country is in distress, my son has gone to Athkar, and his life and death are uncertain!” Alexandra’s voice suddenly rose. “But some people are being instigated by villains to insult his wife and smash his mansion here. Where are your consciences?”
Some people in the crowd lowered their heads, and some were too ashamed to look up.
Alexandra pulled Athena in front of her, and her voice rose again. “Don’t forget who gave you medical treatment when you were sick. If it weren’t for Athena, could you still be standing here, showing off your power?
“She is the Princess Consort, and she carries my son’s blood. Whoever dares to say she is a jinx? Step forward and face me!”
The crowd was silent, and everyone’s eyes wandered. Alexandra’s impassioned speech made them blush. In Pidence City, everyone had benefited from Athena, and everyone knew that Athena was kind and generous. She set up stalls and distributed alms at the city gate every first and fifteenth day of the month. She never charged for medical consultations. She also gave medicine and silver to those in need. Such a Princess Consort was hard to find in the world.
The flower seller knelt on the ground with a thud and shouted in shame, “Alexandra, please forgive me. I was muddle-headed and blinded by greed!”
“I lost my mind. The Princess Consort saved my life. How could I be deceived by others and come to make things difficult for the Princess Consort?” Several beggars slapped themselves hard and smashed their begging bowls on the ground.
“From today on, I will protect the Princess Consort. If anyone dares to say that the Princess Consort is a jinx, I will fight them with my life.”
For a time, voices of response rose and fell in the crowd. “Yes, we must protect the Xander Manor and the Princess Consort.”
Athena breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes swept across the crowd, and the light of the torches cast a flickering light on her face.
Athena asked, “Do you know who told you that Ray rebelled because of me? Was it those people with the Ray token around their waists, or the storyteller in the teahouse?”
A commotion arose in the crowd. Someone subconsciously looked towards the street corner, where several dark figures were trying to retreat quietly.
Athena suddenly raised her hand and pointed to the figures stirring up trouble in the crowd. “It’s you who are using the money Ray gave you to confuse the public and incite popular sentiment.
“Are you trying to throw Pidence City into chaos so that the Virelda Army can enter the city without them shedding a drop of blood?”
The expressions on their faces changed drastically. They wanted to run away, but Michael, who had rushed over after hearing the news, stopped them with his men.
“Search them!” Michael ordered. The personal guards immediately stepped forward and found tokens printed with the Virelda character and a stack of silver notes from the men.
With the evidence irrefutable, the people looked at each other, and the torches gradually drooped.
Someone shouted loudly, “They are spies sent by the Virelda Army! They are spies! We have been fooled by them.”
“That’s right. These people are really hateful.”
“Athena is right. They are taking advantage of us.”
Athena looked at the scene before her and breathed a slight sigh of relief.
She smiled slightly at Michael and said, “Thank you.”
Michael looked at her with concern. “There’s no need to thank me.”
After saying that, he pulled out the long sword from his waist and placed it on the neck of one of them, “Tell me, who sent you?”
Those people were all trembling and begged, “General Osborne, spare us! It was the Virelda Army that gave us money to spread rumors everywhere. Please give us another chance.”
Alexandra looked at the few assassins Michael was holding, her eyes as cold as ice. “Drag these people down and behead them in front of all the people in the city. Let them see what happens to those who betray Petanion and slander the loyal and good!”
Michael answered in a low, steady voice, then marched off with the captured assassins in tow. The crowd parted of its own accord, and as he passed, someone stooped to snatch up a stone and hurled it at the traitors.
The traitors were immediately bleeding from their heads, and Michael seemed to be deliberately trying to vent his anger for Athena. He did not stop the people’s actions.
Soon, those traitors were dying from the beatings.
The crowd quickly dispersed, and Alexandra swayed weakly.
Athena hurriedly helped her. “Alexandra.”
Only then did she realize that Alexandra’s palms were covered in sweat.
“I’m fine.” Alexandra patted her hand, her gaze becoming gentle. “Now that the people stand with us again, we should let them know that no one can seize the Petanion’s throne, and no one can humiliate the Perkins family’s people if they want to.”
A warm current surged in Athena’s heart. “Thank you, Alexandra, for protecting me.”
“Silly child, you are a member of the Perkins family. Who else can I protect if I don’t protect you?” Alexandra was equally emotional.
She continued, “When I came out with you today, I had already made the worst plan. If those people insist that someone must pay with their life to quell the incident, I am willing to die for you.
“No matter what, we must protect you and Xander’s bloodline.”
Athena’s eyes instantly turned red, and she hugged Alexandra tightly, her eyes filled with tears of emotion. “No, none of us will die: we will all live.”