Chapter 54: Abigail

"Does it matter who I am?" Caelan answered back as he slowly approached the group. "What matters is that you’re robbing innocent people in broad daylight!"

"Hah! Mind your own business, brat!" One of the bandits pointed his sword toward him. "Unless you want to die, get lost!"

Caelan frowned at his words before looking toward the two women standing beside the carriage. He noticed that the maid was trembling in fear while the woman was trying her best to remain calm.

"Are you two alright?" he asked them for a moment.

"Y-Yes!" The maid immediately answered, looking at him with a mixture of surprise and hope.

"Please, sir! You shouldn’t get involved!" Abigail quickly added. Although she was grateful that someone noticed their situation, she didn’t want an innocent person getting hurt because of them.

"These men are armed. It’s too dangerous!"

"Don’t worry. I’ll be fine." Caelan turned toward her and smiled reassuringly.

That sounded pretty cool, didn’t it? He was actually quite pleased with his entrance. It was almost exactly like the scenes he had watched in movies back then. All he needed to do now was defeat the bandits and hopefully get an opportunity to become acquainted with Lady Renswort.

Everything was going according to plan and the members’ acting was also on point.

"YOU BASTARD! ARE YOU IGNORING US?!" One of the bandits suddenly shouted.

"Well, if you’re going to keep threatening innocent people, then I guess I have no choice but to stop you." Caelan turned back toward him.

"HAH! YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE ALL FIVE OF US?!"

Man, these guys are good. Caelan was genuinely impressed by how convincing the Night members were. Their expressions and even the way they shouted made them look like actual bandits.

If he didn’t personally arranged the whole thing, he might have believed them himself.

"Why don’t you come and find out?" Caelan replied with a confident smile on his face.

"GET HIM!" The bandit immediately raised his sword. With that, two of the men rushed toward Caelan while the remaining three stayed near the carriage.

"Watch out!" Abigail shouted out loud, her heart skipping a beat.

However, before the first bandit could reach him, Caelan quickly stepped to the side and avoided the incoming sword. He then grabbed the man’s wrist and delivered a punch to his stomach.

"UGH!" The bandit stumbled backward, clutching his stomach before falling onto one knee.

Oh? That was easier than I thought. Caelan blinked. Now he was worried if they’re acting too easy.

The second bandit immediately swung his wooden club toward Caelan’s head. Caelan ducked to avoid it before kicking the man’s leg, causing him to lose his balance and fall onto the ground.

"AHH!"

Abigail watched the scene with widened eyes.

She expected the young man to struggle against the bandits. However, he already managed to defeat two of them in such a short amount of time.

"M-My lady! He’s actually winning!" The maid beside her seemed surprised too.

Abigail nodded slowly, hes eyes following the man’s movements. She kept her mouth shut as thoughts circulated in her head. She was actually confused for a moment.

The man was indeed skilled, but wasn’t this too easy?

Meanwhile, Caelan was beginning to enjoy himself.

Since the men were members of the Night, he didn’t have to worry too much about accidentally hurting them. He could also use the opportunity to practice fighting without relying on his abilities.

"YOU BASTARD!" The remaining three bandits finally decided to join the fight.

One of them charged forward with his sword while the other two attempted to approach Caelan from different directions.

Oh? They’re actually coordinating their attacks. Caelan immediately became a little more serious.

He stepped backward to avoid the first sword before turning his body to dodge another attack coming from his left. However, just as he was about to counterattack, the third bandit suddenly swung his wooden club toward his side.

Whoa! Caelan quickly raised his arm to block the attack.

Thud!

The club struck his forearm, causing him to frown slightly. Even if it didn’t hurt, he still felt the impact from it.

"Take thiss!" When the others tried attacking him again, he quickly grabbed the wooden club from the man’s hand and pulled it toward himself. His sudden move caused the bandit to stumble forward. He then struck the man in the stomach before pushing him toward one of his companions.

"Ugh!" The two men collided and fell onto the ground. Seeing this, the last bandit hesitated.

"Well? Do you still want to fight?" Caelan slowly turned toward him.

The man glanced toward his fallen companions before tightening his grip on his sword.

"B-Boss! What do we do?!" One of the first people who he took down muttered on the ground.

"What else?! Retreat!" The standing guy shouted out loud before he hurried his companions. They run while clutching on their bodies.

Caelan watched them leave with a satisfied expression. Even their retreat looked convincing. It was a perfect act for him.

I’ll have to give them a little extra for that. After making sure the bandits were gone, Caelan finally turned toward the carriage.

"Are you two alright?"

The maid immediately rushed forward to Caelan.

"Y-Yes! We’re alright!" She bowed her head repeatedly. "Thank you so much, sir! Thank you for saving us!"

"Haha! It’s nothing." Caelan waved his hand dismissively. "I’m just glad I happened to be passing by."

"Thank you for helping us, sir." Abigail slowly approached him. She gave him a polite bow. "If you didn’t appeared, I don’t know what would happen to us."

"There’s no need to thank me. I couldn’t just stand there and watch them hurt you." Caelan smiled warmly at them.

"Even so, you put yourself in danger for our sake. We are truly grateful."

"That’s right!" The maid quickly nodded. "You were amazing, sir! I’ve never seen anyone defeat so many bandits by themselves!"

"Haha! You’re exaggerating." Caelan scratched the back of his head, pretending to be embarrassed by their compliments.

"May I ask for your name, sir?" Abigail glanced the man up and down. He did look dependable. And even if she had some suspicions about those bandits, she didn’t dare say it.

"Oh, right. I haven’t introduced myself yet." Caelan stood tall before.

"My name is Caelan. Caelan Veyr."

"Caelan Veyr..." Abigail repeated his name quietly.

"Yep! And you are?" Caelan curiously asked back.

"My name is Abigail."

"Abigail, huh? That’s a nice name."

"Thank you." She smiled. "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir Caelan."

"The pleasure’s mine." Caelan nodded politely even if he already knew who she was.

Now that they had exchanged names, he just needed to find a way to continue their conversation. Should he offer to escort them to the temple? Well, that didn’t sound too bad, right?

However, before he could speak, Abigail suddenly looked at him with a slightly curious expression.

"Sir Caelan, may I ask you something?"

"Hm? Sure."

"Do you live here?"

"Here?" Caelan blinked before shaking his head. "Not really. I’m just someone who happened to be passing by."

"I see..." Abigail nodded slowly. or some reason, she found his answer interesting.

She couldn’t help but wonder what kind of background he had. Of course, there was a much easier way for her to find out.

After all, Abigail Renswort had a secret that very few people knew about. Ever since she was young, she possessed a helpful ability. She could read people’s minds.

Abigail maintained her gentle smile as she quietly activated her ability.

Normally, whenever she focused on someone, she would begin hearing fragments of their thoughts or their intentions toward her. It was like that all the time. However, this time was different.

Huh? Abigail blinked.

She couldn’t hear anything at all. At first, she thought she just failed to activate her ability properly, so she tried again. But there was still nothing.

Her brows furrowed slightly.

Just who exactly was this man in front of her?