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Chapter 6
“You heard me calling you, and you ignored me? Huh?”
Startled, I turned around and saw two men I had never seen before.
“Miss, you’re Ena, right? From the Chloe Theater Company?”
“I told you it was her. How common could that hair color and pretty face be? But seeing her up close, she’s really beautiful. If my wife looked like this, I’d have treated her like a queen.”
The men admired my face, but I didn’t feel pleased.
It didn’t seem like they had stopped me with innocent intentions.
This feels disgusting.
Who were they to judge and evaluate me?
With a sigh, I opened my mouth. For now, I decided to pretend I didn’t know what they were talking about.
“No, I’m not. I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
“Do you take us for fools? We went to watch that boring play regularly because of you! Do you know how much money we’ve spent on you?”
“That’s right! My wife nagged me nonstop because I wasn’t bringing money home. But I still paid to watch your performances!”
Huh?
Listening to them, I felt dumbfounded.
Had these people really been spending money on performances while neglecting their living expenses?
“And you, huh? You wouldn’t even meet anyone unless they were some noble sponsor! Do you know I ended up with gambling debts because of you?”
“No, but how is that my fault—”
“You wouldn’t even see me unless I gave you gifts on the same level as those noble bastards! Do you know how hard I worked to buy a necklace for you? Meanwhile, you were throwing yourself at noblemen!”
“This idiot couldn’t even buy the necklace in the end. He just ended up drowning in debt.”
“Shut up! You’re no different!”
My head spun with dizziness.
I already knew to some extent what kind of life Ena had lived. I’d even been forced to deal with the consequences of her actions.
But were the men’s actions really Ena’s fault, as they claimed?
They chose all of this themselves, didn’t they?
He hadn’t even managed to buy the necklace and had only accumulated debt.
“Anyway, now that we’ve finally met you, it’s time to settle our grievances.”
“That’s right. We should at least get back the money we’ve spent on you.”
As they spoke, the men moved closer.
I stepped backward until a hard wall touched my back.
Ah, cornered.
I looked at the two men.
Both were larger than me and looked quite intimidating.
The situation was definitely unfavorable, but…
I’m suddenly grateful to my parents.
Thinking of my parents from my previous life, I tightened my grip on my parasol.
They had always believed that the world was dangerous and that I needed to know how to protect myself.
Thanks to them, I had studied kendo continuously from childhood into adulthood. I wasn’t completely helpless.
The skirt and heels were inconvenient, but that didn’t matter. The parasol would do most of the work.
I just need to buy some time. Then I’ll run.
After calmly organizing my thoughts, I took a deep breath and prepared to swing the parasol.
Then—
“Over there.”
A stranger’s voice pierced my ears.
At the same time, my hand froze.
I turned toward the sound and saw an extremely tall man.
I can’t see his face clearly.
He wore a black hat pulled low, making it difficult to see his hair color or features.
But because of that, his broad frame stood out even more.
Maybe because he was tall and well-proportioned, the long black cloak that reached below his calves suited him remarkably well.
I had occasionally seen people wearing cloaks before, but none of them gave off this feeling.
For some reason, this man possessed a presence that ordinary people lacked.
He’d look great as an actor. No, maybe more like a model.
While I stared at him in a daze, he approached and asked,
“What is going on here?”
His deep voice was pleasant to hear.
That was my impression, anyway.
To the thugs, however, it seemed threatening.
They knew they weren’t exactly in the right.
They flinched briefly before waving their hands casually.
“W-What do you mean what’s going on? Nothing’s happening. Just keep walking and stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
“That’s right. Don’t make trouble for yourself by interfering in our business.”
“Does the lady over there feel the same way?”
“I told you to move along! And why would a woman’s opinion matter?”
One of the thugs grabbed my arm again.
Fortunately, it wasn’t the arm holding the parasol.
“You seem like the nosy type, so I’ll explain. This woman is my wife, and she’s been acting up. I called my friend over to teach her a lesson. Stay out of a married couple’s affairs.”
Listening quietly, I was amazed by the audacity.
“Who is your wife? I’ve never seen you before today. You’ve been blocking my path and harassing me this whole time.”
“You insolent bitch! I complimented you because you’re pretty, and now you’ve lost your mind!”
His face turned red with rage as he raised his hand.
The threatening gesture made it obvious he intended to slap me.
I tightened my grip on the parasol.
Just as his hand tilted forward, ready to strike, I swung the parasol.
No—
I tried to.
Thud!
“Argh!”
The thug who had been about to hit me screamed and clutched the back of his head.
…I hadn’t done anything yet.
Blinking in surprise, I noticed something black lying on the ground.
A scabbard? That wasn’t there a moment ago… Could it be?
Turning my head, I saw the man in the hat holding a gleaming longsword.
A belt with an empty scabbard hung at his waist beneath the parted cloak.
So he threw it.
The cloak had hidden it, but apparently he had been carrying a sword.
More importantly, is it really okay to walk around carrying a real sword like that?
Of course, I’d handled real swords while learning kendo.
The theater company also had swords, but those were only stage props.
Seeing an actual weapon made me strangely nervous.
“Y-You bastard!”
The thug struck by the scabbard angrily pulled a dagger from his clothes.
The other thug did the same.
They had weapons too?
Wow. I had really been in danger.
The realization hit me just as the two men charged at the stranger.
Seeing that, I threw aside my parasol and picked up the scabbard from the ground.
Even if he had a sword, he was still facing two armed opponents.
I have to help him.
I might get seriously hurt myself, but I couldn’t ignore someone who had helped me.
The scabbard is sturdier than a parasol, and getting hit by it must hurt.
Holding the scabbard, I ran behind one of the thugs.
I raised my arm high, preparing to strike the back of his head.
At that moment, the man—who had been standing still until now—suddenly reversed his sword and grabbed the blade itself before moving with incredible speed.
“Ghk!”
One thug took a blow to the stomach and doubled over, coughing violently.
“You bastard—Gah!”
The second thug, enraged by what happened to his friend, suffered the same fate.
The thugs groaned in pain, but the man wasn’t finished.
Thud! Thud!
With several heavy impacts, both men collapsed completely onto the ground.
“Wow…”
It felt like watching a scene from a movie.
How can someone move like that while carrying a longsword?
I’d seen countless competitors in kendo tournaments, but this man’s movements were astonishing.
He moved so quickly that for a moment I thought I saw white light flash from his hands.
The thugs he had struck could do nothing but twitch on the ground.
Serves them right.
As I enjoyed their misfortune, the man approached and extended a hand toward me.
“Could you return the scabbard?”
“Oh! Here you go!”
“Thank you.”
I handed it over, and he took it.
For a brief instant, I noticed how much larger his hand was than mine.
Big hands. Well, considering how tall he is, that’s not surprising.
As I watched him sheath the sword and reattach it to his belt, I remembered how he had been holding the blade while fighting.
Is his hand okay?
Even with gloves on, it seemed like he should have been cut.
“Um…”
“Um…”
The two of us spoke at the same time.
“Ah, you go first.”
“No, please, you first.”
“It’s nothing important. You can go ahead.”
“Then I won’t refuse. Would you mind staying here until these men are handed over to the city guards?”
“Of course.”
Was he asking because a witness would be needed?
Either way, I agreed readily.
Considering he had helped me, giving testimony was the least I could do.
“Thank you. I’ll fire a signal flare to summon the guards. It’s not dangerous, so don’t worry.”
“Ah, okay.”
When I nodded, he pulled out a small cylinder with a short fuse and a box of matches.
That’s a signal flare?
The fuse burned down, and something shot into the sky.
A moment later—
Bang!
A cloud of red smoke spread across the heavens.
So it’s smoke, not light. I expected fireworks.
It wasn’t what I had imagined, which was slightly disappointing.
Still, the drifting red smoke looked beautiful.
As I watched the sky, I remembered something Yoo-young had said during a university festival.
“So-eun, look! Our tuition money is exploding in the sky!”
I’d scolded her for ruining the romantic mood.
Now it was all just a memory.
“Will you tell me now?”
“Huh? Tell you what?”
“You said there was something you wanted to ask earlier.”
“Oh, right!”
Clapping my hands together lightly, I looked at his hand with concern.
“When you were hitting those men, you grabbed the sword blade itself. I was worried you might have been injured.”
“If that’s what you’re concerned about, I’m fine. The gloves are sturdy enough that ordinary impacts won’t damage them.”
“Really?”
Since I still looked doubtful, he silently held out his left hand.
Just as he said, the glove wasn’t damaged at all.
Not even a scratch.
The sounds from those blows had been so loud that I was sure his hand must have been cut.
“I’m glad you weren’t hurt.”
“The gloves are made from the hide of a Berro. They aren’t easily torn.”
The man seemed about to add something more but closed his mouth again.
I was curious about something else.
“The hide of a Berro? What’s that?”
“A type of magical beast. Its hide and scales are extremely durable, so they’re often used in armor.”
“I see.”
It was the first time I’d heard of such a thing, so I listened carefully.
Magical beast or not, the fact that its hide could withstand a sword edge…
I guess that’s what you’d expect in a fantasy world.
“Could I touch it for a moment? I’m curious.”
“…Go ahead.”
He held out his hand again.
I lightly touched the glove with my fingertips.
“It’s soft…”
I had expected it to be hard.
The texture was surprisingly pleasant.
I wanted to keep touching it, but that would have been rude, so I let go.
After all, we had only just met.
“Thank you.”
The man silently withdrew his hand.
Since I hadn’t really expected a response, I simply went to retrieve the parasol I had thrown aside.
More importantly, magical beasts…
Once again, I was reminded that I was in another world.
Everything felt so vivid that I often forgot this was the world of a novel.
And magical beasts didn’t even exist in the capital.
The capital was protected by barriers created and maintained by the temple, so magical beast attacks never occurred there.
Outside the capital, however, things were different.
There were limits to how many barriers could be erected.
In provincial territories, barriers usually only extended as far as the lord’s castle.
Beyond that, there was no protection.
Fortunately, this world possessed a mysterious power called Aura.
People could supposedly transform the energy within their bodies into attacks or defensive techniques.
Of course, it wasn’t a power anyone could use.
One needed natural talent and years of effort.
Among those who mastered it, the most exceptional were selected for the Royal Knights.
The Royal Knights regularly traveled throughout the Empire exterminating magical beasts, which was one reason the world remained relatively safe.
Why did I know so much about them?
Because Caleb Egon, the male lead, is their commander!
I had to admit it.
One reason I loved The Flower of Elpida wasn’t just because the story was entertaining.
It was because of Caleb Egon.
He was cool.
That didn’t mean I had any thoughts like:
“Since I’ve entered the novel, I should seduce the male lead!”
He’s someone else’s man.
The male lead already had a female lead.
Even if I wasn’t attached to the pairing, it still felt wrong somehow.
Besides, since this is the novel’s world, they’ll probably end up together just like in the story.
While fiddling with my parasol, I glanced at the man standing beside me.
His swordsmanship had been incredible.
Would Caleb, the male lead, be even better?
Considering the novel repeatedly stated that no one could oppose him when he used Aura, I couldn’t help being curious.
I’d like to see him once.
Since I’d already transmigrated into the novel, I wanted at least one look at the famous handsome male lead.
But that’s probably impossible.
I quickly gave up on the idea.
Caleb was the commander of the renowned Royal Knights.
I was merely an actress in a theater company in the capital.
The gap in status and occupation was enormous.
According to the novel, Caleb and Vivian would eventually visit the theater together, but…
The problem is that I don’t know the exact date or time.
When I was acting, I never paid attention to who was in the audience.
Even if they came, there was a good chance I’d miss them completely.
“How disappointing…”
We lived in the same world now, yet I might never see him.
“Are you disappointed that you didn’t get to deal with those men personally?”
“Huh?”
His question made me realize my mistake.
I thought I had only been thinking to myself.
Had I actually spoken aloud?
Startled, I shook my head frantically.
“No. Well, I suppose that’s a little disappointing too… No, anyway, don’t worry about it. I was just thinking about something else and ended up talking to myself.”
“I see.”
I glanced at him absentmindedly.
The moment my eyes met his black gaze, I instinctively sucked in a breath.
