Paramount

Sring!

A knife's sharp noise kept Benjamin from making the slightest movement. He turned away from the crowd of market visitors, looking at the man in the apron who was giving him a scornful smile.

"Do my eyes deceive me or the servants finally tired of serving you, Sir Benjamin?" the man sneered.

Benjamin glanced at the iron blade gripped in the man's burly hand. Its tip toward him made him look back at the man and smiled politely. "I believe they had finished all their business the moment I came here."

"Oh, that is very unfortunate," the man in the apron chuckled softly as he swung his iron blade at the thick dark red flesh on the chopping board. "And even worse for me to tell you one matter about their leaving, milord."

His gaze turned cold as soon as the iron blade touched the cutting board. "They left me a huge deal with their ex-lord," said the man with a crooked smile.

Two burly men in black leather vests locked Benjamin's arms, making all the market visitors surprised. Not a few of them walked away in a hurry, but not a few were watching.

"Given that he's not just any person, the nobles will undoubtedly value him more because of his attractive appearance," said the aproned man, grinning. His gaze was full of greed.

Benjamin shook off the hands of the men who grabbed his arm, tried to run, but failed and ended up being held back. He glanced at the pedestrians who did not move, looking at him between fear and concern.

"What will you do against us, you're son of a royal mite?! You're amid your father's bankruptcies!"

The man on Benjamin's right fell to the ground after he kicked him hard in the calf and punched him in the jaw with his elbow. As soon as the two of them got up, they countered Benjamin and made him inevitably fight.

"H-hey, shouldn't you just leave him alone?" a merchant commented.

"What the hell are you saying?! I won't ever leave this rare and priceless gem in such a filthy place!"

As the merchants heard it, their faces grew stern. Meanwhile, the three men were still babbling and trying to suppress Benjamin when someone in a dark brown robe leaped from the roof toward them.

"How about getting your dirty hands off him or letting me to kick your butts out of here?"

They instantly turned their heads when the figure was only five inches away from them. When he realized they were off guard, Benjamin punched them in the jaw so they staggered and fell along with the man in the apron. However, he was unaware that it would bring down the booth's hanging lights and wooden poles.

"Watch out, Aquamarine!" exclaimed the figure in the brown robe.

Her clear, energetic voice widened Benjamin's eyes as it rang a bell in his head. A glimpse of the dark ruby haired girl's face appeared just as the colorful hanging lights was right above his head.

Crash!

Glass shards were everywhere, coloring the cobblestones around him and the brown-robed figure who fell beside him.

"Ouch…"

A small grimace prompted him to get up, approach the figure who revealed her red hair, and to check whether she's wounded after saving him. But when he saw the neon blue crow emblem pinned to the clothes beneath her brown robe, he became unmoved.

"Are you okay?!"

Her voice flinched him, especially since she didn't hesitate to approach him with a worried look.

"I-I think... you're the one who deserve my worries," Benjamin said, glancing at her trousers at the torn calf and showing small cuts.

"You shouldn't care about others when someone cares about you! Ah, nevermind about it!" she growled before turning away from him, walking resolutely toward the three men who had slumped earlier.

"I'm from the patrol unit," she said while showing her identity card to the three. "As I said, you may leave this place on your own feet or with special assistance from us police officers."

The man in the apron trembled slightly, but seemed to muster up his courage and said, "Just ignore this madwoman! Bring that aristocratic child over here!"

Seeing the two burly men return to surround Benjamin, she limped toward them, hissing in annoyance.

"Hey, stop! Stop before I drag you to the Notus District!" the girl snarled amid the men's roars of rage at the resistance that not only came from Benjamin, but also from her.

"Don't meddle, you shrew!"

"I had to since you guys are going to kidnap him!"

A group of people wearing orange-stripped cloaks arrived to separate the four of them, putting an end to the mayhem that was being witnessed by numerous people. The two burly men were also escorted away with minor injuries.

Benjamin paused to catch his breath before moving toward the dark ruby-haired girl who was leaning up against a brick pillar.

"You shouldn't have acted rashly, miss. If only the local patrol hadn't come..."

His words stopped when he saw her shed tears. A thousand and one mistakes he might have made in the past flashed through his head.

"I thought it has ended long ago, but why they still doing this?"

Her muffled voice froze Benjamin for a minute. He remained silent as he glanced at the pale blue lanyard lying beside her. Then he lowered himself, took the lanyard containing laminated identity.

"I'm sorry you had to see it."

She looked up as Benjamin put her ID around her neck. Her pupils dilated as she recalled who was standing next to Harris's ICU bed.

"As an apology, would you allow me to treat your wound? You may call me Benjamin," Benjamin continued while smiling cordially.

***

Brissia and Harris sat on the long couch, looking straight at Benjamin, who was wrapping a bandage around Debora's calf while resting one knee on the floor.

"So, what actually brings you to this district that you ended up facing those thugs?" asked Harris.

Debora clicked her tongue. "Of course to watch over you! Do you really believe Drey let you go just because you followed Miss Savior here?"

"Who do you call Miss Savior?"

Benjamin's question made Harris and Debora widen their eyes. Their lips pressed together tightly, their bodies frozen as if they were holding their breath.

"I see. A confidential detail, isn't it?"

"No!" Debora and Harris objected.

Benjamin looked down with a slight shake of the shoulders, causing Brissia to look down and massage her forehead. If the situation had been different, she would have told them both how obvious their worried looks.

"It's… Brissie!"

Harris's alibi made Brissia look up quickly with wide eyes.

"Brissia?"

She held her breath as she met Benjamin's querying gaze on her.

"Yeah, she is!" said Harris, "Brissie had two of her relatives come over and she asked me out when I had just been grounded for making a 'little' fuss."

Benjamin paused, turning to Debora as if to confirm the truth. However, the dark ruby-haired girl simply stared blankly at Harris, who was being dragged out by Brissia, leaving him and Debora alone in the room.

"Ahem, could you please try standing up, Miss Debora?"

Debora took Benjamin's hand hesitantly, trying to stand on her own. "Uh… no need to be so polite to me. We've met before in... ah!"

Suddenly, she staggered into Benjamin's chest from the pain that stung her calf.

Thud!

"Oh, m-my apologies!" Debora said frantically as she stepped away from Benjamin's body which was lying on the carpet. She also reached out her hand for Benjamin to help him sit up, but the small chuckle that escaped his lips made Debora furrow her brows.

A subtle smile was etched on Benjamin's lips. The man with a slightly messy black hair put his left arm over his forehead as if he didn't want to get up from his position quickly.

"Ah, this is the first time the sunlight has felt nice. Don't you agree?" Benjamin said, glancing at the window.

The tall window next to them let in a golden glint that shone on both of them. Debora took a moment to admire the snow-covered branches and twigs outside in the soft light of the sun. Flashbacks of her time in the dank, high-walled alley flashed through her mind.

"Yes," said Debora with a serene smile, "the sunlight has never been this warm before."

Meanwhile, outside the room, Harris and Brissia were leaning against the wall side by side as Brissia gave Harris a long lecture.

"We can't let him know that we've made a scene and are dealing with a 'witch'. What if he gets into another danger?" Brissia scolded him.

Harris folded his arms across his chest and stroked his chin. "I know, my bad. We should nevermore involve him nor any civilian."

Brissa nodded.

"Nonetheless, how do we know Madame Ouden won't pose any other threat?"

Brissia fell silent, recalling Veron's words to Ashley. However, as she was about to speak, the door next to them opened.

"You're not going anywhere else, are you, Harris?" Debora inquired cynically as she approached Harris.

Harris chuckled lightly. "Not really. Besides, I haven't gotten any sleep."

Debora sighed and hobbled ahead of them all to the exit, prompting Harris to rush into her arms and help her walk.

"Brissia."

When Brissia was about to catch up with the two, Benjamin's call stopped her instantly. She turned her head. As if understanding the meaning of Benjamin's serious gaze on her, she turned and headed toward him.

"Your relatives… are they from the present?"

His question left a bitter-sweet sensation within her lips.

"They were drawn into this place," Brissia replied in an even tone.

Silence stole their moment for a while.

"I see," said Benjamin with a faint smile, "I hope you can return home soon."

Brissia held Benjamin's hand as he turned and was about to walk away.

"I'll find a way for all of us to go home at once."

Benjamin turned around as she handed him her cellphone. That left him staring at Brissia for a while, while Brissia looked at him earnestly.

With a subtle smile, Benjamin held Brissia's hand, kissing the back of her hand briefly.

"I appreciate it. However, please prioritize the safety of your relatives first. I'm sure they're not used to this time period yet."

Thus, Benjamin left Brissia in the void between the stairs and the main door.

Benjamin's smile gave her neither hope nor relief. The beauty that appeared on the surface would soon be obscured by the darkness of night, much like the dim glare of the sun at dusk.

However, time continued to run even in an unfamiliar timeline.

Brissia turned around, catching up with her two colleagues. She couldn't neglect her duties as an intelligence agency agent in order to protect the people in Archtier who were important to her.