Savior’s First Lady

Lydia looked incredibly busy.

I usually stayed in the kitchen, but occasionally I would step out to the bar area to help serve, especially when Lydia was overwhelmed.

I kept my head down as much as possible while serving at the bar, overhearing snippets of conversation from the customers.

“It seems the capital is going to be quite restless for a while. There’s a special investigation targeting loan sharks. It’s the new chief of police’s operation.”

“They’re going to make an example out of one of the loan shark organizations in the capital?”

When they saw me, they said, “Thank you, pretty lady.” I smiled awkwardly and quickly retreated back to the kitchen.

‘Hmm, I hope those loan sharks who troubled me get their comeuppance.’

I shrugged as I thought. Even if it’s just a show investigation, as long as they crack down on someone, let it be that wicked Burke.

***

After finishing my morning shift quickly, I had lunch with Lydia in the back room, eating turkey sandwiches we made together.

When I went out and returned from work, I would pull my hood down low to hide my face.

But I still held hands or linked arms with Lydia like true friends.

Walking down the street, giggling together, felt incredibly joyous.

Compared to this, the convent where I was bullied and had no friends was truly hell.

As we walked, Lydia suddenly stopped in her tracks. What we saw before us was a shocking sight.

“Miss, look at that!”

A crowd had gathered like a swarm.

The building they surrounded looked like an ordinary company… but now its doors were wide open, and people were being thrown from the rooftop one by one.

“Ahhh, save me!”

“No, it wasn’t me. Please don’t throw me! Ahhhhh!”

The people on the rooftop were all crying out desperately.

With terrified screams, they were tossed off the roof.

“Oh my goodness.”

“At this rate, someone will die!”

People were gasping in horror at the sight.

However, the people being thrown off had sturdy ropes tied around their ankles.

Just before their heads hit the ground, the ropes went taut, stopping their fall. The survivors were left hanging, crying and sniveling.

‘Is this some kind of bungee jump?’

I stood there, mouth agape, recalling a memory from my previous life.

“They’re throwing people off the roof in order,” Lydia said in a dazed voice.

“It’s pitiful, whatever crime they committed. They look like young folks,” an elderly lady beside me lamented.

Then, someone appeared on the rooftop. A man standing elegantly.

‘Oh, wait? That person looks familiar…’

This kind of intuition was always spot on.

As if to signal ‘next!’, the elegantly standing person made a gesture.

It was the capital’s most famous figure, my husband.

“It’s Sir Eden!” someone shouted.

‘Excuse me. On my way home after secretly finishing an early morning shift…’

Is my husband throwing burly men off the rooftop?

“Oh my, if Sir Eden is here, those guys must be bad. Sir Eden, get rid of them all!”

The elderly lady who had been clicking her tongue suddenly straightened up and raised her fist, cheering.

“Hurrah! Sir Eden is enforcing justice!”

Amidst the cheering crowd, I thought seriously.

‘Is the future of this country really going to be alright like this…?’

***

At that moment, a group of people came rushing out of the open doors. The police were dragging out handcuffed individuals, creating a chaotic scene.

“No! I’m telling you, I didn’t do it!”

“We were just following orders! It’s unfair!”

“Do you have a warrant? This is illegal!”

The thugs, who could be mistaken for gangsters, shouted and caused a commotion.

“Shut up! You’ve been bleeding people dry with your ridiculous interest rates on illegal loans! Human trafficking, threats, assaults. A warrant? You’ve got some nerve claiming injustice!”

One of the police officers yelled back.

‘Oh, that guy…?’

I pulled my hood down and gestured to Lydia.

“Lydia, let’s part ways for now. I’ll contact you soon!”

“Oh, okay!”

Understanding the situation at a glance, Lydia gave my arm a quick squeeze and then released it.

We exchanged glances and swiftly separated.

“Excuse me, your name is…?”

“Tarik! It’s Tarik. You remember me, right?”

A freckled face with messy brown hair.

This was the officer who had handled my stalker case. He was an ardent admirer of Sir Eden.

So his name was Tarik.

“What brings Lady Eden here…?”

“Shh, quiet. People will hear. What’s going on here?”

“Ah, we’re conducting a massive raid on loan shark offices. That infamous Burke, you know.”

Burke?

My eyes widened.

“Why are people being thrown off the roof?”

Tarik glanced around before whispering in my ear.

“Burke is a real piece of work. He’s been raided multiple times but always had incredibly loyal subordinates who took the fall for him. They’d confess, claiming to be Burke.”

“Who would believe that?”

“He has connections within the police. Someone backing him. Anyway, those guys…”

“All of them claiming to be Burke’s subordinates?”

“Yes. So, Sir Eden got mad and started throwing them off the roof one by one.”

Ah, that made sense.

“But if they’re thrown with ropes tied, it’s not much of a threat.”

“He said he’d keep them hanging there until they confessed.”

“Sir Eden is quite…”

“Brilliant, right? He truly is our hope!”

“…”

Let’s drop the conversation.

“Has Burke been caught?”

“No, we’re still searching the building. It seems he’s inside, but unfortunately, very few people know what he looks like.”

At that moment, I froze.

“Really?”

“Such a shame, she was a carefully cultivated asset. Planned to drag her out of the convent and make her pay her debt in full. So, Miss, you got married into a great family, huh? You should feel honored that I came personally. I came to see just how beautiful you’ve grown.”

That bastard had said that while licking his lips with me tied to a chair.

So, that was a special event?

“Lately, he doesn’t show up in person. He sends his henchmen to do the threatening and assaulting. We have a suspect sketch based on his activities from a few years ago…”

I widened my eyes and scanned the crowd of thugs.

Then I noticed a man in a postman’s uniform slipping through the people.

‘Why a postman at this timing? Did he get caught up by accident?’

I thought until I saw his face.

That ugly, unsettling face. It was unmistakably Burke.

“There! That man in the postman’s uniform is Burke!”

I pointed directly at him.

“What? What did you say?”

“What are you waiting for? If you let him escape, how will you face Sir Eden? Catch him now! That’s Burke!”

Hearing Sir Eden’s name, Tarik moved reflexively as if struck by lightning.

“Damn it, get him! Now!”

Tarik shouted, raising his baton as he charged. Other officers followed suit.

The thugs swarmed to block the police, trying to clear a path for Burke.

“No!”

Tarik and a few other officers pushed through the thugs, rushing towards Burke, while the rest engaged in a brawl with the gangsters. The onlookers cheered for the police.

“Ahhhh!”

Even then, people were being thrown off the rooftop one after another.

‘Ha, what a mess.’

I clicked my tongue inwardly and started to retreat.

At that moment, my eyes met Eden’s on the rooftop.

I flinched. Though I couldn’t see his expression clearly from a distance, I could imagine his brows furrowing slightly.