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The carriage passed the crowd and the guard line and stopped slowly. Quies sat on the coachman position, he did not get up. The door was pushed open from the inside and Valerian kicked down a set of folding steps from the inside.

He got down and held the door wide open. Behind him, Azula was about to come out and the boy signaled her with his hand to be mindful of the door frame.

Azula smiled and nodded as she said, “Thank you.”

The lady stepped down the steps and the crowd gasped. They did not imagine the princess to be so beautiful. Azula was used to such reactions. She nodded to the crowd and then said, “Valerian, call them all over, to see what the pillars are for.”

Valerian bowed and walked to stand beside the guards, then he patted one of the guards on his waist, and using his signs he told the man, ‘Her highness has allowed them to pass, Sir. Can you tell them?’

He did not know if the masses knew the sign language but the guards knew so better ask them to convey the command, then pull out the magic slate and have the people read it one by one.

.....

The guard nodded and said, “Her highness, has allowed the people to walk closer to the pillars. Everyone, maintain order, and do not make trouble.”

As he said that two warriors had retreated to protect the princess, who knew what might happen with such a big mob. Valerian also wanted to know what were these pillars about and why the princess came here in person. But he was the attendant of the lady so he will only not be able to abandon his post to go on a tour.

Azula was aware of his thoughts, he was not very good at hiding things, and his silver eyes were looking at the pillars. She said, “Come, let’s go, I also want to see the sight.”

That said, she walked towards the pillars. They could already hear gasping sounds and whispers. Valerian raised his head and saw that a person was tied to the top of every pillar. He was shocked, he gazed at the princess, wanted to ask, when the lady spoke in a sonorous voice, “Everyone, I know you might have some questions, I cannot answer them all at the moment, but let me clarify a few things to you all.”

The murmurs calmed down and every civilian was trained on her. Azula had this quality about her that where she went, she would be able to grasp the crowd as she wished.

She said, “The people you see on the pillars are charged with Treason, fraud, embezzling, misusing the authority.

After meticulous investigation, I have gathered all the proofs of their sinful acts. At first, I wanted to hold a trial inside the city palace, but after careful thinking, I decided against it. I want to make an example of these men and women. I want to tell everyone, that if you are found committing a crime, you will not be able to get away easily.

As for whether I am right or wrong, I will let you all decide. Bring the witnesses and show them proof.”

As soon as her words dropped, a lady wearing a maid attire walked over with a few women and girls in tow. The lady in lead was none other than Priscilla. She bought over the victims who suffered forced prostitution, slavery, and wrongful arrests.

Watching the state these people were in, the crowd was shocked. However, once the ladies started to vent what they have suffered, the people were shaken to the cores. They were aware that the officials were corrupt, but they did not expect them to be so inhumane.

An old lady turned to look at the highest pillar and said, “Causus, you wretch, back then when my daughter went missing, it was you and your people, right? You mongrel, I curse you to burn in fire.”

The rage buried deep inside the hearts of the people erupted like a volcano at this moment. If wielded wisely, emotions can be the deadliest weapon. Following the old lady, a lot many people began to curse at the nobles.

Valerian stood beside Azula looking at all this, the scene in front of him made him learn a lot of things. To rule the people, you need their trust. Trust comes when they share a common goal with you.

The princess did share the goal of clearing the city government with these people. After a few minutes, the people were tired and they began to simmer down. At this moment, Azula said, “Now you have seen their real colors, allow me to cleanse this filth.”

The people again looked at her, thinking about what she might want to do. Azula cast a glance at Rectus who was watching all this silently. The latter nodded and then walked up to the pillars, then he said in a lazy fashion, “You all are guilty of a lot of charges so here is the first punishment sentence.”

He took a deep breath and said, “Ferrum Ventus.”

That said, the wind picked up the pace and all the people suddenly heard a few slashing noises, when they raised their heads, they saw the officials on the pillars to be bleeding.

The cut wounds covered their bodies, and it all looked heinous. Only after a few seconds did the officials realized the burn from the diamond-sharp cuts. They wailed, but no one sympathized with them.

Azula said, “Priscilla, clean this up.”, in a cold voice.

Priscilla bowed and commanded, “As you command, Your Highness.”

The maid came beside the pillars and murmured in a low voice, “Serpens Flammarum.”

From her palm, a small ball of fire originated, and the ball fell to the ground, transforming into a snake. The snake was only a meter long, then it began to crawl towards the pillars, leaving scorched sand wherever it passed.

The snake touched the pillars and they all caught fire. The fire spread along the length, slowly roasting and burning the people tied to them. Valerian gulped at this scene, he was not affected by the wails of those on the pillars but he was surprised that the princess has taken such extreme measures.

The crowd was also shocked, they also did not expect the Princess to sentence people to death in such a manner. The low-level goons in the crowd who used to seek thrill in their activities suddenly decided to be honest.

The shore was resounding with screams and waves. None of the people said anything. After a few minutes, only the noise of the waves was left. Azula said, “Let’s go. We have work to do.”

She moved towards the carriage and Valerian followed her, the boy opened the door and presented his hand to the princess to help her up the stairs. Priscilla was the next one to board. Valerian placed his foot on the step and entered the carriage but not before casting a gaze at the pillars.

The journey back to the palace was silent. Nobody spoke until they were gathered in the study room. Azula asked, “What is it Valerian?”, as she read a few documents.

Noting that the princess was occupied by the documents, he picked up the magic slate from the table and wrote down a few words, and showed them to her.

Azula cast a gaze at the slate and said, “Oh, this, I almost forgot. How about we go to check that place in the evening?”

Valerian had asked her what she wanted to do with the palace Causus made away from the city. Listening to her answer he shrugged his shoulders.

Azula asked, “Do you really have no other question?”

Valerian shook his head and the princess asked, “Why did I make such moves? Do you understand?”

‘You wanted the people to fear your authority and you wanted them to know that you will not spare anyone who commits any wrongful deed. This will ease up the stress to manage the city, and at the same time, the people will follow the rules better.’, said the child with his signs.

Azula nodded and asked, “What else?”

‘You displayed that the city palace now has two mages, both very strong. This is to show force to the outsiders who may try to arouse trouble here.’, said the boy.

Azula raised her eyebrow and asked, “Why do you say so? Do you think that my identity as the princess of the empire lacks dominance?”

Valerian nodded and said, ‘This is not the center of the empire, Your Highness, but at the end of it, here the people are driven by self-interest and the power of the Iron Army is shallow. So, in conclusion, His Excellency, the emperor has sent you over to not only rule this city well, but also to help the empire regain their strong foothold.’

Azula was surprised and said, “Your deduction skills are on point. How did you figure it out?”

‘Everything happens for a reason, and every reason is driven by multiple factors, if you can figure out these factors, you can deduce it all.’, said the child.

Azula nodded, “The laws of detection and the case studies of Detective Ma.”

Valerian nodded and then he asked, ‘When can I start learning about magic and when can I go to the library, as you promised me, your Highness.’

Azula smiled and was about to answer when the door was knocked...