TMRDWMP CH 10
- Jun 1
- 7 min read
Chapter 10
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Garcia
Even after seeing him twice, he was definitely someone she knew.
Louis. The man from the harbour who had guided her to the station when she first arrived in the city.
“Um, Louis? Don’t you remember me? You showed me the way at the harbour two days ago…”
“...Showed you the way?”
There was none of the previous kindness to be found in him. The man glared at her with his blue eyes, looking fierce.
“Yes, you did. Back then…”
Monica tried her best to explain, but the man had no intention of listening in the first place. He didn't even pretend to hear her, instead spitting out a stream of insults.
“That leaking sack of grain’s been staggering around again.”
“Leaking…”
“Hey, horse-tail.”
Horse-tail?
Startled by the absurd nickname, Monica widened her eyes and pointed at herself. The man snorted.
“I've got nothing to do with that bastard, so move. Don't block my way.”
He simply shoved her shoulder to one side. It was a careless, rough gesture, as if he were merely clearing an object out of his path.
Monica let out a startled cry as she tumbled backwards.
“Hey!”
The man walked quickly with long strides, still slightly unsteady from being drunk. Monica had to scramble up and run just to catch up with him.
“Wait!”
She caught the sleeve of his coarse shirt and realised the fabric was nothing like the fine clothes Louis had worn. Had she really mistaken him after all? But that was a separate issue.
“What on earth is wrong with you?”
The man snapped and jerked his arm away, clearly annoyed. Monica refused to back down.
“You pushed me over and didn’t even apologise.”
“What are you talking about? You’re the one who walked into me.”
“I apologised for that. But then you pushed me afterwards!”
“All right, sorry. Happy now? Now get lost.”
“No, I won’t.”
“What?”
The beautiful face, so similar to Louis’, was bewildered, but Monica didn’t care. She pointed towards the spot where she had fallen.
“My things are ruined because of you.”
Of all places, Monica had fallen onto a pile of old, dirty nets sitting over a sewer. This meant her straw hat, her brush, and her silk ribbon had all fallen into the drain and been ruined. While the hat and brush were caught in the netting and might be fine, the silk ribbon had fallen straight into the blocked sewer. Even if she pulled it out, that beautiful blue ribbon would obviously be a mess.
“That ribbon costed me sixty shillings!”
“So what?”
“Pay for it!”
“Later. Now move.”
“I won't! How am I supposed to let you go when I don't even know who you are?”
““You said I was Louis! Go charge it to him!”
“You just said you weren’t him!”
They argued back and forth. The man was in a hurry, but that was not Monica’s concern. He was the one who had shoved her. Refusing to let go of his sleeve, she had locked her arm through his to make sure he couldn't leave.
“Let go. I’m in the middle of—”
“I won't let go! Give me sixty shillings! That was all the money I had!”
The man was twice her size. If he really intended to shake her off, he easily could. Monica held on even tighter, practically hugging the man's arm.
My sixty shillings!
She couldn't afford to lose that much money because of such a rude man. She would get it back, no matter what. Suddenly, a loud noise erupted from one side of the alley.
“Garcia! You bastard!”
“Found him!”
Monica's eyes went wide. The man gritted his teeth.
“Damn it, you've ruined everything.”
“Ruined what?”
Monica got her answer almost immediately, but it wasn't the man who answered. Three men appeared from the end of the alley, clutching dangerous-looking items like pickaxes and hammers. They had a far more menacing aura than the man in front of her. It would be more accurate to call them thugs than men.
“You son of a bitch! Today's the day we finish you!”
“His wrist is mine!”
Monica released his arm at once. Instinct told her a fight was about to break out, or rather, it had already begun. No matter how much she valued sixty shillings, it wasn't worth more than her life. Getting caught in the swing of a pickaxe would be a disaster. Watching Monica scramble away from him, Garcia let out a hollow, incredulous laugh.
“I thought you said you wouldn't let go?”
Monica saw no reason to answer. She stepped to the side of the alley, and Garcia laughing, quickly ran in the opposite direction. The thugs followed after him, shouting for him to stop. Monica prayed that she wouldn't catch their eye.
Please, just go after him and leave me out of it.
But her prayers weren’t answered.
“Who’s this girl?”
One of the thugs, the one carrying a hammer, grabbed Monica's arm.
“I'm just passing through! I have nothing to do with that man!”
“Nothing to do with him? Don’t lie. We saw you clinging to him.”
“That bastard ruined all our goods and now he's out here playing around with a woman?”
“It's really not like that. He ruined my things, so I was just demanding he pay me back!”
But the thugs, blinded by rage, didn't listen to her protests. One of the thugs grabbed her by the hair and dragged her along the way.
“Our entire warehouse burned down because of your lover. Do you know how much that was worth? A hundred thousand shillings!”
“Bring that bastard here!”
I keep telling you, he's not my lover and I don't know where he is! How am I supposed to bring him back?
She wanted to scream it, but being shaken by her hair made it difficult to think straight.
“Hey! He's gone!”
The third thug returned belatedly. The three of them, including the two holding Monica, huddled together, fuming.
“Where did that rat disappear to?”
“Forget it. Let's just break this girl instead.”
“I really have nothing to do with him, please.”
The man with the hammer lifted her chin.
“Must be nice, being that bastard’s lover. Shame to die for that scum.”
Her eyes widened.
Is he really going to kill me?
The hand holding the hammer was raised high. It was absurd. To think her life would end on a morning she went out to buy a comb. Monica struggled, but the man holding her hair wouldn't let go.
Unbelievable. All because of sixty shillings, she should have just let him go. She had a bad feeling about him from the start, so why hadn't she valued her own life enough to avoid picking a fight?
“If you react to everything like that, one day you'll be in big trouble.”
Someone said those to her, but she had ignored them at the time because the person said it while worrying about her.
Sol, I should have listened to you.
It was unfair.
Sol! A man with your exact face has landed me in this mess! Do you know that?
“Idiots.”
A low, growling voice drifted over. Monica snapped her head around. The blonde young man who had run away was standing there once more. He continued, his face twisted into a menacing expression.
“She has nothing to do with this, so let her go.”
“Garcia!”
“Nothing to do with her? Did you come back to save your woman?!”
The thugs brandished their pickaxes and tools. Garcia ignored them and glared at Monica. His eyes were cold and sharp.
“Didn’t I tell you to get lost?”
How do you think I feel, being caught up with a total stranger, only to end this way?
Monica involuntarily shrieked at him.
“I would have if you'd explained that these crazy people were chasing you!”
“This brat.”
The man with the hammer pushed her against the wall. Her back hit the stone. It hurt so much that tears pricked her eyes.
“I said let her go!”
“You're the one who needs to pay for my warehouse!”
“Stop spouting nonsense! Yaaaah!”
The thugs charged at him. Garcia gritted his teeth and lunged at them. Monica couldn't see much with her back against the wall and the man's arm pressing against her throat, making it hard to breathe, but the heavy sounds of blows can be heard.
Intermittently, she heard them swearing at each other. One would think that the fight would be one-sided since the other party were armed, but they could be wrong.
“Wait, you idiots.”
The man pinning Monica's throat became increasingly restless.
“Hey! Push him! What are you doing!”
Monica waited for an opening and managed to twist her body away. It was possible because the man's grip had weakened. But, before she could even take a step, he grabbed her by the hair again.
Despite the chaos, it was a surprising sight. Garcia was still fighting fiercely, and one of the thugs was already down on the ground. Then, with a loud crack, Garcia's foot connected with the second man's chin. The thug lost consciousness with a choking sound. Garcia's piercing eyes turned towards her.
“I told you to let her go.”
“You, you'll regret this. Your lover’s life is in my...”
“Let's see who regrets what.”
The thug threatened her while holding her head, but Garcia didn't flinch.
“I don't even know who that horse-tail is, you idiots. Do you really think I'll blink if you threaten a woman I don't know?”
“B-But, you came back...”
“Yeah, I came back.”
Garcia replied half-heartedly and leaned down. The thug blinked and instinctively watched him. In the next moment, Garcia straightened up with a stone in his hand. He leaned back and swung his arm in a flash.
Crack.
The stone hit the thug holding Monica square in the forehead. The man fell backwards without even making a sound. Monica also staggered and fell with him, as he hadn't let go of her hair until the very last second. There was a loud crash. She didn't fall completely flat, but tears welled in her eyes because both her knees had been scraped against the ground.
“Ugh...”
Monica couldn't even bring herself to stand up, she just groaned. She couldn't clear her head. Her palms and knees were stinging, and her whole body ached. Through the pain, she could clearly hear the sound of the young man's footsteps approaching.
“Hey, horse-tail.”
“...”
“You alright?”
Monica stood up.
I swear I’m going to scratch that man's face to bits!
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