"Hey! What are you doing? Are you protecting her? Move outta the way! We're not done with her!" one of the boys yelled as he approached me, snapping me out of my thought of running off and ignoring the whole situation. I readied myself to move until I felt the trembling hands of the heroine upon my back.
"Please... Help me..." Delia begged as she squeezed my shoulders tighter. I mentally groaned before reluctantly steeling myself to defend her. Well, here goes nothing.
"What is it you want from such a young girl who is no more than half your age? Does tormenting her settle whatever debt you are insinuating she has? State the price! Acting like such tyrants when you are barely an adult!" I said, as I crossed my arms and spat out the words; clear and straightforward, hoping my brave front would throw them off.
The four boys stepped backwards in shock from the loud and clear voice which had such authority that originated from a little girl, well, boy, since I was dressed as one again. "Tsk. What... you're just a kid too! Why we ought to-..." one of the boy growled as he grabbed me buy the cravat, preparing to pummel his fist against my face; only to be forcefully stopped when a sword was threateningly pressed against his throat.
"Unhand the young man... boy." the knight of my house stated with a firm and strict voice as I stole a glance in his direction. His face was serious and pulled in a firm, stoic expression while his eyes screamed for blood. I shivered and turned to look away only to find Xavier acting out a similar notion towards the other three boys.
The boy reluctantly unhanded my cravat as he backed away slowly with his hands up in surrender. I loosened the cravat before turning towards Delia. "Are you alright? Ehem... What happened... exactly?" I questioned her as I signaled the knight to capture the boy who was trying to escape.
"My family was tricked into signing a contract with theirs. Then their business collapsed and they tried to drag us down with them... No... They DID drag us down with them! They were forcing me to pay them 'interest' so that they could settle their debt but... even my family... is in debt... there's no way I could... we could... sobs..." Delia said as she wiped off the tears messily from her face with the back of her wrists.
"What?! You were the one who tricked our family!" one boy yelled at Delia as he struggled in his restraints before the other three chimed in to accuse her. I noticed Delia flinched before she masked it with tear-filled eyes, boring into my soul as she pleaded innocent. "Th-they're lying! There's no way I could do something like that! Even now... my father is gravely ill at home... practically on his deathbed! I couldn't possibly lie as I have nothing more to spare!" Delia cried as she turned to face them.
The whole situation felt off so I didn't know how to solve the issue. I shouldn't have rushed in here without understanding the situation... Now I have no idea how to resolve this! Unless I... I thought as an idea struck me.
"Bring them with me! I'll deal with them myself! As for you... I need you to follow me as well... You trust me, right?" I said smiling softly at Delia as I placed my hands on her shoulders. Her tears stopped trickling down her cheeks as she cracked a small smile. "Yes, my lord!" she replied as she clung onto my arm. As awkward as it felt, I couldn't just shake her off. Not to mention, her grip was quite strong for a girl who was trembling like a leaf earlier...