Second Life's Revenge

Laura continued waiting in the corner, not noticing that she was being watched until four men cornered her. They were all smiling weirdly at Laura, and she felt uncomfortable. 

The other nobles who saw Laura stranded on the corner ignored her, pretending not to see her.

Just what kind of people are they? Very ignorant and unhelpful. The type of people Laura dispised.

"Hey, young lady, what's your name?" Asked one of the men with a creepy expression.

Laura stayed silent and ignored all four of them. She crossed her arms together, clearly showing her disinterest, and trying to show them she doesn't need or want anything from them. They were all just desperate to find a lover.

They were all single men in their 30s. None looked attractive enough to pass her standards, and even their personality is rotten. It was disgusting to see such actions coming from them.

"Don't ignore me, sweetheart."

One of them approached closer to Laura, and Laura tried taking a step back, but her blood ran cold as she felt her bare back was touching the cold wall.

"Please go away," Laura begged, but none of them listened.

If only someone had stayed with Laura or even defend her, she wouldn't be in this kind of position. 

Just because they were scared of the four men didn't mean they could abandon a young lady alone.

In the first place, it was Erwin's fault for not bringing someone by her side. But too bad, no one knew who Erwin was. One of the four men hissed and tiled his head swiftly.

"Where have I seen you before?" He questioned.

"Nowhere," Laura boldly answered.

There was no need for Laura to show respect to some men who cornered her. It was rather rude to corner a helpless and weak lady, whose words are much more powerful than her body strength.

"Black hair...weird."

"Thank you," Laura smiled, not caring about what they thought about her. She stood confidently, not lowering her head in front of those filthy men.

The man clicked his tongue and walked closer to Laura, making her feel helpless, wishing for someone to save her. It's disgusting having a rude and disrespectful man constricting a lady's move.

"Who cares about that at least she's young."

"Come go with us, little lamb."

One of the men held Laura's hand, gripping it tightly. Laura resisted the man's grip, but she was too weak to fight against him because of her small figure. 

Under her breath, she cursed internally for those other nobles who stood at the side, not even attempting to help her.

"Just who are you touching?"

The four men turned their heads, looking at the masked man walking towards their direction. Laura felt relieved that Erwin was back. Only if Erwin brought her with him, then nothing like this would have happened.

The men who stood before the masked man gave a threatening look at him, telling him off. But to begin with, they didn't know that the masked man was Laura's partner. They didn't know how bad the situation could turn out.

"And who are you? Wearing a mask, this is what you call a weakling," Laughed the taller man.

"Me a weakling? Or you a weakling for picking on a small girl like her?" Erwin answered back, leaving the four men speechless.

"Who do you think you are? I'm a viscount! And what's your position?"

Erwin shook his head in disappointment. Corruption is what this man way was displaying, overuse of power just to get the things they want. Just because they have a higher status than others gave them the mindset to get whatever they want.

At the same time, they didn't know who they were messing around and what trouble they were bringing themselves into.

"Are you that interested?" Erwin asked.

"What are you? A baron from a farmer's family?"

"No, not quite. I help rule the country," Erwin scoffed. Pushing the four men aside and grabbed Laura's wrist.

As Erwin dragged Laura away from the four men, the tall man clicked his tongue and rushed towards Erwin in a punching position. The taller man punched Erwin on the face, making his mask drop onto the floor, exposing everyone.

The commotion caught the other nobles' attention near or far from them, and not only that, but they also caught the emperor and the princes' attention.

Prince Elijah, from afar, quietly watched and felt entertained. But punching someone of royal was something he couldn't bear to watch. He quickly ordered the guards to stand by and not go until he commands them to do so.

Laura gasped when she saw the bruise on Erwin's face and panicked with his face revealed. She called his name out once, but he signed her not to do so. There was no point in stopping the angered Erwin.

"You're quite bold to punch me on the face," Erwin laughed and was angered was bubbling in the inside.

Erwin walked towards the tall man, whose eyes wandered around the ballroom and rubbed his hand together. He never felt such an enormous aura around a person. Just what is Erwin? A monster?

The tall man clenched his fists and decided to fight back still, not noticing who he had just punched. While the other nobles who witnessed the punch started murmuring to each other, bad-mouthing the man who disgraced himself in front of royalty.

"It's your fault for getting in our way."

"My fault? Just to inform you she's my partner, and you dare surround a Duke's fiancee?" Erwin answered.

"Duke? Did he just say a duke?

"No, wait, it's possible. Look at his hair!"

The tall man didn't want to embarrass himself and continued to stand tall despite the other nobles giving him a disgusted look.

"And you have no proof."

"Is my silver hair not be good enough for proof? Or should I asked my uncle and cousins to get off their seats and defend me," Erwin glared, unconsciously gripping Laura's wrist harder.

Laura flinched, signing Erwin to stop gripping her hard. Anger filled his head, and there was no way to cool him off. Instead, she tried getting out of his grip, but Erwin was too strong for her.

Erwin felt a pat on his shoulder and glared while turning back, seeing his cousin, Prince Winston smiling. His expression softened, and so did his grip.

"I can't believe you're doing something like this in brother's birthday party, and yes, he's my cousin, and he is of royalty, Prince Winston said, making his way towards the taller man whose face stiffened.

"Y-your highness, this is just a misunderstanding. Please forgive me," The tall man kneeled and lowered his head to the floor.

"Why are you apologizing to me?" Prince Elijah asked. "There's no point if you apologize to me."

The tall man bit his lip and apologized to Erwin. Today in front of hundreds of nobles, the tall man embarrassed himself. Sometimes it's better not to show off your status and just stay quiet.

What makes you different if your status is high? It's just all about power and fame. Status doesn't make you any different from other people because, by the end of the day, we're humans, to begin with.

Laura looked at Erwin and felt guilty of something. Because of the incident, his face was revealed to hundreds of nobles. Worse of all, he introduced her as his fiancee. Things are just getting worse and worse.

"Is this your fiancee?" Prince Winston joked.

"Yes, she is. Do you have a problem with that?" Erwin answered fiercely.

"I'm just asking, don't need to be so angry," Prince Winston said, surrendering, putting an arm around Erwin's shoulder.

Erwin looked down at the four men who kneeled before him. He couldn't forgive what they did to Laura and will never do. Killing the four men was part of his plan, but he knew that Laura wouldn't like it.

"Kick them out of the ballroom and make sure I don't see their faces again," Erwin commanded, and the guards followed.

The ballroom's commotion cooled down, and news about both the Crowned Prince and the Duke's sudden reveal bombed the whole town. It certainly wasn't a wise decision of Erwin to just say his name out. But if it's for Laura, he was willing to do anything for her.

Under the moon, two shadows were seen in a restricted garden. One was a lady, and one was a man sitting by the edge of the fountain.

"Why did you do that? It's so stupid of you," Laura cried out loud, hiding her face.

"Either way, I'll need to show my face to the people one day," Erwin smiled, wiping Laura's tears off.

Laura felt very guilty. She kind of regret asking him to lend her a hand. Only if she didn't ask him, then none of these events would have happened.

"Don't tell me you're regretting asking me." Erwin frowned and held Laura's hand. "Because I don't regret a single thing at all."

The last few words of Erwin echoed in Laura's mind. She didn't know whether to be happy or to be sad. But she felt a sense of security around him and kept quiet, weeping without reason.

Erwin, on the inside, was happy that there was someone to cry for him. All the more, he was tempted to take care of this silly girl.