Every Arc Ends with My Death

Chapter 10. A Fateful Encounter

Stay away from flowers.

It's funny how a few string of words can affect the rest of your day. I'm usually an optimist, but the fortuneteller's words birthed to a foreboding.

"At this rate, I'd die from a heart attack before the first chapter begins." I muttered while caressing my chest, which felt like being hammered by fear.

I mentally slapped myself. I need to calm down. I'm Callista, right? The girl who came back alive after being a kiddy suicide bomber. I got this.

I refuse to die. I mean, come on. I already died once. My body exploded with a goddamn bomb. Can't you just let me live in peace as a maid?

While I was cursing the gods on the way back to the weapon shop, I noticed a lady and a thug on the alley across the street. That's an unusual duo.

"I don't think they know each other." I assumed base on the lady's attempt to overtake the thug.

You see, I'm nosy. Like, very nosy. Especially when it comes to men who keep bugging women even if they're uninterested. They're a good stress reliever since I can beat them up without feeling guilty.

And so, I approached the unusual pair. "Excuse me. Do you know each other?" I questioned.

"Ha?" The thug glared at me. Jesus, he reeks of alcohol. "Get lost, bitch. Mind your own business!"

I glanced over the lady. She was a fair and petite woman, and her hair was white with a tinge of pale blue. Another notable thing about her was that her eyes were also blue but deeper in hue, like an ocean infinitely stretching beyond lands.

She also donned a fancy white dress embedded with blue jewels, complementing her eye colour.

"Why don't you get lost?" My eyes narrowed into slits. "She's not interested so leave her alone!"

"You wench!" He shouted through gritted teeth.

The drunkard tried to grab me but I managed to dodge his grip. In a split second, I slapped his face so hard that he staggered then lost his footing.

I took that chance and pushed him down with my own weight. The two of us then struggled on the ground, rolling and bashing each other's head, while the lady stood calmly from a distance.

"I hate men like you who can't keep their hands to themselves!" I shouted through gritted teeth.

That Viscount Silvia may have beaten the shit out of me in the past, but that's only because he caught me off guard. He swiped a vase at my head out of nowhere, so I lost my chance to strike at him first.

Now, there's no way I'm gonna lose to a thug in a fair fight in which I came prepared to throw some punches. Of course, he has the physical advantage over me, but I'm not letting him go unscathed!

"Argh!" The man grunted in pain when I pulled his hair without restraint. Wow, that must have hurt him real bad. I even got a fistful of his hair.

We have yet to finish our tussle when somebody grabbed my hand and pulled me up. Upon turning to the one who interrupted, I was surprised to see the Grand Duke. From the way he looked at me, he seemed confused and upset at the same time.

"I thought I told you not to go anywhere else?" His hand tightened on my forearm. "Care to explain?"

The thug was just about to get back on his feet when Sir Louie appeared and pinned him down with all his might, enough to rivet him to the spot.

"The lady seemed to be in trouble." I explained.

"So you foolishly went ahead and put yourself in danger." Alistair sighed. "Instead of trying to deal with it alone, you should have called for help. The latter would've been the wiser decision, Isabelle."