ONE NIGHT STAND WITH HOT DUKE-Chapter 222: Unexpected meeting

The small market in the harbor town had at first been filled with ordinary sounds bargaining voices, light laughter, and the crunch of footsteps over hardening snow. But slowly, the atmosphere began to change.

In the middle of the crowd, Valerie stood with her breathing growing uneven. Her wrist was still gripped tightly by a large man. Her skin stung beneath the pressure of his rough, scarred fingers.

"I said let go."

Valerie’s voice was no longer as calm as before. There was firmness in it now, even as her body remained tense.

But the man only laughed.

A heavy, repulsive laugh.

"Feisty," he muttered, pulling her a little closer. "That just makes me more interested."

Around them, more men began to gather. At first two, then three, until five of them stood surrounding Valerie and Lena.

The crowd did not disperse.

They merely stepped back a little... just enough to give space.

But no one truly stepped in to help.

Lena moved forward, positioning herself beside Valerie. Her gaze turned sharp completely different from her usual relaxed demeanor.

"Let her go," she said coldly.

One of the men glanced at Lena and smirked.

"Relax. We don’t mind if you join us too."

Laughter broke out again among them.

But Lena did not laugh.

Her hand shifted slightly, as if restraining something.

Magic.

She could use magic.

But this place was too open.

Too many people.

If she acted, it would only turn into a bigger problem.

Meanwhile, Valerie tried again to pull her hand free.

"Let go!" This time her voice was louder.

She didn’t wait any longer.

Her leg shot up, kicking hard into the man’s shin.

"Bastard—!"

The man cursed, his grip loosening for a moment.

But instead of backing off, his expression turned harsher.

"How dare you—"

He grabbed her wrist again, tighter this time.

And that was when the commotion truly began to draw more attention.

Some of the men who had only been watching before started to approach, drawn in by the chaos.

"Hey, what’s going on?"

"Looks fun."

Their numbers grew.

The circle tightened.

Valerie could feel her space shrinking.

Lena glanced around, her jaw clenched.

This was bad.

Very bad.

But on the other side of the market just a few steps away from the crowd someone stopped walking.

Demian.

At first, he hadn’t paid much attention.

A disturbance like this was nothing unusual in a place like this.

But somehow, his eyes were drawn to a single point.

To the center of the crowd. To the figure standing there.

A pale, thick coat.

Hair partially hidden beneath a hood.

And that face.

Valerie.

Time seemed to stop.

Demian heard nothing else.

Saw no one else.

The only thing he saw was the hand gripping Valerie’s wrist.

The way the man pulled her.

The way others surrounded her.

The way Lena stood beside her, clearly ready to protect.

And something inside Demian snapped.

Instantly.

The air around him seemed to change.

Colder.

Heavier.

Vedseel, who was not far from him, noticed it immediately.

He turned quickly.

"Demian—"

But the man had already moved.

His steps were fast.

Too fast for the eye to follow.

The crowd didn’t even notice his presence until,

BANG!

A loud crash split the air.

One of the men was suddenly thrown back, his body slamming into a wooden stall behind him, shattering it into pieces. Fruits scattered across the ground, rolling over the dirty snow.

The laughter stopped instantly.

The noise of the market vanished.

Everyone froze.

In the middle of that chaos Demian stood.

His shoulders straight.

His gaze dark.

There was no visible emotion on his face and that was what made him even more terrifying.

Slowly, he lifted his eyes.

Directly toward the man still holding Valerie’s wrist.

The man froze.

For the first time, hesitation appeared on his face.

Demian took one step forward.

Snow crunched softly beneath his feet.

And then he spoke.

His voice was low.

Calm.

Yet it carried a pressure that made the air around them feel suffocating.

"Let go."

That single word fell like a sentence.

And this time not a single person dared to laugh.

The sudden silence that fell over the market felt suffocating.

All eyes were fixed on a single figure now standing at the center of the chaos.

Demian.

Snow crunched softly beneath his calm steps, yet each one felt heavy carrying a pressure that made the people around him instinctively step back.

The man still gripping Valerie’s wrist stiffened. For a moment, hesitation flickered across his face.

But it didn’t last long.

"What’s it to you?" he snapped, trying to regain the courage that was already beginning to crack.

Demian did not answer immediately.

His gaze dropped to the rough hand still holding Valerie.

Then slowly, he lifted his eyes.

Cold.

Empty.

And that was exactly what made him terrifying.

"I said... let go."

His tone did not change.

Still calm.

But this time heavier.

More commanding.

The man clenched his teeth.

Behind him, a few of his companions began to move, their pride stirred.

"Who the hell do you think you—"

The sentence was never finished.

Demian moved too fast for the eye to follow.

In an instant—

CRACK!

The man’s arm was twisted violently.

A scream tore through the air.

His grip on Valerie released immediately.

But Demian didn’t stop.

He pulled the man forward, then slammed him into the ground with a force that sent snow scattering.

One down.

And that was enough to trigger the others. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Bastard! Get him!"

The remaining four rushed at him all at once.

But to Demian they were nothing more than a nuisance.

A single step to the side.

The first punch missed.

Demian caught the man’s arm, twisted it, then—

BAM!

He hurled him straight into another man behind him.

Two fell at once.

The rest tried to attack from the side.

But Demian had already moved.

A short punch sharp straight to the jaw.

One man was sent flying backward.

The last one tried to retreat.

But Demian’s gaze froze him in place.

Demian stepped closer.

Slowly.

The man stumbled back.

Then again.

Until he tripped over himself and fell onto the snow.

No one dared to step forward.

No one dared to speak.

The entire market seemed to hold its breath.

Amid all of it Valerie stood frozen.

Her eyes widened.

Her breath caught in her throat.

She didn’t see the fight.

Or rather she couldn’t process it. Because the only thing she saw was him.

The one person who wasn’t supposed to be here.

"Demian...?"