Transmigration: The Tyrant General Can Hear My Thoughts-Chapter 57 - Fifty Six

"Who is this scrawny boy?" one of the gang members asked. His voice was rough and full of confusion. He lowered his rusty knife and squinted his eyes, trying to see better in the dim light.

Camilla did not answer him immediately. She pushed herself off the wooden doorframe. She took two slow, confident steps forward. She entered fully into the dangerous room. She was not scared of the six large, dirty men holding weapons. She had fought much worse in her former life.

She raised her small hands to her head. She grabbed the edge of the dull brown cap. With a quick, smooth pull, she removed her cap.

As the cap came off, her long, beautiful red curly hair was finally set free. The thick red curls fell heavily over her shoulders, tumbling down to frame her pale, perfectly calm face. The bright red color of her hair caught the dim light of the room, shining brightly against the dark, dirty background of the tavern.

The gang members stared at her in pure shock. They thought a poor kitchen boy had wandered into their hideout. They did not expect to see a beautiful young noblewoman hiding underneath the dirty clothes.

Zade Kennedy, tied tightly back-to-back with his terrified friend Austin, lifted his bruised head. He blinked his swollen eyes, trying to clear his vision.

When he saw the red curly hair and the familiar face, his jaw dropped open. He completely forgot about the pain in his ribs and the blood on his split lip.

"Camilla?" Zade asked out loud. His voice was a raspy, shaking whisper of absolute disbelief.

He was completely surprised that she was even there. He had just finished telling the gang leader that his older sister did not care about him at all. He had truly believed she had abandoned him for the Tyrant General. But here she was, standing in the middle of the most dangerous tavern in the lower city.

"Camilla, what are you doing here, dressed like that?" Zade asked, his voice getting a little louder. He looked at her simple grey tunic and her rough brown trousers. She looked nothing like the elegant sister he remembered.

Camilla remained completely silent. She just stood there, looking down at the tied-up brother. A small, confident, and highly amused smile rested on her lips. She did not look like she was in a panic to save him. She looked like she had all the time in the world.

Zade saw her calm smile, and a sudden wave of panic hit his chest.

"She does not understand the danger," Zade thought to himself rapidly. His protective brotherly instincts, which had been dormant for a year, suddenly woke up. "These men are cold-blooded murderers. They will kill her or sell her. She needs to run away right now."

Zade decided to act tough. He needed to make the gang members focus all their anger back onto him so Camilla could escape out the door.

"Why are you getting involved in a fight between gentlemen?" Zade shouted at her, trying to make his voice sound deep and angry. He struggled against his thick ropes, puffing his chest out. "Go away, I don’t need your help."

Camilla watched him puff out his chest. She saw his swollen eyes, his bleeding lip, and his torn, dirty shirt. She could easily read his body language. She knew exactly what he was trying to do. He was trying to protect her by pretending he was a tough guy who had the situation under control.

"He is trying to be my shield," Camilla thought to herself. Her internal voice was soft and highly amused. "How cute. He is tied to the floor like a captured pig, but he still wants to protect his big sister. At least he has a good heart."

But as an expert assassin, she was not impressed by his fighting skills. If he was a true fighter, he would not be tied up on the floor in the first place.

Camilla slowly let out a soft sigh. She took in his entire beaten appearance from head to toe.

"Just a few people beat you into this piece of trash," Camilla said out loud. Her voice was calm, flat, and completely unimpressed.

She slowly shook her head from side to side. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest.

"I’m disappointed," Camilla stated bluntly, looking down at him.

Zade’s eyes widened. He was trying to save her life, and she was standing there insulting his fighting abilities!

"Are you crazy?" Zade thought frantically. "Now is not the time to be disappointed! Get out of here!"

Zade, desperately trying to reason with her to escape the room, raised his voice even louder. He put as much anger into his tone as possible.

"I told you, I don’t need your help!" Zade yelled, pulling wildly against the ropes until his wrists burned. "Shut up and go away!!!"

The massive, bald gang leader with the pink scar on his face was growing very tired of the family reunion. He had a severe headache, and he wanted his gold coins.

The leader took a heavy step forward. He raised his large, dirty hand.

Smack!

The leader smacked Zade very hard on the back of his head.

"Ah!" Zade groaned, his head jerking forward from the heavy blow. His ears started ringing loudly.

"Shut up," the leader barked down at Zade. His voice was like grinding stones. "It is not in your place to interfere with my money. Keep your mouth closed, rich boy, or I will cut out your tongue."

The leader turned his massive body away from Zade. He took two heavy steps toward Camilla. He looked her up and down. He saw her beautiful face, her red curly hair, and her small, delicate frame.

He looked past her shoulder, staring out the open wooden door into the empty hallway of the tavern.

The leader frowned deeply. He noticed nobody was bringing in a heavy wooden trunk. There were nobody carrying bags of coins. She had walked into the room completely alone, with empty hands.

The leader brought his angry, scarred face back to Camilla.

"Where’s the money?" the leader demanded aggressively. He cracked his thick knuckles. The sound was loud and threatening in the quiet room.

Camilla did not flinch. She did not step back. She casually uncrossed her arms and let them fall to her sides.

She lifted her shoulders and gave a very simple, relaxed shrug.

"Even if I had the money," Camilla replied smoothly, her eyes staring directly into his ugly face, "I wouldn’t give it to you."

The room fell completely, deadly silent.

The five other gang members in the shadows stopped breathing. Zade and Austin stopped struggling against their ropes. No one ever spoke to the bald leader like that. People usually fell to their knees and cried for mercy.

The leader’s face slowly turned a dark, angry shade of purple. The jagged pink scar on his cheek stretched tight as his jaw clenched. A thick vein popped out on his bald forehead, throbbing rapidly. He was furious. His pride was deeply insulted by this small, arrogant girl.

"Then why are you here?" the leader growled. He took another step forward, towering over Camilla like an angry bear. He grabbed the handle of a long, rusty hunting knife hanging at his waist.

Camilla kept her eyes on his face. She tilted her head slightly to the side. She answered in a perfectly obvious, bored tone, as if he had just asked a very stupid question. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"To rescue my brother, of course," Camilla said. She smiled a small, highly confident smile.

From the dark corner of the room, one of the gang members stepped forward. He was a tall, skinny man with greasy black hair and several missing teeth. He wore a dirty leather vest and smelled strongly of sour wine.

The skinny gang member looked Camilla up and down. His small eyes crawled over her body in a highly disgusting, greedy manner. He saw her smooth skin and her beautiful red hair.

The skinny member stepped into the dim light. He smiled an ugly, gap-toothed smile.

"Since the lady didn’t bring the money," the skinny member spoke out loud. His voice was greasy and slippery.

He raised his dirty hand to his mouth. He smacked his lips together. The sound was wet, loud, and incredibly repulsive.

"Let her pay with her body while her brother watches," the skinny member suggested cruelly. He licked his dry lips, taking another step toward Camilla.