"Hahaha, look, we have a hero here." The taunter from before, when Ava asked for payment, spoke again. He added, "If you can withstand my punch, I'll give you this ring," pointing to the glittering ring on his right hand's middle finger. His lackey burst into laughter, tears streaming down his cheeks as he clutched his stomach as if in pain.
The man clenched his fists, muscles becoming defined, then swung a punch towards Leios' face.
Leios, on guard, slightly bent backward before the fist could land. Seizing the moment, he grappled the man's brawny hands with his own and, in one swift motion, lifted the large body off the ground and turned around to smash it onto a table behind him.
The table broke under the impact. There were no customers seated there.
The man's lackey, seeing his companion's defeat, seized the opportunity while Leios' back was turned. He grabbed a beer bottle from a nearby table and moved to strike Leios on the head.
But Leios was no stranger to vigilance. With a powerful round kick, he struck the man in the abdomen, sending him flying through the pub door and into the street.
The man smashed on the table groaned in pain, sandwiched between the broken remnants of the table. Leios stretched his hand towards him and opened his palm, demanding payment.
With haste, the man rummaged through his pockets, fishing out coins to deposit in Leios' hand. Leios held his hand steady, maintaining his composure. The man hesitated, then returned to his pockets, retrieving additional coins. Even with the extra coins, Leios did not withdraw his hand. Instead, he fixed his gaze on the man and spoke calmly, "The ring." The man quickly removed the ring from his finger, adding it to the coins in Leios' palm.
Grunting in pain, the man stood up, clutching his back, and hobbled out of the pub, muttering, "Fuck you!"
The men at table three applauded Leios for disciplining the two troublemakers. "Good job, kid!" one of them shouted.
When Leios was reveling in the praise from the men at table three, a knock that was neither hard nor soft landed on his head. Ava shouted, "You don't need to break things!" and added, "No allowance for you. We need a new table."
Holding his head with both hands, Leios complained, "I wish you had shown that strength when you were being picked on." The men at table three laughed in unison.
Meanwhile, Chara followed Marina through the castle, sobbing as the memories of the fateful day played on her mind. They walked through halls and corridors until they were out of the castle and in the bright sunlight of the outside world. Butterflies fluttered among the flowers in the garden, creating a magnificent view, but Chara was oblivious to it all, her mind bombarded with questions like, "Where is Father? What am I doing here? Who are these people and why are they dressed like this?"
They walked along the paved paths of the garden, heading towards a gazebo surrounded by a variety of flowers. Inside, Duvessa sat holding a glass with her left hand, the dark red liquid inside it contrasting with her long auburn hair.
When they reached the gazebo, Marina turned around and left, leaving Duvessa and Chara alone. Duvessa beckoned Chara closer with her right index finger, and when Chara moved closer, Duvessa patted the chair beside her. "Here," she said, and Chara, having no other choice, moved closer and sat down beside her, their bodies almost touching.
Duvessa began the conversation. "Just look at you all fresh and new," she said, but Chara remained silent, staring down with a look of emptiness and despair. Duvessa continued, "So tell me, what happened? Don't be scared, I won't do anything."
There was a moment of silence before Chara spoke up in a flat, emotionless tone, "There's somewhere I need to go."
Duvessa took a sip of blood from the glass and then slowly put it on the table."You want to go at the burnt house right?"
"I can take you there," Duvessa offered, wiping her lips with her finger. When Chara heard about the burnt house, she stood from the chair, intending to go right away. Duvessa, however, held her wrist.
"That's not good," She said, standing up as well. "I said I will take you there." Chara's face, etched with doubt, turned towards Duvessa.
Duvessa called out to a nearby maid who was passing by on a pavement. "Hey, over here." The maid, clearly nervous, maintained a distance of one metre, her eyes twitching and hands fidgeting. "Tell Marina to take care of the place. I'll be back."
"Y-yees mam!" The maid replied, clearly relieved to be dismissed.
Duvessa faced Chara, and pulled her into her tall body, Chara's head between her large breasts. Looking up to the sky, Duvessa jumped straight into the air, taking flight.
Chara screamed as she realized they were floating on air. "What are you? Put me down!" she shouted. All this time Chara thought they were individuals wearing costumes to tease her. "Put me down! Let me down!" she insisted, her voice full of horror.
"Calm down," Duvessa said, gently holding Chara close. "If I wanted to kill you, I would have already done so. After all, I'm the one who saved your life."
Chara remembered the traumatising events again.The memories played clearly in her head but this time she didn't react, she had already seen enough.She stopped shouting but was still horrified. From above, she could see the view of the kingdom, the sun shining brightly on the clear sky, illuminating the breathtaking landscape. A blissful wind blew past her skin, caressing her as if trying to calm her down.
Duvessa flapped her wings and flew towards the West, Chara's body still pressed against her. Chara closed her eyes, inhaling a handful of fresh air and exhaling slowly to set her mind free. Duvessa looked at her and smiled to herself, before adding more speed.