Chapter 29

I am now on my way to see beautiful old books with Nonna, guided by Mr. Zachary. Mr. Zachary changed the sign on the shop to "Closed" and is guiding us.

"Madam, what about the coachman? Isn't he coming with you?"

"Today, we decided to walk for some exercise."

"I see. The room where the old books are kept is just over there. Please, this way."

Mr. Zachary walked in front of us, but it seemed we were not getting any closer. We had moved quite far from South District 6th Street and were now at the outskirts of South District. I called out to Nonna a little past a corner.

"Nonna, it's time to take Cibie for a walk, isn't it?"

"Cibie? ... Oh, that's right. Unfortunately, I have to go back first."

"I'll be back soon too."

"Okay. I'll do my best with Cibie's walk."

Mr. Zachary turned around, apparently trying to bring Nonna back, but she was already gone. She must have jumped over the fence and hidden inside.

"Young lady, you're quite fast on your feet."

"Yes, very. Mr. Zachary, is the place where the books are kept still far?"

Mr. Zachary's eyes, which usually curved into a crescent when he smiled, looked straight at me. His eyes, which only showed a smile, were cold.

"I couldn't catch the girl, but I'll take you."

"What do you mean? Aren't you going to show me the books?"

"How long do you plan to act? You, the dog of the royal family."

Mr. Zachary, who had suddenly changed, said this and grabbed my upper arm tightly, brandishing a knife.

"You don't want a big scar on your pretty face, do you? Walk quietly."

"Stop it! What do you mean by 'the dog of the royal family'? Please let me go!"

"Shut up, I said."

I pretended to be scared. I wanted to know where he was taking me.

Mr. Zachary and I were so close that if anyone saw us, they might have thought we were a loving couple.

But there was no one around. This area was about to be widened into a street, and old wooden houses marked for demolition lined the area. Signs prohibiting entry into vacant houses were posted everywhere.

Eventually, I was pushed into a vacant house.

Inside were four men who looked like they were up to no good. They were playing cards at a table and didn't seem surprised when I was pushed in, just leering.

"What is this place? Mr. Zachary, what do you intend to do with me?"

"It's you, isn't it? The one who snitched to the knights about Goodwill Trading. You were watching from the carriage during the raid, weren't you? And you always checked our bookshelves."

"What are you talking about?"

"What, indeed. Do I need to explain it to you? I'm going to kill you because you're in the way!"

With that, Mr. Zachary swung his knife at me.

I quickly dodged the knife. Surprised by my movement, Mr. Zachary and the four men stood up, blocking the windows and doors to prevent my escape.

"Brave lady, what will you do now?"

Mr. Zachary smiled thinly, and the men laughed in a creepy way.

Where is Nonna now? She must have realized it was an emergency from the absurd "Cibie's walk" and hopefully called the guard or the knights. I had a knife strapped to my thigh under my dress, but I preferred to have these men arrested rather than killed.

One of the men tried to grab my arm. I pretended to step back and used the momentum to elbow his face, breaking his nose.

The man screamed and crouched down.

This triggered the remaining four to attack me. I kicked one in the stomach, sending him flying, and delivered a spinning kick to Zachary's temple.

Suddenly, the door opened. It was Nonna.

Huh? She came back?

I thought we had communicated with our eyes before parting, "Call the guards" and "Okay." The men stopped and looked at Nonna with exasperated faces.

"Huh? Who's this kid?"

"She's the girl's daughter. Perfect, catch her."

Mr. Zachary, still crouched and holding his head, ordered the men.

At that moment, Nonna jumped up and kicked the chest of the man on her right, then turned and punched the face of the man in front of her. She then assumed a Shen martial arts stance, made a slightly scary face, and spoke in a low voice.

"Del Dorgar, messenger from hell! Here comes the sidekick!"

Oh.

(Now, I'll take care of the rest), I thought, but Nonna attacked the men with incredible speed.

She delivered a spinning kick to the stomach of the man closest to her. When the man bent forward, she jumped onto his neck, used the momentum to spin and throw him to the ground, and slammed his head into the floor. Oh, that's dangerous; if she failed, she could break her own neck and die.

Next, she punched Zachary in the chest, causing him to struggle for breath. She then moved behind him and struck the back of his head with a knife hand. As she turned, she delivered a knife hand to the throat of another man. One wrong step and she could have broken his throat and killed him. I wondered if she was avoiding vital points.

She knocked out the remaining two men with kicks to the chest, and in no time, all the men were on the floor.

Nonna stood there, looking very satisfied.

"Let's tie them up quickly, Mom."

"Sure."

We stripped the unconscious men of their pants and used the knives to tear them into strips. We bound their hands and feet tightly with the fabric. When one of the men tried to get up, Nonna kneed him in the stomach, knocking him out again. As I tied up the men, I spoke to Nonna.

"I want you to bring the guards."

"Whether it's the guards, the knights, or Mike, someone will come."

"Why? You didn't go to call them."

"I didn't, but red smoke is rising from the roof of this house. Someone will come."

"Why do you have that?"

"When I returned, I won a training session with Mike. It was a reward. He said that if you pull the string attached with wax, it will ignite and produce red smoke. If it's visible from the castle, the Third or Second Knights will come."

"Oh, that pretty red ball. I see, that's what it does..."

While chatting with Nonna, we heard the sound of galloping horses approaching at full speed. The door was pushed open, and a man wearing a black knit cap and a scarf covering his face from the eyes down burst in.

"Are you okay! Oh, you've already taken care of everyone, haven't you?"

"That's Mike, isn't it? Yes, I've taken care of them. These people are accomplices in the forgery of contracts. The main culprit is this bookstore owner who calls himself Zachary. I don't know if that's his real name."

"Right, I'll get the details later. The Third Knights are on their way, so would you like to go home before they see your face?"

"Yes, I will. Excuse us."

Nonna and I quickly left the vacant house. We passed the Third Knights, who were galloping in, making a loud noise.

I suppressed my urge to laugh and maintained a blank expression as I spoke to Nonna.

"Nonna, can I say one thing?"

"I'm sorry! But I really wanted to try being Del Dorgar."

"Wasn't the 'sidekick' part unnecessary? Del Dorgar is fine."

"Huh? That's what you're worried about? Hehe, Mom, you're so weird."

"Oh, really?"

We held hands, laughed, and chatted as we walked home.