Les never imagined Robin would actually lay a hand on him.
Clutching his bruised, blackened face, Les howled, "Y-you ... How dare you be so violent?
"This nation is supposed to be a beacon of civility and order," he raged. "Your barbaric behavior will surely be condemned around the world!"
Robin paused mid-motion, his hand still half-raised. He couldn't help but laugh at the sheer absurdity of Les's garbage remark.
"Sigh! The people of Draconia scrimp and save, scraping together every last cent—only for it to end up in the hands of ungrateful leeches like you!"
He yanked Les up by the hair, lifting him effortlessly off the ground.
"Let me tell you something. The people you're calling civilized are barely scraping by—can't afford decent healthcare, can't send their kids to school, and spend their whole lives fighting just to survive. And yet, they still manage to scrape together funds to help people like you. Not so you can waltz in here acting like royalty, but so you might learn how to be decent human beings.
"In my own country, you show up with a pack of thugs trying to steal my home—and then have the nerve to call me barbaric? Looks like you're the one who never got civilized."
Smack! Smack! Smack! Three sharp slaps echoed through the courtyard.
Robin struck again. "I'm beating you right now in front of the whole world. Go on, let them condemn me. Let's see who they really side with, you trash!"
"You—you'll pay for this!" Les shrieked, kicking his thick legs like a panicked animal. "Quick, Verda! Call someone! Call my superior! I want him arrested! I want him thrown in jail!"
Verda stood frozen, drenched in cold sweat. She couldn't move a muscle, as if a curse had seized her.
The blood, the violence, and Robin's utter disregard for consequence—it was terrifying.
Yet Les's screams reignited the fire of resistance within her.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Deadly Assassin Robin