Chapter 165: Chapter Hundred And Sixty Four

She raised her right hand high into the air. She lunged forward, fully intending to slap the General directly across his face.

Damon did not move to block it. He stood perfectly still, willing to take the hit just to prove how entirely meaningless she was to him.

But the slap never landed.

Camilla moved.

She did not act like a weak noble girl. She dropped her innocent act completely.

Camilla stepped quickly and smoothly from behind Damon’s back. She moved with speed.

Before Lady Adeline’s hand could even come close to Damon’s face, Camilla caught it.

Camilla’s hand reached out and firmly grabbed Lady Adeline’s wrist right in mid-air. Camilla’s grip was like a solid iron trap. She stopped the older woman’s arm completely dead.

Lady Adeline gasped in shock, staring at her trapped wrist.

Camilla did not hesitate for a single fraction of a second. She did not let go of the wrist. She pulled Lady Adeline slightly forward to throw her off balance.

Then, Camilla raised her own free hand. She swung her arm with brutal, punishing force.

SMACK!

It was a loud, resounding slap that echoed like a gunshot against the stone walls of the garden.

Camilla slapped Lady Adeline directly across her powdered cheek. The physical force behind the strike was incredible.

Lady Adeline cried out in pain. Her head snapped violently to the side. Her expensive jewels flew out of her hair. Her knees buckled instantly, and she fell heavily onto the hard stone floor, collapsing into a pile of expensive silk skirts.

The entire garden fell into a state of paralyzed shock.

The doctor stopped wrapping bandages. Elora stopped crying. The brother stared with his mouth wide open. Even the armored guard standing nearby gasped loudly.

Everyone looked at Camilla with surprise. Noble ladies did not slap their elders. It was highly scandalous. It was completely unheard of.

Camilla stood perfectly still. She looked down at the older woman groaning on the floor. She slowly lowered her hand to her side. She looked completely cold and fearless.

Camilla spoke. Her voice was sharp and clear.

"This slap was made to support my husband," Camilla declared loudly.

Inside her mind, her thoughts were fierce and highly protective. "He just took a heavy blow to his back for me," Camilla thought, her eyes flashing with danger. "I will not let this wicked hag lay a single finger on him. No one touches what is mine."

Elora, who was sitting on the ground with her arm now tightly bandaged in white cloth, saw her mother fall.

Elora’s fear of Camilla vanished, replaced by furious anger. She wanted to stand up and fight for her mother.

Elora pushed herself up onto her knees. She pointed her uninjured hand at Camilla.

"You wicked soul!" Elora yelled loudly, her face twisted in an ugly scowl. "You are a monster!"

Camilla slowly turned her head. She locked her dead assassin eyes directly onto the young girl.

Camilla calmly raised her right hand in the air, holding her palm open in a clear, silent threat.

"If you know you don’t want to get slapped right now," Camilla warned softly, her voice dropping into a deadly, freezing whisper, "stay exactly where you are."

Elora swallowed hard. She looked at Camilla’s raised hand. She looked at her mother crying on the floor. The terrifying confidence in Camilla’s eyes broke Elora’s courage completely.

Elora stepped back quietly. She scrambled backward on the stones, pressing her back against the doctor’s legs, completely refusing to say another word.

On the floor, Lady Adeline pushed herself up.

Her cheek was bright red and swelling rapidly. The slap had completely shattered her sanity. She was an elder of the Benson family, and she had just been struck down by the trashy girl she despised.

Lady Adeline stood up. She was breathing heavily, panting like a wild animal. Her eyes were completely crazy with rage.

"I will kill you today!" Lady Adeline screamed at the top of her lungs.

She turned around wildly. She saw the tall, armored guard standing completely frozen just two feet away.

Lady Adeline lunged toward the guard. Before the shocked man could even react, the older woman grabbed the steel handle of the sword resting in his leather sheath. She yanked the long, sharp weapon completely out of its scabbard.

The sharp steel blade shone brightly in the garden moonlight.

Lady Adeline raised the sword high into the air. She charged directly toward Camilla, fully intending to swing the deadly blade down and cut the young girl in half.

Damon saw the sword. His reflexes activated instantly. He immediately stepped forward, intending to throw his own body in front of Camilla again to protect her from the sharp steel.

"Camilla, move!" Damon shouted in panic.

But Camilla was faster.

Instead of stepping backward behind Damon, Camilla stepped swiftly around his broad shoulder. She moved forward, stepping directly into the path of the charging, sword-wielding woman.

Lady Adeline swung the sword downward in a clumsy, wild, angry arc.

Camilla did not try to block the steel blade. She simply shifted her weight slightly to the left, allowing the weapon to slice harmlessly through the empty air right next to her dress.

As the sword missed her, Camilla moved her hands with speed.

She reached out and perfectly caught Lady Adeline’s right wrist, grabbing the arm that held the weapon.

Camilla’s grip was absolute. She locked her fingers around the older woman’s bones. With a sharp, violent motion, Camilla twisted the wrist sharply outward.

CRACK.

A loud pop echoed in the air as the bones in Lady Adeline’s wrist were forced to bend backward.

Lady Adeline screamed in sudden, agonizing pain. Her fingers automatically opened.

The sword fell entirely out of her hand. It hit the stone path with a loud, ringing clatter, bouncing safely away into the dirt.

Camilla did not let go of the twisted wrist. She pulled Lady Adeline completely off balance, dragging the older woman forward.

Camilla raised her free right hand high into the air. She put absolutely all of her physical strength, all of her anger, and all of her deep disgust into her arm.

She slapped Lady Adeline a second time.

SMACK!

This slap was incredibly violent. It was not just a punishment; it was a knockout blow.

The massive force of the slap hit Lady Adeline squarely on the jaw. The older woman’s eyes instantly rolled completely back into her head. Her brain shut down entirely from the physical trauma of the strike.

Camilla let go of the wrist.

Lady Adeline’s body went entirely limp. She collapsed like a heavy sack of wet flour, fainting completely dead away. She hit the stone floor and did not move a single muscle.

The garden was plunged into terrified silence once again.

Camilla stood over the unconscious woman. She was breathing slightly heavier, her chest rising and falling inside her green ball gown.

She slowly lowered her hand. She looked down at the woman who had caused Damon so much childhood trauma.

Camilla spoke. Her voice was incredibly cold, absolutely firm, and echoed clearly in the quiet night air.

"How dare you disrespect my husband?" Camilla demanded softly.