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– CHAPTER 10…………………………………………………….. –
“Yan, may I stop by for a moment?”
“I will handle it.”
Cheroyan said with a hardened expression.
“No, I’ll handle it.”
Gon
The moment Temno’s name was mentioned, he couldn’t leave it to anyone else.
When he looked toward the source of the sound, it was a rarely used alley, so it seemed fine for him to step in.
“Isn’t it unwise to reveal your identity?”
“I can handle it without revealing who I am, so don’t worry. I want to see for myself who is throwing around Temno’s name.”
“Then let’s go together. I can take care of it, so don’t act rashly.”
Melina nodded, and she and Cheroyan headed into the alley.
As they went deeper, the sound of pounding blows and groans grew louder.
“I told you to listen when I spoke to you.”
“If you want to make money here, you follow the rules of this place. You’ve got guts, kid.”
Inside the alley, three young men were surrounding someone and beating him.
The one being hit was in such bad shape that he couldn’t even scream—only weak groans escaped him.
“Hah, this guy’s really tough. Do you even know what happens if you mess with Temno? Huh?”
Not just “you get crushed”—you disappear from this world without a trace.
Melina lifted one corner of her mouth slightly as she looked at the thugs spouting nonsense without understanding anything.
“Hey, take what’s in that guy’s arms.”
“N-no… this… is… mom…”
One of the thugs tried to snatch something from the man on the ground, who muttered weakly while gasping for breath.
“Shan.”
At Melina’s quiet call, he appeared.
“Teach those men exactly what Temno is.”
Shan lowered his head toward Melina, removed his mask, and walked toward them.
“Yan, let’s step back.”
Melina and Cheroyan hid where the thugs couldn’t see them.
“Hey, you three. Did you just say Temno?”
“What?”
The thugs turned with ugly expressions at Shan’s question.
They flinched slightly at the sight of him wrapped in black, then sneered when they saw no one else behind him.
“Quit messing around and get lost.”
“This is our territory. Mind your own business.”
“There’s always idiots trying to act like heroes. If you knew we were Temno, you should’ve left quietly when we told you to.”
At the name Temno, Shan let out a small laugh.
“Hey, what are you laughing at? Fine. I was going to let you go, but not anymore.”
One of the three stepped forward arrogantly.
“You say you’re Temno, but you don’t even recognize me.”
That meant they had nothing to do with Temno at all.
“And who are you? Why should we know you?”
The thugs looked at him like he was ridiculous.
“The captain of Heukrang.”
“What? Don’t make me laugh. You?”
One of them scanned Shan up and down and snickered.
“Now even random trash is pretending to be Temno.”
“Hey, didn’t you hear us? We are Temno. Where do you think you’re acting up?”
Another thug tilted his head arrogantly.
The third frowned and reached to grab Shan by the collar—
But his hand never reached him. Instead, his body slammed straight into the ground.
“Ugh!”
The impact was so strong he curled up and groaned.
“What… what the hell?”
The remaining thugs looked back and forth between Shan and their fallen companion, eyes wide.
Then they slowly began to step backward.
“Those who impersonate Temno deserve death.”
Before Shan’s words even faded into the air, the other two were also thrown to the ground.
“Heukrang.”
Melina, who had been silently watching, called the name. At her signal, several masked figures appeared.
“Take them. They must pay for impersonating Temno.”
At Melina’s command, Heukrang moved in perfect coordination.
Soon after, the thugs disappeared without a trace.
“Shan, good work.”
Shan lowered his head, put his mask back on, and disappeared again.
“Is the person who was beaten okay?”
Melina hurried over to the victim.
The one curled up on the ground was a boy who looked just over ten years old.
He had been beaten so badly that his whole body was a mess.
“Hey, can you hear me? Stay with me.”
The child struggled to open his eyes but couldn’t manage it.
“The bad guys are gone now. You’re safe.”
Perhaps reassured by her gentle voice—or simply out of exhaustion—the boy’s strength drained away completely.
He seemed to have lost consciousness.
Melina looked around for a clinic, but there didn’t seem to be one nearby.
“There’s a clinic not far from here. Let’s go.”
Carefully, Cheroyan lifted the child and led the way with familiarity.
“Your Highness, welcome. What patient have you brought today?”
Inside the clinic hidden in the alley, an elderly doctor greeted Cheroyan warmly.
“A child. He was beaten by thugs and seems to have lost consciousness. Please examine him.”
Cheroyan gently placed the boy on a bed.
“Oh dear, there’s hardly a spot unharmed. Please sit for a moment, Your Highness. I’ll take care of him.”
The doctor examined the boy carefully and began applying medicine.
“You seem to come here often.”
From how naturally Cheroyan found the place—and how familiar the doctor was with him—this clearly wasn’t his first visit.
“Only occasionally.”
Cheroyan avoided her gaze and brushed it off.
What business would he have in a place like this? There should be an imperial physician stationed at the ducal estate.
Melina looked at him with interest.
“I’ve finished treating him. Those bastards even broke his leg. I’ve set it with a splint, but he’ll struggle for a while.”
The doctor looked at the boy sadly.
“Take care of him until all his wounds heal. And the child’s mother seems unwell as well—please treat her too.”
“The mother is injured too?”
“No. The boy said he was going to use today’s earnings to buy medicine for his mother. He got beaten trying to protect it.”
So he had remembered that and tried to protect it…
Melina looked at him quietly, surprised by such attentiveness.
“Oh my, I see. What a good child.”
The doctor gently stroked the boy’s head.
“By the way, Your Highness, who is this person you came with?”
The doctor looked at Melina with bright eyes.
“Oh… my fiancée.”
For a moment, the words “my fiancée” struck Melina’s ears.
She had heard it before as the Emperor’s fiancée, but somehow it felt different now.
When the Emperor said it, she felt nothing. But when Cheroyan said it, it strangely felt sweet.
“Fiancée? Then she must be the future Duchess?”
The doctor’s eyes widened.
“So the rumors weren’t false. That Your Highness is in love.”
Melina felt slightly flustered by the doctor’s moist, emotional gaze.
“I was worried you might never marry, but to find a partner like this… I can finally sleep in peace.”
It seemed the doctor and Cheroyan had a long-standing relationship.
Seeing the doctor happily holding Cheroyan’s hand warmed Melina’s heart as well.
“Oh dear, apologies for the late greeting, Your Highness. To bring such an important guest to a humble place like this…”
“It’s alright. The clinic is very well maintained.”
“It’s all thanks to Your Highness. We used to set up tents and move around, but you built this proper facility.”
The doctor looked around proudly.
“And thanks to generous support, we can provide free treatment. Not only that, but you also bring us children like today and ask us to help them.”
“Enough.”
Cheroyan coughed awkwardly.
“Your Highness, last time the Grand Duke brought in a child who nearly got hit by a carriage. He may look stoic, but he is actually very kind.”
The doctor continued talking despite Cheroyan’s attempts to stop him.
Melina smiled softly at the scene, as if a grandfather were proudly introducing his grandson-in-law.
“Stop talking nonsense and take good care of the child.”
With that, Cheroyan took Melina’s hand and left the clinic. His steps were slightly hurried.
Melina reflexively tried to pull her hand away at the sudden contact, but realizing it was Cheroyan, she stayed still.
Her hand wasn’t small, yet it fit completely inside his.
The warmth from their joined hands spread through her chest.
Before long, they reached the central road and walked slowly, taking in the surroundings.
“It seems you care a lot about your territory’s people.”
It was Melina who spoke first.
“At the very least, I didn’t want anyone in my territory to be unable to receive treatment because of money. Especially children—many of them lack proper parental care. That’s what worries me.”
Cheroyan spoke calmly, but Melina felt as if she had glimpsed his wounds.
Perhaps his childhood—losing his mother early and living under his father’s indifference—had been projected onto the children of his lands.
“These children are lucky, then.”
Melina gently tightened her grip on their joined hands.
She felt him flinch for a moment, but pretending not to notice, she kept holding on until he firmly held her hand back.
Walking through the midday streets, they shared each other’s warmth through their clasped hands.
