Chapter 11: Chapter 11 - Damsel in Distress
"Another beer here!"
"The soup is not warm enough!"
"Give us more bread!"
The restaurant was experiencing another busy day.
"Coming!"
Violet was running around without a chance to catch her breath. She was counting the minutes until her shift ended as her feet but also arms carrying heavy trays were tired after forking since the morning.
The proprietress was standing on the side, smiling widely as she watched the full house. Her business was doing great and making a lot of money, she had no reason to be unhappy even if some customers were being rude.
"Welcome!" Her singing voice full of enthusiasm greeted the new customer, but her joyous face turned slightly sour immediately. After running a business for many years, she could tell from a glance who was going to cause a problem in her restaurant.
The group that just arrived seemed to be a mercenary. They were strong so ordinary people couldn't stand up to them, but unlike knights, most of them lacked the proper upbringings and etiquette, as they were rough and actively looking for a chance to brawl.
"Violet," the owner called her over. "Take an order from them, but please be careful… We have a lot of people around tonight…"
"Got it!"
The girl put on her best smile as approached the table. She served mercenaries before and she knew that despite their bad reputation and unfriendly look, some of them were really kind inside.
"Good evening, dear guests! What would you like today? The grilled meat plate is especially popular to go with the beer!"
Not afraid of their cold face, she patiently waited for them to choose. However, instead of placing the order, a hand slowly crawled behind her and ended on her bottom.
Violet froze up.
The men at the table smirked.
It was her bad luck today. Some of the mercenaries were kind souls, but those before her were human trash.
She annoyingly pushed the hand away.
"Are you going to order?" She said with a slightly angry tone.
"How much for you?" One of the men asked, licking his lips.
"We are not that kind of establishment…"
She took the safety step back but before she could get far enough from them, a hand touched her again, this time daring enough the get under her skirt.
"Hands off!" Violet yelled, bringing the attention of the whole dinner to them.
"Esteemed guests, is there something wrong?" The flustered owner ran to them quickly, trying to calm the situation.
"Proprietress, your waitress is being rude to us," one of the men answered.
The woman quickly understood the situation and stood before Violet, hiding the young girl with her opulent body.
"I'm very sorry, I will train my staff better! What about I gave you our best dish as an apology?"
But it was too late to save her restaurant from being a place of fight tonight. The mercenaries had set their gaze on the girl and were stubbornly demanding her to serve tonight.
"Just let her go with tonight. She will be back tomorrow after some fun…"
"Please, guests, we are not dealing with this business here…"
"Did I ask for your opinion?! We are going to take her with us!"
One of the burly men stood up and grabbed Violet's arm, but before he could drag her away, a puppy bolted out from the kitchen, biting the mercenary hand that touched the girl.
"Woof!" Cassiel was full of rage, but there was only a small amount of damage that the little dog could cause.
"Where did this trash come from?!" The man yelled and shook off the small body hanging on him with ease.
"No! Don't hurt him!" Violet jumps out, catching the puppy that was being thrown away. She took him protectively into her arm.
"Haaah, so it was your pet… You really need to compensate me properly," the man sneered.
"Customer, I will give you money, so please leave her alone!" The owner screamed but no one listened to her. Instead, she was pushed away as the mercenaries surrounded Violet who was holding the puppy firmly. Cassiel was so irritated and wanted to charge at them again, but she wouldn't allow him to hurt himself.
"So, little girl, you have two choices! Leave with us now, or that puppy will die for biting my friend here!"
"Please, I beg you! Don't touch them! I will pay for the damage they did…" The owner tried to intervene again.
"Sh*t up, stupid woman!"
Violet was frantically thinking. Was there no other way?!
She saw the owner crying, as she was helpless. People in the restaurant wanted to help, but they were afraid of the strong mercenaries. And lastly, the chef and the kitchen staff gathered at the door, observing the situation. They were clenching the cleaver and other knives, but Violet knew that they couldn't win the fight of strength.
"I will…"
"Is there any problem?"
All the heads in the restaurant turned to the entrance where the new figure appeared. Violet breathed out in relief as Nathaniel was making his way towards her. He frowned his brown when he realized she was shaking in fear with a puppy in her embrace.
"Your Grace…" she called out to him, her eyes asking for help.
"Butt off, man, this has nothing to do with you," one of the mercenaries stood up to him, but his friend quickly held him back. They whispered to each other, and their eyes landed on Duke's insignia sewn on Nathan's clothes.
They stared intensely at him for a moment, and their faces turned visibly uncomfortable. Even if they couldn't confirm his identity on the place, anyone with a connection to the duchy was too big of a fish for them to take on.
"What a lousy establishment, the food here is truly horrible…" the mercenaries said with disdain and quickly left.
The people's jaws dropped as they witnessed the situation resolve in such a peaceful and fast manner.
"M-miss Violet, did I do something wrong?" Nathaniel was genuinely puzzled while others looked at him with admiration.
Oh, my young duke… your naivety is sometimes astonishing.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone