CYHC~04

Chapter 04

Elloze stared in shock at the man who had tumbled out onto the ground.

A moment later, a loud shout came from inside the door, followed by several rough-looking men storming out.

“You bastard! You’ve been running around causing trouble everywhere, haven’t you?”

Their fierce tattoos, intimidating appearances, and coarse manner of speaking made it obvious at a glance that they were involved in some very illicit business.

Embroidered onto their clothes was the emblem of the gambling house whose large sign she had seen when she entered the alley.

They were all guards from the gambling house.

The guards clenched their fists, cracking their knuckles menacingly.

“And then you had the nerve to say you couldn’t pay back the money you borrowed.”

“Calling yourself a baron while flirting with the female customers. I guess you must’ve gotten lucky on the battlefield and chopped off a few beastfolk heads.”

The guards snickered as they looked down at the man sprawled on the ground.

Then one of them spat on the ground and rolled up his sleeves.

“Well, how about we make sure you start begging to pay back what you owe? We can always use a little physical persuasion.”

Their main business was intimidating people who borrowed money from the gambling house and couldn’t pay it back, squeezing even more money out of them by force.

“……”

As the atmosphere grew increasingly threatening, Elloze slowly backed away.

She really needed to get out of here as quickly as possible.

Crack.

But then she stepped on a fallen branch lying on the ground, and the loud snap immediately drew the guards’ attention.

“Huh? Who are you?”

With all their eyes suddenly turning toward her, Elloze deliberately lowered her head and put on a hoarse voice.

“Oh, dear, I’m just passing through! Please, carry on with what you were doing.”

The talent she had developed deceiving the monks while living at the cabin was finally proving useful.

Seeing Elloze, who looked like a beggar and had a rough, hoarse voice, the guards waved her away.

“Tch. Scram.”

They seemed to have lost interest in her.

Just as Elloze turned around, thinking she needed to get away immediately—

Grab!

Something caught hold of her robe.

What?

She turned around and saw that the man who had been rolling around on the ground had somehow grabbed the hem of her robe with one hand.

Startled, Elloze quickly reached down and tried to yank herself free.

That was when the man lying on the ground spoke.

“Honey, don’t go!”

In an instant, the alley became so silent that even the footsteps of an ant might have been heard.

“……”

Elloze sincerely couldn’t remember ever being this dumbfounded in her entire life.

What did this man just call me?

Honey?

Honey?!

“Um, I think you have me confused with someo—”

“You were the one who told me to make a big score! I did all this for you!”

“What? When did I ever say that? I don’t know you!”

When Elloze shouted in shock, the guards glared at her.

“What? She’s a young woman.”

“But she definitely had a hoarse voice a moment ago……”

“Hey, you. Are you really this bastard’s wife?”

The men examined Elloze suspiciously.

A cold sweat trickled down her back.

They already seemed to think she was in league with the man.

“Well, this works out nicely. Beating him won’t make money magically appear out of nowhere.”

“Exactly. It’s lucky we’ve got another way to collect the money.”

The men looked at Elloze as though they had suddenly discovered a brand-new pile of gold coins.

“Hey, wife. If you want your husband to keep doing his job in bed, you’ll need to pay us fifty gold for what he borrowed, including interest.”

Whether he can do his job in bed or not, there’s no way I’m ever going to be in the same bed as that man!

“No, I’m telling you, I’m not his wif—”

“Honey! They said fifty gold! Hurry up and pay them! Are you going to abandon me?”

This isn’t about abandoning you or not! I never had anything to do with you in the first place!

“I don’t know you! Let me go!”

By then, the guards had begun approaching them.

Elloze tried to escape, but the insane man clinging to her was unbelievably strong.

She couldn’t break free.

Why is this man so strong?

Elloze had spent years doing hard physical work in the forest, so she was fairly confident in her own strength.

Of course, she knew she couldn’t overpower a fully grown, well-built man.

Still, breaking free from someone’s grip shouldn’t have been difficult.

Yet, for some reason, this man wouldn’t budge an inch.

Then the man holding Elloze lowered his head and whispered into her ear.

“Do you have fifty gold?”

The sudden voice against her ear sent a shiver down Elloze’s spine.

Not because she was disgusted.

His voice is incredible.

It was completely different from the low, pleading voice he had used while rolling around on the ground moments ago.

His voice was deep and low, yet so smooth that it seemed capable of draining all the strength from her body.

Elloze was momentarily mesmerized before quickly shaking her head.

This is no time for that.

Whether his voice sounded good or not, what had this man just asked?

Did he ask if I have fifty gold?

I do have it, but……

That wasn’t money she could afford to spend right now.

And even if she had it, what was he planning to do with it?

When Elloze didn’t answer, the man whispered again.

“If you have it, lend it to me for a moment. I promise I’ll pay you back.”

For a moment, Elloze almost answered yes without thinking.

She quickly shook her head and came to her senses.

What is wrong with this man?

Is he using some kind of magic?

How can someone make a person lose their senses just with their voice?

“What are you two whispering about? Let’s see your faces!”

While the two were whispering to each other, the guards reached out toward them.

Elloze hurriedly stepped backward.

I can’t let them find out who I am now!

The details of Camilla’s request would soon spread throughout the city.

A bounty of ten thousand gold was not something that could stay secret for long.

Before long, these guards would hear about it too.

And the moment they did, they would come after her.

As Elloze continued backing away, the guards, clearly irritated, reached for the hood covering her head.

Or rather, they tried to.

But the strange man stopped their hands.

As a result, it was his hood—not Elloze’s—that was pulled off.

“Gasp!”

“Huh?”

The gasps of Elloze and the guards rang out through the alley.

Soft black hair, smooth as though it had been spun from silk, swayed in the air.

And beneath it was a face.

That was the problem.

“Oh my……”

Elloze couldn’t help but let out a gasp of admiration.

His face had strong, masculine features beginning with a straight, handsome forehead.

Yet there was nothing excessive about any of it.

A sharp, defined nose.

A firm jawline.

And lips that curved slightly upward at the corners, almost like his eyes, making even those looking at him want to smile along with him.

Above all, his blue eyes seemed to possess a strange power that drew people in, gleaming even in the darkness of the alley.

He’s handsome.

For a moment, Elloze forgot the situation entirely and simply stared at his face.

He was truly a perfect-looking man.

Neither Elloze nor the guards could find anything to say in the face of such an impossibly handsome man appearing out of nowhere—more handsome than anyone Elloze had ever dreamed of, even in her dreams.

Meanwhile, the man’s hand slipped down to Elloze’s waist.

“Huh?”

By the time Elloze realized something was wrong, the money pouch that had been inside her pocket was already in his hand.

“Wait! That’s—!”

Elloze reached out to stop him, but the man was faster.

Jingle.

He tossed Elloze’s money pouch toward the guards.

The guards caught it and looked back and forth between the pouch and the man holding Elloze.

Then, as though finally coming to their senses, they hurriedly counted the money inside.

“Good. Exactly fifty gold! You’re lucky, you know!”

“Actually, if you don’t have any more money, why don’t you come work at our establishment? I’m sure the customers would love you.”

“Exactly. With that face and body, you could make a fortune!”

At those words, the man beside Elloze frowned as though he had just heard something utterly unacceptable.

Then he took Elloze’s hand, pressed a kiss to the back of it, and said,

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible. I’m the type who only submits to one person. Isn’t that right, honey?”

What on earth is this man talking about?

Submits? What kind of nonsense is that?

Elloze was just about to demand that he give her money back—handsome face or not—when she heard a low whistle.

What was that?

Elloze glanced around in confusion.

A flicker of surprise crossed the handsome man’s face as he continued holding her hand.

He tugged Elloze along and waved toward the rough-looking men.

“Well, you’ve got your money, so we’ll be going now. Come on, honey!”

Before Elloze even had time to regain her senses, she was being dragged out of the alley with him.

Another alley, not far from the one they had just escaped.

“……”

Elloze stood there in a daze.

Before she could even understand what had happened, her money had vanished.

And not merely vanished.

It had flown away—straight into a place from which it was never coming back.

The man waved a hand in front of Elloze’s blankly staring face.

“Hey, are you all right?”

He looked genuinely apologetic.

“Sorry for dragging you into that so suddenly. Things just…… happened to unfold that way. I’ll pay you back the fifty gold right away. We’ll have to walk a little, but if you come with me to my lodging in the western district, I can—hey, are you listening?”

Just then, the sound of bells rang out in the distance.

Dong. Dong. Dong. Dong. Dong.

Five tolls announcing five o’clock.

The sound jolted Elloze back to reality.

There was only one hour left until the government office closed.

I’m running out of time.

It wasn’t just the money.

She was running out of time, too.

Elloze turned and looked at the man.

She remembered what the guards had called him.

Baron.

They had definitely called him that.