The Obsessive Male Lead Is Actually Scary
Chapter 43: A Knight Without Armor

Chapter 43: A Knight Without Armor

Panting hard, Emir clutched at Khan’s coat, nearly collapsing against him.

With a breathless voice and wide, tear-filled eyes, he blurted out everything in one frantic breath.

"H-he grabbed Amira! A man in a cloak! I was just... just showing Miss Sonia a toy, and when we looked back, Amira was gone! Miss Sonia saw a thread roll on the ground and ran after them. I tried to follow, but she told me to stay! She said she’d come back, but—"

His voice broke, the panic clawing at every word. His face was pale, drenched in sweat, and his hands trembled violently as he spoke. Each second he described seemed like an eternity burned into his memory.

Khan listened in silence, his expression grim. His brows drew into a deep frown as he processed every word.

"...And then she ran that way! I don’t know who took her... but he was fast and Miss Sonia had her weapon out. I think she’s trying to save her alone!"

Khan’s gaze followed the path Emir pointed toward, narrowing at the dark alley in the distance. He dropped to one knee, leveling himself with the boy.

"You said she chased a man in a cloak?"

Emir nodded quickly. "And he carried Amira. She was struggling at first. I saw her kicking, but then she stopped moving. I think she might have passed out... the man in the cloak probably did something to her."

Khan paused, his mind racing. Every second lost meant more danger.

The man in the cloak. What if he was not acting alone?

At first, it seemed like a simple abduction. One man grabbing a child and fleeing. But the more Khan thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. What if it had been a setup? A trap laid out deliberately? What if they had drawn Sonia into the alleys on purpose, knowing she would chase after them?

She was quick to act. Brave. Reckless, even. And if she believed a child was in danger, she would never hesitate.

But what if that man had help?

What if she had followed one man, only to run straight into a group?

An ambush. A dozen cloaked figures lying in wait, hidden somewhere in the shadows. He had no way of knowing how many there were or where they might be hiding.

Sonia could fight, but even she had limits. One wrong move and things could go bad fast.

Khan’s eyes narrowed, a chill creeping down his spine. The city was old and winding. Too many blind turns. Too many places to disappear. If they had taken Amira into the deeper alleys, there was no telling how far they might have gone or how many were involved.

He could not afford to waste time. Not with Sonia possibly surrounded. Not with a child in their hands.

His eyes flicked to Emir’s bare feet, dirty and scraped, trembling. The boy was clearly terrified. He wouldn’t be able to keep up in a sprint, and yet—

He looked closer.

Even through the panic, Emir hadn’t collapsed. His eyes, already red and brimming with tears, were fixed on Khan with a desperate sort of hope. His lips trembled, his face streaked from crying, but he hadn’t looked away. His breathing was uneven from the rush of speaking, and his small hands stayed clenched into fists, refusing to give in.

If he left him here...

He would carry that guilt. Forever.

Khan let out a slow, frustrated breath and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Huu... You can run, right? Then stick close. Don’t fall behind."

Emir blinked. "R-really?"

"Don’t talk. Just move."

Khan rose in a single motion and launched forward into a run, weaving swiftly through the market’s cluttered chaos.

Emir stumbled after him but forced his legs to move, each step heavier than the last. His muscles burned, his breath came in sharp gasps, but he refused to fall behind.

They ran.

Hard.

The marketplace blurred around them. Vendors shouted, unaware. Colors and smells rushed past. Spices, smoke, sweat, the metallic scent of heat. Khan moved like a shadow, slipping through gaps in the crowd without missing a step. His pace was fast, relentless, almost inhuman.

Emir chased him, eyes locked on the dark coat ahead. His lungs screamed. His vision swam. But he held on, blinking through the sting of wind and tears.

Khan didn’t speak, but his body adjusted with every few strides. He slowed just enough to let Emir stay close, never once turning his head.

Finally, as they passed the last row of stalls, he spoke over his shoulder.

"Which way now?"

Emir pointed, gasping for breath. "That way. She turned left. I saw her from a distance... I couldn’t see clearly what happened next, but I’m sure they came this way. I think I saw them slip between the stalls, just for a second."

Khan veered left without hesitation, boots pounding over worn cobblestone. They passed overturned baskets, scattered vegetables, and broken glass.

The alley narrowed.

Khan dropped to a crouch, scanning the ground. His fingers brushed over the stone, and paused.

There. Two sets of footprints in the dust. One deep and wide, the other quick and narrow. A man and a woman. Both running.

He gave a tight nod. "Good eyes, kid."

Emir’s chest swelled with a mix of pride and dread, but he followed silently as they darted deeper into the city’s skeletal alleys.

Kalvena’s underpaths stretched ahead like a maze, with layers of laundry lines, shadowed walls, and tight turns that offered no clear end. The sounds of the market faded behind them, replaced by silence, broken only by the echo of their steps.

They passed old doors, cracked shutters, the occasional stray cat skittering out of sight.

Every so often, Khan would stop to check a corner, test a door, or kneel beside faint marks on the ground. A broken thread. A smear of dirt. A tiny ribbon caught on a nail.

They were getting closer.

After nearly fifteen minutes of weaving through the tangled backstreets, Khan’s hand shot out, stopping Emir in his tracks.

"Stay quiet."

He crept ahead, slipping into the next alley. The sharp ring of steel striking stone grew clearer with every step. Voices rose, angry and urgent. Beneath it all, a little girl’s cry echoed through the chaos.

Khan’s chest tightened. They were almost there.

He turned the corner and halted.

The courtyard ahead was a battlefield.

Stone darkened with blood. Bodies strewn across the ground. The air was thick with the stench of iron and sweat.

At the center stood Sonia.

She was breathing hard, her cloak torn, her body spattered in red. Her blade gleamed in the fading light, dripping crimson in a steady rhythm. Around her, the attackers lay in motionless heaps. Some groaning, most not moving at all.

Only one man remained on his feet.

Kareem.

His face was twisted in fury. Blood streamed from a gash in his leg. He gripped Amira tightly in one arm, the other raised high with a gleaming knife poised to strike.

Then Sonia moved, fast and without hesitation.

She raised her crossbow and fired, the bolt slicing into his other leg.

"ARRRGH!"

His scream echoed through the courtyard, loud enough to reach Khan and Emir from where they stood.

Kareem let out a broken howl as his legs gave out beneath him. Khan could see both of his legs skewered by crossbow bolts, the shafts jutting through muscle and cloth. The man collapsed in a twisted heap, and Amira tumbled from his grasp.

Khan flinched. Kareem wasn’t done.

The man pushed up with trembling arms, teeth bared, blood pouring from both legs. One hand fumbled for the fallen knife, dragging it close. With a final burst of rage, he twisted his body toward Sonia, blade rising for one last strike from behind.

Khan saw her spin, but it was too slow.

Kareem, bloodied and wild-eyed, surged forward with the knife raised.

She was already shielding the child when Kareem lunged.

Khan’s hand moved on instinct.

His fingers closed around the hilt of his dagger. He hurled it.

The blade sailed through the air, slicing fast. It struck with a sickening, wet thunk.

He froze mid-motion, eyes wide. The knife slipped from his fingers. His knees buckled, and he collapsed beside Sonia and the girl, his body hitting the ground with a dull, final thud.

Silence fell over the courtyard like a shroud.

Sonia stood frozen, chest heaving with each ragged breath. Her hands trembled at her sides, scraped and dirt-smudged, the crossbow hanging loosely in her grip. Dust swirled at her feet on the cracked stone.

She snapped her head around. Her eyes locked onto him.

"Khan?" Her voice cracked, raw with disbelief.

He stepped forward, the dim light casting his silhouette against the bloodied stone.

Relief broke across Sonia’s face like a dam giving way. Her shoulders sagged, and the fire in her eyes flickered, the tension draining from her limbs.

Then—

"Amira!" Emir shouted, voice cracking with emotion.

He broke into a run before anyone could stop him, feet stumbling over loose stones as he raced toward the tiny figure on the ground.

"Big brother..." Amira’s voice was a fragile whisper as she fell into his arms, tears slipping down her cheeks the moment he held her close.

"I was so scared," she sobbed. "I thought you wouldn’t come..."

"You dummy, of course I came! I’m your brother!" Emir held her tightly, burying his face in her shoulder. His whole body shook, not from exhaustion anymore, but from the overwhelming rush of fear and relief.

Sonia sank to her knees beside them, watching the reunion with a small, tired smile.

"Gosh... I really thought I was gonna die back there," she muttered with a half-hearted chuckle, wiping blood from her cheek with the edge of her sleeve.

Khan let out a breath through his nose, glancing around at the carnage. "Did you really take down all these men?"

Sonia scratched her cheek, sheepish. "Haha... well, not all by myself. The last one tried to stab me. You stopped him, remember?"

Khan gave her a long look, his expression stunned, almost in awe. "I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw you charge straight at those last two attackers... and then him." He nodded toward Kareem’s crumpled corpse beside them, the hilt of his dagger still lodged in the man’s skull.

Sonia’s lips twitched. "...Yeah, that part wasn’t in the plan."

Khan crouched beside one of the unconscious thugs and checked his pulse, then stood. "You’ve changed. You weren’t like this when we first met."

"You mean more stabby?" she quipped weakly.

He snorted, almost smiling. "I knew you’d been training under him... but I didn’t expect you to start fighting like him, too."

Sonia blinked. "...You mean Alessio?"

Khan nodded. "He’s not human. The way he fights—it’s like something out of a story. And you..." his gaze flicked to the bloodied blade in her hand, then to the torn hem of her cloak, "...you’re starting to look like one of his shadows." He gave a short laugh. "Seriously."

Sonia let out a quiet laugh. "Trust me, I’m nowhere near that level."

"But you held your own," Khan said, his voice low but firm. "You protected them."

At that, Sonia fell quiet. Her gaze drifted back to Amira and Emir, still clinging to each other. Their small forms were bruised and scraped, but alive. Safe.

"Yeah," she murmured. "That’s all I wanted."

"That was so amazing I’ve lost the words to praise you," Khan added with his usual grin.

The kids, who had just been clinging to each other, were now slowly wiping their tears and turning to face her.

"That’s right! You were so amazing, Miss Sonia," Emir blurted, his cheeks flushed and eyes shining.

"You were like a knight in shining armor," Amira added. "Thank you so much for protecting me."

Khan gave a small smile, then turned, glancing over the scattered bodies.

"You’ve done enough. I’ll take care of what’s left."

"You’re going to handle it?" Sonia asked.

"I’ll call someone I trust. Quiet guild folk. They’ll clean this up without drawing attention." Khan glanced back at her. "You get the kids out of here. Back to the inn."

Sonia hesitated. "Are you sure?"

"Go," he said. "I’ve done this before."

She nodded, then gently helped Amira to her feet, slipping an arm around her shoulders. Emir stood protectively by her side, eyes still scanning the shadows, even though the danger had passed.

Sonia turned to Khan one last time. "Thanks for the save."

Khan looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Don’t mention it."