The Obsessive Male Lead Is Actually Scary
Chapter 20: Because Someone Has To

Chapter 20: Because Someone Has To

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Main Street Market, Kalvena

Khan led the way with practiced ease, showing us around the bustling market as we moved from stall to stall. The city of Kalvena was alive with colors and voices, filled with vendors calling out their wares, the aroma of spices, grilled meats, and sweet pastries floating in the air. We picked up a few essentials: basic clothes and some personal items.

As we walked along a sunlit street, I caught a whiff of something... familiar. My eyes landed on a food stall just a few steps ahead.

"Wow... this looks delicious."

The stall owner, a friendly woman with a warm smile, perked up.

"Welcome, miss! You’re not from around here, are you? This is a local dish called Shazet."

The skewers on display were glistening with sauce, sizzling slightly as smoke rose from the coals beneath.

Khan smirked beside me. Alessio, standing just a bit behind, turned to glance at me as well.

"How much?" Alessio asked.

"Only three yalva per skewer."

Before I could even open my mouth, Alessio had already handed over a few coins and bought five skewers. The smell was incredible—rich, smoky, sweet. My stomach growled in approval as I turned to the boys and offered them each one.

"Here. You guys have to try this."

"For me? Thanks, my lady," Khan said with a wink, accepting the skewer and taking a bite without hesitation.

I turned toward Alessio, holding one out.

"You can keep them. I’m still full," he said, shaking his head.

"Tch. It’s yummy though. Fine." I grumbled, puffing my cheeks a little as I took a bite from the one I’d meant for him.

Alessio sighed softly, then leaned forward and, without a word, bit into the very same skewer in my hand.

"Hey—!"

He took the rest from me after that, casually eating it like it was the most natural thing in the world.

’This guy... seriously.’

We continued walking through the maze of stalls, occasionally stopping to browse fabrics or local trinkets. Then, as we turned down a narrower alley off the main street, a sudden commotion caught my attention.

A group of thugs had cornered a young man in a shaded corner near a closed-down shop. He was on the ground, his body hunched and trembling as two men kicked and yelled at him. Nearby, a small girl—maybe ten or eleven—was sobbing and tugging at the sleeve of one of the attackers.

"Please! Stop! Don’t hurt my brother... uwaaah..."

"Didn’t I tell you to pay up last week?!" barked the one who looked like the leader, grabbing the boy by the collar and slamming him against the wall. "Think you can hide behind your sick sister forever, huh?!"

"I—I was going to bring it today... Please, just give me a bit more time..."

His voice trembled, his face battered and bruised. His hands were scraped raw, and the fear in his eyes was almost painful to look at.

"You had your chance!" the thug snarled. "You think this street runs on sympathy?"

My feet moved before my mind could stop them.

"That’s enough."

My voice rang out, sharper than I expected. I stepped forward, my face twisted into a furious glare.

"Picking on someone who’s clearly struggling? Wow, how brave of you. Real tough guy."

The leader of the thugs turned toward me, raising a brow.

"And who the hell are you supposed to be?"

"Someone who doesn’t look away when cowards gang up on kids," I snapped, standing my ground. "You’ve got five seconds to walk away, or I make sure you leave crawling."

Khan whistled lowly behind me. Alessio let out a soft sigh, the kind that said of course you’d do that, but there was a faint smile on his face.

The thug scoffed.

"You got a sharp mouth, missy. Careful, it might get you hurt."

"Try it," I said, lifting my chin defiantly. "I dare you."

The thug’s face contorted with an ugly grin. He motioned to the others with a jerk of his head.

"Teach this wench some manners."

Three of them broke off from the boy and started toward me with lumbering steps. They clearly thought I was just some loudmouthed tourist.

They were wrong.

Khan stepped forward lazily, cracking his knuckles with a grin that promised trouble. "You guys sure you want to try this? You’ll regret it."

The first thug lunged at me, fast but sloppy. I sidestepped, grabbed his wrist, and twisted hard, just like I’d been taught during those never-ending drills in Grandmama’s cottage. He yelped as his knees buckled from the pain, and I drove my elbow into his gut, sending him sprawling onto the dusty street.

"One."

The second one hesitated for a moment before charging in with a wild swing. I ducked under it, only to hear a sharp crack behind me. He went down like a sack of grain, and I turned to see Alessio lowering his foot from a brutal roundhouse.

"Two," he muttered, not even sparing the thug a second glance.

The third paused, suddenly less confident. Khan stepped in front of me casually, blocking the thug’s path.

"Hey, pal." His grin widened. "Wanna see a magic trick?"

The thug blinked.

Khan’s fist moved like lightning.

Crack!

The guy spun midair before landing in a heap, groaning.

"Ta-da," Khan said, raising both arms. "I make idiots disappear."

The leader stared at us now, the veins in his neck bulging. His grip on the battered boy slackened slightly, and the girl ran to her brother’s side, sobbing with relief.

"You little punks... You’re dead. You hear me? You’ve got no idea who you’re messing with!"

"Yeah, yeah," Alessio muttered, finally stepping fully into the fray. "They always say that right before they run."

The thug ripped a short blade from his belt and lunged straight at him.

But Alessio wasn’t caught off guard. He stepped in, fast and cold, catching the man’s wrist with one hand and slamming his other fist into his ribs. Then he swept his legs out from under him with a brutal kick, sending him crashing to the ground.

The blade clattered away.

The leader groaned, spitting blood into the dirt. "You... you’re dead meat... when the Boss hears—"

Khan stepped over him and crouched, suddenly serious.

"Tell your ’Boss’ this. If he wants to collect debts, he should try collecting from someone who’s actually got something to give. Not a kid with a sick sister."

Alessio kicked the thug’s blade down the alley.

"And if he’s stupid enough to come after us," he said coldly, "he won’t be getting up next time."

I crouched beside the boy, helping him sit up. His lip was split, and his breathing was shallow, but he managed to nod at me.

"Thank you... thank you so much... I didn’t know what to do..."

The little girl threw her arms around him, crying into his shirt.

"They said they’d come back tonight... That if we didn’t have the money..."

"You’re safe now," I told her softly. "We’ll make sure of it."

Khan glanced at the crowd beginning to gather at the far end of the alley. "We should move. We’re drawing attention."

Alessio nodded, his eyes scanning the people watching from a distance. No one stepped forward, though many looked quietly grateful.

I reached into my pouch and pulled out a small coin pouch—one Alessio had insisted I carry for emergencies. I pressed it into the boy’s hand.

"It’s not much," I said, "but it should cover food and medicine. Enough to last you a while."

He blinked, stunned. "Why...? Why are you helping us?"

I hesitated for a second, then smiled faintly.

"Because if it were me and my little sister, I’d want someone to do the same."

Khan put a hand on my shoulder. "Time to go, princess."

We left the alley without looking back, the bruised but grateful siblings holding each other as we melted into the crowd again.

As we stepped back into the bustling marketplace, Alessio walked beside me in silence for a few moments.

Then, quietly, he said, "That was reckless. You could’ve been hurt."

I shot him a sideways glance. "So could you. But you jumped in anyway."

His eyes flicked toward me. "You’ve had some lessons, sure. But you’re not trained like we are."

"Maybe not. But I’m not going to stand by and let people get trampled either."

Alessio was quiet again, but this time, a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Stubborn."

"Thanks."

"Not a compliment."

Khan chuckled behind us. "I think it kinda was."

As the sun dipped lower in the sky, the colors of Kalvena turned golden and warm. We passed by the Shazet stall again, the scent still strong in the evening air. This time, it was Alessio who stopped and bought two skewers.

Without a word, he handed one to me.

I blinked.

"Didn’t you say you were full?"

He shrugged. "Changed my mind."

I took the skewer, surprised but secretly pleased.

Khan strolled ahead with his usual easy confidence, hands tucked behind his head.

"Yeah," he murmured to himself, "this might actually get fun."