KNIGHT WAS just outside the infirmary room of the Orgánosi HQ in Hong Kong, which was just under the Racini's Hotel, while SM was inside, being treated by the doctors of the Orgánosi. This would surely reach his father's radar, but he didn't care. It was his baby, and he would do anything for her.

He could do anything for her, but he couldn't make himself go in and see his baby. He was afraid to see her condition. To see that the woman he treasured so much in the brink of death.

He could kill without remorse. He could go to battles without feeling any fear. But seeing SM's wound and seeing her bleed—it nearly drove him mad.

It would kill him if something bad happened to his baby.

His fists clenched over and over when the last smile she gave would cross his mind. She was calm when she told him she was shot. She was so calm that it scared him.

But he couldn't calm down. He was livid. He could see red. He wanted blood, and he would get it. Whoever pulled that trigger would know death, slowly and painfully.

He heard someone walking out of the infirmary, and he didn't even have to turn to know who it was. He knew it was Dimitri.

"Boss—"

His dead eyes looked up at Dimitri and held his gaze. "If I lose my baby, I will kill you." He clenched his jaw as he stabbed Dimitri in the shoulder with his pocketknife.

Dimitri winced before he spoke. "North found the culprit, Boss."

Knight stood from his seat before pulling out the knife he thrust into Dimitri and walking past him as he called North.

"Boss," North quickly answered. "I have them. Two parasites."

His gaze sharpened as he gritted his teeth. "Bring them to the rooftop."

"Yes, Boss."

Before heading to the elevator that would deliver him to the rooftop, he turned to the door of the infirmary where his girlfriend was.

When Knight stepped out from the elevator, the cold air of Hong Kong hit his face, but he continued walking toward the edge silently. Even the cold air couldn't calm him down—maybe because he didn't want to calm down.

No, those two parasites didn't deserve his calmness. They deserved to see how monstrous he could be.

He waited for several minutes before North and two of his associates came out of the elevator, holding two other men who were trying to break free.

"Here they are, Boss," North said when he got close to Knight.

With empty eyes, he gazed at the two men. "Who pulled the trigger?" he asked, his voice devoid of emotion.

North grabbed the collar of the man at the right. "This one, Boss."

Knight quietly approached the man before firmly grasping his hand. He then slowly pulled his katana strapped to North's back.

"W-what a-a-are you d-doing?" the man stuttered. The assailant soon got his answer when Knight, without a word, cut off his hand. The motherfucker screamed in so much pain as blood spurted from his amputated arm.

"Oh, wait," Knight said before holding the other hand. "I'm sure you held the sniper rifle with two hands."

Knight mercilessly severed the other hand, causing the man's screams to become even louder. He then turned to the other guy and closed the distance between them. "You. What did you do?"

But instead of answering, the other guy suddenly shouted, "Hail to the Triad!"

A cold, monstrous smile appeared on his lips. "Hail this," he said before suddenly grabbing the man by the collar and then dragging him to the edge of the rooftop. The man screamed for his life.

Knight tsked. "Scream more, and I'll push you off."

The man went silent as he looked at Knight with fear in his eyes. "What do you want?!"

"Who ordered the hit?" Knight asked, his jaw clenching. "Give me a name."

"Why would I?"

"Because we are on the rooftop of a sixty-seven-story hotel. If you drop, you'll die." Knight showed no emotion as he pushed the man further to the edge. When the man had his feet on the farthest point of the rooftop, his face nearly drained of blood from panic and terror.

"Fine! Fine!" the guy exclaimed as he continuously gazed at the bottom of the hotel. "I'm a hacker. The one who ordered the hit is Li Huang, but even if you know his name, you can't get him. His house is heavily guarded. You can't do anything to him. Now let me go. I already answered you!" the guy said in one breath, so he gasped for air as soon he was done talking.

"Let you go? Okay." Knight smirked as he removed his hand from the man's collar. The man quickly moved away from the edge, but he was caught off guard when Knight plunged his katana into his stomach. "But whoever hurts my woman will know death, and his name is Minrod."

When Knight pulled out his katana, the guy immediately held the spot where he got stabbed. "Y-you think s-stabbing me will k-k-kill me?"

"Of course not." Knight stared at the man. "You're still breathing because I want you alive so you can feel fear before you die."

Before the man could even speak, Knight kicked him hard on the stomach, causing the guy to walk a few steps back until he reached the edge of the rooftop. Without hesitation, Knight used the tip of his katana to push the man off the building.

He immediately heard North tell someone, "Clean up that mess." North knew him too well to put a team on standby to clean up immediately.

Knight then faced the guy whose hand he severed. He was still screaming in pain.

"Snipers..." he irritably said as he walked toward the wounded guy. "You really have a strong endurance to pain." He smirked. "I like it. We're gonna have so much fun—you and I."

Knight grasped at the man's hair and dragged him to the center of the rooftop. He spun his katana in his hand while looking at the man intently staring at him amid the physical pain.

His unremorseful smile grew wider. "Let's start, shall we?"

Before the man could even blink, Knight had already cut his arm off in one swift move of his katana. When the man screamed, Knight grinned sadistically.

"That's good, keep screaming. Your arms carried the gun that hurt my baby." Then he severed the other arm next.

When the guy had collapsed on the pavement, Knight commanded his associates, "Hold him up." They quickly followed his order and held both of the man's shoulders to force him to stand up.

Knight looked at the man's eyes. There's still life. Good. I'm not done yet.

"Which one do you like better?" he asked "Your left leg... or the right? After all, you used them to walk toward the place where you pulled the trigger. They need to be cut off too."

"N-no..."

But Knight didn't listen to his pleas. He ruthlessly cut off the man's legs, saying, "This is for shooting my baby," then buried his katana on the man's forehead as a finale. "And this is for making her bleed."

When the guy dropped dead to the floor, he also let go of his katana, causing a loud clatter as it fell to the floor. He heard North say, "Come up now. We need cleaners on the rooftop."

After dropping the call, North approached Knight to give him a pack of wet wipes, which made him laugh. "Don't laugh, Boss. I know it's gonna be messy, but not this messy."

Knight accepted the pack of wet wipes from the head of the cleanup crew in Asia and then tapped his shoulder. "It's called overtime for a reason, North."

After North's crew walked out the elevator, Knight stepped in while he continued to wipe off the blood stains on his body.

When the elevator's door was about to close, North stopped it with his hands. "Boss, what are you going to do with Li Huang?"

"Kill him, of course," he said without hesitation.

"But his house is heavily guarded..."

"North," he replied, smiling, "when did a heavily guarded house stop me?"

North nodded. "I'll ready my men for the cleanup."

"Good." Knight leaned against the elevator wall. "It's gonna be a long night, North. Get ready."

The corner of North's lips tugged up. "It's called overtime for a reason."

Knight chuckled. "You're learning. Nice."

North finally let go of the elevator's door to let it close. As the elevator descended, he received a call from Shun.

"What you did was inhumane, Knight!" Shun scolded him. "I know you don't feel any remorse about what you did, but don't do that again. It's not healthy for you, Velasquez."

"They hurt my Sweet Monday," he whispered. It was the only reason he had.

"You can kill them, but not like that. That's a monstrous thing to do, Knight!"

"I am a monster."

"You're not!" Shun insisted.

Knight fell silent. Shun had always tried his best to control this monstrous side of him. He was the one who would always pull him out every time he was overdoing it.

"What do you think your girlfriend will say if she learns about this?" Shun asked.

"She won't know."

"Knight, keeping secrets is not a good thing."

"No..." He shook his head. "She can't know this. She just can't..."

"Precisely my point, bud." Shun blew a loud breath. "What do you think she'll do or think of you if she finds out that you chopped someone up and threw someone off a fucking building?!"

His fists clenched. "She'll get scared and... l-leave me."

"Good that you know." Shun tsked. "Control that side of you, bud. Your father may have made you into a monster, but you're not, okay? You're a lunatic, always remember that."

He softly chuckled. "I'm a lunatic..." he repeated in a whisper. "Copy that."

"Good. Anyways, let's talk about Li Huang. When do you plan to end him?"

"Tonight."

"Don't make it bloody. I beg you."

Knight sighed. "I'll try."

"Maybe try using a gun this time?"

"Nah. Too noisy." He smiled. "I like my katana better."

Shun sighed. "Fine."

Knight stepped out of the elevator when it reached the bottom floor. When he saw Jacques, he ended the call with Shun.

"Count," Jacques said as soon as he approached Knight.

His hand balled into a fist, which quickly hit the marquess's stomach. "Next time," he whispered into Jacques's ear as the butler clutched his aching stomach, "don't drag my baby around wherever and whenever you feel like it... or I will kill you and your family, and I don't care if your rank is higher than mine. I'll end you, and you will know death by my hands."

"I'm sorry... I was careless."

"There's a reason I surround SM's cafe with ten snipers—so this won't happen. I won't let the reasoning 'to keep her safe, I have to get away from her' control me and my relationship with her. I don't believe that," Knight said as his jaw clenched. "I am protecting her because I want to be with her longer, so pull yourself together, Marquess. I can tolerate your high and mighty attitude. I can tolerate you cursing me. Hell, I enjoy teasing you and stealing your food because of your reactions, but if this happens again, I'll end you."

The marquess silently nodded and lowered his gaze. "I'm her butler. I should have thought of protecting her. I'm useless."

Knight sighed seeing the marquess down. "Don't beat yourself up. I'll do it for you. Just don't be careless. I won't tolerate it."

The marquess nodded again before looking at him. "Do you know... who did this?"

"Yes. I'll kill him tonight."

"Can I come?"

He stared at the marquess. "I won't pamper you, moron. If you die there, I'll leave you."

The marquess smiled. "Count, don't underestimate me. I may like luxury items, and I may like shopping and expensive things, and yes, I was raised with a golden spoon in my mouth, but I was also raised in a family with a member of the organization. I'm a trained warrior."

The corner of his lips curled upward. "Trained warrior? Then why didn't you protect yourself against your butler-competitor?"

The marquess let out a lopsided smile. "I know milady will come out, and I want to be protected by her. I'm sure you also want to... be protected by her."

Knight glared at him. "Stop flirting with my baby, you motherfucker!"

The marquess chuckled. "Don't deny it, motherfucker count. I know you also want to be protected by her. I mean, she's a badass. Have you seen her fight?"

"Yes." He had. And yes, his baby was a badass.

"So... Can I come out and come with you?"

"Why? Do I look like I own Hong Kong that you need to ask for my permission to go out?" He glared at the marquess. "Anyway, please tell me that you don't use guns. I hate it. So noisy. It's as if you're letting your enemies know where you're at."

"No worries." The marquess grinned. "I'm more of a sword kind of guy."

"Good."

"When?"

"Now."

Jacques turned to the door of the infirmary. "You won't go in to see milady?"

"I can't."

Knight walked past the marquess and headed to the room where the rest of the weapons were stacked. He took his two katanas and placed them in a long leather container before leaving. When he returned outside the infirmary, Cloud was there.

"The marquess sends word that he will go ahead to the basement," Cloud informed him.

He nodded before blankly looking at his butler. "Next time, don't let anyone drag you around with SM. If this happens again, I'll kill you too."

Cloud nodded. "Yes, my lord."

"Good."

"Aren't you going inside to see Lady SM's condition?"

"I can't."

"My lord—"

"I can't bear to see her in pain," he replied, his hands clenched. "I feel as if my heart is being ripped into pieces, Cloud. I just can't..."

Knight went straight to the elevator and pressed the basement button as he got in. When the elevator stopped and then opened, he stepped out to see the marquess drawing his sword out of its sheath.

"Where did that come from?" he asked.

"My pilot delivered it to me," the marquess answered. "I was already planning to make the person who hurt milady pay an hour ago."

Knight did not respond. He rode into one of the parked cars owned by the organization and then placed the scabbard containing the katana in the backseat for the time being. The marquess was in the passenger seat, firmly holding his sword.

The car owned by the Orgánosi was high-tech. The kind of thing Shun would enjoy.

Knight tapped the medium-sized monitor in front of him and called Shun through it. After three rings, Shun picked up, and it turned out to be a video call.

"Bud, please tell me you're not busy with your honeymoon," Knight started.

Shun glared at him. "Fuck you, you lunatic—" But he paused as soon as he saw the marquess. "Oh, you have a partner?"

"SM's butler," he replied, introducing the marquess. "Jacques Sotelo. Marquess, this is one of my best friends, my tracker Shun Kim."

The marquess partially opened his lips when he got to know it was the Shun Kim. "The Philosopher?"

Shun frowned. "I'm pretty sure that I'm not legendary."

"You are," Knight insisted as he started the vehicle. "The legendary swindler. I'm learning from you. Thanks a lot, bud."

Shun tsked. "Fuck you." Then he looked at the marquess. "Nice to meet you."

The marquess just nodded and fell silent.

"Where is Li Huang's house?" Knight asked Shun while driving.

"Sending coordinates to your car." It only took a few seconds when Knight received something from Shun. "Just follow the line and stop on the red dot."

"Thanks, Shun."

"Please," Shun pleaded, "don't make it bloody."

"I'll try." Then he ended the call.

The marquess glanced at him. "Why is The Philosopher asking you to not make it bloody?"

"You'll see."

Silence filled the entire vehicle until they reached the location of the red dot on the map.

The marquess peered out of the car. "That's not a house. That's a building."

"Doesn't matter." He reached for the scabbard and pulled out his katana. "They'll be dead in a minute."

Then he got out of the car.

"Wait!" the marquess exclaimed as got out of the car and rushed by his side. "We will enter through the front gate? Are you crazy?!"

Knight sighed. "I always enter from the front gate."

"Then they will know we're coming!"

"That's the point." The corner of his lips curled up. "I want them to know that Minrod is coming. I want them to fight so I won't get bored."

"Motherfucker," the marquess whispered.

He approached the gate and quickly jumped over it. His feet landed at the same time he buried his katana into the nearest guard on duty. He pulled it out just to use it to kill the rest of guards, not allowing them a grain of chance to touch their guns.

He swung his katana and spun it around in his hands, alternating his grip, until only one of the guards remained.

Pointing his katana at the only guard alive, he said in a cold voice, "Tell everyone that Minrod has come to send you all to hell."

The man nodded in terror and ran quickly while he opened the gate so the marquess could enter. He was holding his own sword.

"Don't block my way," he told the marquess, "and we'll be good. Get me?"

Jacques nodded.

Upon entering the building, they were immediately welcomed by the enemies. Knight gripped his katana more tightly before moving his body with fluid and precise motions as he slashed, stabbed, and beheaded everyone who dared come near him. His hearing became more sensitive to every movement in his surroundings as his body moved with sharp agility while bullets rained around him.

When Knight looked back, he saw the marquess just standing on the door with a shocked expression on his face as he looked at the dead bodies scattered on the floor.

"You coming in?" he asked the marquess.

Jacques stared at him with widened eyes. "W-what the fuck..." He blinked in amusement. "So, this is what The Philosopher was saying—do not make it bloody."

"I said I'll try."

Knight walked toward the elevator. With each step, his grip on his katana tightened even more, his eyes grew more menacing. He was here for blood—Li Huang's blood—and he would have it, however bloody it would be.

But as he stepped out of the elevator, he didn't find any single soul alive. Everyone was dead. He could even see Li Huang's body pinned to the wall with a long sharp sword piercing his heart. When he looked over to the right, he spotted a man in black wearing a mask that only revealed his eyes.

And he noticed that those eyes resembled SM's. Their color was also... amber.

"WHERE IS Knight?" SM asked. This was the third time she had regained consciousness after being shot. "How's my wound today?" she asked Dimitri, the only person who was there with her. "Is it healing okay?"

Dimitri immediately redirected his entire attention to her. "Yes. It's healing okay. Are you feeling well, Miss SM? Are you hurting?"

SM smiled. "I'm okay."

"How can you be so calm?" Dimitri asked in worry. "You got shot, Miss SM."

"I'm okay, Dimitri."

"Does your wound hurt?"

Of course it hurt, but Dimitri didn't need to know that. She didn't want to burden him more. He already looked so worried. "I'm really okay, Dimitri. This is nothing. See?" She gave him a wider smile. "I'm feeling better now."

Dimitri seemed to be able to breathe a sigh of relief, which SM was quietly grateful for. But when she noticed the bandage on his shoulder, she was immediately filled with worry. "Were you also shot? I'm so sorry. It seemed that I was their target, but you got caught up in the mess too."

Dimitri grimaced. "It's just a scratch, and it was my fault. I shouldn't have agreed to go to Hong Kong. We should have stayed."

"Dimitri," SM replied, her face softened, "I wanted this too, so it's okay. There's no one to blame, okay? Let it go. I'm fine."

"But, Miss SM—"

"I won't recover well if you keep blaming yourself."

Dimitri fell silent.

"Where's Knight?" she asked once again. "I've been here for two days, but he hasn't visited me yet. Is he doing okay?"

Dimitri stared at her in disbelief. "My boss hasn't visited you, not even once, but you're still worried about him? I mean, most women would likely get mad if they didn't see their boyfriend after a life-threatening situation."

SM stared at the ceiling and sighed. "Perhaps, because my perception of Knight is different from yours, so I'm not angry. Like now. He's a very clingy boyfriend, but he's not here, and I've been here for two days. That only means one thing—he can't see me in this condition. And either he's angry at who did this to me and is currently hunting them down, or he's blaming himself for what happened to me."

"No wonder he treasures you," Dimitri whispered.

She looked at Knight's Ultor with a smile. "Can you please fetch him and bring him to me?"

Dimitri glanced at his bandaged wound before answering, "I don't think I can force him to come here."

"You don't have to. Just tell him I'll break up with him if he won't visit me, though don't tell him I'm just kidding."

Dimitri chuckled. "Then I'll go tell him that."

She thanked Dimitri before her eyes followed him to the door. She didn't force Knight to come see her because she was giving him enough time to think, but they couldn't always avoid talking to each other. She needed to know if he was okay. She was worried about her baby. She was shot in front of him, and she could still remember the anger she saw in his eyes before oblivion took her. It was the type of anger that could kill.

She wouldn't even be shocked if she found out that Knight had already haunted down who did this to her. She just hoped he wouldn't get hurt or harmed.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the door opened. Knight's head peeked in.

"Baby?" His voice was soft, as if he was afraid to see her.

SM immediately smiled at her boyfriend. "Come on in, Knight. I miss you."

But Knight refused to enter. "Are you really okay? Don't lie to me."

"Could you come closer, please?" She didn't want to lie to him. She was not fine. The wound still hurt. "I miss you."

Knight was silent for a few seconds before finally entering the room. SM breathed a sigh of relief. She smiled before offering her hand. "Come here, baby. I miss you."

Slowly, Knight approached her. As he took her hand, his eyes instantly turned to the area of her stomach that was shot and covered by a blanket.

"I'll recover," she said when he noticed where his gaze was.

"Are you really okay?"

SM smiled, trying to dodge his question. "Have a seat."

Knight sat on the edge of the hospital bed and intently stared at her. "Are you mad?" he asked as he intertwined his hands with hers. "I didn't visit you for two days. I'm so sorry... I just can't see you bleeding and hurting. It'll kill me, mi reina. Seeing you get shot nearly drove me insane. I was so scared... so scared to lose you."

SM squeezed his hand. "I'll recover fast. My wound has stopped bleeding."

"You aren't mad?" His voice sounded like a frightened kid, hesitant to find out if she was upset.

SM shook her head. "I have already thought of that—that you can't see me in this condition. But, Knight, you have to get used to this. What lies ahead of us... isn't a peaceful life, especially with the work you have. This... This is probably nothing compared to what we're gonna experience in the future, so calm down, okay?"

Knight fell silent, his gaze distant.

SM took a deep breath before asking, "Did you do something, Knight?"

But Knight didn't respond.

"Knight?" There was emphasis in her voice. Her instincts told her that he did something he didn't like her to know. "What did you do?"

Knight couldn't look her directly in the eyes. "I... I did... s-something horrible."

"You wanna tell me?" she said, her voice calm and tender

Knight shook his head. "You'll get scared of me and leave me," he whispered. "I don't wanna tell you."

SM took a deep breath. "That horrible?"

He nodded.

"Did you look for the person who shot me?" When Knight nodded, she added, "What did you do to them?"

"Something horrible," he whispered. His jaw tightened. "They hurt you, and I won't allow them to escape. I won't let them live after what they've done to you."

Hearing what Knight had said, she remembered what Dimitri told her.

She was the switch that could make Knight go off.

And after what happened, she was sure that Knight did go off.

Despite the sharp pain in her wound, SM carefully got up. She endured it just to be able to embrace him.

"Mi reina..." Knight whispered as her arms wrapped around his waist, her cheek resting on his shoulder.

"Forget about it then," she said. "I won't ask, and you don't need to tell me. For you to get scared like this... I don't like it, Knight. Don't be scared of me. I told you—nothing can make me leave you."

Knight returned her embrace, burying his face into her neck before speaking. "I chopped someone up and pushed someone off a building."

SM froze. She forgot how to breathe for a minute as Knight's confession sunk into her.

Chopped someone up... Pushed someone off a building...

Her eyes were wide with shock. Her lips parted, her breath caught in her throat.

"After knowing that..." Knight released her from his embrace and fixed his gaze on her. "Would you still stay... with me?"

But before SM could open her mouth to answer, the door to the room opened. A man probably in his early fifties entered the room.

He was wearing an Italian suit, and he looked dashing even at his age.

Knight quickly began alert, his eyes instantly turned sharp. Gone was the clingy Knight. The expression on his face was replaced by something dangerous and scary.

The man stopped at the foot of her bed.

"Lady Sweet Monday Canja Lopez," the man said, his tone formal, before bowing to her. "I am Don Ambrose César, mensajero of the House of Lopez."

SM frowned. "House of Lopez?"

Don Ambrose gave her a small smile before handing an envelope. "Mufasa ordered me to give you this. I'm taking you to your father, milady."

A joyful smile spread across SM's lips. She turned to Knight, who had now calmed down. "Let's pack up, Knight—"

"You're going with me alone, milady."

SM's smile slowly faded when Don Ambrose's words sank into her mind.

To see her father, she needed to leave Knight behind. It was as if her father was making her choose—

Mufasa... or Knight?