Chapter 28
“But who’s that girl over there? Your sister?”
Several dealers’ gazes passed over Gideon’s shoulder and fixed on Diana.
In that instant, Diana quickly grabbed Gideon’s arm and turned around. Their priority was to escape.
“Hey! Who opened the door wide… huh?”
But before she could even climb the stairs, the hidden door shut.
Someone had just come down into the basement at that exact moment.
“…I-Inspector?”
And yet, there was something strangely familiar.
He spoke with a trembling, flustered voice, as if he had seen something he shouldn’t.
“You… Lewis Albon?”
“How did you know to come here?”
He was the building inspector Diana had once threatened publicly to ruin socially.
“Are you visiting for fun? Or are you here to investigate…?”
“W-What are you talking about? Inspector? I’m not that kind of person!”
Diana, for now, turned her head to pretend she didn’t know him.
This was a disaster.
Could timing get any worse?
‘It’s already tense, and if they mistake me for a royal inspector now…!’
She might not survive this alive.
Clinging to Gideon’s arm, Diana shouted,
“Brother, let’s get out of here! Let’s do as he says! It’s too scary here!”
Gideon flinched at the sudden contact, but she didn’t care.
Think about the numbers! Unless he’s a featherweight boxing champion, he can’t take his sister out in this situation!
“Hey, Vasha! What’s going on?”
“Can’t you see? He’s taking the young master with him. But you—what’s this about ‘inspector’?”
Meanwhile, Lewis Albon approached the dealers.
He hurriedly persuaded them, noticing Diana’s anxious glance.
“L-Let them go.”
“What?”
“Let them go! Just let him go. We can’t keep him locked up forever anyway!”
“Are you crazy? Don’t you know our situation?”
“Listen! I’ll explain everything later! If we get caught here, we’re all in big trouble!”
“Does that make sense? We have nothing to lose! We should keep them locked!”
“Wait, Lewis has a point. Better to let them go and relocate the base immediately…”
The sudden argument caused the dealers to split in opinion.
The previously heated atmosphere became chaotic.
“Lady.”
At that moment, Gideon called her in a very soft voice.
“I underestimated the situation.”
He hid her behind his back and whispered.
The meaning was clear.
“I’ll give a signal. Escape during that moment.”
“What about you, Gideon?”
“No need to worry about me.”
No need to worry, even in a situation where he could get beaten to death?
“If you’re really concerned, could you call someone for backup?”
“….”
“I’m sorry for dragging you into this.”
There were countless things she wanted to say, but Diana never got a chance to respond.
A bear-like man let out a sigh and started walking toward them.
“Stay calm while we talk. Let’s not waste our strength.”
He grumbled as if he always had to do this kind of work.
The tension was thick, like a bomb about to explode, though nothing had yet escalated.
“Diana!”
At that moment, Gideon moved quickly.
He grabbed the stacked flour sacks in his hands.
“Ah!”
“Damn it, what are you doing! Grab him!”
While Gideon threw flour, Diana ran up the stairs frantically.
The lock was open, but no matter how she pushed or banged on the door seam attached to the ceiling, it wouldn’t budge.
‘It’s no use, it won’t open…!’
Bang! Bang!
Diana pounded on the door with all her strength.
Her hands were scraped raw on the rough wooden surface.
Each time she struck the ceiling-mounted door, dust fell in clouds.
Meanwhile, shouting grew louder below.
“Open, please… just a little!”
At that moment, miraculously, the hidden door opened.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t the guards who opened it.
A man with cat-like yellow eyes casually scanned her.
“Need some help?”
The man looking down at Diana seemed familiar.
He was dressed as casually as the first time they met.
“How did you get here…?”
“Weren’t you the one who needed help?”
“Excuse me?”
“The cookie payment.”
His words were as confusing as ever, but it didn’t matter.
‘How do I pay for the cookies?’
‘Then I’ll help when needed.’
Seeing the longsword at the man’s waist, Diana shouted without thinking.
“Help!!”
“Got it.”
The man gave a slight smile and reached out to Diana.
As soon as she was helped out of the basement, he jumped down the stairs in turn.
‘I-I survived…!’
Diana exhaled the breath she had been holding and dropped to the floor.
Soon, she heard loud screams from below.
A fight was definitely underway.
‘I hope they’re okay… they must be…’
The explosive sounds she’d just heard were likely furniture breaking…
She was too curious to look, yet too afraid to check.
Some time passed.
“Gideon!”
“Lady, you’re safe. That’s a relief.”
Gideon appeared first, supporting his brother as they exited.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine, but…”
It was hard to say he was lucky not to be seriously hurt, given the condition of the brother he had rescued.
‘How much did he get beaten up?!’
Bloodstains and tear marks marked his dirty face.
Diana hurriedly took out a handkerchief and wiped his face.
“Th-Thank… thank you so much…”
“You’re welcome. Glad you’re alive.”
He tried to swallow his tears, which made the scene even more awkward to watch.
Diana pretended not to notice.
She instead handed a handkerchief to Gideon.
“Is the person downstairs your guard?”
“Ah… well…”
Should she say yes, for now?
As she hesitated, the basement grew silent.
“Well… I knocked them all out.”
The man who had cleared the basement faster than a featherweight boxer peeked his head out like a mole.
“Some might need a doctor. Is that okay?”
“Blood! They’re bleeding!”
“Hmm?”
The man realized he was injured. Blood ran from his scalp to his cheek, which he casually wiped away with his hand.
“Ah… it’s fine. Just looks worse than it is.”
“But…!”
“First, treat the ones with broken arms down there. Otherwise, permanent damage could happen.”
“I’ll get a doctor! The basement people are fine since the guards are here.”
“Guards?”
The man, who had seemed dazed, suddenly looked wary.
He quickly scanned around like a meerkat and started climbing the ladder to the second floor.
“Wait, where are you going?”
“Sorry. It’s bad if I get caught.”
“Wait!”
“You’ll get scolded, right? I’ll probably get scolded anyway…”
“Please wait! Sir, we need to talk…!”
Even with Gideon joining in to stop him, it was useless.
The man climbed out the window, onto the roof, and disappeared in an instant.
“Miss?”
And in the next instant, someone else arrived.
“The guards. We received a report, but… what’s going on here?”
“Miss? Goodness, are you hurt?!”
“Excuse me? Who are you people?”
The driver, the bakery owner, and three summoned guards all stared wide-eyed.
Especially, the shop owner trembled violently recognizing two of them.
His gaze fell on the basement door.
“W-What is this! Guests! You can’t just do this in someone’s shop!”
The bakery owner’s face turned pale, then bright red as he wagged his finger angrily.
“Perfect timing. Guards! Arrest those three immediately for illegal trespassing!”
“What? Who says you can arrest our lady?!”
“C-Calm down.”
One tried to stop the argument, another went to check the basement.
Once the collapsed dealers were discovered, chaos erupted.
Sensing trouble, the guards’ eyes on Diana were ice-cold.
“You two will have to come with us.”
It seemed there was no other option.
