Celebrity Lady - Chapter 71

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Celebrity Lady
Chapter 71
Seeing the menacing man’s expression, I could tell this was about to escalate, so I quickly moved Lark to the side and apologized at once.
“I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? Is that all? Where were your eyes in broad daylight if you couldn’t see what was in front of you?”
At the man’s harsh words, I went blank for a moment.
Just as I’d been listening to Lark’s run-in with this troublemaker, I was now being provoked in exactly the same way.
‘What kind of cliché, forced event scenario is this?’
The man with short crimson hair was at least twice, if not three times my size, with a belly like a mountain and muscles rippling beneath his frame.
In other words, a mere brush of shoulders wouldn’t register on him—my shoulder would hurt far worse than his.
“That’s why you’re stumbling around with that thing on, crashing into people, yeah?”
It wasn’t that he was genuinely offended; he just wanted to pick a fight. That much was obvious.
Men like this are best handled gently, or they’ll cause real trouble. I swallowed my irritation and apologized once more.
“I’m truly sorry. I’ll be more careful from now on.”
“Is a mere apology supposed to be enough?”
What else do you want from me? My irritation was rising now, and the man suddenly stretched out a massive hand toward my mask.
“Easy there.”
Lark blocked the man’s hand with his own arm.
“Who are you?”
“It’s so crowded here, people are bound to bump into each other by accident. Since it’s a festive time, let’s not scowl at each other and just go our separate ways, yes? Ha-ha-ha!”
Lark spoke with a good-natured laugh, but his smooth manner only seemed to irritate the man more.
The man, as if finding his opening, exchanged glances with the two companions beside him and spoke with a sneer.
“The festival’s already annoying enough with all these brats running around making noise, and now I’ve got these wandering fools acting up. What’s with this lion-head anyway, huh?”
The man ground his teeth and added on,
“Even more annoying seeing beasts like you two padding about in pairs.”
In his muttering voice, there seemed to linger an odd jealousy and wounded pride.
Somehow, his entire life—never having held a woman’s hand—played out before me like a panorama.
“What are you two doing wandering in broad daylight, anyway? Huh? A man without a woman—how does he even live with such sorrow?”
As the man touched the snout of Lark’s Lion Mask rudely, the loose mask turned awkwardly to the side.
In that instant, a flash of anger rose in me, and I spoke from behind Lark.
“Listen, isn’t that enough? We apologized already, so why are you still at it?”
I’d spoken as quietly as I could to avoid drawing attention.
Unfortunately, people who take interest in others’ affairs paused their steps and peered at us curiously, wondering what the commotion was about.
“Oh-ho? Look at this feisty female lion.”
……
Sensing my displeasure, the man who’d been snickering stretched out his massive hand to remove my mask.
“Is she pretty?”
But then—snap.
Lark caught his wrist easily. His grip was firm enough that the man flinched.
“What? You’re not letting go?”
“Your face looks familiar somehow. Haven’t we met before?”
“What?”
While keeping the man’s wrist firmly in his left hand, Lark straightened his own mask with his right.
“Remember, seven years ago when the whole neighborhood was shaking with people shouting about who your family was and what you were doing?”
“What are you talking about? Seven years ago…? Oh? Oh!”
The man suddenly jumped back.
“You still have the same taste?! Still walking around in that lion head?”
“Wait, is it someone you know?” asked the companion standing nearby.
The man, Jo, laughed with a snicker.
“Don’t you remember? You were there too! This punk was smart-mouthing us back then and got his ass handed to him by us~! Lion mask!”
“Hold on, get your story straight.”
Even now, Lark turned back to me with a correction: “But we weren’t exactly beaten that badly.”
From what I could gather, it seemed we’d run into the same troublemaker from seven years ago. What a coincidence.
“Honestly, five against one was a bit much. And I was at a disadvantage trying to keep my mask intact.”
“Ah! I remember now, I remember! Come to think of it, we barely managed to turn it around even with five of us!”
“That’s right, that’s right! Jo was struggling alone, and when it looked like he’d lose, he gave us a look to all jump in together!”
Jo’s first friend clapped his hands excitedly as he spoke, and Jo’s second friend chimed in.
“Yeah, yeah. That’s how it was.”
As Lark nodded contentedly, Jo furrowed his brow and turned to his friends, shouting,
“Whose side are you guys on!”
“Anyway, it’s nice to see you after all this time. You’re still as intimidating as ever. Have fun at the festival and get home safely.”
“Well, yeah. Lion mask, you’ve grown quite a bit yourself.”
As Lark smiled and released the wrist he’d been holding, Jo burst into a bright grin. It seemed like things were ending on a warm note, thankfully.
“And you’ve got a pretty female lion attached to you now, and you’re a head taller than me….”
Jo, who’d been laughing, suddenly hardened his expression and added menacingly,
“How lucky.”
And in the blink of an eye, his fist cut through the air.
“Crack!”
“Easy now.”
While I gasped, certain we’d be hit, Lark caught Jo’s arm as if he’d anticipated this move all along.
With ease, he bent Jo’s muscular arm—thick with hair, like a freshly pulled radish from a field—and pinned him.
“Ugggh! Agh!”
Jo cried out dramatically as his arm was bent.
“I appreciate the warmth, but you wouldn’t want to part quietly, would you?”
“You… you punk….”
“Then I suppose I have no choice.”
Lark lightly swept Jo’s feet. Jo’s enormous frame tottered and tilted.
At the same moment, cold-heartedly, Lark let go of his hand.
‘Oh no, his nose is going to break!’
I barely had time to look away from the impending disaster.
But then—snap.
Just before Jo’s face hit the ground, Lark caught his arm firmly again.
“If there’s blood, it becomes awkward for me. Take it as a favor.”
“I… I….”
Lark, smiling beneath his mask, seemed perfectly at ease.
By this point, my jaw had dropped. He was handling that massive body as if playing with a puppy.
‘The Superhuman Strength on display here.’
Yet the merciless Lark made no move to help Jo back to his feet.
Bang!
“Ugh!”
Precariously balanced, Jo collapsed lifelessly face-first into the ground the moment Lark released his arm.
Lark chuckled quietly.
“Your nose should be fine. Sorry about that.”
“Iii…!”
As Jo trembled and began to raise his head, Lark quickly seized my hand and pulled me away.
“Let’s go!”
“Eek!”
What followed was a wild sprint.
“Catch them! Catch theeeeem!!!”
Jo’s furious voice echoed through the street, and I was dragged along by Lark so fast I was practically flying.
Jo and his friends began chasing us relentlessly. The spectators parted like the Red Sea before us.
“Ugh, haa, I… I… no…”
I’d never experienced speed like this before. My feet stumbled several times and I was gasping for breath.
“Big brother!”
Desperate, I called out to Lark, and he stopped abruptly in alarm.
“I’m… dying… Huff, huff. I… I can’t go any further!”
“This is troublesome if we get caught.”
Watching the approaching mob of Jo and his friends, Lark clicked his tongue, and after a brief deliberation, he scooped me up in his arms.
“Oh my!”
“Pardon me for a moment.”
Wait, what is this Superhuman Strength, really?
Cradling me like a princess, my eyes wide in shock, Lark began running again.
He should have been weighed down, yet not a single breath came ragged from him—his speed was nothing short of astonishing. It was even more impressive than when he’d been running alone.
“Hold on tight!”
“Ahhhhh!”
Holding fast to Lark’s neck as instructed, I watched the scenery of the streets blur past me in a daze.
Barely arrived on Je Island after so long, and I’d already run into the old enemies from that day at the Single Log Bridge and was now filming a thrilling chase scene….
Despite the perilous situation where capture meant disaster, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Reveling in the thrill, I cried out,
“Run, big brother, run!”
* * *
The lion mask, now grown into adulthood, had truly become a magnificent male!
‘No wonder he’s suited to be the alpha of the pack—that raw, ferocious wildness is remarkable!’
His stamina bar seemed to pierce the heavens; even while carrying me, he showed not a trace of fatigue as he successfully evaded our pursuers.
After winding through narrow alleys and finally finding a secluded spot, we removed our masks and caught our breath in hiding.
“Ha… ha….”
“Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“But you were the one running—why am I the one exhausted?”
I wiped the sweat that had dampened my face and wagged my tongue at myself.
Lark chuckled.
“Do some exercise.”
“But I do it every day, don’t I? Where would you find a noblewoman who works on her stamina as diligently as I do?”
Lark and I locked eyes and burst into laughter without need for words.
“Anyway, with the lion mask already drawing so much attention, at least we got to enjoy the Festival today.”
Lark, glancing outside the alley, spoke with a wistful tone. I poked his ribs and shrugged my shoulders.
“What are the odds of something else happening on this broad Je Island?”
“You want to wander more?”
As Lark looked down at me, I noticed a bead of sweat forming on his brow.
“We’ve gone through so much trouble to come out—it would be a shame to go back without doing anything.”
I pulled my sleeve up and wiped his brow, then added,
“And with stamina like yours, what’s there to worry about? If we run into those thugs again, you just break one arm and carry me—easy.”
Lark, who’d been hesitant to receive my touch, broke into a smile.
“All right.”
We put our masks back on like generals marching to war.
The memory of us from seven years ago, one I couldn’t forget, came back to me.
I spoke with a grin.
“Come on, big brother!”
Lark laughed along and murmured,
“……It’s nice to hear that again after so long, ‘big brother.'”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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