Chapter 178: Must Protect Amelia

This situation gave Amelia a genuine headache.

She stood frozen in place, staring at the chaotic scene, entirely incapable of devising a proper way out of this turmoil.

On one side, Albert was kneeling before her in tears, utterly convinced that she was furious with him.

On the other side, dozens of townsfolk were closing in with their weapons raised, combat auras flaring around several of them in preparation for an assault.

And as for her...

She was so utterly drained that she could barely move her body.

In that agonizing moment, Amelia could only pray for a miracle.

Any miracle.

Just a single incident that could resolve this mess before it degenerated into an even greater disaster.

And indeed...

Right at the moment Amelia was trapped between both forces, something completely unexpected transpired.

Whoosh!

Two figures abruptly landed near her.

The duo wore nearly identical uniforms and shared the exact same hairstyle—jet-black hair slicked neatly to one side.

Even their facial features bore a similarity that was almost uncanny.

And there was something even stranger: black makeup rimmed their eyes and painted their lips in the exact same fashion.

There was zero room for doubt regarding their identities.

They were...

The Bloody Twins.

The instant their feet touched the ground, their overwhelming aura erupted across the area.

An immense pressure swept through the entire vicinity.

In a single instant, their crushing aura expanded outward, violently pushing back the advancing crowd. The townsfolk froze on the spot, paralyzed under the weight of that terrifying pressure.

Their power surpassed almost everyone present by leaps and bounds.

Indeed, their aura alone was more than enough to make any rational person recognize the vast, insurmountable gulf between themselves and these newcomers.

Yet the Twins had no knowledge of what had transpired here.

They didn’t know who was innocent and who was the killer.

They didn’t even understand why this crowd was arrayed before their young mistress.

However, to them, such intricate details were utterly irrelevant.

What lay before their eyes was crystal clear: a mob wielding lethal weapons, pointed directly at their young mistress, advancing while flaring their battle auras.

To the Bloody Twins, that translated to a single outcome: a direct threat to the life of their young mistress.

Under such circumstances, protocol was remarkably simple: eliminate the source of the threat immediately.

Consequently, a chilling, lethal intent began oozing from their bodies.

Yet before they could move...

"No!" Amelia shouted hastily. "Do not kill them! They aren’t trying to kill me! It’s a misunderstanding!"

The Twins halted in their tracks.

They exchanged a brief glance, then turned their gazes back toward the crowd.

Clear confusion flickered in their eyes.

A misunderstanding?

How could there be a misunderstanding?

They could see with their own eyes a group of armed people advancing directly toward their mistress, drawing sharp weapons and flaring combat auras in her face.

To them, the scene left very little room for interpretation.

It was blatantly obvious.

Nevertheless...

Orders had been issued by their mistress.

Obedience was their only option.

They suppressed their killing intent, remaining motionless in place without attacking anyone.

Conversely, the townsfolk failed to comprehend what was happening at all.

The sudden arrival of these two figures, followed by that horrifying aura, was enough to multiply the terror in their hearts.

Before anyone could utter a word, an angry voice shouted from within the crowd:

"So you two are definitely followers of these monsters...!"

Silence fell for a fraction of a second as the Twins eyed the speaker.

Unfortunately, it was no longer just a single voice.

"Yes! These ones are monsters too! They deserve to be slaughtered and eradicated...!"

Amelia felt her headache throbbing even harder. It seemed the mob was no longer capable of anything beyond hurling curses and accusations.

"Monsters...!"

"You monsters!"

"Subordinates of monsters!"

The insults continued echoing through the crowd, yet the Bloody Twins paid them no mind whatsoever.

Being called monsters meant nothing to them.

After all, they weren’t here for these people.

They stood calmly in front of their mistress, positioning themselves to shield her completely from the mob. Amelia had her back turned to them, remaining frozen purely from physical exhaustion, her gaze fixed entirely on Albert.

As for Albert...

He stared at the scene before him with wide, astonished eyes.

He understood what had happened.

Once again...

Lady Amelia was protecting him.

She had done it before when she stepped in against his uncle to save him, and now she was doing the exact same thing again.

Except this time, she wasn’t protecting him from his uncle.

She was protecting him from everyone.

From all those who viewed him as a monster and were preparing to eradicate him.

And she did it without asking for a single thing in return.

Albert felt a heavy weight settle in his heart, his sense of guilt compounding exponentially.

Why was she doing all this for him?

What had he ever given her for her to keep protecting him like this?

Yet alongside that heavy burden, another emotion surfaced: gratitude. A deep, profound gratitude that words could never hope to express.

In the end, Albert knew only one thing for certain: he would never, ever forget what Amelia had done for him.

Roughly an hour after that incident, once they had departed from the area...

Amelia made another decision.

She was not prepared to leave Albert and his little sister to live on the streets alone.

Thus, she decided to take them in.

When Albert offered to work for her in exchange for allowing him and his sister to stay at her home, Amelia rejected the offer outright.

"There’s no need for that," she stated simply. "You and your sister can stay here as long as you like. And I don’t want you paying me a single copper for it."

Albert was completely at a loss for words, unable to formulate a response.

Yet it didn’t end there.

Amelia also insisted that he be completely himself inside the house.

He didn’t have to hide his true identity, fear being seen in his natural form, or tread cautiously at all times.

He could just be himself.

In fact, she went even further.

She arranged for a true dragon from the members of her father’s organization to train Albert and his sister, teaching them how to control their latent power.

And all of this... without requesting anything in return.

In that moment, Albert truly had no idea how he could ever repay such kindness.

Everything Amelia provided only deepened the immense debt he felt toward her.

Shelter.

Safety.

Acceptance of his true nature.

Protection when he was utterly powerless to defend himself.

And even providing a member of his own kind to teach him how to master the very power that had once brought him pain and terror.

To Albert, Amelia was no longer merely a friend.

She was the person who extended her hand to him when he had no one left.

And because of that, a single resolve burned within him, stronger than ever before:

To protect Amelia.

To protect her with everything he possessed.

Even if the cost was his very life.