The duke's daughter

Chapter 7

The men stopped their tracks and laughed in his face. "Aren't you a silly boy? What was your name again..." The old man who looked over 80 tried to mock him.

"He isn't even that important to know his name." A slender man from behind squeezed between the other ones. "Especially because no one in this world will ever remember him." Coming closer, he seized the boy's neck tightly. Suffocating him.

"EH?!! What are you doing?!! Let go of him!!" The girl screamed in panic, but instead they laughed at her words. Did she think that they would listen to a little girl like her? They were older men, for god's sake!

"Hahaha... that little girl really dares to order us around? Even if we are mere servants to your family, you mean nothing to us. We could simply kill you on the spot, and your father wouldn't even care."

It hit her right in the heart. It was true, he wouldn't care at all. Unsure, if he would even prepare a funeral for her. But that didn't matter right now, what mattered was that her savior was getting choked by some old, dirty man.

She rushed up to the slender man who was trying to choke him to death with his thin arms that held no muscles. How ironic that of all these men, someone who seemed the least strong of them all took this job upon him.

The stable boy was grasping for air. Scratching his nails on the man's arms, trying to break free from the painful grip he held on his neck. "Y-you let go..." A small, weak voice struggled to come out.

Claire tried to push him aside, but to no appeal, it didn't work.

'There has to be something...'

Yet, time seemed to run out as the other men began to approach again, and all the while, the stable boy was slowly dying.

"Such a young, beautiful girl. I would like to know how her body looks under all those clothes." A perverted man spoke.

"Hahaha... don't talk too soon, I want her first." They said while striving towards her with grins drawn on their faces.

Without thinking, Claire kicked the slim man in the balls.

"Aaaahh..." he grunted in pain and immediately released his grip on the boy's neck. Falling to the floor, clutching his private area.

"Y-you... you will pay for that!!" He cried out while rolling over the floor.

His acquaintances started to feel agitated by what she had done. From walking, they were slowly running. Without waiting, the boy grabbed her wrist and pulled her with him as he was trying to reach the stable door.

But, they started to fasten up as well. Claire couldn't follow and was running behind him as he held her arm, she was most likely to get caught by those disgusting men.

"I-I can't follow!!" She screamed after the boy, who kept pulling her harder. Sprinting to the door.

"Can't you do anything?!! Just try to run faster, or you are going to die!!" A sharp, intense voice entrapped his words. She could definitely detect the annoyance and frustration that was present in his voice.

Undoubtedly because they had already met before, and that wasn't the most charming encounter she had with him.

"Hey, don't you yell at me, okay?!" She fired back, trying to catch him up.

'It can't be that bad, right?' She looked behind her to make sure if they were far away already. To her surprise, they were getting so close that they could almost grab her, as they extended their arms to her.

'NO!!' She sped up and grabbed onto the boy's shirt.

"Hurry, run faster they are getting closer!!" She ordered him.