Bella took a seat at the bar. The man Jenos had targeted was sitting between Bella and two people. The distance was close enough that if one focused, she could hear his voice.
“Did the lady come here alone?” The bartender, with a scruffy beard, approached with a chuckle.
Bella, adjusting her cloak’s hood, casually opened her mouth.
“A glass of beer.”
“Drinking alone? Got a man to escort you later?” The bartender laughed.
“If you want to sell, then don’t speak.” Bella nonchalantly replied.
She took out a silver coin and showed it to the bartender. One silver coin was worth ten gold coins, equivalent to the cost of ten beers.
The bartender hastily reached out and took the silver coin.
“Do I need to give you change?”
“Leave it. Just bring the beer quickly. Don’t bother talking to me anymore,” Bella said, waving her hand in annoyance.
The bartender handed over a glass of beer without further conversation.
The tavern was noisy, and unless the bartender made a fuss about Bella’s gender, people would not pay her much attention.
Everyone was too busy indulging in self-pity, lamenting about how miserable and petty their lives were.
Bella subtly shifted her body to get a better view of her target. He appeared to be in his late twenties, with a scruffy beard. His face was ordinary, the kind you could easily find in your neighborhood, but it emitted a somewhat ominous vibe.
Feeling a throb in her chest, Bella took a sip from the glass the bartender had just brought. She swallowed the beer as her gaze fixated on the target.
She swallowed the last drop of her beer with a hint of disappointment and looked at the bartender. However, she didn’t order another drink.
That’s when it happened.
“Lend me ten gold coins, huh? How about two more as interest for a month?”
A poorly dressed woman, who seemed out of place, approached the target and whispered.
Bella perked up her ears.
“I heard you’re wealthy. It shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
However, the man shook his head expressionlessly.
“Not interested. I don’t engage in money games.”
“Come on! You said you were wealthy. Just lend me once…” the woman pleaded.
“I said I’m not interested,” the man retorted, glaring at the woman.
The woman reluctantly retreated, her pride wounded.
“The rumor about you being rich was all a lie. You’re just a poor guy. Hah!” She left with a sarcastic laugh.
‘A rumor about being rich?’ Bella narrowed her eyes in thought.
If he really had no money and had to turn the woman away, there was no need to emphasize that he didn’t engage in money games. Moreover, his tone was firm and serious, with a peculiar politeness that didn’t match his rough appearance.
This man wasn’t from Tanje Street.
Bella was convinced and scanned the man’s body a little more intently.
Even though he sat on a backless chair, his posture was upright. Unlike the other men around, who had messy hair falling over their shoulders, his hair was short and neat.
Additionally, amidst the loud laughter, boisterous talk, advances toward women, and even games, he had a look of contempt.
‘A fallen noble? No, aren’t nobles the first to disregard people?’
The man was polite when dealing with the woman. No matter how fallen, a noble wouldn’t speak politely to a woman of the streets.
In that case…
“Knight,” Bella whispered quietly.
Commoners could become knights if they had the skill. The man was likely a former knight. For whatever reason, he had been expelled from the knightly order and ended up on Tanje Street.
Once you become a knight, retirement is guaranteed until you’re too old to move properly. So, for such a young person to abandon knighthood would likely be a matter of disgrace.
“Another beer here,” the man said, raising his hand toward the bartender after being lost in thought for a while. It was something that seemed to require some thought.
However, the bartender wore an uncomfortable expression as he took the money. He frowned even as he accepted the coin.
“I don’t know if I can keep taking this cursed money,” muttered the grumbling bartender.
The man flinched at the bartender’s muttering, but he didn’t retort.
The beer was roughly placed on the table, and the man lifted the glass with a stern expression.
‘Cursed money?’ Bella bit her lip in thought. The man wouldn’t have said so if it was stolen money.
Moreover, considering that the woman from the street had heard rumors about him being wealthy, it seemed the man did have some money.
But then, why hesitate to buy just a glass of beer?
If he had acquired wealth through means that could be labeled as cursed money…
“Guilt.”
‘Yes, guilt seems to be the only answer.’ Bella sighed deeply, feeling relieved. She had gathered all the necessary information.
The real game was about to start.
She feigned the need to go to the restroom and stood up. As she moved, she brushed against the man’s arm and noticed a glinting iron bracelet. It was a bracelet with a lock mechanism that opened with a button.
Turning the corner toward the restroom, Bella sneakily glanced at the man. He exuded an oddly… sad atmosphere.
Yes, it was sadness.
‘A person drowning in self-pity.’ Bella’s lips curled up.
She had a sense of how to handle him.
For a moment, Bella’s eyes, which had been standing behind the corner to bide time, met with Jenos, who was sitting in a corner.
He was sipping on some cheap alcohol and watching Bella. Even with the hood covering his face, his gaze was strangely intense.
He didn’t quite fit into the shabby and dirty tavern, yet there was a subtle, grimy roughness in him that oddly suited this place.
“The more you look, the stranger he gets.” Muttering to herself, Bella averted her gaze from Jenos.
After taking a deep breath, she lifted her cloak slightly and tore her dress with her hands. In the noisy atmosphere of the tavern, the sound of the dress ripping was easily drowned out.
Then, she messed up her neatly arranged hair and smeared her makeup wildly across her eyes and lips. She took off her earrings and necklace, stashing them in her pocket.
Ready for action, Bella briskly walked around the corner, purposefully bumping into people along the way.
Her appearance quickly caught the attention of the rowdy vagrants.
Before she could reach the target, several men grabbed her wrists.
“Where are you rushing off to like that?”
“Have some fun before you go!”
The men’s laughter sent shivers down Bella’s spine. Although she had intentionally staged the situation, the sensation of bugs crawling all over her body still overwhelmed her.
“N-no. Let me go, please,” Bella stammered, and the laughter from the rowdy men grew louder.
And right then,
“Enough of that!” The target shouted, placing himself between Bella and the men.
“She said no.”
“What’s it to you?!” A drunken hobo raised his voice, but his companions held him back.
After giving the man a glare, the target turned his attention to Bella.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, yes… I’m fine. Thank you,” Bella replied as she walked past the target, pretending to stagger with dizziness.
The target quickly supported her.
“Have a seat for a moment,” the target said, seating Bella beside him and ordering a glass of water.
The bartender glanced at Bella before handing over the water. She took the trembling glass and sipped, taking deep breaths.
“Thank you so much… May I know your name?”
She asked, her eyes reflecting exhaustion.
The target looked at Bella with sympathetic eyes and replied.
“My name is Marok.”
“Marok… You’re my savior. Thank you so much,” Bella said, bowing her head while seated.
Marok furrowed his brow as he looked at Bella’s torn dress and messy makeup.
“You don’t seem like someone who belongs in such a dangerous place. How did you end up here?”
“My husband…” Bella began, choking back tears as she buried her face in her hands.
Marok patiently waited for her to continue. After a while, Bella lowered her hands and spoke with a trembling voice.
“He committed a sin in the knighthood… and lost his position as a knight.”
Marok’s chest sank. Bella, sensing his reaction, continued speaking.
“He may have committed a grave sin, bu-but couldn’t he be forgiven just once? My husband has only lived the life of a knight, and unfortunately… it ended in disgrace.”
Marok, feeling a heaviness in his chest, asked cautiously,
“So, what happened to your husband?”
He involuntarily tightened his grip on Bella’s arm.
She silently lowered her head.
“I don’t know. He vanished… I received a letter saying he had been discharged from the knighthood. I waited for him, but no matter how much I waited… he never returned. That was a year ago,” Bella said, wiping away tears with the back of her hand.
“That’s why I travel all over the empire looking for my husband.”
“But even if your heart aches, how can you come to a place like Tanje Street? It’s so dangerous here,” Marok questioned.
“But I have to find my husband. I worry about what might happen if he has any bad thoughts. A single mistake—shouldn’t it be forgiven? He was a sincere knight who only thought of the empire’s security,” Bella said, lamenting and choking on her words.
Marok’s eyes were also filled with tears.
“I agree. Everyone deserves… a second chance. There are moments that are inevitable for everyone, but…”
He looked up, trying to hold back his tears.
Bella glanced at the bracelet on his wrist.
Up close, Bella could see that there were inscriptions on the bracelet. The handwriting was so scrawled that it wasn’t easy to discern.
It was about time to retrieve that bracelet.
The stench and the scent of blood in the air were starting to remind Isabella of the White family’s basement.
She wanted to quickly carry out Jenos’ command and leave this place. The intense determination welled up in her throat.
I want to steal it.
I want to steal it.
Bella found herself licking her lips as she stared at the bracelet on his wrist.
At that moment, a strong scent emanated from Bella’s body, gradually enveloping Marok.
The man’s head turned abruptly toward her, his face instantly reddening.
Their gazes collided precisely. Bella also felt an unfamiliar and peculiar sensation.
‘Temptation.’ The third ability of the witch.
Bella instinctively knew that she was exerting it.
She focused, trying to remember the sensation.
“Oh, um…”
As the effects of the ability gradually faded, Marok quickly turned his head. His ears were still red.
“F-Forgive my rudeness. I, unknowingly, stared at the lady for too long…”
“No, it’s okay,” Bella said, gripping Marok’s wrist.
Even though Marok flinched, he couldn’t bring himself to look at Bella in embarrassment.
“For the first time in over a year, my heart briefly felt at ease. Thank you so much,” Bella whispered, pressing the button on the bracelet.
With a soft click, the bracelet came undone, and Isabella immediately placed it in her cloak pocket.
“That’s too generous…”
Marok still couldn’t bring himself to look at Bella.
“But if I stay any longer, it might become difficult to keep my loyalty to my husband. I am too lonely and tired, and you’re just too warm.”
Marok remained silent.
To avoid looking suspicious, Bella slowly stood up.
“Thank you, Sir Marok.”
Bella walked past Marok and exited the tavern. The man gazed after her with a regretful expression, but he couldn’t bring himself to follow.
As she suspected, he still retained the manners and patience of a knight.
However, in the next moment, Marok, who had been absentmindedly touching his wrist where the bracelet used to be, contorted his face in anger.
He stood up abruptly, his expression completely different from before.
A moment later, the man rushed out of the tavern. There was a sense of desperation in his movements.
Jenos, sitting at a corner table, quietly observed the scene, taking another sip of his drink.
I love how morally gray they both are. They are such a great pair!
Is this dropped?