Episode 6
“Pathetic.”
While I was desperately looking for him, Khalid was just loitering around here?
I took a step back and brushed my neatly waved hair.
Where does Father find him attractive?
Why does Father want to put his daughter in a prince’s position?
I now felt disgustingly inferiority complex in Father’s heart.
“Of course you must be sad too. Do you think I don’t know that? But Father has lost his only brother. He must be deeply saddened, so go and comfort him.”
Before leaving the mansion, Father firmly held my hand and asked me to comfort him.
But what kind of comfort is that, Father?
Now I realize that I should be the one to receive comfort. I decided to leave for the bar without any other choice.
It was not pleasant to disobey Father’s words, but this place was definitely not the place to come.
If I go back like this, will I hear bitter words from Father?
I just wanted to leave and go somewhere.
Any place where I could remember Izar was fine. I wanted to give up on the life that was being swept away by Father’s coercion.
“Where are you in such a hurry to go? Oh, a cute girl.”
It was when I was about to pull the door of the bar.
As I was about to pull the door, a strong force grabbed my waist. Startled, Laura jumped up and shouted.
“Wh-why can’t you let go of this?!”
“Oh, can’t let go? Oh my, up close, your skin is just… beautiful. Your complexion is so lovely, really.”
“Let go, I said! Do you want your arm to be ripped off? Are you insane?”
Laura struggled and wriggled her foot. At that moment, the man who was holding my waist tightly smirked with missing front teeth and gestured with his eyes.
Soon, another man next to him chuckled with a hoarse voice and firmly grabbed Laura’s arms as she flailed them around.
“A little bird-like girl has a sharp tongue. Do you want me to cut off your arm? It’s not even funny. Come here and sit on my lap and have a drink!”
I don’t know if things disappear from sight when you’re drunk.
I was clearly dressed in a way that should have warned them not to mess with me, but it didn’t seem that way to them.
I took a deep breath and tried to find a calm and peaceful way to handle the situation.
But when the man with burst blood vessels in his eyes started to intimidate Laura, my patience snapped.
“…Ugh, it’s dirty and smells. Unclean…”
“Hey, Linok. Did you hear that? No, what did this damn woman just mutter, huh?”
Crash!
I grabbed the waist that was holding me and grabbed a nearby bottle of alcohol. Then, I immediately brought it down hard on the man’s forehead.
The bottle, which was almost empty, shattered into pieces.
The surroundings fell silent as if water had been spilled.
The man’s grip loosened for a moment, and I quickly stepped out of his hold.
A little bit of wine left in the bottle flowed down my wrist.
“Ow, it hurts! I’m going to die from the pain!”
“Ugh… hey, are you okay? Hey!”
The lace at the end of the sleeve of my dress was stained with a dark purple color.
I wiped my wrist and looked at the man called Linok who was holding Laura.
She was still struggling with all her might. I sighed and looked around.
Laura couldn’t escape from the man due to the difference in their natural physique and strength.
“This crazy woman, this crazy one! Damn it! I’m going to kill you today.”
The man who was holding me was lying on the ground, and the man named Linok was restraining Laura’s hands with one hand and groping her waist with the other.
But soon, the man turned pale and had to look up.
Because I was aiming the gun at his forehead. I asked quietly.
“Would it be faster for you to kill me, or for me to kill you?”
“P-please spare me.”
“That’s something I’ll consider once you release my maid.”
“If I let her go, then what? Just let her go, please! So, um…”
The man’s complexion turned pale.
Thanks to my cute pearl-decorated gun, he seemed to sober up.
I raised my eyebrows and adjusted my grip on the handle. Then, I gestured towards Laura, implying that he should let her go.
“But if I let her go, you won’t just shoot me, right? What then?”
“What would I do… it’s just a matter of life and death, isn’t it…”
Suddenly, the man, Laura, and the drunkards around us all threw in their two cents.
As if hearing the surrounding voices, the frightened man, instead of releasing Laura, held onto her even tighter.
“Aaah…! Miss, help.”
Laura shed tears like a frightened little bird. The man trembled, exhaling heavily through his nose.
I closed and opened my eyes. I had no other choice at this point.
I had never shot someone at such close range…
“Just calm down, all of you.”
That was when it happened. I was so focused on the situation that I didn’t notice when Khalid approached me.
A large shadow loomed over me. I looked up to see Khalid, wearing a strange expression, gazing down at me with his light blue eyes.
“You, Linok. Let the woman go.”
“B-but the gun…!”
The man repeated the word “gun” as he gasped for breath.
I slowly lowered the gun. Only then did the man’s grip on Laura loosen.
He stumbled back in a panic, and Laura ran towards me, screaming.
She clung to me, crying like a child.
“Khalid, you…”
I brushed Laura’s back with the hand holding the gun and began to speak.
But before I could finish, Khalid suddenly lunged at the man, grabbing him by the collar and delivering a powerful punch to his face, causing blood vessels to burst.
“Ugh!”
“Kuh!”
Khalid’s actions were unexpected, and it caught me off guard.
“Your bad habits haven’t changed, Linok. I think I warned you before that if I caught you in this situation again, I’d break your arms and legs… Do you remember?”
“Ugh, ugh, ugh.”
Khalid furrowed his thick eyebrows and asked innocently.
But there was no response from the man, who was now lying on the ground, spitting out saliva.
The disheveled man coughed and coughed on the dirty floor.
Then, two yellowed front teeth rolled out of his mouth.
“If you’re so fond of hugging people, why don’t you hug each other nicely, huh? Didn’t I tell you that before?”
Khalid walked over to the man with long strides. The trembling man looked up at Khalid in fear.
But as if there was no room for sympathy, Khalid bent down, grabbed the man’s collar, and lifted him up again.
“If I see you in such a filthy state in front of me again, just try it.”
He warned, then clicked his tongue, and roughly rolled up his sleeves.
Surely that wasn’t the end?
I was on the verge of being disappointed in Khalid. But as he roughly twisted the man’s wrist, there was a sound of a slap as he scratched the man with the palm of his hand, and only then did the man relax.
The man’s face, with a broken nose, was covered in blood. Finally, he seemed to lose consciousness.
“…Ah, the fun’s all gone.”
As if not wanting to touch the man, Khalid threw him away like a used handkerchief.
Then, he looked at his palm, which was stained with blood, and grumbled.
By the way, Khalid seemed to be at least several times stronger fighting barehanded than fighting with a sword.
I thought he was some kind of invincible troll. I almost made the mistake, if it weren’t for his ugly face.
“It’s okay now, Laura. I was wrong.”
“Sob, Miss. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”
“I’m sorry. I won’t bring you to a place like this again. I promise.”
I was trying to calm and reassure Laura, who showed no signs of calming down.
Khalid turned to me with a splattered cheek.
His gaze shifted between my face and the gun in my hand, which was resting on Laura’s lower back.
“Hmm…”
Khalid’s gaze returned to my face. His cold, sky-blue eyes lingered on me, and he raised one corner of his lips into a faint smile.
But before I could even register it, the smile had already vanished.
“…Follow me, Renata.”
His chilly eyes passed over me. Khalid muttered quietly and pushed open the door of the tavern.
His broad and sturdy back, with a slightly dusty shirt, filled my view.
Khalid, who had already left the tavern, was leaning against the tall wall at the end of the alley, waiting for me.
“Renata, Renata Carneluti. Are you some kind of untamed colt?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Never mind. What are you doing here, anyway?”
He’s talking nonsense.
I thought to myself. Then, for some reason, I met eyes with Khalid, who seemed to be tensing his facial muscles as if he were angry.
