"I... I'm fine... really."
Eileen murmured, still feeling as if she were lost in a fog, overwhelmed by the rapid turn of events. She never expected that what began as a straightforward duel with Link would end with him saving her! It was utterly bizarre!
"It's good to hear you're fine. I truly apologize for frightening you, my lady!" Link said, feigning elegance as he bowed in a noble manner and gestured for her to proceed.
Seeing this, Eileen instinctively took a step forward, finally escaping the clutches of Ors!
"You... I..." Eileen looked at Link, stammering for a while, unsure of what to say!
"Rest assured, my lady. I will never let this beast go unpunished for daring to offend you!"
Link smiled slightly and flicked his fingers at the subdued Ors.
"Bone Sword!"
With a splatter of blood, a bone sword pierced through Ors's forehead!
"You... you killed him?"
Eileen looked in disbelief at the scene behind her, having never witnessed such a bloody spectacle, her face turning pale!
"Yes!"
Link, however, seemed unfazed, as if he had merely accomplished a trivial task. He turned to Eileen and said earnestly, "Not just him; from now on, anyone who dares to offend you will face my wrath!"
These words, spoken with such conviction, would make any onlooker think a prince was professing his love to his beloved princess! Yet, coming from Link, Eileen found them strangely unsettling...
At that moment, a commotion erupted in the crowd!
"The constable is coming!"
With a thunder of hooves, the crowd parted to make way for a dozen burly men in imperial constable uniforms riding in!
Eileen snapped back to reality and hurriedly stepped forward to bow to the leading constable.
"Good day, Constable."
"Miss Eileen, what's going on here?"
The leading constable, clearly aware of Eileen's identity, glanced at the mangled body of Ors on the ground before frowning and asking.
"Sir, there's no need to worry. This was a fair duel; this man was killed after losing the fight. According to the laws of the Glorious Empire, we bear no responsibility," Eileen quickly replied.
Fearing the constable might not believe her, she added, "If you doubt my words, you can ask the others."
"Is that so?" The constable's gaze swept over the crowd.
The people exchanged glances, and one by one, they nodded in agreement!
"Very well!"
Seeing this, the constable sighed in relief and asked Eileen, "Who is he? I will notify his family to send someone to collect the body."
"He is Ors, from the 'Edward' family!" Eileen replied honestly.
"What? The family of the 'Destructive Hurricane'?"
The constable exclaimed in shock, asking, "Miss Eileen, did you kill him?"
"It was me!"
Before Eileen could speak, Link stepped forward.
"And who are you?" the constable asked, frowning.
"My name is Link, from the Lawrence family. I killed Ors, and if the Edward family wants to settle the score later, they can come find me!" Link said nonchalantly.
"Link..."
Eileen repeated his name softly, a glimmer of indescribable light flashing in her eyes.
"Good, very good."
The constable looked at Link and said solemnly, "While I admire your courage, given the circumstances, I hope you're prepared to face the wrath of the Edward family!"
"Ha, thank you for the warning." Link smiled slightly, unfazed!
Though he didn't know the extent of the Edward family's power, he felt no fear. If necessary, he could simply unleash his army of the undead; no matter how powerful the Edward family was, could they withstand an endless horde of the undead?
"Since that's the case, I'll return to report to my superiors. Miss Eileen, goodbye!" The constable, having understood the situation, gave Link a deep look before turning his horse around and leaving with his men.
"Link, thank you so much for this!"
Once the constable had left, Eileen nervously fiddled with the hem of her dress and shyly expressed her gratitude to Link.
"Miss Eileen, you're too kind. Actually, the earlier incident was a misunderstanding; I didn't intend to rob your family. If you're willing to let it go, I can return all the gold I took from your family," Link said with a smile.
this point, he had already embraced her and kissed her, and in his heart, he had long regarded Eileen as his own.
Since she was his, he certainly didn't want her to harbor resentment towards him. Thus, Link took the initiative to propose reconciliation.
"There's no need for the gold, but there are a few things I do hope you can return to me," Eileen said hesitantly.
"What things?" Link raised an eyebrow.
"Well... that... you know." Eileen's cheeks flushed as she hesitated to speak.
"I really don't know; please clarify, my lady!" Link said with feigned righteousness. He certainly knew that Eileen wanted back her little trinkets!
However, those items had long been claimed as his personal possessions, and he had no intention of returning them easily!
"You!"
Eileen, exasperated, could hardly guess that Link was pretending to be oblivious.
But as a girl, she found it difficult to voice the names of those items!
"Forget it!"
In the end, Eileen could only shoot Link a fierce glare in frustration!