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Hyde grabbed the guy by his arm and lunged him over his shoulder, sending him flying into another man in a robe.

The one with a long dagger shot forward, hacking his weapon through the air. Hyde successfully blocked it before kneeing the man in his torso and kicking him back.

The head of the group rushed forward, but Hyde stepped aside. His movement was so swift that no one saw it. In a flash, he was behind them.

Hyde lifted his sword high and allowed the handle of it to smack against the top of the man's head, sending him to the courtyard ground.

The men swore as Hyde avoided their every swing and hit by only moving from one side to the next. "Are you finished?" Hyde snorted. "That's all you got?"

The four men were panting heavily. While catching their breaths, Hyde placed his legs apart confidently and tossed his weapons toward Giada.

"My turn." Hyde balled his fists. He was going to fight without any weapons because he didn't need them. Their moves were completely sloppy.

Hyde turned his heel slightly, before sprinting at the men. Hyde was faster than they could react, grabbing two of them and forcing them to head-butt each other.

Then he grabbed the third one and slammed his face into a pillar, breaking his nose in the process. Saving the leader for last, Hyde backed him to a wall and clasped his fingers around his neck.

The man choked and kicked his feet around, trying to escape, but Hyde wasn't having it. Hyde raised him off the ground effortlessly, refusing to let him go.

"Harper! Stop him! He'll kill him that way!" Anna slapped Harper's shoulder with a face full of fear.

"Me?" Harper huffed.

"Si!" Giada motioned before looking to Hyde. "Hyde! Mi figlio! Halta!"

"Senor! Per favor!" The man tapped Hyde's arm repeatedly, pleading with his eyes as his vision began to fade.

"Begging for your life now, huh? I despise it. You only beg after you realize the shite you're in." Hyde tightened his grip.

"Hyde!" Harper gathered courage and wrapped her arms around his torso. Then she began to pull, hoping the movement would loosen the hold he had.

She pulled again, this time dragging his feet a great distance away. Hyde's hand slipped, and the man collapsed onto the hard stone.

Hyde swore and reached for Harper's arms, but they were wrapped securely. "Let go." He snarled at her.

"Go!" Harper gestured to the man who was coughing. "He will kill you!"

"S-si!" The man scrambled to his feet, and he along with the other men scurried away.

"And don't come back here!" Hyde roared, trying to free himself by turning and twisting. "If I catch you breathing the same air here, you're dead!" He shouted after them. "Shite! Release me!"

"Calm down first." Harper pulled him closer.

"You shouldn't have stopped me."

"Giada and Anna told me too," Harper explained. "You almost killed him."

"Everyone knows what happens when you strike me." Hyde chuckled bitterly. "I repay them tenfold."

"Anna and Giada are still here. You don't want blood on your hands in front of them, do you? Isn't what you're trying to do, save face in front of them?"

"You don't know shite about me. Hands off." Hyde finally shook out of her hold. And before he could gather himself, Giada pulled him in for a hug.

"Aiy! Mi figlio! Eyu alright?" Giada pressed her hands against his cheeks, causing Hyde's lips to pucker while she yanked his head downward. "Blood!"

"I'm fine," Hyde brought her hands away.

"No, there's a lot of blood, Hyde." Anna pointed out. "Are you sure you're okay? Maybe you need to sit down."

"Mama Giada... if those men come back here, send them to me. Don't engage with them." Hyde groaned. "Arturo and Arnest aren't here. It's too dangerous for you and Anna to get into a fight alone. And Anna, for the sake of your mother, don't get involved."

"Why are you scolding me?" Anna frowned. "I called to get you, didn't I?"

"You're pregnant. What would your husband and your brothers say if you or your baby were hurt? I can't always be here to scare them off." Hyde gestured to her stomach.

"I tried to call for Arnest, but he's gone! And Arturo is busy at the restaurant."

"And what would've happened if I hadn't been there? You would've lost your child!" Hyde hissed.

"Aiy, Aiy! Mi brosos, I get it." Anna pouted. "Why are you acting like Mama... You should also worry for yourself. And your Amora."

Hyde scoffed in response.

"Harpy, per favor. Care for mi figlio. Si?" Giada gestured toward Hyde's head, which had several droplets of blood running down his face.

"Okay." Harper nodded. Before she could look at Hyde, he had already turned on his heel, grabbed his swords, and headed for the exit. "Stay safe," Harper looked apologetically at the two, before racing after him.

"Hyde! Wait!" Harper puffed when she caught up to him. "It hurts, right?" When she was at a walking pace with him, she raised her hand to move a strand of his hair, but the look of anger in his eyes made her pause.

"What?"

"Stay with Giada for the time being. The last thing I want to see is you."

His words were harsh, and enough to start up another heated argument. Harper dragged him to a forceful stop and tightened her mouth.

"What is your problem?!"

"Touch me again, and I will rip them off."

"Are you still angry that I stopped you? I did you a favor! Giada and Anna don't realize you're a killer! I saved your reputation—"

"You're not understanding how sick of you I am right now."

"You're sick of ME? Welcome to the club! I've been gagging every time I open my eyes to see you!"

"Vixen,"

"Not my name! It's not that hard to call me by my name! It's Harper! H A R P E R!"

Hyde shoved her into an alley, and Harper shrieked. She was pressed against a wall, with one of Hyde's blades against her neck, and completely out of sight from the public.

Her heart raced when she saw Hyde's vengeful eyes were still glowing. The two of them said nothing. Only their breaths could be heard.

But rather than focusing on his sword, she put her attention on a line of blood that trailed down the bridge of his nose. She wiped it with her sleeve and brushed his hair away from his eyes.

"What are you doing?" He raised a brow at her. "I'm holding a sword to your throat and you're wiping my face."

"If you're going to kill me, you'd be happier with a full view of my end, wouldn't you?" Harper mumbled sarcastically. Her remark made him laugh.

"I saw how you acted with them..." Harper frowned. "You... you actually care for Arnest's family, don't you?"

Hyde's laughter ceased.

"I stopped you because I know how much you value them. You're not heartless... you— ah!"

Hyde pulled away and placed his sword back in place. His movement made Harper jerk forward and fall.

He remained quiet and walked in the direction of the Dojo. Harper was surprised and confused. Just saying a few words made him spare her. She couldn't understand why.

Was her suspicions true? Did Hyde actually have the capability to care for others around him?

Wouldn't that prove that his insanity was no longer valid? Things weren't adding up.

Harper followed him. They arrived back at the dojo about 10 minutes later. The first thing she did was search for Arnest's first aid kit. She found it in one of the dish cabinets and opened it.

Of course, the antidote was there, along with many bandages and wound-cleaning solutions.

Hyde placed his weapons down and sat at the coffee table. And Harper grabbed what she needed before sitting in front of him.

She reached for his chin, and Hyde slapped her hand away. "What are you—"

"Giada told me to take care of you."

"You don't have to. It'll heal."

"It's a lot of blood."

"It'll heal," Hyde repeated.

"Just let me see—"

"Did you forget that you're not my wife?" Hyde's comment made her freeze. Other than playing pretend, there wasn't any reason for her to help him unless he commanded her to. "Stop it."

"I'm not acting," Harper admitted. "Despite how much I don't like you, there's still a small part of me that cares about your well-being." She grumbled. "I'm not..." Harper stopped herself and frowned.

"You're not what?" Hyde furrowed his eyebrows at her. "Finish what you were gonna say. A deranged killer? A crazy dastard? A madman? Go on. Say it."

"I don't let anger cloud my vision like you do." Harper corrected herself. "So just let me clean your wound and we can pretend it never happened, okay?"

"Did you drink?" Hyde leaned away when she reached forward.

"No." Harper blinked at him, puzzled.

"You sound drunk."

"Stop moving!" Harper crawled closer to him and wiped the red away from his forehead. But while moving his strands of hair aside, she observed that there were no cuts or bruises.

Harper tilted his head to find them, but nope. There was nothing. "W-what the—"

"I told you they would heal."

"T-that's not normal! How could your wounds heal that quick—"

It didn't make any sense. She knew that Hyde was different, but this was on the same level as Yanpu! Yanpu was incubated and made to be the next generation of resilient Westonians. He was able to heal fast.

But Hyde was just a serviceman. What on Cryston gave him this ability? "I have to make sure—"

"No, you don't." Hyde flicked her nose, and she moved away.

"I don't understand... Are all servicemen able to do this?"

"I'm not a serviceman."

"You used to be!"

"I'm not anymore."

"If your cuts are able to heal, what about the scar on your chest? Why isn't it healing?"

"That's none of your business."

"Hyde! I'm asking because I'm worried! I am so confused right now! Yanpu is the only person I've witnessed with this ability to heal quickly! And you guys look a lot alike. Are you both related? Are you—"

Hyde placed his fingers over her mouth, silencing her. "Are you finished?"

"N-no."

"There are no wounds to clean..."

"But there's still blood all over your face." Harper grabbed his jaw and began using a rag to clean around his forehead and around his ears. "Even if there are no wounds, I can't let Giada see you like this. She looked worried."

While wiping and cleaning the red off his skin, her eyes kept trailing down his nose to his lips. "If you had been paying attention, you wouldn't have gotten hit like this."

"You think I wasn't paying attention? I allowed that collector to strike first."

"What? Why would you do that?"

"You underestimate how much control I have. It was a test. I wanted to see how far they would go with their threats. The one who hit me was new to the job. They probably hired him because he was lanky and tall. Those shites thought I'd be intimidated."

It terrified her that he was so articulate in observing things. Allowing himself to be harmed really showed who had the upper hand.

But at the same time, it was very smart and insightful. He was the type of person to allow an opponent the opportunity to give their best before showing his true strength.

He wasn't just big and brawn. Hyde had brains too.

Harper continued cleaning up his face. As much as she tried to fight the temptation to stare into those blood-red eyes, she was struggling. She was so entranced in her actions that she barely realized she started to lean closer to him.

And just when her lips neared him, Hyde stopped her.

"Trying to steal a kiss from me?" His cold tone shook her to her core. "I won't let you."

"I... I wasn't—"

"Bullcrap." Hyde snorted. "You're trying to save yourself from embarrassment."

"What embarrassment?" Harper retorted. "I'd be more embarrassed if it actually happened!"

"Good. Because it won't. Not sorry to disappoint. My body is earned."

"Earned? What? You think you're some expensive asset or something?"

"I know I am." Hyde poked her. "I gave you an opportunity before. But you turned down my offer and pissed me off."

"I— what?!"

"Don't complain now because it's too late. You're gonna have to do a lot more to earn me over."

"Like I'd ever want to earn you over! I'm not like those women who give themselves away freely! I have respect for myself—"

"Mm... keep saying that."

"I'm serious!"

"Didn't say you weren't." Hyde fixed his shoulders.

"Don't mock me!"

"I wouldn't have to if you hadn't tried stealing a kiss."

"I didn't!"

"You're lowering your chances of earning a night with me by saying that."

"Ugh!" Harper vented and pushed herself off the floor. "You are just... ugh!" She stomped into the bedroom and shut the door behind her. In the midst of her anger, she felt her face warm up, blushing to a max.

~~~

Later in the afternoon, around 4 or 5, Hyde decided to use his spare time to sharpen both of his swords. He sat on a discarded crate in front of the large double doors to the dojo and balanced one of his blades.

After letting water soak into a whetstone, he began sliding it up and down the edge. This went on for a while until he saw that it was sharpened enough to his liking.

As he switched to his other sword, Yanpu approached him carefully.

Yanpu ran up a long hill and on a path that led back to the general area where Harper was staying. When he spotted Hyde sitting out front, he hesitated to step forward.

Yanpu was hiding from his schoolmates. Going to the main town and being forced to share space with children either his age or older was taking its toll on him.

Yanpu realized quickly that the children around him had lived a completely different life than he was used to back in Westona.

While he understood academic knowledge extremely well, he didn't see the value in having family ties until recently.

Yanpu didn't have a family. He was raised by Harper, but it didn't feel authentic. He was close to her, but there was still something missing. The children in his class had a deep emotional connection with their parents or siblings.

Even when he was forced to deal with Giada's grandchildren, he felt he was missing out.

He felt loneliness as a result. And he wasn't sure how to process it well. It didn't help that his older schoolmates pushed him around because of his lack of understanding. He felt afraid of the bigger kids.

They were taller and stronger than him. Their builds intimidated him so much that he often ran to find Harper for protection. But that was becoming harder for him to do lately.

He saw how hard Harper was working. There were days when he wanted to report to her about his day when he was completely ignored because of how exhausted she was.

He didn't want to burden her. He reasoned that he had to learn how to protect himself. But who would be able to teach him?

He needed someone strong, someone more powerful than those schoolmates who tortured him. Someone with undeniable brute strength.

And that person was right in front of him, but he was extremely afraid of Hyde. To him, Hyde was a villain. He was the top definition of evil in the dictionary.

Yanpu didn't trust him after what he did to Harper. And he was acting lenient now, but who knows when his mood would change suddenly?

But did he really have a choice? Yanpu didn't. Hyde was the only solution to his problem.

Yanpu gathered the courage to walk over to him, but his lips quivered so much that words weren't able to properly come out.

Hyde could sense Yanpu's presence but remained focused on his task.

"S... S... S..." Yanpu stuttered, catching Hyde's attention. He clasped his fingers together tightly when Hyde's red eyes met his. Tears started to form in Yanpu's eyes as he struggled to call him.

"S...S... Sir—" Yanpu croaked. "M...m... Mr."

Yanpu finally got it out. That was the first step to communicating with him. He felt somewhat relieved. But Hyde raised a brow at him, not even bothering to respond.

"C...C...Can..."

"She's inside taking a nap." Hyde rolled his eyes impatiently and continued gliding the whetstone up and down his blade. He didn't want to hear the rest of Yanpu's stammering.

"Y... yo... you..." Yanpu continued.

"Ey, can't you hear? I said she was inside." Hyde grunted. "Speak clearly. Don't waste my time by standing there. You know words, use them." Hyde swore under his breath, annoyed by Yanpu's presence.

"I'm not... l... looking... for..."

Hyde furrowed his eyebrows at Yanpu, making the boy even more nervous.

"Can you... help—"

"Hyde!" Arnest's voice chipped in before Yanpu could finish. Hyde raised his head, as he approached. "Hyde, I—"

"Took you long enough," Hyde pressed his lips thin. "Any news from Harald?"

"That's what I..." Arnest panted and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I came to tell you. Whew."

"So...?"

"Harald is in some deep shite. He's lying low. Rumors had spread that Westonian Officials were planning on coming to Itaria, but it turns out that some of them may be here already."

Hyde balled his fists. "Are Westonian Officials even allowed to be here?"

"The Duke of Itaria was debating to let them through the borders. But Westonians called for a Demand of Temporary Accordance. A DTA. They're not here to cause an issue, they're only asking for clearance to visit for an investigation."

"They're searching..." Hyde glanced at Yanpu. "Is Lee Bomb in charge of their traveling plans?"

"I can't say. Neither can Harald."

"If the Officials are here, they'll spend their time mostly in the capital, up North. They won't travel south to a small town like Piccposto. We should lay low and be on the lookout."

"I agree."

"Don't tell Harper any of this."

"Why would I? She would be most ecstatic to find out that Westonian officials are here."

"I'm not talking to you," Hyde nodded at Yanpu. "I'm talking to the boy."

Hyde quickly snatched Yanpu's small arm and dragged him closer. "If you utter a word of this, you best believe that she's done for. Do I make myself clear?"

When Hyde's eyes began to glow, Yanpu felt frozen in fear. He nodded profusely with his teeth chattering. Hyde released him harshly, causing Yanpu to fall onto his bum.

Hyde picked up both of his swords and kicked the crate aside before walking back into the Dojo, followed by Arnest. Yanpu frowned, noting that he missed his opportunity to ask for help.

~~~