Smack… a brick-sized fist landed on Ambrose’s left cheek, pushing his head to the side. His neck muscles pulsated as they were undergoing immense stress. It looked like the veins on his neck were about to burst.
Simultaneously, his own fist landed on Teddy’s face, breaking his nose. Teddy stumbled backwards with a broken nose as blue blood continued dripping down from his nostrils. He was left stunned after the punch, as his whole face turned numb.
Ambrose staggered to the side and grabbed a nearby table to steady himself. He touched his mouth, thinking that a few of his teeth might have been shattered by the impact.
“Stop it, guys!” Layla shouted and turned to the rest of the group, who were watching the fight with great interest. “Stop watching and stop them!”
“Don’t you fucking dare!” Teddy shouted at them, making them all jump back in surprise. He then turned back to the black-haired young man, gritted his teeth, and rushed at him like a raging bull.
Ambrose heard the rapid steps coming his way and then felt a heavy tackle strike his waist, sending him flying back. He crashed through the window, sending shattered glass flying all over the dining hall.
Splash… He fell to the muddy ground with heavy rain pattering down at his face.
About to enter the inn, several wagon drivers jumped in fright. They had finally finished taking the horses and wagons to the shelter and were about to rent a room to have a good night’s rest before tomorrow’s long day.
However, now they have come across this scene.
Teddy leaped through the broken window and hammered his fist down at Ambrose’s face. However, he quickly rolled to the side in the mud, dodging the punch. His clothes were already covered in mud, but now even his face was.
“Ptui!” Ambrose spat out the mud from his mouth and saw Teddy rising to his feet. He returned to his boxing stance, which he remembered from old movies he used to watch alone. He doesn’t have any prior martial arts experience and was doing everything out of instinct.
Teddy’s stance was slightly different. He put his right arm in front of his body and his left arm next to his waist. It looked like a stance where he would use his right arm to block the punch and deliver a killing blow with his left.
“Come on.” Ambrose taunted him for taking a quick step forward but not going any further. “Punch at me. That’s what you want, right? Punch!”
“Die!” Teddy roared and threw a straight punch with his left. The falling rain in front of the punch was erased from existence. 𝑶𝓋𝐥xt.𝗇t
Pitter-patter… the rain continued falling from the dark, cloudy sky, cascading onto the muddy ground. Each droplet created a gentle splash upon contact with the mud. Amidst the wet landscape, a muddy puddle formed, capturing a distorted reflection of the muscular fist.
Smack… The sound of a fist hitting flesh was silenced by the sound of falling rain. Yet, everyone watching the fight could see clearly, even though the rain was making the scene harder to witness.
Teddy’s fist landed on Ambrose’s face. The fist was almost larger than most of his face. After the punch landed, most of the mud splashed off the young man’s face.
Ambrose fell backward onto the muddy puddle. His face was bloodied, with a broken nose and a fist-sized mark on the forehead.
His eyes were barely open, and blue blood was dripping down from his mouth and nose. He watched as a silver flash of lightning slithered above the dark clouds and felt the touch of falling rain.
“Haah… haaah…” Teddy panted heavily as he stood in front of Ambrose’s collapsed body. He had won, but he didn’t feel like a winner. The fight had calmed him down.
“Had enough..?”
“Huh?” Teddy looked down at the bloodied face of his opponent, who was still breathing heavily. His dull eyes were opening wide and for some reason, he was smiling.
“I don’t know why you were against me so strongly…” Ambrose chuckled and opened his mouth wide to drink the falling rain. It actually tasted like tap water. “However, I have a good guess.”
“You…” Teddy wiped the water off his face. However, it barely helped as more and more rain was falling every second. “What are you…”
Ambrose yawned and raised his hand towards Teddy. “I know how you feel. The raging jealousy, and anger. Don’t let it fucking control you. Let’s get along for tomorrow and then you don’t have to see me ever again, deal?”
“Huh?” Teddy looked at the hand, stunned. He turned to Ambrose, unsure how he should respond. Then he turned back to the inn and saw Layla and others watching the scene silently.
“I am sorry…” Teddy grabbed the hand and pulled Ambrose up with a strong pull.
Ambrose almost slipped again because of the muddy ground, but managed to barely stay standing.
“I have underestimated you.” Teddy said and patted him on the shoulders. “You have perfect MUSCLE mentality.”
“Uhh, thanks?” Ambrose looked at him strangely and watched as he entered the inn through the window. ‘The hell is that supposed to mean? Muscle mentality? What?’
“I guess that is his way of complementing you!” Layla stood by the broken window and shouted so that it was possible to hear her through the sound of falling rain.
Ambrose climbed back to the inn through the window. His clothes stuck to his body tightly, and they weighed several times more. He felt like he was carrying weights on his back.
“Ah, what happened in here!” A shout came from the entrance of the dining hall. The innkeeper returned with shock on his face. He heard the commotion so he tried coming as soon as possible, but didn’t expect to see such a mess.
“Ohoh…” Layla awkwardly scratched her head. “We will pay for it. Just send a bill.”
“Leprechaun is gonna be pissed…” One of the people murmured.
…
On the outskirts of Nocklund was Rothsmith Estate, which covered an area of nearly twelve kilometers. It was one of the biggest areas on Nocklund, owned by a single family.
The area consisted of large forest, small town and the location of Rothsmith family house. The forest was mainly used for hunting and fishing, while the town was mainly used by Rothsmith family servants.
At the Rothsmith family mansion, surrounded by vast yard filled with beautiful, luxurious gardens, fountains and beautiful landscape that gave feeling of serenity.
Jack, with walking cane in hand, entered the mansion through the front door and handed his coat to butler, who wore black suit and had glasses on his nose bridge.
“Where is Anna?”
“At the bedroom, master.”
“Alright, thank you.” Jack ventured through the mansion hallways, having to walk several hundred meters until he arrived at the bedroom belonging to him and Anna. He opened the door and came across a beautiful woman sitting on a make-up desk, combing her long, lush hair.
“Jack?” Anna turned around, revealing her delicately beautiful face. She looked like a porcelain doll with her beautiful sky-blue eyes and long eyelashes.
Jack smiled at her and walked toward her. “May I?”
“Of course.” Anna smiled as she handed the comb to her husband.
With a comb in hand, Jack began combing the hair, smelling the sweet scent of Anna’s shampoo. She had clearly just taken a shower.
“How was your mother?” Anna asked while Jack continued to work on her hair. “Let me come next time. I also want to meet her again.”
“She was doing good…” Jack said and then his voice turned softer. “Anna, I have something to talk to you about.”
“Hmm?” Anna looked over her shoulder at the fatigued-looking man.
“You know about my past, which I am not proud of. I was douchebad, filled by only thoughts of lust until I met and married you.” Jack stopped combing and looked at her delicate reflection through the mirror.
“My mother found out that… there might be another Rothsmith out there.”
“Huh?” Anna looked stunned. “A-A-Are you saying?”
“Yes… I might have another son.” Jack smiled, but it was a sad smile. “However, he also has Humanoid Imperfecta.”
Anna’s eyes widened in shock, but then she lowered her head in sadness.
“I see… I thought we were fortunate for not having us children suffer from that.” She gently grabbed Jack’s hand and caressed it. “We, Rothsmith’s, take care of each others.”
“Yes, we do…” Jack kissed her on the head.