As the lord of a small settlement, Ethan was more than just a ruler and administrator.
He was also the sword of the law and the judge.
Without a justice system or a legal code, the lord's word was the law itself, and it was his duty to determine who was innocent and who was guilty.
From land disputes to murders and accusations of infidelity.
As Lord of Goldenveil, Ethan carried the weight of every verdict on his shoulders.
Shortly after pulling himself together, sword belted at his waist, he walked out to the front of the mansion.
His steps were heavy.
Before he even reached the gathering crowd, his ears caught it: the raw wailing of a woman and the desperate screams of a young man who seemed moments away from being beaten to death by a mob.
Ethan pressed forward, his heart sinking.
There was a body in the mud.
Blood fanned out across the earth, and children wailed for their father.
Three of them, in total. The youngest no older than six, the eldest already seventeen.
