TQV 29

Chapter 29

The waiter came to take Kylian and Emily’s order.

“Duck leg confit and sirloin steak… Would you like a wine pairing with that?”

Kylian handed the menu back and said,

“Bring us the Barolo Reserve.”

“We happen to have a 1928 vintage available. I’ll bring it right away.”

After the waiter left, Emily proudly pulled out a gold chip from her handbag.

“I got this for guessing the number on the roulette.”

“That’s hard to hit.”

“Beginner’s luck, I suppose.”

Kylian gave a small laugh and asked,

“Didn’t you cash it in?”

“No, I wanted to keep it as a souvenir.”

With a proud smile, Emily carefully returned the gold chip to her bag.

“Do you always carry that gun around?”

A small revolver had briefly peeked out from Emily’s handbag.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever need to use it. I just carry it around like a charm. I don’t have many keepsakes from my parents.”

At the mention of her parents, the atmosphere turned a little somber. Kylian cleared his throat before speaking again.

“That gun requires a fair amount of magic to use… Do you even know how to shoot it?”

“I learned the basics.”

Emily had learned everything from sports and horseback riding to shooting.

“You must be a student with a very solid foundation.”

At that, Emily narrowed her eyes and playfully scolded Kylian.

“Are you mocking me for only knowing the basics?”

“Of course not, it’s a compliment.”

Kylian’s flustered denial made Emily laugh and turn her head away—just in time to spot Giovanni through the window.

“Isn’t that Giovanni?”

Kylian also spotted him entering the restaurant. Something seemed off—Giovanni looked serious.

As he scanned the room and saw them, Giovanni quickly made his way over and bowed slightly.

“What’s going on?”

“Pardon me, boss. Do you have a moment?”

“Is it important?”

“Yes. Sorry for interrupting.”

Kylian sighed, grabbed the jacket draped over his chair, and stood up.

“I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Okay, take your time.”

Kylian pointed just outside the window with a nod.

“I’ll be right out front.”

“If you’re late, I’m eating without you.”

“Please do.”

Smiling at Emily’s teasing, Kylian followed Giovanni outside. After confirming that Emily could still see him from her seat, he began speaking with Giovanni.

“It’s about Laminis from the Giuliano family. Something’s off with him.”

Ever since Laminis had harassed Emily at Gallery Molinu, Kylian had engraved that name in his memory.

Thinking of that bastard already had Kylian clenching his fists.

“Go on.”

Seeing his boss’s face turn cold in an instant, Giovanni nervously continued.

“He’s never been a discreet guy, but lately it’s like someone’s backing him—he’s swaggering around District 6 like he owns it.”

District 6 was one of the territories under the Giuliano family. But it was also overseen by a captain, and it was far too important to be left to someone like Laminis to roam freely.

Though Laminis had the blood of a mafia family, his behavior and thinking were no better than a street thug.

“Who’s he hanging around with?”

“Big, that ugly guy who’s usually with him, isn’t around. Looks like he’s with someone from another crew—someone pretty skilled and well-regarded in the organization.”

“Definitely suspicious.”

“Yes, and more importantly…”

Giovanni hesitated, hoping Kylian wouldn’t explode again.

“There have been multiple reports of him lurking around whenever the lady goes out—watching her from a distance.”

Kylian’s eyes looked ready to shoot flames. He should’ve finished him off that day. And Giovanni wasn’t lying.

“Remember me?”

While Kylian and Giovanni were deep in discussion about Laminis, the man himself was approaching Emily, who was sitting alone at the table.

“Wow, you got even prettier since last time.”

Emily ignored him and turned to the window, trying to make eye contact with Kylian.

Please look this way!

Laminis shrugged at her cold reaction.

“Still as haughty as ever.”

Completely unaware that Kylian was just outside the window, Laminis pulled out a chair and sat beside her.

“If you were planning to eat alone, want me to order something too?”

Emily calmly took a sip of water.

Fortunately, just moments earlier, she had managed to make eye contact with Kylian. Seeing Laminis sitting next to Emily, Kylian lost all control.

He would be bursting through the doors any second now. Emily started counting silently in her head.

One.

“Thirsty?”

Two.

“I could help you quench that in other ways.”

Three.

“You bastard…”

With a low growl, Kylian grabbed Laminis by the hair and slammed his head to the floor.

“You filthy piece of trash.”

He stomped on Laminis repeatedly, then straddled his body and began punching his face relentlessly.

The ring on Kylian’s finger tore open Laminis’s skin, and blood began pouring out.

“Kylian!”

Giovanni rushed to stop him, but once Kylian lost it, calming him down was no easy task. They barely managed to drag him off. Laminis, unable to resist at all, coughed up blood and muttered,

“You’re a noble now—can you really beat people like a dog?”

“You know what nobles and mafia have in common?”

Kylian threw another punch.

“Neither gives a damn about morality.”

“Ugh!”

“Nobles are honorable, and mafia are dishonorable. That’s all.”

Kylian stood and kicked the utterly beaten Laminis before drawing his gun.

“So I’m going to kill you right here, you disgusting vermin.”

“Stop it.”

Emily finally intervened, unable to watch any longer. But Kylian remained firm.

“Don’t you remember? I told you—if anything like this happened again, I’d kill this bastard.”

“There are journalists at the next table.”

Emily motioned toward them with her eyes. Having once been featured in the social pages, she recognized several reporters.

They were watching with a mix of fear and curiosity.

“You said yourself—you can’t just kill a high-ranking member of another crew. If word gets out that you killed him, and it ends up in the papers, what then?”

Kylian ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Emily wasn’t wrong.

He crouched back down and grabbed Laminis by the hair.

“If I see you again, I’ll shove this gun in your filthy mouth. All that thing’s good for is eating and spewing garbage, isn’t it?”

“Uuurgh…”

“I’ll blow your brains out, you stupid bastard.”

He smacked Laminis in the mouth with the gun barrel, then stood up. Blood dripped from Laminis’s mouth.

“Get lost. Now.”

But Laminis wasn’t ready to back down. His boss had backed him hard.

He’d even been granted the support of another crew’s soldier, and a lucrative nightclub in District 10.

And his boss had whispered temptingly: If you shake that woman’s heart, you’ll throw Kylian off his game.

Backed by those promises, Laminis couldn’t resist.

Wiping his blood, Laminis staggered toward the exit. He looked pitiful—but deception was what he did best.

Just as everyone was starting to relax, Laminis suddenly pivoted and charged at Giovanni. In a flash, he locked his arm around Giovanni’s neck and pressed a gun to his head.

“Don’t move!”

The gun he held was a modern type, easy to use even without much magical control. Its destructive power wasn’t strong—but at close range, a shot to the head would still kill.

People screamed and ducked under their tables.

“Stay behind here.”

In the chaos, Kylian flipped over a table and shielded Emily behind it.

“Laminis, drop the gun.”

Even if it wasn’t a high-caliber weapon, it could still kill with a shot to the head.

With Emily safely hidden, Kylian also drew his gun and aimed at Laminis.

“Don’t push me. My hand might slip.”

“If you hurt Giovanni, your head’s next.”

Laminis snorted.

“If I walk out of here like this, I’m dead anyway.”

Watching from a distance, Emily tried to steady herself. She might just get someone killed if she jumped in recklessly—but she couldn’t stay still either.

Because right now, her husband was about to die in front of her!