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Chapter 21
Bread Four: When Whales Fight, the Shrimp Gets Crushed (3)
“Ahhh!”
Instinctively raising her arms to protect her head, Ellie let out a short scream.
Thanks to the physical shield she had trained well, she wasn’t seriously injured—but without it, her bones would have definitely broken.
Her heart pounded from shock.
She couldn’t take it.
Ellie jumped up, overcome with emotion.
“Throwing someone like that doesn’t… help… um…”
“Hide.”
What? From what?
Before she could even voice the question, it was answered. Just as Edmund, who had been standing in front of her, suddenly vanished, a crashing sound rang out. Startled, Ellie couldn’t even scream and gaped.
“Ugh…”
Ban had grabbed Edmund by the collar and slammed him against the wall. Edmund’s feet didn’t even touch the floor.
Ban, wearing a terrifying expression Ellie had never seen before, turned his eyes to her.
“Ellie, are you okay?”
“Y-yes…”
“It’s dangerous. Go upstairs to the second floor. I’ll deal with this one, so don’t worry.”
The wall Edmund had crashed into was the wall of her shop. Ellie was horrified. The wall—cracked!
Even while being held by the collar, Edmund spoke nonchalantly.
“You’re the intruder here, Ban.”
“Shut up. I didn’t ask you.”
“So, you’ve finally decided you’re ready to die? All this time, you were avoiding me, and now you’ve got courage?”
“I told you to shut up.”
Ban pressed his thick forearm against Edmund’s thin neck, baring his teeth and speaking in a low, threatening tone.
“I told you. Don’t ever harm the people around me again. I didn’t forgive you, Edmund. Back then, I just let it slide because too many people would get caught up in it.”
“Who’s talking nonsense now? Me? Damn, forgiveness? I can’t accept that crap.”
Edmund grinned wickedly and clenched his fist. A blue pattern appeared on the back of his hand, glowing faintly.
“After seeing you hurt Ellie on top of being a cousin, you thought I’d just stand by?”
“Bullshit. What did I even do? You’re the one who barged in and threatened people.”
The ice that had sprouted vividly blue struck Ban’s waist. Even feeling the cold, Ban didn’t flinch, instead smirking.
“What’s the hesitation? Go ahead, stab me like before.”
“I don’t remember exactly where I stabbed that perverted bastard back then.”
Ban, unable to contain his anger, pressed harder, and Edmund swung his arm, encrusted in blue ice, at him.
A flash and a deafening crash erupted.
Ellie covered her ears and screamed.
Why are they causing chaos in my shop… damn it!
Smoke rose thickly, obscuring her view, but she could see cracks in the precious walls and broken flooring, all covered by ice. No, this can’t be.
‘The basement has insanely expensive fermentation and refrigeration rooms!’
The two men were entangled.
Ban was pinned underneath, with an ice arrow from Edmund embedded in his side. Edmund, straddling Ban’s waist, had Ban’s dagger pressed beneath his neck, cutting some hair and drawing blood.
Ellie forced herself to stand on her trembling legs. Come on, my useless legs, don’t fail me now!
“So, it was you who killed Dean.”
“That bastard, why are you speaking like you just found out? You were convinced I was the culprit all along.”
Edmund gritted his teeth.
“Back then, I trusted you. I thought of you as a friend.”
“Cut the act, it’s making me sick.”
“……”
“You love your friends, huh? Friends? You’d throw your cousin to be raped, call that a friend?”
“What?”
“Oh, so because the young master called the slave a ‘friend,’ you should’ve been grateful no matter what happened? Too bad. I’d rather bite my tongue and die than be crushed by a filthy bastard like that.”
“What… what are you talking about?”
“Don’t play innocent. It doesn’t suit you. You knew everything, didn’t you?”
“Wait, Edmun…”
“I never did anything needing your forgiveness, and even if I had, I wouldn’t need it. You’re a lying hypocrite.”
Two spheres of white light appeared next to Edmund’s head.
‘It’s okay. I’ll protect you.’
‘What’s okay? Get lost.’
‘Haha, your foul mouth is amusing.’
‘Everything’s amusing, young master bastard.’
‘The young master is the young master, and bastard is bastard. What’s a young master bastard?’
‘For some reason, “young master bastard” suits you.’
‘Is that a compliment?’
‘Do you think it’s a compliment? It’s an insult.’
Had Edmund not been swayed by useless words about friends, he wouldn’t have been so desperate.
After being toyed with and still trying to trust humans, he realized how foolish he had been.
He’d been manipulated by lies and yet was angry as if he’d been betrayed. Ridiculous.
‘I should have killed him already. Even if I got chased afterward.’
Maurice had advised not to lose sight of the present over ancient grudges, but seeing Ban act like he had a right to vengeance made blood boil.
‘Ban said I could do as I pleased if he gave me the key.’
‘Poor thing, did you actually believe him?’
He called me a friend while throwing me to his cousin.
‘It’s mine now. I can use it however I want.’
‘But he’s aggressive. You’ll need to tame him.’
‘I’ll tame him myself. Don’t interfere. You said I could have him.’
A young hypocrite asserting ownership over a ‘slave’ to his parents.
I thought you were my savior.
Yeah, when did I start calculating loss before it happened?
For Edmund, the stale grudge was the core of his trauma.
Ban looked dazed, like he’d lost his fighting spirit, so it didn’t take much effort.
One word could end it all. Just as Edmund parted his lips—
Cold water poured over Edmund’s head.
Ellie instinctively realized that stepping between the two men would be suicide.
Even Ban, made of solid muscle, would be pierced like soft tofu. Those round lights, looking like pretty fireflies, would melt her flesh like cotton candy if touched.
Damn it, who makes something that dangerous in my shop? I’ll kill them…
Her head heated with anger; the shop was already a mess from the two men tangling. Ellie grabbed a bucket full of water from the kitchen.
Maintaining a distance, she poured it toward them.
The heated tension immediately cooled. Startled—or perhaps just bewildered—the two men looked at Ellie in blank shock.
“What. Why. What.”
Ellie fumed.
“You two have limits even when causing trouble in someone else’s business, you criminals…”
“Criminals?”
“No, Ellie, it’s not—”
“I don’t care why you’re fighting. But why, after living peacefully all this time, did you come to my shop and go crazy? Do you know how hard I worked for this shop?! Who the hell are you to destroy it?”
Ban scrambled upright, drenched, water dripping from his hair.
“Do it outside—fight, kill, whatever. Get out of my sight.”
Edmund scoffed.
“I didn’t start it. You saw him trying to kill me, right?”
“Look at what you did to my floor first.”
Ice covered the cracked wooden floor. Edmund fell silent. Ellie glared at Ban.
“Look at your broken wall.”
“S-sorry.”
“If an apology could solve everything, why would laws exist?”
“I’ll compensate… make it like before…”
“Just leave.”
“Excuse me?”
“Leave.”
“But Ellie…”
“Do I need to tell you twice?”
Ellie pointed sharply, using a fierce authoritative tone. Ban hesitated and slowly backed off. She even kicked his calf to push him out.
Ban couldn’t resist the force, and retreated step by step.
“Go! I said, get out!”
“Ellie, but, what about Edmund?”
“I’ll handle him. Now get out! Do you want bloodstains in my shop? Go get treated, you ridiculous psycho! If you die here, this place becomes a crime scene!”
Indeed, blood was slowly spilling from the hole in Ban’s torso. His face was pale.
Ellie pushed Ban out and slammed the door.
Edmund chuckled.
It wasn’t every day you saw a girl kick a sturdy knight out of her shop.
But when Ellie, with cold eyes, turned to look at him, he shivered involuntarily.
‘Why am I dealing with a girl like that?’
Edmund’s bruised pride made him raise his chin defiantly.
Ellie’s angry glare said:
“What did you do to be so confident?”
“I’m a victim too.”
“Ridiculous. You brought the knight here on purpose. You intended to fight, didn’t you?”
“I did plan to kill him.”
“Damn it, trying to turn someone’s shop into a crime scene…”
“You just restore it to how it was.”
Edmund crooked his fingers. The ice melted instantly, and the broken, dented floor was as good as new.
He even fixed the wall—a rare act of generosity from him.
“Satisfied now?”
Ellie glanced at the restored floor and wall, sighed deeply, and, still furious, approached Edmund.
Edmund, thinking he was losing if he stepped back, didn’t flinch.
Ellie placed her hand on Edmund’s neck.
“Don’t act proud while bleeding like that.”
“……”
“Don’t pretend you’re fine. If it hurts, admit it. Come here, I’ll treat you.”
Even trying to act tough, he looked like an eight-year-old, soaked and pitiful.
Ellie, quietly cheering internally at the restored shop, grabbed Edmund’s hand and led him to the second floor.
He followed obediently, wearing a subtly awkward expression.
