Chapter 42: Meet You Again

Lucia felt a wave of helplessness and despair envelop her.

Several menacing men surrounded her, one seeming ready to grab her and drag her away.

At that moment, a young man’s voice rang out.

A youth appeared, facing the thugs. “Didn’t you hear? This lady doesn’t want to go with you.”

The lead thug sneered at him. “Who do you think you are? Acting tough? Believe me, our master’ll grind you to dust.”

Unfazed by the thug’s threats, the youth stepped forward and landed a hard punch to the man’s stomach.

The thug crumpled in pain.

His cronies lunged at the youth, but he took them down in moments.

Clutching his stomach, the lead thug stood, pointing at the youth. “Fine, you punk. Stay in Elan City if you dare. Our master’ll deal with you.”

With that, he and his men fled.

Lucia exhaled in relief, turning to the youth. “Thank you for saving me.”

“No problem.”

The youth, Ernst, edged closer.

The proximity made Lucia uneasy, and she stepped aside.

Ernst’s brow twitched faintly, but he flashed a warm smile. “Miss, I’m Ernst. Those guys are gone. Where do you live? I’ll escort you back.”

His words rekindled Lucia’s wariness.

He’d saved her, true, but his closeness felt off, and her gut screamed he wasn’t trustworthy.

Yet, after such a crowd-pleasing rescue, where Ernst, though average-looking, had fended off multiple thugs, the onlookers expected the classic hero-saves-damsel follow-up—reward or romance.

If Lucia rebuffed him, the crowd would turn sour.

As she hesitated, whispers rippled through the onlookers.

“What’s with this girl? Ignoring her savior?”

“She’s pretty, but her heart’s cold.”

“He risked his life, and she’s ungrateful. Some noble lady, huh? No manners.”

The murmurs grew, and with Ernst’s hand extended, Lucia was trapped.

She sensed his impure motives. Accepting his escort could lead to trouble, but rejecting him would make the crowd vilify her, and he might not let it go.

Suddenly, someone gripped her hand.

As she moved to pull away, she saw a familiar figure beside her.

Fratina.

Fratina held Lucia’s hand, which had instinctively reached out, and stared coldly at Ernst.

“Your acting’s a bit clumsy, don’t you think?”

She stepped in front of Lucia.

Seeing Fratina’s back, Lucia felt a surge of reassurance.

Ernst faltered briefly but regained his composure.

Fratina likely saw through his staged fight with the thugs, but so what?

The crowd couldn’t tell.

If he insisted she was a troublemaker, they’d turn on her.

“What… what are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

Ernst tried to push forward.

Fratina threw a punch, stopping just short of his face.

Ernst froze, terrified.

He hadn’t even reacted. If that punch landed, half his face would be ruined.

His heart raced, irritation flaring. “What’s your deal? I saved this lady and was about to escort her home. You here to make trouble?”

Fratina ignored him, addressing the crowd. “You saw that, right? If my punch had landed, he’d be flying. He can’t even handle a woman like me, let alone those thugs.”

“He’s in cahoots with them, putting on a show to distract you. If he escorts this girl, who knows where he’ll take her?”

Her words woke the crowd.

“Now that you mention it, I’ve heard Ernst’s got a bad rep.”

“Oh, I remember! He stiffed a tavern for drinks.”

“One of those ‘servants’ works at the brick factory, doesn’t he?”

Murmurs spread.

Exposed, Ernst couldn’t stay, no matter his thick skin.

Cursing his bad luck, he prepared to leave.

But he wanted to salvage his reputation. Even without money or beauty, he could gain some fame.

“I don’t know why you think I’m like that. I saved this lady out of pure justice…”

“But since you’ve said all this, I just hope you get her home safely.”

He flashed Lucia a casual smile, giving her goosebumps, and turned to go.

Fratina stopped him. “Not so fast. We’re not done.”

Ernst glared coldly.

Her strength was real, but he wasn’t a pushover. If she pushed further, he’d fight back.

“What more do you want?”

“Apologize.”

Fratina stepped aside, revealing Lucia.

“You and your gang bullied a lone girl. Now that you’re caught, you think you can just walk away like nothing happened?”

“Apologize, or I’ll drag you all to the guardhouse.”

Fratina’s words were icy and firm, no trace of a jest.