Return of the General's Daughter-Chapter 33: First Encounter

"Choose those men whom people will not recognize." Hook declared, his voice sharp and commanding, resonating with an unmistakable intensity that demanded attention.

After giving the instructions, Hook went upstairs and entered the private room he usually used when he was in town. Wine was prepared for him, and he smirked at his lackey’s thoughtfulness.

Meanwhile, Lara and Barett busied themselves at the rice shop, purchasing three sacks of white rice. Then, they proceeded to the nearby market to buy salt, sugar, spices, and lard. Lara looked for cooking oil but did not find any. An idea struck Lara like lightning as they scoured the shelves for other supplies.

Palm oil.

Back in the Roca Plateau, where Galeya’s Throne was nestled, she had successfully extracted oil from palm fruit—a resource that grew abundantly at the eastern slope of Mount Roca. She could replicate the process and start a lucrative business venture with Reya and her master.

"Sir Kane," Barett said, interrupting her thoughts, "if we’re buying all this, we’ll need to hire a bull cart."

"Good idea," Lara replied, masking her excitement. "Let us leave these here for now and find us a cart. I’ll go to the clothes shop while you’re at it."

"By the way, do you know of a seamstress?" Lara needed to have another set of men’s clothes. Two was not enough for her. Her bamboo backpack was too small to carry all her stuff, including medical supplies so she wanted to customize a backpack similar to the ones that mountaineers used during the modern time.

"Aunt Lina knows how to sew. My mother, too."

Lara was not surprised. She knew that sewing was a basic skill that women of ancient times had.

Barett left.

Lara scanned the street, spotting two clothing shops. One catered to the wealthy, its windows filled with silks and finery. The other, smaller and humbler, seemed more suited to her needs. She strode toward it, her steps measured, her demeanor relaxed.

But just as she was in the middle of the road, a thunderous sound erupted—horses’ hooves pounding the cobblestones like rolling thunder. A shrill, panicked cry cut through the air.

"Stop!" freewebnoveℓ.com

She looked back and saw a disheveled woman running toward a dozen horses.

"Stop her!"

Frantic shouts of the bystanders were heard above the sound of the horses’ hooves.

Lara acted by instinct. She reached for the rope on her waist and threw it toward the young woman.

The rope coiled around the disheveled woman, and before a horse could trample her, Lara pulled the rope as she ran to the side of the road.

The woman stumbled and fell to the ground. Lara helped her up just as the horses stopped in front of them.

"Hey, you! What is wrong with you rushing like that on the horses’ path? If you want to die, don’t delay us." A young soldier seated atop a chocolate-colored horse shouted.

The young woman, probably just a year younger than Lara, did not move, her head lowered.

"Do you know her? Is she your wife?" The soldier interrogated Lara.

Lara looked up at him and shook his head.

Her gaze lingered on his clothes before it shifted to the tall man on a magnificent horse. He seemed to be the leader of the group.

The soldiers wore mail shirts made from small interlocking rings and loose black pants. They looked like ordinary soldiers, but as her gaze locked with a pair of obsidian orbs, she felt that the man exuded an undeniable aura similar to that of a general in her era.

It took some time before she pulled back and uttered. "I don’t know her, but I can’t stand by and let the horses trample her." Lara made an extra effort to make her voice sound even more manly.

The soldier who scolded the young girl studied her clothes with interest.

"Are you a soldier? Why do your clothes look different?"

Lara paused. She wondered whether to tell the story she had told the Lenard siblings or mention that a master tailor had gifted it to her.

"Sir, he is a soldier. His name is Kane. He got lost in the Ourea mountain and saved me and my three brothers from a tiger attack." Barett, who just arrived and was still panting, replied on behalf of Lara.

Damn! Lara uttered. She didn’t know that Barett could be so chatty.

"My mother made the clothes for me. She said it would make me blend with the background so the enemy could not see me easily." Lara decided to be honest about the clothes. Well, she could treat Reya as her mother.

Without waiting for the soldier’s reaction, Lara shifted her gaze to the girl beside her, who was whimpering. She noticed bruises on her wrists.

She frowned. She recognized those marks. They were from a thick rope. It looked like she was bound by a rope, and she struggled, resulting in those bruises.

Lara’s gaze trailed to her neck and saw bite marks on her.

"Why did you save me? I don’t want to live anymore." The girl said desolately, her voice slightly above a whisper.

Lara suddenly had an epiphany. Was this girl abdicated by the human trafficker and forced to work in a brothel?

"If someone hurt you, why don’t you go to the magistrate or the soldiers?" Lara did not know how the police were called at that time.

The young girl shrunk back. How could she go to the magistrate when one of her companions was sent to him the other day before she was brought back to the brothel?

Lara was at a loss for what to do. It was very obvious that the girl was molested, and yet the people around them seemed indifferent.

The soldiers on the horses exchanged gazes when they heard the word soldiers. Of course, they were not fools not to realize that the girl must have been abducted by the human traffickers and sold to a brothel.

"Where are your parents?" The man with the obsidian eyes asked. His voice was deep, resonant, and authoritative, with a slightly gravelly texture.

Lara could not help but glance at him.

"I... My..."