Chapter 81
“Stop it. What do you think you’re doing to an innocent person?”
Irene tried to reason with him using words, but such methods only work on rational people.
“Innocent? How am I supposed to know if they’re innocent or not? Let’s see the face first, shall we?”
As the Count’s eldest son caused a commotion, a man who seemed to be his attendant approached and grabbed the edge of Irene’s hood.
‘No, I can’t be discovered!’
She gripped the hood tightly in panic, but it was hard to overpower someone who was determined.
Eventually, the hood came off, revealing her black hair.
She shut her eyes tightly in a belated attempt to hide, but she couldn’t keep them closed forever. Irene sighed and opened her eyes.
“It’s her, the swindler!”
The Count’s eldest son shouted excitedly.
“No, I’m not.”
“There’s no way a noble with such a cursed symbol exists, right?”
There is. Most of them just abandon or hide it, so people don’t know.
The Count’s eldest son approached and grabbed a handful of Irene’s hair.
“Ouch!”
As she was seized by the large man, memories of the past flooded back—those helpless times when she could do nothing.
“Stop it, stop it right now,”
She said in a trembling voice, but the Count’s eldest son had no intention of listening. He shook Irene by her hair and raised his hand.
He was going to slap her.
‘Do you think I’ll just take it?’
Irene steeled herself and slapped him first.
“Huh?”
Caught off guard, the man let go of her hair, his expression turning savage.
“I told you I’m not a swindler. Why are you shaking someone’s hair?”
Irene said through gritted teeth.
‘Where is Burt when I need him?’
But then she thought,
‘No, I need to handle this on my own.’
This wasn’t an attack by cultists, just a misunderstanding. She couldn’t rely on Burt forever.
Even though she thought this, when his hand grabbed her hair again, she squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them.
If she was going to be hit, she wanted to remember his face.
“This, this crazy—”
As the Count’s eldest son cursed and was about to slap her, a young man suddenly sprang from the hallway, grabbing the noble’s neck and pulling him back.
He moved so quickly that none of the other attendants had a chance to react.
“Noah!”
Irene recognized the young man immediately.
“Young master!”
The attendants, panicked, tried to pull Noah away from the man, but he held on stubbornly. It wasn’t until a knight intervened that they managed to separate Noah from him.
As soon as Noah was freed, he rolled to the floor and positioned himself in front of Irene. Just that simple act made her feel a sense of relief.
“Seize them both! I won’t let this slide!”
The man fumed, and as the attendants and knights closed in, Noah drew a dagger from his belt.
“It’s a misunderstanding!”
Irene knew Noah had been trained by Burt, but only for a short time. He wouldn’t stand a chance against the knights, so she urgently shouted, but it seemed to be too late.
‘I should have hit him more gently.’
While she regretted her actions, she heard a voice.
“Lady Irene.”
A neatly dressed man was approaching from the narrow corridor. It was Sir Allen, the captain of the holy knights, oddly without his armor.
“Captain?”
Allen made his way through the crowd without hesitation and knelt in front of Irene.
“I apologize for the negligence that allowed this to happen.”
He looked ready to prostrate himself on the floor, so Irene quickly shouted,
“It’s alright!”
“No, it’s not alright. The thought that Lady Irene suffered because of me is unbearable. Please, punish me.”
Punish him? What punishment? Irene decided to lift Allen up first.
“That man grabbed my hair.”
It felt awkward to complain, but it was effective in getting Allen to stand.
“Who dared to do such a thing?”
Allen turned to face the gathered people. Even with his calm gaze, several of them trembled in fear.
In truth, Allen was projecting his killing intent towards them, though Irene couldn’t discern it.
“I-I am the eldest son of Count Pendele!”
The man, the Count’s eldest son, shouted, but even that couldn’t stop Allen.
“And so?”
Discussion
0 CommentsReactions
No comments yet.