Chapter 83

The thin woman glared at me with an irritated face and snapped.

“...”

I couldn’t respond for a moment.

‘Well, we entered the alley, and you were right in front, so we bumped into each other.’

Don’t you know you shouldn’t stand in the corner?

It’s a basic rule, like how you should let people out of the elevator before getting in!

The thin woman’s fingers held a cigarette.

‘She must have come into the alley to smoke.’

Well, it’s none of my business.

But...

‘Huh? Canelle smokes too.’

Canelle’s fingers also held a cigarette precariously.

Smoking is a personal choice, but it’s not good for someone raising a child.

Of course, it’s fine if there are no children around.

But didn’t she say she doesn’t smoke on her resume?

What do you call this? I can’t even fight.

When I didn’t answer, the thin woman shouted.

“You should apologize!”

“No, but!”

“It’s okay.”

Han Ji-hyuk tried to step in from behind, but I stopped him.

‘Oh, well.’

We shouldn’t make a big deal out of this. I didn’t come here to fight.

“I didn’t see you standing in the corner. I’m sorry.”

“What? Really.”

The woman let out a hollow laugh.

‘Huh? Did I say something wrong?’

Seeing the woman’s displeased face, I thought maybe my way of speaking was off.

I was just trying to explain why we bumped into each other...

“Ah, so it’s my fault? You’re saying it’s an old rule, and I should accept your apology?”

No, it’s not about old rules.

If you twist it that much, what can I do...

I was genuinely flustered.

I didn’t use any sophisticated social language; I was just trying to explain.

‘Of course, Han Ji-hyuk might be upset because he wanted to argue, but...’

I was a bit hurt, even though it was a genuine apology.

Han Ji-hyuk let out a hollow laugh behind me, trying to hold it back.

He wouldn’t say anything more after I stopped him, but it was clear he found the situation ridiculous.

Canelle, standing next to us, grabbed the thin woman’s arm and tried to calm her down.

“Stop it. From the looks of it, they’re nobles.”

“What nobles? Look at that man’s vest.”

She seemed to be referring to Han Ji-hyuk’s vest.

‘But it’s pretty... and the material is high-quality.’

Nobles don’t wear vests with pockets.

They always have servants with them, so they don’t need pockets.

Servants, on the other hand, need pockets for various items like handkerchiefs, essential medicines, fans, and keys.

They carry so many things!

Just like how I used to carry a small bag when I was little, servants wear clothes with many pockets.

Han Ji-hyuk isn’t a noble, so he wears such a vest.

Some nobles even call their servants ‘big pockets’ because they don’t treat them as people.

‘Ah, Han Ji-hyuk speaks informally to me, so she thinks I’m not a noble lady.’

She’s quick to judge.

This is a necessary skill among servants.

‘Hmm, but...’

Then.

Snap. Sizzle.

Canelle lit her cigarette and exhaled.

“Hmmm—”

‘Is she smoking in front of children? No, she’s deliberately blowing smoke our way?’

Canelle, showing off her lung capacity, blew out a long stream of smoke and flicked the ash onto the ground.

“Kids, apologize politely and go. I’m already in a bad mood.”

The thin woman turned to Canelle with a puzzled look.

“Why are you in a bad mood?”

“It’s because of Karen. She doesn’t know her place, trying to work as a governess for a noble family. If someone looks decent, everyone... It’s just funny to watch.”

Wow, shocking.

“Joel is the same. Ha! How can she even think of being with that man? A big fabric store owner? Ridiculous.”

“Someone suggested she try?”

“Pfft. Did she believe that? Girls who can’t understand their place need to be taught a lesson so they don’t have delusions.”

Each word was dripping with sarcasm.

Canelle raised one corner of her mouth and put the cigarette back in her mouth.

Han Ji-hyuk and I exchanged glances.

‘Hey, this is...’

‘No need to think. No, it’s not.’

Han Ji-hyuk nodded, reading my eyes.

‘Let’s go now.’

‘Okay.’

At least we didn’t waste our time.

If we hadn’t heard this conversation, I would have hired Canelle happily.

‘That would have been a disaster. Phew.’

Indeed, you can know the depth of a ten-foot river, but not the depth of a one-foot person.

Shaking my head, I turned to leave the alley, but the thin woman shouted.

“Hey, you! Apologize!”

And the sound of her running towards us.

“You’re being disrespectful to an adult!”

Crack!

The thin woman’s strong grip grabbed my shoulder and forcefully turned me around.

‘Ouch!’

Well, let’s say the conversation was like that.

But to do this to a ten-year-old child?

“You!”

Han Ji-hyuk frowned deeply and grabbed the thin woman’s wrist, which was holding my shoulder.

“Ouch! What’s this?”

“I was the one who grabbed first.”

Han Ji-hyuk threw the thin woman’s hand away, and she pushed him back.

“Ah, really.”

Han Ji-hyuk looked very irritated but couldn’t do anything.

If the guards came in this situation, it would be easy to misunderstand.

Watching Han Ji-hyuk unable to respond and holding back his anger, I was speechless.

‘If we keep this up, we’ll be taken advantage of.’

My anger flared up.

I looked directly at the thin woman and said,

“You should apologize. You grabbed me without permission and pushed my companion. If you apologize, I’ll be lenient and forgive you.”

“What? Ha, what is this brat saying? It’s ridiculous.”

“Come here.”

It was Canelle speaking.

Canelle, who had thrown her cigarette on the ground, pushed past the thin woman and approached me.

Swish, swish.

Her walk exuded a powerful presence.

A delinquent’s aura.

Canelle came close to me, slightly bowed, and smiled.

Tap, tap.

She gently touched my cheek with her fingers and spoke in a sweet tone, mocking me.

“Hey, you. Is it right to talk back to an adult like that? You’re a very bad child. Very disrespectful and spoiled.”

“...”

“And I really dislike spoiled children.”

I just stared at Canelle, who was speaking with a raised corner of her mouth.

Seeing that I didn’t respond, Canelle became even more confident.

She thought I was intimidated by her attitude.

“...”

“I’ll teach you. Apologizing to an adult is like this—”

As she said this, Canelle grabbed the back of my head and forcefully pushed it towards the ground.

My head bent down sharply due to Canelle’s strength.

Han Ji-hyuk shouted in surprise.

“What are you doing!”

He then grabbed Canelle’s hand.

Canelle, whose hand was caught, started to scream as if she had been waiting for it.

“Ah! What are you doing!”

Then a man’s voice came from behind.

“What are you doing, brat!”

Turning around, I saw people had gathered, all with a thug-like appearance.

They were big and looked like they could cause trouble.

Even from a carriage, they didn’t seem like people who lived in the bright part of society.

Canelle, holding the wrist Han Ji-hyuk had grabbed, was breathing heavily.

It sounded like she was sobbing.

Then she called out to the men in a sad, whiny voice.

“Sob. Why did you come so late, big brothers~!”

Oh, I see.

I wondered why she was smoking here, but she was waiting for these men.

* * *

Thud, thud.

The men, with fierce eyes, slowly approached us.

Thump.

Han Ji-hyuk and I took a step back into the alley as the men approached.

Han Ji-hyuk nudged me and whispered.

“Hey, do something.”

“You should do it. You’re my servant!”

“I...! I’m weak.”

Han Ji-hyuk’s voice, which was about to be loud, quickly became a whisper when he realized the men were there.

Sigh.

He seemed strong just a moment ago, but now he’s useless.

‘That’s why I told you to train with Mosco.’

“Ah!”

Han Ji-hyuk’s eyes lit up as if he had a good idea.

“Summon a dragon. A dragon.”

I knew this would happen.

Are you crazy?

To summon Ragon for just some thugs?

Besides, Ragon is so huge that he can’t even fit in the capital.

Ragon is currently resting in a vast plateau called the ‘Abandoned Land.’

If I call him now, it will take a long time for him to arrive.

“It will take a few hours for him to come.”

“Ombre is there too!”

“Ombre isn’t an offensive type.”

He feeds on fear and shows it in the dark.

He doesn’t have any offensive weapons right now.

‘Sigh. I should have brought some guards, even though it’s troublesome...’

But then we would be less mobile, and I would have to report everything to my father, so I usually moved with just Han Ji-hyuk.

Besides, I didn’t expect this when I came to see a potential employee.

I closed my eyes tightly and regretted it.

‘I should have listened to my father...’

When we were pushed to the end of the alley,

Canelle pushed through the men and stood at the front of the group.

She crossed her arms and said,

“Kids, don’t be too scared. This is a lesson. Children usually become well-behaved after a harsh lesson.”

She tapped the back of her head and added,

“They learn to respect adults after shedding tears.”

Canelle smiled, pulling up the corners of her mouth like a villain.

She seemed so innocent earlier, but now she looks like a real villain...

She’s a woman with two faces.

“Yeah. Kid, we’ll teach you a lesson.”

The thug raised his hand towards us.

Seeing his thick hand flying towards us, I closed my eyes tightly.

The sight of a fist triggers a reflexive fear.

‘Sigh. If we return to the mansion, we’ll be dead!’

“...”

But something was strange.

Nothing happened even after some time.

I relaxed my eyes and opened one of them slightly.

‘Huh?’

The thug’s arm, which was about to hit us, was caught by someone.

A height of just over 170 cm.

A thin build.

A cap pulled down so the face was hidden.

Canelle, with wide eyes, shouted.

“Who are you!”

“You’re a kid. It’s wrong for so many adults to bully one child.”

“What’s it to you? Mind your own business and get lost!”

The man with the cap spoke in a flat tone.

“Get lost. You’re making a passerby angry.”

The thugs’ faces twisted.

“What? You’re being cocky!”

The thug who had tried to hit us shouted.

Swish, he swung his other fist.

The self-proclaimed ‘passerby’ dodged it with just a slight tilt of his head.

“Ooh!”

“O...”

Han Ji-hyuk and I watched with wide eyes.

We almost clapped.

“Dodged? You slippery bastard!”

Another thug ran at him.

The passerby took another step back to dodge.

Swish, swish.

No matter how roughly the thugs swung their fists, the man dodged them easily, making their faces turn red with anger.

They stomped their feet like angry gorillas.

“Just, attack in a group!”

At Canelle’s command, the thugs attacked the passerby simultaneously.

However,

‘It’s a rule that passersby are good at fighting, right?’

And my prediction was correct.

The passerby easily handled the five thugs who attacked in a group without showing any fear or hesitation.

When Thug 1 ran from the left, he put him in a headlock and hit him with his elbow.

“Aah!”

When Thug 2 ran from behind, he grabbed his collar and threw him over his shoulder.

“Au, snap out of it!”

When Thug 3 ran from the left, he tripped him and kicked him.

“Bro, my revenge... Ugh!”

When Thug 4 ran from the front, he kicked him in the stomach.

“Aah! As a man, how can you do this...!”

When Thug 5 and the barely conscious Thug 1 ran from both sides, he grabbed their necks and slammed their heads together.

“Gulp...”

“Here... is our territory...”

Thud, thud, thud.

The five thugs were knocked down by the passerby without any resistance.

Speed: 10 points!

Balance: 10 points!

Flexibility: 10 points!

A perfect 10 out of 10!

“Ooh!”

“Ooh!”

Clap, clap, clap!

In the end, Han Ji-hyuk and I clapped.