Johan fist flew so fast that by the time she realized that Johan had punched the man in the face, the man was already on the floor with blood running down his broken nose. Her husband's face did not change much, only that, the faint smile on his face had disappeared along with his mercy.
Spectators from their seats jumped to witness the commotion. The man behind her, Biel Naris, stepped forward to draw his swords, leaving Elena shielded behind him. The sight of blood excited the crowd while it terrified her. In the back of her mind, she thought she could prevent the altercation, but she was foolish to believe she could handle it alone.
Johan squatted down, the two strangers who were behind the elder had become completely frozen in shock. Johan's clenched fist on his thigh had blood in his whiten knuckles. The crowd had exploded to screaming and cheering as the incident suddenly became like a circus show.
Johan looked at the useless blade on the man's belt for a second and said, "I am a mercenary…"
It was the truth then, but it wasn't now. Everyone gasped at the man who nonchalantly tilted his head dangerously.
"I kill people like you."
Johan's teeth grinned as his jaw tightened. With his visible effort to repress his anger he said, "dare say anything disgusting to my wife again, you will pay…"
He took the blade out of the man's belt and stood up, clearly giving him a fair warning.
"I don't care if you work for the king…"
Kimon Matas, it was the name of the man with a broken nose. A spy sent by King Stefan whose identity was discovered through his belt, where the crest of Ibeothra was purposely sealed. Before the conflict deepened, the entrance door, where Elena, Johan and Biel were initially headed, opened wide and a familiar face walked in with his relaxed expression.
"Leader… what happened?"
Elena only hoped the conflict would be resolved quickly. But, her expectations only failed upon seeing another Saintsheild's Knight arriving with a sword in hand as if gesturing he was about to start a fight.
The man's brows raised— he was a familiar face, who had protected her from the Bollwech attack. Taller than both Johan and Biel, he had a dumbfounded look when he realized he just walked into an unexpected chaos. With only a second to assess the situation, the man raised his weapon without getting a response from either Johan or Biel. Determined that whatever happened, it wouldn't change his mind to be on the Captain's side.
Three men from the crowd, who had only been listening to the exchanges as they sat quietly on the corner of the diner away from the rest, finally rose to their feet once the man with dark brown hair raised his sword. They must be also working for the King, seeing how they flinched as if triggered to Kimon being punched in the face.
Elena, who had been witnessing how the event was slowly unfolding in front of her, felt her knees shaking. The men had started fighting with their fist, swords and knives. The overwhelming anxiety as she stood there hidden behind Biel's back made her look pathetic and useless. The crowd became more noisy. Then suddenly, she couldn't hear anymore— the sound coming out in all directions felt muffled. Her knees collapsed to the floor. Did hallucinations start coming again? Though it was only a scratch on the cheek, the effect of Bowellich's power seemed to remain with her still.
"What happened?"
Johan, who saw her collapsed on the floor with hands on both ears, quickly ran towards her. In the middle of the chaotic crowd, blood drops to the floor. She couldn't take the sight of blood and looked up, anxious to see her lovely husband's face. But, the man she saw has red eyes and black hair. The man was a Chedne—