Her Graceful War Song novel Chapter 1606

The men I had summoned worked quickly. By the time Stephen opened his eyes, the instruments of punishment had already been brought in. A brazier had been lit, with iron tongs resting in the flames, and a bloodstained whip cracked through the air with a sharp snap. It crackled and echoed loudly, sounding like thunder before a storm.

Ultimately, Stephen had killed before, so his nerves were steady.

Without so much as a blink, he said, "This is unlawful detention and interrogation—a capital offense. Do you not fear the law?"

Some men were like that. They believed the law existed to bind others, but never themselves. He had broken the law without care, yet now tried to shield himself behind it.

There was no point arguing with such a man. Words would only give him more chances to twist the truth. Instead, I took the red-hot tongs and pressed them to his arm. As the iron clamped down, his sleeve burned through at once, and his flesh sizzled beneath with a sickening hiss.

A terrible scream burst from his throat.

It didn't matter. The cellar was deep and hidden; he could scream until his voice broke and no one would hear him.

Even the strongest resolve could be broken with the right tools. I hadn't even started to pull out his nails when he gave in and confessed everything.

It was true that the two families had once been close. The parents and the children had all gotten on well. Stephen had been especially friendly with Rhea's elder brother, Darian Brook. One studied literature, while the other ran a business. They often joked together in harmless ways.

But when Stephen failed the national examination, it struck him harder than he let on. Though he laughed it off, saying he was still young and could try again, he couldn't sleep at night and his hair began to fall out in handfuls.

Then, at a family dinner one night, Darian jokingly said, "You've buried yourself in books all these months, yet you still failed. Wasn't that a waste of keeping the lamps burning at night?"

That one remark made Stephen transfer all the emotions he had been holding back since failing the exam onto Darian. Night after night, he turned the words over in his mind. The more he thought of it, the angrier he became—until hatred took root.

Once he felt the urge to kill, he couldn't shake it. But he knew he couldn't defeat Darian in a fair fight, so he would have to outsmart his friend.

Stephen tried to lure him out under the guise of a friendly outing, hoping to find a chance to strike.

But Darian had replied, "You've failed the national examination once already. Shouldn't you be studying harder? Or do you plan to fail again?"

That remark had been meant as friendly advice, but Stephen took it as yet another insult, as though his failure were a joke. It hardened his resolve to kill Darian.

At last, the chance came.

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