Sylvia's POV:
Richard shook away from my grip and raised his hand to slap me, but Rufus stopped him.
He firmly grabbed Richard's shoulder and with an ice- cold expression, he warned, "If you even lay a
finger on her, I will make sure you do not leave this place unharmed."
For a brief moment, Richard winced and paled beneath the strength of Rufus’ grip.
"Let go of me.I'm not going to hurt her." Rufus huffed.
The air fell still around them.
Richard's knees buckled a little as he broke into a cold sweat.
Seeing this, his guards raised their weapons and pointed them at Rufus.
Instantly, the atmosphere grew tense.
My body tensed up as well and prepared to fight.
But at this moment, Rufus simply let go of Richard's shoulder and shoved him away.
Holding his sore shoulder, Richard stumbled a few steps back and his guards had to hold him up to
keep him from falling.
Richard spitefully shook off the guards' hands and glared at Rufus.
"Cuff Prince Rufus now."
I balled my fist and wanted to punch him again, but Rufus took my hand and said in a comforting voice,
"It doesn't matter.That arrogance of his won't last long."
"No, but those guards are still loyal to Richard.Once you're handcuffed, you won't be able to resist
anymore.You would be at the mercy of Richard and his minions."
Frowning, I looked at Rufus with concern.
"What if he plays even more dirty tricks on you?" As we talked, the guards came forward with
handcuffs.
I reached out my hands to keep the guards at a distance, Flora and Harry following suit and pulling
away one guard each.
"What's this now? Rufus himself said he wanted to come with me!"
Richard raised his voice and motioned for more guards to hold us off.
I stood my ground in front of Rufus and declared, "But we still haven't confirmed the truth yet.Rufus is
not a convicted sinner.Why do you have to put him in handcuffs?"
"And what a big disrespect to Prince Rufus!" Flora cursed at him.
"You might be a prince too, but you act like nothing of the sort with your dirty tricks!"
Richard's chest heaved in anger and finally, he snapped.
"Get them all! Don't let any of them go!"
Chaos had ensued.
Just when the fight was about to begin, all of a sudden, many soldiers appeared.
They seemed to be from the army.
Rufus and I looked at each other in confusion.
Before we could figure it out, the soldiers parted in the middle and made way for Ethan.He walked
straight to Richard and looked at him sharply.
"Who allowed you to make these decisions?"
As soon as Ethan appeared, Richard visibly shrank and his confidence faltered.
"I...I..."
"I'll deal with you when I get back."
Ethan used his authority to rebuke him.
Richard was now too scared to even raise his head.
Flora, who was behind me, snickered.
Ethan then turned to us and approached.
There was a complicated expression on his face when he looked at Rufus.
Finally, he sighed.
"You've been through a lot.Let's go back."
Rufus didn't respond and only pursed his lips.
With an indifferent glance, he simply nodded at Ethan.
Shortly after, Rufus, Flora, Harry, and I got in Ethan's car and was driven back to the palace quietly.
But as soon as we stepped out of the car, Ethan ordered that Rufus should be imprisoned.I glared at
Ethan and tightly held Rufus’ hand, refusing to let anyone take him away.
"Don't worry.Rufus will be perfectly safe here.No one is allowed to get close to Rufus without my
permission.Not until everything is made clear," Ethan promised.
As he said this, Ethan shot Richard a look of warning.
Hearing Ethan's word, I felt a little more relieved.I let go of Rufus’ hand, although reluctantly.
"Wait for me," Rufus whispered.
He then gave me one last affectionate look before allowing the soldiers to take him away.
Dejected, I was rooted to my spot and didn't know what to do next.
Flora gently embraced me and said, "He's going to be fine."
"The two of you may return to your school,"
Ethan said, but he seemed to only be looking at Harry and Flora.
"But what about Sylvia?" Flora asked in confusion.
Harry also looked at Ethan in confusion.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Ethan replied curtly, "Sylvia is a wanted criminal who
interfered with official affairs.She will be interrogated in court for her actions."
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda