“Episode 23”
Daphne’s only weapon
The shattered glass continued to fall, tinkling softly. The music still blared loudly. Daphne struggled to open her tightly shut eyes. Right in front of her, amidst the chaos, Celestian’s green eyes were the only thing she could see. His gentle caress on her cheek registered a moment later.
“Daphne, breathe.”
It dawned on Daphne that she had been holding her breath as she finally parted her lips. She exhaled deeply, as if surfacing from a long dive underwater.
“Are you alright?”
“Y-yes.”
Oddly enough, it seemed like Daphne should be the one asking that question. Celestian held her close, ensuring her body barely touched the ground.
“I was just surprised…”
The large hand that had been gently cradling the back of her head let go. Daphne, who had felt quite comfortable lying on the man’s body, slid off.
“Are you hurt?”
He double-checked. Daphne shook her head.
The recent events had felt like déjà vu, as if time had frozen for a moment. But ultimately, Daphne snapped back to reality. She had just exerted a sudden force on her right foot, causing it to ache a bit.
Celestian confirmed that her eyes were blinking normally before he stood up. With swift movements, he grabbed the sword hanging on the wall and unsheathed it, testing its sharpness by striking the wooden table.
“Ah!”
The table split apart too easily, knocking over one of the men. Daphne quickly crawled backward behind the bar counter.
“Miss, Miss Cates.”
“Oh my.”
The café owner stared dumbfoundedly at Daphne with a bewildered expression, which, although pitiful, was subtly comical, causing Daphne to almost forget the situation and laugh.
“Why didn’t you run away?”
“M-my café…”
Daphne hesitated to say she was going to buy this café. This attack wasn’t her fault, and why waste money unnecessarily?
“I’ll compensate anyone later. Please leave quickly.”
The owner’s expression almost turned to tears before he nodded and scurried clumsily towards the kitchen.
Even in his flustered state, he seemed to want to take Daphne with him. Would he do that, really? Daphne shook her head for now. The café owner didn’t ask again and crawled away to the kitchen.
As Daphne sat down, she noticed the reflection in the glass display cabinet behind the bar. About six or seven men in addition to the blond man were disembarking from the carriage, nearly ten in total. Her palm stung from picking up glass shards.
Two or three men charged at Celestian with shouts and the clash of swords filled the air.
Taking a breath and pulling herself up, Daphne instinctively checked her thigh for her holster, only to realize she hadn’t worn it today. She clenched her fist, trembling, then decided to just undo her hairpin altogether.
Looking up again, she saw Celestian fiercely fighting with the men. His hair, which had been slicked back with oil, was gradually becoming disheveled. His movements were so light and fast that even if he disappeared into the distance, he would immediately reappear nearby.
For a moment, Daphne was mesmerized. *Are you just going to watch in this situation?*
She rummaged through the drawer under the counter. She grabbed two knives, used for cutting bread.
Throwing a carriage inside wasn’t something a typical coachman would do. It wasn’t something a regular soldier, who just wanted to kill rebels, would do either.
*Wait, kill?*
Suddenly, she felt a heaviness in her chest. Celestian was, after all, a rebel. If he committed another murder in the city, no amount of bribery would save him from execution.
“Celestian! Don’t kill anyone!”
As Celestian was about to slash at one of the men, he heard Daphne’s voice and turned the blade away.
The man who had been stabbed in the abdomen staggered backward towards the chairs, causing a noisy commotion as metal and leather clashed.
“Celest, don’t, I said don’t kill?”
“I didn’t kill anyone.”
After brushing back his bangs, he answered in a low voice.
Celestian tilted his head to the left, frowning, then met Daphne’s gaze. He extended his arm as if to beckon her.
*It doesn’t seem like Celestian’s assassination is the goal. Then why?*
As Daphne was about to rise from her seat, a man who had just emerged from the carriage climbed onto the bar table where she was hiding. The teacups he stepped on spilled in front of Daphne’s legs.
“Huh?”
He slowly drew his sword from its sheath, aiming it not at Daphne, but at Celestian.
Daphne observed his demeanor. He wore a combat suit optimized for movement, with the only mask in the room. Apart from the sword, she didn’t see any other weapons. The others sitting around didn’t hide their faces.
However…
*It’s not a mask, it’s…*
“Are you giving me orders?” Celestian took a bold step forward, and the mask’s gaze shifted the sword towards Daphne. The sharp blade pressed dangerously close to Daphne’s face. She swallowed hard and asked, “Are you going to spare me even a sneeze?” He growled softly, “I’ll leave that to you.”
*’He’s speaking on my behalf.’* Daphne’s eyes widened.
With the appearance of the mask, everyone froze. The others didn’t rush forward either. They just stood there, in a standoff.
*’What are they trying to do?’* Daphne stood in front of the cracked glass cabinet, feeling the tension. Celestian and she were about ten paces apart. In between, the swordsmen aimed their weapons at Celestian but seemed to only watch him.
Her only weapons were the two bread knives she held.
—
*The bread knife missed the assassin’s shoulder, barely grazing it. He instinctively dodged, but it was close enough to slice his nose. Although a few strands of hair beside his face were cut, the sword in front of his face disappeared. As a result, a melee broke out again on the other side.*
*Daphne stepped on a fallen bar chair and climbed onto the bar table.*
*Celestian, like a fish in water, utilized the café’s layout perfectly to deal with them. Despite wearing a suit that would hinder movement and impractical shoes.*
*There was no excess in his table-stomping or sword-swiping movements. Just now, he had neatly cut through the throat of a large speaker. The ripping sound was brief.*
*Daphne involuntarily swallowed the saliva pooling in her mouth. She glanced at the knight in front of her and threw the knife again.*
*But aiming a thrown knife was entirely different from aiming at a target.*
“Oh my.”
The returning knife struck Celestian’s back. Thankfully, it hit the handle, but it could have been disastrous if it had hit the blade. Celestian turned slowly to look at Daphne, his head cocked with a grin.
“Sorry!”
Perhaps it was because they were in the midst of a fight, but his gaze softened. Daphne’s bones felt like jelly for no reason.
*Celestian had already subdued six people with ease, knocking them unconscious with blows to the back of their necks. Daphne, now weaponless, balanced herself on the long bar and kicked everything towards the assassins.*
“Don’t come any closer!”
Her aim was truly pitiful. Still, it was enough to keep him from getting too close.
“I said don’t come closer!”
Daphne threw even the thin glass cups from the jar cabinet at the attackers with fervor.
*’Why aren’t they coming?’* The swordsmen stood still, seemingly content not to approach. They only attempted to come closer a few times in the beginning, and even then, it was just to swat away the teacups Daphne threw.
*’What are they trying to achieve?’* Daphne narrowed her eyes and stood still. Now, she had nothing left to throw.
“Who are you?”
Naturally, the mask remained silent. Daphne didn’t expect an answer.
Everything was becoming more and more mysterious. Their attitude seemed to be trying to protect her instead.
*’It’s really strange!’* Daphne took three steps forward. He, on the other hand, retreated two steps.
At that moment, there was a sharp sound of gunfire, and the wind sliced through the air. The mask was hit in the arm and tumbled to the ground.
“Miss!”
Keisha, with her lips torn, and several bodyguards rushed in. Keisha silently surveyed the chaos inside the café and the scattered bodies on the floor.
“Wow, Keisha. You came quickly.”
The young bodyguard quickly ran up to Daphne.
“I’ll explain later. For now, please come down.”
Keisha reached out her arms as if to embrace her. Daphne immediately took the position to jump down from the bar.
Celestian dropped his sword and immediately came over to hold Daphne. With Keisha being pushed back as if he were nudged, Celestian carried Daphne out of the café onto the debris-free asphalt.
“Great job, daily bodyguards. Today’s compensation will be deducted from the gold mine.”
A flash of light gleamed from the rooftop of the building Celestian was pointing at. Daphne blinked slowly.
*’Is it a star?’* But it blinked intermittently from the same place.
Daphne, out of curiosity, pushed the strong man’s body hard. The sound of a void cutting through the air was clearly audible.
“Miss!”
Her whole body froze. Daphne slowly looked down at herself.
“Oh, me. X bar…”
Crimson blood was seeping through her yellow jacket.
