Chapter 210 – She's My Girlfriend

“This won’t do.
Miss, where’s your house? If you can’t pay, then we’ll have to settle it with your parents!” another man snarled.

When Tania’s face paled, the men exchanged triumphant glances. ‘Success! Threats that bring up family work the best after all!’ This was a common racket they pulled on ignorant tourists, ripping them off to earn a quick buck.

These criminals purposely targeted young women like Tania.
They hired men with decent looks to lure small, weak-looking women to the restaurant—naïve and wealthy ones were the best.
Even the occasional victims that refused to pay always ended up capitulating and opened their wallets once threats against their family were made.

“O-oh no, please don’t tell Mom…”

The men laughed when they heard Tania’s trembling voice, having already anticipated her reaction.
This woman was no different from the others.
Undoubtedly, she didn’t wish to endanger her family.

‘Are they crazy? Settling the bill with my mom?’ Tania hastily rummaged through her bag to pull out her wallet.
Their threat to contact her mother had unsettled her.
She was already scared enough about the lack of news from her mother as it was.
If the margrave was contacted because of this, Tania was sure her mother would kill her if she was alive, or revive herself and then kill her.
It was much better to just pay the money now than to end up like that. ‘Plus, I’m worried about that man too.’ Seeing how he hadn’t returned, could these men have caught him outside? She quickly handed over her money to the men.

One of the men cackled, “Oh, what to do? We don’t have the cash to give your change right now.”

“Whatever! I’ll be going then!”

Change was the least of Tania’s concerns; getting out of this place was far more important.
As she rushed out, she spotted the man who’d brought her here standing at the end of the restaurant’s hallway.
She could see he was mid-conversation and laughing with someone.
Quickly drawing near with the intent to take him out of this place, she froze at the words he spoke next.

“How much did that stupid woman pay?”

‘What?’ Tania couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“I could tell she was a naïve one at first glance, so I thought she’ll be the one for today.
And she was wearing quite the expensive stuff, despite her plain looks,” the man snickered.
“It’s easy enticing that kind of broad into forking over the cash.
Did you know she actually tried to eat that garbage? A riot, I tell you! Does the chef here even have a mouth to taste with? He should at least serve something edible with those prices.
What an awful bunch, the lot of them!”

‘You dare…’ Tania’s mind snapped at that moment.
Yes, she had tried her best to force that garbage down her throat, afraid of offending the man who had ordered it.
How dare he waste a precious meal of hers? Tania gripped her bag and broke into a run.
What infuriated her more than anything else was that her dinner of the festival night was ruined.
The kind of people who force-fed tasteless food to the hungry deserved to die—it was surely written so ‘somewhere’ in the imperial law!

“Hey you scumbaaag!” Tania roared.
Channeling her fury into a controlled punch that was just barely less-than-lethal, her fist connected with the man’s stomach and sent him flying and rolling down the alley. Smack! The man landed face-first right into a tin trash can.

“What the? What’s going on?” The men who were inside the restaurant came running out into the alley at the loud commotion.
Finding a huffing Tania and the man in the can, they quickly grasped the situation.

“Darn it, that guy’s face is the basis of our business!”

“I was going easy thinking you were just a little lady, but it looks like that ain’t gonna fly!”

“Going easy? Those should be my words,” Tania snorted.
Casting a sweeping look around, she counted six men surrounding her.
Under her breath, she muttered, “One minute—ten seconds for each one.” Leaping into action, she began to swing her fists.