Just as Mika was thinking to himself how utterly stupid it had been to bring the dagger back in the first place, his mind already racing about how to quietly dispose of the evidence without leaving even a trace, Charlotte’s voice suddenly broke through his thoughts.
"Uh...guys?"
She said, her tone slightly baffled, like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She was peering out the window, leaning forward with a frown.
"I don’t think we’ll be able to leave the hospital through the front entrance."
Mika blinked, his head snapping up.
"Huh? Why not?" He asked, turning to her with a puzzled look. "What’s going on out there?"
Charlotte gave him a small, wry smile, shaking her head in disbelief as she raised her hand to point down toward the street outside.
"Don’t take my word for it. Look for yourself and you’ll understand."
Mika and Yelena exchanged confused glances before Mika got off the bed. Yelena also stepped forward, joining Charlotte at the window as Mika sauntered over.
When the three of them finally peered down through the glass, they froze.
The scene below was utterly surreal.
What had once been an empty street in front of the hospital was now utterly packed, an enormous crowd of people swarming together so tightly that from above, they almost looked like a colony of ants converging on a dropped crumb.
The road was completely blocked off. Police officers were scattered throughout the mob, attempting to redirect traffic and control the chaos.
But the sheer size of the gathering overwheld
any attempts at order.
There had to be hundreds, maybe a thousand people.
At first glance, one might think it was a protest, or a rally for so political cause. But the shrill voices and excited chatter rising from below told a very different story.
"The Blade Maiden’s here! The Blade Maiden’s here!" A teenage girl shouted, practically sobbing with joy as she clutched a handwritten sign that read ’Yelena-sama please notice !’
"Oh my God! Did you hear? Goddess Yelena is in the hospital!" A fan shrieked, clutching her chest like her heart was about to explode. "I just want one photo, just ONE photo with her and I swear to the gods, I can die happy! No, scratch that, I’ll dig my own grave right here if I get it!"
"Forget a photo!" Wailed a man who looked easily in his forties, tears streaming down his face as he grabbed at his thinning hair. "I just want to hear her voice! Her real voice! It must sound like the heavens themselves singing in chorus, no, like ten thousand harps strumming in unison while baby angels weep in awe!"
Another fan sobbed into his hands, screaming so loudly his spit flew in all directions: "Lady Yelena, I LOVE YOU! PLEASE STEP ON JUST ONCE!"
"Let touch the hem of her gown! Just the hem!" Cried a woman shaking violently, gripping the barricade so hard her knuckles turned white. "I’ll never wash my hands again! Never!"
"Please, please, let us catch a glimpse of the goddess!" Shouted a man as he attempted to scale a lamppost with sheer desperation. "Just a flicker of her silhouette and I’ll tattoo it across my entire back!"
anwhile, soone in the back fell to his knees, hands clasped in prayer. "If I don’t see her today, oh divine heavens, smite down where I stand! I have no reason to live without her presence blessing my pitiful existence!"
Another fan fainted dramatically, clutching a life-sized pillow of Yelena to his chest as paradics had to drag him out of the crowd.
The police barricades creaked under the weight of the mass hysteria, as fans wailed like they were witnessing the second coming of a celestial being.
Mika’s expression morphed into one of complete dismay. His shoulders sagged as he stared down at the rabid crowd.
"Tell ." He said dryly, turning his head toward Yelena with a deadpan expression. "Did you...by any chance...announce a fan et-up here?"
Yelena let out a sheepish laugh, her lips curling into a wry smile as she raised her hands slightly. "Not at all. I swear I didn’t say a word to anyone."
Charlotte spoke up next, her brows furrowed as she offered a plausible explanation.
"Maybe...maybe the news leaked sohow? Like...maybe the hospital staff reported it, and the dia spread it?"
Yelena shook her head firmly.
"No. That wouldn’t be the case either. There isn’t a single news outlet reckless enough to risk openly broadcasting where I am in real-ti. They know what kind of chaos it would cause, nor do they have the guts to do sothing like that knowing that I’ll be at their doorstep the next mont if they do sothing like that."
At this, Mika let out a low chuckle, his eyes still fixed on the swarming mass of fans.
"No." He said with a smirk. "The news didn’t need to do anything. This was bound to happen with just a single careless post."
Charlotte and Yelena glanced at him.
"I’m willing to bet soone in this hospital, maybe a nurse, maybe a patient, posted about seeing you here on social dia." Mika continued with an almost amused look on his face. "That one little ssage probably spread like wildfire and summoned every Yelena fan in the city straight to our doorstep."
He sighed and shook his head, still watching the chaos unfold below.
"You two aren’t like so normal celebrities with a small group of followers." Mika said flatly. "You’re global figures. Icons. To the world, you’re not just won, you’re literal divine beings. So of course people react like this. And honestly..." His smirk deepened as he stepped away from the window. "...if anything, I’m surprised this crowd is still so small."
"Small?" She said in dismay. "That’s hundreds of people down there"
Mika glanced back over his shoulder with a cool shrug.
"Give it half an hour and the entire hospital will be sward. It won’t be long before they start crowding inside."
"...So, for your safety, and for the safety of everyone in this hospital, it’s best if you both get out of here."
With that, he turned abruptly and began walking toward the door, slinging his bag across his shoulder with an air of casual confidence.
"Anyway, you two can figure out your own way out." Mika called back, waving a hand lazily. "You’re both too well-known to walk out unnoticed, but ?" He flashed them a cocky grin. "I’m just so nobody. No one’s gonna pay attention to . I can slip out the back door and disappear without a trace."
"Bye-bye~" He added cheerfully, not even bothering to look back as he reached for the door handle.
But just as his fingers brushed the knob, sothing strange happened.
The dagger that had been left on the table suddenly rose into the air, glimring faintly as it floated toward him.
Before Mika could react, it zipped forward, grabbed hold of the collar of his shirt like an invisible hand, and yanked him backward.
"Wha—?!" Mika yelped in surprise as he was lifted clean off his feet, suspended in the air for a mont before the dagger deposited him neatly in front of Yelena and Charlotte.
Both mother and daughter were standing there with matching smiles, smiles that radiated pure mischief, while Mika landed on his feet, staggering slightly as he shot them both a look of pure irritation.
"Okay." He said slowly, brushing off his clothes. "What exactly do you think you’re doing? Why are you stopping from going ho?"
Yelena crossed her arms, her smile sharpening into sothing vaguely predatory.
"Why are you so confident that you’re going to go ho?" She asked coolly. "Did you really think I’d just let you leave after everything that’s happened today? After not seeing you for so long?"
Mika took an instinctive step back, unease flickering in his eyes. "Wh-What are you talking about? What do you an by that?"
Yelena stepped closer, her presence suddenly overwhelming as she stared him down.
"I an..." She said in a dangerously sweet tone. "There is no chance in hell I’m leaving you alone after an accident like that. I don’t care what the scans say, or how perfect the tests ca out, I need to see for myself that you’re fully recovered. And until I’m satisfied...you’re coming ho with us."
Mika froze. "Wait...what?!" He exclaid, his voice cracking slightly.
"Yes..." Charlotte chirped in with a bright smile, nodding eagerly. "You’re staying with us, Mika! It’s been too long anyway...and I think you should rest under our watch for a while."
Mika stared between them in disbelief as Yelena reached out to grab his arm with an annoyingly gentle yet unyielding grip.
"You’re not going anywhere." Yelena said as a matter-of-fact
"What the hell..." Mika muttered, his face pale. "Are you two trying to kidnap or sothing?!"
f.(r)eew ebnov\ll
"Not kidnapping, Mika...think of it as extended family care." Charlotte giggled innocently.
User Comments
0 comments from readers